Talca City

Carol was dumbfounded and stood there blankly, then slowly, anger began to rise.

“Ha- I’m going crazy. That bitch is talking back to the director?! Just you wait! Come to think of it, that bitch must have made the public opinion about me bad. She must be eyeing the director’s position.”

Carol decided to kick Vice Director Sophia out of the lab.

Only Marquis Lucas, the owner of the Talca Lab, could fire the vice director.

Carol decided to worsen the lab’s public opinion of Sophia so that Sophia would leave on her own, or Marquis Lucas would fire Sophia.

‘Okay. So, a war of public opinion, huh? I can do that too. I’m a genius who has never failed until now.’

Carol neatly tidied her clothes and went to the 6th-floor lounge.

About 10 employees were chatting in the lounge, ignoring Carol even when they saw her.

‘What the hell! I’m the director, and they’re ignoring me? How do I start a conversation at times like this?’

Carol approached and greeted them.

“Hello. What are you all talking about?”

One researcher said.

“Just about what kind of Golem to make.”

“Golem?”

“It’s trendy these days to make personal Golems and personal Chimeras.”

“Ah. I see….”

The researchers ignored Carol and went back to chatting with each other.

Just then, Sophia came into the lounge with a cup of coffee, and the researchers greeted her happily.

“Vice Director Sophia~ Welcome!”

“Oh my! It’s the vice director!”

Carol felt bad.

‘They’re so different when they meet me.’

Sophia ignored Carol and joined the researchers, saying.

“I’m making a new Chimera these days!”

One researcher asked.

“What kind of Chimera?”

“A pet octopus Chimera. I love octopuses so much these days~”

“Ah~ Please show us when it’s done.”

“Yes~!”

Carol pondered, then something suddenly flashed in her mind, and she asked the researchers.

“By any chance, where do you make personal Golems and personal Chimeras?”

“We make them at the lab.”

“With lab materials?”

“Yes.”

Carol, thinking she had finally found a weakness, scolded them.

“No! Making personal Golems and Chimeras without even telling me, the director! Does that make sense?! You’re supposed to be doing research in the lab, how can you do personal things! I will report this to Marquis Lucas-nim.”

But the researchers didn’t show even a hint of wavering.

One researcher said.

“Do as you please. All the researchers are making personal Golems and Chimeras, so I’m doing it too. And as a result of our meeting, we concluded that researching what individuals enjoy is better for technological development.”

“You had a meeting without me?”

“Yes. It was a meeting attended by everyone from Vice Director Sophia-nim to the lower executives, without you. Though Sophia-ssi will soon be the director.”

Sophia glared at Carol and said.

“Most of the employees agree that I should become the lab director. I will soon give Marquis Lucas-nim my candidacy application with the employees’ recommendation signatures. Carol-ssi, please leave now.”

Carol shouted in anger.

“This is absurd! You guys are committing insubordination!”

Sophia and the researchers soon ignored Carol and giggled among themselves.

Carol left the lounge with her face red with anger and a sense of isolation.

‘This can’t be…. I’m not the director? The genius Carol-nim?’

This crisis might be the first blemish on Carol’s brilliant career so far.

Carol went to the office of Hermen, the executive who had been the kindest to her.

“Hermen. Have you heard that Sophia is running for director?”

Hermen looked at Carol, gestured for her to leave, and said.

“I’m tired of sucking up to you. I also recommended Sophia-nim, so please leave now.”

Carol was shocked and returned to her office.

Perhaps this office would no longer be hers in a few days.

That day, Carol couldn’t focus on work at all.

‘Is this what it feels like to be a ghost director?’

Carol endured until 6 PM, then left work right on time and went straight home.

‘I have to tell my husband!’

In Carol’s house were her husband, Clovis, the commander of the Knights, her 4-year-old son, Tepri, and two elderly maids.

When Carol entered the house, Tepri greeted her happily.

“Mom! Welcome home!”

“Yes~ Did our son have a good day?”

“Yes!”

Carol ate dinner with her family, made by the maid, and went into the room alone with her husband, Clovis.

Carol told her husband everything that had happened at the lab recently and today.

Clovis, with a troubled expression, scolded Carol.

“That’s why I told you to pay attention to the people below you. And don’t mess with the vice director for no reason.”

Carol glared and snapped irritably.

“So, you’re saying it’s my fault?!”

“No. The people at the lab are at fault.”

For several tens of minutes, Carol complained about how hard she had worked for the lab and how this could happen.

Clovis knew that if his wife got sulky, it would be hard for him, so he patiently listened to the end and agreed with her.

Carol asked Clovis.

“Honey. Can’t you help me with your authority as the commander of the Knights?”

“I can help with one or two people. But it’s all the employees at the lab, how can I stop them?”

“Then what do I do!”

“Even if you’re not the lab director, there are many places that want to take you. You could immediately become a director at Unicorn Electronics, right?”

Unicorn Electronics was the largest conglomerate in Talca City.

Carol got angry.

“Is it the same as going on my own and being pushed out?! How can you say that!”

Clovis shut his mouth, afraid that his wife would get even angrier.

Then Carol suddenly thought of something.

“Come to think of it, there have been a lot of people working late recently. Sophia also worked late. They’re probably talking about me.”

“Really?”

“I have to secretly go to the lab and listen to what they’re saying about me.”

“With your Golem?”

Carol was an authority on Golem miniaturization research.

In fact, Carol was also secretly using her authority as director to make her own personal miniature Golem with lab materials.

Carol decided to use her rat-shaped miniature Golem, Ratty, to secretly look inside the lab.

“I have to use my Ratty.”

“That’s good.”

“But Ratty has a limit to its communication distance, so I have to go near the lab. Can you come with me, honey?”

“No. Why would I!”

“Please~~”

Seeing Carol batting her eyes while acting cute, Clovis thought he would suffer for a while if he didn’t go with her.

Clovis agreed with a shit-eating expression.

“Okay.”

Carol and Clovis wore dark clothes, left their son with the maid, and left the house.

Carol and Clovis hid in an alley near the lab and placed Ratty on the ground.

When Carol put on her goggles, she shared Ratty’s vision.

Carol used a wireless controller to control Ratty and send it to the lab.

Then Clovis got annoyed.

“I came with you, but don’t I get goggles too?”

“Ah. Here you go.”

Clovis also put on the goggles and watched what Ratty was seeing.

“Wow. Magical engineering is always amazing, no matter how many times I see it. So, this is the world a rat sees.”

“Be quiet, I need to concentrate on controlling it.”

There was someone observing their appearance from afar, but they didn’t notice.

Carol’s Ratty entered the lab’s main gate and looked for people.

It went around the first floor, but there were only a few people and it was deserted.

‘Where is everyone? Should I go to Sophia’s office first?’

Ratty took the stairs up.

When Ratty arrived on the 5th floor, it heard the sound of several people murmuring nearby.

‘Got it! It’s here!’

Sophia made Ratty run to where the people were murmuring.

There, Sophia was faced with a terrible sight.

A huge purple Tentacle monster tightly wrapped its tentacle legs around the head of one of the researchers, and the researcher convulsed like a madman.

Next to them, several researchers were tied up with ropes, their mouths stuffed with cloth, trembling with fear.

And a huge crowd surrounded the Tentacle monster and worshiped it.

“Ah! Our God-isiyeo!”

Carol and Clovis both screamed in shock.

“Eua!”

Just then, a researcher on the 5th floor found Ratty and shouted.

“It’s a miniature Golem!”

Ratty was crushed, whether someone stepped on it or not, and the goggles turned off.

Carol and Clovis took off their goggles with trembling hands.

Carol asked Clovis.

“What I saw was real, right?”

“I saw it too.”

“What do we do now?”

“The monster noticed the surveillance. I don’t know how many people are in league with the monster. Let’s run home for now.”

Carol and Clovis hurriedly ran home.

Clovis, as the commander of the Knights, was racking his brain about how to resolve this terrible situation that had occurred at the lab.

Because all the lab employees were high-ranking officials or nobles, the commander of the Knights couldn’t search them recklessly without evidence.

These goggles didn’t have a recording function, and it wasn’t clear what would happen to the people who had been caught by the monster.

If the captured people were brainwashed, even if he immediately summoned the Knights and raided them, he could become a liar.

This incident might be the biggest crisis in Clovis’s life.

---

I, Kyle, was brainwashing the last of the researchers at the lab tonight, except for Carol.

Carol was quietly in her office and left work right on time at 6 PM, so I couldn’t catch her.

When I was in the middle of brainwashing, one researcher shouted.

“It’s a miniature Golem!”

When I looked, it was a rat-like miniature Golem, but someone stepped on it and it was immediately destroyed.

The researchers looked at each other and questioned each other.

“Whose Golem is this!”

“Who can make a miniature Golem!”

The researchers denied it, then Sophia suddenly realized and shouted.

“It’s Carol. Carol is an authority on Golem miniaturization. She probably sent it to see the lab people badmouthing her.”

The people nodded.

Marie expressed her concern to me.

“Carol has found out about this. Shouldn’t we catch Carol right now?”

Ivana shook her head.

“Carol has a knight commander husband, so catching her is difficult. If we all deny it, Carol won’t be able to do anything.”

Sophia raised her hand and said.

“The Chimera octopus I’m making right now looks exactly like Kyle-nim. We can say they mistook it for this Chimera octopus.”

Then the researchers said one after another.

“The Chimera octopus I’m newly making also looks exactly like Kyle-nim?”

“Me too!”

I smiled with satisfaction and praised them.

“Everyone did well.”

I made all the researchers except Carol my followers and declared.

“I declare this lab as my temple.”

My followers cheered.

“Uwaaaaa!”

“You guys should focus on making combat Chimeras and Golems in preparation for the upcoming big battle.”

“Understood!”

The researchers’ personal Chimera and personal Golem production was something I had instructed them to do.

I said to Ivana.

“Since Carol knows about this, Knight Commander Clovis will also know. If we want to stay one step ahead, we need to put the Marquis family under me.”

“I think it would be good to try brainwashing my older sister, Silvie, first.”

“Think of a way.”

“Yes!”

---

Carol and Clovis had almost arrived home.

Clovis said with a nervous face.

“There are hidden people around.”

Carol worried.

“Honey. What about our son, Tepri.”

“Damn it. I should have brought my sword.”

As Carol and Clovis hurried to the front door of the house, someone called out from behind.

“Greetings.”

Clovis turned around, exuding killing intent, and shouted.

“Who is it!”

There were several people wearing black hoods behind them.

“We are not your enemies.”

“What do you mean!”

“We know what you have seen. We are Inquisitors.”

“Take off your hoods!”

They took off their hoods.

They really were Inquisitors that Clovis had seen once or twice as the commander of the Knights.

It was information known to everyone in the Knights that 40 Inquisitors had come to Talca City to monitor the Dark Humans.

The Inquisitor said.

“Captain Anouche-daejang-nim is inside, so please go in. Your son and the maids are safe.”

Anouche was the captain among the 40 Inquisitors in Talca City.

When Carol and Clovis went inside, Anouche was waiting at the living room table, drinking warm tea.

Anouche was a kind-looking woman in her 40s with a neat black short cut.

The maid greeted Carol and Clovis.

“Welcome. We have been asked to serve an important guest. Tepri-doryeon-nim is sleeping well in his room.”

Carol went to Tepri’s room, and Clovis sat in front of Anouche.

Anouche greeted them politely.

“Greetings. Please know that the Inquisitors have come to this house to protect your family from the darkness.”

Clovis asked.

“How did you know to come to us?”

“It’s a long story. This is not just a monster appearing at the lab. It is a war with the God of Darkness. Let me explain.”

“Understood.”

Carol checked that Tepri was sleeping well and returned to the living room, and Anouche began to speak.

“A few weeks ago, the captain and vice-captain of the Inquisitors went to Stoja City to investigate the suspicious movements of the Dark Humans in Stoja City. Since then, all contact from the Inquisitors in Stoja City has been cut off. And we heard that Stoja City has abandoned industry and become an agricultural society that produces together.”

“Yes.”

“A few days after contact with the Inquisitors was cut off, a Hero party came to Talca City. An Inquisitor who was checking the Hero party brought very shocking news.”

“What is it?”