The Eminence in Shadow, Vol. 3 (Light Novel) Read online

  Copyright

  The Eminence in Shadow 03

  DAISUKE AIZAWA

  Translation by Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher

  Cover art by Touzai

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  KAGE NO JITSURYOKUSHA NI NARITAKUTE ! Vol. 3

  ©Daisuke Aizawa 2019

  First published in Japan in 2019 by KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo.

  English translation rights arranged with KADOKAWA CORPORATION, Tokyo, through TUTTLE-MORI AGENCY, INC., Tokyo.

  English translation © 2021 by Yen Press, LLC

  Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Aizawa, Daisuke, author. | Touzai, illustrator. | Fernandez, Kristi, 1992– translator. | Thrasher, Nathaniel Hiroshi, translator.

  Title: The eminence in shadow / Daisuke Aizawa ; illustration by Touzai.

  Other titles: Kage no jitsuryokusha ni naritakute. English

  Description: First Yen On edition. | New York, NY : Yen On, 2020. | v. 1 Translator, Kristi Fernandez — v. 2–3 Translator, Nathaniel Hiroshi Thrasher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2019034416 | ISBN 9781975359058 (v. 1 ; hardcover) | ISBN 9781975386993 (v. 2 ; hardcover | ISBN 9781975315771 (v. 3 ; hardcover)

  Subjects: CYAC: Secret societies—Fiction. | Good and evil—Fiction. | Fantasy.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.A369 Em 2019 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019034416

  ISBNs: 978-1-9753-1577-1 (hardcover)

  978-1-9753-1578-8 (ebook)

  E3-20210325-JV-NF-ORI

  Contents

  Cover

  Insert

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Prologue Heading to the Lawless City over Fall Break!

  Chapter 1 Lawless City Bandit Hunting!

  Chapter 2 Storming the Crimson Tower!

  Chapter 3 Pursuing the Blood Queen!

  Auxiliary Chapter Field Notes on a Little Brother—by Young Claire!

  Chapter 4 I’ll Destroy It All and Start from Scratch!

  Chapter 5 Printing Fake Money as Mitsugoshi Throws Down with the Major Corporate Alliance!

  Chapter 6 Circulating Counterfeit Cash!

  Epilogue The One to Destroy It All and Start from Scratch—with Fake Bills!

  Appendix

  Afterword

  Yen Newsletter

  Prologue

  Heading to the Lawless City over Fall Break!

  My sister Claire ended up winning the Bushin Festival.

  Rose showing up out of nowhere threw me for a bit of a loop, but thankfully, I was able to improvise a satisfying climax to my performance.

  She nearly stole the show from me, but in a flash of brilliance, I was like, Wait, can I pull this off? and stole it right back from under her nose.

  And I totally nailed it.

  The world is ever changing, and we all have our own motivations as we walk through life. No performance goes exactly according to script. So I need to keep my mind pliable to handle any situation the universe throws at me with a little bit of improv.

  Anyway, once the Bushin Festival ended, everything settled back into its ordinary routine.

  I mean, apparently the Oriana Kingdom is kind of a hot mess right now, but I’m just your average aristocrat, so that doesn’t affect me starting my second semester.

  Still, word on the street is that Oriana Kingdom has split into the something-something faction and the other something-something faction and they’re starting to go at it. Everyone’s saying that civil war is probably gonna break out before the year is over. Man, if they really do start a civil war, I gotta get in on that action. That sounds like a blast.

  As for school, little has changed despite Rose’s absence.

  I hate to say it, but that’s the way things go.

  Everyone around me has been saying all sorts of nasty things about her—that she acted in a fit of jealously or that there was some sort of succession dispute—but nobody actually knows what really went down. I’m on her side no matter what her reasons were, so I hope she’s doing okay wherever she is.

  Claire’s schedule has supposedly been booked ever since her victory. Between all the speeches she’s had to give and the parties requesting her attendance, she’s like a bona fide celebrity. All that died down a bit when we headed into fall break, though, and she’s back at the academy now.

  I guess that’s why they call it “fifteen minutes of fame.”

  Unfortunately, now that she’s free, she’s been breathing down my neck, and I’ve found myself reluctantly forced to throw her a celebratory dinner.

  That brings us to the present, where she and I are in the middle of enjoying a meal at one of Mitsugoshi’s restaurants.

  I’m pretty sure I ordered the “Blessing for the Peasants” course—dirt cheap, a limited-time offer—but for some reason, they brought us this super-extravagant banquet. Weird.

  “I had no idea you could pull something like this off. Not even the party they threw at the castle had food this nice…,” Claire remarks upon seeing the feast.

  We’re also in some sort of private room for high-class VIPs.

  I wondered if maybe they’d mistaken me for someone else, but I double-checked with our waitress on my way to the bathroom, and apparently there’s been no error.

  Just thinking about the bill makes me squirm.

  Oh, wait, this place is part of the Mitsugoshi Group. Maybe they’re giving me special treatment because I’m friends with Gamma.

  “You know, I’m friends with Mitsugoshi’s president,” I tell my sister.

  “Oh please.”

  “No, seriously. I’m pretty sure that’s why they’re giving us the VIP treatment.”

  “I wish your jokes had better punch lines. Don’t worry, I get what’s going on here. I can see how much work you must have gone through to put this together for me.”

  Claire smiles.

  I haven’t seen her look this pleased in a while. Better just let her believe what she wants.

  “I love the food at Mitsugoshi’s restaurants. It’s all so unusual—and delicious. You know, this is the first time I’ve had roast beef.”

  “Huh.”

  The two of us continue making small talk as we enjoy our meal.

  “Annerose lost, Princess Iris dropped out, and that Mundane Mann guy got disqualified. I guess I only won because I got lucky.”

  “Ye
ah, basically,” I tell her.

  “Take that back.”

  “I meant to say, No way! You won ’cause you’re the best!”

  “Of course I did. But that’s not how society will see it.”

  “Eh, you can hardly blame them.”

  “Why don’t you try that again?” she threatens.

  “If the world can’t see that you’re the best, there must be something wrong with their eyes!”

  “Well, that’s just how things are. The masses are blind. But I’m not the kind of woman who’ll just sit quietly as they look down on me.”

  “You’d probably be more likable if you were.”

  “I’m this close to blowing a fuse.”

  “Damn the masses! Go prove to them just how strong and pretty you really are!”

  “That’s the plan, of course. And you’re going to help me.”

  “Am not.”

  “You have no say in the matter. It’s for your sake, too.”

  “Wait, mine?”

  “Yours. What do you think’s going to happen to you after you graduate? With your mediocre grades, you’ll have a hard time getting a decent job.”

  “I mean…”

  Now that she mentions it, I haven’t given the issue much thought. She’s going to be the head of our household, so I guess I’m gonna have to get a job of some sort.

  Something flashy like joining the Knight Order is out of the question.

  I need to be someone more forgettable… Aha!

  “I’m gonna become Gatekeeper A.”

  You know, an extra who tells the protagonist that he can’t pass until he pays the toll.

  “Gatekeeper A? What’s ‘A’?”

  “You know, like, ‘average’?”

  “For the love of… Gatekeeping is hardly a job fit for an aristocrat. They work twelve-hour shifts and get barely any days off. Plus, the work is grueling, and the pay is dismal.”

  “Oh. Darn…”

  Not having any days off sounds miserable. For one, it’d get in the way of my shadowbroker activities.

  “What about jailhouse guards?”

  “That’s even worse. You have to interact with the dregs of society all day.”

  “Maaaan… Well, I’ll just figure it out when the time comes. As long as I can do the stuff I want to, I’m fine working pretty much anywhere.”

  “And what exactly is this ‘stuff’ you want to do?”

  “It’s a secret. I have a policy of not talking about things that are really important to me.”

  “So I’m gathering you have no goals. Stop making up excuses on the spot to postpone thinking about what you want to do with your life.”

  “What makes you think that’s what I’m doing?”

  “Oh, I think you can figure out why.”

  “Well, whatever.”

  “You’re not ‘whatever’-ing yourself out of this one. We’re talking about your future here. So clear your calendar for fall break. If you do as I say, I’ll be able to wedge you into the Knight Order.”

  “Wait, what do you mean?”

  Claire flashes me a fearless smile. “Heh-heh. We’re going off to hunt the Blood Queen, a Progenitor Vampire. Just stay behind me and you’ll be fine.”

  After we finish our dinner, we walk through the darkened capital.

  When I tried to pay for the meal, they told me it was on the house.

  I guess Gamma really did give me a freebie. Well, Claire did just win the Bushin Festival, so maybe that was why. Could go either way.

  “It’s passed the dorm curfew,” I note.

  “I got you permission ahead of time. I told them you were attending a party.”

  “Ooh, good going.”

  The street is oddly quiet.

  I glance up at the sky and catch a glimpse of the new moon shining overhead. It sort of seems…redder than usual.

  “What’s wrong?” Claire asks.

  “I feel like the moon has a red tinge to it.”

  “Does it? Looks normal to me.”

  “Maybe you’re right. Anyways, even if the moon turned red or blue or some other color, it wouldn’t really matter.”

  It definitely looks cooler red, though.

  “Oh, I guess I wasn’t finished telling you about the Blood Queen,” Claire remembers.

  “Oh, right.”

  “I assume you already know her followers have been recently venturing outside the Lawless City and causing no small amount of destruction.”

  Bold of her to assume I already know about this.

  “The affected countries have requested that the Dark Knights Guild hunt her down.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “In short, they put together a team of the finest dark knights. That said, many of them are egotistic assholes, so there’s no guarantee we’re actually going to be able to work together as a team.”

  “Huh.”

  “And that’s exactly why I’m bringing you along with me. Don’t worry, all you have to do is find somewhere safe to watch me while I do the work. Even that’ll be enough to let you put the mission on your résumé.”

  “Ah.”

  “Once we’ve padded up your job experiences, it’ll be easy to squeeze you into the Knight Order. I hit it off with the Imperial Guard’s commander at a party the other day, so if you want, I can get the ball rolling for you.”

  “Let me think about it.”

  “The mission’s going to take place over fall break. Some of the more eager ones will set out early, but there’s no need for us to rush.”

  At that moment, I catch the smell of blood in the wind. It’s pretty thick. Did someone die or something?

  My sister notices a moment later.

  “I smell blood. And it’s coming from around here.”

  She stops in her tracks, then peers into a dark alleyway.

  “Stay behind me,” she orders.

  “Got it.”

  She reaches down to her waist, grips her sword, and walks on in. I follow her, leaving a little room between us.

  As we get a little farther into the alley, we see a dark figure hunched over.

  We can make out the crunch, crunch, crunch sounds of chewing.

  Yup, someone’s dead, all right.

  “Gh…!” Claire stifles her surprised scream and draws her sword.

  The shadowy figure must have sensed her, because it turns.

  It’s a person, drenched in blood.

  No wait, not quite.

  Its eyes are bloodred, and its slack jaw is lined with jagged fangs. Crimson drool drips from its mouth onto the pavement.

  The half-eaten remains of a human corpse lie by its feet.

  “Lower your weapon and surrender peacef—!”

  “GRAAAAAAH!”

  The thing bares its fangs and launches itself at my sister.

  Its movements are closer to those of a beast than a person.

  Claire’s blade glistens in the moonlight—then slices its stomach clean through.

  “I warned you,” she growls to her bisected assailant.

  But…

  “Is it still alive…?!”

  The thing’s torso is scuttling across the ground. It reaches out and grabs Claire by the leg.

  “GRAAAAAH…”

  “That’s enough!” My sister’s sword cleaves through its neck.

  Its head rolls across the stone ground, its teeth snapping impotently against the air.

  Then, after leveling a weak glare at Claire, it eventually goes silent.

  The cloying stench of blood fills the alleyway.

  “A ghoul… Could it be, one of the Blood Queen’s…?”

  The creature had been shaped like a human, but its skin was pallid and bloodless, and its red eyes and sharp fangs caught my attention, as well.

  Furthermore, its bestial movements hinted at an incredible degree of vitality.

  However, it seemed to have completely lost its sense of reason.

  “Ghouls are vampire minions,
right?” I ask.

  Honestly, I couldn’t care less about ghouls, but vampires sound like they might be strong.

  Claire looks down and mutters, “Monsters…”

  “Sis…?”

  “Ghouls were originally humans, weren’t they…?”

  “I think so, yeah.”

  “I’ve been so scared these days, wondering if I’ll end up like them in the future. What if I become a monster, robbed of my reason…?”

  “I’m pretty sure you don’t have much in the first pl—”

  “—Quiet. Supposedly, Princess Rose was one of the ‘possessed’… It’s just a rumor, but still. I haven’t told anyone, but…I might be possessed, too…”

  “Huh? You might be possessed?”

  Does she mean that thing I healed, like, forever ago?

  “A long time ago, I found some black bruises on my back. I couldn’t tell anyone because I was so scared, but they kept spreading and getting bigger. Then, out of the blue, I got better one day. They just vanished like they were never there. ‘Thank goodness,’ I thought, ‘I’m cured.’ But when I looked into it more recently, I found possession never goes away. So if that’s what caused those black bruises, then eventually, I’ll…”

  “I’m pretty sure you have nothing to worry about.”

  You’re totally cured, after all.

  “That was a joke, silly. There’s no way I’m one of the possessed.” Claire smiles and gazes up at the night sky. “But still… There’s no guarantee I’ll be able to stick around forever… That’s why I need you to clear your schedule for fall break.”

  “Ugh…”

  “This isn’t up for discussion. I’m going to go let the Knight Order know what happened here.”

  She turns her back to me and starts marching off.

  I catch another glimpse of the sky, and sure enough, the moon really has a hint of red tonight. I kinda wanna see what these vampires are all about, and the Lawless City sounds pretty interesting, too.

  I’m sitting in my dorm room listening to Beta talk.

  Every night, after I’m done with my classes, I have my regularly scheduled Shadow Garden briefing.

  “After the incident at the Bushin Festival, Perv has been…”

  “Uh-huh.”

  After thinking over everything my sister told me, I’m really starting to get fired up about going to the Lawless City.