To Be a Power in the Shadows!

proofreader: Nevermind

In the tent, that was brightly lit because of lamps, Goldoh Kinmekki was drinking by himself.

The test was over, and the sun was already sinking.

On the outside, the party for the newcomers was held, even though they didn’t know it could be their last meal...

“It tastes good.”

Goldoh·Kinmekki drunk the amber coloured wine and sighed.

What he was drinking now was the famous wine which was called [whiskey].

Mitsugoshi Company who produced the wine, had prepared a lot to create whiskey, whilst being under Great Commerce Association’s protection. People started talking about this wine long before Mitsugoshi Company started to sell it. And Goldoh, who had some insight was also interested in it.

But Goldoh was a slave, so he couldn’t possibly be able to buy such expensive wine by himself.

When Goldoh nearly gave up, his master Tulpicano, spent his own money to acquire it. But when he tried to drink it, he instantly spit it out, because the wine was just too strong for him.

Therefore Goldoh managed to get it, by a stroke of luck.

Goldoh disliked Tulpicano, but he still thought about praising him because of the wine. This wine was sold by people 10 times the list price. Goldoh firmly believed that bald upstart didn’t even know the truth.

Goldoh was drinking, when he picked up a resume. A young man’s experience was written on it.

“Sid Kagenou, came from Midgar...”

Goldoh had fought against him earlier during the test. He guessed that he had already met him before.

The test finished quickly. Goldoh defeated Sid easily who was so scared that he just stood there. When Goldoh punched him, he rolled down. Then they stopped.

There was no need to pay any attention to him. Sid was just an ordinary kid.

But Goldoh thought there was something strange about him. He was good at seeing through the strength of his opponent. Only once before had he met an opponent that he couldn’t see through.

“I remembered him...”

“What are you thinking about?”

His friend Quinton entered the tent and asked him.

“Party is over?”

“No, party is not over...but I don’t want to remember them, because they will all die tomorrow.”

“Yes...”

They both looked gloomy.

“So, what are you thinking about?”

“Ah, I am thinking about him, this young man.”

Goldoh gave him Sid’s resume.

“Sid Kagenou...why are you thinking about him?”

“I fought with him in the test during the day, I think I have seen him.”

“What kind of guy is he?”

“He is a black-eyed ordinary kid with dark hair. The battle ended in an instant.”

“Ah – is that the guy who fell overwhelmed flashily?”

“Yes, did you remember him?”

“Oh. He was just flattering me at the party. I seem to remember him, but not really. What do you think about this guy called Sid?”

“It’s just a feeling. I feel like I’ve fought someone like him already. I tried to think about it, and suddenly remembered it. When I thought him, it felt like I was fighting with Jimina Sehnen.””

“Jimina.”

Quinton’s look suddenly sharpened.

“He was the only person I couldn’t see through before. I still remember that day. The day when the Sure-Win Golden Dragon was defeated for the first time..”

Goldoh shook his head.

“But it should be just an illusion. It’s impossible for another guy like Jimina to be out there. And I only looked at him for a brief moment.”

“Well, you are right. How could Jimina appear in this place. He is really unique. I still remember my defeat from that day.”

“Just because we lost to that guy, our destiny was destroyed.”

“–! I didn’t agree with him. I don’t want to admit defeat! If I don’t knock down the guy, I can’t take a step forward!!”

“I feel the same, but it’s said that Jimina is actually the Shadow.”

“It seems to be right.”

“You can’t defeat Shadow.”

“Yes I can’t.”

Shadow can defeat both of Beatrix and Iris. Even though they did not witness the battle directly, they knew they couldn’t possibly defeat the Shadow.

“Life is really hard.”

“Yeah...”

They sighed together.

“So, how’s the plan going?”

Goldoh asked him.

“The total number of newcomers is about 100. The number of guys we can probably use is 5.”

“When they finished our plan, I will arrange them to become slaves. What about the rest?”

“The rest can’t work. They will be abandoned as expected.”

“The plan has not changed, right?”

“Yes. Tulpicano is going to rebel. Risk is high, but if he isn’t lying, the rebellion have some value. If we succeed, we will become freemen again.”

“We are going to attack the lord who betrayed the Royalists tonight...”

“Yeah. The lord’s name is the Count of Rajta. It seems that Rajta took tons of treasures when he betrayed the Royalists. Although the Royalists want to get back the treasures, they are quite far from the capital. It will take them a while. Time is short. We attack Count Rajta tonight, take all the treasures, and then flee abroad. Only during wartime can our plan succeed.”

“This plan is inferior, something Tulpicano would do. But still, the risk is too high. Although it’s just a small city, there are 500 regular soldiers in the city, and we only have 100 people.”

“So we will just abandon most people tomorrow night, while taking the treasure and fleeing by ourselves. Let the abandoned ones deal with the trouble, there is no need to win. “

“But all the abandoned people will die.”

“I know. But we are slaves, we can only obey master’s orders! We must do this if we ever want to be liberated.”

Quinton shouted loudly and punched the table.

“Sorry, I was wrong. We just need to obey the orders. After this we will be liberated and everything will be over..”

Goldoh sighed and he gave up arguing.

They kept silent for a while. The party outside was annoying and they could hear it clearly. ”

“Life is not perfect all the time. I used to believe that I can do better...”

“...Oh yeah.”

“Hey, Quinton. What are you going to do after rebellion?”

“What can I do? After all I’m broke, I can only earn money from the arena.”

“So... I am going to back to the country. Then I’m planning to open a dojo.”

“Dojo?You are?”

Quinnton stared at Goldoh’s face from the side.

“I can finally see my limits. I’ve always been aiming for the pinnacle, I believed that if I never lost, I would stand on the top someday. But maybe it’s just impossible...”

“Goldoh, so you’ve been trying not to lose huh.”

Goldoh squinted with a lonely smile.

“But people like me at least have something. That’s my eyes, my ability to see through people’s strength. This is what I still have left. With this I’m planning to find and cultivate some talents. See through their talent and guide them. Sounds nice right?”

“Yeah, it does sound pretty nice...”

Quinton showed him a soft smile.

“One day, I will train a disciple who can surpass Shadow. Then I will entrust my dreams and unfulfilled desires to him. Quinton, do you want to join me?”

Goldoh blushed and scratched his face.

“hu⋯⋯”

Quinnton laughed.

“Give me some wine.”

Goldoh re-pour the amber whiskey into his glass and handed it to Quinton. Quinton was drank it all at once.

“Cough, cough!”

He swallowed the wine.

“This, this wine is really strong, it’s my first time, drinking such a strong wine.”

“It is called whisky. It is said to be made by using a new technology called distillation. It’s very fragrant, right?”

Quinnton handed out the cup silently.

After Goldoh poured the wine again, Quinnton slowly and succinctly tasted it by his tongue, then he said.

“Oh, it’s really good.”

“After all, it is a high price wine.”

“So, the wine did its best.”

“Oh yeah...”

“Do you think that I can teach others someday?”

“It’s so funny.”

The tent where they were in lit up until very late.