Chapter 229
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 229
When I closed my eyes, Lapis’s face floated into my mind.
Lapis.
I opened my eyes and returned to reality. The dormitory of the Handicraft Industry came into view.
Honestly, I wanted to rush to the crash site of Lapis’s aerial vehicle this very second. But I suppressed the urge and remained at the Handicraft Industry.
Rushing to the crash site won't change anything. Whoever the culprit is, they must have left a trace here.
I walked into the dormitory and quietly surveyed the empty room. This was the second suspect’s quarters.
The room of the employee who was in a major conflict with Lapis. They said he was constantly arguing with her, even outside of what I witnessed.
The room showed clear signs of a hasty departure. Drawers were left half-open, and clothes were strewn about in a messy pile.
Suppressing my simmering fury, I began to search the room.
Whir, whirrrr.
Son Seok-jae, fresh from emergency treatment, appeared behind me. He wore an exoskeletal walking brace on one side to support his broken leg.
“...That was a brutally thorough interrogation. I really thought I was going to die. It’s also the first time I’ve pissed myself since I was fifteen.”
Son Seok-jae spoke as he came to stand beside me. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his side where my Grakken Boot had pierced him.
He must have been loaded with painkillers, but his determination to move despite his injuries was impressive. Son Seok-jae wasn't a soldier; he should have been highly sensitive to pain.
“I have no intention of apologizing. Regardless of who the culprit is, this happened on the grounds of the Handicraft Industry. You were a reasonable suspect.”
The aerial vehicle carrying Lapis Lazuli had exploded. If a bomb was planted, it must have been done while she was here.
“It was a situation where I deserved to be suspected. But if I’m not the culprit…”
“One of your employees has vanished. He's the prime suspect. And if he’s the culprit, the responsibility still lies with you and the Handicraft Industry.”
“My subordinates do have a tendency to… act on their own without my orders, I suppose.”
Son Seok-jae sighed, his voice lacking confidence. Even after I had pushed him to the brink of death, he still chose to stand by my side.
If I had delayed threatening him, it would have been difficult to discern his true intentions. If I’d given a man of his caliber time to think, I would have been plagued by doubt.
Had Son Seok-jae been given any breathing room to deceive me, reading his mind would have been nearly impossible. That was why, the moment the accident occurred, I gave him no time to think and immediately resorted to violence. Thanks to that, I was able to quickly confirm he wasn't the culprit.
“Hey, does anyone know where Assistant Manager Oh is? Has anyone seen him?” Son Seok-jae asked three employees and his secretary, who seemed to be his closest aides.
The whispering grew louder. They contacted various people on his orders, but no satisfactory answer came back.
“Give me Assistant Manager Oh’s personal information. I’ll look for him myself.”
“The Assistant Manager Oh I know isn't someone who would do something like this. He has a foul mouth, but he’s surprisingly soft-hearted…”
I cut Son Seok-jae off.
“People don’t act based on what others believe of them. Just because you think he’s that kind of person doesn’t make it true.”
But honestly, I didn’t think Assistant Manager Oh was the culprit either. There had to be someone else behind this.
Perhaps the real culprit has already kidnapped and killed Assistant Manager Oh.
If Lapis was the target, it had to be because of Mushir Al-Kashura's data.
“We’ll look for Assistant Manager Oh on our end as well.”
Son Seok-jae showed no ill will, despite the brutal treatment he’d received from me.
Does he think I’m that useful to him?
He had already obtained Mushir Al-Kashura’s remains through me.
Yet he’s still maintaining this goodwill. That means there’s more he wants from me.
I narrowed my eyes.
Beep.
My terminal rang. It was a call from Japa.
…It seemed I would soon find out if Lapis was alive or dead.
* * *
Beep… beep… beep…
The intermittent sound of a life support monitor echoed through the hospital room.
I stared through the glass window at Lapis on the hospital bed. She was so heavily wrapped in bandages that her blue skin was barely visible. One of her arms and one of her legs had been amputated.
“She barely survived. It’s thanks to the Equesians. They did everything they could to protect her,” Japa said from beside me. His usual soft tone was gone, replaced by a rigid, simmering anger.
“For having done ‘everything they could,’ those Equesians look perfectly fine,” I said, casting a sideways glance. The two Equesians who had been in the vehicle with Lapis were standing right there, looking "perfectly fine."
Of course, by "perfectly fine," I meant they were at least able to walk.
The Equesians had also suffered severe injuries; angry red burns ran in long lines across their skin. For a human, their condition would have been considered critical. But thanks to their high pain tolerance and tenacious vitality, Equesians could remain active even with grievous wounds.
“I don’t understand your implication, Mr. Luka. Do they look fine to you? The explosion just happened to occur right near where Lapis was sitting. For a Tarpa, whose body is inherently fragile, to take the brunt of the blast… it was impossible for her to escape unscathed. It was unavoidable.”
“So the explosion just ‘happened’ to be closest to where Lapis was sitting?” I said quietly, my eyes still fixed on the hospital room. Lapis was in critical condition, barely clinging to life. If they removed her respirator, she would die.
“...If you have something to say, there’s no need to be indirect.”
“It’s simple. I suspect everyone. That includes you, Japa. If something happens to Lapis, you stand to gain from it too.”
“Gain? That is utterly absurd.”
Japa showed clear displeasure. I ignored it and continued.
“The aerial vehicle exploded the moment it left the Handicraft Industry. The first thing I did was suspect Son Seok-jae. You know my personality—you knew I would react violently. If I had concluded that the Handicraft Industry was the culprit, it would have been the best-case scenario for you. Even if it didn't go that far, it would still drive a wedge between me and them.”
The attack on Lapis could easily sour my relationship with the Handicraft Industry. If Japa was behind it, that would be his motive.
“Do you truly think I would put Lapis Lazuli in critical condition for such a trivial reason?”
“It’s a possibility. If they were after the data, they would have used a more definitive method. In any case, Lapis survived, and the data will end up with Japa Trading anyway. Ah, and if the data is the target, there might be more attacks. You’d better tighten security. Deploy En.”
“I will handle security myself. And in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t joined hands with the Handicraft Industry. I clearly warned you that they were bad news. Can you say for certain that this wasn’t President Son’s doing?”
“From what I saw, it wasn’t Son Seok-jae,” I answered firmly.
“Hoyot, hoyot. How amusing, Mr. Luka. You’re certain it wasn’t Son Seok-jae, yet you suspect me?”
Japa took a step back from me.
“You were the one who broke our trust first by hiding crucial information, Japa. So, when do I get to see Paolo Quan’s legacy? I’ll tell you right now, Kinuan isn’t far off. If you had cooperated properly from the start, things would have been much easier.”
“You’re really going to bring up Paolo Quan’s legacy while you’re still suspecting me? I feel like pulling my brain out of my skull just to show you what I’m thinking. To think you’d even put me on the list of suspects for this.”
Japa seemed deeply offended. But that, too, could be an act.
I was able to corner Son Seok-jae before he had time to think. But Japa has had plenty of time to compose himself and shield his mind. When it comes to Lapis, Japa is harder to trust than Son Seok-jae.
It was a rational judgment made by process of elimination. My intuition told me Son Seok-jae was innocent. If he wasn't? Then I was the biggest fool in the world, and I would willingly bow my head and apologize to Japa.
“You’ve tested me time and again by withholding information. And even if they were your enemies, you stabbed your own family in the back and swallowed them whole. Objectively speaking, you aren’t a trustworthy sponsor. You’re someone who could slit my throat at any moment. You killed my predecessors, after all.”
Emotionally, I felt drawn to Japa. But it was hard to tell whether that feeling stemmed from the bond we had built, or if I was simply captivated by Japa’s charisma as a merchant.
If I’m just taken in by his unique charisma, I’ll end up being used and killed.
Japa’s vertical pupils narrowed and widened. Having regained his composure, he flicked his tongue and tapped his fingernails together, a familiar habit.
“You make a fair point, Mr. Luka. It seems I also grew emotional because of Lapis. Let us both act rationally from now on.”
I desperately suppressed a sarcastic remark. There was no reason to provoke Japa further.
“…Let’s wrap this up. If this attack was targeting the data, there might be a follow-up. As I said, tighten security.”
“I will deploy En.”
“This has nothing to do with my original mission… but I’m going to find the person who planted that bomb. We’ll talk about Paolo Quan’s legacy after that. Have everything ready by then.”
“That is the best news I’ve heard today. If we were to let this matter slide and move on, the friction between us would become unbearable.”
I felt that friction every time we spoke. A little was fine. Sometimes, a bit of play in the gears could correct a misalignment. But it would be a problem for me, too, if our relationship fractured completely.
“I suspected you because I couldn’t rule out any possibilities. I know the probability of you being the culprit is low. However, because I confirmed Son Seok-jae’s innocence with my own eyes, I had no choice but to question you.”
I took a small step back. Japa, as if accepting my peace offering, adopted a much softer attitude.
“I do not view your rough behavior today in an entirely negative light. Above all, seeing you act so proactively for Lapis’s sake brings me peace of mind. You are… similar to Kinuan, and yet a different person.”
I was different from Kinuan. That was true. Clearly different.
If it were Kinuan, he wouldn't have moved with such overt anger. He would have maintained that faint smile while orchestrating even greater chaos. He would have blurred the lines between friend and foe until everyone had no choice but to rely on him.
“Lapis is a highly skilled prosthetic mechanic. It’s hard to find someone of her caliber in Border City. She’s also the one who built my prosthetic body. Her well-being is directly linked to my combat survival. It’s only natural that I’d look for the culprit,” I replied coldly.
It was a bad habit of mine. The obsession that emotions like sympathy and compassion were weaknesses still ruled me. I didn’t want others to see me as a kind person. I wanted them to see me as rough, violent… that type of person.
Sometimes, being hated felt more comfortable than being treated with kindness. It was proof of my own unhealthy state of mind.
I turned to leave.
“Mr. Luka.”
Japa called out to me, flicking his tongue. I turned back and waited.
“Once you make contact with Paolo Quan’s legacy… you will know everything about me. I apologize for testing you all this time. From now on, I will offer you my unquestioning support and trust. When that time comes, I hope you won’t keep any secrets from me either. In any way.”
Secrets. A few immediately came to mind. My recent contact with Kinuan, my periodic communications with Ilay…
“…I’ll try.”
“Though many things have happened, I believe you are a man of principle. That is why, as a person, I quite like you.”
A sudden chill ran down my spine.
“That…”
“…Hoyooot, please do not misunderstand. It is not in that sense, so you can rest easy. I know better than anyone that you do not view me as a woman, Mr. Luka.”
I felt my pounding heart settle back into place as I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.