episode_0025

Kelthasar, who was sitting at the desk, stood up and spoke.

“Have you finished all the investigations I previously ordered?”

Jaraid, leader of the Imperial Exploration Team, responded by gathering and submitting materials.

“Confirmed. Judging by the testimony of several people, it seems that the protected area in the central area is true. Currently, the cause of why this phenomenon is occurring has not been determined, but it seems correct to assume that there are some spaces in the central area where the gates are closed.”

“No navigation artifacts used? I want to see it with my own eyes.”

“was used, but all of them were shot down by mutant monsters. This is an area that cannot be explored with regular artifacts. Anything other than a high-level artifact will not be able to withstand the attack.”

“It is a high-level artifact… Are there no floating high-level artifacts in the empire?”

“There is, but it can only be used with His Majesty’s approval. They say they cannot give permission under the current situation. As you know, due to the current situation, all floating high-level artifacts are being used to explore the area around the imperial palace…”

“Your Majesty deserves to be concerned about your safety, as you never know when a red gate may appear near the imperial palace.”

Kelthasar gritted his teeth even as he said that. No matter how rare high-level artifacts are, he uses every single one of them to preserve his own safety. However, Kelthasar, who recognized that he was thinking impure thoughts, immediately shook off the thoughts and spoke.

”In the end, we have no choice but to go in person.”

“Please leave it to us. Isn’t our Imperial Exploration Team an organization meant to be used in times like this?”

“Can you do it well?”

“Of course.”

Kelthasar thought for a moment, tapped the desk a few times, and spoke.

“A safe space has been created inside the Red Gate vortex. It may be a natural phenomenon, but it may also be a phenomenon that someone artificially created. If someone created it, it must have been that guy Leos. In the center, high-level red gates will have been created, but he is the only one who can seal them.”

“Don’t worry. I also know some of the story about a man named Leos. They once showed overwhelming force during a time when monsters were rampant, but isn’t that a thing of the past? Please trust our search team.”

“It has already been quite some time since Feredin, leader of Team 30 of the Imperial Shadow Team, lost contact while searching for Leos. There’s no way he ran away, he was probably killed by someone. I feel ominous. I wonder if he was killed by Leos.”

“Is that possible? Feredin was a man of outstanding ability.”

“…Okay, since nothing has been revealed yet, it would be better not to talk about unnecessary things.”

Zareid spoke to Kelthasar, who had a serious expression on his face.

“Mr. Kelthasar. Even if Feredin was killed by Leos, it wouldn’t be a big problem. Don’t you know the power of our exploration team? Search, flight, hide. And if the situation calls for it, we specialize in killing them. We are experts in this field, so please leave it to us.”

“Okay, let’s try to believe it.”

Kel’thasar stood up and handed Jaraid a few lumps of gold, and Zareid took them with a grin.

“When the job is done, I will give you three times what you gave me.”

“It is an honor. Even if I don’t have to pay, I will sacrifice my life for the empire.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean and get out now.”

As Zareid was about to go outside, he thought of something and said to Kel’Thazar.

“By the way, is there any news from the Empire Extermination Squad?”

“I received a call from Faron, who was planted in the Imperial Extermination Corps. They say they’re exploring inside the Redgate Vortex. He told me to find Leos and bring him to me.”

“Do you really need to work twice? By sending us away.”

“It would be good if you guys could find Leos, but since the first task is to directly check the safe zone in the center of the vortex, there is no harm in doing double work. And I did not give orders to the assassination team. They came first.”

“It’s unusual. I certainly don’t understand the thoughts of Extermination Squad leader Rakart. He’s always poking around here and there, but he doesn’t say what he thinks.”

“Whatever the reason, I guess I’m doing it for the empire this time too. Faron didn’t say anything about the strange thing, and Rakart had been a loyal dog to the empire until now.”

“Then I’m glad.”

*

Jarade, the leader of the exploration team, muttered as he held the gold nugget in his hand.

“Ha…I work for this taste. Gold is really good. Because its value does not change in a situation where the country is falling apart. Karek, if this job goes well, I will give you 3 times the compensation I received now.”

“Kel’Thazar certainly has an eye for people. We invested so much in it because we knew that our capabilities were outstanding.”

“Well, this is such a waste that I feel sorry. It’s not like fighting monsters, you just have to go to the central area and check if there really is a safe zone, right?”

Karek, who was listening to Zareid’s story, spoke with concern.

“It is best not to let your guard down too much. There are many reports coming in of people being attacked by mutant monsters. No matter how much you try to avoid it, it is expected that there will be damage.”

“What is the damage? The people who get hit are stupid. We have gathered together people who are considered the best when it comes to light engineering, so how can we catch them? Unless there is a bombing from the sky.”

“…Yes, but.”

“Well, if it’s moderately dangerous, you can run away. If you can afford it, it’s even better if you kill that guy named Leos and you’ll get extra compensation.”

Vice-captain Karek just nodded silently. In fact, although they spoke as if they were concerned, it was an exploration team made up of people who were exceptionally skilled in light engineering, so even if something happened, they could respond flexibly, so it was thought that their lives would not be in danger.

“More than that, I looked into Leos and it is said that he was put on trial for molesting a student because of an imperial conspiracy.”

“Oh, wasn’t that what he did?”

“Yes. There were many people in other organizations who already knew about it. I didn’t look for it because I wasn’t particularly interested, but it wasn’t difficult to find if I used the information network.”

“Why did you bother using such a troublesome method? Just kill him.”

“Was public opinion at the time not favorable to him? I don’t know His Majesty’s feelings, but I think he was concerned about his influence growing.”

“No way, His Majesty the Emperor would care about a guy like that.”

“Isn’t your Majesty the Emperor who reacts very sensitively to interrunners?”

“… Well, it’s a waste to go to such lengths to ban just such a community. I don’t know why you’re doing that. Anyway, we can’t close that place down unless we catch the operator.”

“Isn’t it because it is the only community that does not fall under the influence of the empire? If you happen to plot a riot around that place, you could end up in trouble. His Majesty has long been wary of those who are not loyal to him gaining influence. Pathologically.”

“Okay, that means I don’t understand. It’s just that the community and even a guy named Leos are trying to solve it using such complicated methods. And are interrunners banned? In fact, even those in the empire’s affiliated organizations use interrunners.”

After saying that, Jared walked hurriedly into the Redgate Vortex. After traveling a few tens of kilometers, I could feel the energy of people around me.

As if he remembered something, Jaraid rushed forward and killed those who were hiding in an instant, then checked the distance.

“Ah…not even this guy. There is no way it came from the center to the outskirts.”

He sighed and then started taking pictures.

“What are you doing?”

“Why? Even if we left them alone, they would have been hunted by monsters anyway.”

“I’m not talking about killing someone. I was wondering why you were taking pictures…”

“Ah, someone was doing something interesting. We’re bored while we’re there, so it’d be nice to have something to enjoy, right?”

[TAZ]

[Title: Kill each person one by one until LEO is found.]

[Text: If you don’t want to die, bring Distance to the point we’re talking about and bury it]

[Attachment: Certification photo.PNG]

Zareid spoke after posting the photo on InterLearner.

“In Interrunner, there is one bug that dominates the popular posts and reigns like a king. We did an estimate and it looks like we collected over 10,000 points in less than a week? No matter how hard we hit and run, we couldn’t even get 5,000 points. If it was ours, we could have made a high-level artifact recipe.”

“…It is illegal to use stores within the Interrunner without reporting it to the Empire.”

“I’m not doing this because I don’t know anything. If I had cared about that in the first place, I wouldn’t have done the inter-runner. And we too may be abandoned by the empire someday, right? I need to save up some weapons for that time. It’s nice to be able to enjoy both work and work.”

Jaraid muttered as he spread his companions around to search.

“If we just kill that guy called LEO, we could get some points in an instant.”

“Wouldn’t it be better not to stimulate it? It looks like he is not an ordinary person.”

“Then what can I do? He’s near the center, and we’re on the outskirts.”

A notification came to Jared’s mind and he checked it. I was curious how LEO, who is currently receiving so much attention, would react.

But unfortunately, there were only comments from other people, and no comments from LEO.

“He was an asshole. The previous post must have been self-written.”

After a few hours passed, LEO’s new post came up.

[LEO]

[Title: I finally found it.]

[Text: I clearly said I would kill all bastards like you.]

[Attachment file: Photo.PNG]

There was a photo taken of himself from above. The problem is that the photo showed what looked like a mana bomb falling.

“What the fuck is this…!”

The moment Jared looked at the sky.

“How…?”

Dozens of mana bombs were being dropped in the air.