Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Trespassing (1)
While Jericho was complying with the Prosecutor’s Office investigation and contemplating his countermeasures, I was steadily building up the next steps of my own.
After finishing our business in Elmont, the place my group and I arrived at was the Republic’s capital, Avalanche.
What I had brought with me was a copy containing the exact same entries as the ledger discovered at Tapas’s workplace in Elmont.
‘I’ll slip this into Jericho’s mansion.’
That would be the end of it.
“I intentionally made some of the numbers and records slightly different. They said about 10% of it doesn’t match.”
At Irena’s words, I nodded. It was something I had personally requested. It must not be identical to the original.
‘Otherwise, he’d end up becoming the actual owner of the drug cultivation site.’
The election had to be held while suspicion still lingered, and after the election ended, it had to be concluded with the truth coming out that it wasn’t him after all.
For that to happen, there had to be differences between the copy and the original.
“He’s still being investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office, right? Who’s in charge?”
“They said it’s Chief Prosecutor Joel. It’ll probably continue for another two or three days.”
At my question, Nora answered.
Since it was such a massive case, it seemed impossible for it to proceed in a way where he was questioned for a few hours and then sent home.
In other words, Jericho’s mansion in Elmont currently had no master.
“Do you know the fastest way to ruin a restaurant?”
I spoke to Irena.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why are you bringing up a restaurant?”
Leaning against the wall, I let out a yawn before continuing.
“The fastest way for a restaurant to go under is for the owner to stop showing up.”
When the owner isn’t there, the employees inevitably fail to do their jobs properly. It’s not that they intend to slack off; they just come to their senses and realize they haven’t been working properly.
“I’m saying Jericho’s mansion in Elmont is the same.”
Even when it came to something as simple as wiping the windows, they would think, ‘The Assemblyman isn’t here today anyway, and if we clean them before he comes back, no one will even notice. So why bother?’
“If we’re going to go in and do something, now’s the best time.”
After checking the time, I reviewed the blueprint several times.
“Those in power are all like this.”
They were always convinced that someone would come to kill them. Jericho was no different. You could tell just by looking at the structure of his mansion.
“There are no trees, and the wide garden follows the island-style layout of the Daeyeon Kingdom.”
A garden that used only sand, stones, and a bit of moss or grass. All the gardens in Jericho’s mansion followed this format. With no large bushes or trees, it was impossible to conceal oneself.
In addition to that, the number of gas lamps inside the mansion amounted to a staggering 150.
“So even at night, it’s as bright as broad daylight.”
Instead, thick blackout curtains had been installed in the bedrooms.
“The mansion’s windows are all alloy, too.”
They were opened only when ventilation was needed; otherwise, they remained shut.
“Breaking in through those wouldn’t be a problem.”
As I examined the secured documents, I let out a sigh. They were records of the recent renovation work carried out on the mansion.
“You wouldn’t need this many springs just to build a mansion.”
No, springs weren’t originally necessary when building a mansion at all. Every single one of these had been purchased to install pressure plates.
“With this many springs, we have to assume that all the major corridors in the mansion use pressure plates.”
At Nora’s words, I nodded. At night, they would activate the pressure plates. If someone walked through the corridors at an unauthorized hour, the plates would trigger and set off an alarm.
“The springs they used are extremely sensitive. Even a slight change in weight would be detected.”
It wasn’t sensitive enough to react to a strand of hair, but even a change in weight equivalent to a single bottle would likely send a signal.
“What about the guards?”
“Discharged Republic knights, or mercenaries paid a salary equal to the annual income of hundreds of soldiers.”
Looking through the list, I couldn’t help but admire it. Some of them even had records of distinguished service in major battles that I myself knew of.
“And the loyalty of the employees?”
At my question, Irena let out a short laugh.
“Take a look at the pay and benefits. How could they not be loyal?”
I had no choice but to agree with her.
They received triple the standard salary, plus separate bonuses for every holiday. Each year, health checkups were provided for both the employee and their family, and if any issues were found, half of the medical expenses were covered.
They were guaranteed one week of paid leave in winter and two weeks in summer. Working hours were six hours a day. If they worked overtime, it was calculated at 1.5 times their hourly wage and paid at the end of the month.
The employees monitored one another, and if they discovered anything suspicious and reported it, the accused would be dismissed. The salary that employee had been scheduled to receive would then be paid to the informant as a bonus.
‘You’d have to be an idiot to betray him.’
They said people of the Aylan Republic loved money, but even if you weren’t from the Aylan Republic, it was the kind of work environment that would drive anyone crazy with desire.
If nothing else, Jericho clearly knew how to manage people. He had created a workplace no one would ever want to be fired from.
“But it’s not a system where they verify the accusation before firing.”
If someone was reported, they were simply cut loose.
An environment where it was easy to be fired.
If you wanted to work long at this dream job, you had to avoid giving anyone even the slightest opportunity to report you. Under such conditions, people would simply follow orders and manuals exactly as written, harboring no other thoughts and focusing solely on their duties.
“So we can’t win the employees over.”
“I’m certain of it.”
I stated it firmly. There were at least ten more benefits on top of what the employees received while working there.
“It’d be troublesome if we had to fight.”
That didn’t mean I couldn’t win. If I used Veil of Plumed Mist and fought for about thirty minutes, I could grind them all down alive.
The problem was what came after.
“The knight captain currently staying in the capital… was it Dontalo Conzi?”
“Yeah. He’s someone you know well too, oppa, right?”
Dontalo Conzi. Among people, he was called the Snake. His most distinctive feature was the single missing eye.
There was a reason Nora said he was someone I knew well. The one who had taken that perfectly fine eye from Dontalo was my father.
He used a massive pair of scissors, 1.5 meters long, with a snake ornament along the blade, as his weapon. When necessary, he could separate the joint and use them as two gigantic twin blades.
“Scissors that devour objects, slowly digest them, and convert them into output.”
Even battle gear was no exception.
That was why his nickname was Snake. When fights between powerhouses turned into wars of attrition, Dontalo’s battle gear would continue devouring surrounding matter and replenishing its output, never running out of strength.
“His real skill shows when he uses them as twin blades, but the battle gear’s ability only works in scissor form.”
“It’s not limited by size either?”
At my question, Nora nodded.
“He could probably swallow Jericho’s mansion in a single bite.”
In other words, the most dangerous one was Dontalo Conzi. On top of that, capable knights and police were guarding the capital.
If things went wrong, it would be difficult for me to escape the capital. Even if I did manage to get out…
‘I can’t guarantee Irena’s safety.’
Nora would likely survive, since she held a department head–level position at the Lunaseeker Agency, but Irena, who belonged to the Imperial Order of Knights, would not have that protection.
And she was not someone I could afford to lose here.
‘I should assume that if we get caught, it’s over.’
We had to slip in unnoticed, slide it in smoothly, and slip back out. It sounded simple, but execution was difficult.
And what if something went wrong, and in a single careless moment the great serpent ended up devouring my Veil of Plumed Mist?
Then my wings would be broken once again.
“Let’s try during the day instead of at night.”
With gas lamps everywhere and no place to hide anyway, there was no need to distinguish between night and day.
Rather, during the day, the employees would be busily moving about to carry out their duties.
Compared to a night where darkness held no meaning, daytime seemed to offer a higher chance of success. At least we knew the internal layout.
“We don’t have enough time to use a disguised identity.”
Getting hired as an employee and doing something from within would require a long time before success. Being invited as a guest made no sense either, since Jericho was under investigation and not even at the mansion.
“There’s no option but a head-on charge.”
I took a deep breath, then glanced at my hip flask and up at the sky.
“If a thick fog settles over a cloudy morning, it’ll at least make moving a little easier.”
We could blind their eyes. If Irena and I used the hip flask together and adjusted the climate slightly, we could shroud the mansion in fog.
In fact, when spring came, Avalanche was a city where fog formed frequently due to temperature changes. When spring arrived, the city’s smog mixed with the fog, and quite a few people even died because of it.
Creating fog rather than clouds was well within my current abilities.
All I had to do was lay it a little thicker around the mansion.
“Let’s do it.”
We would obscure their vision with fog and enter the mansion. After checking the time, I went to bed early in preparation for the next day.
And at 4 a.m., the three of us rose and began to move.
“The fog’s definitely in.”
The thick, swirling fog seemed faintly brownish, or perhaps gray. It was certainly not the pure white you’d see near a clear lake.
It had taken on that color after feeding on the city’s smog. Of course, the color of the fog wasn’t what mattered to me.
When we arrived near the mansion, I gave Irena a signal with my eyes and twisted open the flask’s cap. The fog that churned and blurred our vision thickened even further.
“The shift change is at 6 a.m.”
That was when those on night watch rotated with those taking over the day shift.
It wasn’t as simple as exchanging glances, saying “Good work,” and going home to sleep. They handed over duties, checked for any irregularities, and that process took about fifteen minutes.
That was the only window we could aim for in the morning.
‘They start the rotation with the sound of the bell from the nearby clock tower.’
Even if everyone had already gathered, they would wait without switching shifts until exactly six o’clock. Doing things according to fixed rules and manuals meant precisely that.
I waited quietly for the time. Soon, the sound of the clock tower bell rang out.
“Let’s go.”
Nora, Irena, and I immediately threw ourselves into the fog. Nora took the lead, checking for anything unusual, and I followed behind her.
Irena moved at the rear, erasing our footprints as she went. She had to.
‘What a damnable garden.’
The garden, made of fine gravel and sand, left footprints even without rain or snow. It didn’t feel like a garden at all, but rather like the first security device one encountered at this mansion.
I moved my sword with a soft sweep. Along with a gentle breeze, the dense fog split in half, securing visibility for the three of us.
‘The study is on the fifth floor of the central building.’
Climbing the wall was risky. We couldn’t be certain, but Nora had speculated that there would be pressure plates installed here and there along the walls or roof as well, made somewhat less sensitive.
There was no choice but to enter the building and steadily make our way up to the fifth floor.
If we tried any reckless tricks, we’d end up having a truly terrible day.