Chapter 28
Chapter 28
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Rhythm Interrupted
-----------------------------------------------------------------
been orchestrating the movement of the pieces upon the board at a steady, rhythmic pace, suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
She placed down the specific piece she had been on the verge of moving and stared straight ahead into the void, remaining completely motionless.
Erich sidled up beside her with a quiet, curious presence.
"Have you become stuck once again, Mother?"
"It is exactly as you can see for yourself."
"Even if you say that to me, I wouldn't truly know the difference. You really shouldn't assume everyone in this world possesses a mind like yours or the Minister's."
The girl offered a small, apologetic smile at Erich's persistent grumbling, then glanced beyond the boundaries of the board with a weary sigh.
"Haa... He is remarkably fast—far too fast, in all honesty. Even I can barely manage to keep up with his pace..."
"Is it truly that severe?"
"Mm. The Minister's complex train of thought surpasses my own with effortless ease."
Her delicate fingers casually knocked over one of the pieces sideways as she muttered about what kind of extraordinary brain it must take to pull off a feat like that.
"Oh, did those operatives finally meet their end?"
"Strictly speaking, they have not died yet. But they certainly will very soon."
"So their fate has already been decided?"
"It has been set in stone for some time."
Erich scratched his head, his voice carrying a distinct tone of regret.
"They really should have held an overwhelming tactical advantage in this particular area."
"It is simply a profound pity about the inevitable losses. If only my own memory were fully intact, perhaps I could have actually outpaced the Minister...?"
Erich's eyes widened in genuine surprise as the girl allowed her sentence to trail off into uncertainty.
"Wait, even assuming your memory was perfect, are you saying you still wouldn't be confident?"
"When an opponent stands so far out of the normal human spec, one's confidence naturally begins to fade."
"You look remarkably thrilled for someone who claims to be lacking in confidence."
"Of course I am thrilled."
She picked up another piece with a graceful, fluid motion and lowered her hand back toward the board as she offered her reply.
"Because if I am finding enjoyment in this struggle, he is undoubtedly enjoying it just as much."
"Hoo... Hoo... Damn it all...!"
Leaning heavily against the cold wall and gasping desperately for breath, Karl bitterly berated his own unforgivable carelessness.
Not long ago, he had managed to successfully unseal a rare artifact at his friend's urgent request, aided by his brother's intervention.
Since it had been unlocked in a completely novel and unique way—previously undiscovered by scholars—it had stirred up quite a significant buzz in various academic circles.
After a series of rigorous experiments and verifications, they had confirmed it possessed the ability to track mutants or specifically named monsters. So far, everything had been going well.
His friend had been absolutely overjoyed by the results, and Karl had earned a prestigious achievement, making it a perfect win-win deal for both parties.
But then, unforeseen and lethal problems began to arise.
Those who were targeting the specific artifact he had dubbed the "Named Searcher" suddenly showed up at his friend's residence.
'At first, I harbored the thought that they were merely some kind of aggressive artifact collectors, but I was wrong. They are the very ones Brother warned me about.'
The Oracle organization.
Recalling that ominous name, Karl ground his teeth together in a fit of silent fury.
Before all contact had been cut off, his friend had visited him one last time, explaining that the group first tried to purchase the artifact with massive, tempting sums of money. When he refused the offer, sensing something was profoundly off, they had resorted to raw force.
They had managed to fend them off somehow, but his friend had come to Karl to prepare for any future contingencies—and then he had gone completely silent.
Hearing that the last sighting of him was at this ancient temple of the Flame God, Karl registered himself as an adventurer and hired a high-ranking A-rank party to venture deep inside.
And there, within those scorched walls, he finally found the culprits.
Alongside the mutilated and cold corpse of his dear friend.
"You absolute bastards...!"
With each ragged, painful breath fueled by his surging emotion, the heavy, scorching air of the temple seared into his lungs.
True to its ancient name, the Flame God's temple was a blistering and lethal dungeon that no ordinary human could hope to endure for long.
Just standing still within its halls drained one's stamina with rapid speed; fleeing for his life at a mad, desperate sprint made his continued survival feel like a miracle.
But now, he had finally reached his absolute physical limit.
The hired A-rank party had been completely wiped out, buying him a few precious minutes to escape at the ultimate cost of their own lives.
Yet their sacrifice now rang hollow and tragic—Karl possessed no strength left to even crawl, let alone run.
The echoing sound of multiple, purposeful footsteps reached his ears.
They were hunting him down like wounded prey.
Judging by how close the sounds were getting, he knew his time in this world was almost up.
'Come on then, you rotten, heartless scum!'
He possessed no real combat prowess as a civilian researcher, but resolved to take at least one of them with him into the void, Karl staggered to his feet and gripped his dagger.
But that dagger was never destined to be swung.
"Karl."
"Brother?!"
The crushing tension shattered instantly at the sight of his brother—someone he never in his wildest dreams imagined seeing here—and Karl simply collapsed on the spot from the shock.
Thank goodness for that.
My brother is actually safe and sound.
I had been worried sick during the entire journey here, but seeing his living face brought an immediate wave of relief.
After providing water to my severely dehydrated brother, letting him calm his nerves, and hearing the full, tragic story, I nodded and decided to head out first—but I paused after only a few steps.
"Minister."
Turning around at Christina's sharp call, I saw over a dozen figures dressed in black clothes and masks staring directly at us.
It might just be my imagination, but they actually looked far more flustered by the encounter than we did.
That said, aren't they incredibly hot in those thick outfits? I'm starting to sweat just by looking at them.
"The Intelligence Minister is here...?"
"How on earth is he already present at this location?"
"There is fast, and then there is whatever this is..."
According to Karl's testimony, these individuals were Oracle operatives—the same ones who had tried infiltrating my private office once before.
Luckily, I had the elite Owls with me and the numbers were clearly on our side, so it was time to capture them all and drag them back to HQ for questioning.
I was just about to issue my direct orders when a loud crunching sound echoed simultaneously, like many things shattering at once.
The Oracle operatives all collapsed to the floor as one single entity.
My agents rushed over to them in the sudden chaos, but each one shook their heads in disappointment after checking their pulses.
"They are all dead. It appears they bit down on hidden poison capsules."
What a bunch of absolute weirdos. Not that I am in a position to judge, but don't most people at least try to fight once before offing themselves?
I told my agents to search the bodies for clues anyway, but absolutely nothing of value turned up.
Hold on a second. Karl mentioned that his friend was killed by them, so where exactly is this Named Searcher artifact?
"I have it right here."
"You possess it?"
"Yes. He entrusted it to my care in case of serious trouble. He must have somehow foreseen... this outcome."
Karl pulled out the compass-like artifact from his cloak and offered it to me.
He said he simply could not protect it himself, so he insisted that I should take it into my possession instead.
"They are targeting this item specifically, so it is clearly of great value. You should be the one to hold onto it, Brother."
Strictly speaking, it wouldn't make much of a difference if I kept it, but handing it over to my capable subordinates would be far more useful.
"Got it."
Taking the Named Searcher into my hand, I had my men collect his friend's body and the corpses of the A-rank party from where they lay, then we headed out.
Oh, that's right—I almost forgot.
"Karl."
"Yes, Brother."
"Do not ever let a situation like this happen again."
I may be a lousy and distant brother, but I am still the Intelligence Minister.
You should lean on my authority when you truly need to.
Hell, feel free to use me however you want.
Karl gave a weak, tired smile at my blunt words.
"Of course. Thank you for saving my life, Brother."
"...I am just glad you are safe."
"Yes."
Just to be safe, I assigned a dedicated agent to escort him to the hospital for full checks and treatment, then I returned to the Adventurer's Guild.
I felt the need to explain the situation and apologize for barging into their dungeon without any prior announcement.
Whether I held Overlord privileges or not was irrelevant.
Basic courtesy demanded that I do so.
Guild Master Braun practically leaped for joy upon hearing from the returning Minister that Karl Barrmut had been rescued entirely unharmed—there was no need for that resignation letter after all.
But his momentary joy was destined to be very short-lived.
His face drained to a sickly, pale blue at the Minister's very next words.
"Guild Master Braun. I wish to offer an apology to you."
Behind the sofa where the Minister sat, stood four imposing Owl-masked figures, flanked by a host of Intelligence agents.
It's a very good thing I wrote that resignation letter, he thought to himself again, as he carefully chose his words to maximize his chances of survival.
"There is absolutely nothing for you to apologize for, Minister."
"Is that so."
The Minister quietly and rhythmically stroked the ring on his right thumb.
In the midst of that crushing silence, as Braun prayed to the gods that his impending death would cost only his own life and no one else's, the Minister continued.
"Then I shall provide an explanation to you instead of an apology."
"An explanation, sir?"
Upon hearing the true cause of the incident and about this mysterious "Oracle," Braun felt a sudden, violent urge to vomit.
Apparently, Oracle was a dark secret society whose true nature had not yet been publicly revealed to the masses.
The Empire's government had tasked the Intelligence Department with suppressing all related info to prevent global chaos.
And now, Braun was officially in the know.
Reading between the lines of the conversation, he instantly grasped the Minister's true intent.
'In other words, I am officially one of them now... whether I like it or not!'
As if to confirm his realization, the Minister added a final note after his explanation.
"For your own continued safety, Guild Master Braun, I would strongly advise against spreading any word about Oracle. It could get quite dangerous for you."
It was a pure, 100% threat that any loose lips could get him killed by their own hand—Braun could do nothing but nod in silent terror.
Sometimes these things just happen.
You believe you are home alone, or so you think, but you suddenly feel the presence of someone standing right behind you.
Heading home from the guild and about to undress for a wash, I dismissed the feeling as my imagination and turned around.
"It has been quite a long time no see."
Holy shit, you truly scared the life out of me!
Frozen in place from the shock and momentarily speechless, the crazy woman who is convinced she is Asero Kerk frowned and began to scan the room.
"There is dense mana lingering everywhere in this place. This specific quality... An Elf? An elf was recently here?"
What the—how on earth did she know that?
Damn these mages. No matter how much I have to deal with them, they never seem to get any less freaky.
"What is it that you want from me this time?"
"I already told you. I would come back for your help when our interests finally aligned. It feels like that time has now arrived."
"And on what basis did you decide that?"
"Based on my own impressions from watching you carefully from afar."
So she's a stalker on top of everything else?
"Oh, that's right—were you just about to wash yourself up? I shall wait for you in the living room. Please, take your time. Or would you like me to scrub your back for you?"
"I'll pass."
There is no way I am letting a total psycho touch me!
After washing and changing my clothes, I entered the living room to find the self-proclaimed Asero Kerk lounging about as if it were her own place, casually sipping on tea.
"Ah, there you are finally?"
"One might easily think that I am the guest in this house."
"Oh? So you are actually acknowledging me as your guest?"
"Hardly. I simply cannot kick you out, so I am merely tolerating your presence."
What does this woman truly want from me, anyway, that she keeps showing up uninvited?
I don't know much about the mechanics of magic, but teleporting in and out screams that she's a highly skilled mage. Why ask for help from a regular guy like me?
"So, what exactly is it?"
"Well... It is honestly a bit awkward to say this after asking for your help, but..."
After hemming and hawing for what felt like forever, the so-called Asero Kerk finally squeezed the words out.
"The truth is, I don't even know exactly what it is I should ask for your help with."
"Get out of my house."