Ch.112Chapter 112. Situation Summary (2)

“Why on earth would he do that.”

“I’m not sure of the reason, but I’ve definitely identified the target.”

“Target? Was there a separate target?”

“Yes.”

Ordin was calmly reporting the situation to the king.

Though it was humiliating to have received help from the Black Shadow Corps, they had nonetheless captured the black mage who had annihilated the Silver Eagles.

The monster who single-handedly destroyed an entire order of knights was once a famous figure on the continent.

Kilvis Bernate.

A genius magician who was believed to have died after suffering an unfortunate accident.

Ordin had met him once in his younger days.

He had heard that after experiencing a magical overload that left him unable to use magic, Kilvis had committed suicide—but apparently that wasn’t true.

Ordin paused for a moment before continuing to answer the king’s question.

“It was an earring possessed by the captain of the Eagles.”

“Earring…?”

“Yes. We secured documents with relevant information from Kilvis’s laboratory.”

“What kind of earring would…”

Ordin continued speaking, pretending not to hear the king’s bewildered mutter.

“According to his family, it was an heirloom passed down through generations. There’s apparently a rule that the strongest member of the family must always wear it.”

“Hmm.”

Ordin recalled the captain of the Silver Eagles, who had always been bright and strong.

He didn’t quite fit the image of a man who would wear earrings.

He was a knight worthy of succeeding Ordin as the Grand Captain of the O’Neil Kingdom’s knights someday.

“…It has been confirmed that Kilvis attacked the Silver Eagles targeting that earring. And when we checked later, the earring was already gone from Kilvis’s space.”

“Were you unable to find out what he intended to use it for?”

“Yes. He’s still being interrogated.”

Ordin finished speaking as he thought of Kilvis imprisoned in the underground dungeon.

As expected, the captured Kilvis wasn’t saying a word.

They had discovered this much only because they had found where Kilvis’s laboratory was located.

“I heard the Black Shadow Corps appeared during the operation.”

‘So it has already reached His Majesty’s ears.’

“…That’s correct. The leader of the Black Shadow Corps definitely appeared.”

“Does that mean Kilvis and the Black Shadow Corps are connected?”

“That’s…”

Ordin briefly considered how to respond as he looked at the king’s serious expression.

He was well aware of His Majesty’s intense anger toward the Black Shadow Corps.

After all, they had stolen the Dragon Heart.

Ordin shared that anger, of course.

But that didn’t mean he could fabricate a story.

From the king’s perspective, it would be much easier to accept that Kilvis and the Black Shadow Corps were working together, and he would likely prefer that to be the case.

“Shamefully, we received their help this time.”

“Hmm?”

“Without the Black Shadow Corps leader’s assistance, we probably wouldn’t have captured Kilvis.”

“…”

The king slightly frowned at Ordin’s words instead of responding.

It was clearly not a pleased expression.

“Kilvis and the Black Shadow Corps might be connected, but I believe they’re not cooperating. They seem closer to being enemies.”

“Ahem.”

Ordin resolutely continued his report, thinking there was no way around it.

He explained how the situation had unfolded.

The king wore a displeased expression as he received Ordin’s report, but the briefing continued.

**

<Main Quest (4) ‘Make a Name for Yourself’ Complete!>

<Title ‘Hero of the Kingdom’ has been awarded.>

Completing the quest was satisfying and joyful.

The problem, however, was what came after.

“Umm. Isn’t anyone going to eat?”

“…”

No one answered my question.

Not Elaine, Cynthia, Emily, or even Professor Amillion.

They were all staring at me with similar expressions.

“You seem to be in good condition.”

“Uh… I told you, right? That I slept well yesterday?”

I answered Elaine’s question nonchalantly.

If it were a complete lie, acting would be quite difficult, but lies based on truth are relatively easy.

I did indeed sleep very well yesterday.

The only difference was that I slept not in the knights’ quarters but in a chair on the terrace of my villa.

I meant to just close my eyes briefly at dawn, but ended up sleeping until morning.

As soon as I woke up to the warm sunlight, I quickly changed clothes and returned to the knights’ quarters, but I couldn’t avoid suspicion.

Everyone was suspicious about my whereabouts yesterday—both Elaine, who knew nothing about my identity, and Professor Amillion, Cynthia, and Emily, who knew to some extent.

“It was very noisy yesterday. Cynthia and Emily kept knocking on your door.”

“I mean, how could I not have heard that.”

“…”

Even I thought my answer was brazen, and Elaine fell silent.

The others didn’t ask directly like Elaine, but their eyes were full of suspicion.

Rumors that the Black Shadow Corps had appeared at yesterday’s incident scene had already spread throughout the knights’ order.

Well, it would be strange if rumors hadn’t spread, considering how openly they had appeared.

They had even briefly fought with the O’Neil Kingdom’s forces.

“So, when are we going back?”

“…We should return as soon as possible, especially after such a major incident.”

Professor Amillion answered my question after a slight delay.

“Hmm. Anyway, I’m glad everything worked out well. And Elaine returned safely too!”

“…Yes, thanks to someone who rescued me.”

Captain Ordin, seemingly not even tired, had wrapped everything up neatly overnight.

He had successfully arrested the First Elder and taken him to the underground prison, and even revealed the First Elder’s identity.

A once-famous genius magician named Kilvis.

That was the First Elder’s true identity.

I didn’t know who this person was, but Professor Amillion seemed to know, making quite a fuss about how she never imagined he would be alive and become a black mage.

Thanks to Ordin quickly revealing the First Elder’s identity, I could make some inferences.

The elders of The Nameless Organization were likely quite famous individuals in real life.

The vice chancellor of Crescen Academy and a formerly famous genius magician.

I don’t know how many elders remain, but they’re probably of similar caliber to these two.

“If I could have, I would have gone to rescue you myself!”

“…”

“Ahem. Oh, I’m full. I’ll go wash up first, okay?”

It was uncomfortable and very burdensome to have everyone’s eyes fixed on me.

Especially Elaine, who hadn’t taken her eyes off me since I appeared, staring at me intensely.

I’m afraid of being caught.

“Then I’ll go first.”

I glanced at everyone before getting up from my seat.

I should probably avoid people as much as possible until their suspicions subside.

Click-

“Phew, suffocating.”

The words came out automatically as soon as I entered the room.

I was about to go wash up but changed my mind.

Since I was tired yesterday, I should wash more comfortably today, somewhere I can truly relax.

At my home.

Woong-

I immediately opened a space.

This is the advantage of teleportation, isn’t it?

**

Scratch- Scratch-

The sound of a pen moving echoed loudly in the silent room.

Rustle- Scratch- Scratch-

The sound of turning pages was followed immediately by the sound of a pen.

The person quickly processing paperwork in the quiet office was Addy.

Having arrived about 30 minutes earlier than usual, Addy had been handling various tasks since arriving.

Recently, with both the leader and all the captains away, almost all work had fallen to Addy.

Addy moved the pen while vowing to definitely get a bonus when the situation was resolved.

Zing-

‘Huh?’

Addy, who had been moving the pen without hesitation, paused at the small vibration sound coming from behind.

The vibration was coming from a painting hanging behind the desk.

Addy stopped all movement for a moment and concentrated.

The vibration might have been misperceived.

Zing-

“Huh?”

It wasn’t a mistake.

Addy jumped up in surprise at the small vibration felt again and immediately turned to look at the hanging painting.

In the painting of a night sea, the leftmost star in the sky was twinkling and vibrating.

‘Is this real?’

Addy suddenly felt her heart beating faster.

At a glance, it looked like just a decorative painting, but this painting was not simply for decoration.

This painting was an emergency contact device.

A device that the captains had agreed to use only in true emergencies.

The moon drawn in the center represented the leader, and the four small stars drawn below it represented each unit’s captain.

Zing-

The fact that the leftmost star was twinkling and vibrating meant that the captain of Unit 1 had used the emergency device.

Addy briefly wondered if the device had malfunctioned, but that possibility was unlikely.

This was real.

Although she didn’t know exactly what the situation was, it was definitely an emergency.

And of all people, Erika, the captain of Unit 1, wouldn’t accidentally activate the emergency device.

“No way?”

‘Erika should be with Jacqueline…’

Crash-

The chair fell backward due to her hasty movement, but Addy had no time to worry about such trivial matters.

Addy quickly searched for the communication device that could directly contact Jacqueline, the captain of Unit 2.

She wanted to contact the leader first, but unfortunately, the leader was away at this timing.

And had left the communication device behind.

‘First, let’s calmly assess the situation.’

Addy immediately infused mana into the communication device.

Despite the early hour, the communication device connected immediately.

“Jacqueline! Are you with Erika?”

“…No. Erika said she was going to infiltrate the Flora Kingdom.”

“Uh…”

The moment Addy heard Jacqueline’s indifferent words, she was overcome with anxiety.

“Why, is something wrong?”

Addy’s expression grew increasingly rigid as she listened to Jacqueline’s words.