Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter's Hero Dream - Chapter 238

Chapter 238 Key of the Earth
Part 1
　Cleat city-center. In one of the “Nine-Tails Shadow Fox’s (Kyubi no Kage)” bases, Gaff nodded in satisfaction at his subordinates’ results.

　His wild appearance couldn’t be seen because he was a bit tired from his series of daily missions, but his eyes were *kirakira* shining brightly.

“Well done. This should satisfy the Boss.” (Gaff)

　A special order given by the Boss. Neutralization of multiple organizations.
　It was a difficult mission to carry out in parallel with the original mission. In the first place, the eradication targets included organizations that were supposed to be used for the original mission.

　The “Fox (Kitsune)” works in the shadows and keeps his own hands clean. Secrecy is maintained because it is done with a minimum number of people.
　Gaff was forced to change his plan, which was the result of meticulous planning.

　However, he did it. No matter which criminal organizations they are, they cannot ignore the “Fox’s (Kitsune)” call.
　We lured them in and sometimes we went over there, and by doing that, most of the key members of the major organizations fell into our hands.

　Gaff does not know what benefits it would bring to the organizations by crushing those organizations, but there are surely some plans behind this.

　This puts him, a seventh-tails, Gaff Shenfelder, the 『Thief King (Tozoku Ou)』 one step ahead of his fellow members of the same rank.
　I was surprised when the Boss showed me his real face, but it is not so bad if I consider it a sign of trust.

　I have matured through all the various missions I have had so far. For someone who had once led a large group of bandits, scheming is one of Gaff’s specialties.
　But now, Gaff felt a stronger sense of accomplishment than ever before.

　So far, unexpected things have rarely occurred. That is something to be proud of, but immediately containing an accident is also a testament to one’s skill too.
　One of my subordinates. The man who worked a lot as Gaff’s right-hand man says in a flat voice.

“But as expected of someone directly reporting to the Boss, what a great skill. …… Although I don’t want to get caught in their rampage……” (Gaff right-hand man)

“…… Manipulating people like his limbs also shows his strength. The powerful have their share of nastiness, big or small.” (Gaff)

　I managed to follow up, but the people who were working directly for the Boss and were left in my care were the worst I had ever seen, even though I had seen many troublesome people in my life.

　Arbitrary behavior was the norm for them. They slay those whom they have been instructed not to slay, leave their post if they find a criminal with a Relic on them, they will rob the criminals, and do whatever they want.
　The “Fox (Kitsune)” is supposed to be a secret organization, but their behavior showed no intention of staying secret. How could they have not been discovered yet?

　As for the fox which seemed to be Touka and the fox which seemed to be 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》, they do not listen to Gaff and his subordinates, also, the fox that seemed to be Touka only does the work they were assigned and nothing more and even try to charge us fees.
　Moreover, the fox which seemed to be 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 was even yelling his name out loud in front of the enemies. Still, they were better as they weren’t rampaging……

　It is the end of the world because even these people are as strong or stronger than Gaff’s best subordinates.

“For better or worse, Mana Material has a stronger influence on the strong-willed ones……” (Gaff)

　That’s why Gaff, who was hostile to every nation and possessed charisma and skills, became stronger. That was why those unruly people were so strong.
　A person with a strong will is a difficult person to deal with, so to speak. I bow down to the Boss who can bring together members with such strong habits without a care in the world. If this mission goes well, the mask will be handed over to Gaff, but I am not confident that I can make those people stay in line.

　At any rate, the reason why Gaff and his team were able to so swiftly destroy the criminal organization this time was because of the power of the unit directly under the Boss’s command.
　Without those guys, we would not have enough strength. There would have been holes in our net.

　It has always been Gaff’s bad habit to try to get by with the minimum number of personnel required.

　Maybe the Boss had anticipated Gaff’s weakness. I should make a plan in order to be able to respond to sudden missions the next time they come up.

“I am sure Plan X would be alright if we leave it to the others. Don’t cut corners on Plan A either. This is a large-scale, 『Fox (Kitsune)』 operation.” (Gaff)

“Yes, of course. As we haven’t received an order to cancel it.” (Gaff’s right-hand man)

　Gaff smiled deeply, as his subordinate narrowed his eyes at him.
　When the “Fox (Kitsune)” causes an incident, the vast majority of those incidents end with the mastermind being unknown. But this time the plan is different.

　Plan A is an unprecedented scale operation, a “Fox (Kitsune)” operation. With this operation, the “Fox (Kitsune)” will mark its name in history.
　We’ve built up our strength. The time for hiding underground is over.

　It signified the arrival of a new era.

　Suddenly, I remembered a colleague I had once worked with――《Still Water (Shisui)》 who had the same number of tails as me.
　My robust arms, my fingers, trembled. This was not from fear. This was me trembling――From excitement.

　《Still Water (Shisui)》 was a terrifying Magi.
　He had enormous magical power and experience. With his social standing, he was unrivaled when it came to assassinating human opponents.

　A powerful Magi is a precious being. Therefore, despite Gaff and 《Still Water (Shisui)》 having the same number of tails, the quality of their missions was different.
　I was not informed of this until after the incident, but it seems that this plan was originally supposed to begin with the assassination of the Emperor by 《Still Water (Shisui)》.

　However, he got the rug pulled from under him. 《Still Water (Shisui)》 failed.

　The details of what happened did not come down to me.
　Officially, the assassination was prevented by 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 but since 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 is an ally, this information must have been tampered with in some way.

　But that doesn’t matter.

“《Still Water (Shisui)》 failed. But it’ll be different with me――” (Gaff)

　The plan is proceeding almost without a hitch. We even have the help of the Boss. If this fails, it would only mean――That I wasn’t worth it.