Absurd Accident
"I can't see my own future."
The old man broke into a warm, kindly smile at my words.
"So the man who recites others' pasts and futures in exhaustive detail can't see his own?"
"It's like a skilled surgeon who can't operate on himself. Naturally, I can't answer the question you just asked either. I don't know my future—not even one second from now."
I had to keep taking deep breaths to steady my nerves and calm my mind.
"But this much I can tell. At least for today. You're not here to kill me."
"And how can you be so sure?"
"Because His Majesty doesn't want that."
"His Majesty has never ordered your death. But he's never ordered you spared, either. Your fate hasn't been decided yet."
Terrifying words. But the fear was gradually fading, replaced by rising confidence. This emperor of the empire might not read intelligence reports himself, but judging from the memories of the man before me, he wasn't the tyrant who lopped off heads at the slightest whiff of possibility.
No. If anything, he was so supremely competent and flawless that he felt less like a human and more like a machine.
"You told His Majesty to kill me. Quite forcefully, in fact—you've been pushing for it for a long time. But he put my fate on hold and said to watch and wait. And that... drove you insanely anxious."
Fear comes from the unknown. And unfortunately for him, I was no stranger to the unknown. My body, which had been trembling from the aftershocks of glimpsing the title of Argos Chief and his horrific past, had completely steadied itself midway through my words.
It had no choice but to.
"You're afraid of me. Your fear skyrocketed right after you read the report of my debate with the grand prophetess of the Holy Kingdom."
Even after seeing how he'd trembled alone in his room, choking down sedatives because of me, it would be weirder if he wasn't scared.
The relaxed smile vanished from the old man's face at my words.
"You're a bomb, Mr. Aiden. You know far too much that you shouldn't. And for someone who's stumbled onto such dangerous secrets, you're far too ordinary. You could slip up due to emotions or impulses. And that mistake would spell catastrophe for the empire."
"You're right, Chief. I agree. There's definitely a chance of that happening with me. So let me turn the question back on you. Do you think His Majesty is unaware of the risks you know?"
The old man shook his head.
"He knows."
"Then why hasn't he ordered my execution? He had plenty of chances to kill me before I started meeting empire high officials and bringing the dark elves under my influence."
"I don't know. I can't read all of His Majesty's intentions. Probably no one in the empire can."
I smiled at the head of intelligence. My eyes had been blinded for a moment by his terrifying past and transcendent power, but as our conversation progressed, I began to see the chief's true nature.
"You're missing the forest for the trees. The reason His Majesty is keeping me alive is simple: he sees a greater chance I'll be an asset to the empire than a liability."
"There's still the risk you'll leak empire secrets to a hostile nation. And that's not all. You have followers now—from dark elves to empire elites. You could manipulate them with your tongue and threaten the imperial throne."
"By that logic, you should worry about getting struck by lightning on a clear day while walking down the street. Sure, it happens sometimes, but most people don't live in fear of it. Right?"
I pulled out my tarot cards and held one out to the chief. A man entwined in thorny vines.
"Obsessing over that 1% risk instead of the 99% probability. That's your life, Chief. A weary, painful one. But I understand why you are the way you are. Operation Colcassis. The incident where you overlooked a 1% risk factor, and 32 black agents died."
The old man clenched his fist tight.
"You really are too dangerous."
"You're dangerous too—the man who lost 32 of the empire's precious HUMINT assets to a bad call. You might repeat the same mistake. But His Majesty didn't cast you out. Why? Because he looks at your 99% strengths over that 1% error. If he executed me here over the slim chance I'll cause trouble, that would go against his intentions."
I pointed to myself.
"Look at me, Chief. Just like you said, I'm an ordinary guy. I love my ordinary life in the empire. I was born in Yurtel, raised there. I want my hometown to prosper and my homeland to chug along without incident."
"You know too much to be ordinary."
"And I'm the type who won't blab or misuse that info. On the contrary, I can use it to give the empire needed advice or warn of hidden dangers you wouldn't know. You're fixating on that 1% risk and missing the 99% potential."
I stared straight at the chief. The emotion in my eyes was no longer fear or unease.
"I know why you're so obsessed with tiny risks. You're trapped by past trauma."
I'd seen this man's past and understood it. And once you truly understand someone, the emotion that wells up is always empathy and sympathy.
"The failure of Operation Colcassis wasn't your fault. It wasn't negligence on your part for missing that tiny inherent risk. Humans have limits. You did your absolute best in that place, at that moment—but you hit an unavoidable wall."
For the first time, the chief's eyes wavered at my words. Now the roles were reversed. A flicker of fear and dread passed through his gaze.
"Step out of the thorny vines of guilt and anxiety holding you back. Move past the trauma and gain a broader view. See the trees, but read the forest too. And once you do... rethink me."
I gave him a grin.
"You'll see I'm more likely to benefit the empire than destroy it. That's why His Majesty isn't trying to kill me, unlike you."
The chief sat in heavy silence for a long while.
"How much do you know about me?"
"That you still visit the graves of the Colcassis dead. That you pop sedatives regularly for your anxiety and fear. That they taste bitter after, so you gripe about it every day. That you suffer from insomnia. And... you hate broccoli."
The chief let out a chuckle.
"You really are a scary man. I never thought I'd meet someone else besides His Majesty who could shake me like this."
"I want the empire to thrive. I want to live here happily for a long, long time. And I'll prove my heart's in the right place right now. Do you know Red Nest?"
The chief nodded at my words.
"How could I not?"
"Tomorrow around 4 p.m., there'll be a nuclear explosion accident there."
His eyes widened.
"A nuclear explosion?"
"The empire's strategic nuke, Gorgon. During maintenance, a technician drops a wrench socket by mistake. It hits the fuel rocket section, and high-concentration mana fuel leaks out. The silo air's mana density spikes instantly."
"And?"
"The warhead's explosion magic circle reacts to the rising mana. Over three hours, the soldiers at Red Nest try to lower the density but fail. The circle detonates, compressing the plutonium inside beyond critical mass."
And boom.
"The whole Red Nest base goes up. It's in the woods, so no civilian casualties, but a massive mushroom cloud rises. The problem? Another empire nuke base spots it."
"W-wait. Is this real?"
"Real as it gets. That base assumes the Red Federation started a nuclear war. They report to intelligence and the palace. Cardran Empire and Red Federation teeter on the brink. Luckily, they confirm it's an accident three minutes before launch. No continent-wide mushroom clouds."
"........A single maintenance slip-up causing that absurdity?"
"It happens tomorrow. No war, but the empire takes a huge hit. Stocks crash, chaos erupts, crushes and traffic accidents spike. You need to stop it."
"......."
"Reinforce the maintenance platform and switch the missile fuel from liquid to solid. That'll fix it."
The chief's face twisted completely as he stared at me. Gone was his initial dignity and charisma. He looked like a man who'd witnessed cosmic horror.
"Hurry, Chief. You need to leave now to reach Red Nest."
At my words, the chief shot to his feet and stormed out without a word.
After he left, the two escort knights waiting outside entered.
"Great Seer, are you alright?"
I nodded.
"I trust you both, but it was sensitive talk that might trouble you if overheard, so I had to ask you to step out briefly. No need to worry."
"Haha, we weren't worried. There must've been a good reason for the Great Seer's request."
"Let's grab lunch. What do you feel like today?"
At that, I slumped slightly in my chair, utterly drained. Mirien. And now the intelligence chief.
"Something easy to digest, like soup."
My stomach felt like it was gone.
"Reinforce the maintenance platform. Set up a wide, long steel plate so falling objects can't hit the missile below."
"Pardon? The platform's fine as is."
"Just do as I say. And move the nuke elsewhere during the reinforcement."
"O-of course."
To eliminate any fuel leak risk from drops, they relocated the missile first. Then Red Nest's maintenance area underwent major upgrades. A broad steel plate was installed to block falling objects.
And during that installation...
"Hey! Henry! Pass me a 3-inch wrench socket!"
"Here! Why the sudden reinforcement order?"
"Who knows? When the big shots say jump..."
Slippery oil, maybe? The worker's hand slipped during the job. The socket plummeted.
Thud! It slammed into the solid concrete floor and stuck there. The chief's face went ghost-white, like he'd seen a demon.
"Major Williamson."
"Yes, Chief?"
"Switch the nuke fuel to solid propellant going forward."
"Suddenly...?"
"I'll talk to His Majesty. Expect the order soon. Prep ahead."
"Understood, Chief."
"Finish up."
The chief hurried out of Red Nest base. In an empty corridor, he cautiously pulled out a thick satellite magic comm terminal and dialed someone.
"Your Majesty, I have a suggestion. About nuke fuel. We should switch from liquid to solid propellant."
He reported every detail of what just happened. With one hand, he loosened his necktie.
"The Great Seer's power is real. No doubt. It's beyond awakeners or precog miracles or magic. He reads targets' pasts and futures perfectly. By divine judgment..."
The chief smiled. A mix of absurdity, shock, and awe.
"You should meet him yourself."