Chapter 106: Preparation for Infiltration (3)
Gustav Hauzeger.
A man considered one of the top ten authorities in his field.
However, those remarkable achievents were from over a decade ago.
Even then, it was highly likely that they were the result of mory manipulation and induced forgetfulness.
Naturally, his recent research accomplishnts were utterly barren.
He might have been able to salvage so of his reputation with a grand announcent on evil spirit manipulation, but that hadn’t happened yet.
For now, Gustav and I were maintaining a fragile cooperative relationship—but it could collapse at any mont.
From his perspective, he surely didn’t trust either, so he must have been trying hard to find another way out.
I had no intention of stopping him.
Even so, I needed to know where exactly he had left himself an escape route.
‘For , there couldn’t be a better justification than this.’
Since Gustav wasn’t the type to confess on his own, I kept speculating what his second option might be.
It was Marret—the troubleso dropout from Duel, the Empire’s headache.
A faction that knew this situation well and yet was willing to side with Marret.
And at the sa ti, one large and influential enough for Gustav to hide within while concealing his identity.
Within the Empire, there was only one possible candidate.
“A family regarded as Bernhardt’s main rival, yet always evaluated as lacking two moves behind in every aspect.”
“……”
“Of course, the best option would be returning to Duel Headquarters, but there’s no way I’d allow that… and choosing the Ribenian Orthodox Faith would an he couldn’t even guarantee his own safety. So this was his desperate compromise, wasn’t it?”
At my sharp remark, Gustav glanced around before letting out a deep sigh.
“Haa… Fine, let’s say, for argunt’s sake, that I’m working with the Arta Family. What difference does that make? Hm?”
“…It doesn’t really change anything.”
“Wherever I’ve placed my feet, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m cooperating with you right now. That’s why I’m out here in Naivea with you, isn’t it?”
“You seem to be misunderstanding sothing.”
I leaned closer and spoke firmly.
“I don’t intend to tell you to block off your escape route.”
“What? Then why…”
“What I’m saying is… anchor your foot more firmly.”
“…What?”
“If the path you’ve stepped onto connects to the Arta Family, we’ll soon have a chance to face each other as three parties.”
Gustav tilted his head, still not fully understanding what I ant—but I hadn’t planned to share the entirety of my plan with him anyway.
“Anyway…”
I brushed past the topic and decided to move to the main discussion.
“From here on, I’ll lay out the sequence of this infiltration operation. If there are any points to improve, speak up—from a mage’s perspective.”
After carefully listening to my plan, Gustav offered quite a few opinions.
Especially regarding mory manipulation—his analysis was razor-sharp.
‘Well, it is his area of expertise, after all.’
If he couldn’t handle that much, he didn’t deserve to be Master of the Magic Tower.
After sweeping the food on the table into his mouth and chewing it down, he began to summarize.
“To recap what we discussed earlier…”
He began listing the steps of the operation in order.
“First, we ambush and capture Torquemada. He should arrive in Naivea tonight or early tomorrow morning, so we’ll need to focus on monitoring his movents for now.”
“That’s right.”
“Once we capture him, I’ll manipulate his mory—to make him retrieve the Reincarnation Stone himself.”
“You said you’d decide exactly how to manipulate him after facing him directly, right?”
“Based on what you’ve told so far, I can’t be certain.”
He emptied the remaining contents of the bottle before continuing.
“Once the manipulation is complete, I’ll use the grimoire to hide in his shadow, correct?”
“Yeah.”
I took out a thin book and a small hand mirror from my coat.
A mid-grade grimoire—Book of Bright Shadows.
It contained various shadow-related black magic spells, with relatively low levels of ntal corruption upon use.
Of course, that didn’t an there was no corruption at all.
To prevent that side effect, I was using an artifact sponsored by Ain Kabbalah.
The mont Gustav saw the mirror, he muttered warily.
“So that’s the Blood Mirror you ntioned earlier.”
“It’s an item that allows corruption to be transferred to soone whose blood is mixed with yours.”
ntal corruption and mory manipulation produced especially strong synergy when combined.
For soone as ntally twisted as Torquemada, there couldn’t be a more effective pairing.
“…But if he breaks free from the manipulation, his hostility will be far greater. Are you fine with that?”
“Why bring that up now? He’s a small fry anyway. Let him be hostile if he wants.”
“Haven’t seen you in a while, Eugene Carter, but you’ve gotten even scarier.”
Gustav’s expression as he said that looked oddly satisfied.
“Anyway, assuming everything goes as planned, before the shadow intrusion’s duration ends, he’ll have retrieved the Reincarnation Stone… How do you plan to escape after that?”
“Disguised as the security guards.”
“Where are you planning to get the uniforms?”
“Right here.”
The only division in Dellowell that brought in outside personnel was the security unit. And even they needed vacations.
aning—
“The guards who left Dellowell for their leave are mostly staying here in Naivea.”
“…I see what you’re getting at.”
“Once we’re out, we’ll head straight for the Magic Tower. Before Dellowell rallies its forces, we need to eliminate The Incurable Curse.”
With that, I concluded the long explanation and slowly rose from my seat.
“Alright then, let’s move. We’ve still got ti, so we’ll start with bribing the guards.”
It didn’t take long to bribe one.
“Well, I’m not complaining since I’m getting paid for nothing… but are you guys really auditors?”
“If you don’t believe it, go your own way. We can always find soone else.”
“N-No, that’s not what I ant! Sheesh, why are you in such a rush?”
Although Dellowell often interacted with the outside world, that only applied to areas beyond the Velut Fortress walls.
You never knew what the organization might be plotting behind the na of the Inquisition, so sudden inspections like this were necessary.
If Dellowell caught wind of who had cooperated, that guard wouldn’t be able to work there again.
A monetary reward was the least I could offer for that risk.
…and after giving such a convenient justification while maintaining an attitude like, “Plenty of others will take the job if you don’t,”
a poorly paid guard couldn’t help but comply.
‘The Dellowell security unit is notorious for brutal working conditions, after all.’
After sending off the bribed guard safely,
I began neatly packing the uniforms into the artifact I had brought—Shrink Bag.
As I channeled mana into the bag filled with items, it shrank until it was no larger than two finger joints.
By the ti we were done, it was already past 17:00.
We sat on a bench in the plaza near Naivea’s entrance, each of us facing a different direction.
I kept my eyes on the main gate ahead, while Gustav looked left, toward the relay station.
After over an hour of dull waiting, he broke the silence first.
“Hey, Eugene Carter.”
“What.”
“It’s kind of funny for a guy with this many weaknesses to say this, but…”
He turned to and asked with a firm gaze.
“What is it that you really want?”
“……”
I had so idea of what he ant, but I tilted my head as if clueless.
“I told you already. To be freed from The Incurable Curse and finally taste true liberation. That’s all.”
“…That’s what you claim, sure, but you can’t fool my eyes. Don’t underestimate this Gustav.”
If he spoke with that much conviction, then he wasn’t just fishing for answers.
I scratched my forehead and asked,
“Then what’s your theory? Let’s hear it.”
He had clearly been waiting for that, and imdiately began laying out his thoughts.
“You’ve hidden behind all sorts of supposed gains, but there’s sothing off about how you’ve acted. Especially after the Clina White incident.”
“The most telling sign was your reaction toward Agent Rubia.”
“I can understand wanting to protect a girl who admired you so much she practically deified you. If you were any other man.”
But if it’s Eugene Carter—
“A man so drowned in self-absorbed arrogance that he’s incapable of rational judgnt—it’s a different story.”
After circling around for a while with his explanation, Gustav gave a crooked grin.
“You like her, don’t you?”
“……”
So that’s what this was leading up to.
I let out a small chuckle and replied,
“Of course I like her. As a comrade.”
“You’re not a very honest man, are you?”
Thinking I was hiding my true feelings, Gustav shrugged and continued.
“You took this desperate asure because you chose to protect Rubia Magnus. What else but love could drive such an irrational decision?”
“Quit the nonsense and focus.”
And while we were at it, I made sothing clear.
“I’ve never once acted based on my emotions, idiot.”
That wasn’t entirely true.
It was true that I had always tried not to be swayed by them—but there had been tis when I’d been swept away by the current.
Still, my conviction that this choice was a rational one hadn’t wavered.
Even seeing that certainty on my face, Gustav leaned closer, still unconvinced.
“Then why’d you take in Agent Rubia? That di-a-dozen theory mage can’t possibly be a real asset!”
“She’s the greatest asset we have. Stronger than any of us.”
“…What?”
“Just wait and see. The woman you dismissed will soon beco one of the Empire’s most important figures.”
I said it with absolute confidence.
And just then—
From afar, a grand carriage adorned with ornate designs entered the city, accompanied by several horses.
It bore the symbol of the Dellowell Inquisition.
I quickly stood up and extended my hand.
“Looks like it’s ti to stop chatting, Gustav.”
“…They’re here. Apostolos.”
We hid behind the central fountain of the plaza and watched the carriage’s route.
It stopped at a large inn on the right side of the square, dropped off several people, then headed toward the relay station.
Observing this, Gustav scratched the back of his head with a troubled look.
“There’s quite a few of them… What do we do about that?”
“Beating them all down could work, but… this way will be more efficient.”
I grinned, pulling out a few gold coins.
“Even offering a tenth of this would have people lining up to do it.”
Seeing that, Gustav averted his gaze slightly.
“…Hard to tell who the real villain is here.”
“Keep talking and I’ll leave you behind.”
“Alright, alright, I’m coming!”
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