[96]
All eyes in the crowd turned to Herbert.
The middle-aged man with empty eyes parted his lips.
“…Ah.”
His head tilted to the side as if something had malfunctioned.
A sound like static noise came through his bloodless lips.
It continued, on and on.
“Ah, ah. Ah…”
It was an extremely bizarre sight.
In the solemn silence that followed, Yuri was the first to speak.
“Enough.”
Herbert Raine’s head returned to its original position.
When he blinked, Chris suddenly realized this was the first time Herbert had moved his eyelids.
‘He might as well input this into an actual machine. What kind of behavior is this?’
“Fortuna.”
Fortuna, who had been subdued just before attempting suicide, raised her face.
After spitting out the cloth bundle that had been covering her mouth, she said, “I just scanned that man’s consciousness, and it was completely empty.”
“Back to square one, are we?” Anong sighed.
“Well…” Yuri shook his head.
“We got sixteen names, didn’t we?”
It must be at least one of them.
One in sixteen is a gamble worth taking.
At least they wouldn’t have to search the entire population of the Spring Continent.
“What should we do with this person?”
Yuri stared blankly at Herbert Raine’s empty face.
He cast a glance toward Fortuna.
Fortuna, who was stabilizing her condition with Peter’s support, responded to his gaze.
“…If you’ll allow me, I’d like to examine him further.”
“It could be dangerous.”
“This time I’ll be prepared.”
Yuri nodded as he saw the competitive spirit in Fortuna’s eyes.
He was encouraged by the spark shown by someone who usually acted quietly due to her weakened condition.
“I’ll trust you with this. And… Alliance Leader Anong.”
“I have a few requests.”
Anong nodded.
“First, erase any trace that he was brought here.”
“We were extremely careful bringing him in.”
“That’s good. We’ll handle creating Herbert Raine’s corpse.”
Yuri raised a second finger.
“It would be good if we could secure the list of sixteen names and confirm where they are and what they’re doing now.”
“Can we really get them all? Too much of the information is damaged.”
“We can start by investigating the names extracted from Herbert Raine.”
“What if there are no records at all?”
“If the Leader is that stupid, we should be thankful. The pool of candidates would narrow instantly.”
His answer was as sharp as if he were wielding a knife instead of a tongue.
Anong swallowed a sigh.
“Alright. Since we have more inter-continental information networks… I’ll look into it. Please contact me if you extract anything beyond the names we heard earlier. So that was the second request. What’s the last one?”
“I need to sell Northern Light’s name once more.”
“…Let’s hear it.”
Anong nodded slightly.
“I need to create a criminal,” Yuri said, gesturing toward Chris.
“…I thought you were going to keep him nicely, but now you want to make him a wanted criminal?”
“The best way to meet criminals is to become one yourself.”
Anong clicked her tongue as Yuri shrugged.
She was curious about his plan but at the same time didn’t want to know what it was.
She only felt grateful to be on the same boat as him.
“…Can’t Baekyah create this directly?”
Anong looked at Chris, wondering if this made any sense.
Chris’s face was calm, despite being about to go from Northern Light agent to Northern Light fugitive.
It would be better if he simply wasn’t thinking about it. But Chris genuinely seemed not to care what position he was placed in.
“Have you ever seen a mafia keep traitors or enemies alive?”
Anong closed her mouth.
True, she wouldn’t want to be associated with a fugitive wanted by Baekyah.
It would also increase attention as it would sound like the person was dangerous enough that Baekyah couldn’t handle them.
“What are you planning to do this time…” Anong groaned, muttering loudly enough to be heard.
“Our goal hasn’t changed,” Yuri answered casually.
“To uncover the identity of the Thorns Order and completely dismantle it.”
Anong’s mouth twisted.
Just thinking about it made her feel relieved from the fatigue of recent days.
The mess created by this “Leader” was far from insignificant.
Things are most frightening when they’re unknown.
It was time to discover his name.
“I’ll trust you again. Let me know the new identity, and I’ll issue the wanted notice immediately.”
“Again as an Esper. The ability…”
Yuri looked at Chris and opened his mouth.
“Beast transformation.”
An unusual light flickered in Anong’s eyes.
Come to think of it, when Chris belonged to Northern Light, he was registered as using the ability to transform into a wolf.
He could use telekinesis, and he could also transform into a wolf?
Was he the first multi-ability user, or was something else special going on?
Anong licked her lips.
She was curious but didn’t want to create unnecessary problems.
“I understand.”
Anong nodded.
“Well, let’s get going.”
Yuri gestured to Peter.
Peter, who had been carefully packaging Herbert Raine with Fortuna, drew a black door in mid-air.
Anong looked at Peter with envious eyes.
After suffering through nightly overtime as the acting Alliance Leader, a job she never asked for, she couldn’t help but eye capable talent.
‘He belongs to the Barrel Society, doesn’t he?’
Peter, completely oblivious to Anong licking her lips while looking at him, said, “Everything’s ready. Let’s go now.”
***
“A fighting arena?”
Peter looked astonished.
He had just returned from the Winter Continent.
As soon as he arrived at their quarters, Yuri had pressed him to bring Fortuna and Herbert Raine to Baekyah’s headquarters.
His body was exhausted from making long-distance trips several times a day.
And now what was this about a fighting arena?
“According to what we heard from January, they gather illegal Espers and make them fight each other. They not only charge admission fees but also allow gambling. It’s probably an important source of funding for the Thorns Order.”
Chris explained matter-of-factly.
He didn’t mention the Leader deliberately controlling the Esper population.
It was still at the speculation stage without any evidence.
“You’re asking me about this… because you want me to find out its location?”
Peter’s voice trembled.
This couple really had no conscience whatsoever.
They squeeze people dry without a hint of guilt, just pure audacity.
“Do you have any idea where it might be?”
“Well, I don’t know much about illegal Espers.”
Peter subtly averted his gaze.
Yuri snorted as if it were absurd, but refrained from pressing further.
“I have no intention of reporting to Northern Light.”
It was Chris who attempted persuasion.
“No. I wasn’t suspicious in that way.”
Peter waved his hands.
“This situation… I’m reluctantly cooperating with the Esper Alliance… so I’m considering how to relay information.”
His shoulders drooped slightly.
“After the flea market incident… I realized we need to be more careful about information exposed to outsiders.”
Yuri narrowed his eyes.
“So you’re finally thinking.”
Peter, who was expected to be offended, just shrugged.
“I’ve seen and heard things.”
His response was cheeky yet not entirely light-hearted.
“Anong will be fine,” Yuri hinted subtly.
“She’s a person who took on the role of interim Alliance Leader when there was nothing to gain, only obligations remaining.”
“But strictly speaking, we belong to the gray zone.”
That’s why they had joined hands with Baekyah.
“Being associated with us probably wouldn’t be good for that interim Alliance Leader either.”
“Unnecessarily cautious.”
At Yuri’s words, Peter’s eyes sharpened.
“That’s because I have a lot to protect. It would be troublesome if the parts we’ve exposed above the surface were cut off.”
“Instead of spending time thinking about that, find the Thorns Order. Then pin whatever they’ve done on them.”
“…Is that okay?”
“You didn’t join hands with Baekyah to volunteer. If the Thorns Order puts down roots in the Spring Continent like this, the Barrel Society will suffer greatly.”
The tip of Yuri’s nose twitched slightly.
“Isn’t that right?”
“You’re not wrong.”
Peter grumbled as if saying “just take everything” before speaking.
“There are unregistered Espers among the illegal immigrants. But most of those who come through us are C-rank level. Sometimes higher ranks come when they need to move with their families.”
“I don’t have high expectations. A small clue is enough.”
Peter rolled his eyes.
“I know they sometimes come back with a lot of money.”
“Money of unknown origin?”
Yuri whispered with a secretive tone.
“Of course. Large amounts at that.”
Peter nodded in response.
“Good.”
“I have a friend I can probe. I can’t guarantee good results.”
“I have no intention of poking around and ruining everything, so even that much is appreciated.”
Yuri replied coldly.
Peter laughed. “Mr. Yuri Sobolev, you really are an interesting person.”
One of Yuri’s eyebrows rose.
Chris looked at Peter with a more serious gaze.
“Perhaps…”
“No. I’m not thinking anything strange. Just…”
Peter slightly hunched his shoulders and mumbled awkwardly.
“I thought you would never tolerate failure, but you’re always so generous.”
“What nonsense.”
Yuri snorted.
“You’re not my subordinate, you’re a collaborator.”
Peter’s eyes widened.
“For things we’re working on together, I want proper results, but I have no intention of getting irritated every time I ask for other favors.”
Yuri flicked his finger.
“I’m going to rest. You gradually look into it.”
They couldn’t really move in earnest until Anong issued the wanted notice anyway.
Yuri strode into the room.
Chris followed behind him even without being ordered to.
As he watched Yuri unfasten the top button of his shirt, Chris suddenly blurted out:
“You’re generous.”
“You seem displeased.”
Chris shook his head.
“No.”
Yuri tended to be generous specifically with capable and sharp-minded people. So his attitude toward Peter wasn’t particularly extraordinary.
It just… bothered him today for some reason.
“If I got angry, you would have been upset either way.”
Chris’s blue eyes widened slightly at Yuri’s words.
“Me?”
“You don’t seem to understand.”
Yuri turned around and strode toward Chris.
As the body approached so close they nearly collided, Chris unconsciously took one step back, then another. When he finally reached the wall, he found himself trapped between Yuri’s arms.
“I see you brought cigars.”
The man’s lips curved up seductively.
“Where did you pick up that bad habit?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
