Breaking the silence was a laugh, one that sounded quite unpleasant if I may add
''heh, I was wondering what kind of nonsense you would spout once I heard you called a meeting, but this is on a whole other level''
The middle-aged crime boss and one of the five ruling heads said with a rather twisted look on his face
'' let me make things clear because it seems that becoming head has given you an even larger ego, I don't know what kind of scam you're planning but if you think you can trick us then yo....''
'' I will swear on my mana''
I decided to end the blabbering quickly
'' what ...''
''this is no scam, and I am not here to play games
I will create a mana binding contract to honour our deal, after all that is how it is and always has been in the underworld hasn't "
Having said so a grave silence seized the area
''You are actually serious about this aren't you'' he said looking flabbergasted
''Fine then if you want to lose it all so much then I'll make sure to be at the estate by next week to finalize the terms of the contract you better not run away''
Saying so he swiftly disconnected from the call.
'' Now then what about you will you also attend next week ''
I asked the remaining four knowing full well their answer
'' well now I don't see why not, this might turn out more fun than expected'' said one of the remaining heads, a middle-aged woman who hid her face behind a veil.
''I truly hope you won't disappoint'' she said finally before leaving.
looking at the crystal the remaining three simply gave a brief nod stating that they will attend before disconnecting themselves, and like that I was left alone on the meeting staring blankly on the screen.
-----
A well dressed and kind looking old man soon stepped in to the office
with a small frame, white hair and a hunched back he looked like typical neighbourhood grandpa and was none other than the current head butler of this household
'' Are you truly going to go with this master '' he finally said
''Well I don't have much a choice right now albert it is either I successfully recreate the pact with the forces of the underworld or we let them go and fear retaliation for the rest of our lives''
Originally while Nicholos was incompetent the pact was maintained through the fact that the 5 heads were the actual ruling power while he was a clueless puppet dancing on their string
in the end they simply cut ties when he was caught by the protagonists
such a scenario cannot go through this time, which is why I need to make them work for me, to consolidate my power and stop any information about our household from leaking to the outside
''they might use underhanded methods'' Albert suddenly said bringing me out of my rumination
'' Isn't that why you are here'' I said with a playful grin '' who would dare do anything with the reaper of the arcane right there''
'' while that may be true we don't know the true extent that they may go to''
with a pause that seemed as if he was hesitant to say something he continued
''they might even have a contract with a demon''
Hearing that grave tone of his I sat silently thinking of what he said
indeed, in this world there are beings known as demons interdimensional beings that appeared one day and waged war over humanity
That threat was the cause of the creation the of the Grand Xenith Academy the top institution in the continent and the stories main centre stage
It also caused the creation a law stating that all nobles must attend there for education the latest being when they reach of age (19 years old) so that they can be of benefit to the empire for when the demon wages war
This law was what had forced the original Nicholos to go even with his position as head of his household and is where the majority of the novels story takes place later on
'' You don't have to be so stiff the previous heads death at the hands of demons was simply a lack of better judgement I don't plan to go out the same way'' I said in a mocking tone knowing full well Nicholos's hatred for his father
Watching me like Albert simply stared at me for a few seconds before he excused himself and left quietly not a hint of emotion spreading onto his face
-----
Even after Albert had left I stayed seated for a couple more minutes before finally allowing myself to truly relax
Out of everyone who I feared it was none other than Albert who scared me the most
he was loyalist of the arcane family who had served them for three generations and also a monster who is currently the strongest in this household
If he ever comes to realize that I am not the original Nicholos then my death would be decided right then and there
which is why I have been talking arrogantly and even talked lightly about the death of the previous head
Luckily, I have Nicholos's memories so I can at least act the part
and as for later on I can slowly change the way I act so that no one would get suspicious
But for now, I'll have to go around speaking harshly to maids and walking with a bottle of booze.
' Couldn't I have been reborn in a slice of life instead ' to that I could only lament
-----
Having returned to my I room I decided to check of something that was essential to all transmigrators
Burying my shame, I shouted
''SYSTEM''
''...''
' Damn it all '
My face burned red
' couldn't you have at least given me a status window or something '
At that thought a sudden chime wrang in my ear
''Ding''
and suddenly a blue interface appeared in front of me
---------------------------------------
status
Name: Nicholos Arcane
Gender: Male
Titles: Head of The Arcane / scoundrel of the noble circles
Stamina: E-
Strength: E
Intelligence: B
Willpower: A
Mana: E-
Mana sensitivity: F
Charm: C
Mana Reserves: 110/110
Elemental affinity darkness: Darkness
skills:
Darkness coating
The ability to coat yourselves in darkness to increase power, speed, durability and stamina
short term shadow teleportation
The ability to teleport 5m from where you are standing at any direction
------------------------------
Any joy that I might have had for the floating screen disappeared as fast as it came
Seeing the stats and descriptions on the status window I could only lament in despair
Then slowly I turned my head to look at the bottle perched upon my desk
' It seems like I won't be faking it tonight at least'