Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Red Star (7)
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Moonlight quietly flowed over the ruins.
The outskirts forest of Luos was so silent that not even a hint of life could be felt.
I crouched low and moved along the tunnel of the ruined capital hall.
This passage had once been the sewer line carrying away the territory's wastewater.
But now, partially collapsed here and there, it had been classified as a danger zone due to monster infestations and leaking demonic energy.
Unless someone had nerves of steel, no one passed through.
And even if they did have the guts to try, few would make it out the other side unscathed.
I'd already lost count of how many monsters I'd killed just getting here.
Perhaps because of the monsters' threat, the security was noticeably lax compared to other areas.
And that lax security was my opportunity.
After passing a few forks in the path, I reached a small cavern.
Someone was waiting there.
A figure cloaked in a black mantle, concealing their identity.
"...Who are you? That path isn't meant for people."
"I walked right through. Anyway, you're the former head butler, right?"
Faint light illuminated beneath the mantle.
A white-haired old man sat there.
His gaunt frame made the contours of his skull visible through his skin.
The old man narrowed his sharp eyes.
"Weren't two of you supposed to come...?"
His eyes narrowed further.
A hand beneath the mantle twitched slightly, as if preparing something.
I recalled the signal Astier had told me about.
It wasn't some phrase screaming "I'm a spy."
"The moonlight was hazy, so I couldn't see the path."
The old man paused, as if in casual conversation, then spoke again.
"Did the stench and bugs swarm you on the way?"
"Who knows. It was just a normal sewer."
Not that a normal sewer would have that many monsters, especially not outside the North.
But a passphrase is a passphrase.
"Then you're the one looking for me, Sir Ian?"
"That's right, but Astier was injured. I had to come alone."
The old man's gaze sharpened again.
A blade gleamed faintly through the slightly lifted mantle.
Its edge glistened with some kind of liquid.
Too blunt for assassination, too subtle for a direct charge.
The grip was reversed.
That blade was prepared to stab himself.
I was impressed anew by the old man's preparedness.
Was this the level of resolve needed to be a spy in this world?
It didn't look like mere show.
The passphrase alone wasn't enough, then.
No choice—I summoned my Wave.
Blue waves churned beneath my skin.
Not like electricity, but an alien sensation, as if defying the fabric of time itself.
Something entirely separate from Aura Energy.
The dense waves were visually apparent, so I never used them at the auction house.
"Wave. Does that answer your question?"
The old man stared blankly at the waves, then nodded.
The center didn't propagate them, but their existence was known.
Just that they existed, nothing more.
He probably had no experience seeing them firsthand, but since they differed from Aura Energy or Aura, he could tell them apart.
"...You're late."
A quiet voice echoed.
As if relieved, the old man shed his mantle.
His clothes were ragged, and the dagger looked rusted from years out of use.
"Levan Croix."
Levan Croix.
The former head butler of the Luos Ducal House, now exiled for some reason.
Currently operating as an agent for the Imperial Intelligence Agency.
This was what Astier had told me.
"For the North's hero to remember my name—I'm honored."
Levan's lips curved slightly upward.
I cut straight to the point.
"I need the locations of the experiment zone and the document archive."
Levan spread a map across the table in the cavern.
Several sheets of paper layered on top.
Blueprints of the mansion and a map of the territory.
Red ink symbols marked the map.
"Here—basement level 2. A spiral staircase descends north from the central corridor. Opening that door requires the heir's seal. But..."
Levan pulled a worn silver seal from his bosom.
The heir's seal.
"...Isn't stealing one usually impossible? Even if you did, you'd get caught."
Levan laughed triumphantly.
"A replicated fake. I prepared it in advance. Tested it multiple times—no functional issues."
I took the seal and carefully tucked it away.
Levan then explained the experiment zone and archive locations.
"End of basement level 2, isolation room. Originally for external guests, now it's for containing monster test subjects. The archive is hidden inside."
Levan's voice was low, laced with deep anger and exhaustion.
Perhaps tied to why he left his position as head butler.
Levan added in a hushed tone.
"You may know this already, but the Luos Ducal House is in an unstable state over the succession issue."
The Luos Ducal House was in chaos.
Because the family head had fallen ill without naming an heir.
His three children were faction-fighting over the position.
The eldest and second-born were directly or indirectly involved in the biological experiments.
"Ellen Luos. She'll be of help."
Ellen Luos was the only one of the duke's children unlinked to the experiments.
On the contrary, she'd opposed her eldest brother's methods.
Even after Levan left, he'd tracked events within the household.
"Lady Ellen was trying to right the family in her own way."
"Are you certain she'll cooperate?"
"What can an exile like me be certain of?"
Levan gave a wry smile.
There was something chilling in the old man's grin.
Poison, perhaps malice.
Whatever it was, it wasn't a good emotion.
"If she truly has what it takes, she won't miss a chance to turn things around."
The words were vague, but I'd assume cooperation.
And if not, it didn't matter.
Worst case, smash everything and grab the evidence.
I wasn't above gutting the whole ducal mansion either.
But since it was a duke's house, that was a last resort.
I memorized the map and locations completely.
As I grabbed my sword to head to the ducal mansion—
Levan said quietly.
"Please, have mercy."
It was a murmur, a plea, a prayer directed at me.
Whom it was for, I couldn't tell.
The family he'd served for decades, or someone else.
I didn't answer.
Mercy wasn't mine to give.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Using Wave and Aura Energy, I slipped quickly into the ducal mansion.
Hanging from the window frame of an outlying annex that looked like ruins, I scanned the interior layout.
The banquet hall.
A space with dozens of windows and ornate lighting.
No banquets now, but a few soldiers patrolled.
I swiftly moved under the eaves.
The vent was hidden in the gray stonework crevices.
I pried open the metal-grated door sealed with a small latch and squeezed inside.
Using the vents as passages, I checked the mansion's interior.
Plenty of patrolling soldiers.
Three-man teams rotating every minute, looping the same spots.
The patrol routes were predictable.
The issue was timing.
Not two-man teams, so killing one and silencing them was impossible.
And taking out three at once risked detection from the blood.
Best to avoid encounters altogether.
I held my breath inside the vent.
This duct didn't connect to every room.
So I had to peek wherever possible, as much as I could.
I peered into a room where voices echoed loudly.
A massive round table in the center, four people facing each other.
Two of them—a man and a woman—wore familiar outfits.
The same as those from the corpse disassembly shop.
The difference: red armbands on their arms bore star emblems.
"...So there's no guarantee they'll show."
"No guarantee they won't, either."
"Damn it. Why do I have to wait here for that assassin-like bastard?"
"I've told you a million times—read a book. Why should I even listen to your idiotic remarks?"
Did the red armbands mark Red Star members?
Nothing like that in the original story.
No need for armbands—you could tell anyway.
With beast heads on their shoulders.
My guess: the armbands and star emblems symbolized rank.
'Let's wrap this up quick.'
Pushing distractions aside, I crawled through the complex ducts.
Moving while recalling the memorized map and glancing into rooms.
I exited at the nearest spot accessible via vents.
Before the patrolling soldier could spot this area, I headed down to basement level 2.