To Be a Power in the Shadows! Chapter 4

It has been about 3 years since the establishment of Shadow Garden . Alpha and I have both become 13 years old, and my older sister Claire is now 15 . There is no particular meaning associated with the age 13, but that is not the case with the age 15 . When the children of nobles reach 15, they have to attend a school in the royal capital for 3 years . Nee-san is pretty much the rising hope of the Kagenou baron family, so my mom is all pumped up with setting up the farewell party and all that . Yep, rising hope indeed .

(T/N: 'Nee-san' is what the MC calls his older sister . )

All that's fine and all . Really . But problem is, when it came day for her to actually set off for the capital, she up and disappeared . Thus the enormous tumult at the Kagenou house at the moment .

“When I came into the room, it was already like this . ”

So says my father in a dandy voice . His face isn't too bad either .

“There is no sign of a struggle, but the window was indeed forced open from the outside . The fact that neither I nor Claire was alerted means the kidnapper very skilled indeed . ”

My dandy dad places one hand on the windowsill and looks off into the distance . All that's missing from this picture is a whiskey glass in his hand .

And hair……

“So?”

A chilling voice is directed at him .

“Very skilled, so there's no helping it? Is that what you're trying to say?”

It's mom .

“No, no of course not . I was merely stating the facts……”

So answers my dad as cold sweat rolls down his face .

“You STUPID BALDYYYYYY!!!!!!”

“Hiii, I'm sorry, I'm very sorry!!!”

By the way, I'm air . Nothing is expected of me, and neither do I cause any trouble . That's the position in this family that I'm striving to maintain .

But well, Nee-san was a pretty good person, so it's a bit of a pity . The crime happened at night when I was at the abandoned village, so there was nothing that I could have done either .

I quietly listen to my parents' bickering and, at the first chance I get, return to my own room . I place my palms together in the direction that Nee-san had disappeared, then dive into my bed .

Then .

“You may come out now . ”

“Yes, my lord . ”

Immediately, my curtains sway slightly, and a young girl wearing a black slime bodysuit steps out .

“Beta, huh . ”

“Yes, my lord . ”

Same as Alpha, she is also a young elf girl . But where Alpha has blond hair, Beta's is silver .

She of the cat-like green eyes and a mole under her eye was the third person to join Shadow Garden . Even though I told Alpha “in moderation,” but Alpha brings them in like stray cats or something so their numbers keep growing .

“Where's about Alpha?”

“Searching for traces of Claire-sama . ”

“Fast reaction . You think Nee-san is still alive?”

“Likely so . ”

“Can she be saved?”

“Possible, yes…… but might require Shadow-sama's help . ”

Ah by the way, they're calling me 'Shadow . ' Cus I'm the master of Shadow Garden, fufufu .

“Is that what Alpha said?”

“Yes, my lord . She said that since they have a hostage, it would be best to bring our full force . ”

“Heeh~”

To be frank, Alpha has gotten quite strong . The fact that even Alpha is asking for help must mean that someone of very significant power is involved .

“My blood boils……”

I clench my fist while instantaneously releasing magic to create a small explosion .

There's no particular meaning to it, but I like this kind of theatrics .

I can hear Beta murmuring “As expected……” with surprise .

As of late, I haven't been in lack of a sparring partner, what with Alpha and Beta and Delta and the crew, but something fresh is good every once in a while . Above all else, I want to play at being a power in the shadows, so this seems like a good opportunity .

“It's been a while since I last got serious……”

Just like so, I've also gotten used to exuding the aura of a power hidden in the shadows .

Also, lately Alpha and Beta have taken to fleshing out our setting even further, so it's been a blast .

“The criminal is, as expected, part of the Order of Diabolos . Even more, he is one of their upper echelons . ”

“One of their echelons, huh . So why did they kidnap Nee-san?”

“They suspect her of being a Descendent of the Heroes . ”

“Hmph, those sharp-eyed bastards……”

So yea, like that .

Furthermore, they've also been 'gathering research' and saying things like “As expected, your words were entirely correct……” and “About a thousand years ago, Diabolos' descendents……” and “From this stone monument we can glean clues that point to the existence of the Order of Diabolos……” and other similar such . I mean, I can't read ancient letters so how would I know? I bet Alpha can't really read them either, so she just lays out all these ancient-looking materials and whatnot of a similar general feeling in front of me, so that we can feel like we're making some headway in investigating the Order . I'm sure that must be it .

“Please take a look at these documents . These are the hideouts that we think Claire-sama might be held in, based on our latest intel . ”

After saying that, Beta plonks a huge pile of paper on my table . Ok seriously, I have no idea what to do with all this . More than half of it is in an ancient language and the rest is filled with indecipherable mathematical equations or something . Damn, you guys have gotten good at making up this kind of stuff . I'll admit, you all have gotten even more pro at it than me .

While ignoring Beta's 'explanations,' I take out a throwing knife and throw it at the map on the wall .

Thunk .

With a dull sound, the knife pierces a certain point .

“There . ”

“That place? What is there?”

“That's where Nee-san is . ”

“But that place, there's noth-…… no, wait, could it be……!”

Beta hurriedly rummages through the materials as if she'd just realized something .

Um, yeeaa, I just randomly threw that knife, alright?

But wow your acting is good, Beta . I can see where this is going – you're going to tell me that there is a secret hideout at that location, aren't you?

“In conclusion, after comparing various sources, it seems that there is indeed a high possibility that there is a secret hideout at the location that Shadow-sama just pointed out . ”

Called it .

“But still, to read through this enormous amount of materials in a split second and even deduce the location of a hidden hideout…… as expected of Shadow-sama . ”

“You still lack training, Beta . ”

“I shall double my diligence . ”

Seriously, she's good . Even though I know it's acting, but I can still feel the emotions that she's conveying . You've got all the important points down pat, Beta .

“I shall inform Alphsama at once . Will we move tonight?”

“Mm . ”

Beta bows, then takes her leave . Her eyes are glittering and all, such that I can totally feel the respect and whatnot . Cheers to her Academy-level acting .

Chapter end