Chapter 5. The Ability Managent Bureau
“Stop right there!”
Imdiately, people appeared, blocking Radel’s path.
Armandy recognized them. They happened to be his juniors.
‘Damn it.’
They seed to recognize Armandy too, and briefly hesitated. His appearance was wretched.
“R-release him!”
Still, the juniors had loyalty. They attempted to rescue Armandy.
However, Radel didn't even blink.
“Why should I do that?”
“That is...”
“This man is a criminal who dared to attempt the assassination of a mber of the Imperial family. I cannot easily hand him over.”
“...?!”
The juniors' eyes widened. They looked at each other, then back at Armandy.
Their gaze was one that questioned if he was caught after even attempting to assassinate a mber of the Imperial family.
‘There’s no way that’s true!’
Armandy let out a desperate gasp of lantation.
“Gasp!”
As if he understood that, Radel nodded, looking at Armandy.
“Don’t worry. If I put it this way, everyone will know how hard Armandy worked. If he goes back like this, he’ll be scolded for failing the mission.”
“Mmh! Mmh! (That’s making it worse!)”
“I’ll explain it well. Armandy worked hard; he was just unlucky.”
‘Gasp! Sob! (Shut up! Shut up, please!)’
The juniors' gazes were becoming increasingly strange.
It was a look that questioned how soone, who not only got caught while on a secret mission but also attempted assassination, was being comforted by his target.
Armandy felt like he was going crazy.
This 8th Prince was the very devil sent to ruin him.
How was he supposed to continue his professional life now?
He should have turned back ti and never taken the surveillance role over the 8th Prince.
Armandy squeezed his eyes shut.
The pitch-black darkness felt like his own future.
***
Radel was instantly escorted inside.
This happened barely ten minutes after arriving at the entrance of the Ability Managent Bureau.
‘They call this the Empire’s best-kept secret organization, but is it really this easy?’
Only Radel was unaware that none of this was ordinary.
Since he was there, Radel slowly looked around the Ability Managent Bureau. It felt much larger than it looked from the outside.
‘It’s high-grade marble that would be used in a Grand Temple.’
In the center of the hall stood a statue of the Founding Emperor, with the lily, the symbol of the Naless God, fully sculpted at the Founding Emperor's feet.
Following the stairs on both sides with his gaze, he saw a large window opened in the ceiling, structured so that light poured down fully onto the statue.
While the influence of the Supre Deity Order was strongest in the Cretian Empire, it did not deny the existence of other gods. Even so, the presence of the Supre Deity appearing in the Cretian Founding Myth was enormous.
Especially in the Imperial Palace, the center of the Empire, the lily carvings and symbols of the Naless God could be easily found everywhere.
Since the Creator God blessed the Imperial family with Abilities and blessed the Empire, it wasn't strange to have the statue of the Founding Emperor surrounded by lilies in the lobby of the Ability Managent Bureau, which dealt with Ability-related matters.
‘I thought it was a darker and more secret organization, but it feels more sacred than I expected.’
As he approached the statue, he could see the inscription carved below it.
Radel read aloud the inscription that he knew well.
“I bestow a blessing upon you and your descendants; what you achieve shall be my will.”
It was a passage from the Founding Myth.
A story of the Founding Emperor and the Naless God that any mber of the Imperial family would naturally learn.
‘The start of the Ability.’
The content was that the Naless God who created this world promised to bestow his power upon the Cretian Empire’s Founding Emperor and his descendants.
“There is another phrase after that.”
The figure standing behind Radel, who had approached without him knowing, continued the passage.
“But do not exchange your will for mine. The blessing shall beco a curse.”
This was sothing Radel had never heard before.
The blessing shall beco a curse.
These words, at a glance, felt like they were denying the divine blessing, which was the source of the Empire’s power.
He turned around and saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses standing there.
Radel shrugged his shoulders.
“That sounds a bit dangerous. That a blessing becos a curse.”
The man looked at Radel's composed appearance with interest.
The 8th Prince might not know it, but it was unheard of for a surveillance target to have walked right in here.
“That may be so. But that is also the will of God.”
He extended his hand to Radel and offered a handshake.
“It is a pleasure to finally et you. Prince Radel.”
Radel also instinctively extended his hand and grasped his.
“I am Ivan Chartrion, the Director of the Ability Managent Bureau.”
So this was the Director.
Radel’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the head of the Ability Managent Bureau.
‘This person seems to know a lot of information.’
***
Radel sat in the Director’s office and drank tea.
Beside him, Armandy, with bruises all over his body and his lip burst, stood spiritlessly.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes. The aroma is good.”
The Director of the Ability Managent Bureau, Ivan Chartrion, despite his rugged and tired look, seed to be a fairly reasonable person to talk to.
He was personally brewing tea for Radel, saying he would offer his favorite tea.
“I’m relieved. I tend to drink tea rather than coffee due to chronic migraines.”
“You must have a lot of work.”
Radel replied and subtly glanced at Armandy.
“You even sent an agent to worry about .”
Ivan offered a wry smile and raised both his hands.
“I have nothing to say even if Your Highness interrogates . That is our job.”
Radel shrugged at Ivan’s words.
“Still, entering the Treatnt Room without a word is a bit much. Do you use this thod with other mbers of the Imperial family too?”
“I cannot give you any details.”
He let an outsider in, but it was still a secret organization, was that it?
Radel expected this, so he changed the subject.
‘If I play my cards right, I think I might be able to get so information.’
“Anyway, it’s true that I felt threatened. I thought Armandy was an assassin.”
“I understand.”
Ivan nodded.
Honestly, from the Ability Managent Bureau's perspective, they had nothing to say if they were eliminated the mont they were caught.
They were risking their lives when monitoring and collecting information near the Princes or Princesses.
If a mber of the Imperial family happened to misuse their Ability and go berserk, it was also the Ability Managent Bureau's duty to stop it.
‘Still, judging by the fact that he kept Armandy alive, the 8th Prince isn't too cold-hearted.’
Due to his late manifestation, the Ability Managent Bureau lacked information on the 8th Prince.
External information stated he had a weak and timid personality.
‘Indeed, he doesn't act roughly or out of the ordinary when we talk.’
He was surprised when Radel suddenly appeared at the Ability Managent Bureau, but at this level, he felt he could persuade him to leave.
“Yes, since you understand, there's sothing I want to say.”
However, that was Ivan’s misconception.
“I caught Armandy, so he’s my prisoner, right?”
“Pardon?”
“I think Armandy is a quite important talent within the Ability Managent Bureau, too.”
Armandy, who had been listening tensely because his na was ntioned, slowly scrunched up his face.
‘What, what is that person going to say now!’
He felt the ominous feeling that arose whenever that person was about to say sothing strange.
“Why do you think I ca all the way here, Director?”
Was it because he was curious about what the Ability Managent Bureau looked like? Or perhaps to return Armandy while also taking a walk?
No.
Radel had co here solely to make this proposal.
“I ca here to negotiate a ransom for the prisoner.”
Ding.
[The target's Affinity surpasses 20.]
He heard the familiar sound in his ear.
Radel felt a strong premonition that this gamble would succeed.
***
Ivan entered the negotiation for Armandy’s ransom feeling sowhat entranced.
This was the first ti he had ever negotiated an agent's ransom since joining the Ability Managent Bureau.
The opponent was none other than a Prince of the Empire.
Having a tussle with a surveillance target inside the Ability Managent Bureau...
Yet, he didn't feel bad at all.
In fact, it was strangely enjoyable.
“No, this is ridiculous. Director, is that all you think Armandy is worth?”
Radel pushed back the amount written and presented by the Director on paper, looking flustered.
However, Ivan was no pushover.
“Your Highness, you need to be realistic. He's a fellow who failed his mission. Is there any reason for to raise the ransom?”
“The Armandy I observed... uses Illusion Magic extrely well. That talent is most suitable for the Ability Managent Bureau’s work!”
“You are truly soft-hearted, Your Highness. Don’t you see the result of that suitable talent right now?”
“To crush potential after just a single failure? Would that truly be the right thing to do! I will invest this much in his value.”
Radel wrote the amount again and flipped the paper over, handing it to Ivan.
Ivan checked the back of the paper and narrowed his brows.
“This number... is too much for Armandy.”
“That can’t be. Please reconsider.”
“I cannot.”
“Director!”
A strange scene unfolded where Radel desperately defended Armandy, and Ivan desperately belittled Armandy.
And there was one person watching all this with a heart that was tearing apart.
Armandy, the subject of the negotiation.
‘The world... is going crazy.’
He closed his eyes again due to the unceasing pain that had been tornting him for two days.
He just couldn't get used to this pain. It felt new and painful every ti he was hit.
At first, he wanted to take revenge on that crazy 8th Prince, but now things were slightly different.
He wanted to disappear from this crazy world.
‘Should I just quit today...?’
***
Radel and Ivan’s negotiation was dramatically concluded. Both shook hands with satisfied expressions.
“That was a truly good ti.”
“I am also satisfied.”
Ding.
[The target's Affinity surpasses 10.]
[The target's Affinity is now 30.]
The sound of Ivan’s Affinity rising was heard.
It was proof that he was genuinely satisfied.
Armandy was handed over from Radel’s hands to Ivan’s, and then was dragged away listlessly by other employees.
‘He doesn't even look back once he ets his colleagues.’
Radel thought he had ford a bond with him after spending two days together, but it seed Armandy didn't feel the sa.
‘Well, his Affinity didn’t rise any higher, after all.’
He resolved to take good care of him next ti they t.
But didn't he just praise Armandy more than anyone in the world?
‘I fiercely defended him by blaming his mission failure entirely on myself.’
Thinking a thought that would shock Armandy if he heard it, Radel thought of his fattened wallet.
A benevolent smile naturally ford on his face.
And there was also sothing else he gained by cutting the ransom.
“Shall we settle the rest of the accounts?”
“Yes, shall we?”
Radel sat across from Ivan and began the next deal.
When Ivan gestured, all the agents remaining in the Director’s office left.
This was due to Radel’s request that the conversation they were about to have should not leave the room.
‘He’s no ordinary person.’
Ivan now knew that the boy in front of him was not a typical seventeen-year-old. All mbers of the Imperial family had unique personalities, but the 8th Prince seed to have a wily character sitting inside him.
Thinking he needed to discard the records that stated he had an introverted and timid personality, Ivan opened his mouth.
“What are you curious about first?”
To answer three questions.
That was the condition Radel presented in exchange for cutting the ransom.
Radel asked, as if he had been waiting.
“Who are the people trying to kill ?”
Ivan thought it was a suitable question to ask now.
It hadn’t been long since the 8th Prince almost died.
Naturally, it was no accident.
“There is more than one.”
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