Chapter 185

The outbreak of the Royal Mile bombing.

It was the incident that signaled the beginning of the main story of Candela of Judgment in this worldline, where I had possessed the body of Winter Winslet.

The resurrection of an ancient demon, a civil war between two factions fighting over the next throne, and the stirrings of vampires and the large-scale emergence of the undead.

Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the king’s absence, one major incident after another would erupt, and the player would methodically resolve them all. That was Candela of Judgment.

And Candela of Judgment was a game in which the player, as a member of the Candela Knights, executes the enemies of the kingdom.

Which meant it was about time for him to appear.

That guy.

“Rose Bly.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“I need you to look into someone.”

Rose Bly, who had been busy reviewing the contents of the next special edition, turned her head.

“If it’s a favor from you, of course I’ll do it. Who is it? A woman?”

“It’s a boy. His name is Pierre Chauvin. He’s probably just come of age. He has hair as white as snow and strikingly handsome features. He stands out quite a bit, so he shouldn’t be hard to find.”

That was the character profile of the protagonist as listed in the original game.

After hearing my description, Rose Bly stared at me blankly, as if she had just been caught off guard.

“Well… I don’t intend to comment on your tastes, but as a woman, I can’t help feeling a little concerned. Could it be that…?”

“The reason I’m looking for that boy is risk management.”

With caraphine exploding in the heart of the royal capital, Winter Winslet, one of only two 7th-Class mages in the kingdom, was bound to fall under suspicion.

Even with my alibi that I wasn’t at the scene of the explosion, and the false information I had planted as the “Nice Goodman”, it would be difficult to assert my innocence perfectly.

Even in the original game, it was a foregone conclusion that the Candela Knights would eventually catch my trail, so gathering information and monitoring their movements in preparation for that moment was part of my plan.

Rose Bly nodded, seeming convinced.

“You said Pierre Chauvin, right? Where am I supposed to look for him?”

“Do you have a map?”

Rose Bly opened her desk drawer and pulled out a sheet of high-quality paper.

City maps were usually difficult to obtain due to concerns about military misuse, but as expected of a newspaper publisher, Rose Bly had a fairly detailed one.

I pointed to several locations on the paper with my finger.

They were the villas used by the Candela Knights as safe houses.

When you play Candela of Judgment, each time you’re randomly assigned one of those locations as your lodging.

“If you place people around those areas, you should be able to spot him starting tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“He hasn’t arrived in the capital yet. He’ll get here tomorrow.”

“You seem to know an awful lot. Do you even need my help?”

“All I know is the date he enters the city.”

One day in August.

That was the date the story of the original game began.

And after that, there was no predicting how Pierre Chauvin would act.

Candela of Judgment was a high-freedom game, which meant anything was possible.

One question lingered in my mind: who was the one controlling Pierre Chauvin?

I had possessed Winter Winslet’s body inside the world of the game.

In that case, who was moving Pierre, the true protagonist of the game?

The game’s player?

Or Pierre Chauvin’s original personality?

I entertained both possibilities briefly, then dismissed them.

I’d find out eventually.

There was no point worrying about something I couldn’t know right now.

“Alright. The name’s Pierre Chauvin. Twenty years old. Distinguishing feature: white hair. Handsome. That should be enough. What do you want me to dig up?”

“Just the basics. What he does for a living, who he associates with, and his usual daily routes. But under no circumstances can he realize he’s being watched.”

“Why? Does he have some powerful backer?”

“Yes.”

And not just anyone. Extremely dangerous people.

The Candela Knights.

“Then I’d better approach this carefully. I was thinking of bribing a neighbor or someone from his workplace, but… I’ll handle it.”

“I trust you.”

While the other members of the Heptagram Society each had their own organizations like the Thieves’ Guild, the Longsoniere, and the vassal vampires, Winter Winslet was completely alone.

As a result, having an ally like Rose Bly who could provide information was a tremendous help.

“But you’re not seriously planning to make me do all this for free, are you?”

As if demanding compensation, Rose Bly stuck out one cheek toward me.

At this point, she didn’t care whether the staff in the office were watching or not.

***

Clatter, clatter.

When an old cargo wagon arrived at the checkpoint outside Lambart, a man jumped down from the back.

He gave a polite bow to the wagon’s owner.

“I’ll get off here since you have to pass through the checkpoint. Thank you for the ride.”

“You’re a rare one. Such good manners in a young man. It was nice not traveling alone all the way from the East. Take care now, lad.”

“Yes. Farewell.”

Making sure not to obstruct the wagon, the man stepped aside from the road and pulled back his hood.

Neatly arranged white hair came into view.

The young man was Pierre Chauvin.

He gazed quietly in the direction the wagon was heading.

Beyond the checkpoint stood a high and seemingly endless stretch of city walls.

“So I’ve returned. To Lambart.”

Back in March, Pierre had left his rural hometown with nothing but a dream of becoming a knight and a single letter of recommendation. He had headed to a training camp in eastern Laurencia to take the entrance exam for the Candela Knights.

After proving his qualifications and skills, he had now returned to the royal capital.

Strapped across his shoulder with a cord was a finely crafted longsword.

“I wonder if Captain Josephine is doing well.”

Josephine was the captain he would now serve under and the only member of the Knights he personally knew.

The Candela Knights were a secret organization, operating much like a cell-based network, and its members were forbidden from revealing their identities.

Yet Pierre had once gone so far as to cause a commotion in front of Josephine’s house in order to join the order.

Looking back on it now, he wouldn’t have had any grounds to complain even if he’d been blacklisted for that stunt.

“Well, nothing for it. I’ll just have to make up for it by throwing myself into my duties.”

With that resolve, he headed toward the city entrance, only for a guard at the checkpoint to stop him.

“You there. Stop right where you are.”

“You’re carrying a longsword. Are you planning to enter the city like that? Do you have a permit?”

Pierre was flustered, but thanks to the false identity prepared by the Candela Knights, he managed to get through the situation.

After examining his identification papers, the guards smirked.

“What, you’re the new recruit we were told about? And from the East, no less. They said they were increasing the city guard numbers. Looks like the higher-ups really scraped the bottom of the barrel in the provinces.”

“Do your best.”

It seemed the cover identity arranged by the Candela Knights placed him among the city guard.

The guards clapped Pierre on the shoulder and handed back his identification.

Pierre asked,

“Security seems pretty tight. When I came in March, it wasn’t like this. Has something happened in the meantime?”

“What? Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”

“Yes…”

“Haven’t you heard what people have been saying?”

“I spent over a week riding in the back of a wagon to get here from the East. I barely met anyone along the way.”

“Fine, rookie. I’ll say this once, so don’t ask again. Listen carefully. Something big happened recently.”

“Something big?”

The guard glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then lowered his voice.

“His Majesty is hovering between life and death. He was attacked by unidentified terrorists.”

“….…!”

“That’s why everyone’s on high alert trying to catch the culprit. Anyone who looks suspicious gets detained first and questioned later. Rookie, you’d better watch yourself for a while. The captain and the higher-ups are all on edge.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.”

After parting ways with the guards, Pierre headed to an apartment on the outskirts of the city.

It was the address given to him along with his cover identity.

Though it was his first time visiting, the necessities of daily life were already prepared inside.

If anyone were to ask the landlord, he would say Pierre had been living there for a year.

After unpacking his few belongings, Pierre went out into the city before sunset.

And he chose a bookstore in a deserted alley and stepped inside.

As he browsed books in a quiet corner, someone approached him from behind.

“I’m looking for an old book. Do you have any recommendations?”

“Reading is best enjoyed after a meal.”

“Pierre Chauvin?”

“Yes.”

“A pleasure. Congratulations on passing the enlistment exam.”

The man was a royal inspector responsible for delivering orders to the Candela Knight Order.

This was the second time Pierre had met him.

“Thank you. What mission will I be assigned to?”

“Take this.”

The inspector handed him a paper envelope.

Inside was some money and a new identification card.

“What is this?”

“Originally, you were to serve in the city guard and wait for a summons from the Candela Knight Order, but the plan has changed. As of today, you will be deployed on an undercover investigation.”

“An undercover investigation…?”

“Do you object?”

“No, sir. I’ll do my best. You can entrust me with anything.”

Pierre said that with youthful bravado.

The inspector let out a scoff.

“Anything, you say… Very well. I’ll hold you to that. You’re aware of the bombing incident in the capital, I assume?”

“Yes. I heard the guards talking while I was passing through the checkpoint.”

“Tsk. Loose-lipped fools. In any case, that incident is the reason your assignment has changed. The forensic results revealed that a high-purity magical substance was used in the bomb meant for the king. And there aren’t many places in this country capable of producing something of that caliber. One of them is the Academy.”

“Then…”

“Once this summer is over, you will enroll in the Academy. You will pose as a student and uncover any traces of illegal manufacturing of magical substances.”