Chapter 70
Chapter: 70
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 70
>Chapter Title: The Psychic Crystal (1)
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>When Sir Leandroth first visited him, Sungjin had thought he might have to start working at the Monster Task Force the very next day.
But pulling together the budget to launch the new department, securing office space, staffing it up, and setting operational policies was still a long way off.
On top of that, the Holy Emperor's birthday celebration was right around the corner. Sir Valery, the Inquisitor, explained that it would likely be after the celebration before the department could properly operate.
"So, Sir Valery. Where exactly are we headed now?"
"To the Monster Task Force's temporary office, Your Highness. A suitable empty space just opened up in the administrative annex."
Sir Valery was a new Inquisitor in the Holy Marthius Knights, a handsome man with flaming red hair. He was already slated to join the task force as soon as it launched.
Sungjin hadn't been thrilled about his first impression, given past friction with the Holy Marthius Knights. But surprisingly, chatting with him revealed a likable young man.
"Why drag Your Highness to a place that's not even properly set up yet? Hm?"
Masine, following behind Sungjin, growled the question.
Ever since Sungjin decided to join the task force, he'd been like this—itching to pick a fight over anything.
"Sir Masine. I told Sir Sharon first that I'd come to the office."
"But Your Highness, this was something they could have called you to the Pearl Palace for..."
"You know better than anyone how tricky it is for a holy knight to enter the Pearl Palace."
"......"
Sir Sharon was an exorcist set to join the Monster Task Force.
She'd visited the Pearl Palace once for work-related matters, but Sungjin had seen the complicated approval process and decided to come himself next time.
"Haha. It's actually pretty well put together, Sir Masine. Sharon and I have been coming here every day."
Fortunately, Sir Valery was sociable enough to brush off the veiled threat with a laugh.
"We're holding out on purpose to keep the office unoccupied. If we squat here long enough, it'll probably become official unless something major happens."
The cheeky redheaded Inquisitor winked at Sungjin.
"The main building has too many prying eyes. But we can't be too far if we want to handle paperwork smoothly. This spot's perfect."
The office was a bit cramped, but it had a cozy charm.
Sir Valery added with a hearty laugh.
The administrative buildings clustered together on the western side of the imperial palace.
Unlike the dazzling white main palace, these were stately structures mostly built of red brick.
Ivy blanketing the walls blended with well-manicured garden trees, giving the illusion of strolling through an old university campus.
As Sungjin looked around curiously, Sir Valery asked with a puzzled expression.
"Is this your first time in the administrative district, Your Highness?"
"Hm, probably. First time since my fever."
"Ah, I see."
Sir Valery nodded as if it made sense.
Sungjin, meanwhile, felt a fresh shock.
Come to think of it, wasn't wandering outside the palace a problem?
Had he ever visited anywhere else in the palace besides the Pearl Palace and the main palace?
Not even Amelia's Silver Rose Palace or Empress Elizabeth's Ruby Palace!
*I've been cooped up in the Pearl Palace too much...!*
[...You just realizing that now?]
The Demon King let out a incredulous chuckle at Sungjin's epiphany.
The Monster Task Force office was on the second floor of the administrative annex.
As the group entered, Sir Sharon—a holy knight in a dark gray uniform—stood from her seat to greet them.
"I've been waiting, Your Highness."
Sir Sharon was a veteran exorcist from the Holy Terbakia Knights.
She was a woman so tall most men would have to look up at her, with raven-black hair and thick dark circles that looked years in the making.
Her gaunt, shadowy impression resembled dried branches—and oddly echoed her captain, Sir Leandroth.
*Do people who deal with demons long-term all end up looking like that?*
"Thank you for gracing our humble task force office, Your Highness. I don't know how to express my gratitude that someone like me benefits from your consideration. I truly don't know where to put myself."
Her voice trembled thinly, mismatched to her build. She couldn't even meet his eyes while speaking.
Sungjin had thought so before—she seemed to have terribly low self-esteem.
"No need, Sir Sharon. We'll be seeing each other often, so it's only right I get familiar with the department. So, what should I do now? Just share what I know about monsters?"
"Yes. We brought you on board to consult on monsters, Your Highness. I offer my deepest thanks again for graciously accepting."
"No need for talk of generosity."
"Would you mind waiting a moment? First, please explain the Digory Manor incident in detail. It'll go into the official task force records, so the paperwork will take some time. Heh heh."
Even as Masine shot her a menacing glare from the side, she calmly gathered her writing tools with utter nonchalance.
*Maybe she's bolder than she looks.*
Sungjin sat down and spent a good while explaining the Bantra Moss to her.
The approximate time for eggs to mature, larva and pupa traits, adult traits, weaknesses for each.
And most crucially, the Bartosi—their channeling organs.
Of course, Sungjin knew all the knowledge needed to hunt monsters, but the Demon King—who loved meddling—helped systematize it.
[And that too. Did you know the factor turning larvae into pupae isn't nutrient intake, but the number of individuals? That's why Bantra Moss sizes vary so wildly—their victims come in all sizes...]
'Hey, that's enough. It's not like we're writing a thesis.'
Meanwhile, Sir Sharon nodded steadily, scribbling down Sungjin's words.
Not a hint of doubt about the info's authenticity showed in her demeanor, which made Sungjin suddenly curious.
*Why isn't she asking any questions?*
Now Sungjin wondered if some gag order from above was in play.
But even if so, blindly trusting like this was another matter.
"Aren't you curious about the source of my information, Sir Sharon?"
She pulled her lips into a strange "Heh heh heh" laugh.
"How could I dare."
"No, you'd have to be curious, right?"
"No, I trust Your Highness's words completely."
*Is trust something you force?*
Then Sir Sharon seemed to think of something, staring blankly into space and muttering.
"Hm. Right. Probably not just me. By now, a few of His Holiness's close aides might have caught on."
"...To what?"
"The constraints of your potential."
"......?"
"And the other possibilities those constraints imply."
She slowly lowered her upward gaze and looked Sungjin straight in the face for the first time.
"I know about the Oracle's potential and constraints, Your Highness. At least I do."
...Oracle?
Before Sungjin could ask, Sir Sharon averted her eyes again and chuckled vacantly.
"Yes, of course. I know. Even if I'm just a worthless half-breed, I grew up with my clan and heard plenty as a child. I have some idea of the co—"
She trailed off in a mumble, noticed Sungjin's puzzled look, and clamped her mouth shut with an "Ah."
"Forget what I just said. My attention wanders, and I talk to myself sometimes. Sir Leandroth scolds me for it often. Yes."
"Huh? No, Sir Sharon. That sounded important. Oracle or whatever—"
"Eeeek, no need to mind my ravings, Your Highness! How could lowly me suspect a noble scion of the Holy Imperial Family? Just nonsense."
Sungjin narrowed his eyes at her, but she rolled hers innocently, pretending otherwise.
"Not gonna spill it willingly?"
"Eh... What could I have to say? I'll keep my head straight and my mouth shut from now on. This wretch is barely able to record every gem from Your Highness without missing a word."
Sungjin frowned slightly in annoyance, and Sir Sharon's voice pitched up.
"I'm serious, Your Highness. From now on, your every move will be a pivotal milestone guiding our Monster Task Force. Indeed."
"Quit changing the subject. I'm just here as a consultant."
"Hm. But it will end up that way."
"...How do you know?"
Sir Sharon grinned twistedly.
"Heh heh heh. I just... know, Your Highness."
She leaned toward Sungjin, lowering her already soft voice to a whisper.
"That's why I recommended to Sir Leandroth that you join the Monster Task Force, right? Heh heh."
Masine suddenly glared at her murderously.
*You're the mastermind who got Leandroth to recruit Moreth!*
Of course, Sir Sharon buried her nose back in her papers, feigning ignorance.
*People can be surprisingly bold.*
* * *
After a somewhat tiring morning and returning to the Pearl Palace, Sungjin casually asked Edith, who was serving lunch.
"Edith, do you know what an Oracle is?"
But Edith just tilted her head.
"Oracle? What's that?"
"...Never mind."
Sungjin brushed it off and moved his utensils.
[It's bugging you? What that crazy holy knight said earlier?]
'Crazy...? More importantly, didn't you pick up anything back then?'
[Nope, first I've heard of Oracle.]
The Demon King's soul probe hadn't lasted long, but he'd gathered plenty on this world's common knowledge.
If even he didn't know, Oracles probably weren't widely known.
*Feels important, though...*
*Gotta ask Dasha later.*
As Sungjin thought that, the Demon King snickered.
[Eh, just ignore what she said. Looked like she'd have a hard time staying sane her whole life.]
'...What do you mean?'
[Her head wasn't normal either. Probably hears voices sometimes?]
As Sungjin recoiled in shock, the Demon King detailed what he'd seen.
A tiny stone-like thing glowing in Sir Sharon's head.
As a holy knight with divine power, her soul was faintly luminous, so he hadn't noticed at first.
But while she talked to Sungjin, he spotted an unstable flickering light on one side of her brain.
[That was definitely a psychic crystal.]
'Psychic crystal?'
[A kind of receiving organ in living things.]
Surprisingly, the Bartolomeo organs in swarm monsters were a type of psychic crystal too.
[Rare, but they occur naturally in humans sometimes. If it flickers unstably in a bad spot like that, you go mad. Stabilizes in the right place? Superhuman or prophet.]
*Your humans recorded them sometimes? Foreheads glowing in paintings or statues.*
Sungjin's mind flashed to old Earth holy images or Buddha statues.
...No way?
[Same with that knight. A faulty, incomplete channeling organ stuck in the wrong place. No idea how she exorcises demons or spirits like that. Prime possession bait.]
*Sudden voices in your head? Perfect recipe for insanity.*
[She even said it—hard to focus or shut up.]
True enough.
*I'll keep my head straight and my mouth shut from now on. This wretch is barely able to record every gem from Your Highness without missing a word.*
*That wasn't sarcasm?*
[Poor thing. Be nice to her. Life must suck.]
...Sir Sharon. Pitiful enough to earn pity from this lowly one.
Finishing lunch with a nagging unease, Sungjin headed to the training grounds—only to find unexpected news waiting.
Sir Kurt ran up with a bright face.
"Haven's awake, Your Highness!"
Sungjin hurried straight to the knights' quarters.
Finally, a lead on the Roperum egg!
"Your Highness!"
Haven, lying in bed under Physician Ninnias's care, bolted upright upon seeing Sungjin.
He seemed mentally fine outwardly.
Sungjin hadn't expected full recovery without aftereffects, having heard about the gray plague from Dasha.
But this guy stared at Sungjin with fervent eyes and spouted something bizarre.
"Thank you, Prince Moreth! I heard not only did you save my life, but you'd take responsibility for half of it!"
What?
Sungjin shot Physician Ninnias a baffled look.
*This guy's fully recovered? Sane?*
Masine's aura turned outright menacing beside him. Ignoring it, Haven teared up and rambled nonsense.
"Carmen told me everything! I, Haven... never received such favor even from my birth parents! How can I express this gratitude...?"
*What the hell is Carmen up to?*
As Sungjin's eyes sharpened, Sir Kurt, gauging the mood, whispered.
"...The knight who helped carry Haven with you, Your Highness."
*His usual glances were rude enough—now this?*
Too absurd to know what to say, when Haven shakily stood, knelt with resolved face, and declared.
"I've decided! I'll devote my remaining life to Prince Moreth. Let me bury my bones in the Pearl Palace—please accept me!"
Sungjin was floored.
*I don't need you!*