Chapter 206
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 206
A world where good and evil were clear-cut would be wonderful.
A beautiful world where any amount of criticism, insult, and violence was justified against those branded as evil. Just thinking about it was incredibly convenient.
In such a binary world, you wouldn't have to think too hard. You could just get drunk on a cheap, intoxicating sense of justice, single out a villain, point your fingers, and throw stones.
...Yes, it’s a childish delusion.
In reality, the boundary between good and evil is blurred. To be precise, in most situations, the distinction is so ambiguous it's practically meaningless.
'I am right, and everyone else is wrong.'
It is an incredibly shallow way of thinking. Yet, most people live with that exact mindset. I am no exception.
'I am the sole standard of righteousness.'
And by extension, they consider their family, friends, and those around them as 'righteous' as well.
But this standard is incredibly fragile. Whenever a conflict arises, people are quick to divide good and evil, branding anyone who is even slightly different from them as wicked. If you endlessly throw the word 'evil' around so lightly, eventually, everyone in the world becomes a villain.
...The self-righteousness that allows someone to label others as evil without a second thought is the most terrible evil of all. It is the self-righteous who spew the most disgusting, absolute worst venom.
'Giselle and Ilay.'
They were precious to me. I didn't want to define either of them as evil.
'But a conflict arose between the two. For some reason, Giselle didn't trust Ilay. Come to think of it, that makes sense. Ilay isn't exactly the most trustworthy guy.'
Both of them must have had their own reasons.
Between the two of them, who was more in the wrong? Who was the evil one?
If I just defined one of them as evil, my mind would be at ease. If I branded Ilay the villain here and tore into him to my heart's content, it would give me peace of mind. I could just blame this entire mess on him.
But that way of thinking is far removed from reality. Ilay and Giselle do not live in a fairy tale. They are real people caught in a complex web of cause and effect, simply praying that their judgments are correct.
"...I tried to talk to Giselle, but she shut me down every time," Ilay said, summarizing the fallout. He had lost track of me after handing me over to her. "Even when I resorted to borderline threats, it was useless. It's not like I could physically pry her mouth open."
"Giselle probably figured you were on the Emperor's side," I said dryly.
"If I were on Ivan's side, you would've fallen into his hands a long time ago," Ilay countered.
"At least, that's how it would have looked to her. Giselle is different from us. To someone like her, people like you, me, and Ivan are monsters. It must have been hard for her to be sure whose side you were really on."
At my words, Ilay picked up his resting cigar and clamped it back between his lips. A wry smirk played across his face.
"Luka, you're still so naive. You have a massive gap in your memory, don't you? How many years has it been? You must have only recently woken up and recovered from being incapacitated. If you'd been awake all those years, you would have pieced everything together by now."
Ilay's observation was razor-sharp.
'My missing years are a fatal weakness.'
Even to Ilay, I hadn't wanted to expose that vulnerability. But he had already seen right through me.
"Cut the sarcasm. If you have something to say, spit it out."
"Giselle sees us as monsters? If we're monsters, then she's right there in the cage with us. Good grief. I know your emotions are getting the better of you, but don't lose your judgment. Let me repeat: Giselle smuggled you out while deceiving both me and Ivan. Do I really need to spell out what that means?"
"No, I get it."
My reply was brief. There was no point in being petty about it.
I had to accept that Giselle had changed. While I was wandering the shores of the underworld, she had been surviving a harsh reality and moving forward. It would be stranger if she hadn't changed.
"Well, that's all I have to share for now. Luka, why don't you tell me what you've been up to?"
Ilay stopped talking. Cutting off right after Giselle's story felt a bit sly, but while it was cunning, it wasn't unfair.
"I suppose that's only fair. I..."
I traced the rim of my glass with a fingertip before speaking.
I told him about waking up in the Lazarus facility under the sponsorship of Japa Trading. I omitted the finer details but gave him the general outline.
Ilay slowly closed his eyes. After a moment of deep thought, he opened them again.
"So that's why I couldn't find you. The Lazarus facility isn't exactly a top-tier medical institution. It's closer to a research lab. I never expected Giselle to stash you there. If her goal was your treatment, there were far better options."
"Which is exactly why she chose it. There were better options, but she picked a worse one just to throw you off the scent."
"...Even if that was her play, there were still better ways to go about it. But let's put the Lazarus discussion aside for now. The fact remains that she left you there."
Ilay clearly doubted Giselle's judgment and choices.
'When it came to what was best for me, there must have been a massive divide between Giselle's and Ilay's perspectives.'
I narrowed my eyes. Ilay believed Giselle had made a mistake by dumping me in Lazarus.
I had plenty of questions of my own, but none of them could be answered until I met Giselle face-to-face.
'I don't know who Giselle is anymore.'
I only knew the version of her described through the eyes of others.
"So, to sum it up, you're tracking Kinuan with backing from Japa Trading. What about Valek's memory extraction? Don't tell me you failed. Not the great Luka."
"Save the cheap provocations. If I couldn't even manage that, I wouldn't have shown my face here. Besides, you made a rookie mistake yourself. The guy you killed wasn't Valek. It was just some vagrant using Valek's prosthetic body. Kinuan anticipated the memory extraction and left a message."
This caught Ilay off guard.
"Valek killed two of my men and fled before. He was highly skilled, so I ambushed and eliminated him without hesitation. No wonder it felt too easy..."
"Showing off his skills was likely part of the plan. He calculated that you'd launch a surprise attack without asking questions. Valek intentionally leaked that information to set the stage."
"Akies Victima is a pain in the ass in more ways than one," Ilay muttered, frowning as he took a drink.
Users of Akies Victima were notoriously difficult to deal with. That was precisely why I was the only one suited to track Kinuan. It was nearly impossible for an outsider to comprehend how an Akies Victima user's mind worked. Even if you could match their speed of thought, the fundamental difference in their perspective and worldview remained.
"Do you know anything about Mushir Al-Kashura?"
Ilay thought for a moment, then shook his head. The man apparently wasn't anyone of note within the Empire. Then again, if he was, I would have heard of him too.
'And one thing is clear. The Empire's sophisticated surveillance system is entirely insular. It doesn't extend its gaze very far into the outside world.'
The Empire—or more accurately, the Imperial Family—relied on the complex internal dynamics of the Empire to maintain its rule. Consequently, its surveillance capabilities were always focused inward.
To sustain such an extreme surveillance state, they had to adopt an isolationist, highly restrictive foreign policy.
'The more they interact with the outside world, the more uncontrollable variables they introduce. No matter how formidable the Imperial Family's reach is, they can't track every movement beyond their borders.'
The Empire viewed even nations sharing the same human ancestry as hostile states. Non-human species were rejected with outright hostility, and information regarding anything outside the Empire's borders was strictly censored.
'That's why Ivan couldn't find me. That's why Giselle stayed in Border City for so long. And that's why Ilay can sit here and talk with me.'
It all proved that the Imperial Family's reach fell dramatically short once it crossed the border.
"Kinuan left word that meeting Mushir Al-Kashura would lead to his whereabouts. You handle that lead, Ilay. I'll track down the real Valek."
"That's unlike you. Handing the primary objective of tracking Kinuan over to me?"
I chuckled.
"Kinuan wants me to meet Mushir Al-Kashura. I can feel it. It's a trap set specifically for me. That's why you have to go. We don't need to dance to his tune. Even if he anticipated this choice, it still disrupts his optimal path."
I had to throw a wrench into Kinuan's plans. I didn't expect a single decision to completely ruin his scheme.
But if I kept deviating from his predictions, even in small ways, his grand design would eventually begin to warp and fracture.
Ilay's eyes widened slightly. He stroked his smooth jaw, lost in thought.
"Fair point. I wouldn't have thought of that. Working with you is proving to be highly practical."
I took a sip of my spiked milk. It was actually starting to taste decent.
"Ilay, what exactly did Kinuan do during the Storm Era?"
I didn't expect much of an answer when I asked.
"No one knows the full story except Ivan," Ilay replied. "But one thing is certain: securing Kinuan gives us enough leverage to negotiate with Ivan on equal footing. And I'm not the only one hunting him. There are other squads on his trail. Be careful not to cross paths with them. They won't look the other way like I did."
I swallowed the question lingering on the tip of my tongue.
'Then what is your real goal, Ilay Kartika?'
Even if I asked, he wouldn't give me a straight answer. He'd just deflect with a vague smile and empty words.
We exchanged a few more pieces of information. Until we located Kinuan, our alliance would hold.
Sharing information with Ilay, who operated deep within the Empire, expanded my reach and perspective. Likewise, my assistance would make his hunt for Kinuan much easier.
"Ilay, have you made contact with Gilda?"
"I've met with her a few times, but nothing came of it. Gilda doesn't know much about our side of the world. Though it does seem she had some friction with Giselle."
"Is there a chance Gilda was involved in Giselle's disappearance?"
The Gilda I used to know would never harm Giselle. She had been a kind, gentle woman. But that was the Gilda from twelve years ago. I had to keep every possibility open.
"She seemed genuinely clueless to me. But you might see something I missed. My observation skills aren't as sharp as yours."
"Let me put it another way. Who benefited the most from Giselle's disappearance? Was it Gilda?"
Ilay paused. He sifted through the information in his mind before speaking.
"Most likely. She stabilized the company when it was on the verge of fracturing, halted their reckless expansion, and consolidated their assets. For a business that started from nothing, they've built a remarkably solid foundation."
I forced my emotions down, looking at the situation with cold, calculating logic.
Recalling Gabriel's testimony, Gilda had been backed into a corner where she had to get rid of Giselle. Even if Kinuan was pulling the strings, Gilda remained the most likely perpetrator.
Stripping away personal feelings, the prime suspect was glaringly obvious. The only person who stood to gain from Giselle's disappearance was Gilda.
"Ilay, keep an eye on Gilda. Let me know the moment she steps outside the Empire. I'll pay her a visit."
"You're going to confront her directly? Can you trust her? She might report your existence to the Empire the second she lays eyes on you."
"I'll decide that after I see her. If she can't be trusted... I'll just cut her down."
Ilay stared at me. A bitter smile formed on his lips behind a haze of cigar smoke.
"Luka, you'd better mean that. If Ivan ever finds out I let you walk... I'm dead. Once you make your decision, you have to kill her—if only for my sake. Don't go soft on me. I'll keep tabs on her. Now that her company has grown, she's bound to travel to the outskirts or beyond the border eventually."
Ilay glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Got somewhere to be?"
"I need a plausible excuse to stay in Border City. I took on a minor assignment just to buy some time. Well, this was fun, Luka. Drinks are on me. You're buying next time. I get paid surprisingly little, you know."
Ilay stood up. I let out a quiet chuckle as I watched him walk out.
Our next steps were set. I would hunt down the real Valek, who had vanished without a trace, and Ilay would search for Mushir Al-Kashura.
A cold chill crept over me.
I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Whenever my thoughts drifted too deep, anxiety always found a way to creep in.
'Sooner or later, Ilay and I will clash...'
I knew it. This was a precarious alliance. Ilay had his own agenda.
Perhaps he was risking his neck to work with me not out of friendship, but for his own personal gain. After all, I was his best tool for finding Kinuan. My thoughts were spiraling into dark territory again.
...Doubt and cynicism, yet again. You never change, Luka.