The quest for five stars had come to an unfortunate end.
'I thought it would be easy, but I never thought it would be this easy....'
Vikir was just about to turn away in disbelief when Hugo stopped him.
"Hey. Son, since you've been home for so long, why don't you get yourself a 'promotion'?"
One of Vikir's eyebrows twitched as Hugo spoke soothingly to the Pomeranian.
"Promotion. Literally, an increase in rank within the House.
"From now on, I will appoint you as a 'Senator'."
It was Hugo, making such a huge statement seem so casual.
"...."
Vikir was silent for a moment.
What is a Senator?
Beneath the Senate and above the House of Representatives, the backbone of power, capable of carrying countless hounds.
Unlike the House of Representatives, who are primarily responsible for the affairs of the House, Senators are also responsible for affairs outside of the House, and are granted enormous power to fulfill their duties.
In fact, a senator's only consolation is his or her family name.
Of course, in reality, it's also the seventh counts and the senate, so considering that the throne of power and the Seven Counts, which is the fifth position in the Baskerville family's hierarchy, are also in the same senatorial rank, and the Senator is an honorary position for those who have retired from active service, the senators can be said to be the highest power in the family.
"Probably, even if you look back at the family's history for about a hundred years, you're the youngest senator."
"Thank you. I'll do my best."
At Hugo's words, Vikir nodded silently.
Hugo might have been a little silly after Pomeranian showed up, but he was still a determined man.
Hugo had promoted Vikir to Senator, but he had also thought about his future duties.
"You're a senator, but for the time being, you're free to roam as you are now. Your title is still 'Provincial Correspondent'."
Currently, Vikir was known within Baskerville as a 'special agent' rather than an 'academy student'.
Unlike the Highbro, Midbro, and Lowbro, who were actually traveling to the Imperial Family to study, Vikir was tasked with identifying and secretly assassinating forces hostile to the Baskervilles in the Imperial Family.
The 'student at the Colosseo Academy' status is merely one of the agent's cover stories.
Hugo continued.
"I will extend your assignment for as long as you wish. However, if you feel your work is done, return to your family and assume your duties. The position of Magistrate of Underdog City is still vacant."
"Yes."
And so, at the age of 18, Vikir officially became a Senator, a member of the House.
As the backbone of power, the Senator enjoys a number of privileges.
For starters, he could appoint eight aides at his discretion, without reporting.
Once appointed, an aide is officially recognized as a member of the House of Baskerville and can take the Baskerville surname. Of course, it is not impossible to have more than eight aides, but they must report to and receive permission from the House.
Aides can be taught up to four levels of Baskerville-style swordsmanship and are provided with all medical, ceremonial, and state accommodations.
They receive a generous salary, a vehicle, all transportation expenses paid, tax exemption, selection of knights and a host of other privileges, including the ability to view imperial military secrets of the second level and above, and the right to recruit civilians for wartime service.
They can also command their own conscripted or demobilized troops, which means they can form their own armed forces.
Now that Vikir is a senator, he can form his own task force (TF).
Of course, he already has a few people lined up.
'I'll start by recruiting Cindiwendy, Chihuahua, and Minpin....'
The addition of the economically savvy Cindiwendy, the administrative master Chihuahua, and Minpin, a master of terrain and monster ecology, as well as a bit of brute force, would be a great addition to the team.
'And there's plenty of talent among the natives of Jungle.'
The first thing that came to mind was Aiyen's face.
Her archery skills, shooting mosquitoes from hundreds of feet away.
There are many other warriors and shamans in the jungle that would shock the empire.
Vikir closed his eyes and pictured the events in his mind far into the future.
'First, Cindiwendy, I'll need her help soon.'
Vikir had always refused her help when it came to money, but Vikir knew that the time would come when he would need her funds.
It was the intuition of a veteran hunter.
Then Hugo broke Vikir's reverie.
"So. Have you made any progress in the Imperial Capital?"
Vikir gave Hugo the answer he'd been expecting.
"As I reported. In the last quarter, I've eliminated a total of 174 people, over the course of three quarters: the customs faction that falsely reported to the Emperor that the Baskervilles were plotting a birthmark, the Outer House faction that tried to dry up the Baskervilles' money stream through embezzlement and tax evasion, and key figures in the Intelligence Guild that tried to steal military secrets from the Baskervilles. All of them were either killed by old age, accidental death, assassination by other hostile forces, or disappearance, and of course, there were no trails."
Of course, those 174 people were all in league with the demons.
Vikir hadn't laid a finger on those who weren't in league with the demons, but simply antagonized the Baskervilles.
Still, it was an accomplishment.
Hugo smiled wryly and nodded. Then he added an odd note at the end.
"Other than that."
"?"
"You're at the Academy, aren't you?"
Hugo's subtle gaze lingered on Vikir.
"Do you have a girlfriend within the academy?"
"??"
"I've seen other families' sons go to the Academy and have relationships. That's why it's called CC."
"????"
Vikir frowned slightly.
But Hugo only chuckled.
"I think Osiris has a woman he's seeing, but he never seems to get his tail between his legs, and when I ask, he never answers. That's why I wonder when I will see my grandchildren."
"...."
"You should do the same. Marrying early is the answer."
Vikir felt the hairs on his neck stand up because this side of Hugo was so unfamiliar.
It was so different from what he remembered from his previous life that it felt foreign.
So Vikir quickly changed the subject.
" ... By the way. What happened to my request?"
"Hmm. Washing the past."
Hugo stroked his neatly braided beard.
Vikir had once asked Hugo to erase his past before he left for the Academy.
He had asked Hugo to erase any trace of Vikir's existence as a hound of the Baskervilles, such as the statue at Red Fang Castle.
"Even so, the rumors of your return were under tight control. From what I've seen of public opinion, the 'survival and return of Vikir Van Baskerville' is being treated as a hoax created by the Baskervilles for the sake of bluffing."
Vikir nodded at Hugo's words.
Many of the Baskervilles' hounds come and go in the blink of an eye.
So many are born, so many die.
Of course, with the arrival of Vikir and the change in Hugo's personality, such drastic changes no longer occur, but Vikir is still mentioned in passing in that brief moment of change.
Commendations received from the imperial family were also distributed in hundreds or thousands of pieces a year, and weren't awards originally remembered only by the person who received them and quickly forgotten by others?
Though the people of Underdog City still miss and honor Vikir, it doesn't bother him much.
"...I suppose my past has been wiped clean, at least for now."
"It is. We have special agents working on it now, so you don't have to worry about being unmasked by rumors anymore. Well, some of the loudmouths have already been eliminated."
Hugo left it up to Vikir's discretion as to whether or not to continue to conceal the Baskervilles' identity, and when to reveal it.
It seemed to be a fitting end to his promotion to Senator.
"Samchun!"
...if it weren't for Pomeranian who had suddenly burst into the conversation.
"I'm going to take this!"
Vikir looked down at Pomerian's hands, searching for something.
Pomerian was holding a small book.
.
Pomeranian flipped through the pages and opened to a chapter.
It was an old myth, one that no one believed anymore, one that had been lost to history.
A book about the life of 'Morg Tzersi', one of the distant ancestors of the House of Morg.
Pomeranian showed Vikir one of the illustrations in the section.
It depicted a blackened, dead tree.
'Wraith Tree', a legendary artifact that black mages could only dream of.
It was about a strange tree that was planted by Tzersi, a master of magic.
"Close creeper!"
Pomeranian looked up at Vikir, his eyes glowing.
Feeling uneasy, Vikir turned his head slightly, and there was Hugo, his eyes shining.
"I don't know what it is, but bring it to me, son."
"...."
"I wish I could go myself, but I am currently engaged in a nerve war with Morg and cannot leave."
Currently, the Morg is busy due to the change in the leadership of the Dark Hall.
For the Baskervilles, it was an opportunity to capitalize on the chaos and expand their power.
Hugo threw something at Vikir.
…POP!
It was the Black Whistle, a terrifying object that could command the entirety of Baskerville's military power.
Vikir was taken aback by the unexpectedness of the situation, but Hugo was serious.
"I'll give you the entire Knights Order if you need it. Go and get what Pomeranian wants. Ah, I guess that can replace the scroll quest."
Vikir sighed softly.
Does Hugo even know what this is and want me to bring it?
'The Wraith Tree is a real artifact.'
And even Vikir knew where it was located, thanks to his pre-regression memories.
'It's surprisingly close to the Baskerville estate, and it's a place I've been meaning to visit anyway, because....'
Vikir is practicing the 7th Baskerville Teeth.
The hint of the next level was there.
So it's a place I've been meaning to visit during my visits home.
'The level next to the Sword Master. And where the clues to the Baskerville Form 8 lie.'
I was going to investigate anyway, and now that I've taken over House Baskerville's military power, it's only fair.
I've already solved the quest for the scroll, and now all that's left to do is to meet with Decarabia the 7th Corpse, but it would be nice to have a clue about the 8th Form before then.
After all, Pomeranian is a pot belly.
"Then I'll be on my way."
Vikir patted Pomeranian on the head and turned away.
Quick Victory
I planned to finish everything in three days and return to the academy.