073
It wasn’t until a week after the banquet that I had time to visit the lower areas.
I took the elevator down to the lower level. Since I was alone, I had time to reflect on the ride.
‘Lukaus Custoria, the cadet who took down Rick Silva Nunez.’
This incident has solidified my place as the top student of this class. No one will achieve greater feats.
‘And Akes Domini.’
This is an unofficial position. I am the Emperor’s eye and watchdog, albeit a trainee.
‘The unofficial mission is to monitor enemies within the Empire.’
My teacher and predecessor, Kinuan, fooled everyone with his genius deception. I must become like him.
‘But the mission I received from the captain of the guards was to monitor Kinuan and conduct background investigation.’
I have two conflicting missions to fulfill. Funnily enough, both of them are unofficial missions.
My situation is still very precarious.
Unofficial missions sometimes require the death of even the traces of the performers. I have prepared for such situations many times before.
‘If I am deemed unfit to be a watcher or if my superiors deem my existence to be erased… … I will be disposed of.’
Even the shield of the Custoria family could not protect me. The area I stepped into was that deep and dark.
‘I have to fool Captain Heilas by pretending to continue investigating Kinuan.’
It’s a very difficult task. Helas is not an ordinary person. He tried to debunk my lies several times. Some of them may have been overlooked even though he knew about them.
Squeak.
As the elevator stopped, the doors opened. I passed through the checkpoint and entered the lower level.
The grim Gabriel was waiting for me. I had called him in advance. He grumbled as soon as he saw me.
“Why are you telling me to come here? This isn’t my neighborhood. Everyone’s staring at me. The drone keeps following me.”
The area connecting the upper and lower classes is a kind of middle zone. Administratively, it is a lower-class area, but in reality, it is a middle-class area separate from the lower class area.
To put it simply, it is a neighborhood far from Gabriel.
Wheeing.
A patrol drone followed Gabriel around, aiming at him. If he did anything wrong, the drone would immediately shoot him in the face.
“Get used to it. You might be coming here often from now on.”
“I have a food allergy, so I can’t stand places like this. My throat is already so swollen and ticklish. I think I’ll have a drink to get rid of it.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Just report on what’s been going on.”
“Oh, yes, yes, boss.”
I tried to get information orally as much as possible. I learned that messages through terminals are very risky.
Even Captain Heilas relayed information to me through Giselle. No matter how tightly you wrap it up, the network is vulnerable to security.
“The arena gang was taken over by a punk named Julek. That punk gathered all the arena executives and started shooting them, killing all the staff. For now, there’s no one left who can do the arena business except Julek.”
It seemed as though Aleph would never be able to return to the scene.
“Do you think Julek will be friendly to us?”
“On the surface, yes. We were the ones who stopped Ken Noma’s attack. They said they’d outsource some of the security work at the arena to us.”
“Just watch for the time being. If something comes up, try to resolve it on your own, and if that doesn’t work, call me.”
Gabriel tilted his head at my lukewarm attitude.
“Oh, that’s all?”
“okay.”
To be honest, I had lost interest in managing the lower tiers. Now that there was no reason to pursue Kinuan, there was no reason to obsess over the lower tiers.
‘We may need help from the lower classes in the future, but we don’t need it right now.’
While I was thinking about it, Gabriel handed me a list of potential gang members on a piece of paper. I quickly moved my pupils, read the paper, and then tore it up.
“Everything is good, except for Byan. He looks smart.”
“Isn’t it good to be smart? It’s already hard because you’re just a stickler.”
“It’s the early days of the gang. If someone smarter than you comes in, you’ll get eaten. You’ll lose your power.”
I wanted Gabriel to keep the gang going without me. To do that, he had to solidify the organization from the bottom up. Like La Vie en Rose. It wasn’t easy.
* * *
I went to the hospital where Ken Norma was with Gabriel. Ken Norma was receiving treatment in custody. Since it was a proper hospital, the medical expenses that I had to pay out of my own pocket were quite burdensome.
‘I’m not a gentleman either.’
If Ken Noma was deemed useless, I was planning on sending him back to that bottom hospital.
I walked down the hallway and stood in front of Ken’s hospital room. I flinched as I opened the door. My intuition recognized the discomfort.
Trained intuition first sends signals to the brain as feelings, and the brain interprets detailed information later. It is a kind of preemptive action post-report.
‘There are those who have visited before us.’
If there was a visitor who came to see Ken Noma, the hospital would have contacted us. It was an unofficial visit.
“Gabriel, wait outside. I’ll go in alone. Stop anyone who tries to come in.”
I said stiffly.
Gabriel also read my expression and mood and followed my orders without a word. Gabriel and I started to get along well. He was becoming like a limb that understood my intentions well.
Profit.
The door to the hospital room is electronic. This means that if there is an entry from outside, it is recorded. However, there are many people in the world who fool machines and computers like ghosts.
… … Kinuan is also that type of person.
Kinuan was in Ken’s hospital room. He was sitting in a chair and looking at me.
“Sit down, Luca.”
Kinuan invited me to his room as if it were his own. I sat across from him and stared at Ken, who was in bondage.
“Ken is not in his right mind.”
“But Ken is a user of the Archies combat technique. As you saw in the last incident, he is a being who can take sudden action if given the chance. I decided that we can’t just leave him alone.”
“So, you are the instructor who supports Tora and Ken… … and you taught Ken the Akies fighting techniques?”
It’s such an established fact that it’s embarrassing to even ask about it.
“I used Thora and Ken to run the arena gang to fund Nemesis. It’s also the reason Rick was able to rise to the top of Nemesis. At the time, Rick and I were given an unofficial mission to infiltrate Nemesis under the guise of anti-imperialists.”
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“Rick really did defect during the mission. The instructor pretended to defect while continuing to collude within the Empire.”
“Rick was on the outside, I was on the inside of the Guard, and we decided to take down the Empire together. Of course, I didn’t have any intention of doing so.”
Kinuan was probably a watcher even back then. When on earth did he start being a watcher? Maybe even before he became a cadet. There was also the case of Barbara, a witch who infiltrated Nemesis not long ago. The capabilities of the Empire and the Royal Family are more than enough.
“Ken had a talent for fighting. If his life had gone well, he would have become a soldier.”
“That’s why I chose Ken. He was as careful as anyone who would fit into the Akies Victima. I was impressed when he put Tora forward as the boss to spread the risk. I liked Ken.”
“But I left Ken’s side even though I knew it would be my downfall.”
“My mission ended when Rick really defected. The higher-ups were afraid that even I would defect, so they hastily ordered me to return. And even now, they still suspect me.”
No one except the emperor knows Kinuan’s true identity. Kinuan steadfastly endured all the suspicions that were poured upon him. It was a tightrope walk that could have resulted in his death. In this way, Kinuan was truly a loyal subject.
Ssuk.
I looked at Ken again. He was just mumbling with hazy eyes. He didn’t recognize me or Kinuan.
“You’re planning to kill Ken today. If I intervene, there’s a chance he’ll come to his senses again.”
That was why Kinuan had come here. He intended to kill Ken and completely erase his traces.
I felt a bit heavy-hearted. I was the one who pulled Ken Noma out of the abyss.
Kinuan noticed my expression and smiled.
“You don’t have to feel responsible. Ken was out in the world for a while with a clear mind. Before that, he was as good as dead. I know Ken. Even if it meant dying, he would have chosen that side. And he did.”
Ken took revenge on Aleph, prepared to die. His mental strength was incredible. And because of that mental strength, he died here.
Ssuk.
Kinuan stood up from his seat. He stood in front of Ken.
As I looked at that scene, I kept thinking of Gabriel and me. Even though I didn’t want to think about it, I saw the two of us overlapping.
‘Kinuan does not divide ties with lies.’
He simply suppresses his emotions out of a sense of duty. He is a man who would kill even a friend he shared his true feelings with for the sake of his mission.
It’s hard to fool people by communicating with lies rather than sincerity, especially when it comes to big guys like Rick. The same goes for Ken, who has mastered Archie’s Victima and has great insight.
Just as Rick and Kinuan were close friends… … Ken Norma would have been Kinuan’s friend too.
“Instructor.”
I stood up, my mouth open. I stood next to him, catching my breath.
“… … I will take care of Ken Noma.”
“This is my responsibility and my role.”
Kinuan must have known long ago that he had to deal with Ken Noma. However, he left him alone, using the excuse that Ken Noma was incapacitated. Even the thorough Kinuan took a risk.
I know now. I finally got a glimpse into Kinuan’s inner self. It was the danger factor called Ken Noma that was left alone for so long. That was Kinuan’s conscience.
“Even if you are an instructor, you probably wouldn’t want to kill two close friends in a short period of time with your own hands. It wouldn’t be good for your mental health either.”
I said so and waited for Kinuan’s permission.
“I always say, you are a good student. If you teach one, you will learn ten. Sometimes, you grow so quickly that it is scary.”
Kinuan took a step back. With permission, I moved my fingers one by one and released them.
Crack, crack.
A shrill noise escaped from the joints of the fingers as the output increased.
“Ken Noma, I will dispose of you for the sake of the Empire.”
Kinuan turned his back. My hand moved.
Boom!
I ended Ken’s life.
