Chapter 127
Chapter 127
Short Call
As the speed of the moving train gradually slowed down, Kairus opened his eyes and stretched.
"Looks like we're almost there. I’ll contact Spring Parsley once we get off."
He had to let Spring Parsley know they had arrived in Goldiba. At Kairus’s words, Nora began packing her documents and spoke.
"I’ll check out the university."
"I’m supposed to move the luggage to the lodging and check out the Citizen Shelter, right?"
Each of them recalled their respective tasks as they waited for the train to come to a complete stop. Unlike how they had just been lying around like dead people, their movements were now quite swift.
After getting off at the station and parting ways with the other two, Kairus headed straight to city hall to call Spring Parsley.
"We’ve arrived."
― Wow, that took forever.
Spring Parsley, who answered Kairus’s call, replied briefly and then fell silent for a moment.
― About that archaeologist you mentioned.
"What about that nerd?"
Kairus hadn’t expected Spring Parsley to bring up Melvin Istovan in the current situation.
― Well, how should I put it? He’s not really a nerd, you know?
This time, it was Kairus who was slightly surprised by Spring Parsley’s assessment. After all, Spring Parsley was one of the top architects in Bennett City.
For someone like Spring Parsley to say, “he’s not just a nerd,” meant there had to be something to it.
"What do you mean?"
― His display cabinet at home is filled with all kinds of relics... and it’s obvious that guy doesn’t have the kind of money to afford that.
When Spring Parsley had visited Melvin at Kairus’s request, what she saw was a display cabinet filled with relics so valuable they couldn’t have been bought with money.
"There’s more than one way to make money in that city."
― Melvin Istovan doesn’t even know how to use things like battle gear. For someone like that to make a lot of money in the city, the options are kind of limited.
After mulling over Spring Parsley’s words for a moment, Kairus replied.
"So what, are you saying he’s working as an architect or something?"
― Probably just an apprentice at best. But judging from the relics he’s collected, his accomplishments are more than what you’d expect from an apprentice.
That was surprising news. Kairus had thought Melvin Istovan would manage to adapt well enough in Bennett City, but it seemed he had exceeded expectations.
"Alright, got it. But what’s the big deal if that doctor guy became an architect?"
Bennett City was the kind of place where someone who used to be a doctor could switch careers and become a serial killer. It wasn’t all that shocking.
― Anyway, since he might become an architect, I looked into Dr. Istovan’s activities when I had the time. To get straight to the point, working with that guy is not a good idea.
Kairus let out a thoughtful “Oh?”
“Why?”
― He’s the kind that recklessly uses construction contractors. Tosses a few people in as bait and finishes the job while everyone’s distracted.
From the architect’s perspective, it didn’t matter much. But for the contractors, who had to work according to the blueprint, he was the kind of person they preferred not to deal with.
“If he draws up plans like that, wouldn’t word get around among the contractors?”
― Come on. This city is overflowing with wrecked lives who’ll do dangerous work as long as they’re paid.
Melvin mainly hired those kinds of people as contractors and carried out various projects.
"Alright. I’ll keep that in mind."
Even if Melvin had become an architect, there was a high chance his designs would grind people down. Better to stay away from him unless absolutely necessary.
That’s how Kairus summed up what Spring Parsley had told him.
"Anyway, we’ve arrived in Goldiba."
― Yeah, let me know if you need anything while you're working, or if you run into any constraints. That guy’s lodging has been fully remodeled too.
After ending the call with Spring Parsley, Kairus headed toward the lodging Irena had arranged. Since he wasn’t acting under noble status, he couldn’t book a nice room.
"No matter how much money you’ve got, it’s useless."
Nice hotels made profit by filling cheap rooms with commoners while reserving expensive, lavish rooms for nobles.
In truth, even if permitted, commoners of the Empire wouldn’t be able to handle the kind of rooms set aside for nobles. There were limits to what they could do from the start.
While Kairus was on the phone with Spring Parsley, Irena had received the key to the room she had booked and was using the hotel phone to contact someone.
― Well, look who it is!
“I hope you’ve been well, Captain.”
The person on the other end was Dana Watson, Captain of the Scarlet Leaf Order, known as the Red Comet.
― You should call more often. At this rate, I’ll forget what color your hair is.
“I’ve tried to report in regularly.”
It was Dana Watson who hadn’t answered. Irena had made frequent attempts to contact her. But Dana was either drinking or tangled up in bed with a man, so all Irena ever got was her adjutant telling her to try again later.
― So, how’ve you been? Made any progress?
“Yes, I’ve been doing well. And yes, there’s been progress.”
Irena reported to Dana Watson about the training she had undergone and how much stronger she had become.
― Hm.
But Dana’s voice after hearing the report was far from enthusiastic.
“Did I take the wrong path?”
At Irena’s question, Dana clicked her tongue softly.
― Well, that rookie did the best he could, and it does seem like you achieved as much growth as was possible during that time.
There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. Then Dana spoke again, her voice cold.
― I fucking hate it. If that’s how it’s going to be, I might as well kick you out of the Order and bring in that rookie instead.
Dana Watson wasn’t the type to beat around the bush, and she didn’t care much about the listener’s feelings or emotions.
“What do you mean...?”
Startled, Irena gripped the receiver tightly.
― Right now, you’re just a copy of that bastard. And a shitty one at that. The Scarlet Leaf Order has no use for some second-rate clone.
Gradually, Irena’s face turned pale. In truth, those words weren’t entirely wrong.
Kairus was teaching her what he knew, and as long as Irena followed that path, no matter how hard she tried, the best she could hope for was to become his equal. Surpassing him was next to impossible.
― But it feels like you’re fine with that.
“But Kairus is strong. Even trying to catch up to him takes everything I’ve got.”
― That’s not my problem. I know you worked hard, but like I said earlier—
The Scarlet Leaf Order has no need for anyone’s inferior copy.
― Do you know why I accepted you into the Order?
“I...”
― Time lag.
Dana Watson was already aware of Irena’s condition. She was sharp enough to tell just from seeing Kairus wield Swift Blade that Irena hadn’t learned Cloud Seizing Art.
It would’ve been strange if she didn’t know.
― But you could still fight. That’s why I passed you.
Even though your reaction to the enemy’s movements would always be delayed, you were still able to keep fighting. It meant you could instinctively predict the opponent’s actions.
At Irena’s level, it was almost like she could foresee a few seconds into the future.
― If you’ve got a two-second time lag, then you just have to see three seconds ahead.
That meant you were still one second ahead. It was exactly why Dana Watson accepted Irena as a trainee despite knowing her limitations.
“But that’s not the case anymore. I don’t have time lag now.”
― Then your flaw became your gift. Tell me—after relearning how to use battle gear, did you ever actually make use of it?
Irena couldn’t respond. She hadn’t used it. Time lag had always been the flaw that held her back, so once she was free of it, she saw no reason to look back at the broken chains.
― Your flaw has now become your remarkable talent. Why don’t you see that?
And yet, Irena had thrown that talent to the ground without even a backward glance.
― It’s fine to learn from that bastard, but if all you’re going to do is copy him, then it’s meaningless. Think again about what you’re capable of. Next time we talk, I expect a better report.
Dana Watson ended the call. Irena stood there staring at the phone, her hand dangling limply with the receiver still in it. Who knew how much time had passed.
“What are you doing?”
Kairus, having arrived at the hotel, spotted Irena and spoke from behind her.
“Huh? Oh, you’re here. Here, your room key.”
Snapping out of it, Irena handed the key to Kairus. She had taken Dana Watson’s advice to heart and now spoke to Kairus.
“I almost didn’t recognize you.”
At Kairus’s remark, Irena gave him a look and nodded.
“Same.”
Now in disguise, she had red hair and a slightly darker skin tone.
It was a disguise crafted by following Nora’s advice and using various tools. Lunaseeker’s makeup techniques were sophisticated enough that most people wouldn’t see through them.
Even Kairus’s fake mustache looked so real that it hurt to tug on it.
“Your room key. I already put your things inside.”
“Thanks. How does it seem so far? Have you had a look around?”
What Kairus was really asking about was the quality of the city’s security force. Irena gave a small nod.
“They don’t make enough off their wages, so they take small bribes here and there by picking up cases.”
You couldn’t shake down nobles unless you were crazy, but it was common for the city guard to squeeze money from commoners through minor charges.
“I don’t mean stuff like that.”
“They’re not on the level of the Capital Guard, but they’re slightly above average.”
Even from Irena’s perspective, as someone from the Order, the Goldiba Security Corps didn’t seem to have any glaring issues.
They were fairly diligent with patrols. Sometimes they were 10 to 15 minutes off the scheduled times, but patrols were never meant to run like clockwork.
They’d snack on street food while wandering around or hustle pedestrians for pocket money, but that was within the bounds of tolerable behavior.
“So it’s not like they’d look the other way for serious crimes in exchange for bribes.”
Overall, Spring Parsley’s findings and the city’s actual conditions weren’t too far apart. That meant the setup was likely to go smoothly as well.
“Oh, and apparently the remodeling’s finished.”
While they were riding the train, Spring Parsley had hired a few people to prep the closed-down Citizen Shelter—previously on the brink of collapse—as a holding site for hostages. She had even adjusted some of the unstable pillars to make the place slightly more unstable.
“And the phones?”
“Still working, apparently. Looks like they managed to revive the line.”
At Kairus’s words, Irena let out a soft gasp of admiration. The reason they had chosen the Citizen Shelter as the site for the hostage situation wasn’t just because it was on the verge of collapse—it also had phone lines installed.
You couldn’t exactly communicate via telegram or letters during a hostage crisis. And if, when they contacted Karen Alexis, the Security Corps found out the line came from the Citizen Shelter, it would massively boost the credibility of Kairus’s crew’s hostage scenario.
“She really is someone you can trust with a job.”
“That’s why I asked her to work with us. Most of the prep’s done. All that’s left is to bring in our guest.”
And that part was up to Nora.