Chapter 153

Chapter 154. Secret Friend (2)

The Empire’s independent intelligence agency, the Special Operations Unit.

Their sole purpose is one and only.

-For the Empire.

They will do anything that benefits the Empire. Even if it is immoral or inhumane.

Moreover, in carrying out their tasks, they receive unlimited support from the Empire without any formal procedures.

Of course, they must deliver results. The Special Operations Unit is stripped of their position immediately upon even a single failure. There are no second chances.

Therefore, the Special Operations Unit does not even begin tasks they might fail. They move only with the certainty of success.

Kai, an 11-year veteran of the Special Operations Unit, scanned the young man before him.

Keter.

The anomaly in this otherwise flawless “operation.”

Kai had calculated every possible scenario. But there was one existence he hadn’t predicted—Keter, right before his eyes.

Whether he was a bastard of Sephira or a Ruquer didn’t matter. What was important was that he was interfering with this operation.

“Thank you for accepting my invitation, Prince Keter. I am Hansen, a merchant running a small trading company in the Baen Kingdom.”

Kai smoothly introduced his disguised identity.

Common sense dictates that anyone obstructing the operation should be eliminated, but the man before him was anything but common. Kai decided to gauge his psychology through conversation first.

In response, Keter waved his hand dismissively.

“Since it’s just the two of us here, drop the fake identity and tell me your real one. That way, we can have a proper conversation.”

Keter, bringing up the fake identity from the start. Kai responded with a natural smile.

“Haha, Prince Keter. It may be presumptuous of me to say, but this is not my alias. The Hansen Trading Company is also not a fake.”

“Dragging this out will only hurt you. I’m just here to fill my stomach.”

Keter raised his hand as if to say, “I know everything, so cut the act.” He was calling for a waiter.

Kai was somewhat surprised by Keter’s psychological warfare.

‘He’s not just a strong, ignorant martial artist. He’s deep.’

Just moments ago, Keter had gotten off a moving carriage and approached a group of nobles, asking them to buy him a meal.

Numerous nobles competed to name prestigious restaurants, offering to treat him.

Kai, who was among the nobles, simply said one thing.

“I will take you to Lagrande, Prince Keter.”

“You pass.”

That one sentence brought them here. He hadn’t said anything else. Yet, had Keter figured out that he was part of the Empire’s Special Operations Unit?

‘He couldn’t have reached the Special Operations Unit. But he’s suspicious of my very existence.’

Kai had been looking for an opportunity to approach Keter, the variable in the operation, but he hadn’t expected it to happen like this.

Kai, who aimed to kill Lord Eslow to benefit the Empire, had to suppress all variables. Failure meant death.

But more frightening than death was disappointing the Emperor.

His collaborator, Ayrus, had assured him that he would control Keter, but he failed. He tampered with the bomb in the underground waterway again.

Moreover, he irresponsibly left, saying, “I’ll be away for a while,” without taking any responsibility, and then disappeared.

Because of this, Kai, now under the intense surveillance of Eslow’s crow beastmen, found it extremely difficult to act.

Even having this conversation with Keter was consuming an enormous amount of manpower and money. For just one hour, he was paying tens of thousands of gold.

As Keter said, there was a limit to stalling, so dragging out the conversation with unnecessary talk was definitely not good.

“How much do you know?”

That said, Kai wasn’t naive enough to reveal everything.

Above all, Kai found Keter amusing. How dare he try to play “psychological warfare” on him?

Understanding and manipulating human emotions is a basic skill for all Special Operations Unit members. No matter who the opponent is, they never get swayed.

Keter scratched the back of his head in response to Kai’s question.

“You’re in cahoots with Ayrus, right?”

“Hmm, who is this Ayrus you speak of?”

Kai asked back. It went beyond just pretending not to know. His words were filled with sincerity.

A lie so convincing it could deceive even himself. If anyone else had been present, they would have thought Keter was truly catching a live one.

“Keep pretending you don’t know. I’ll just say it. Ayrus told me everything. Your goal is to kill Eslow, right? To do that, you planted a bomb in the underground waterway, and I messed with it, so you’re annoyed.”

“Hahaha, a bomb? Even if such a bomb were planted in this underground waterway, how could it possibly kill Lord Eslow?”

Kai spoke as if he was playing along with Keter’s tune.

Keter ignored him and continued.

“A bomb can’t kill him. Even if it’s a rose bomb made by Ragnon, the Ruquer bomb craftsman. That’s just a distraction, a step to lure Eslow out. There’s something else.”

“I thought Prince Keter was an archer from the renowned Sephira family… but judging by your creative storytelling, it seems you have a talent for the arts.”

“There are things that can kill an 8-star Irregular. But it’s not something you’d have. So, did you bring another 8-star Irregular? No, that’s not it either. The world is watching such figures. Yet, you confidently pushed forward with this plan. It’s not an object, nor a living being. So, it can be narrowed down to about three things.”

“If I were truly a spy from an enemy country aiming to kill Lord Eslow, why would I want to see Prince Keter?”

“First, a bio-weapon.”

“I’ve never heard of a bio-weapon. And could you answer my question?”

Ignoring Kai’s request, Keter extended a second finger.

“Second, a bio-weapon.”

“…!”

“Third, also a bio-weapon. The only thing that can be secretly brought into this city and kill a lord is a bio-weapon. And there are only two places that can handle it. The Gray Tower, where the Chimera Magician Franken is the tower master. And the humanoid golems made by the magical engineers of the Baen Kingdom.”

“…”

Kai’s finger twitched and then stopped.

He almost blurted out that there were more than just those two places handling bio-weapons.

The Empire’s alchemists also create artificial life forms called “Homunculi,” which are far superior to chimeras and humanoid golems.

“Judging by your expression, it’s neither a chimera nor a humanoid golem?”

Kai found it amusing that Keter seemed to notice his emotions.

A fool who can’t control his emotions could never be in the Special Operations Unit. In that regard, his expression remained consistent. So, what expression was Keter seeing to deduce the truth?

Then, Keter pointed at Kai’s nose with his finger.

“You have a habit of momentarily stopping your breath when your emotions get disturbed.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know.”

“And also. It’s obvious you’re from the Empire.”

“You must think that because my suit is from the Empire.”

“How many groups in the world do you think can completely control their emotions and habits while also having the potential to kill a lord? Only the Empire.”

“That seems to me like a confirmation bias arising from Prince Keter’s suspicion of me.”

“So, to conclude—seeing you was a coincidence, but calling you out wasn’t.”

“…?”

“So, here’s the thing—”

Keter leaned forward, interlacing his fingers.

“Want to be secret friends with me?”

* * *

Jumping out of the carriage wasn’t a whim. It would be rude to leave the nobles, who had waited excitedly upon seeing my divine presence, without a word.

While deciding which noble to get lunch from, lo and behold, a guy in a white suit caught my eye among the ordinary nobles.

He was too perfectly ordinary.

A face that couldn’t be pinpointed to any country, a moderately luxurious outfit—he was like the epitome of a semi-noble merchant.

Seeing him blend naturally into the crowd of nobles, I thought:

‘This guy’s got something.’

I like this type. Guys who are hiding something.

If this guy is really suspicious, if he’s pretending to be ordinary, he should offer to buy me a meal. Then he’s definitely suspicious.

If he doesn’t? He must have noticed my gaze, so he’s definitely suspicious.

I deliberately moved closer to make it easier for him to approach me, and he took the bait.

“I will take you to Lagrande, Prince Keter.”

“You pass.”

Facing him, I could tell what kind of guy he was.

‘He’s from the Empire.’

Blending into ordinariness is a basic skill for spies, and among them, those bold enough to operate in Duke Eslow’s territory are likely from the Empire.

Of course, there’s a possibility he’s not.

But the chances are higher that he is.

Now, an Empire spy is loitering near me. How should I take this?

Is he someone connected to me, or is it a coincidence?

If it’s a coincidence, there’s nothing more to say. But if there’s a connection, who could it be?

There’s only one person.

‘Is this guy the helper Ayrus mentioned?’

Whether he’s the helper himself or his subordinate, he’s connected to Ayrus. Then it all fits.

Well, even if he denies being the main guy, it doesn’t matter. If I think you’re that person, you’re an Empire spy until proven otherwise.

And I’m very interested in Empire spies.

‘Spies are cool from the name alone.’

And, the more cards you have, the better.

In poker, 2 or 3 are definitely low cards, but if you get four of them, they become a “four of a kind.”

“Prince Keter, I wanted to have a conversation with you, so I brought you to Lagrande at great expense, but honestly, I’m starting to regret it. You’re talking way too much by yourself.”

Hansen continued to evade. If it were anyone else, they’d have stopped the act by now, but this is the Empire for you. They don’t reveal themselves easily.

‘That’s why I like them more.’

Once I like you, you can’t just walk away, buddy.

“Which country you’re from doesn’t matter. I like you, buddy. Your ambition to kill Lord Eslow and your competence are appealing. So, I’ll help you.”

“Huh… I thought you were joking until now, but you’re really going to keep saying your piece until the end.”

Hansen stood up, seemingly fed up.

“You don’t need to blow up the underground waterway. What you want is to lure Eslow out, right?”

The bomb in the underground waterway won’t explode anyway. Of course, if I tell him that now, he’ll probably make it explode again, but that’s not the point.

“Prince Keter. I’m sorry, but I can’t indulge your delusions any longer.”

Hansen sighed, bowed his head, and walked away.

“I’ll lure Eslow out for you. Let’s make it the orchard near the west gate. It has high walls and is fallow, so it’s empty.”

Hansen left Lagrande without a word.

But what can I do? The staff here are your pawns anyway.

“The timing should be after the Battle Royal Group C match ends and before the one-week break for the team tournament. I can’t tell you exactly when, so get your people ready in advance.”

I’m getting hungry. I came here to get a meal, but I haven’t even ordered yet.

“Waiter, bring me 10 servings of your most confident dish! And Hansen, there’s only one thing I want from you in return for luring Eslow out.”

“An aperitif, Prince Keter.”

The waiter handed me an aperitif. It was an interesting drink, both cool and warm.

“Be my secret friend.”

I’m already looking forward to it.

Will Eslow, of all people, really go to the orchard as I intend? And will Hansen bring the bio-weapon he’s so confident about to the orchard?

My heart races more than when I faced Henya and Pasian.

What if I’ve misjudged the person?

What if, after all this bravado, I can’t get Eslow to the orchard? Or what if I do, but Hansen doesn’t show up?

“Puhahaha! That would be hilarious!”

That would be an interesting experience in its own way.

* * *

The cafes around the Lagrande restaurant were packed. They were all either nobles waiting for Keter to appear or their proxies.

The white-suited man had taken the lead, but it was still far from night. And even if it were night, so what?

The nobles’ determination was anything but light. They wanted to have a conversation with Keter and believed it would happen.

Other members of Sephira’s bloodline stayed only within Eslow’s palace, making it impossible to have a conversation with Sephira from the start.

Creak.

The door of Lagrande opened after an hour. Those sipping coffee with half-closed eyes or sitting with their eyes closed sprang up.

“Keter… Oh, it’s not him.”

“Tch, it’s just a staff member.”

“They’re taking a long time to talk.”

The person who came out wasn’t Keter. It was the restaurant’s waiter. As the disappointed ones sat back down, the waiter spoke loudly.

“If anyone is here to see Prince Keter, please form a line at the entrance.”

“…?”

Everyone blinked at those words. What nonsense was this?

This place wasn’t just filled with noble proxies. It wasn’t just lower nobles. There were noble representatives and upper nobles here, and they were being told to line up to enter?

The waiter, finding it laughable even to himself, barely held back his laughter as he spoke.

“Prince Keter said that if you want to talk to him, you should enter one by one in order.”