Chapter 186
Chapter 186
Logan took the king's reaction seriously.
'I can't let the king continue down this misguided path.'
There was still a formidable mountain to overcome—a crisis that would require mobilizing the entire kingdom's resources to confront.
With that looming ahead, internal discord couldn't be allowed to fester any longer.
'I need to find those who orchestrated this.'
But his determination hit a wall from the outset.
"Lord Cheyson of the Royal Magic Tower said he couldn't find any traces."
"Lord Cheyson?"
"A 5th-Class mage of the Wizard School. If even he couldn't track them, then magical means are useless."
Though Class mages might lag behind Circle mages in elemental magic or combat prowess, the utility of Class magic was incomparable. A 5th-Class mage was practically equivalent to a 6th-Circle Archmage in non-combat applications.
If he couldn't find them, then they couldn't be found.
"Our Esperanza trackers and the Royal Inspection Unit also failed. That's why I suspected an insider."
In short, there were no leads whatsoever.
The checkpoints around the capital had become mere formalities. With no concrete evidence to identify the culprits, the searchers could only detain anyone who seemed suspicious.
As a result, only unrelated fugitives had been arrested so far.
'This is exhausting.'
Logan hoped that the genius he knew would help untangle this frustrating situation and reached out to his territory via magic communication.
But—
[Huh? Why are you asking me about this?]
"...What?"
[I appreciate that you trust me enough to share such classified information, but... why ask me for ideas on catching the palace attackers?]
Damian's bewildered expression was unmistakable.
[I'm just an administrator hired because I wrote decent poetry... Did they leave behind some kind of poem or something?]
"Ah..."
Right.
At this point in time, Damian Nadal was merely an administrator taken in after his family's ruin.
'Did he awaken his talent in my past life because of some special experience I wasn't aware of?'
If so, then under the pretense of securing talent early, he had just made a grand fool of himself.
A sharp pain throbbed in his temples.
He had vowed to be more cautious, yet here he was, blindly relying on past-life knowledge again.
Perhaps because everything had been going smoothly lately, he had unknowingly let his guard down, assuming Damian would handle it effortlessly.
He sighed deeply.
This meant he had to overhaul his entire intelligence organization plan from scratch.
Just as he was berating himself internally—
Damian, still on the communication line, hesitantly spoke up.
[I take it there wasn't a poem? Well, if you still want my opinion, I can share my thoughts...]
"...You have a solution?!"
[N-Not a solution, just an idea. Like I said, I'm not well-versed in these matters...]
The surge of hope plummeted faster than it had risen.
But Logan was desperate enough to grasp at straws.
"Any idea is fine. Just say it."
[Hmm. First, let's establish the premise. Assuming everything I've heard is true...]
"It is."
[Right. If so, then... those people never intended to kill the king in the first place, did they?]
"...What?"
[Historically, assassination attempts on monarchs are usually desperate acts. Everything hinges on whether the intended outcome is achieved. If they truly meant to kill His Majesty and failed, they couldn't have cleaned up so thoroughly unless they had meticulously prepared for failure in advance...]
"Ah—!!"
It was like being struck on the back of the head—a sudden realization.
Damian had pinpointed the unease Logan had felt about the attack, something he couldn't articulate before.
"Then those bastards...?"
[If an inexplicable incident occurs, the one who benefits the most is usually the culprit. But in this situation, no one stands to gain. So it's more likely this was aimed at someone who would suffer because of it.]
"...Me?"
[Huh? What do you...?]
At Damian's confused voice, Logan sighed softly and explained the situation.
"I was accused of being behind the assassination attempt. Of course, I had no reason to do it, but His Majesty seems to think otherwise."
[Ah, a vassal stronger than the king. They were trying to exploit the conflict between you two. That makes sense.]
"So what do you think?"
[Huh?]
Damian blinked blankly, but Logan pressed on.
"What should I do now? Is there any way to catch them?"
[Uh... Didn't you say magical tracking isn't working? What could I possibly...]
"If you were the one giving them orders, how would you have escaped? Think from that angle! You have the talent for this kind of thing... no, you are talented in this."
You were the one who kept the Grandia Liberation Front fighting for thirty years against the Empire's overwhelming might.
'They must have escaped. But if there's any way to catch them, tell me, please!'
Logan stared intently at the communication orb as he repeated those words internally.
[...Hmm. If it were me?]
After a moment of contemplation, Damian gave an unexpected answer.
[I wouldn't run.]
"...What?"
[Why waste energy moving around? You said their appearances weren't exposed, right? And magical tracking doesn't work? If they just take off their masks, no one would recognize them.]
"Tch..."
[From their perspective, the capital's surroundings are completely surrounded. Even if they're confident they left no evidence, they wouldn't risk moving recklessly.]
Logan nodded at the unexpected reasoning.
"That sounds plausible. But we've stationed mages at the gates since shortly after the incident, scanning everyone with detection magic. Any Force user without proper identification..."
[I heard the initial response was delayed. So they could've slipped past the gates. No matter how dark it is under the lamp, they couldn't hide in the inner city or the bustling outer districts.]
"Then..."
[Yes. If they're still near the capital, the most likely place is the slums outside the outer city.]
Logan's mouth fell open at Damian's calm deduction.
"...The slums?"
[An unregulated area with no population records. And you mentioned one of them lost an arm, right? The slums are full of such people—perfect for hiding. They could lay low there and leave quietly when things calm down.]
"You're saying the ones who vanished without a trace from the royal palace are hiding in the slums?"
It seemed far more likely they had fled far away.
[Only if they thought carefully. It's just my opinion. You're not actually taking this seriously, are you?]
"...No. It's worth investigating."
[Huh? But I've heard rumors about the capital's slums. If people with no names or identifiable features are determined to hide there, who could possibly find them?]
"There are people who can."
People his rigid mentor or the still-untarnished Damian wouldn't know about.
Logan immediately contacted Nox—the information guild operating right there in the slums.
"A list of people who entered the slums around that time...?"
"Yes."
At Logan's firm response, the middle-aged man who had been smiling at his high-profile guest faltered.
"Your Excellency... We'd love to help with your request, but even we don't have complete knowledge of everything in the slums."
"One of them is missing an arm. The right one."
"The slums aren't short on cripples..."
"Can't do it?"
Clink.
The moment Logan dropped a pouch of gold coins, the man's eyes gleamed, and he hastily replied.
"N-No! Given time, that should be possible."
Doing business in the Grandia Kingdom now meant not crossing Logan MacLaine.
With guaranteed compensation on top, refusal wasn't an option.
"We'll mobilize all our branch members to find them. Just give us a day."
"If they catch wind and flee, it'll be trouble."
"That won't happen."
The man assured him confidently, and soon delivered results as promised.
'...Unaffiliated Transcendents.'
He shook off the thought of the long-forgotten side request for now.
This was the time to focus on finding the would-be assassins.
Logan slowly walked through the slums, reviewing the information Nox had provided.
Three one-armed men missing their right arms.
He considered mobilizing troops, but the slums would descend into chaos the moment knights or soldiers flooded in, making it impossible to catch the culprits.
So Logan donned a tattered robe and wandered the alleys as dusk fell.
Two had already been checked—both were disabled veterans turned vagrants.
If this one was another dead end, they must have fled long ago.
And if so, his chances of catching them would vanish.
Sighing inwardly, Logan turned a corner—and his crimson eyes gleamed.
Three vagrants lay sprawled in a corner of a roofless ruin.
At a glance, they looked no different from any other beggars...
But Logan saw otherwise.
'Found them!'
All three were Force users—high-tier ones, concealing their energy with some special method.
If high-tier Force users employed magical means to hide their presence, even an information guild like Nox wouldn't detect them.
Unless someone like him—or a top-tier Force user examining them up close, or a mage casting detection spells deliberately—no one would recognize them at a glance.
'Damian, you...'
The Evil Brain of his past life was proving his talent in this one as well.
The exhilaration of finding his enemies and the certainty of the genius he had recruited brought a smile to Logan's lips.
Of course, his steps remained steady as he walked down the alley, betraying none of his thoughts.
"Spare a coin..."
"Just one coin..."
Though their hands were wrapped in rags, hiding even their skin, Logan would have bet everything that thick calluses lay beneath.
Most tellingly, one of them—the one lying motionless—had no right arm.
The injury Louis had inflicted on their leader.
Logan smirked internally as he pulled out gold coins from his pocket.
"Tch. Here you go."
The coins glittered in his palm.
The beggars' hands froze momentarily, caught off guard—
And in that instant, the coins weren't dropped into their hands but embedded deep into their solar plexuses.
Thud.
"Guh—!"
"Kgh—!"
Only the one-armed man managed to dodge, leaping back.
"Enemy!"
Without a second thought, he bolted across the ruined rooftops.
But despite his agility, Logan was already behind him.
Slash.
"Agh!"
The sword swung again, severing his remaining arm.
Logan grinned in triumph.
"Got you. Trash."
But then—
"Hah... D-Don't make me laugh..."
Shudder.
Twitch.
The one-armed—now armless—man's face darkened as he let out a weak laugh, forcing Logan's expression to twist.
"You damn—!"
Thud.
He grabbed the man hastily, but a tingling numbness spread through his hand, now smeared with the blood the man had coughed up.
A foul sensation he had only felt a few times at the end of his past life.
Poison.
"Damn it!"
His face flushed crimson as golden Force surged out, forcibly expelling the venom.
He turned his head hurriedly—
"Son of a—!"
The other two were already convulsing on the ground, their faces blackened, teeth clenched on their tongues.
"...This is infuriating."
All Logan had gained that day were three poisoned corpses.
The trail of the would-be assassins had vanished completely.