62
Chapter 62
The Empire had been in an uproar lately.
The reason was incredibly simple.
Black Fang.
It was because rumors said that the organization, always shrouded in secrecy, had begun to operate in earnest.
Lucy stared intently at the newspaper containing rumors about Black Fang.
In a way, it was only natural.
The stories contained in this newspaper.
The articles about Black Fang were not something Lucy could ever ignore.
'Because I met them in person once.'
The Black Fang faith that had been spreading lately.
It wasn't that Lucy was lost in delusions, obsessed with the bizarre belief that Black Fang would eventually save everyone.
It was just that Lucy had actually met the Leader of Black Fang.
The shape of the soul she saw with her special eyes.
Something that could absolutely not be categorized as human.
There was no way she could forget something like that.
So now, with everyone buzzing about Black Fang, it was only natural for Lucy to be interested.
But....
"Is it a bust this time too......."
The face didn't match the true Leader of Black Fang that she had seen at all.
Even taking into account that they were wearing a mask, she was certain that the person she saw then and the person currently wanted were not the same individual.
The possibility that she was mistaken, rather than the Empire, wasn't entirely impossible.
But it would be a bit of a stretch to say that someone possessing a soul like that wasn't the Leader of Black Fang.
A measly paycheck.
Even though she sacrificed her snack money to buy the newspaper, there was no useful information at all.
The Imperial Newspaper was famous for its strict censorship. Distorting the content was a common occurrence.
Still, originally, if she just filtered out the Empire's praises and all sorts of nonsense, it served as a pretty good informant.
With even this blocked, she felt like she was at a dead end.
'No, could this also be considered a gain?'
She didn't know what methods they used, but they had even deceived the Empire. She had essentially gained the information that Black Fang was a greater organization than she had thought.
......Well, whether that information was actually useful was a completely different story.
"Haa...."
Honestly, if it were up to her, she would like to use an Information Broker, but she had no money.
She didn't even have the time.
Even now, she was supposed to be focusing on her duties for today.
Chasing after Black Fang's trail was impossible.
Lucy let out a sigh of frustration.... but soon pulled herself together.
Because the task she was assigned today was her favorite job.
Normally, the words work and like don't go together at all, but...
This case was different.
Lucy walked briskly through the streets of the slums. This was her duty as an Apprentice Knight.
It was to find children wandering the streets and guide them to the Holy See.
An act of saving people.
How could she not feel proud and fulfilled doing this kind of work?
'I really don't get why the seniors hate this.'
Well, it wasn't like she wanted those kinds of incompetent people taking on the crucial duty of rescuing children anyway.
So as far as she was concerned, it was actually a good thing.
'I still don't see any around.'
In the past, she would spot children in need of rescue just by looking around a little.
Lately, those cases had decreased significantly.
Probably...... thanks to Black Fang.
In contrast to that incredibly ominous soul. Black Fang was doing more humanitarian work than expected.
The rumors that Believers of Black Fang wandered around helping people were true, based on what she had seen firsthand.
Thinking about that, Lucy suddenly remembered again.
-Did you really think I wouldn't know about the things you've done?
-I know your ugly true colors.
The words left behind by the Leader of Black Fang before he departed.
This was actually the reason Lucy kept obsessing over Black Fang. No matter how much she thought about it, she just couldn't understand the meaning behind those words.
She should just ignore such nonsensical ramblings.
She told herself over and over to just ignore it, but it was no use.
For some reason, those words kept bothering her.
She felt like she was missing something—something truly important.
But.......
"Hey there, are you guys okay?"
Those random thoughts quickly vanished.
It was because she had spotted two kids in the distance who looked like siblings.
Judging by the limping, it seemed the younger one was injured.
What she had to do right now was clear.
Erasing those bizarre words from her mind for now, she quickly moved to help the children.
......Completely unaware that she would eventually come to regret doing so.
*****
Looking at the mansion after a long time, a natural sense of nostalgia washed over me. I suppose that was to be expected.
Well, honestly, this place was practically my home now anyway.
I had been living outside for so long that fatigue had really built up.
My shoulder blades had been hurting strangely often lately, so I hurried inside the mansion to get some rest.
And...... I bumped into someone.
Messy hair and dark circles shaped like half-moons.
It was Rubia, who looked as if the words "suffering from overwork" were written right across her face.
"...Oh, welcome back! Did you have a good trip? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Having a conscience and all, I couldn't exactly complain about my shoulder blades aching.
I just nodded with a solemn expression and opened my mouth to speak.
"Are you okay, Rubia?"
She didn't just look tired; she looked like she would collapse from overwork at any second.
I looked at Rubia with worried eyes.
However, Rubia said she was fine and instead began to speak while scanning the documents she was holding.
Her face was still steeped in exhaustion, but the energy radiating from her eyes was anything but ordinary.
Various professional details.
Rubia reported the progress of the Potion business to me.
Hearing all of it, my jaw naturally dropped.
"Just say the word, and we can start immediately."
She actually pulled this off.
Honestly, I thought it would take at least six months, but she had finished all the preliminary work while I was dealing with the Relief Center matter.
......Didn't she even manage to gather intel on the Empire while she was at it?
I couldn't help but reassess Rubia's abilities once again.
I thought Ciel and Rien were the only overpowered ones, but it turned out Rubia was an absolute powerhouse too, just in a different field.
Yet, despite achieving all this, Rubia didn't seem satisfied. She bit her thumbnail with a serious expression.
"We can start. We can start, but... the problem is what happens after we do...."
"What do you mean, 'what happens after we do'?"
When I asked, Rubia answered with a gloomy expression.
"No matter how I think about it, there's just no way to avoid an attack from the Holy See."
The moment I heard those words, I finally understood the current situation.
Certainly, there was a limit to how much Rubia could handle by contacting various places for preliminary work.
With other factions, she could negotiate terms to an extent, or even resort to threats if that didn't work.
But that was impossible with the Holy See.
"We might have been able to fool the Empire's eyes this time, but the Holy See will try to kill us the moment we launch this business."
That was a given.
If Potions became widely distributed, it would deal a huge blow to the Holy See's primary source of income. They would try to stop us by any means necessary.
It made sense why Rubia couldn't come up with a solution no matter how hard she racked her brain.
But.......
A smile actually formed on my lips.
I had felt a little bad for Rubia, who had been working so hard all by herself. But with this, I could somehow solve her dilemma for her.
Let's revise the original plan to be just a tiny bit more extreme.
I opened my mouth with a bright smile.
"Instead of just taking the hit, why don't we just attack them first?"
When I said that so casually, Rubia's face filled with dismay.
I understood why she reacted that way.
The Holy See was essentially an organization holding power second only to the Empire.
A faith rooted not only in the Empire, but in every nation.
Thanks to the fact that it was built on this foundation, one could argue that its scale was even larger than that of the Empire.
But.......
That was exactly why it was worth a shot.
Basing themselves on the faith of the people also meant that they were dependent on it.
When the people's trust and faith crumbled, would the Holy See really be able to maintain its power?
Well, actually, it wouldn't matter even if they handled it well.
The goal was simply to make it impossible for them to even think about interfering with our business.
So, let's just drop a bomb on their house.
If their own house is burning down, they won't have the luxury of keeping an eye on their competitors.
After telling Rubia to leave the rest to me and get some rest, I quickly walked away.
A viral video targeting the Holy See, posted by the Leader of Black Fang, who was the hottest topic lately.
I pondered what would be the perfect opening for it.
And.......
Before long, I came up with a fairly convincing opening line.
"I ask you this. For what purpose does the Holy See exist, if it fails to carry out the will of the gods?"
It was time to bury the Holy See under the name of Black Fang.