Chapter 172
Chapter 172
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: Chapter 32: Tail Chase (4)
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The establishment of the investigative agency had been confirmed at today's general assembly.
So they were probably discussing how to proceed in line with that decision.
Watching today's meeting objectively, beyond the facts, allowed me to make a few inferences.
'Galonic doesn't seem all that wise.'
Given the hostility he'd shown me, it was a pretty reasonable guess.
If he had even a shred of depth in his thinking, he would have worn a smiling mask in front of me.
'The type who needs a strategist, huh...'
Putting together what I'd heard from Gretman before the banquet, Galonic Hog's backer was presumed to be the imperial family.
I'd heard that the Hog barony was a collateral branch of the imperial family, and they'd been in frequent contact in recent years.
Thanks to that, Galonic seemed to have lived a life where lording over others wasn't awkward at all.
It also meant he had no qualms about wielding power.
But when the meeting didn't go his way, he immediately called someone in to consult.
I alternated between gazing at Galonic's deeply serious face and the back of the skeleton's head, gauging their influence.
'In fact, it's safe to say that skeleton's opinion carries more weight.'
And that skeleton knew Bellego.
I glanced down briefly, spotting Bellego still frozen in shock.
'I'll probe him later.'
For now, I needed to focus more on Galonic and the skeleton's conversation.
"Hmm... Since you don't seem pleased with my scheme, we'll have no choice but to try another approach."
"What is it?"
"Petition His Majesty the Emperor."
"What?"
The conversation that followed wasn't exactly pleasant for me.
'As expected, this is how it turns out.'
It was something I'd worried about ever since I suspected his backer was a big shot.
"Don't just bring up the investigative agency outright. Approach it from a more emotional angle."
"An emotional angle?"
"That outsider took the lead in requesting the investigation, right? Pick at that behavior... Something like, there's a guy making a fool of the church, or he's trying to stir up trouble in areas where the faithful are cared for through the temples."
"Hoo."
"If you frame it as him potentially extending the investigation even to Atar's territories, His Majesty might step in first out of pride, don't you think?"
"Right, yes. His Majesty is quite proud..."
From their talk, the emperor seemed to have a strong sense of pride and hated losing.
'If that's really the case, this is dangerous.'
The moment pressure came from the emperor, the church would likely have no choice but to abandon the investigative agency.
'What to do about this...'
I had to grimace at the unwelcome conclusion.
Regardless, Galonic and the skeleton, satisfied with their solution, continued chatting casually.
Unlike before, their voices had risen to a moderate volume.
"You were right to call on me."
"Thanks to you, Galonic-nim, I've gotten to see Gemail after so long, and it's good for me in many ways. It's fun watching that half-wit chase after me with his ridiculous antics."
"Ah, that half-wit."
"Yes, he's of my blood, but not exactly the sharpest."
"They're not all the same just because they came from the same womb. It must not be pleasant being tied to him just because of blood ties. You have it rough."
Thanks to that, Bellego's shoulders twitched without my help in eavesdropping.
His face soon flushed red as well.
That let me know the 'half-wit' in their story was him.
'Older brother, huh...'
The skeleton must be Bellego's younger brother.
I pretended not to notice Bellego trembling with humiliation and kept my eyes fixed on the room interior.
But the two kept up their belittling remarks about Bellego for quite a while.
Even I, who didn't like Bellego much, found their abusive language uncomfortable.
And it didn't end there.
Once they finished badmouthing Bellego, they rattled off nicknames—clearly invented to demean others—alongside the names of some unknowns.
Galonic and the skeleton insulted and belittled others as naturally as breathing.
From what I gathered, they did it to fill their sense of superiority.
'With personalities like that, dealing with them shouldn't be too hard.'
I avoided looking at Bellego as much as possible while collecting info on them.
Their habits, speech patterns, place names mentioned in stories, or names of people they seemed close to.
Afraid I'd forget, I pulled out a notepad from my inventory and jotted it all down meticulously.
The curse-laden conversation finally wrapped up after about 30 minutes.
Even after they opened the door and left, I stayed silent for a bit.
'They don't seem to have senses as sharp as the knights.'
But caution never hurts.
Only after all presences my senses picked up had faded did I flip open the back page of my notepad and speak.
"Looks like you and I aren't on good terms with those guys."
Bellego's shoulders shook; he'd been hanging his head since the badmouthing started.
Pretending I hadn't noticed, I continued flatly.
"Want to trade info?"
There was more I could get from Bellego.
Since I'd come all the way to the imperial capital, I might as well scrape together everything I could carry back.
"Info...?"
"I'll tell you what I know about those bastards, so you share what you know."
"......"
"Why were you tailing that skeleton bastard...?"
"Skeleton? Puhahat!"
Before I could finish, Bellego burst out laughing.
He seemed quite pleased I'd called his brother a skeleton.
Of course, I hadn't said it to please Bellego.
I'd just given the skeleton the same treatment he dished out to others.
'And he really looks like one.'
Sunken eyes devoid of life, pallid complexion, and a gaunt frame.
So skinny that every bone was visible, like skin stretched over a skeleton.
Since I didn't know his name anyway, I'd used "skeleton" as a convenient label.
"Kekeke, skeleton—such a fitting nickname."
Delighted, Bellego kept chuckling.
It was a surprisingly simple reaction.
Just moments ago, he'd been trembling all over, unable to contain his rage.
Now he was laughing because something pleased him.
'Always so emotional, as expected.'
Simple-minded, sure, but people like this had their merits.
'What you see is what you get, so they don't pull shady stuff behind your back.'
Even if they schemed, it showed so obviously it wasn't much of a threat.
"Info, huh..."
While I was lost in thought, Bellego lifted his chin, as if he'd made up his mind.
"I saw graphite on Raytan. Investigating led to signs he was tangled with the traitors. You?"
"Same reason, except I was after Galonic Hog."
The skeleton moving with Galonic, that Raytan guy, was linked to the traitors.
'This is making the suspicions stack up more and more.'
I wasn't the only one thinking that, apparently.
Bellego grinned as proof.
"See, I was right! After months of watching, I noticed he was sending telegrams to Santorna awfully often. But when I tried tracking the recipient? Nothing. The estate admin office said it was someone missing from that old bombing incident, yet they're exchanging messages with a missing person's name? That's when it hit me—that black-hearted bastard might be hanging with the traitors!"
He excitedly spilled it all, even gleeful about potentially dragging Raytan down.
Unlike him, I wasn't amused or laughing.
I just latched onto the familiar word from his mouth.
"Santorna, you mean...?"
I'd checked Bihar's map in my inventory before the banquet.
Santorna was a fairly large city in the north of the Atar Empire.
And there was one more descriptor for it.
"That Santorna, where the Atar Empire's magic tower was?"
"Yeah, that Santorna."
Everything that came up when I stirred the shadows kept pointing to the same conclusion.
No wonder the suspicions were thickening.
'So the guy who came to Santorna to meet Galonic is a traitor?'
No, too early to conclude. He might just be a messenger.
"You?"
As I lowered my gaze slightly to organize my thoughts, Bellego waggled his eyebrows, urging me on.
"Spit out what you know already. We agreed to trade, didn't we!"
I had no intention of hiding anything, so I told him everything I knew.
While talking, I recapped today's overheard conversation in my notepad.
Then I tore out that page and dangled it from my fingers, shaking it.
"This is their conversation from earlier. Let's price this separately."
"What?!"
"How many more passages like this are there in the imperial capital?"
His flinching shoulders answered for him.
I'd half-guessed, but nailed it.
'Info like this is never a bad thing to have.'
I might not come to the imperial capital often.
But knowing when the chance arises can't hurt.
I held out the notepad and pen to Bellego.
"Info on the other passages."
My tone was firm, no room for compromise.
Bellego glanced between the paper in my hand and the notepad, hesitating.
Luckily, I didn't need to prod him repeatedly.
Soon, he snatched the notepad and scrawled awkwardly.
Minutes later, he handed it back and demanded arrogantly.
"Now give me that paper."
I complied readily.
I quickly scanned the returned notepad.
'Three more?'
I didn't know where the zelkova palace was, but I'd gotten the info regardless.
If the opportunity came, I'd check them myself and could use them secretly later.
Bigger haul than expected.
Bellego's handwriting was a mess since it was probably his first time with a Monami pen.
'Still legible, though.'
Just in case, while I reorganized the contents, Bellego checked the paper I'd given him.
Fortunately, this game's translation worked on Biharians too.
So no issue with him not reading Korean.
"Hmm...?"
That didn't mean Bellego hadn't been had.
He checked the back of the paper and questioned.
"That's all?
The secret talk he hadn't heard wasn't that long.
Most of it was just how to tattle to the emperor.
Realizing he'd made a bad deal, Bellego started protesting in shock.
"Y-You, you swindler! Scamming me?"
"Swindler? You made the deal without properly valuing the info."
"Y-You, you crook!"
"Yeah, sure, call me a crook then."
Snickering, I turned first.
Bellego, even more pissed, chased after me, ranting.
But he soon tired out, reduced to grumbling.
I slipped out the secret passage a step ahead of him.
"By the way, why build a space like this?"
Bellego, following behind, snorted.
"Hmph, you think I'll fall for it again?"
"Oh, you don't know?"
"Eek! Of course not! Can't you tell just by looking? It's for surveillance!"
I swallowed a satisfied smile as Bellego spilled what he knew from his own mouth.
'Anyway.'
Easy to handle, just like I thought.
"Hmm... Not even royalty, so can we just use it freely?"
Bellego and I headed toward the banquet hall, continuing our talk.
"Among the current royals, only the princess knows about it."
"That make sense?"
How would only the princess know if even the emperor didn't?
"What's not to make sense? Probably when the imperial line changed a century ago due to rebellion, info on places like this got lost."
I turned to Bellego in surprise.
Frowning unpleasantly, he wrinkled his brow.
Damn system