302 The Wolf's Den [1]
Item: Orb
Rank: Divine
Name: Enigma Sightstone
Description: A one-of-a-kind relic, Enigma Sightstone is a testament to the craft of the long-forgotten Gods.
Forged from the tears of one thousand crying angels, this mysterious pearl offers the user enhanced sight, the power to cast intricate illusions, and look through all kinds of deception so that they could peer into the unknown.
After inspecting the Enigma Sightstone, I placed it in the pocket space storage of my dimensional ring that I acquired from the vampire king after killing her.
After Leo caught me back when he was investigating the unfortunate incident of Silveserine City, I had been more than a little reluctant to put relics or any other object that could lead trails back to me from an event I don't want to publicly associate myself with inside my smart bracelet.
That's why I had been using the storage ring I got from Reina's corpse after killing her.
…Haa, remembering that event still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
I was pulled out of my train of unpleasant thoughts when Amelia, once again, put a hand on my shoulder, pressing on it gently.
I glanced at her over my shoulder. Locking her gaze with me, she questioned:
"What do you want to do about these people?"
I cast a quick gaze around and saw people opening their eyes and slowly regaining their consciousness.
Their previously dark, expressionless eyes lit up and hesitantly displayed a myriad of feelings ranging from mild confusion to utter panic.
Before they could fully regain control of their mental state, I turned back to look at Amelia and said, "Let's get out of here. I don't want to deal with the Military Police and all their useless queries."
Amelia arched an eyebrow and pointed at several security cameras in the cafe one by one before uttering:
"Isn't it too late for that to be your concern now? The cameras had already captured the footage of what happened here… and how you extracted an orb from the vampire's eye."
A smug smile tugged on my lips before I responded to her remark, proudly pointing at my face:
"You see this. I told you this disguise would help me but you called it stupid. I told you to also get one but you refused! Look, Amelia! Look who's laughing now! Oh, karma is indeed real! Now the Military Police would get you to answer their long, useless queries, while Sera and I would be– what, why are you smiling like that? Cut it out, it's giving me the creeps!"
Just as I was in the middle of my lengthy monologue, Amelia's smug grin, which very much mirrored mine, caught my attention and I stopped speaking.
Amelia finally parted her lips and said, "I think you would want to touch your face."
Frowning, I brought them up to my face and gently traced them around the length of my visage.
…My mustache glass! It… It was not there!
My eyes widened at this unwanted surprise as I realized my genius disguise must have slipped and dropped somewhere during all the chaos.
Ahh, damn it! Without it, the cameras must've captured my face in their footage which would allow the Military Police to trace me.
They would probably ask me about all the useless stuff like what I took out from the vampire's eye.
Eventually, they would find a way to seize Enigma Sightstone under their protection so that they could later just award it to an officer in their ranks.
Yeah, no, thank you! Even I didn't get to use it so I was sure as hell not going to let a bunch of fat, corrupt officers snatch it away from me!
For a split second, I thought about binding it to me. Yes, much like my very first relic, Phoenix's Embrace, the Enigma Sightstone also binds itself to its user.
This means, much like my Semi-Divine armor, no one could take the crystal orb away from me.
However, that would still not solve my problem with the Military Police. They would still hold me, this time under suspicion.
Nah, that would be unacceptable.
Thinking that, I brought up my smart bracelet and asked Athena to call Kai.
After my call connected, a deep, raspy voice sounded from the other side of the line.
[...Hey!]
"What's up, my guy!" I asked, forcing a warm smile even though he couldn't see it.
[Instructor Matterhorn… That madman is still training us like rabid dogs! Kill him! I will kill him! …Anyway, what do you want?] Kai replied.
Jeez, calm down, Kai. Killing someone just because they're harshly training you is a bit insane, even for me. Heh.
Commenting that in my mind, I asked, "What do I want, you say? Can't I just call my best buddy in the world, after Kent, without any need?"
Kai remained silent for a while before answering, [...Anyway, what do you want, Morningstar?]
Damn, we're going on the last-name basis now, huh?!
Sighing, I quickly got on topic.
"Yeah, so, I'm in this cafe. I'll send you my location. I killed a hot vampire here. I'll tell you the rest of the details later."
Catching my breath, I continued:
"Remember you told me you have a tech-genius under you, I want you to ask them to remotely erase all the security camera footage in my locality. Also, erase anything relevant that could potentially trace the Military Police back to me."
Kai remained silent for even longer this time before he warily posed a question:
[Just what the hell did you do—You know what, I don't even want to know. Your work will be done soon but I would advise you to avoid these kinds of situations. I mean, you do know we are supposed to be a covert organ—]
Before Kai could continue, I chipped in. "Kai, you're on speaker."
This time, Kai was silent for a dreadfully long amount of time before he finally spoke:
[See you soon.]
And ended the call.
Amelia's curious voice reached my ears next.
"That was Kai? You two really became such close friends, huh? I mean, it was kind of obvious after the match between the two of you at the King's Tournament, but I couldn't have guessed you two were buddies now."
I squinted my eyes before shaking my head.
"No, we both are just allies. Kind of close allies. That's it. Nothing more."
Amelia shot me a dubious glance and said, "Right…"
†
We managed to scurry away from the cafe unnoticed before all the patrons could fully come to their senses.
Right now, all of them must be in a state of complete panic. Gladly, we managed to somehow avoid getting stuck there.
By the time the Military Police would eventually make it there, Kai would have already erased the footage from all the security cameras in that locality.
Now I don't know how the Military Police would react to this situation, but I couldn't care less about it.
I got myself the Divine-ranked relic I had been wanting to get my hands on from the start of my transmigration, and that's everything I need.
Right now, we were walking down the street leading to the heart of the Wolfshire.
I thought about taking a cab, but for some reason, walking around in this city felt so relieving.
Even though I couldn't remember a thing about these streets, this place felt like a long-lost home to me for some reason.
Sera soared the skies above us, looking down at the bustling city in all its evening glory.
As the sun settled behind the horizon, painting the sky with an orange glow, Amelia turned to me and asked a question:
"Why were you so determined to have that relic anyway? I mean, there are many powerful relics capable of weaving illusions, aren't there?"
I shook my head. A smile tugged on my lips as I said, "None of them are as strong as this one."
In the novel, Nero possessed the Enigma Sightstone. He acquired it after killing Sofiana.
Until the day he lost his eye to Quinn, and lost Enigma Sightstone with it, Nero used this relic to win countless fights and dominate numerous enemies with a single glance by obliterating their minds.
He was a menace. Well, he had always been a menace, even after he lost his eye against Quinn. But he was especially fearsome when he possessed Enigma Sightstone.
But what I meant to say was… Divine rank relics are one-of-a-kind powerful artifacts.
There are only a handful of them in this world and most of them were created by old legends or forgotten divine beings.
There is no way I could ever find anything else comparable to Enigma Sightstone.
Amelia lingered for a few moments before remarking, "Well, if you believe it was worth risking your life for, then it must've been. So, what's your plan now?"
I pondered her question for a short period of time before responding, "I'll head to my family mansion, begin my search there, and seek out any clues."
"Alright, I'm going to head home and… enjoy my break. But if you find anything, feel free to call me. I'll be in the city for a few days."
I narrowed my eyes at Amelia. Here I was struggling to unravel the mystery behind my fragmented memories, and she was ready to enjoy her break!
Nah, no way! I won't let her off the hook so easily! As soon as I find a clue worth investigating, I will put her to work!
With that thought in mind, after around thirty minutes, we arrived in front of an expansive estate.
Giant obsidian gates barred our path of entry, and numerous guards clad in military uniforms patrolled the area surrounding the property.
Amelia said her farewells and headed home, while I gazed at the property before me.
Even from beyond the gates and perimeter guards, I caught a glimpse of the roof of a magnificent mansion.
Haaa…
…It was time for me to step into the Wolf's Den.
