Become the Mastermind Volume 1 Chapter 1 – Literature Localizer Meerkat

The Ko-fi goal has been reached! As promised, this novel from the request page is getting translated into English.

Chapter 1

[Artesia Eisenhud, Age 316]

[After fulfilling her duty as the head of the noble family that supported the Empire, she sleeps.]

Those words engraved on her gravestone.

Gazing at her name and that epitaph–

“No matter how many times I look, it seems like a joke to me.”

Standing before the grave with his head bowed, the young man in his late twenties – Kurtz speaks towards the gravestone.

“I’m sure Lady Artesia would have nodded in agreement with my words.”

The grave of his lord who passed away ten years ago.

Kurtz had once served a certain woman.

That woman possessed magic that transcended the laws of causality itself, and as the head of the Eisenhud Duchy, she had protected the Empire, her household, and many others for over three hundred years.

And yet–

“I cannot forgive those who killed Lady Artesia.”

The official records state that Artesia died of illness.

But the truth was different.

After Lady Artesia’s death, the situation in the Empire changed drastically.

In just ten short years, the balance of power on the continent was redrawn, and through the leadership of the ducal families that were the pillars of the Empire, all nations were brought under its rule.

The swiftness and systematic nature of these movements, which seemed to be triggered by his lord’s death, led Kurtz to have doubts about her death and conduct an investigation.

And he discovered that Artesia had been assassinated by the masterminds behind it all.

“I have no more attachments to a world without Lady Artesia.”

After bowing his head again towards the gravestone, Kurtz begins walking towards the groundskeeper’s hut.

Entering the ramshackle hut that looked ready to collapse at any moment, he picks up an old teacup from the table.

The Eisenhud Duchy had the tricorn flower as their family crest.

And…the cup Kurtz held contained an infusion of that very same flower.

It was more than enough poison to kill him instantly upon drinking it.

“With this, I can finally join Lady Artesia’s world.”

Kurtz smiles faintly, then adds:

“For I have spent ten long years preparing for this moment.”

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He forcefully steps through the floorboards beneath his feet.

Stairs leading underground and a crude passageway dug into the earth.

It was an escape route to exit the hut without being detected, as well as an entrance to the abandoned underground tomb that had been partially excavated as part of his plan.

And what was contained in that underground tomb chamber were not the remains of the dead.

Clothing favored by nobles, ethnic attire worn by merchants from various nations, commoners’ everyday wear, tattered rags of the impoverished poor – all outfits Kurtz had prepared to disguise himself and investigate related locations.

But that was not all.

Another room contained eavesdropping devices to listen in on conversations through walls and floors, telescopes to identify people’s faces from great distances, forged seals and crests of famous nobles, piles of old newspapers and books cut out and scattered about in overflowing heaps.

In preparation for this day, Kurtz had gathered all kinds of intelligence.

What intentions drove the masterminds who killed Artesia?

What preparations had they made?

Who were the key people and parties involved?

After investigating all of that – the necessary personnel, materials, conditions, circumstances, developments – everything required to prevent Artesia’s death, he had formulated his intricate plan.

“I will not let the magic Lady Artesia left me in her final moments go to waste.”

With a faint smile towards the teacup, Kurtz slowly raises his head.