Chapter 177: Episode
Chapter 177: Episode
In a private room at Lilac Vita.
The meeting proceeded in a heavy silence, the space filled only by the intermittent clatter of silverware and the steady drone of Reutern’s voice.
Outside, however, the situation was far from static. A clandestine battle, far fiercer than the one inside the restaurant, was unfolding in the shadows.
“...The audio feed is still unstable.”
In a building across from the restaurant, agents from the Emperor’s Direct Agency were drenched in sweat as they frantically recalibrated their listening devices.
“Don’t stop.”
The head of the Direct Agency placed a heavy hand on their shoulders. As someone more sensitive than anyone to the shifting tides of power within the Imperial Palace, he had to grasp exactly which way the conversation in that private room was heading.
“Every single word is vital. Wring it out.”
They weren't the only ones desperately trying to scavenge even a scrap of the conversation.
The Progen Republic’s Central Intelligence Bureau, the Eastern Robrus Union’s secret police, the Itelic Kingdom’s intelligence department, Volska’s spy agency, and even the intelligence bureau of Kanilan—which was still reeling from its recent economic collapse—had all mobilized every piece of equipment and espionage technique at their disposal.
Today, Lilac Vita had become an invisible battleground for the world’s finest spies.
“The density of the mana shield is too high. The signal keeps bouncing off.”
An agent from Progen’s Central Intelligence Bureau frowned, his headset crackling with static.
“Record anything. Even fragments.”
Words leaked out irregularly through the flickering mana. If they could just assemble those fragments into sentences and fathom the true meaning, it would be a monumental achievement.
That was how much weight the men beyond the walls of that private room carried. Grossman and Reutern were, in a word, titans.
*
Grossman felt like his ears were about to bleed. Kents, sitting beside him, looked equally fed up.
Reutern II was rambling on and on without a moment’s pause.
“No, so, I’m telling you. I was like, ‘Hey, you! What are you doing over there?!’ and then…”
He was the very image of his old reputation as a loudmouth, but Grossman could no longer dismiss his words and actions as he once had. He had already been fooled once by these feather-light antics.
“You really should have seen the look on his face, heh heh… Ah. I swear, I still see that face before I go to sleep.”
Still, the man certainly seemed like an idiot. Even now, Grossman found it hard to tell if this was a calculated act or simply his actual personality.
So this is the man of a thousand faces.
“Oh, and do you remember that friend from way back? Zipperperman. I thought his name was hilarious. How can you have two ‘pers’ in a name…”
“Reutern.”
Suddenly, Grossman cut him off, setting down his knife with a sharp clink.
“What are your thoughts on Maximilian Ebenholtz?”
“Ah. Max?”
He called Maximilian ‘Max.’ Few in the Imperial Palace dared to use such a familiar shorthand for the Knight.
“Max is a great friend~”
“Don’t you think his business empire has grown a little too large for him to be just a ‘good friend’?”
“Well~ It’s all for the good of the Empire anyway, isn’t it?”
Reutern II nonchalantly took a sip of wine. Grossman sensed a strange ambiguity in Reutern’s attitude—a complete lack of wariness toward Maximilian.
Does he see even Maximilian as just a sword he can wield as he pleases?
Or was he reassured by the fact that Maximilian was, in the end, “Zebestian’s son”?
“But you know, the Knights were doing just fine on their own.”
Suddenly, Reutern’s voice dropped to a quiet, low tone.
“I don’t get why people keep trying to change things. It just makes the Palace so noisy… Isn’t it better to just leave things as they are?”
The words were a murmur of pure annoyance—at the trouble of creating a position for Kents, at the clamor over some hearing or another.
“Every time something like that happens, the Palace gets flooded with outsiders.”
“…”
But those words—“leave things as they are”—struck Grossman’s ears like a cold blade.
“Oh, right. The other day—hey, Kents. You saw him too, didn’t you? That guy who said he was a janitor at the Palace.”
Just as quickly, however, Reutern’s chatterbox engine restarted. His mouth was a machine fueled by the red wine before him.
“It was obvious just from looking at him that he was a sub-species, so I was like, how is he even here? I had someone look into it, and what do you know…”
*
“...He’s talking too much.”
An agent from the Direct Agency blurted out in bewilderment. He had been transcribing the words flowing through the listening device, only to hit a wall of nonsense.
“What do you mean? Let me see.”
The department head held out his hand and snatched the paper.
[ Leave things as. They. That guy. Obvious. Sub-species. Thought so. Sure enough. Besides. Ah. But. It was. Haha. Kyakya. No. Really. It was a terrible experience. But it turned out well. Hahaha. Ah. And. What was it. There was something similar. Ah, wait. Hold on. I. I. I'll think about it. Ah. Don't say it! I'm thinking. Kyahahaha… ]
It was a stream of nonsensical laughter and meaningless filler. One might think he was drunk, but this was Reutern. It couldn’t possibly be ordinary bullshit.
“...Don’t tell me.”
The department head’s face, which had been creased in thought as he scanned the paper, hardened into a cold mask.
“He already knows.”
“Sir?”
“About the wiretap.”
Since the meeting place, Lilac Vita, was protected by a mana shield, state-of-the-art electronic audio equipment was useless. The Direct Agency had therefore opted for an analog method: a listening device that detected minute vibrations in the windowpanes and walls to extract audio.
“He must even know what kind of equipment we’re using…”
If so, Reutern was deliberately feeding meaningless noise into their listening device, having already figured out its principles. There was no other reason he would prattle on so pointlessly for two hours.
“...He’s formidable.”
The Direct Agency served the Emperor, but it was also an organization that sought its own independent power and status.
“Your orders, sir.”
Once their perception of a person changed, they could no longer make careless judgments. They couldn’t afford to. They had to assign a reason to his every action, remain vigilant, and respond accordingly.
“We have no choice.”
Just as Grossman had grown wary of Reutern, the agency had also tried to probe his inner thoughts, but they had been rebuffed by a wall of laughter.
The department head quietly set down the equipment and gave the order.
“Pull out for now. We retreat before we’re discovered.”
* * *
On that dark night, as Reutern II’s reputation both inside and outside the Imperial Palace soared, a certain shopping district on the outskirts of the Empire lay quiet.
[No Sub-species Allowed!]
Inside a shop bearing such a sign, a unit of Mason Industries’ private soldiers had secretly established a position. It was a command post of sorts—a control tower for the retrieval of the past experiment, “Outcast.”
“…”
But on the rooftop of the building across the street, shrouded in deep darkness, a woman was watching them.
Schatz Heizen.
Thump.
Suddenly, a heavy presence settled behind her. Schatz immediately discharged a current of electricity.
Bzzzzzt—!
Sparks seared the concrete as they surged forward, only to be blocked by a massive arm and dissipate into the air.
Schatz’s gaze snapped toward the intruder. A monstrous, hulking figure—Falkenrat—stood there silently.
—You’ve gotten stronger.
A mechanical-tinged voice. A familiar greeting.
Of course, they were old acquaintances. Falkenrat was the agent who had subdued Schatz when she had gone berserk in the past.
“And you’ve become more of a monster,” Schatz shot back coldly.
A cruel smile spread across Falkenrat’s half-mechanical face.
—A good deal of time has passed since then… But are you planning to interfere with our work again? Perhaps with another protest?
Fzzt!
Crimson mana flowed from his mechanical arm. Schatz instinctively gauged her opponent’s strength. Falkenrat was still powerful—a killing machine that had grown stronger just as she had. She couldn’t guarantee victory. If they were to fight, one of them would surely die.
However.
“My orders are to observe.”
Her top priority was not yet revenge. Her orders were simply to monitor Mason Industries’ movements. She had to keep a cool head. If she trusted and waited, a fitting opportunity would surely present itself.
—Hmm…
Falkenrat watched her with an amused expression and let out a dry, rasping laugh.
—It seems you’ve found a master.
He tapped his mechanical arm and continued.
—But you will soon understand. What we, and your father, were trying to invent.
In an instant, Schatz’s eyes twisted into a vicious glare. Her father was a line that should never be crossed.
—What’s with that look? This great beginning was none other than Arthur. Arthur Heisen. Your father was the one who made me like this.
“...And that’s why my father tried to stop it all.”
—Hmph. Because he was weak. He threw himself at Mason for money and fame, but the moment his belly was full, he grew afraid of the future his own invention would bring.
Falkenrat sneered, his red prosthetic eye glinting. Schatz’s pupils narrowed like a predator’s.
“...Shut your fucking mouth.”
—Power. Overwhelming power changes everything. Just as you’ve become Maximilian’s dog.
Heh heh heh. A mechanical chuckle echoed across the rooftop.
—Now… once the Mana Engine is complete…
Falkenrat murmured the words “Mana Engine,” his face rapt with ecstasy.
Schatz knew now, too. From her time working at the Genen Annex, she had pieced together the past through her own investigation. She knew what her father had been trying to invent at Mason Industries.
—Faced with the temptation of that power, even Maximilian will have no choice but to waver.
The Mana Engine. An infinite power source that could replace the human heart.
—He won’t be able to resist. It’s a technology that can permanently exterminate the filthy sub-species he despises so much from this continent.
…Izenheim.
Maximilian despised the Izenheim to an extreme, pathological degree. Even Schatz couldn’t fathom the source of that venomous killing intent.
—Schatz Heizen. That Knight will choose to side with us over a dog like you. In the end, he will come to see things our way.
Schatz clenched her fists. She opened her mouth to retort, but then she paused. She found herself wondering what she really knew about Maximilian.
I know of his hatred, his loathing, his rage, but I don’t know its depth or its cause…
—You’re still wavering.
“…”
Schatz forced the corners of her mouth into a smirk.
“What if I have my father’s original designs and data? That’s why you kept me alive without killing me, isn’t it?”
She provoked Falkenrat, but he merely scratched at the space above his lip and sneered.
—We have no need for such things anymore. Because a true ‘success’—far more advanced and perfect than your father's research records—is not far from here.
Falkenrat bent his knees.
Vwoooom—!
With a heavy roar, his massive body launched into the air. He vanished silently into the darkness.
Schatz stared intently at the spot where he had been, then pulled a terminal from her coat.
* * *
I received Schatz’s surveillance report on Mason Industries. At the same time, I checked the current date on the calendar on my desk.
It was almost time for that episode to occur. The one I’d read about in the comic before my regression: Elze’s kidnapping, and the clash between Mason Industries and the Outcast.
It was time for me to start preparing, but…
“…”
Schatz was standing right in front of me, motionless. She didn’t retreat, but simply looked up at me.
“What is it?”
“A two-person team. What do you think?”
I chuckled at Schatz’s question.
“The principle of a Knight is to act alone. Besides, Schatz, you’re a bad match-up against Falkenrat.”
Falkenrat was a mechanical fusion, already halfway beyond being human. He was one of the few natural enemies who could precisely track the movements of Schatz, a wielder of electromagnetism, using the thermal imaging and wave tracking of his mechanical eye.
Schatz’s strength was her speed; her weakness was her durability.
“Will you be alright, Sir Knight? From what I’ve seen, Falkenrat is undeniably strong.”
Schatz asked, her voice tinged with a rare note of concern.
“...You don’t need to worry. I, on the other hand, am his natural enemy.”
The more impurities are mixed into mana, the more corrupt it becomes. The same was true for Falkenrat. He forcibly amplified the vibrations of his mana with an impure mixture of human blood, Mana Stones, and machinery to generate destructive power.
But my mana was different. My Ebenholtz mana eliminates such fluctuations. It refines mana to its absolute limit, operating with a constant, unwavering perfection.
Therefore, the flawless overcomes the impure.
“Yes. Understood.”
Schatz quietly withdrew, and I submitted a leave of absence request to the Knight order.
*
I arrived at my retreat.
It was a luxury mansion I had prepared in advance in the western part of the Empire. An optimal base of operations, just a few blocks from Mason Industries’ headquarters.
“Let’s see…”
I stood in front of a mirror and changed into a Mason Industries researcher’s uniform. I hung a fake ID around my neck and changed the color of my hair and irises. Since I was a researcher, I even wore a mask in addition to the dentures.
Ping.
An alarm went off on the Mason Industries employee terminal I had acquired beforehand. It meant the workday was about to begin.
[ 4:45 AM ]
The start of their workday was even earlier than the Knights’.
I left the mansion. On the first floor, a researcher dressed almost identically to me was heading out at nearly the same time. I followed him as he walked, yawning. He didn’t seem to pay me any mind.
Clomp. Clomp.
In the pre-dawn light, a great number of people in the west walked the road leading to Mason Industries. Researchers, laborers, janitors, and executives in cars passed me by.
Mason Industries.
The skyscraper in the distance, boasting the highest elevation in the western Empire, came into view.
Clomp. Clomp.
The sounds of everyone’s footsteps merged into a resounding echo at the entrance. I scanned my ID at the gate, where security guards watched with stern eyes.
[ Verified: Gert Weinz, Researcher, Wing B ]
I walked calmly into the company building. My destination was Research Wing B. I continued to follow the male researcher walking ahead of me.
Clomp. Clomp.
As I moved my legs, I steeled my mind once more. I couldn’t let my guard down. I couldn’t underestimate Mason and Hector. For now, they were one of the continent’s top corporations, enjoying the Emperor’s favor.
Ding—
I stood before the elevator. Researchers in white lab coats quickly gathered, and I entered the elevator with them.
Whirrrrr—
I smiled, hidden among the throng of researchers. A certain phrase had suddenly come to mind.
—An Imperial Knight is everywhere and nowhere.