Mastermind
Copyright© 2026 by FantasyTranslater
Chapter 36
In the midst of a situation so confusing it made his head spin, Alon managed to gather three pieces of information from the naturally unfolding conversation.
The first was that the alliance between Count Zenonia and Duke Altia had apparently been orchestrated by Alon.
The second was that this faction, called “Kalpha,” had been formed due to a letter Alon had sent to Count Zenonia.
And third, the gifts he had been receiving were actually from nobles who wanted to join this faction, and the gifts were part of their process of seeking permission from the faction leader.
Through the torrent of words spilling from Duke Altia and Count Zenonia, Alon could piece these facts together, though with difficulty.
Keeping a neutral expression while feeling disbelief, he stared at the two.
Even though he had some grasp of the situation, there was still much he didn’t understand.
—No, to be more precise, there were countless things he wanted to question.
If Alon weren’t some kind of Jekyll-and-Hyde-like split personality, he hadn’t ordered or commanded anything through Count Zenonia.
In other words, he’d never told them to form an alliance ... really, he swore he hadn’t...!
‘No, all I did was send a letter to express my dislike for other nobles. How did things escalate to this point?’
Alon’s head spun as he looked at the two, trying to grasp what was going on.
‘Is this what they call the realm of genius, where the criminal can’t comprehend the moves of a mastermind...?’
Alon recalled a video from the previous world, which said that ordinary people take words at face value, while geniuses hear multiple layers of meaning in a single phrase.
With a slightly complex gaze, he looked at the two again.
—Now that he thought about it, Deus wasn’t the one responsible after all...
He recalled the countless gifts that had been pouring in for months.
Alon had indeed found it odd. No matter how influential Deus might be, he didn’t think his fame was so great that other nobles would send expensive gifts to forge connections.
It was only now that he realized that the letters he received were filled with praises—not for Deus, but for Alon himself.
—This isn’t easy.
Alon kept silent, realizing that through a series of coincidences, he had unknowingly helped form the faction himself.
By the time he pieced together the facts, his instincts told him there was no jumping off the “Kalpha” train anymore.
He’d already accepted too much.
Of course, if he truly wanted to leave, there were ways out, but they were hardly ideal choices.
Now that both the royalist and aristocratic factions clearly saw him as an enemy, leaving this faction would be more of a loss than a gain.
To be honest, if the losses were bearable, he would have pressed the “escape” button without hesitation.
... But what if he told them it was all a misunderstanding—what would those two do then...?
Alon glanced at Duke Altia and Count Zenonia.
Their conversation had just ended, and they were both looking at him now. To anyone else, they would appear to be beautiful, elegant nobles.
But Alon knew better. He knew how frightening Count Zenonia truly was.
And although Duke Altia wasn’t the character he’d seen in the game but someone who should have disappeared, Alon wasn’t taking her lightly either.
After all, masterminds always have their reasons, and they possess a sensitivity that ordinary people can’t comprehend.
Even if Alon explained everything clearly, there was a high chance these two would simply think, ‘How embarrassing, let’s just kill him,’ which seemed to be their natural thought process.
Of course, Alon didn’t know them well, but in this game, most characters labeled as “masterminds” tended to be deeply flawed individuals.
Thus, whether he liked it or not, he had to remain as the leader of Kalpha.
Yes, whether he liked it or not.
... At least, until he could come up with a good enough reason to step down later.
However, Alon had no desire to stay in the leadership role for long.
He knew that being the leader of a faction came with many responsibilities, despite the numerous benefits.
In short, for Alon, whose motto was to live leisurely as a noble without working for the rest of his life, the leadership role didn’t suit him. So he made a decision.
He would lead for a while and then retire when the time was right.
“So, what do you plan to do now?”
“Hmm.”
Just as he reached that conclusion, Duke Altia’s voice broke through, causing Alon to let out a brief groan.
From their conversation, it seemed that Duke Altia and Count Zenonia believed Alon had some grand plan behind the formation of the faction, but naturally, he had no such plan.
No, there couldn’t have been any plan.
After all, he only found out today that he was the leader of Kalpha.
But since he couldn’t tell them the truth, Alon rolled his eyes and decided to stall for time.
“For now, let’s start by cleaning up the underworld.”
“ ... Clean up?”
“Yes. That way, it will be easier for us to operate.”
Of course, Alon had no idea how things would actually become easier.
But since he couldn’t even remember what topics had been discussed at the assembly earlier that day, bringing up a political subject would obviously be a bad idea. This was his best attempt at using his head.
... It was clumsy, but for Alon, it was the best he could do.
“Well then, I have some matters to attend to, so I’ll take my leave.”
Alon stood up, turned around immediately, and began walking away.
He hurried his steps, as he didn’t have any solid answers if they asked further questions.
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