Chapter 212
Chapter 212
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Shadows of Betrayal
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Sarucho tried to deny it.
But deep down, there was a part of him that felt uneasy.
He had been meeting less and less with the people from his revolutionary faction and army days.
Of course, separately from that, Sarucho had been spending more time meeting with Shvanel's citizens and soliciting their opinions, so he didn't think it was strange.
'But if this guy's right...'
The red-masked figure spoke.
"If you're curious whether it's true, go to the address written here tomorrow. It would be best to move quietly if possible."
The red-masked figure placed a note on Sarucho's desk.
Sarucho said,
"...What is it you want? Why give this information to me...?"
"No need to overthink it."
The red-masked figure stood up from his seat.
"I work for the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is the playground of the Wrathful One. I wish for Him to achieve His will. And you are His priest."
The red-masked figure pointed at Sarucho.
"In truth, you and I follow the same will."
Sarucho denied it.
"...No way."
"Whether that's true or not is something to figure out going forward. Isn't it?"
The red-masked figure tapped the note on the desk and slipped out the door.
Sarucho noticed that the red-masked figure had a thick, long tail.
'A Lizardman.'
With a click, the red-masked figure left the room, and Sarucho pulled a pistol from his bosom before bursting out the door.
But there was no sign of the fang agent who had just vanished anywhere in the corridor.
Returning to his seat, Sarucho pondered for a moment before picking up the note the red-masked figure had left behind.
The next day, Sarucho headed to the address on the note.
The location was an old factory on the outskirts of Shvanel.
Sarucho had learned a rough history of the factory through his own investigation: the recent owner had been imprisoned due to newly enacted laws, his assets nationalized, and the various machines sold off, leaving the interior completely empty.
'No worries about hiding here.'
Sarucho climbed the factory's outer wall and peered inside through the broken roof.
Several people were already gathered inside the factory, and he noticed they had covered one side with cloth to prevent lantern light from leaking out.
'Wait, that person...'
Sarucho spotted a familiar face.
He was one of the comrades who had fought alongside him up until the revolutionary army days, though he hadn't been elected as a congressman.
He had originally been active with Dain, but lately, Sarucho hadn't seen him around.
'...No way.'
As Sarucho grew suspicious, more people entered the factory.
Their faces were hidden by hoods, but one stood out.
It was because of the horns on his head.
'...!'
As far as Sarucho knew, there was only one person on this vast continent with such horns.
Hwi Juran Muel.
He was the leader of the Rubeil revolutionaries.
Known as a mage from a magic tower of an imperial noble family, priest of the Demon God, and disciple of the infamous Third Apostle. Those horns were famous as evidence of a curse inhabited by evil spirits.
Juran, who had liberated Rubeil, was exerting influence over the United Kingdom at a breakneck pace with active support from the Pantheon.
'Such a big shot came all the way here?'
Sarucho strained to listen to their conversation.
It was too far away, so he could barely make out the words.
But from mentions of dates, locations, and "too late," he could guess the content of the discussion.
'So the red mask was telling the truth?'
Sarucho withdrew from the factory first.
He tried to think calmly, but it wasn't easy.
'It's probably just the actions of a few, right?'
But before leaving the factory, Sarucho recognized a few more faces hidden in the shadows. There was even a sitting congressman.
For a gathering of this size, even if it was just a faction within the revolutionaries, it didn't seem small.
'Dain couldn't be unaware.'
Dain held the presidency but was still the commander of the revolutionary army.
With the revolutionary army and intelligence bureau guarding the borders, high-level clearance was needed to secretly contact the Rubeil revolutionaries.
'Especially to bring in someone like Juran.'
This was dangerous.
Sarucho looked up at the sky.
The Wrathful One's fist might come crashing down on Shvanel at any moment.
Sarucho considered going straight to meet Dain.
Normally, official procedures and protocols were required due to his position, but this time, Sarucho wanted to ignore them.
The presidential residence was an annex attached to the old city hall, and the building had a secret passage prepared for emergencies. It had been discovered when they found the previous mayor using it to escape. Only Dain and a few of his comrades, including Sarucho, knew of it.
If he wanted, Sarucho could traverse the sewer-connected secret passage to meet Dain.
'But...'
Regardless of what Dain was thinking, Sarucho couldn't ignore the order they had built together.
'Alright. When day breaks, I'll request a meeting. There must be some misunderstanding on my part.'
Turning away, Sarucho headed to his congressional office.
It was late evening, so the congressional building was nearly deserted, giving him a similar feeling to the night before.
'Something feels off.'
Sarucho first checked the hinges.
The thin graphite lead was still in place.
Normally, he would check it and enter, but Sarucho had learned from last night's lesson.
He pulled out a small hand mirror and shone it under the door handle.
If no one had touched or turned the handle since he left, the gel-form scar ointment he had applied would still be there.
'...Hm?'
Sarucho looked in the mirror, then cautiously wiped under the handle with the back of his hand.
Nothing came off.
'...The red mask? No, not him.'
The one who had pointed out the graphite lead on the hinges wouldn't fall for such a simple trick.
'Someone else.'
Sarucho first drew his pistol, checked the ammo, paid attention to the corridor, and went back down.
Then he followed official procedures.
He went to the guard room and explained his situation.
He suspected someone other than himself had entered his office, asked if anyone had been there, and if not, requested contact with the military to prepare for such a situation.
No one had visited Sarucho's office, so they contacted the military, and soon engineers arrived equipped for the job.
Sarucho regretted that the ointment on the handle might have been wiped off by someone mistaking the office, wondering if his actions were a bit excessive.
The engineer officer, citing recent increased threats, didn't go through the door but entered from the adjacent office via the window.
Sarucho nearly felt embarrassed.
If no bomb had been found in the office.
The explosive was rigged in an intricate trap to detonate the moment Sarucho opened the office door.
Had he opened the door without caution as usual, he would have been caught in the blast.
While the engineers disarmed the explosive, Sarucho had to go to the revolutionary army intelligence bureau and write a simple report.
This part was a bit taxing for Sarucho.
"Have you seen any suspicious persons recently?"
"No."
"Any threats received via mail?"
"None."
"Anyone approaching you pretending to be friendly?"
"No."
Sarucho felt troubled because he thought he wasn't talented at lying, but fortunately, the investigator seemed to attribute his distraction to the shock of the discovered explosive.
"You've been through a lot. Our intelligence agents will escort you home."
"Thank you."
"This terror attempt seems like the work of opposition parties like the Yumi Party or counter-revolutionaries. After all, Congressman, you were a hardline revolutionary comrade..."
Sarucho nodded lightly.
"I suppose I have no shortage of enemies."
The ones assigned to escort Sarucho were one elf and one human.
The elf agent said to Sarucho,
"Greetings, Congressman Sarucho. I'm Pils. I've admired you for a long time. On the way to your residence, may I ask a few questions?"
"Of course, go ahead."
Sarucho preferred a relaxed atmosphere over being flanked like he was receiving special treatment.
Pils said as they walked,
"As a priest of the Wrathful One's church, you'll naturally support the Wrathful One's church for the state religion this time."
"Naturally."
Sarucho replied,
"Not just because I'm a priest, but I believe it's the way to protect everyone."
Pils nodded.
After that, talk turned to Pils's family for a while.
Ordinary conversation about what gift would be good for his cousin starting school, whether the academic level was decent, and if relations with the United Kingdom improved, possibilities for studying abroad.
After Sarucho briefly shared his thoughts and a silence fell, Pils spoke.
"By the way, I heard you started activities from the early days of the revolution."
"Yes, that's right."
"Alongside Comrade Dain, right?"
"Yes. Comrade Dain was so passionate; I could barely keep up."
Pils nodded again and said,
"But from what I know, you started your work even before Comrade Dain began revolutionary activities."
Sarucho stopped dead.
Pils and the other agent stopped behind him.
Pils said,
"Did you think we wouldn't know?"
"..."
"With everyone around you dead and no one paying attention to a single priest in the incident's details, it could have been forgotten forever. But according to our intelligence bureau's investigation, you have the crime of massacring our revolutionary comrades as a United Kingdom lackey."
"..."
"And among those dead was my brother."
Sarucho took a deep breath.
'Yes. This is a sin I must atone for someday. The day Dain shot me in the chest, I should have died, but I lived on a little longer because there was work to be done.'
As he sorted his feelings, Sarucho said,
"I'm sorry."
"No need for apologies. I don't know what wind blew you to join the revolutionaries later, but our intelligence bureau never trusted you fully. We have no intention of letting you stay in our country. You'll sell out to the United Kingdom eventually."
"I have no such intentions..."
"Shut up!"
Pils kicked Sarucho's ankle.
As Sarucho flinched and knelt on one knee, Pils and his colleague lifted him up again.
Pils said,
"Come quietly, and we'll end it painlessly."
Sarucho moved forward with the heaviest steps he'd ever taken in his life.
But after two or three steps, he had to stop.
"Hah..."
Someone stood in the middle of the moonlit road, letting out a sigh.
It was the red mask from the night before.
But with a pipe clenched in his mouth, the mask was casually pushed up onto his head.
Pils said,
"Who the hell are you?"
The red-masked figure said,
"Man, I told you to be careful, but you're hanging with dullards."
Sarucho realized the words were directed at him, not the intelligence agents on either side.
Sarucho asked back,
"...Me?"
"Looking at that blank face, I get it. You trust people too much. Can't even choose who to associate with."
"Me?"
"Well, that's what being an elder is for. Guiding the young ones back to the straight path when they stray."
As the red-masked figure's cryptic words continued, Pils moved first.
Pils drew a throwing knife from his bosom and hurled it at the red mask.
The blade flew heavily without spinning and embedded in the red mask's forehead.
But the red mask was already peeling off the Lizardman's head and falling to the ground.
'When did he move?'
The Lizardman, with scales so dark and lusterless they blended like shadows, tapped out his pipe.
"Can throw a knife, huh?"
Pils and the agent left Sarucho and approached the red mask, drawing swords and pistols.
Pils said,
"Fangs, I presume. Here to rescue him, as expected?"
The Lizardman drew his sword with a wry smile.
"I imitated them a bit, but being compared to such amateurs is bitter."
Thin electric sparks danced along the blade.