Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Even if There Are Mistakes, There Is No Failure
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Mistakes happen, but there is no such thing as failure. It was one of Deong's favorite sayings.
While working, mistakes were inevitable. Even when meticulously reviewing reports, the captain would spot errors, just like how sneaking sips of the captain's liquor always got him caught.
So, was what had just happened a mistake?
Deong gritted his teeth. His mangled wrist, severed and ragged, sent waves of dizziness-inducing pain.
"My luck's been absolute shit these past few days."
He muttered to himself to calm his spinning head. If he didn't say something, he felt like he might pass out.
He kept glancing back while running, worried that "the woman" might chase after him.
Thanks to the rapid hemostatic agent, the bleeding had stopped, but the pain had only worsened. Damn that quack healer.
They said it wouldn't hurt much. He leaned against a tree and sat down. He was quite a distance from the mansion now.
No one was pursuing him.
He looked down at his left arm. The wound was torn open too badly for any hope of stitching. Nerve reconstruction was only possible in the Holy City anyway, so he'd given up on that early. He'd need to get a fancy prosthetic.
"Captain, you're a real son of a bitch."
He pulled a vial from his pocket. Painkillers. The day had come when even he needed these.
He popped a pill into his mouth and chewed. As the healer had said, with added fruit flavor, it tasted good. His tongue, savoring the taste in a situation like this, was almost admirable.
He leaned his head against the tree and caught his breath for a moment. The pain gradually subsided. At the same time, his mind grew foggy.
Deong checked the wrist he'd stashed in his pocket, then set off again.
Where exactly had he slipped up? He recalled the night a few days ago.
On his way out of Blue Button after meeting Connero, he ran into the captain and the woman. The captain issued orders in the slang used within the Inspection Unit. Keep an eye on the woman beside him.
It was a surveillance order with no set deadline. Just like with Lander, no information was provided. It felt off, but handling such tasks was his job.
He waited silently at the exit from Blue Button. Soon after, two women rode out of the village on horseback. One was the woman who'd been with Lander.
He tailed them discreetly. They arrived at a mansion within Shelder territory. The two entered the mansion and didn't come out for a while.
There was nowhere suitable nearby to hide, so he settled in the forest. He could have infiltrated if he wanted, but decided to watch a bit longer.
Perched in a tree, he pondered. Why had the captain ordered him to surveil that woman?
He pulled up Shelder territory from the information stacked in his mind. It was low-priority.
A noble with a good reputation managing his territory well. That was the extent of the intel.
What secrets could a bland noble like that have? As he mulled it over, the two women emerged from the mansion.
Deong shifted positions and continued his watch.
The two exchanged a few words, then drew their swords and began to fight.
Their exchanges were quite fierce. He was observing their duel through binoculars when it happened.
The "surveillance target" dropped her sword. At the same time, she looked directly toward his position.
It wasn't a coincidence.
The moment he was certain, he prepared to withdraw.
He had no time to wonder how he'd been spotted or detected.
Just as he turned to climb down from the tree, Deong hastily raised his left hand, still holding the binoculars.
It was a near-miraculous reaction, and it saved his neck. A split second slower, and his head would have rolled instead of his wrist.
"I need to request long-term leave."
He washed the wound at a stream. He reapplied the rapid hemostatic and wrapped it with cloth.
He pulled the severed wrist from his pocket and tossed it into the stream. Confirming it swept away by the current, he headed to the village.
"The weather's cold today."
"It's winter, after all. Snow will probably fall soon."
Deong hid his injury and acted naturally. He slipped some money to the innkeeper and entered a room. No pursuers, so this should be far enough.
The painkiller was wearing off, and cold sweat broke out. As the fog in his head cleared, the pain revived.
He desperately wanted to dump another painkiller into his mouth. But he held back. First things first.
He opened the pouch he always carried for work. He bit the string with his teeth and untied it with his right hand.
Notebook and various tools spilled onto the bed. Among them, he grabbed a palm-sized parchment.
He bit one end of the parchment with his teeth and pulled with his right hand. It tore, emitting a red glow.
He leaned by the window and waited. Soon, four cats entered the room.
"I need a favor."
Deong tore the remaining parchment as well. A provisional contract activated.
The four cats, now temporary familiars, leaped out the window.
Now, all that was left was waiting. Someone from the nearest Inspection Unit branch would come. Unless all four cats unluckily died on the way.
He chewed a painkiller and lay on the bed. Sleep crashed over him like a wave.
* * *
"There's nothing more to gain here."
Kalligo said, placing a hand on the altar. Lander nodded. They'd examined the burrow for days but found no real leads beyond the logbook.
"Now our task is to backtrack using the information we've compiled so far. Interviews will be the first step. Once conversations start flowing, rumors will spread outside. I'll try to contain it as much as possible, but perfect control is impossible with our limited manpower."
Kalligo looked at Lander.
"You'd prefer to handle this quietly, I assume?"
"If possible, yes. Nothing's clear yet, and above all, it's a personal matter."
"Understood. Let's resolve this among the three of us here. I'll have my subordinates run only minor errands."
"I'm sorry to drag you into something so troublesome."
"It's about you, Lander, of all people. Troublesome? Not in the slightest."
Kalligo waved it off.
"What if there's no payoff? If the villagers know nothing, there's nowhere else to investigate."
Guchi said.
"Then we'll pursue the most likely suspect. If we had the manpower, that's where we'd start."
"You're talking about Gilliod."
Gilliod. Lander recalled the fond couple.
It still puzzled him. Gilliod's words rang true. No logical contradictions, and his eyes reminiscing about the past were sincere.
Perfect acting? If it was acting, there was no need to relay false information. The shepherd and the reed field. Why tell an obvious lie that would be exposed so quickly?
"Something bothering you?"
Kalligo asked.
"Since Gilliod came up—why would he give us false information? He invited suspicion by saying something unnecessary. It's odd that someone cunning and skilled enough at acting to fool those around him perfectly would make such a mistake."
"I've been thinking about that too. You said Gilliod didn't seem to be lying, Lander. Guchi felt the same."
"That's right."
"Your eye for people is no ordinary thing, Lander. Especially at spotting lies—it must be exceptional. You've handled personnel in the military, where all sorts come and go, so your judgment has been honed naturally."
"I'm not so sure."
Kalligo wagged a finger.
"Don't sell yourself short. To an ordinary guy like me, even that stings. Anyway, my personal take is this: Gilliod wasn't lying."
"What does that mean?"
"You wouldn't know, Lander. How many experiments the Empire's Think Tanks conduct. You've kept your distance from politics and focused on the battlefield, so it's more surprising if you did know."
"I've heard mentions in passing."
"Among the Think Tanks, there's one called 'Kea.' It's closely tied to Stoa and us. Their main research subject is the Imaginary Realm—what you'd call the mind."
"Researching the Imaginary Realm means..."
"Peering into people's hearts. Tons of studies for those who won't crack under torture. During the height of the war, plenty of people died. That's what fueled their breakthroughs, from what I hear. Countless experiments, and unexpected results emerged. Memory implantation was one of them."
Kalligo smiled. A smile that chilled the air.
"Of course, I don't know the exact details. Access is reserved for the Emperor. From what I've heard secondhand, they implant specific memories to instill loyalty to the Empire. Implant a fake memory of the Emperor saving their life, and wouldn't that person offer their heart to His Majesty?"
"Such a thing is really possible? Just hearing it gives me chills."
Guchi said, stroking his hair.
"Probably failed, though. Partial success maybe, but the Imaginary Realm isn't that simple. It's an intricate aggregate of formless fragments—mess it up, and you damage the brain. Losing language ability is a classic example."
Lander fired off a question immediately.
"Can Oblivion be a side effect?"
"No. Not as far as I know. Side effects are extreme. Gradually losing memories seems mild by comparison. But this is from Kea's experiments—what happened here, we can't say."
Kalligo picked up the logbook and opened it. Pages covered in bizarre symbols filled his view.
"They say a spell's number equals its caster's number, right? Magic is that personal and varied. Some systematize it like magic engineering, but most don't. John continued unknown research here. He gained the power to intervene in the Imaginary Realm, and the side effect could be amnesia. Pure speculation. But if true..."
Kalligo trailed off. Lander knew what came next.
"My wife's illness would be deliberate."
"It could be premature, but we must always consider the worst. As you said, a string of coincidences is inevitability."
Lander imprinted the cavern from the altar's floor to the ceiling, every corner, into his mind. His wife might have suffered "something" here.
His nape twitched. His heartbeat quickened beyond normal, and the anger lurking at the bottom of his emotions began to rear its head.
But one breath settled it all. His pulse normalized, and the narrowing rage vanished.
He looked down at his hands. Was he no longer even able to get angry at will? Or was reason reining him in, saying it wasn't time yet?
"Lander?"
At Kalligo's call, he shook his head slightly to indicate nothing was wrong.
"We should head out and investigate. More speculation here is pointless."
"I'll handle the preliminary inquiries. You two are already known to the villagers. If the people looking for the wife's acquaintances suddenly dig into decades-old stories, it'll raise suspicions. Small villages are wary of outsiders by nature."
"Kalligo's right."
As Guchi agreed, Lander turned to look at the burrow. He sensed movement.
"What's wrong?"
"Someone's coming."
Light appeared at the far end of the burrow. It drew steadily closer.
"It really showed up."
An old man holding a lamp poked his face out and said.
(To be continued)