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Death’s Daughter Chapter 267

Author: FoodLovingPanda

CHAPTER 267: THE BLACK PHOENIX

“Haha, Naoko-chan, you really know how to get to the bottom of things, much better than those speaking for hours and never saying anything. You’re right, we have joined for a reason and not only because of Mia. As for why we joined, I can’t tell you. I can only say that staying on the same side as you is the best option for us.”

Oh, that is interesting to hear; being on ‘my’ side. As far as I know, there is no ‘my side’ just yet. After all, I am only a citizen of Elicia and currently I am not opposing anyone directly. At least not in the public eye.

“Everyone is entitled to their own secrets, I am no exception. Let me say this straight then, I do plan on using you, but there is one thing that I demand in return. You must never betray me. If you can promise me this, I will ensure that you will be the strongest and the best equipped team in the clan. As for the jobs that you will do, that will have to wait until I have your promise.”

Since Thanatos-sama’s magic isn’t working on them, I will need them to promise me their loyalty. What I am about to tell them and make them do in the future is not something that can be told or shown to the public.

“That is only natural, we don’t easily make promises, but we already pledged to never betray Dragon’s Descent when we joined. If you are worried about the magic pledge not working on us, I can tell you that it is still there. It is just that I have a way to lessen its effects. But this is by far the strongest magic I came across during my entire life.”

So it is a magic pledge. I never knew what it was, but it seems that Thanatos-sama set up magic in a way that those who promise to join Dragon’s Descent cannot violate their oath. I’m not sure why they insist on calling me ‘Honorable Boss’. It doesn’t seem that this type of magic is very restrictive on their minds and personalities.

“It wasn’t set up by me, but by my patron. Since you have promised, I will keep to my end of the deal. First, Mia, since you are using a whip, I have something for you. If it suits you, feel free to use it. If anyone asks, just say you bought it on the black market.”

I took the legendary ranked whip that I got from Vilikis and let her try it out. I told her the description and the skills it had. She was really excited and accepted the gift without much thought.

“Thank you, Naoko-chan. I finally have a decent weapon.”

“I’m glad you like it. As for the others, I will let you choose later from my collections. I don’t know your preference, so I don’t want to give you something that will not be useful to you.”

“I’ll thank you in advance for your generosity.”

With that out of the way, I put up a soundproofing barrier. Even though I was in my own base and this should be a well protected area, I still had to ensure that nobody was listening in on our conversation. The matters discussed up until this point were not important.

“Okay, let’s get to the point. I want your party to become my secret eyes and hands. You will be in charge of doing things that I cannot allow others to know about. I can tell you that not all of them will be pretty, so you have to be mentally prepared.”

I wanted to see their reaction and let them think about it. I wasn’t in a rush. However, there was absolutely no reaction coming from the six of them. I smiled and then continued on. It seems that these people are really the ones for this type of job.

“You must have heard that I was given the area of Sunset Islands to govern. Right now there isn’t much in that place, but within half a year that place will become untouchable by others. At that time, it will no longer be under the rule of Elicia, but stand on its own as an independent state. When that happens, not everyone will be happy. You will need to help prevent such dissatisfaction from spreading wildly.”

This is the first time I told anyone the plans I had for Dragon’s Descent. I have long thought about making us completely independent from all the forces in the mainland. That is why I made sure we have a business that does not have its competitors and at the same time we did not entangle ourselves in the fights among groups.

“Those are some big plans, Naoko-chan. Your little fiancé will not be happy once he hears about this.”

“He will be busy with other matters. The situation in Doren is not as calm as it seems on the surface. You will be quite busy in the future. I will not prevent you from accepting other missions at the Adventurer’s Guild, but when I deploy you, that has to take precedence. Also, when acting on my orders, you will be called Black Phoenix. I will prepare things to hide your identity so that the reputation of Scarlet Phoenix is not damaged. I want the people to fear the name Black Phoenix and yet at the same time revere it for its strength.”

I saw Lorien smiling as she heard my words. I waited for them to speak up first. I saw them glancing at each other as if communicating something. I stood up and left the room to let them discuss among themselves. I don’t know what they wanted to do, but it seemed to me it was important. That is why I gave them the time to think it through.

I decided to go and see Dogusu. There are some things that I want to discuss with him and some ideas that I got after the visit to the pastry shop with Vitou a few days ago. But before I reached his room, I was called back by Mia.

“Naoko-chan, there is something that we need to tell you. I hope that you will be open-minded and listen to the end before deciding to form the Black Phoenix.”

I went back to the lobby and looked at Lorien. It seems that earlier they were considering whether to tell me about their secret or not. I waited. If they decide to trust me, I will not betray that trust. After all, I already count them as one of my people. They came under my wing of protection the moment they joined Dragon’s Descent.

“Naoko… no Boss, we are really glad that you are willing to trust us and use us as such, but since you have such big plans in the future, using us might be detrimental to your reputation. Especially so if we are to use our real identities. If you are willing to still use us after knowing all this, we will make sure that your vision of the future comes true.”

I had no idea what she was saying. Sure, they will be doing some dirty work, but everyone in power has such people. It may bring some scorn, but there shouldn’t be such a bad case of reaction. What about their identity; Scarlet Phoenix does not have any bad rumors regarding their work.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. After all, the Black Phoenix is not part of Dragon’s Descent, Scarlet Phoenix is.”

Everyone laughed at my words and reached out to take off their earrings. I didn’t notice it before, but all of them had the same earring on their left ear. When they took them off, a drastic change in their appearance occurred. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe that the same six people are standing in front of me.

The skin that was clear before was now laced with different patterns. The hair changed to vibrant and unnatural colors, nothing like the browns and sandy colors seen before. Even the shape of their faces changed, looking more prominent. I wouldn’t say that they became more beautiful, but they had a sense of being unforgettable. The biggest change were the eyes. They turned black with hints of red in them and when I saw them, I felt they were familiar. Even the patterns on their skin made me think I had seen them before. Soon I realized where I saw it before. Hah, no wonder they were hiding their identities. No wonder they said it would be detrimental to me. But this is really good. I am really looking forward to working with them.