..I'm currently lying low, observing the situation.
I’ve roughly figured out what Beckman is up to.
Since there’s not much I can do until things really kick off, and to solidify Beckman’s guilt, I’m enjoying a ‘vacation’ in the trenches I've secretly dug.
It’s not boring.
I’ve downloaded quite a lot of movies and dramas onto my tablet PC.
"Hey, you weren’t hurt, were you?
Swish-swish - swish-swish -
I asked Grawl, who was wagging its tail while glaring intently at the movie on the screen.
The creature was too busy watching the movie.
"Hey."
—Yeah, yeah.
It seemed to say 'don’t bother me’ as it covered its ears with both hands.
"That’s good.”
I put in my earphones. A voice from inside the fortress came through.
—Prepare to march. Gather the elite and strike at Yurkon Corporation's farmland.
Beckman’s plan is progressing smoothly.
Johanna will probably march, and I will become something akin to a traitor.
For me, it’s still too early.
Beckman has filled most of the Chasers with his own people.
If I go back now, I might be immediately discovered and the worst-case scenario could unfold. Therefore, I must remain hidden as if dead, helping Johanna to find the ‘evidence’ herself.
Johanna is probably suspecting both Beckman and me, almost equally.
I have to fight Beckman and at the same time, fight against Johanna’s suspicions.
To win, I must remain as calm as possible.
—Hyaha.
Grawl laughed. It was engrossed in the movie. I yawned while stroking its soft back.
Maybe I'll sleep a bit more.
"A legitimate vacation, it’s nice.”
Johanna arrived at the coordinates reported by Shion Ascal. There was only a dilapidated abandoned building. There wasn't even a mouse, let alone Yurkon Corporation's guards.
However, one must not judge the features of a magic space by its appearance. The entire building could be a goldmine made of mana stones.
She surveyed the entrance.
Shion Ascal was not there.
She had thought he would appear as if he had been waiting for her arrival.
"My lord, it seems empty.”
Beckman said.
"Let's go in, anyway.”
Johanna stepped forward herself. Along with the Chasers, she entered the heart of the abandoned building.
The inside was just as empty.
Not even a ‘Syrot,’ let alone a mushroom or moss in sight. A barren wasteland with a concrete floor that was hard to call a floor.
Johanna stood in the middle of the room, gesturing to the Chasers behind her.
"Analyze the composition.”
"Yes, sir!"
They moved quickly, but there was really nothing to analyze.
Concrete where not even plants, let alone crops, would grow. The grey walls were cracked, with only stone debris trickling down.
"My lord, there are no crops to speak of. It's a complete wasteland.”
The second team leader confirmed with a kill check. Johanna pressed her brows together without a word, and Beckman secretly turned his face to smile, when suddenly—
"Ambush!”
A rough voice echoed from behind. Johanna and all the Chasers turned in that direction.
"Ambush!”
A knight under Johanna was there, soaked in blood.
"The Yurkon bastards have invaded our Grade A farmland!”
The Grade A farmland where magical crops grew. Johanna had come out to campaign, leaving only the minimum force there for the ‘Syrot’
"Hey.”
Johanna saw someone. It was the glasses-wearing snitch from the third team.
"Yes, yes.”
The man flinched and bowed his head. Johanna snatched his glasses away.
"Your third team leader sent you information through these glasses, is that what you're saying?
"Yes. That’s correct I don’t understand what’s happening either...”
"Tell me where that bastard is.”
"My lord!”
Suddenly, Beckman shouted urgently. Johanna, too, belatedly sensed the resonance of magic coming from somewhere.
Creaking—
An ominous moan as if steel was being crushed.
It was right beneath the ground she was standing on.
Beckman rushed in first. He embraced Johanna tightly with his whole body.
Boom!
Immediately after, a massive explosion occurred. A wave-like flash engulfed the entire abandoned building. The view was flipped, and the entire building was destroyed.
Amidst the settling debris, Johanna lost consciousness.
Johanna quietly opened her eyes. She was in a bed in the fortress.
The headache was severe, but her body itself was fine.
"My lord. Are you alright?
Someone asked.
It was Beckman. Half of his body was wrapped in bandages, but he stood upright, looking at her.
"Explain.”
"The Grade A farmland has been taken over by Yurkon Corporation. It seems to be the third team leader's mistake.”
"Mistake."
Johanna's eyebrows twisted.
"Yes. Initially, it was reported as Syrot farmland. He is now making excuses that he was deceived—”
"Shion Ascal, is that bastard saying things like that now?"
"Yes.”
Beckman let out a faint sigh.
"Transcriptions continue to come from the third team.”
Precisely, he was pretending to receive reports.
Because the man is already dead.
"He’s not showing up in person?"
"No. That's why I’m...”
Beckman clenched his teeth, bowing his head as if to blame himself.
“I believe the third team leader has betrayed us."
Johanna silently rose to her feet Beckman quickly asked,
"My lord. Perhaps it’s still too soon for you to be-"
"...Are you alright?”
She asked Beckman.
Beckman too had been caught directly in the explosion.
It was powerful enough to make a joke of killing even Johanna, but Beckman had prepared his Magic Body in advance, and thanks to that, he survived.
“I am fine. For my lord, this life is a small price to pay...”
"Cut the crap. Just don’t die on me.”
Johanna sat back down in her office chair, pressing her temples as if crushed by shards of glass.
"More importantly, do we have any evidence? Proof that he betrayed us.”
“...We’ve found the third team leader’s trench.”
"Trench?”
"Yes.”
Beckman spoke in a base tone.
"However, we haven’t entered it Knowing that you trusted the third team leader, we wanted to preserve everything."
Johanna looked up at the ceiling for a moment.
Her insides were burning.
Her throat felt scratchy.
She didn’t know why, but her anger was intense. She had always lived her life suspecting others, so she was accustomed to betrayal.
If this was betrayal, she would normally just deal with it accordingly.
But now, just the suspicion that Shion had stabbed her in the back...
Her reason was shaking. Her insides felt as if they were ablaze, and her composure was shattered like a windowpane.
"Let's go there.”
Johanna stood up.
"My lord.”
Beckman called out to her.
He met her gaze squarely and asked,
"If it turns out that the third team leader truly betrayed you, what will you do?”
Johanna looked at Beckman as if the question was unexpected.
“I’ll find him and tear him limb from limb until he’s dead."
Beckman’s lips faintly trembled.
"If there’s someone behind the betrayal, egging it on, that asshole will die the same way.”
Having finished speaking, Johanna turned away.
Beckman quietly followed behind her.
Libra’s first team arrived at the external trench. The trench beneath the ground where Shion Ascal had stayed.
Sure enough, his scent lingered there.
Johanna surveyed the place, rummaging through various objects.
There were many documents and letters exchanged with someone, but all were encrypted.
Johanna handed a letter to Beckman and asked,
"Can we decrypt this?”
“I’ll bring in an expert”
Beckman brought in a Chaser. The man quickly skimmed through Shion Ascal’s letters.
"The encryption method is used, but the decryption should be easy."
The Chaser released magic into his grip, which coalesced in the air like a brain, crackling with some electrical signal and performing calculations.
Before long, he had decrypted one of the letters.
“...Here it is. The letter.”
Johanna received the letter from the Chaser.
[To Miss Zia—]
The letter began with such a phrase, addressed to Miss Zia.
Johanna read the contents slowly.
[I am currently dispatched to Johanna's security team
The letter was lengthy. The emotions within the sentences were intense, and there were many flowery expressions, but the summary was singular.
‘For Miss Zia. If you wish it, I will ruin Johanna’s work—’
"Should I decrypt the other documents as well?”
The Chaser asked. Johanna turned to him and nodded.
"Do it.”
"Yes.”
The Chaser decrypted all the remaining documents and letters. It took less than 30 minutes.
There were a total of thirty pages.
Quite a lot.
It’s as if they were exchanging love letters.
"You all stay out. I'll check them alone.”
"Yes.”
Beckman and the Chasers went up.
Johanna sat in the trench, quietly reading Shion’s letters.
Zia.’
The recipient of all the letters was Zia.
That he would do anything for Zia, that he could even kill Johanna if she commanded it, that since Johanna trusted him, he could do anything...
Johanna clenched her fist silently.
Her teeth ground together with a crack—
This is why I don’t trust others.
Even those who once seemed trustworthy, once I actually start to trust them, they completely transform into someone else.
They try to pull off some outrageous stunt using my trust.
"Ha.”
She let out a snort of laughter.
Of course, your everything was for Zia, not me.
Even risking your life to save me, in the end, was for Zia.
When I think about it, it was obvious.
If you had valued me more than Zia, you would have been working by my side, not hers.
Suddenly, a distracting footstep.
Johanna's eyes narrowed like a bird of prey, and her sharp magic mingled with the air, as if to slice through flesh.
"Who’s there?”
"Oops."
It was some clumsy Chaser. The man looked at her with a surprised expression.
"I told everyone to stay out.”
"Ah, my apologies!'
He immediately bowed at a 90-degree angle.
What an idiot.
Should I kill him?
“I’m sorry, but the internal search isn’t quite finished yet.. I’ve brought an Artifact. I'll be on my way immediately!'
"Artifact?"
“...Yes.”
He held the Artifact, which looked like a glow stick.
Johanna's curiosity was piqued.
"What kind of Artifact is that?”
“It's one for detecting things underground... I brought it hastily in case Team Leader 3 might have hidden more information—”
"Then try it."
She briefly folded the documents.
Stepping aside, she gave him space.
“...Excuse me?”
"Try it Before I kill you.”
"Ah, yes! My apologies.”
The Chaser, with a face tense as a drawn bowstring, held the glow stick. He swept it back and forth over the trench, examining it like a doctor would a patient.
The ceiling of the trench, the walls, there was no reaction anywhere.
“...Now get the hell out."
"Yes, yes. I’m sorry."
As Johanna frowned and the Chaser was about to leave, a sudden sound came from the glow stick.
Whir—whir—whir—
It was coming from beneath the trench.
"What?!”
The Chaser’s eyes widened. He quickly knelt down and dug into the ground like a dog.
A large piece of coal emerged.
...No, an Artifact that looked like coal.
"This is-”
"Get out.”
"Excuse me?”
Johanna grabbed the man's shoulder and shoved him back.
"Don’t touch it, just get out."
"Ah... Yes.”
The Chaser quickly got up and climbed out of the trench.
Left alone, Johanna knelt down on one knee. She stared intently at the pitch-black Artifact that resembled an ordinary piece of coal.
She focused her mana into her eyes.
Her retinas tinged blue, and the flow of magic within the coal became visible. This was a magical item, structured with the regularity of gears... precisely, a 'recorder'.
Johanna lifted the coal into her grasp, looking around for a button.
"How do you turn this on?"
Truth be told, she was not good with machines.
She pouted her lips, looking here and there, flipping it upside down, gently touching it like a tortoise—
Was it voice-activated?
"Turn on."
...It wasn’t
"What the hell.”
Johanna scowled and set the coal down.
Click-
Suddenly, a switch was triggered.
—...Day 1, Team 3.
A voice resonated quietly within the trench.
Shion Ascal’s voice.
—This is a record of my mission.
Johanna slowly tilted her head, picking up the coal from which the recording flowed.
—Currently, I am under threat
The words ‘under threat’ captured Johanna's attention.
