The smile on the Director’s face didn’t fade.
To do anything you want and shake someone’s life to its core means that, for someone, life has not been shaken.
A great man capable of competing with the Emperor of the Empire had swung his sword, and someone had evaded it.
Whoosh!
That wasn’t common.
At least the Head of the Secretary Office rarely experienced a time when the Director swung his sword and couldn’t achieve results.
“The reason the instructors are gathering precisely at the Jigoku Pirate Group’s stronghold means that all our operations have either leaked or been predicted.”
“If the Director secretly devised a plan, it would be reasonable to think it’s essentially been read.”
The Director quickly ruled out possibilities.
It wasn’t the previous Emperor.
Because he was in the Underworld.
Not the Principal.
The scale of the situation was too small for him.
Not the Man’s Representative.
This incident was unrelated to faith.
Could it be the Northern Grand Duke Yuda’s doing?
According to the information from the scholarship student he had planted around him, the conclusion was that it was unlikely.
One person remained.
Oknodie.
Only his mischievous daughter was left.
“Hahaha. I got a good hit on my cute daughter.”
“Do you think it’s an Oknodie counterattack?”
“No one other than her could have caused this situation. She anticipated and prepared for a friend’s intervention early on.”
“Oknodie has many friends. Wasn’t it a bit lucky to target Jigoku so precisely?”
“Not exactly. When narrowed down, surprisingly, the friends I can aim for with Oknodie are limited.”
The Secretary Office Head felt puzzled.
How could there be so few people to target with the Foundation’s assassins found all over the world?
“First of all, Oknodie doesn’t hold many friends in high regard.”
━━━
[Oknodie’s Friendship List]
Priority 1
Masugaki, Jiang, Titosso, Arcadia, Rosgini
Priority 2
Jezel, Isabel, Son Ohchun, Dorothy, Rockbell, Sing, Irene, Kasia, Paper Company
Priority 3
Andersen, Sandkooker, Ppyoi, Dobi
Priority 4
Jigoku, Mob, Jaku, Lotto, Camela, Ishtar
━━━
The Secretary Office Head couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“Seeing this, she really does have many friends.”
“It’s a comforting point for a father.”
“But what basis do you have for the tier separation?”
“There are various scoring criteria such as monthly contact frequency, communication time, operation execution time, and number of conversations, etc.”
“… You seem like a rather excessive father.”
“Haha. You wouldn’t call me a stalker, would you?”
Eek!
So he was self-aware?
That made the Secretary Office Head conclude he was even more frightening.
“I understand everything else, but what in the world is the Paper Company?”
“Hahaha. It’s an utterly seamless network created so well it even fooled the keen eyes of the Secretary Office Head; if you find out about this, my daughter will be incredibly proud.”
“It definitely wasn’t on the first-year list… Second year? Perhaps a student who was marked when hunting for new students at the beginning of the semester and ended up being hunted down by Oknodie in return?”
“Exactly.”
“No way, how could such a student become Oknodie’s friend?”
The Secretary Office Head genuinely couldn’t understand.
If that’s what friendship meant, then the assassins who occasionally tried to assassinate the Director should also be called night friends.
“What is a friend? Have you ever thought about its meaning, Secretary Office Head?”
“Generally, it’s someone you have a deep understanding with over a long period of time, isn’t it?”
“Let’s define that as the Secretary Office Head’s theory of friendship. What does ‘long-term’ mean in terms of duration?”
“At least a week before you can consider someone a friend.”
“How do you know if you understand each other?”
“You can know when you spend a lot of time together. Even if there’s a physical distance like pen pals, if you have spent a long time communicating through letters, that can also count as friendship.”
“What about a relationship where two people align their minds and engage in a common goal without external pressure?”
“That too can be called a friendship.”
“The answer has come.”
The Director raised a finger and pointed one by one.
“Monthly contact frequency, communication time, operation execution time. They are all criteria that match what the Secretary Office Head defined as friendship, only differing in language used.”
“That’s true. Then, where does the Paper Company fit in?”
“He was merely an ordinary Lower Class student until he encountered Oknodie. Without new student hunting, he was barely getting by.”
Until the beginning of last year, the Paper Company was undoubtedly such a person.
“But one day, the Paper Company completely changed. He achieved astonishing results in one lecture and was invited to be an assistant during his second year, becoming the direct instructor for the professor.”
“…!”
“Yes. My daughter lent him her wisdom, securing him a high position. Furthermore, that professor is of the Empire Faction.”
Since that night, when Oknodie’s ‘visit’ was presumed, the Paper Company suddenly surpassed the limitations of the Lower Class and obtained the position of instructor.
“Coincidentally, it seems the ‘passing traveler’ that appeared additionally in the fishing village includes the Paper Company. Do you think this is a mere coincidence?”
“Is this a premonition from a year ahead…”
Honestly, it sent shivers down his spine.
They say fathers and daughters tend to resemble each other, but he wished they wouldn’t take on such unsettling skills in handling people.
“If the questions about the Paper Company are cleared, let’s go back to the point that the targetable social connections are limited.”
“What’s the reason for that?”
“Looking at Priority 1, Masugaki is the Empress of the Empire, Jiang is the disciple of the life-stealing dragon, Titosso is the youngest daughter of the mayor’s family from Kanelle City in the Southern Sacred City-State Federation, Arcadia is a descendant of a fallen duke from the Kingdom of Florence, and Rosgini is the great disciple of the Red Flame School’s master.”
“They are all impressive.”
“What’s more?”
“Those with hard-to-target backgrounds, or the Foundation scholarship students being ousted… ousted?!”
The Director smiled broadly, nodding that the assumption was correct.
“Scholarship students of the Empire were swept away in the war with the Underworld. Life-stealers have severed their social connections. Kanelle City is protected by remnants of the Thief Guild. Arcadia Sebiche’s family also lost their scholarship students. Rosgini was recognized as a candidate for the next Magic Tower Master, with suitable protection accompanying him.”
There’s no one to target.
“From Priority 2 down, there are weaknesses. However, there’s only one opportunity to target them, and they are all individuals with the option to avoid traps.”
“Then, do you have hidden criteria for Priority 3 and 4?”
“Of course. Priority 3 can design unavoidable traps. Priority 4 can be attacked at will whenever they desire.”
The closeness of social connections is rubbish.
It was a strategy list measuring whether there’s value in taking hostages, or how easy or difficult it is to blackmail.
What a strange sight for a Secretary Office Head to watch the Director mimic a human.
This is exactly how the Three Great Evils should be, heartless.
“But the unavoidable traps have also been circumvented by unknown designs. If Jigoku can do that, there may be countermeasures for other students as well.”
“Is Jigoku rated that low? She’s someone who could modify a cruise ship into a pirate ship and potentially become a pirate lord in the new shipping routes developed in the North.”
“That’s true. My daughter can also summon a Kraken. There’s no competitor against a pirate group supported by a child who can control a maritime giant.”
“But why is Jigoku being undervalued?”
“Because she is ‘interchangeable’ at any time.”
“Interchangeable…?”
“There are many talents in the Academy. Even if there isn’t a pirate ship, if there’s a captain capable of seizing maritime routes, the Jigoku Pirate Group is just a Plan A; it’s merely interchangeable personnel.”
The Secretary Office Head, once again looking over Oknodie’s friendship list, realized a frightening truth.
“Arcadia.”
━━━
Priority 1
Arcadia
Priority 4
Jigoku
━━━
A young and clever captain candidate who had boarded a warship since childhood and achieved results, Arcadia.
If she sets her mind to it and is given enough support, taking on the role of the Jigoku Pirate Group would hardly be a problem.
“Isn’t it fascinating? I haven’t even taught her yet, and she already possesses the talent to think and handle people like a father.”
“…… Truly an impressive talent.”
“The problem is that my child’s talent has overshadowed my plans, causing my ‘automatic growth record’ to be damaged.”
“…?”
“‘Automatic’ means you can utilize convenience during progress, but once the work is finished, you evaluate whether or not there was success or failure late.”
A function that rises when solving events without direct intervention using the loyalty or devotion of subordinates.
It is a plan designed by the Director, but it was his subordinates who actually carried it out.
“Such a sad event. A butler who has done so much in the Foundation’s planning department retiring like this…”
The enormous Black World Tree had spread its roots throughout the corridors, seemingly capable of covering the entire Foundation’s building.
With the door broken and someone screaming, the Secretary Office Head squeezed his eyes shut.
“Since it has come to this, there’s nothing we can do. The North has lost its strategic value. The Demon King’s Army has lost its utility now, too. Don’t you feel it’s unfair for us to just suffer losses in this game?”
The Secretary Office Head’s eyes widened.
This was an implicit directive.
It meant he should take the lead in advancing the work on behalf of the planning department.
“I will contact the Demon King’s Army to initiate an invasion while the remnants of the Foundation are still holding out.”
“I trust your judgment, Secretary Office Head. You are too significant a person to be contained by the World Tree.”
Rumble!
Don’t be consumed too quickly.
The terrifying implications behind the kind encouragement caused the Secretary Office Head to clutch his trembling legs.
‘If I only had to sacrifice one pirate, I could have passed. The fact that you have become an enemy to the Foundation while trying to protect that is on you, Dark Princess Oknodie. Can you handle this outcome?’
The flow of the world began to accelerate into an age of turmoil.
Oknodie.
A mere Academy student.
An incident that she cannot manage.
A war that could plunge an entire region, even the world, into chaos.
The long-standing peace between humanity and the Demonic Clans has been shattered.
No matter how much one calls her the Dark Princess, Oknodie is still 11 years old.
Even if she turns 12 in 982, she is merely 12 years old.
The burden of operating a grand nation on a world stage rests heavily upon a young genius Director as compared to a child prodigy.
‘If I’m pushed without options, it can’t be helped.’
It’s just pitiful.
The Secretary Office Head also had times he thought like that.
“What did you just say?”
“There’s an urgent report from the Academy. Oknodie has officially declared the establishment of the Saintess Alliance. Currently, the Empire, Southern Sacred City-State Federation, and the Kingdom of Florence have announced that they would send envoys to the inauguration ceremony.”
The declaration of the Saintess Alliance, which arose in the face of a crisis that could plunge the continent into chaos.
All the power holders of humanity, who should tremble in fear, had all their attention fixed upon the Saintess Alliance.
With a perfectly timed declaration, the originally planned meeting of the leaders of various nations to counter the Demon King’s Army could just as easily be moved to the inauguration ceremony of the Saintess Alliance.
‘She’s made a response.’
To that Director.
From Oknodie.
Shiver!
A thrill swept through him.
