077
Heilas and I were riding in an air vehicle. It wasn’t a Royal Guard vehicle, but one belonging to Custoria.
“How was your security mission?”
Heilas asked me sarcastically.
“It was strange.”
I answered honestly. It was a statement with a lot of meaning.
“My advice is to not think according to our common sense and standards. I think you already know this, but I’m saying this out of concern.”
Heilas didn’t say anything more than that.
I thought for a moment and then opened my mouth.
“The investigation into Kinuan is currently incomplete. It is difficult to find any more traces.”
“It would have been nice if we had captured Rick, but… … there’s nothing we can do. There’s still time. Now that Rick is dead, the terrorists will take action. They might try to assassinate you.”
We talked about the mission. In fact, the investigation into Kinuan was at a standstill. Because the clues and flow were cut off. Above all, my enthusiasm had cooled.
“It’s not time to go to the main house now.”
I said, looking out the window as it grew darker. The Custoria mansion was not this way.
“Luka, from now on, we will not be doing royal guard work, but household work. I will be the head of the household, and you will be a member of Custoria.”
As he spoke, Heilas held out an electronic mask. It was a type that completely covered the face. The surface was flat, with only some of the circuitry exposed.
Kiing.
I put the mask on my face without saying a word. The mask recognized the shape of my face and moved slightly to cover my chin and temples.
Since we are wearing masks and plain clothes, it will be difficult for outsiders to recognize our origins.
“If it’s housework, shouldn’t I call Jupe too?”
My voice, trapped in the mask, had a changed frequency. The same goes for Heilas, who was wearing the same mask as me.
“Jupe is not suited for work that requires confidentiality. He is a person who likes the sun better than the shadows.”
Heilas chuckled softly. It was a remark that revealed the nature of the situation.
The aerial vehicle we were on landed in an empty lot. It was an unrecorded visit, as we did not use checkpoints or public airfields.
OMG.
As soon as Hailas and I got off, the air vehicle disappeared somewhere.
Thud, thud.
Footsteps were coming towards us. I held the hilt of my knife and stood on guard.
“It’s okay, Luca.”
Heilas grabbed my shoulder and stared into the dark alley.
A homeless man, like a street urchin, walked toward us. Beneath his deep hood, a pair of goggles replaced his eyes.
“It’s been a while, Master. Who is the young master next to you?”
“My son.”
“Ah, you’re the one mentioned in the rumor. Nice to meet you. I’m Pygon.”
The man in the one-piece goggles bowed deeply to me. Before I could guess his identity, Heilas introduced himself.
“Unofficially, this is my personal service. I am in charge of the lower-level sector.”
“You can think of me as Lord Heilas’s eyes and ears, Master Lucas.”
Pygon grinned. He also had a terrible stench coming from his body. He was such a shabby old man that it was hard to believe he was a servant of the Custoria family.
‘Paygon, the Watcher of Heilas.’
If the Emperor’s Watcher was Kinuan, the Watcher of Heilas was Pygon.
It was inevitable for a person in power to have an unofficial subordinate. In that position, he had to do things behind the scenes that could not be revealed to others.
Pygon would be one of Heilas’ most trusted confidants.
“There are many eyes watching. Follow me.”
Pygon entered the alley. This was the outskirts of the lower district. It was a lawless area where even gangs did not come.
‘Gangs are driven by vested interests. They mainly deal with vested interests in businesses that move between legal and illegal.’
These out-of-the-way ruins were places where there was no business to fight over. They were places where outlaws and vagrants with nothing to lose lived.
The ruling powers here were nothing more than a ‘band of bandits’, different from the disciplined La Vie en Rose or the arena gangs.
‘That’s why the most persecuted people in the empire live there. For example… …terrorists.’
It was a perfect place for criminals to hide, as there were virtually no decent people there.
“Luka, the person we are going to track from now on is Nemesis’ contact. He is someone who was active on the day Nikolaos died. If we let him go once, it is hard to guarantee when we will be able to track him down again. This time, we cannot afford to fail. This is not training, nor is it a mission for a cadet. Let me say it again, this is our job as a member of the Custoria family.”
Heilas strongly urged.
A lot of thoughts were running through my head. But for now, I suppressed all the distracting thoughts and speculations. I was going to focus only on the task at hand.
“I will open the entrance, please wait a moment.”
Pygon stood in a dead end alley. He searched the floor and opened the sewer lid.
A musty steam seeped out of the sewer. The stench of the stale water, lukewarm by geothermal heat, was terrible. I was already feeling nauseous.
“It certainly seems like Jupe would have a hard time with this mission.”
I muttered. The lead pygon was climbing down the ladder into the sewer.
“Haha, it won’t be easy for you either.”
Heilas also said as he went down. That’s right. It was an entrance that even I, who was from the lower zone, hesitated to use.
Sloppy.
It wasn’t just a sewer. It was a swamp-like mass of sewage. It was a horrible passage that was hard to describe in words.
“The bugs will crawl around and your skin will itch, but you’ll have to get used to it, Young Master. If you keep removing them one by one, it’ll never end.”
There was a hint of humor in Pygon’s words. It seemed like he was enjoying what was happening to me.
Ssuk.
Pygon took out a map of the sewers. It was a map drawn by hand. It was so labyrinthine that it seemed difficult to find one’s way without a map.
We waded through the swamp of sewage, watching Pygon’s back. At this point, I have a confession to make.
… … I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
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The vomit flowed down my throat, making it refreshing to look outside.
Eventually, I threw up once.
“Wow!”
No, twice.
… … maybe three times.
* * *
“You’re still a living being, so the gag reflex can’t be helped.”
Heilas spoke to me as if comforting me, who had just vomited a lot.
Yes, it’s not that I’m weak. Heilas and Pygon were full-body robots with their internal organs fully mechanical, so they could effectively suppress physiological reflexes.
It was around the time when even the sour taste of gastric acid could no longer be felt in the mouth. Pygon finally stopped walking.
Heilas and I, who were following him, held our breath and waited for him to speak.
Woohoo.
Pygon’s goggles glowed brightly. He paused for a moment, lighting up his surroundings with his eyes. Every time his gaze stopped, a doorway leading up to the ground appeared.
“Master, you go in this way, and you, Young Master, go in that way. Then, we can block all the entrances and exits. I will protect you from the rooftop.”
Pygon moved his fingers in a pattern, folding them. His left prosthetic hand flipped over, and the muzzle popped out.
“Quick and decisive action is important. If the opponent decides that he has no chance of winning, he will commit suicide.”
“Helas said. He handed me an electronic pistol loaded with an electric shock round.
Wheeing.
I swiped the electronic pistol against the terminal. The electronic pistol’s sights recognized my data and moved slightly on their own to adjust the aim.
‘Capture Nemesis’s contact person and extract information.’
That was the goal of this mission.
‘It’s not the duty of the Royal Guard… … It’s the Custoria family’s business. Haylas has been investigating Nikolaos’ death separately.’
The eldest son of the Custoria family was dead. It seemed that Rick’s death alone was not enough. Haylas was planning to take even greater revenge.
‘So that they never touch the Custoria family again.’
Judging by Heilas’s words, this is not an opportunity that comes often. If Heilas could have easily caught Nemesis’ tail, the terrorists would have been eradicated long ago.
“It changes its face so frequently that it is impossible to tell it apart by appearance. You have to identify it by its physique and movement patterns.”
Pygon displayed a hologram of the terminal. A human-shaped model appeared and repeated various movements, including walking.
Heilas and I took in the thirty-second image in our heads without even blinking.
“Phew.”
After finishing entering the information, I closed my eyes and breathed. A short meditation calmed my nervous system.
Soon I will expand my nervous system and senses, and my brain will scream with information overload.
It’s something I do every time, but it’s true that it’s painful. I probably won’t be able to spend my later years comfortably.
If everything goes well, you’ll end up like Kinuan, suffering from a brain disorder. If you’re unlucky, you’ll end up like Ken Noma.
“Rush in.”
After speaking, Haylas opened the sewer lid and went out. I, who was standing at the other entrance, also went up, pushing the lid with my hand.
Knock knock.
As I went up, I saw the boiler unit. I could hear the humming sound of the machine. This was the back door and boiler room of the building.
“Your Majesty, please be careful.”
Pygon followed me up the stairs and out the fire escape. He’ll climb up the wall to the roof.
‘Heilas infiltrates the sewage treatment room located near the main gate.’
Heilas has the most difficult role. He will arrive about 5 seconds later than me.
3, 4, 5… … .
I opened the door to the boiler room after counting the time.
“Who, who are you?”
The man who had been standing blankly in the hallway looked at me and looked puzzled. Judging from the look of his face, he wasn’t Nemesis’ contact person.
Peek!
I pulled the trigger. The electric anesthesia bullet was stuck in the back of the opponent’s neck. The electric current shot out and the man passed out. The advantage of the electric anesthesia bullet is that it works on both living and artificial bodies.
This building was a long-term lodging facility. It was embarrassing to even call it a hotel. The rooms were all small single rooms. Even the shower facilities were shared. It was a low-class lodging facility where people of unknown status stayed.
However, since it is a lodging facility, it is not easy for outsiders to invade. There will be a security device at the main entrance. The reason we used the sewer was to be on the safe side.
‘You can never fail.’
To increase our chances of success even a little, we went through that terrible sewer.
I’m already feeling enthusiastic. It was such a horrible experience that I almost threw up. I was angry just thinking about failing.
OMG.
My right eye would be glowing. I had memorized all the geography of the buildings I had passed. I could find my way around without hesitation, as if I had lived here for years.
Crunch, crunch!
As I passed through the hallway, I broke open the door and threw it open. Fortunately, there were no windows in this building. This meant that it was also used for confinement purposes. I went between rooms, occasionally seeing scenes that I shouldn’t have seen.
“Keeeeeeeeet!”
There were also some rare aliens in the empire. A bipedal alien that looked like a mixture of pig and reptile, it flared its nostrils and screamed as soon as it saw me. It was a truly ugly species.
Well, by our standards, most alien species have an ugly appearance. They probably see us that way too.
Peach, peach!
I pulled the trigger repeatedly. The alien was so big that I thought one shot wouldn’t do it. The alien, hit twice with an electric shock bullet, fell down foaming at the mouth.
‘Haylas has already finished and gone up.’
The other side was already cleaned up by Heilas. He went up to the second floor before me.
I also tried to go up to the second floor. The building had three floors in total.
Gurrrrrr!
I stopped walking. The ceiling collapsed, showering concrete debris. Shadows staggered through the smoky dust.
Someone came down and broke the floor.
‘Contact?’
I’m not sure if he’s the contact person. There are many criminals and fugitives in these types of accommodations. Some of them might run away as soon as they hear the noise.
Creak.
I pulled the trigger. Whether they’re contacts or not, I’ll knock them all out first and see.
Peek!
I didn’t get hit by the bullet. Since it’s an electronic pistol, the aiming compensation is clear. I didn’t miss.
He recognized the bullet’s trajectory in the dust and dodged it, without using his vision.
“Tick-tock.”
He made a tongue-licking sound. I’ve seen that kind of behavior before. Ken Noma had his tongue-licking before he fought me.
‘He’s a guy who uses Archetype fighting techniques.’
I was convinced that the enemy in the dust was Nemesis’ contact.
Choaaaah!
The enemy had set off a smoke grenade. I couldn’t see an inch ahead. The acrid smoke filled the narrow corridor. It was hard to breathe.
But the enemy knew exactly where I was. The blurry muzzle of his gun was aimed at my forehead.
Ta-Ang!
The enemy’s gunfire spread. I covered my face with my palm.
Ding!
The dented bullet hit the back of my hand and fell to the floor. I stared at the shadow running between my outstretched fingers.
‘Huh, that’s pretty good.’
I put the gun away. He wasn’t the type of person that could be subdued with a pistol or something.
