Chapter 202
Chapter 202
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 202
Chapter Title: Great Library (2)
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What the hell was that supposed to mean? He'd naturally assumed Duke Hustape, the head of the faction Luberon belonged to, was behind it all, but the guy claimed he didn't know.
Rokan’s eyes flickered with confusion for a moment before he snapped back to his senses.
He realized his mistake.
“Are any of those using the corrupted power Duke Hustape?”
-No.
The question had been poorly phrased. The subdued soul couldn’t lie, but it had no reason to volunteer extra information. If the question wasn’t precise, it could give answers open to misinterpretation.
“Who is the leader of those using the corrupted power?”
-That would be… Duke Killamanta.
“…What?”
This time, even Rokan hadn’t seen it coming.
Duke Killamanta was supposed to be on the opposing faction from Duke Hustape, wasn’t he?
Did that mean Count Luberon had been a spy?
It was confusing, but he quickly gathered his wits. Time was limited.
“Are Duke Killamanta and Duke Hustape on the same side?”
-No.
At least the two weren’t in cahoots. It seemed Count Luberon really had been putting on an act as a spy.
“Who’s involved in using the corrupted power?”
-Duke Killamanta and…
The soul rattled off a list of nobles’ names.
Luberon apparently didn’t know everyone’s identities, as the answers came quicker than expected, but Rokan nodded in satisfaction.
Everything was being recorded on video, so he could look into them methodically later.
He checked the remaining time and fired off his final question.
“Where did you hide the documents or information related to this incident and those using the power of corruption?”
Poof.
With that fairly lengthy response, Luberon’s soul dispersed.
Spirit Speaking couldn’t be used repeatedly on the same target, so that was the end of it.
Still, he’d gotten everything he wanted, so Rokan didn’t feel any regret. He immediately set off, heading out personally to collect the hidden documents based on what he’d learned.
While he’d been talking, the knights had been combing through the inner keep, but they hadn’t found anything concrete yet.
[You have discovered Trace of Treason #1.]
[You have discovered Trace of Treason #5.]
[You have discovered Trace of Treason #2.]
Rokan collected the documents calmly but without missing a beat.
Some were hidden in secret devices and compartments, but that posed no problem at all.
He moved through the place like he owned it, gathering them up. A few were even buried outside the inner keep.
‘First things first, I need to deal with this.’
But Rokan couldn’t handle them all at once. Far too many heavy hitters were involved for that.
So for now, he decided to focus on those directly tied to this incident.
He’d piece together the documents, round up those with direct connections, and deal with them.
He wanted to head straight to Duke Hustape’s territory, but the links were too tenuous for that.
He split up his men and began arresting the other counts with whom discussions had taken place directly.
“Let me go, you bastard!”
“Marquis Rokan, what is the meaning of this? Acting so recklessly like this…!”
Thwack!
This time, though, he held back on killing as much as possible.
He’d confirmed the emperor wouldn’t interfere with his actions, but rather than eliminating them outright, he wanted to draw out higher-ups through their own mouths.
So he subdued them with violence and dragged them in, leaving the human nobles trembling in the unexpected blizzard.
[The emperor has summoned you. Proceed to the imperial palace within 6 hours.]
By the time the commotion had died down, the emperor summoned Rokan.
Seeing the message, Rokan could roughly gauge the emperor’s intentions.
‘Good reaction.’
If the emperor wanted to stop him, he would’ve sent men immediately or summoned him right away. But he’d given 6 hours’ grace.
It was as good as saying he’d pretend to rein Rokan in but wouldn’t actually block him.
Cooldowns made it hard to summon assistants for soul magic tricks anymore, but Rokan had beaten answers out of them with his fists, found evidence through searches, and shut down any noble interference at the source.
He’d had few noble connections to begin with, and with his marquis rank, only another marquis or a duke stepping up could’ve stopped him.
‘Not that they would.’
But it’d be ridiculous for Duke Hustape to step in. This wasn’t some minor crime—it was “treason” and “conspiracy.” Getting involved could drag him down too.
Sure enough, no one of marquis rank or higher made a peep, which was strangely quiet. Instead, something odd started happening.
“Marquis, Count Collorando is dead.”
“Count Hushibal too. His office has been completely cleared out.”
Counts and the like began vanishing or turning up dead.
Clear tail-cutting.
They’d cleaned up so thoroughly that Rokan received reports saying no traces of the culprits could be found. He rounded up who he could and wrapped up the investigation.
Then he headed to the imperial palace to answer the emperor’s summons.
“So. You’ve rounded up the traitors?”
The emperor greeted Rokan with an unusually gentle tone upon their reunion.
And why not? There was clear evidence, and fewer rebels defying his orders only strengthened imperial authority.
‘More precisely, it strengthens not just his authority but his power too.’
That wasn’t all. The traitors’ wealth, lands, and private armies—what would become of them? All confiscated and added to the emperor’s own.
And that wasn’t bad for Rokan either.
With noble influence weakened and imperial power strengthened, the support from his imperial patron would grow.
Plus, it’d make uniting them easier, boosting the race’s overall strength.
No matter what the emperor said, nobles wouldn’t fully surrender their private armies unless the race faced extinction.
“Yes. I happened upon evidence and rooted out those involved. I apologize for not reporting ahead due to concerns over evidence tampering.”
“No need. You did well. I trust you, so do as you see fit whenever you think it’s right. As long as your cause is just, no one will touch you.”
As expected, the emperor declared full trust and support for Rokan.
He might be a sudden visitor, but compared to slippery nobles of unknown loyalties, ones with clear goals were more convenient for the emperor.
As long as they didn’t eye his throne.
And the emperor trusted his fellow NPCs. He believed that if Rokan turned against him and staged a coup, they wouldn’t help.
“Thank you.”
“From establishing merits in battle to rooting out traitors early—you’ve earned great service, so rewards must follow. Speak your desire. Shall I reopen the Imperial Armory for you?”
So the emperor tempted Rokan with items outright.
Reopening the Imperial Armory.
He’d already granted it twice before, but its allure didn’t fade easily.
He knew Rokan was raking in taxes from his great territory, but Armory items held value beyond money.
They weren’t soulbound on acquisition, so he could use them himself or give them to allies and subordinates.
Hand a powerful weapon to high-master level Talran or Delas, and not only would loyalty max out, but it’d be a huge power boost.
‘One item won’t boost overall strength much. I need something else…’
But Rokan wanted something other than items. He debated whether to voice it.
“Instead of the Imperial Armory… with your permission, I’d like to enter the Great Library.”
“The Great Library?”
“Yes. I wish to browse all areas without restrictions, down to the deepest sections.”
The Imperial Great Library. It was humanity’s treasure trove of history and knowledge. Saying it held books on every topic wasn’t an exaggeration, and it had skill books too.
So the emperor interpreted Rokan’s request differently.
“Very well. I grant you an S-grade archive pass, equal to that of royalty. But you get only one entry, with permission to take two books.”
[You have acquired an S-grade Archive Pass.]
[You may check out a total of 2 books from the Imperial Great Library.]
[Skill books cannot be learned inside the library; acquisition is possible after checkout.]
S-grade Archive Pass. The S stood for Secret. It granted access even to the innermost archives not even dukes could enter.
“Thank you.”
Rokan’s lips curved into a long smile as he accepted it.
Two skill books were an unexpected bonus, but he was confident they’d help him achieve his goal.
‘The Lion King’s Armaments. No need to let on that I have one.’
What Rokan wanted was the whereabouts of the remaining two “Sealed Lion King Armaments.” He figured the ancient emperor might know about the one he’d used on him, but blurting it out directly would be idiotic.
If they knew Rokan had it, even Emperor Kaisman might covet it.
Legends said collecting all Lion King Armaments granted his power—who wouldn’t be tempted?
So instead of asking outright, Rokan planned to search himself. The Great Library would be stuffed with histories on the Lion King.
‘It’ll be tedious… but no choice.’
He couldn’t even guess how many—or how many hundreds or thousands—of books he’d have to read.
But he had to.
Two Lion King Armaments remained.
Collecting them would unseal the set.
‘That’d basically be graduation gear.’
He didn’t know the power of the unsealed Lion King Armaments.
But at minimum, they’d last from high master to grand master—maybe even past grand master to the mythical Majesty Master.
The Lion King’s realm was known as at least grand master, with tales he might’ve been Majesty Master.
After bidding the emperor farewell, Rokan headed straight to the Imperial Great Library.
[Entering the Imperial Great Library.]
[S-grade Archive Pass confirmed. Access to all archives granted.]
His pass was automatically recognized as he entered.
His marquis title alone allowed fairly deep access, but the S-grade pass opened at least two more zones.
[This pass is one-time use. A new pass is required to re-enter after leaving.]
[Call the ‘Archive Administrator’ if you need assistance.]
“Summon Archive Administrator.”
Following the system prompt, he spoke, and a magical lifeform appeared before him.
Managed by magical beings instead of humans who could be bribed or look the other way, ensuring ironclad security.
“Search by title and content: ‘Lion King.’”
Rokan immediately tasked the archive administrator with a keyword search.
The keyword, naturally, was Lion King.
Search results appeared right away.