Chapter 96
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: The Power of Words (2)
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The next morning.
"Good morning, everyone."
"The Central Officer is here? Huh? You're coming in alone today?"
The Tactile Officer tilted her head, seeing me enter the Immigration Control Office alone for the first time in ages without any companions.
"Ah, well, you see."
No matter how much I knocked and called, neither of them answered—probably still asleep.
"They seemed tired, so I just came ahead on my own."
I didn't think I'd done anything yesterday to wear them out.
Dismissing it without much thought, I was about to close the outer gate of the office when,
"Don't close the gateee!!"
In the distance, I spotted the Gustatory Officer—Sita—rushing over in a panic.
A quick glance at the clock showed exactly one minute until shift start.
She arrived right in front of me with about twenty seconds to spare, cutting it incredibly close.
"Hah... I made it! Not late!"
But just as she tried to step inside,
- Clang!
The guards at the front suddenly crossed their spears to block her and shouted.
"Access denied! State your identity!"
"Aaaah! I-I'm the Gustatory Officer!"
"Please present your ID badge!"
"ID badge... It should be in my left pocket... Huh?"
The Gustatory Officer hurriedly shoved her hand into her pants pocket, only for her face to drain of color.
"You don't have it?"
"Uh... W-well... I think I left it at home..."
While she hemmed and hawed, the twenty seconds ticked by, and an attendant with the attendance log drew a thick red line.
"Gustatory Officer, you're late."
"Nooo!"
The Auditory Officer, who had arrived earlier, let out a deep sigh at the sight.
"Sigh... That's why I told you to leave five minutes earlier than usual."
Recently, a new procedure had been added at the Immigration Control Office.
Examiners now had to present their ID badges to the newly stationed guards before clocking in—a formal process.
In the case of the southern border post, there were only five examiners, so it had been overlooked before, but the main office usually had dozens.
To prevent infiltrators from slipping in unnoticed, ID badges were typically issued to authorized personnel.
'This is actually proper security.'
Everything up until now had been extremely lax. This was the norm.
With that thought, I passed the detained Gustatory Officer and headed inside, where I noticed someone standing in front of my desk.
"Central Officer."
A soldier with a familiar face saluted me crisply.
"As of yesterday, I've been assigned here with additional troops. It's an honor to meet you again, Central Officer."
"...Ah."
Only then did the memory click upon seeing the margrave family crest on his chest.
He was the cavalry captain who had helped during the changeling incident last time.
I immediately realized whose orders had brought him here and returned a brief salute.
"I owe the Reyes Margrave a great debt once more. Thank you for your cooperation."
"Not at all. If Director Haillin Metaharasin personally requested it, it must be serious. The margrave said he'd gladly assist for the sake of public order in the territory."
He glanced toward the street with a troubled expression as he spoke.
"A terror warning in this chaotic time... The world's gone mad."
"..."
Terror warning.
The words from his mouth had nothing to do with what I was actually guarding against.
But instead of correcting his complete misunderstanding, I nodded.
"...From the changeling incident before to the recent unlicensed artifact case, it makes sense to bolster security."
Now that the dragon hunter's existence was confirmed and he was a prime suspect in the Gold Rush incident,
the situation was growing quite complicated.
'I can't reveal the full truth and ask for cooperation.'
Requesting troops to block a dragon hunter because a dragon was here? That wouldn't fly.
People within the kingdom who could exploit Mnatsil's presence were a dime a dozen.
The fewer who knew, the safer.
Thus, Mnatsil coming to the Immigration Control Office was impossible.
Even with her ghost identity, anyone seeing the egg she never left alone would grow suspicious.
'Plus, there are dragonkin among the entrants.'
If some unlucky soul spotted her as a dragonkin inside the office, her identity would be exposed instantly.
He'd recognized the scales right away during the Incanserus incident, hadn't he?
So, I'd devised a plan.
- Please concentrate all security personnel around the Immigration Control Office and its vicinity. We received a terror threat notice a few days ago.
A joint effort with the Intelligence Bureau to fabricate a fake terror threat for justification.
The Reyes Margrave, hearing Haillin's request, increases territory guards. Then, citing the phony letter, stations 70% of them near the office.
'Thieves targeting a merchant caravan don't hit the isolated wagon first. They go for the one under the heaviest guard.'
Anyone seeing something wrapped tight in ironclad security assumes it holds something precious.
Turn that against them.
Draw all eyes here.
In this situation where the dragon hunter could strike anytime, deliberately lowering my home's defenses to avoid suspicion.
But I hadn't left my house unguarded either.
'The fire spirit has finally regained its strength and is with Lady Mnatsil.'
Those guys who devoured nearly two weeks' worth of our firewood reserves.
They'd finally come to their senses.
Fire spirits spew pillars of flame reaching the heavens when angry or in peril.
Stuck to Mnatsil 24/7, they were like a constant alarm system.
If something happened to her, they'd become a living beacon, signaling instantly.
Moreover, the Border Guard golems, under Incanserus's orders, would guard near the house and border until the operation ended.
I leaned back in my chair, lost in thought.
'Preparations are complete.'
Margrave's guards filled the streets and around the Immigration Control Office.
Newly mission-synced Border Guard golems at the border and near my house.
And though Melanie hadn't said it outright, Intelligence Bureau's secret agents were likely lurking nearby even now.
'I couldn't be the ace up the sleeve, but... still.'
All preparations were done.
Now, just wait for the dragon hunter to show.
If there was one nagging concern,
"Ugh... Every morning commute is such a hassle..."
"Can't even drink with the guards watching."
It was the Sensory Officers grumbling about not slacking with soldiers for two weeks, or the stricter entry screenings.
But there were upsides too.
"Alright, it's exactly 07:00 now. Entry screenings commence. Waiting entrants, please proceed to the left corridor—"
- Stamp, stamp, stamp.
"...Thank you. Outgoing passengers, to the right—"
- Rush.
The visitors who usually ignored orders even on pain of death were now meek as lambs. That part I liked.
Even a rough-looking entrant approaching the young Gustatory Officer said,
"Ah, good day, examiner. Nice weather for entry today."
Well, I'll be. Such polite greetings.
I'd never seen entrants this courteous in my life.
No wonder—with guards every ten steps clutching spears, and Border Guard down from the walls on alert outside, they dared not complain.
"...Welcome to the Crossroad Kingdom."
"Thank you, examiner!"
Ah. So this is the power of authority.
Truly tempting.
As I savored the taste of power for the first time, the Gustatory Officer, who had just cleared an entrant, said weakly,
"How long do we have to keep up this alert status? It feels like waiting endlessly for the pilgrimage group..."
"Don't worry. It won't be long."
I replied curtly, glancing at the Royal Post mail on my desk.
Atop the stack was a special delivery note from the Intelligence Bureau.
[One week ago, the desert expedition team leading Gold Rush and the volcano reconstruction project was disbanded.]
"Maybe... it could even be soon."
That evening.
Just before quitting time.
- Plip, plop. Patter-patter-patter-plop.
Raindrops began falling from the sky one by one, and within five minutes, it was pouring like the heavens had sprung a leak.
"Whoa, it's raining!"
"Ugh... Don't wanna get wet. Let's just hurry home."
People enjoying their leisure bolted for home in a frenzy.
The crowded, bustling street emptied into a void in about a minute.
In the middle of that desolate street stood a burly man draped in a tattered robe.
- Splash, splash. Thud.
In his right hand, a long spear forged from a beast's sharpened claw, as he walked endlessly down the road.
No one paid him any mind. No warnings to seek shelter from the rain or watch for carriages.
But he didn't care anyway.
Such trivial concerns and warnings couldn't harm him.
More importantly, something in his grasp trembled faintly against his chest.
- Hummm.
His armor and spear beneath the robe, resonating with their kin's aura.
Kaban Bladbeech.
Having crossed the Urakaras Mountains in just two and a half days via the shortest route to the south, he slowly scanned the surroundings with his scorched left eye.
In the volcanic zone, the dragon's aura permeated everywhere from a millennium of nesting, making detection impossible.
'But not here.'
This place was far from the volcano.
No fire aura, no dragon aura.
Black ink on black paper goes unnoticed, but a single drop on white paper stands out instantly.
- Hummm.
The armor and spear resonated more intensely than ever.
Weapons forged from a dragon's corpse react strongly to their kin.
Vibrating as if sadly weeping for revenge against their own.
- Grip.
Kaban gripped the lamenting weapons tighter to control them, then glanced at the guards lining the rainy street.
The south was definitely different from the west.
'An unusually high number of soldiers.'
Troops at the border weren't unusual, especially in the margrave's territory.
Military display was needed to avoid being underestimated by foreign powers.
Yet, an odd vibe lingered among the soldiers.
Their expressions.
Kaban narrowed his eyes at the nearby guards.
"...Ugh, it's cold."
"Stay alert. Suspect could be anywhere."
Disciplined soldiers should stand unmoving like hawks, rain or no.
But these men were fearfully scanning around, as if dreading, guarding, searching for something.
Kaban knew that look well.
The eyes of frightened prey.
The posture hoping some being doesn't appear.
Seeing it, certainty dawned on Kaban.
'The dragon is nearby.'
Mythic-era beings exude overwhelming presence just by existing.
'Mere guards can't shrug it off casually.'
Thus, their subtle fear confirmed a dragon nearby.
But precisely where?
That was the crux.
'A wounded dragon hiding alone? Impossible.'
Mithril pierced its heart.
No way it was still truly alive.
'Yet no reports from west to south.'
Only one conclusion.
'Someone's hiding it. Or...'
Someone found the corpse first and concealed it.
Either way, it irked Kaban greatly.
Fortunately, the armor and spear clearly pointed the way.
- Hummm.
The spear tip tilted forward, drawn to something.
Following its lead, he glanced at a nearby bulletin board.
The poster, slowly soaking in the rain, read:
[Recently, a madman boldly sent a terror threat letter to the Southern Border Immigration Control Office, causing great shock...]
Trivial info.
But as he turned the corner through the downpour, he couldn't help jolting.
- HUUMMM!!!
The spear trembled wildly toward the building ahead.
Kaban slowly raised his head to check the sign.
[Southern Border Immigration Control Office].
"Hmph."
An eerie coincidence.
Rain lashing his face, Kaban bared yellowed teeth in a grin.
"Truly, the heavens have granted me this destiny."
No such thing as coincidence in the world.
All is fate intertwined.
That trivial info he'd just dismissed from memory led straight here, where the spear guided him.
Even the heavens signaled openly to finish the volcano's master.
"What a long, long road it has been... Master of the volcano. Now, let us truly end it."
No matter where you hide, I'll find you.
"And that egg—the egg to usher in the true age of man—shall be mine..."
All will praise and hail me hero then.
Beaming with near-ecstatic joy, Kaban slowly pushed open the Immigration Control Office door.
As if it were the gateway to glory.
- Creeeak.
At the same moment, someone called out.
"Here for departure?"
"...What?"
His illusion shattered in under two seconds.