Ch.154Favorite Crime!

#154

The next morning, at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco.

After the factory complex of Pink Industries, which had been manufacturing Orbis Company’s gaming consoles, burned down completely last night, Dexter and Himena, the two people in charge of the case, couldn’t hide their uneasiness.

Anna, the ambassador of the Yekaterina Republic, had returned to Washington D.C. where the republic’s embassy was located, and her husband Stefan was there instead.

-Thud!

Dexter roughly placed photos of the burned-down Pink Industries factory along with a composite sketch of Commander-in-Chief Olivia in front of Stefan.

Seeing Stefan’s serious expression, Dexter spoke up.

“Let’s speak frankly.”

“But…”

“We’ve already heard about the Gaijin Imperial Family.”

“…What?”

Unlike Stefan, whose expression changed to one of confusion at the sudden mention of the Gaijin Imperial Family, the two investigators maintained their stern expressions.

When Dexter glanced at Himena, she opened the file she was holding.

“Originally, Crown Prince Stefan was first in line for the imperial succession. But since you renounced your claim, your younger sister, Crown Princess Victoria, is now next in line to become emperor.”

Himena said this while showing a group photo of the Gaijin Imperial Family.

“This… this is a family photo taken before coming to Earth… How did you even get this?”

As Stefan was bewildered about how they obtained the photo, Himena continued with an indifferent expression.

“We’ve heard that the current Emperor Constantine has been suffering from a severe illness for several years. An illness so serious that a personal physician needs to be with him 24 hours a day.”

“And that physician.”

Dexter tapped his finger on the composite sketch of Commander-in-Chief Olivia as he spoke.

“I heard this person is connected to that physician. Is that true?”

The atmosphere was heavy.

Both investigators maintained their stern expressions, determined not to make any positive remarks regardless of what was said.

Stefan looked back and forth between them.

“You two…”

His voice trembled uncontrollably.

Sitting in his chair, gripping his interlocked hands tightly, Stefan slowly opened his mouth.

“…Can you handle what comes next?”

“Handle it? Are you threatening us now?”

Despite Stefan’s serious tone, Dexter had much to say.

But sometimes, silent intimidation is more effective than a hundred words.

Well aware of this, Dexter stared intently at Stefan.

“……”

Along with this, Dexter began to emit an invisible aura.

Stefan visibly panicked at the heavy atmosphere emanating from Dexter.

“Wait, wait a minute.”

It wasn’t that he was afraid of Dexter’s aura.

As a former crown prince, Stefan had gone to war in place of his father, Emperor Constantine, both large and small conflicts, so he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by Dexter’s intimidation.

Stefan’s panic stemmed from something else.

“That aura…”

“…?”

“It’s exactly like the Commander-in-Chief’s…!”

“What do you mean the aura is the same? What are you talking about?”

Himena, who felt Dexter was no different than usual, gave Stefan a strange look when he suddenly mentioned the atmosphere.

But Dexter was different.

Faced with this unexpected reaction and response, Dexter was somewhat taken aback.

“Are you saying the aura I’m emitting is identical?”

“Y-yes. That’s right. I don’t know if it’s completely identical, but she’s been applying that kind of pressure since we met.”

The aura Dexter emitted could be controlled in both direction and target.

He could spread it in all directions or focus it on just one person among dozens to apply pressure.

Himena was puzzled about what the two were talking about, then recalled the one time Dexter had used it on her.

“Wait, is it that thing where just being stared at makes you want to collapse and feel scared?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“Why would the Commander-in-Chief use that?”

Himena asked, but Dexter could only shake his head, not knowing the reason either.

‘I learned this from Grandfather Cheonma.’

More precisely, it wasn’t something he learned from Cheonma, but rather an innate ability within him that Cheonma had helped him realize.

‘He told me I had hidden energy within me.’

This energy, called fighting spirit or killing intent in Cheonma’s world, was something most martial artists could use, according to him.

The issue was that very few people could use it more powerfully and variably than their physical abilities allowed.

‘He said you need inner energy to freely emit it, but in my case, with just a little practice, I could emit fighting spirit as well as any master.’

Someone of Cheonma’s stature couldn’t casually pass down martial arts.

When Cheonma suggested that Dexter, whom he called a rare talent in the mortal world, become his disciple, Dexter—who didn’t want to spend decades learning martial arts or be called “Little Cheonma Dexter”—focused on external techniques instead.

Of course, no matter how much external training one does, fabric can’t stop bullets, but the combination of nanobots circulating in Dexter’s body and external techniques was quite effective.

‘Wait, then is the Commander-in-Chief a martial artist?’

Dexter recalled when the Commander-in-Chief had pushed him at Pink Industries.

Despite her slender frame, she had strength enough to make Dexter lose his balance.

Looking at it that way, it seemed similar to the outwardly weak but inwardly strong characteristics he had felt from Cheonma’s wife, Blood Empress.

But after thinking about it more, Dexter abandoned the idea that Commander-in-Chief Olivia was a martial artist.

‘No, for a martial artist, I didn’t sense any inner energy… What is she exactly? Plus, she’s not from Central Plains but an American.’

While Dexter was lost in thought, Himena asked a question instead.

“Let’s get back to the point. The issue isn’t that, but what the Commander-in-Chief did to Stefan. As for handling it… of course we have to.”

The reason they could handle it was obvious.

If they had been unaware of what the Commander-in-Chief had been doing, that would be one thing, but knowing her actions and leaving them unchecked would endanger Earth.

“Stefan, you’re withholding information to protect your family in the Gaijin Empire, but for us, we need to continue our investigation for the safety of our planet.”

Himena took a step toward Stefan as she spoke.

“We can handle it sufficiently. If we don’t, Earth will face unpredictable dangers.”

As soon as Himena finished speaking, Dexter, having completed his thoughts, slowly opened his mouth.

“Now, let’s talk about that imperial physician.”

At Dexter’s words, an anxious Stefan began darting his eyes around.

“Well… ah… this matter must be resolved. It has to be.”

“I also have ways to help the Gaijin Empire outside of Earth’s jurisdiction. Just obtaining this information is proof of that, isn’t it?”

“Isn’t this information collected by the OSA?”

“No. It’s from a more reliable source.”

He was referring to Eliya, but for now, Dexter didn’t provide any more information than that.

Stefan was also curious about this reliable source, but he first answered the questions the two had asked.

“Currently, Father is suffering from the Corprus plague.”

“Corprus… from planet Nerevar? But the distance between Nerevar’s planetary system and the Gaijin Empire’s system is quite far, isn’t it?”

Dexter frowned as if it made no sense, and Stefan nodded in understanding.

“I also thought it made no sense that Father’s original physician contracted the Corprus plague.”

Hearing Stefan’s words, Himena quietly asked Dexter.

“What’s the Corprus plague?”

“It’s a disease found only on specific planets, and it’s unclear whether there’s a cure or not. But it’s difficult to get infected in the first place.”

“Why is it hard to get infected?”

“Because it requires an exchange of bodily fluids.”

“Ah… like kissing or something like that?”

In response to Himena’s hesitant question, Dexter merely raised one corner of his mouth instead of answering.

“Anyway, once infected with Corprus, it’s very difficult to treat. What did the physician do?”

“The existing imperial physician, Dr. Zhukov, said there was a new drug recently announced in academic circles, but he was reluctant to use it because of its high risks. As a former crown prince, I naturally had no say in the matter…”

“So there was an opinion within the imperial court to change the physician?”

“More precisely, it was from the nobles of the Emperor’s faction.”

“The Emperor’s faction, not the noble faction?”

“Their argument was… that the Emperor’s health should be prioritized, so any new drug that could benefit Father should be administered.”

“But still… isn’t that obviously flawed? Where do you find cases of giving unverified new drugs to an emperor?”

“I wanted to express my opinion too, but I couldn’t.”

Stefan slammed his hand on the desk as he spoke.

The expression on Stefan’s face as he mercilessly struck the desk looked quite indignant.

“Anyway, instead of Dr. Zhukov, the Emperor’s faction nobles proposed a new physician. His name was… Morel, I think.”

Himena’s face hardened upon hearing the name, while Dexter, not well-versed in history, merely stroked his chin, feeling he had vaguely heard the name before.

“That’s an unsettling name. So what happened?”

“My sister and Mother thought they were looking out for them, so they accepted the Emperor faction’s proposal. Dr. Zhukov stepped down, and this Morel became the new physician. His compounding skills were supposedly well-known on the planet, but what do I know?”

Stefan continued with a voice full of discontent, snorting.

“He started giving Father all sorts of medicines while staying with him 24 hours a day. Ridiculously enough, they said there was improvement. Dr. Zhukov, during the handover, said something about countering poison with poison. It was astonishing.”

‘Could it be treating poison with poison?’

Dexter knew about this from one of Cheonma’s subordinates who specialized in poison arts.

‘They say it’s difficult without a considerable expert…’

“But that effect was only temporary, and Father’s condition actually worsened. Along with that… the encyclopedia said we should meet with the Commander-in-Chief.”

“Why’s that?”

“He said the Commander-in-Chief held the key to saving Father.”

With that, Stefan gritted his teeth.

“When she introduced herself as Olivia and treated us kindly, neither Anna nor I suspected anything. We just thought she was someone interested in our republic…”

Stefan’s expression was complex as he recalled that day.

“But that atmosphere… that shimmering aura she emitted is unforgettable. It felt like facing a hungry tiger with nothing to defend yourself with.”

“So that’s what it feels like.”

Having emitted fighting spirit himself but with little experience of it, Dexter found Stefan’s firsthand account intriguing.

“She openly said ‘Emperor Constantine is in our grasp,’ and the male attendant beside her casually handed over documents listing their demands. From that moment, she manipulated us. Like a noble handling commoners.”

Speaking with an extremely indignant voice, Stefan gritted his teeth so hard it was concerning for his dental health.

“As my wife said, we transported or received many items through diplomatic pouches. What they gave us as wine boxes—well, they told us it was wine, but it certainly wasn’t.”

“How do you know it wasn’t wine?”

“The viscosity, the scent. There was no grape aroma at all, just a sticky red liquid.”

A sticky red liquid.

Items that had to be sent through diplomatic pouches.

When these two elements combined, there was one natural inference.

Dexter and Himena looked at each other and whispered.

“Could it be Negative?”