220. Last Banquet (1)
“Things are going to be fun. okay. There should be entertainment like this.”
The emperor crumpled the report.
Contrary to the horse, his face was cold.
widely.
I got up and went to the window.
Vehicles and buildings that appear to be small in size far below.
However, the emperor’s gaze did not touch the scenery of the capital and went straight to the edge of the horizon.
A long ‘wall’ appeared.
It was the border area guarded by the 1st Prince Abel.
The content of the report was simple.
It was reported that the resistance, which had been withdrawn before, had reappeared in the border area and seemed to have completed reorganization.
no.
A mere reorganization would be insufficient.
It is said that he appeared with a high-tech siege weapon of unknown origin or what kind of force he was supported by.
“… … .”
Thanks to this, Abel said he was struggling.
If it was just a siege weapon, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Abel was an excellent knight and an excellent commander, and he had the ability to fight a water battle by taking advantage of the ‘wall’.
The problem was that ‘T’, the commander of the resistance side, reappeared.
Even though it was reported that he had died in the last battle.
“In just two days, you said you were doing a lot of damage to the exterior walls. I am a bastard.”
The emperor glanced at the photo attached to the report.
It was a photo taken by an agent who risked his life to infiltrate the Resistance.
In the center of the photo was a young man giving a command to the Resistance.
It was T.
He looked like he had taken off his helmet for a while due to the heat of the battlefield.
Black hair and blue eyes.
It was a face that existed in memory.
“It’s Cain.”
He was a former executive of the Blue Serpent, a criminal organization that Gerrat operated outside the wall.
Once upon a time, I had a report from Gerat, and I had seen the profiles of all the executives once.
“Clearly there were rumors that T was Cain. I thought it was nonsense.”
Of course, there was also the possibility that it was a fake Cain using transformation magic.
But there was no benefit to be gained by pretending to be Cain.
More likely to be real than fake.
“Gerat is gone. And Cain appeared. Cain killed Gerat. In revenge for the boss who abandoned him. Hmm.”
The emperor quietly continued his reasoning.
The pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit, but they didn’t.
“If that’s true, then there’s a good chance you’ve got the help of an insider on the wall. Because Gerat is not a person who can easily be defeated by someone alone. And above all—.”
A piece of paper lying on the desk flew through the air and was sucked into the Emperor’s hand.
“Tell the Emperor. Stop all current plans. Otherwise, I will spread the existence of the ark to the world. I will get a reply by tomorrow.”
“When I see you doing shit like this.”
It was a message delivered to Abel by the messenger of the Resistance.
information leaked
The first person that came to mind was John, who had recently joined the project, but then shook his head.
The Resistance said that right after the message was delivered, the statue of the goddess in the wilderness was destroyed with shells.
Abel reported it as ‘incomprehensible behavior’, but the emperor was able to clearly understand the intent.
The emperor shook his head and clicked his tongue.
“If we don’t stop the plan, that means we will destroy the magic circle. stupid things. Do you know how many goddess statues make up the magic circle? Even if you break hundreds of them, you can’t even scratch the magic circle.”
In any case, John strayed from the dragon’s line.
It wasn’t just because of the trust he had in him.
There was a difference in information.
There are many people who know of the existence of the ‘ark’, but very few know the operating principle of the ‘restoration magic’.
Not even five fingers, including the emperor himself, and John was not included in the list.
Lightino from the tower?
Viper, who was in charge of designing the ark?
No, maybe Gerat, who disappeared, betrayed him.
“… Well, it doesn’t matter. The plan will be executed without a hitch. But before that, we have to catch the rat hiding in the ark.”
The emperor murmured as if it was no big deal.
But he didn’t know.
A small ripple began to form deep in his subconscious.
***
When the Emperor received the report in the Oval Office.
Cain was in the communications room of the Supreme Security headquarters building in Area 47.
“Keep attacking the outer wall using siege weapons. There is no need to respond in a local war.”
“Yes. All right.”
The person in the communication room is also Cain.
The person who appeared as a hologram on the communication device was also Cain.
Cain was talking to Cain.
To be more precise, ‘T’ disguised as ‘Cain’ using transformation magic.
Cain in the hologram.
T had a face full of emotion.
“Take care of your facial expressions. I don’t look like that.”
“Yes. Okay. I will be careful.”
However, it was not easy to hide his excitement because the person he had been worshiping his whole life was in front of him.
Seeing such a T, Cain asked quietly.
“Are you happy to meet me?”
“Yes. Naturally. As I said, I was originally the end of an unnamed organization. I saved my life thanks to Cain during the war between large organizations, and since then I have been trying to become like Cain.”
After Cain’s disappearance in Area 47.
He entered the Resistance and pretended to be Cain.
Then I think the real Cain will appear.
As he was having a conversation with the real Cain like this, his prediction was right.
“When we retreated from the canyon and there was no contact after that, we actually thought we had been abandoned. But after all, Cain-sama… .”
“You talk a lot. Please refrain from speaking in front of your subordinates.”
“ah. I will be careful.”
Cain gave a few more instructions related to the siege and ended the communication.
Then I went to the office and called another person.
cringe-
“I have brought you Nihiche-sama.”
A young man in his early to mid twenties entered the office with his arms held by the guards.
Kick- Tak.
The guards go out.
As soon as the young man saw Cain’s face, he hurriedly hid his left hand behind his back.
All five places where a finger should have had a ‘mechanical’ finger.
“It looks like Freud’s surgery went well.”
“What do you mean by me?”
Niche Gantt.
He was a person who formed a pseudo-religion and pretended to be the headmaster in District 33, where the huge statue of the goddess was.
After the situation in Area 33 was over, he was transferred to Area 47 and continued to live in ‘confinement’.
“Are you going to cut off all my right fingers too? like back then?”
“I don’t think so. At the time, I just cut it off because I didn’t respond to the interrogation.”
Cain narrowed a step.
Nichez took a step forward.
“Everyone, don’t come near me! yes… ?”
Contrary to expectations, Cain did not come any further.
He just sat on the sofa at the table and glanced at the seat across from him.
“Sit down. You have work to do.”
“… … .”
After hesitating for a moment, Niechse sat down.
After all, he knew that resistance was meaningless because his life depended on this man’s one gesture.
“I don’t have time, so let’s get right to the point. I want to spread rumors around the 30th, 40th and 50th divisions.”
“rumor… mean?”
“The world will be destroyed in 28 days, and only the chosen ones can survive on board the ark. The deadline is within 2 weeks. If you live in that area, make sure no one knows about it. You may create a religion as before. If you have the agitation ability, it will be possible enough.”
After a moment of confusion on his face, Niechze spoke as if he had noticed something.
“Is it related to the church?”
“You are quick-witted. You know that the reason the devastated land is not restored is because of the goddess statue.”
Nietzsche nodded his head.
It was a fact that I found out while digging into the disappearance of my father, who was a devout believer in the church.
“You also said that your father was killed by the Church.”
“… you’re right. Uncovering the secrets of the denomination by silence. It was written that way in the diary.”
However, the goddess statue is the main cause of devastation of the soil, and the mana is stored there.
“I can’t tell you the details. However, when this is done, the church will collapse. You can get the revenge of your father you wanted.”
“… … .”
Nietzsche was speechless for a long time.
There seemed to be a lot of thoughts going through my head.
“… Okay. I will follow you. Frankly, I don’t know who you are. I’m just guessing based on what I’ve learned while being confined here. But there are some points of interest, and for some reason you don’t seem to be lying.”
“… … .”
“More than anything else, my life is in your hands, so I have no choice. Anyway, I want to say yes.”
Cain nodded.
After giving detailed instructions and the necessary materials, Niichtsche was sent back.
smart.
“Communication is coming from the capital’s mansion.”
employee voice.
He seemed to know what the content of the communication was.
It will be the emperor’s call.
By now, planting must be very uncomfortable.
***
Cain returned to the capital and headed straight for the Imperial Palace.
“What do you think?”
Cain looked through the report and accompanying documents the emperor had given him.
“… Information leaked.”
“That’s what I think.”
“I think it is difficult for nearly 500 people to have the same thoughts without any deviation.”
“Looks old. You didn’t even notice that there was a crack in the plan.”
The emperor looked at Cain with his head bowed.
There was no oscillation in sight.
The culprit of the information leak would not be able to maintain such complete composure.
At first, John was not aware of the existence of the magic circle, so he excluded him from the dragon line.
litino. viper. gerat.
The traitor was one of three.
‘Maybe more than two, I don’t know. They must be evicted before the project execution date.’
I didn’t know what kind of disaster would happen if the traitor was put on the ark.
In addition, the ‘expulsion of traitors’ meant the disappearance of the person in charge of the major axis of the project.
It also meant keeping John closer to him.
He would have been able to take over the work that had lost its owner at once.
“You must have seen the list of passengers. Who do you think is the most suspicious person?”
“I can’t say for sure because of the lack of clues. But if we judge only by the outward factors… .”
Cain shared his thoughts.
At his sharp reasoning, the emperor nodded his head.
If the dragon’s ship had been empty, it would have been to the extent of issuing an order based on the reasoning.
“That’s plausible. If Raitino the Elder and the Viper Marquis. And who do you think is the most probable among the missing Commissioners?”
Cain appeared to pause for a moment on purpose.
“… It’s a difficult problem. We all know that they are people who have no reason to betray. Still, if I had to pick it up-.”
Cain pointed to the chief of police as the most suspicious person.
Although some circumstantial evidence was presented, such as a mysterious disappearance, the evidence was insufficient to conclude the situation.
“You think so.”
The emperor unwittingly revealed his disappointment.
“Your Majesty, do you think one of the three is the culprit?”
“It is.”
“Then I don’t think it’s enough to simply pick that one person.”
“There may be conspirators on board. Are you trying to say that?”
“you’re right. I think we need to count them all before we set off the ark.”
“It’s not easy. That’s why we’re considering completely overhauling the boarding list.”
“You don’t have to.”
The emperor’s eyes narrowed.
Subtle expectations and doubts arose.
“Is there a way?”
“Yes. Call all the occupants of the ark in one place. I think the title of the last banquet in the Old World would be good.”
“Why?”
Cain caught his breath.
And said in a low voice.
“I have the ability to distinguish truth from lies by looking into the eyes of others.”