Chapter 58
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Friend (1)
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Two days later, in the Intelligence Bureau operations room.
Melanie and the Intelligence Bureau agents stood around the table with serious expressions on their faces.
"How are the locations of the reported murders over the past two days?"
She pointed to the northern map spread out on the desk.
One of the agents replied.
"A total of 28 murder cases have been confirmed, starting from the Great Forest region and slowly moving toward the Scardi Empire. Unidentified bodies are still being discovered."
"Then that means the Black Hand's headquarters is somewhere around there."
Various models were placed here and there on the map.
Local informants, infiltrating agents, each nation's forces, and even the positions of key personnel.
She picked up a crow model from among them and placed it on the area marked 'Great Forest'.
"If our intel is correct, the Evil God Cult's base is somewhere in the Scardi Empire. It's only a matter of time before the Black Hand digs that far."
Next, a small demon model was placed on the largest section of the map, the Scardi Empire.
The distance between the crow model and the empire's border wasn't far. Roughly three handspans.
Melanie looked down at the scene and said.
"Withdraw all the infiltrating teams from the northern agents to near our border. For those who've made direct contact with the cult, process them as deceased and erase their identities."
"Understood."
The agents nodded with stern faces.
The human models marked with the Crossroad Kingdom's symbol were all gathered and moved to the kingdom's border.
"For the local informants, prepare safe houses and new identities as quickly as possible. We need to save at least half to avoid trouble later."
"Will the Black Hand kill our informants too?"
"They won't show mercy in revenge. Until they catch Haten Silla, anyone even slightly connected will die. We can't afford to lose more valuable human resources."
The Black Hand already knew the Crossroad Kingdom was involved. They responded to the request anyway.
Even so, they wouldn't care. There are no exceptions in total war.
"Suspend all investigations into the Evil God Cult for the time being and keep our distance completely. We must never expose our identity."
But the Evil God Cult was unaware of this.
We couldn't give them even a hint of our involvement.
Otherwise, their grudge would turn entirely toward us.
"Let them spill each other's blood. And when the balance between them breaks, that's when we infiltrate again."
Using the enemy to one's advantage.
The operation Nathan proposed was a truly brilliant strategy.
A way to deal with the northern headache and the justification for a holy war all at once without lifting a finger.
Erzena's exploits had deviated slightly from the original plan, but the result was perfect.
'And Elijah's words about seeking out the former saintess again weren't just empty talk.'
That clearly implied the possibility of forging a connection with the Black Hand.
If we gained a link to the north's largest assassin guild, our intelligence network would expand even further.
"We can't miss this opportunity. You know it's a race against time, right?"
"Yes!"
"Good. Next meeting in three days. That's it for today. Dismissed."
With those words, the agents saluted and filed out of the operations room.
Only after everyone had left did Melanie relax her rigid posture and slump into the chair.
"Haaah... I haven't slept properly lately, and now my back hurts..."
A long yawn escaped as the tension drained away.
Having pulled two all-nighters in a row for the operation planning, dark circles lingered heavily under her eyes.
Melanie glanced at the crystal orb with a weary face.
"Nathan..."
A faint smile crept onto her lips.
Just two days ago, she had received a message from him.
[Melanie. If not for you, this matter would have been far more complicated and difficult. Thank you so much.]
Nathan rarely called her by name. He usually stuck to titles.
Only in moments of deep gratitude or urgency did he say 'Melanie'.
Hearing him address her by name right from the start made all her recent hardships feel washed away in an instant.
Not only that, but he had perfectly translated and sent the codebook, advancing other operations as well.
For Melanie, it had resolved a long-standing issue and earned her thanks from Nathan.
'This alone is more than enough reward for me.'
But her luck didn't stop there.
[Um... If it's not too presumptuous, I would like to visit your office sometime soon.]
Nathan's awkward words as he scratched his cheek.
The moment she heard that, Melanie nearly screamed.
Nathan was coming. Of his own accord.
That was the real reason for her exhaustion.
She had spent only about four hours on operation planning; the remaining 44 were all for Nathan.
'Sometime soon means within this month, right?'
She had racked her brain even more frantically than during the southern dark organization sweep, pulling two straight all-nighters.
'What should I wear? Where should we meet? What should we eat? Hey, Intelligence Bureau!!!!'
Mobilizing the full resources of the Intelligence Bureau, she researched the best restaurants, optimal times, and perfect outfits.
Now, she was fully prepared no matter when Nathan arrived.
And victory underwear too.
She glanced at the mirror on her desk.
Even in her suit, the curves she couldn't hide and the smooth lines caught her eye.
The perfect, seductive harmony of snake and human.
'...Heh.'
It was surely a fatal attraction for a young man like Nathan.
No, definitely.
She was confident.
'I didn't really want to go this far.'
That man was sensitive.
A pitiful man still carrying pain in his heart, enduring his sorrow and living on.
So initially, Melanie had planned to watch over him calmly and extend her hand gently, rather than charge in aggressively like before.
But now, she could no longer afford to take it slow.
A reason had arisen.
She had overheard something during her crystal orb conversation with Erzena that she absolutely shouldn't have.
[It means I must step forward to protect Nathan.]
Nathan.
Not Central Officer or Examiner.
Nathan.
'That woman... why did she call him by name.'
Unless they were blood relatives or friends, calling someone by name was rarer than one might think.
Doing so carelessly was rude. Especially in diplomatic relations.
Erzena, as a former saintess, wouldn't be ignorant of that.
It meant Nathan had permitted it.
She could sense it vaguely.
"Hmm..."
This slightly uncomfortable feeling in her gut.
Recalling the expression Erzena made when calling Nathan.
It was astonishingly similar to her own.
"...I don't like it."
Her mood sank in an instant.
What was the point of temporary asylum or whatever system?
Clearly, Nathan had done it to protect the former saintess.
Her head understood, but something still felt off.
To change the mood, she shifted her gaze to the documents on her desk and skimmed the regular reports from domestic agents.
- Inspection Department: No anomalies.
- Finance Department: No anomalies.
- Magical Archaeology Department: Currently excavating deep ruins in the southern coastal region. Significant results.
- Foreign Affairs Department: Difficulties in concluding agreement with eastern nomads.
- Royal Post Office: Requires verification.
Most were information she already knew.
Except for the last one.
"Requires verification?"
Her snake eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Information she didn't know.
She opened it immediately.
It detailed how many mail items the Royal Post Office delivered nationwide.
And amid that, one oddity caught her eye.
"...An awful lot of parcels going to the southern border."
Normally, official border mail was sent every three or four days.
For administrative convenience, they bundled them.
Only urgent or emergency documents broke that cycle.
"But these are sent every day."
Yet express deliveries had gone four times, over four consecutive days.
As far as she knew, only one person had recently sent emergency mail to the southern border.
Herself.
To send Evil God Cult intel.
"But I only sent once."
That meant someone else had sent four in a row.
She checked the sender list for the past two days.
And at the end of the document, she found something strange.
[Sender: Information unavailable]
"..."
Erased record.
"Information I can't verify?"
Melanie muttered in disbelief.
Suddenly, an ominous feeling passed through her.
For even the Intelligence Director like her to be unable to access it was impossible.
She had authority over all domestic records.
Unthinkable.
The snake narrowed her eyes.
"...No way."
There was one such case.
A situation where mandatory reporting could be ignored.
When royalty acted in secret.
At the same time, in a certain room in the royal castle.
- Thud thud thud thud.
A woman was pacing the room seriously for the 286th lap.
"Ugh..."
Elaine Castor let out a grave voice with a serious expression.
No words came out.
Then.
- Knock knock.
A knock at the door.
- Bang.
As Elaine flicked her hand, the distant door flew open, pulling the girl standing before it inside.
"P-Princess. H-Hurgh... I-I'm b-back... Urgh..."
It was her direct maid, Hanna.
Gasping as if on the verge of collapse, Hanna dropped the armful of letters she carried.
"Haaah... S-So heavy..."
Completely exhausted, she flopped limply to the floor.
No telling how many secret trips to the Royal Post Office she had made.
Nor that she'd carry roughly half her body weight in letters each time.
Thanks to that, her maid's arms were callused, with no pain-free days.
"Ugh..."
Elaine pulled a chair over with telekinesis and sat her down as a gesture of sympathy for her efforts.
"Th-Thank you, Princess."
Hanna collapsed gratefully onto the chair.
"..."
The princess gazed silently at her.
"Ehehe... Princess."
Hanna smiled faintly.
And pulled something from her bosom.
"A reply came this time too!"
A letter from the southern border.
Elaine's expression brightened instantly.
To send a reply this quickly.
She snatched the envelope, tore it open frantically, and read it voraciously.
"Mm-hmm!"
So that's how it is.
"Uh!"
Examiners do that kind of work, huh.
In less than 30 seconds, she finished reading and read it again.
Imagining what thoughts he had while writing, what posture he used.
Her eyes turned to the closing line.
[I look forward to your reply with joy. From your friend.]
"...Hehe."
Elaine's lips curved up widely.
After sending her second letter, an unexpected gift had returned.
A reply from the Central Officer.
Not as many as hers, but definitely his handwriting.
[From your friend.]
No one else would write that.
Since that day, Elaine's world had brightened even more.
No longer one-sided mutterings.
She was truly conversing with the Central Officer.
Even if the word count was overwhelmingly 99:1.
Over the past four days, she had spent truly happy times.
Her long-lifeless green eyes now sparkled brighter than ever as they scanned her friend's letter.
"...Sniff."
Watching her, Hanna suddenly welled up and hugged Elaine tightly.
"Princess... Don't forget I'm always cheering for you."
"Uh?"
It had been tough.
Secretly mailing letters with the royal ring, delivering massive letter stacks to Elaine without detection—exhausting.
'I don't even know how I managed.'
Each time, her insides burned, sweat poured—a grueling mission fit for Intelligence agents.
Yet she never complained.
It had been so long since the princess showed such vitality.
Hanna sat back in the chair, pointed at the clock, and shouted.
"The Queen comes at 7, so we have time! Hurry and write a reply! If we're lucky, we can send it today!"
Current time: 5 PM.
Two hours until her mother arrived with the priests for ability suppression.
Seeing that, Elaine nodded.
"Yes!"
Now even Hanna enjoyed it.
'How romantic to become friends through letters with someone.'
Etching true feelings into words that can't be spoken—truly wonderful.
Especially for Princess Elaine.
To her, who lost speech after tragedy, letters were a means of communication, a way to face the world.
And now, that world was slowly expanding.
She gazed intently at the woman pouring her heart into writing the letter.
- Scratch scratch, rustle rustle.
How long since she saw that smile.
A smile so endearing she wanted to protect it forever.
Her heart ached faintly.
'I want to be by her side.'
And someday, the day the princess could speak again.
Hanna prayed deeply from her heart.
For her friend's happiness.
Not sure if she could dare think so, but Hanna clenched her fists tight.
Then.
"You... what is all this?"
A sharp cry came from behind.
Elaine and Hanna froze simultaneously.
Hearts plummeting.
They knew the owner of that voice.
Fearfully dreaded, yet achingly familiar.
A being she could never expect warmth from, yet ultimately craved.
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
It was her mother's voice.