After wandering around for quite some time to cover my tracks, I finally managed to return to the Cradle.
As for Jeff and Melana… I’d like to say our ties ended there, but this incident made me realize they’re more useful than I thought.
So after returning to the Cradle and fabricating an alibi, I headed straight to Andvaranaut.
“Oh my, isn’t it my dear hero? Heard you made quite a mess this time.”
“Hero? What are you talking about?”
“Come on, this was your doing, wasn’t it?”
Cattleya who was sprawled across the counter tossed a newspaper at me without even getting up.
I caught it lazily and skimmed through it. Sure enough, it was full of reports about what happened that day.
Of course, there was no mention of Loki’s deadly poison or the antidote.
It simply talked about a new terrorist group appearing and the imperial family stepping in to stop them.
“Hero is a bit much. That title’s a bit too heavy for me.”
Still, I didn’t deny it.
I figured someone like Cattleya would’ve already put the pieces together.
Anyone who knew Yuna’s identity would inevitably reach the same conclusion.
Especially since Cattleya had seen Melana back when I borrowed a carriage from her.
At this point, it was only natural she’d arrive at a reasonable suspicion.
I folded the newspaper neatly and handed it back to her.
This woman, despite her wealth, was exactly the type to charge me for a newspaper.
Not just anyone can be a merchant guild leader.
“What do you mean? You’re a hero to me. You gave that bastard Loki a taste of his own medicine.”
“Well, that was…”
“It was amazing. Gave me chills, really.”
I tend to consider Cattleya a dangerous individual. Even during transactions like this, I never let my guard down around her.
But maybe because of that, I sometimes forget important things.
“Ehehehe. So how’d you screw him over? Hmm? Come on, tell me. You know that bastard’s weakness, don’t you?”
That she too had suffered greatly at the hands of the imperial family.
Especially when you consider that she was once engaged to Loki…. her hatred was almost to be expected.
After all, it was Loki who took the lead in tearing her family apart and seizing their wealth.
Using the emperor’s name as justification, he trampled his fiancée and her family for his own gain.
Her family members were all led to the execution platform by Loki’s hand. So of course she would hate him.
“Well, let’s save that for after we get a bit closer.”
“Sounds good. I love a good deal. So? What do you need today?”
The way she translated the word “getting closer” into “deal” was, in a way, a little sad.
She was someone who had been so thoroughly broken that she couldn’t trust anyone unless there was a contract involved.
Definitely not someone to put your faith in.
If the day ever comes when I have nothing left to offer her, she could betray me without hesitation.
“Well, I’m glad things seem to be moving faster than expected. It’s related to what’s in that newspaper.”
“I get what you’re trying to say. You guys want my support too, right?”
“No.”
The Misfits group was disbanded as of that day.
We weren’t a terrorist group. That label was just for show.
Still, Melana and Jeff turned out to be more useful than expected.
So it would be smart to draw them into a network where we can stay in touch.
I’ll need to use them a few more times.
“Would you be willing to provide a place for my friends to stay? As you’ve probably guessed, they’re being hunted.”
“That’s a risky request.”
“That’s why I’m asking you to take the risk.”
Cattleya supported both Eden and Under Chain, those two terrorist organizations. To put it bluntly, the chicken we bought at Andvaranaut could end up fueling a terrorist missile.
The scary part is, that’s not even a joke.
In any case, entrusting her with defectors, given her deep ties to terrorist groups, was a big request.
It would mean she had to take on some risk herself.
“Honestly, I’m not sure what the difference is supposed to be… But fine. If this is part of the ‘process’ of us getting closer, then I’ll go along.”
“Sure, let’s put it that way.”
As long as Cattleya still saw something to gain from me, she would continue to act friendly.
I could probably threaten her if I had to, but from a cost-benefit perspective, this way was better.
Especially since I was the one who gave her beloved enemy Loki a serious blow.
She naturally had no choice but to be as cooperative as possible. After all, she wanted those methods and secrets for herself.
It wasn’t like I was asking her to hand over a fortune, either.
I’d only asked her to do what she usually did, so it was a gain for her as well.
Of course…
“Loki’s going to be looking for us for a while. The stunt we pulled wasn’t exactly small. I’d say we’re probably pretty high on his priority list…”
“Ahahaha! Great. Leave it to me.”
Still, I needed to offer her some compensation.
The information I shared wasn’t just for my own protection. It also served to help Cattleya.
Loki would be coming this way. And with high priority, too.
That meant we could torment him with false information, manipulation, and traps.
That much was an easy calculation.
“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
“Why? Not staying to hang out a bit longer?”
“I’ve got a scolding waiting for me.”
It was about time Lobelia and the others returned.
She had probably figured out my identity by now, so I was sure she’d give me an earful.
It was obvious. She would start grilling me about how she found out, why I didn’t tell her in advance, and every little detail in between.
We were the ones who set the stage to mess with Loki. But someone else had written the script to fill that stage.
Someone had uncovered everything. From Loki’s plans, his use of deadly poison, the dates, the methods, and even the personnel.
All I did was piece those fragments together like a puzzle.
The scriptwriter Deus.
What was it that he really wanted?
He claimed it was because of the research facility he’d hidden in Creta…
But truly clever people never reveal all their motives.
This time, we were just puppets dancing to the scriptwriter’s play.
***
The trading city of Creta.
The same city that had once hosted both the evil force Loki and the guest Lobelia was beginning to come alive again.
With more people coming and going, it was easy to find anything one needed.
Thanks to that, even the shattered buildings were being repaired at a fast pace.
“Old man, you here?”
“Tch, that annoying brat’s back.”
Theseus visited the hospital for the first time in a long while since he had taken the initiative to destroy it that day.
Until recently, he had been busy cleaning up the criminals hiding in Creta and the agents of the Second Prince Loki.
It had taken quite a bit of time to finish that round of cleanup after such a long while.
“So, um… how is she? Has she gotten any better?”
“Of course not. This isn’t something that’ll be fixed in a day or two. At this point, only time can help her.”
“I see.”
Only after finishing that major cleanup did Theseus come to see the girl Loki had left in his care that day.
She might have escaped Loki’s grasp, but the girl was still terrified of everyone around her.
“So? Are you just going to stand there awkwardly blocking the doorway like that?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s just… I don’t know what kind of face I should make when I see you…”
After all, he had dragged in all kinds of incidents and ultimately ended up half-destroying the hospital.
It wasn’t unreasonable for him to think that way.
“Hmph. Ridiculous. You wouldn’t have come unless you’d already sorted things out in your head.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Theseus gave a faint chuckle and stepped into the hospital.
The doctor turned his back, as if none of it really mattered to him.
“You went too far.”
Schring.
A sword grazed the side of the doctor’s neck.
Theseus stared at him with a cold gaze.
He had finally decided what kind of face he should make when facing this man.
“Old man Deus.”
“Young brat, acting all high and mighty.”
The head of Ex Machina. The scriptwriter.
Deus didn’t even flinch, despite the sword being pressed to his neck.
If anything, he pushed the blade aside with his fingertip, as if it were a nuisance, then turned to face Theseus directly.
“This was bound to happen eventually. I just happened to know it in advance.”
“You could’ve given me a heads-up.”
“What if I had?”
“Then I could’ve stopped it before it happened.”
“If that’s the case, your brother would’ve come up with another plan…something even nastier and harder to deal with.”
Deus chose to strike back rather than prevent things in advance.
In the long run, it was the cheaper option.
As for the damage and losses?
They were a bargain compared to the risks that might’ve arisen later.
“Haah…”
Theseus withdrew his sword.
It wasn’t out of malice that Deus had kept silent.
From the start, Theseus didn’t see Deus as a terrorist….just an old man who liked to be difficult.
“So what did you gain out of all this, old man?”
“I gained peace for this city.”
“I know full well you’re not the type to care about others.”
“Then let’s just say I protected the lab I built beneath this hospital.”
“……”
“Good grief. With that glare of yours, you could probably kill someone.”
Deus and Theseus were somewhat acquainted. That’s why, even if Theseus lost control, he wouldn’t touch Deus’s dangerous lab.
He knew exactly what was down there.
In the first place, everything he told Johan had just been an excuse.
But not everything was a lie.
It was true that the lab contained nuclear weapons, and that he was too entangled in the incident to make a move himself.
He had only mixed in a bit of a lie.
“Theseus. How much do you know about the Oracle?”
“The Oracle? You don’t seriously believe in that old legend, do you?”
Theseus asked with surprise.
He hadn’t thought Deus was the type to believe in such superstition.
Wasn’t he a scientist?
“Well, yeah. Even if those eyes are special, what meaning do they really hold?”
Deus’s beliefs hadn’t changed.
Just like he told Johan, he still believed that it wasn’t the ability to see the future that changed the world….but flashes of genius and great inventions.
However, he wasn’t as old-fashioned as people thought.
“But doubting the possibility of something’s existence is nothing more than shackling your own ideas. Superstition, you say? If it truly is superstition, then isn’t it up to me to prove it wrong myself?”
That was why he had written the script.
For the sake of a special existence, one some suspected to be the Oracle.
And he had carried out the mission brilliantly.
Not only did he possess knowledge the average person could never know, but he also created an antidote to Loki’s poison….something no one had likely encountered before in just half a day.
In the end, he resolved the situation through acting, intelligence, and quick thinking.
“The Oracle is real.”
Deus was convinced.
Of course, Johan Damus wasn’t the Oracle. He was far too sloppy for that.
It was something Deus had half-suspected from the very beginning, and as he observed how things unfolded, he had become certain.
But Deus knew.
If he had been the Oracle himself…
There’s no way I’d pass up something this entertaining.
He would’ve come to confirm the fake.
Amid Loki’s scheme and the wide-scale chaos the man had unleashed, Deus had discovered her.
A blonde girl was watching the entire situation unfold from afar.
She had moved through the chaos as if she already knew what was going to happen. And she effortlessly avoided every danger.
“So, Theseus. What do you think the Oracle’s true power is?”
“I’m not curious. No…more importantly, are you saying you stood by and watched the city fall into this mess just to confirm something like that?”
“I can’t help but look forward to it. Where does the power to see the future truly come from? And if the legends are true and the Oracle appears in times of danger for the Empire, what kind of threat will emerge?”
“You still don’t listen to a single word anyone says, do you?”
The recluse of the trade city of Creta—
The scriptwriter chuckled to himself.
It was the sign that a new research had begun.
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