Chapter 175
Chapter 175
Tail Feathers and the Box (1)
The man who had been staring at Kairus for a moment finally forced his mouth open.
“I’m the type who believes there’s nothing that can’t be resolved through conversation.”
“That’s just a personal opinion.”
And personal opinions were often wrong. Hearing Kairus’s dry reply, the man let out an ahaha laugh and then said,
“My name is Daniel.”
“Why are you even telling me your name.”
“I’d at least like my name on my tombstone if I die.”
Kairus listened up to that point and folded his arms as he looked at him.
“Do you want to trade jokes with me right now?”
“Please spare me.”
Daniel finally made his intentions clear to Kairus. Asking to be spared did not simply refer to himself alone.
“I want to live, and so do the men under my command. I don’t care what happens to the other remnants, so could you at least spare us?”
At Daniel’s words, Kairus gave a simple reply.
“That’s hard to do for free. And I’m in the middle of doing what I have to as an operations committee member.”
“We won’t return to the city. We will not act in hostility under any circumstances.”
Listening to him, Kairus let out a hollow laugh.
“Daniel, was it? Think about how I became an operations committee member.”
I had been warned by Cecilia not to return to the city. And then, as if to prove a point, I returned, ran wild to my heart’s content, and took a seat on the operations committee.
Standing before me like that, saying he would never return to Bennett City and would live quietly was not such an appealing request.
After all, I was the very one who had made that kind of promise and then struck the operations committee in the back of the head.
“I understand. But I didn’t come here to beg empty-handed.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
If the negotiation failed here, Daniel would die by my hands. He wouldn’t have sent a letter and come all this way without knowing that.
At this point, if he started spouting nonsense, I would deal with him immediately, and my hand slowly moved toward my waist.
“I know the whereabouts of the tail feathers.”
My hand, which had been moving toward my waist, stopped.
It was an add-on in the form of suspenders. It had the function of using battle gear output to generate translucent plates on the arms and legs.
It could be used for defense as well.
The durability of the generated plates was fairly good, and if there was enough output to spare, they could continue to be restored.
But that wasn’t its true purpose.
Moonwalk and Constant Wind.
I didn’t know exactly how those plates helped with Moonwalk. I had only heard that they were involved in direction changes and flight efficiency.
But I clearly understood how they helped with Constant Wind. The translucent plates could change their angle and form according to my will.
Currently, I controlled the surrounding wind by moving my sword here and there to use Constant Wind. If I obtained the tail feathers, it would become possible to use a far more powerful Constant Wind several times more efficiently.
“How do you know about it?”
“Because it was stolen goods I disposed of. When I worked in Lantern District, I remember personally taking responsibility for selling it off.”
Even without Featherwing, the tail feathers—capable of creating sturdy plates in any desired shape using output—was an add-on with more than enough versatility.
It had been obtained through theft or robbery, and since it was both useful and famous, a great deal of work must have been required to sell it off.
And the man standing before me had overseen the entire process of selling the tail feathers.
“Talk.”
“Is our safety guaranteed?”
“If I succeed in obtaining the tail feathers through the information you provide, I won’t harm the remaining Lantern District members currently with you. On the condition that you don’t touch the legacies left behind by Lantern District and do not cause direct or indirect harm to me or my acquaintances.”
The tail feathers was an add-on worth making such a promise for.
“Even just what you’ve said now makes us deeply grateful. However, doesn’t everything require a guarantee?”
I replied coldly.
“You’re a funny bastard. Even if I get a guarantee from Rose Garden, would that change anything?”
Daniel fell silent. At this point, getting Rose Garden to guarantee a contract with me was meaningless. Even if I broke my promise, Rose Garden wouldn’t move to uphold a guarantee for a ruined Lantern District.
“If you need certainty, then match your level first. You don’t have the qualifications to demand that from me.”
I spoke at length, but to summarize briefly:
[What are you going to do about it? If I tell you to open it, then open it!]
In truth, the very fact that I had made a promise already carried absolute binding force.
“There’s no other way. I’ll trust you.”
“Good.”
I answered Daniel shortly.
“Now speak.”
Daniel took a deep breath. I simply stared at him.
The fact that I had to obtain the tail feathers through the information he provided meant that he couldn’t spout nonsense.
[The Emperor has it.]
If he said something like that, I wouldn’t be able to obtain the tail feathers through the information. In other words, I would have no reason to keep my promise either.
“The Dalton family of the Valorne Empire has it.”
The Dalton family. I let out a bitter smile. More than the name Dalton family, the name Dalton Industries was far more famous.
The mass-produced battle gear I had first used was a product of Dalton Industries.
Regardless of the quality of their battle gear, when it came to mass production, it was a company that boasted the best in the Empire.
“Proof?”
At my words, he pulled out the documents he had prepared in advance from inside his coat and held them out to me.
“I believe this should be sufficient.”
It contained the transaction history and the transport process. In addition, there were even guarantee documents from Rose Garden.
Of course, Lantern District itself had no need for a guarantee from Rose Garden. However, among the subcontractors who had participated in disposing of the tail feathers, Rose Garden’s guarantee had been necessary.
After spending about thirty minutes carefully examining the documents, I nodded.
“It looks solid.”
In any case, if I went there to check and it had been moved elsewhere or wasn’t there, the promise I had just made would naturally be void.
“Then… are you letting me go for now?”
At Daniel’s cautious question, I nodded. He immediately left the ruins of Upside.
Watching Daniel grow more distant, I let out a sigh.
“The Dalton Industries First Battle Gear Industrial Complex, huh.”
Listening to the conversation, Irena let out a small “Oh dear.”
“That’s an industrial complex designated as imperial infrastructure. It’s first-class.”
It was the place that produced battle gear supplied to the military. Since it was a facility that directly affected the Empire’s national security, that was only natural.
“Is it managed by the Order of Knights?”
At my question, Irena let out an “Uh…” before shaking her head.
“It’s under the Capital Security Corps’ Special Mobile Team. Of course, depending on the situation, nearby military units or the Order of Knights would move as well.”
I clicked my tongue. Unlike the Order of Knights, the Special Mobile Team wasn’t organized primarily around battle gear. They actively made use of tattoos and surgical enhancements.
Well, there was no way the Order of Knights, obsessed with battle gear, would give up good battle gear.
“It won’t be easy.”
“It’s not something you’re doing right now anyway, is it?”
Nora spoke to me as I pondered. As she said, it wasn’t something to worry about now. First, dealing with the remaining Lantern District remnants—aside from those guys—came first.
“Contact Lunaseeker and ask them to pass along any related materials they have.”
I was talking about stirring up an enemy nation’s battle gear factory. It was something Lunaseeker would likely consider quite positively.
“We’d welcome it. I’ll get in touch. Of course, the final approval is up to the President, so I can’t promise anything.”
Nora readily agreed. Next was Irena.
“You too—contact your father and ask him to gather anything that might help.”
“I will. He’ll probably help.”
Just like Lunaseeker, the Treasury Chief preparing for rebellion had no reason not to cooperate. I decided to first check how Lunaseeker and the Treasury Chief would respond.
“Let’s go back.”
There was no reason to remain in these desolate ruins any longer.
As soon as we returned to the office, Nora briefly stepped out to contact Lunaseeker. I checked the markings on the map pinned to the wall and clicked my tongue.
“It’s far.”
There were five locations in total where the remaining Lantern District remnants had been identified so far.
“For the distant ones, you can just fly there.”
For others, physical distance might be a major limitation, but for me, it no longer was.
“I almost got hurt yesterday.”
I almost crashed straight into the ground at the same speed I had been flying. Since the speed itself was terrifying, if I lost focus mid-flight and slammed into the ground, that alone would cause severe injuries.
I had to fly as cautiously as possible, only when my condition was perfect and the weather was good. In my current state, even a light spring rain would drastically reduce flight stability.
It was possible to stabilize unstable air by utilizing Constant Wind and Cloud Seizing Art, but—
‘The efficiency was atrocious.’
Manipulating the entire weather just to fly was absurd. It would be far better for me to learn how to fly according to the weather instead.
At my words, Irena let out a small “Oh dear.”
“So that’s why you need Moonwalk.”
As Irena said, that was why Moonwalk was necessary. To reliably break the sound barrier and fly under any circumstances, Moonwalk was essential.
“I haven’t even fully mastered Cloud Seizing Art, and you’re talking about Moonwalk?”
Between Cloud Seizing Art and Moonwalk, Cloud Seizing Art was obviously far more important.
As for flight, even in my current state, as long as conditions were right, there was enough room to make use of it somehow. It was a method that purely relied on Veil of Plumed Mist, but still, there was no immediate reason for me to thirst after Moonwalk.
But Cloud Seizing Art was still stuck at the cumulonimbus stage, and I needed it right now if I wanted to grow stronger.
“I finally found one damned annotated copy, and now it’s almost impossible to find even a trace of anything else.”
“Come to think of it, wasn’t Veil of Plumed Mist just incredibly lucky? I bet most of the Featherwing swordsmanship books are in the hands of Philip IV.”
Elena’s guess was probably right.
While Lunaseeker, the Capital Security Corps, and the Azure Order of Knights were clashing with one another, the Vasella family had smuggled out Veil of Plumed Mist.
There were many miraculous events in the world, but that one might rank among the very highest. At that moment, Ethan Vasella could be said to have been as lucky as Tanya.
“To be honest, I’m almost tempted to march into the Capital and loot the Imperial treasury.”
“You know that would cause a huge disaster.”
The Imperial Capital of the Valorne Empire.
I would have to break through the countless elites of the stationed Knight Commander and the Capital Security Corps.
And after that, I would come face to face with Denver Hudson, known as the Guardian of the Nation and the Empire’s greatest sword.
“They say he’s immortal. Do you think that’s true?”
Elena spoke cautiously. It was said that Denver Hudson did not die.
There were rumors that even if his head were cut off, he would not die but recover. Not that it regrew anew. Rather, as if time had reversed, the blood spilled on the ground would be drawn back into the severed surface, and his head would snap back onto his neck.
“If he were truly immortal, do you think the Emperor would just sit still?”
If it were immortality achieved through battle gear, or through procedures or tattoos, there was no way the Emperor would remain idle.
“It’s probably just a rumor, or it has flaws that make it less than true immortality.”
There must be flaws significant enough that the Emperor did not covet it. After checking the time, I stood up and pointed at the large bag.
“Get in. It’s time to work.”
“Ugh.”
Muttering like that, Irena climbed into the bag. This time, the target was to deal with the Lantern District remnants located about 450 kilometers away from Bennett City.