Chapter 146
Chapter 146
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Sanka's Judgment
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Even to the researcher's question, the man did not open his mouth.
Was he refusing to answer? Yet his lips endlessly twitched as if about to spill something.
“How much did Kalligo tell you about this incident?”
Lander asked. Deong replied, his eyes fixed on the man’s lips.
“I didn’t hear the details. Just that a guy named Gilliud knows magic for raising monsters, and it’s dangerous enough to upend the continent?”
Deong continued, fiddling with his prosthetic arm.
“That’s how our work goes. The Captain gives us exactly the information we need. He explains everything in detail when we need to know the full picture, but cuts it way back if it’s classified. I’m used to it now, so it doesn’t affect the job.”
“You trust Kalligo.”
“It’s subtle. If that trust means personal faith, then no, I don’t trust the Captain. He doesn’t look like someone you can trust at first glance. But if it means professional credibility, then I place him above my own judgment.”
Deong recalled the countless incidents he’d been through with the Captain since joining the Special Inspectorate Unit.
“On my first mission, I honestly suspected the Captain. He dragged out what seemed like an obvious case.”
“What kind of case was it?”
Lander asked.
“I can’t go into detail, but it was an internal document leak. The suspect was a noble… let’s call him A for convenience. Everyone could see A was guilty. A traitor colluding with the Allied Kingdoms.”
“That incident, huh.”
That incident? Deong glanced sideways at Lander. The case he’d just mentioned wasn’t publicly known.
He really isn’t ordinary. The Captain trusts him, and he has free access to Kea, so his position must be higher than I imagined. His combat prowess is impressive too.
Deong mentally revised Lander’s profile bit by bit as he spoke.
“You seem to know a fair bit about it. Anyway, even the external oversight agencies were pointing at A. Witnesses came forward one after another. All the circumstantial evidence and physical proof pointed to him. We were just waiting for the execution when the Captain kept buying time.”
“And that revealed the real culprit, I assume.”
“Yes. It was a brilliantly set trap. So elaborate that doubting it would’ve been weirder. But the Captain doubted it. After it was over, I asked him how he knew. His answer was simple.”
Remembering those words still made him chuckle dryly.
“‘A hunch.’ That was the Captain’s answer.”
“That’s what makes Kalligo so frightening.”
“His personality, digging in excessively, must create that near-omniscience hunch. So I don’t doubt the Captain’s judgment. And it’s not just me. Every member of the Inspectorate would dive into a fire pit if he ordered it—just on his word that it’s necessary.”
“What if he actually gave such an order?”
Deong’s lips twitched.
“I’d probably grumble a bit. Ask if we really have to.”
The Captain was unpredictable. By common sense, he seemed half-mad.
Yet they trusted and followed because correct results always waited at the end of his erratic actions.
That was when their conversation paused. Trunble’s body jerked. He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced.
“Mr. Trunble. Breathe. You don’t need to force the memories.”
The researcher said. Trunble, twisting his head and groaning, finally let out a long sigh and slumped.
Leaning back in the chair, Trunble remained utterly still for a while.
“It’ll take more time.”
Lander left the room. Deong glanced at the researcher busily taking notes, then followed Lander.
“Care to explain? Who’s that guy? And what’s an Unstable Realm?”
“Let’s move. This isn’t a standing conversation.”
They entered an empty room. It looked like a break room. Deong sat in a chair and waited for Lander to speak.
“To understand this incident, there are a few things you need to know.”
Lander began. The more the story went on, the more complicated Deong’s head became. Just absorbing and organizing the information was exhausting.
“Director Arleng’s death is connected to Gilliud too. Though not due to any prophecy.”
“Wait. Who died?”
Deong asked again, convinced he’d misheard.
“Director Arleng is dead. He was the one who blew up the citadel.”
“No way. He…”
“That was everyone’s reaction. Mine too.”
Deong pictured the ruined citadel grounds. To think Arleng had done that. The Holy City’s devastation was shocking enough, but Arleng sacrificing himself was more so.
“The situation’s extremely bad.”
“Distinguishing friend from foe has gotten difficult.”
For Arleng, one of the Empire’s symbols, to turn against it.
His eyes suddenly felt dry. His brain froze momentarily as new info spun wildly.
“His Majesty must suspect everything now.”
Deong spoke, then flinched. The head of Administrative Bureau 2 had changed. Enemy forces lurked even in the Special Inspectorate Unit.
If spies emerged from a security-sensitive group like that, what about everywhere else?
“In Arleng’s case, he did join hands with Gilliud, but he didn’t follow Gilliud’s will. He stuck to his beliefs to the end. But people like Arleng are rare. There’ll be plenty of blind followers of Gilliud.”
“If we can’t root them out, the Holy City will spiral out of control. It’s already the worst, and if it gets worse than this…”
Just imagining it chilled his spine.
“Purging Gilliud’s people has become more urgent than reclaiming the Holy City.”
Deong nodded. Even if they rebuilt the citadel, infiltrators inside would collapse it again.
“That’s why we need that man—to find a way.”
Gilliud gripped hearts with prophecies and miracles. Lander explained that the source of that mysterious power was the “Realm.”
“As I said earlier, we don’t fully grasp what a Realm is. Only Gilliud and his disciples know how to access it.”
“The mages we’re transporting, right?”
“If there hadn’t been the Holy City attack, I’d have escorted them personally, but circumstances didn’t allow it.”
“You can’t abandon your main base.”
If there were more like the Captain or Lander, things would be so much easier.
But talented personnel were limited, and allocating them inevitably caused issues.
If the Captain and Lander had abandoned Holy City security to guard the Rielder estate, the Holy City would be in even worse shape now.
“Bivinel, with Blinda, has also been to an Unstable Realm. Like Trunble.”
“They’ve both been to a Realm, but there’s one difference. When Kalligo interrogated Bivinel, she said she remembered nothing. She definitely gained power through the Realm, but no memory before or after.”
“Trunble remembers.”
Lander lightly rubbed his chin.
“The moment we define what a Realm is, a lot will change. Grasping the enemy’s nature will make countermeasures easier.”
“But we still can’t identify Gilliud’s people right away. Even understanding the Realm might not give us a method. We can’t read minds, after all.”
If we could detect special powers inherited there, we could distinguish them. But what about those swayed by words?
We couldn’t assign Stoa interrogators to every citizen.
Lander smiled.
“There’s a way?”
Deong asked.
“Nothing certain yet, but we’re trying something. The problem is success depends on mood.”
“What? Mood decides it?”
What kind of talk was this?
“Time’s up.”
“Time?”
“Kalligo sent you here for this person, to begin with.”
Something more important than the man from the Realm? Deong followed Lander, slightly tense.
They went up a floor. After passing several bulkheads, unlike the stark isolation rooms, a sky-blue toned room appeared. A fresh contrast to Kea’s all-gray.
“A new face beside you.”
A female researcher with a Chief Researcher nameplate said. Deong greeted her, stating his Special Inspectorate affiliation.
“You must be Deong. I’m Belluna, Kea’s Chief Researcher.”
She looked quite young for a chief researcher. But Kea overflowed with exceptional people, so it wasn’t odd.
“They’ll arrive soon.”
Belluna said, setting snacks and drinks on the table. Chocolate cookies piled high, the kind that dried out your mouth just looking.
“Who’s coming?”
“Someone you know, Deong. Rielder’s daughter, Charlotte.”
“Why is she here…?”
Before he could finish, the corridor bulkhead rose. Two familiar faces appeared.
Guchi and Inebil. Charlotte was beside them.
“The one who will observe you will appear soon.”
Lander said.
“Who is it?”
“A great being… that’s the only way to describe them. Once they verify you, Deong, you’ll be cleared.”
“Now I get why the Captain sent me here.”
“Kalligo trusts you. But trust alone isn’t enough; he needed proof.”
“If I were Gilliud’s spy…”
“You’d experience a lot here. And then be transferred to Stoa.”
“Does the one coming soon read minds?”
Lander paused briefly, then smiled faintly.
“They’re sensitive to scents more than minds.”
Charlotte approached. Curious about the stranger, she stared at him. Deong hesitated, unsure how to react.
“What’s this guy?”
With a breeze, a white bird appeared. It had only one wing. The instinct honed from Inspectorate work sent a grave warning.
Dangerous. Extremely dangerous.
“He’s under Kalligo.”
Lander said.
“That chatterbox? Looks like you’ve had it rough too. I hate being near him myself.”
The bird, flying freely and talking, landed on Deong’s shoulder.
His body stiffened involuntarily. Even if the Emperor placed a hand on his shoulder, he wouldn’t tense this much.
“Lady Sanka. What do you think?”
“I told you I don’t want to get involved in your affairs. Why should I help?”
The bird grumbled beside him. Deong swallowed dryly. He didn’t know what it was, but his fate hinged on this bird’s words.
“Sanka.”
Charlotte said. The bird reluctantly turned its head.
“He’s not unpleasant. No smell like those guys. Though don’t take my word as gospel.”
The bird left his shoulder. Tension drained away. Lander beside him spoke.
“No need to worry about Stoa.”
“I-is that so.”
Deong let out a deflated voice.
(To be continued)