69novels Chapter 136
Chapter 136
Chapter 136. The Gap (1)
'Hold on, what is this man doing here?'
Kaylun looked at Jurgen with a flustered expression.
"A pleasure. I happened to stop by the CCC on the way here, and it was absolutely wonderful. The Ganjang Chicken in particular was the finest thing I've ever tasted in my life."
"Much obliged."
"Is it possible to make it at home?"
"That would be……rather difficult, I should think."
Ellara was chatting with the creator of Ganjang Chicken without a second thought. But Kaylun was different. He knew considerably more than Ellara did.
Kaylun, who had witnessed the Royal Warrant conferral process with his own eyes, had subsequently sought out Acting Minister of Internal Affairs Lily. He had attempted to investigate the identity of the man called Jurgen, and had been stopped by her.
'Let us leave it at that.'
That had been a stern warning. A warning to go no further. Kaylun was a knight without fear, yet he was not foolish enough to dig into the details against Lily Fontaine's wishes.
And so he had put it behind him.
He assembled the clues.
'Y&P Trading Company has a close connection to Lily—to the Queen.'
'The other representative of Y&P Trading Company is the second daughter of the Rosemore family.'
'This incident, which disgraced the Northern nobles' honour. The person dispatched as an investigative assistant is together with that very Jurgen.'
A rough picture had formed.
'Just as I suspected.'
Jurgen was the Queen's man, dispatched to shake the North from the inside and out. Given that he was together with Aiden, he too was in all likelihood a member of the legendary elite unit—the Secret Burial Unit.
At last, everything fell neatly into place.
The stiff-necked way he had squared off against Kaylun. The conferral of the Royal Warrant upon CCC.
"By the way—Sir Kaylun? Are you all right?"
Ellara, having no way of knowing these details, glanced at Kaylun with concern. In most situations, Kaylun was the sort to simply let things slide with a 'let well enough alone' approach, but he was a man of backbone.
Even if Aiden had brought him along, having a civilian present was……
"I look forward to working with you. Mr. Commoner Businessman."
"Hmm?"
"And I look forward to working with you. Sir Kaylun Hawthorne."
"Wh-what?"
Jurgen and Aiden exchanged a glance. Their clasped hands tightened with force.
This much had gone exactly as Jurgen intended. From the moment the two familiar faces were dispatched from the royal family and Aiden was attached as assistant, this had been the plan.
There was no way Jurgen could be absent from the pursuit of the End Order.
There was no need to reveal his precise identity. What mattered was letting just a little 'taste' show.
The sharper the mind, the better one tends to deceive oneself. Kaylun would have worked up a reasonable approximation of his identity on his own.
"Then, my good businessman—how do you intend to catch this elusive Order?"
Kaylun fixed a sharp, evaluating gaze upon him. Not at Aiden, but at Jurgen.
"Our goal is one thing: to seize the Order's trail before the Northern nobles do. If we can manage that, we press down their pride and reduce their voice. And if we succeed in that……"
"Before we get to that."
Jurgen cut in.
"Is there a reward?"
"……It is Her Majesty the Queen's royal decree. The Queen's grace will promise benefits that will leave nothing to be desired."
A satisfactory answer. They were the sort of filth he would have hunted down regardless of any reward, but given that he dutifully paid his taxes, receiving solid support seemed perfectly reasonable.
Jurgen produced a sheet of paper and placed it on the table.
"I intend to begin the pursuit by three broad methods."
"Three, is it?"
"Since the Royal Guard knights have also arrived, we will need to request cooperation from various institutions."
With the authority of the Royal Guard and the Queen's royal decree, work that Aiden and Jurgen alone could not have accomplished would become possible.
"First of all, we will be obtaining records from one trading company."
"A trading company, all of a sudden?"
"The sorcery used in the attack on the Ashford Marquis family's estate this time was 'Erosion.' It is a ritual that transforms a specific space into another realm, offering sacrifices to the Minions of an evil god."
Erosion required materials.
"Erosion is a ritual that, unusually, consumes both a sacrifice and Magic Power simultaneously. An enormous quantity of sacrificial offerings possessing Magic Power are summoned in the process of opening the Hell Gate, you see. Do you know what the most effective means of securing Magic Power is?"
"Well, it would be absorbing Mana Stones in which Magic Power is concentrated. Raiding an Alchemy trading company that distributes Mana Stones in large volumes? That is rather plausible—purchasing Magic Stones would require identity verification, after all."
Jurgen shook his head.
"That would likely be of little use. What we need to raid are unlicensed practitioners—the ledgers of the black market."
Kaylun's expression was one of dissatisfaction. For something he had been led to expect, it was not a particularly clever method.
"Anyone could come up with that. But finding a lead among that many establishments is impossible. They will not cooperate willingly either—the data is far too murky and vast."
That was the conventional wisdom. But this was a problem Hanbin had also encountered during his days as Minister of Internal Affairs.
Illegally compounded alchemic reagents, catalysts, and the underground economy making use of them…… And so he had built a single system to monitor all of it.
"All alchemic reagents contain a 'stabiliser.' Magic Stones require especially large quantities of it."
A single thread to encompass every strand of the web.
"And every stabiliser released onto the market is supplied exclusively through one source. You must know it—'The Ether.'"
"The Ether—isn't that Albion's largest alchemic trading company? I wouldn't think they would readily share internal information. If it drags on until we secure their cooperation……"
"We are not requesting cooperation."
The honey pot that had earned the credit for a string of brilliant criminal organisation busts.
"That is an undercover trading company under the direct authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
A grand reveal—limited to the Royal Guard.
"?????"
"?????"
Kaylun and Ellara's mouths fell open at an identity they had never imagined. Aiden, having no idea what The Ether was, simply sat quietly.
"We send an official cooperation letter and focus on those who purchased substantially larger quantities of stabiliser than usual in recent times—a rough trail will take shape."
In that case, the Ministry of Internal Affairs would likely release the information as well.
"Where did you come by that information……?"
"This fellow here."
When Jurgen placed a hand on Aiden's shoulder, Aiden immediately produced a thumbs-up and a fine smile.
'So this is the Secret Burial Unit. Their depth of resources runs this deep?'
Kaylun was persuaded.
"Then what is the second lead?"
It was Aiden's turn now. When Aiden opened the wardrobe door, a thick box of documents sat inside.
"What on earth is all this?"
"The debt records, business contracts, and their copies from the Thornton Viscount family."
"But how did you—"
The optimal approach would be to raid the Thornton Viscount family, who had a direct connection to the Order. The problem was that the Northern nobles had already done precisely that, and even if they demanded the materials as Royal Guard, there was a high likelihood they would receive nothing but husks.
"Hmm."
Aiden spread his hand into a V. He had slipped those documents out of Gilbert's safe right after the incident.
"Before the Northern noble lords could 'officially' go through them, I 'unofficially' helped myself to a copy."
"With this, it's practically as good as having caught them."
Kaylun's eyes lit up, but Jurgen answered plainly.
"Not quite. This is supplementary material at best. The Order never leaves a decisive lead carelessly exposed."
"Then what is the purpose of this lead?"
"It will allow us to get a glimpse of their recruitment network."
"Recruitment network?"
"The End Order is a fanatical group, yet their method of recruiting believers is highly systematic. They hunt those who have fallen into despair."
Jurgen explained as though delivering a lecture.
"We will examine the list of creditors who were tightening the noose around Gilbert, and simultaneously seek out the angel-like investor who came to his rescue—and examine the connection between the two. In all likelihood they are in cahoots. Gideon Belheim, Branch Manager of Devon Trust, has already begun his investigation."
Both Kaylun and Ellara let out a breath.
They already have it all mapped out. They know how to handle an Order that has long since mastered the art of cutting off its own tail—and how to corner it.
It was the method of a supremely skilled hunter.
"And lastly. While the two of you were making your way here, I was conducting a search of the Labyrinth Demon Realm."
"That entire expanse?"
"That would be impossible. But we will be approaching it from a different angle."
Jurgen unfolded a broad map. Upon it were drawn hundreds of blue and red circles scattered throughout.
"The monsters of the Demon Realm come in two types. The roaming type, which wanders endlessly about its surroundings, and the resident type, which guards its own territory. The resident type in particular rarely leaves its territory under ordinary circumstances. So then, if a powerful organisation like the End Order has set up their base somewhere—"
Jurgen's fingertip traced a circle.
"Every monster in that area will either be killed off, or flee in fright."
Kaylun swallowed silently.
"These red circles are the vacant zones estimated based on monster distribution maps……. Of course, they cannot be considered perfectly accurate."
"Then……what are the blue areas?"
Was the End Order human? No—Jurgen did not regard them as fellow human beings.
And yet there was one thing the End Order shared with humanity.
They would die without water.
"Underground water veins within the Demon Realm that have not been contaminated. Or locations where a Reward Room exists that would provide water to replenish their supply."
In other words—for a group of any significant size, a water source would be a necessity.
"If we concentrate our search on these areas, it will be considerably more manageable than finding a needle in a haystack."
Jurgen gave a small shrug. Kaylun and Ellara could not suppress their admiration.
Aiden, and the Jurgen he had introduced.
Both were professionals in this field. Kaylun set aside his competitive feeling and bowed his head humbly.
"I understand. I express my gratitude for your unstinting assistance."
"In that case, I have one request."
"Speak freely. I will help to the extent of my ability."
In truth—unlike the two Royal Guard members who had been left in admiration—Jurgen regarded even all of this as secondary means.
The Order may already have prepared for each of these tracking methods, and they could even be a cleverly laid trap. They were that cunning and that dangerous.
What Jurgen was focused on in this incident was the 'purpose.'
Having thrown away even as significant a recruit as Viscount Thornton—what was it they were trying to gain? Retracing every circumstance and piece of evidence from beginning to end, Jurgen had realised there was one possibility he had been overlooking.
The fact that 'Hanbin' had also been present at that scene.
"In all likelihood, the Royal Guard will advance quite a ways ahead. You may even reach the point where the Order begins to feel a sense of crisis."
"Ah, do not worry. We have the ability to keep ourselves safe."
"No——that is not what I was about to say."
"Then……?"
One cannot catch them from a position of safety.
"Use my name. Let it slip that every one of these strategies originated with me."
"But if you do that……"
"I will be the bait."
Both Kaylun and Ellara. Stood frozen as though struck dumb.
This man was saying, right now. That he would serve as bait. Against those vile, wicked arms of an evil that the entire world feared.
"……Very well. So be it."
"……I feel ashamed of myself."
The two placed a hand over their chests and saluted. Noble self-sacrifice and patriotism. As knights, they could not but pay their respects.
In that case. It was time to begin the hunt.