Chapter 48
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Came to Make a Deal (4)
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"Evil God Cult?"
That word snapped me back to full alertness.
"Did you just say Evil God Cult?"
Hearing my question, she turned it back on me.
"Just who the hell did you meet to come back reeking of this vile aura?"
Vile aura.
I took a step closer and said,
"Do you happen to know what color this aura is?"
Erzena recoiled with a deeply uneasy expression.
Reluctantly, she answered.
"Dark red, like dried blood. It's a power only those Evil God Cult bastards use..."
She'd nailed the exact color of the magic circle in one go.
No way that was a coincidence.
'If the Evil God Cult is behind this, it all starts to line up.'
They were known to have gone underground after their defeat in the Holy War, but they'd once been a massive force that clashed head-on with the Holy Church.
A clear grudge, a perfect motive for kidnapping a saintess.
And their brutal, ruthless methods fit to a tee.
Even if the Holy Church had plenty of enemies, none hated each other as viscerally as those two.
'How did I not think of—wait a second.'
At the same time, I realized what I'd been doing up until now.
I'd been blindly fixated on the chainchangling's mention of "Haten Silla," missing the obvious.
The fact that they had an employer meant there was a backer pulling the strings.
'It was the very first thing she said during the interrogation.'
Only now did I recall the word she'd mumbled just before the curse activated.
- Evil God...
My God.
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
The answer had been handed to me on a platter. Right in my face.
"What an idiot..."
Someone had died right in front of me, a blatant act of terror—and I'd been so blinded by rage that I overlooked the clue staring me in the eyes.
'Even if I somehow missed it, instead of digging through Immigration Control records, I could've just asked Erzena—the actual kidnapping victim—from the start.'
What the hell had I been doing?
The realization that I'd wasted six whole hours chasing dead ends left me utterly deflated.
Thinking it over again, this wasn't something I could just clock out on.
"Erzena."
I took a deep breath, then grabbed her hand.
"E-Eh? Y-Yes?"
I looked at her flustered face and said,
"Mind coming with me for a bit?"
With that, I kicked open the door and stormed out.
About thirty minutes later, the conference room at the Southern Border Immigration Control Office.
The full Sensory Officer team, barely making it home, had been emergency-summoned back.
They trudged in one by one, faces full of complaints, muttering as they went.
"Seriously? You let us go home just to call us back?"
"Yawwwn. I was just about to fall asleep."
"This crosses the line."
"Told you today was supposed to be our day off."
But when they spotted Erzena sitting next to me, their expressions turned to bewilderment.
"Huh? Erzena? What brings you here?"
"Oh, hi. I got dragged in suddenly too..."
She gave an awkward greeting, and the Sensory Officers quickly straightened up and took their seats.
The Olfactory Officer glanced at her for a moment before speaking.
"Central Officer, looks like you've got a lead."
"Yes. I think we've got a prime suspect for the backers."
The Tactile Officer's face grew grave.
"You serious?"
"Yeah. It's just circumstantial for now, but the pieces fit together too well. This terror attack..."
As I started to explain, the Gustatory Officer shot her hand up.
"Um, excuse me... Are you not gonna tell us who or what the backers are?"
"..."
Silence.
What the hell was she talking about?
But the Gustatory Officer pressed on, looking genuinely baffled.
"Terror attack? Didn't we already catch that chainchangling?"
"Gustatory Officer, do you not know how things have unfolded?"
"Nope."
This was confusing.
"Didn't I brief you on what happened?"
"You came into the office, demanded the exit logs and that chainchangling book like you were possessed, and that was it..."
Damn.
Racking my brain, I realized I'd only said one thing to her.
- Hand over the exit records and the book on chainchanglings.
And that was that.
The Auditory Officer chimed in.
"You've been off since you got back from the margrave's place, but you didn't tell us anything, so of course we don't know."
"Ah."
I let out a deep sigh.
The Auditory and Gustatory Officers had been summoned here without even grasping the situation.
I must've been completely out of it.
"Sorry. I should've briefed you all."
I laid out everything that had happened in short order.
And at the end, Erzena's recognition of the aura at my place and who the backers were.
Hearing it all, the Sensory Officers stared at each other in shock.
"This for real? Actually real?"
Erzena nodded.
"I'm sensing the exact same aura on the Olfactory and Tactile Officers right now. That creepy dark-red one."
"Damn. For real? Ughhh."
The two shuddered, as if trying to shake it off.
Not like it'd actually peel off that easily.
"Hah, but those guys vanished after losing the Great Holy War fifteen years ago, right?"
"No. After the war defeat, only a tiny remnant fled north. The whole point of the Holy War was to wipe out the Evil God Cult up there completely."
"So these leftover bastards are behind it all."
Finally, the puzzle pieces clicked.
From the saintess kidnapping to this terror attack.
Erzena's testimony turned suspicion into hard evidence.
"Now the issue is that 'Haten Silla' the chainchangling mentioned..."
She'd said it clearly.
- The employer's name is Haten Silla—
That's when the Gustatory Officer spoke up again.
"Is it even a person?"
"...Pardon?"
Erzena tilted her head.
"She only said 'name,' not 'person's name.' So... could be a title or a place name, right?"
A sharp insight that didn't match her usual demeanor.
I stared at her blankly for a moment.
'Why was I only looking for a person's name?'
She was right.
The chainchangling never specified it was a person.
For that matter, what group was that thing even from to ally with the Evil God Cult?
Was Haten Silla a title? Or did they get interrupted before saying more?
"...Sharp observation, Gustatory Officer. I hadn't considered that angle."
We all put our heads together.
"Could be the name of a subgroup under the Evil God Cult."
"Or an alias. They'd never use a real name—too easy to get caught."
"Or maybe that's exactly why it's the real name. Playing mind games."
"But we have no way to verify. Fifteen duplicates already, all from different backgrounds."
Too many possibilities.
And if it was an alias, exit records were useless.
Then Erzena raised her hand.
"I have some connections at the Church's Heresy Interrogation Office. Want me to reach out?"
"Huh?"
"They've got books logging heretics' names. Might find 'Haten Silla' in there."
All eyes turned to her.
"Wait, you were a saintess—how do you know the Heresy Interrogation Office...?"
That place was for the Church's most radical zealots only.
The endgame for fanatics, the front lines of the Holy War. What were you doing there?
Erzena squirmed, looking deeply embarrassed.
"W-Well... I used to be a... fanatic myself."
"Ah."
I remembered.
Her with "God's Heaven for Believers, Hell for Doubters" scrawled on her forehead, ranting against heretics.
She hadn't always been this prim and proper.
Suddenly realizing something, she lowered her hand.
"Oh... but I'm defrocked now. And under temporary asylum..."
I picked up from there.
"Great idea, but as an asylee, you can't contact the Church."
First rule for temporary asylees.
No political actions whatsoever. Contact with political groups, factions, or powers is forbidden.
And the Church was both a religious and political entity right now.
Erzena muttered in disappointment.
"Sorry. Thought it'd help..."
"You've already helped more than anyone. Chin up."
We wouldn't have a single lead without you.
I met her eyes and said,
"Instead, may I ask a big favor?"
She jumped at the sudden request.
"A-Already? Can't we get to know each other more first...?"
"Not that."
I cut off her misunderstanding cold and asked,
"Would you come work at the Immigration Control Office for a while?"
"Pardon?"
"You're the only one who can sense that Cult aura right now. You could detect any future infiltration attempts, and we'd keep you safer under our watch."
Now that we knew it was the Evil God Cult, Erzena couldn't roam freely.
If they learned she was staying in the Crossroad Kingdom as an asylee, they'd come for her again.
She needed to stick close to us.
My place alone isn't enough.
She needed 24/7 protection. And her help would be icing on the cake.
"We'll pay you properly."
She pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"...Okay. This might be the path God intends. And no need for pay."
"But—"
"If you're protecting me, Central Officer, that's enough."
"..."
The Sensory Officers narrowed their eyes at her bold words.
"Saying stuff like that in this situation..."
"Just announce it already?"
I ignored them cleanly.
At least we'd secured basic countermeasures.
Now for the office's status.
"Team, as of now, we're raising to alert status."
"..."
"We know a provisional terror group exists, so we'll stay on alert until we ID them all. Objections?"
None.
"How do we investigate the Evil God Cult?"
"Immigration intel can't touch it. But..."
Regaining my cool, memories surfaced.
"Intelligence can."
I recalled first hearing about the pilgrimage from the Foreign Affairs Minister.
- Intelligence is running covert ops in the north, Diplomacy's tied up negotiating with eastern nomads—full staff. You're all that's left: Immigration Control.
And his testimony at the royal trial.
- Right after the pilgrimage left, Intel sent an urgent report: signs of Evil God Cult revival, war supplies gathering in the northern continent.
Meaning the Foreign Affairs intel arm already had eyes on the Cult.
'Everything was right there.'
My failure to see it until now.
Time to leverage it.
"I'll contact the Director and Intel Chief right away."
No time to hesitate.
"Meeting adjourned. It's already morning. Good work, everyone."
"Huh? Morning?"
Dawn light was breaking outside.
The late-night meeting had eaten the hours away.
The clock read 8 a.m.—start of shift.
Uneasy glances flew around.
"S-So, we can go home now? I barely touched my bed before coming back..."
The Gustatory Officer clung to faint hope.
How could she be so casual?
"It's shift time. Jump right into duty."
No clocking out on alert.
The backlash was fierce.
"Uwaaaah, this is too much!!!"
"Overtime, extensions, and now straight into shift without going home?"
"I'll die... Chronic fatigue, headaches, backaches, toothaches..."
Just like last overtime negotiation, they started rampaging.
Then—
"Oh, everyone. Hold on a sec."
Erzena clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and murmured softly.
"In His name, I shall purify this evil aura."
⟨ Purification ⟩
- Whoosh.
The gentle divine power flared into light, enveloping the Sensory Officers and me.
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
"Oh?"
A warm golden energy swept over us, and suddenly the Officers were patting themselves down in confusion.
"...Why am I not tired anymore?"
"Feels weird. Like I slept seventeen hours."
"Hangover... gone?"
For once, color returned to the Auditory Officer's face—pale from constant boozing.
The Gustatory Officer's cheeks weren't just plump; they were glowing.
Erzena smiled brightly.
"Drove out the Evil God Cult aura and gave you all some recovery. How's it feel?"
"So this is peak condition you mentioned, Central Officer..."
I narrowed my eyes at the sight and asked,
"Hmm. Can you do that often?"
This could be a killer recovery tool.
Wipe away all the overtime crash right in front of us.
The Officers caught my drift and paled.
"P-Please say no. Please, Erzena. Pretty please."
"It's once a month—no, every six months, right? Right?"
"There's such a thing as propriety and ethics. Draw the line as decent folk."
But Erzena was too honest.
"I'll pray for you every day. Then you'll always be in top shape."
"Perfect."
The Officers' screams echoed through the conference room.
A short while later, the reception room.
Alone, I activated the crystal orb. A familiar face appeared after a long delay.
"Director. Central Officer here."
- Yawwwn. Central Officer. Calling your boss at the crack of dawn? Better be important...
Haillin yawned lazily, waving a hand.
"Urgent report. Highest priority."
- Speak.
I told her everything I knew.
Her sleepy expression hardened into seriousness.
After hearing it all, including the Evil God Cult, she sat up straight, wide awake.
- I'll handle this with the old man personally. He knows the Cult better than I do. Anything else from me?
"I recommend escalating border alert levels. If they're this bold, they've likely infiltrated the kingdom with spies already."
Terrorists, plain and simple.
Wouldn't be odd if they hit other borders too.
The whole border needed to know.
- Sound proposal. Consider it done.
A rare serious look from her.
- Stay safe, Central Officer.
The orb light winked out.
"Next up..."
One more person to call for help.
The Intelligence Chief.
"Hah, damn it."
A curse slipped out unbidden.
Normally, I'd just send a written request.
I didn't want a one-on-one with her.
But this needed face-to-face.
No helping it.
I contacted her.
- Click.
Response in under a second.
A woman with slit yellow pupils appeared.
- Oh my. Look who it is.
"...Intelligence Chief Melanie. Southern Border Central Officer Nathan Kell."
I kept my emotions locked down.
She flicked her forked tongue, murmuring.
- Ah, the lofty talent of our nation, the center of all rumors, gracing me with a visit. Live long and prosper.
Her lamia's pale, elongated tail writhed behind her.
She drummed her nails on the desk and said,
I swallowed hard.
For a moment, her eyes gazed warmly at me.
But they shifted to a hungry, complicated stare.
- How long since you rejected me?
Melanie narrowed her eyes, glaring.