When you think about the top dog of an organization as devious as the Black Merchant, you won't consider a calm, scrupulous-looking man to sit on the chair. It just doesn't fit the vibe. The chief executive of this headquarters gives off that vibe. His vibe doesn't suit the atmosphere but that's not what surprised me.

"Hello, dear soon-to-be-partner. I heard you had some very fragrant beans to offer. Can you spill them a little so I can take a smell?"

The man is smiling the entire time. He rests his hands on the desk and leans his body forward, showing keen interest in what I am going to say.

"Ah, silly me. I should have introduced myself first," he remarks as taps on his forehead lightly. Extending his hand, he says, "A pleasure to meet you, Shadow. My name is Hadrian Brontes."

The chair Abigail is sitting on creaks slightly at the mention of the name. Her question has been answered; her assumption has become the truth. The man is the new Duke of Brontes--the adopted son of Niles Brontes, whom I killed less than a month ago.

This is what slightly baffles me. I know Hadrian since I am keeping up with the information regarding the other Brontes. He is a na?ˉve, if not an overly optimistic ruler. He gave autonomy to the Brontes we had conquered, allowing it to prosper and also making it easier for us to maintain our control over the people.

I instantly knew Hadrian was a brilliant man the moment I heard his policy but I never expected him to go beyond that. No wonder he is not afraid of losing his inherited territory; he has every territory in Antares secretly under control.

"As expected of the chief of the Black Merchant. You know how to do your homework," I remark, referring to the fact that he knows about my other "persona."

"You are not even trying to hide your identity. People are propagating mirthful rumors about you--I bet that is something that you tell people to do."

"People need light to keep moving. I am just becoming the shadow to tell them that the light exists."

"A very unique mindset you have indeed...Shadow." Hadrian smiles and then looks at his extended hand. He is about to retract it but I grasp it before he can. "Oh...I thought you weren't so fond of the idea of shaking hands."

"Shadow. Nice to meet you."

As soon as I let go of his hand and retract my hand, he immediately asks, "What kind of beans you are offering, Shadow?"

"My whereabouts."

"Pardon?"

Hadrian looks at me with a slightly bewildered look on his face. Indeed, offering information about yourself to the person whose job is investigating you is as ridiculous as it sounds, so I completely understand his bafflement.

I smile lightly. "You know...people are enticed by glory. No," I shake my head faintly, "people are enticed by the hope of achieving glory. It is the only thing that drives them to keep struggling."

"What are you hinting at?" Caressing his chin, this time, Hadrian looks intrigued.

"200,000 Gold. Despite knowing the risk they may face, people still come after me. All of them are willing to pay 20,000 Gold just so they know where I am. You see, that 200,000 Gold is their hope--what moves them. Had it been less, no one would be so eager to come after me."

Pointing at myself, I continue, "I am an asset. Something that you can invest into. I will provide you with information about my whereabouts and, in turn, you will have to share the money people pay you to know it."

Hadrian's chin slips off his hand as he dumbfoundedly says, "Yes...?" Clearing his throat, shaking his head faintly, he continues, "I am afraid I failed to understand your offer, shadow. Are you sure that is an offer that you should make to us...people who figure people out?"

"Ah, I see. You believe that you can find me wherever I am, don't you?"

"My subordinates are competent."

"Well, then...how do you think I came here?"

Glancing at Abigail, Hadrian surely says, "I believe with the help of the Full-Armored Duo."

"You don't know, don't you? You must be wondering how I could travel from Ziehara undetected for 18 hours."

As ridiculous as it sounds to offer my information to people who expose my location, I will do it as long as money is involved. Like Hadrian said earlier, I don't hide my Shadow persona. Despite that, even the Black Merchant has a quite hard time locating me.

To investigate me must consume a quite considerable amount of resources. I am offering Hadrian a cut to the operational cost, so he can obtain more profit than before but he has to give me seventy percent of it.

This may sound like a rip-off but it is a win-win offer. What the Black Merchant sells is information about me. Information about me is adjusted to the price of my head, which means the higher it is, the more expensive the information is. 30% doesn't seem big in the beginning but, in the future, that 30% will exceed the current price of my information.

"Hold up," Hadrian says as he puts up his hand. "By that logic, isn't it better for me to wait until your bounty rises by itself? I can charge people higher than it was and hoard all of the profit by myself."

I laugh deeply, which probably sounds sinister since it causes him to recoil slightly. "Listen, Hadrian, that mirthful assumption of yours will only be realized if you manage to spot me. Are you confident you will always be able to find me?"historical

As soon as Hadrian smirks--just before he confidently declares his answer to my question, Teanosvera pulls me into his sub-dimension. From his perspective, I must look like I have just been swallowed by the shadow.

He abruptly stands up from his chair, knocking it in the process, and then stares at my vacant seat with widened eyes. He doesn't know what he has just witnessed but he knows what its name is: Dark Magic.

Dark Magic is Magic that only some individuals can master. It is the uncategorized Magic--something that people fail to comprehend and fear. It is born with the user; many will even argue it is a curse rather than a miracle. Because of that Dark Magic users are guaranteed to be the pariah.

"Can't believe what you see, can you?" I whisper directly into Hadrian's ear. He turns around but I am no longer there. "Imagine how easy it is for me to hide," I say with hidden mirth in my voice, sitting calmly on my chair.

"You...you are a Dark Magic user..."

I am not a Dark Magic user. My Origin may be categorized as such but it is something that only we, Demons, have; so it can never be called Dark Magic. Anyway, the Shadow Magic belongs to Teanosvera. Hadrian doesn't know this and there is no need to tell him.

"So, are you still confident?"

Even though I am implying that I can forever stay in the shadow and still do my job, I know it is nonsense. Still, it doesn't matter; Hadrian will have no way of knowing it since not even the Black Merchant has any information about Dark Magic.

Putting his chair back onto its feet, Hadrian sits on it. He puts his elbow on the desk, leans his head on his hand, and ponders. He taps the desk with the finger of his free hand as he forces the gears in his head to spin. A minute passed and he eventually runs his hand through his brown hair.

"You are very confident in your ability and I don't doubt you...but, I want to ask you something," he says. "What is your purpose for doing this?"

What a brilliant man he is, indeed. Hadrian has realized that people's liberty, which is what people propagate about, is not my motive for helping the people rebel.

Smiling lightly, though he can't see it because of my mask, I say, "Profit, my friend. You have been playing the whole Antares to profit you. I am just doing the same without joining your organization."

"That is..." Hadrian trails off. He takes a moment of silence before chuckling to himself. "You are brighter than me, Shadow. I have misjudged you. I thought you just wanted publicity but what you are actually doing is reaping as much fortune as you can with your power while still being unknown. I admire you deeply."

Well, the truth is that I just don't want people to make a profit off me without sharing some of it. I just want to get the share I rightfully deserve, which is why I even bother to come here; it is not that deep but I won't say that.

The image we have of ourselves and the image people have of us are different. People paint us according to their comprehension of us as a character, which is why many people expect us to behave a certain way--the way they want us to.

In most cases, it is a great disadvantage for us but, in this case, it is beneficial for me. Hadrian pictures me the way I want him to picture me. I will also play along to keep the picture eternal. This way, my motive and my true nature will remain hidden.

As I wreak chaos throughout the Antares Kingdom, he will keep thinking about the share, failing splendidly to see the bigger picture. Hadrian Brontes is like that--brilliant but na?ˉve.