Chapter 148 : Chapter 148

Chapter 148: Preparations (1)

Rachel was dumbfounded.

What?

War?

“Hey, are you crazy? Did you lose your mind just because a cleric who liked you died? Do you know how I saved you? Why did I save you?”

“To entrust a request.”

At Gerard's excessively calm words, Rachel felt a surge of anger.

“Ha! You know that well, don't you? And yet you're going to wage a war? In this state? Do you think the cult is a joke?”

“We at Shadow have one rule. Never forget the blood that has been shed.”

Gerard looked down at the peacefully sleeping Guartes.

“……It's not just for revenge. They attacked me, the Master of Shadow, so it's only right that they pay the price.”

Rachel couldn't say anything.

She was overwhelmed by the atmosphere of indescribable reverence and solemnity.

“You certainly said it. That before entrusting the request, you wanted to confirm our skills.”

Rachel wanted to say that such a confirmation had already been completed long ago.

You and Shadow are the only blades that can avenge me.

However, Rachel, who was consumed by the gloomy aura that Gerard was emitting, could not easily open her mouth.

“Watch carefully how we do things. Make your decision on whether to entrust the request after that.”

Afterward, Gerard, who had gotten up from his seat, instructed Dayle and Luis to prepare for war.

Luis and Dayle listened to the instructions silently and went outside.

The faces I glimpsed as they passed were full of determination.

There was no fear to be seen.

Just then, Gerard called her.

“Rachel.”

“Uh. Uh?”

“I have a favor to ask of you too.”

“……A favor?”

A little later, Rachel, who had left the Lunatic, hid her body in the shadows of Icata.

It was still dawn.

When she checked the time, it was an hour before sunrise.

As Rachel walked aimlessly, she recalled the words he had said just before.

‘Watch carefully how we do things. Make your decision on whether to entrust the request after that.’

Rachel frowned.

She was dumbfounded.

‘What? Make the decision on whether to entrust the request after that?’

She had risked being exposed to the cult today to save him.

But did he really not know what that action meant and say such a thing?

No.

The man she had observed was a man with a sharp mind.

There was no way he didn't know.

Then, the reason he pretended not to know and said that was?

To be more cautious?

Or──

‘Is he trying to keep a distance because he can't trust me? Or is he just going to use me and throw me away…….’

Rachel shook her head, shaking off the negative thoughts.

Didn't she already know that he wasn't that kind of man?

She regretted not asking before she left, but the atmosphere was not easy.

Even if she went back in time to that moment, she probably wouldn't have been able to ask.

The only clue she could guess from was the favor he had asked of her.

‘From now on, you will have to become a stooge of the cult.’

During the war, he wanted her to enter the cult and extract information.

Whether it was to prove her usefulness or something else.

In any case, from her perspective, it was not a difficult favor.

Because all she had to do was the opposite of what she had been doing so far.

If there was one thing that bothered her a little, it was how much of herself had been exposed while saving him.

If it had been identified that she was the one who had saved him, then this path she was taking was no different from walking into hell herself.

“Let's check the atmosphere first.”

Rachel headed to the Ladrier Hotel.

The branch of the Darkness Council.

This place, which was currently being used as a forward base for ‘Raid the Academy’, was operating as a normal hotel on the surface.

She entered through the back door of the hotel and immediately headed to the top floor.

She cautiously raised her senses.

She could feel the presence of the Dark Clerics hiding in each corridor.

There was no particular restraint.

It seemed that her interference had not yet been known.

‘That's a relief.’

Huh?

Wait a minute.

Come to think of it, didn't that Vilter guy die?

‘That's right!’

On her way to help the Skull Mask, she had confirmed the dead body of Vilter with her own eyes.

Vilter was the manager of the Ladrier Hotel and the highest-ranking High Clerics among the Darkness Council Clerics currently here.

Since he was dead, the next highest-ranking cleric had to take over the authority and that was her, a High Cleric.

But since she had a special mission to infiltrate the Academy, another High Cleric would surely be sent down from the Darkness Council as a replacement.

‘Still, I'm the one who has to report on what happened today!’

As far as she knew, all the others had died at the hands of the professors or cadets.

In other words, the operation was a complete failure.

Since she, who was acting as a mole in the Academy, was the only one who knew the whole situation, the report was also her responsibility.

Rachel's face brightened at once.

‘In that case, I can manipulate the report a little.’

In that process, if she plausibly modified her own actions of helping the Skull Mask escape, she could ultimately make it an unsolved mystery that no one knew about.

Rachel, who had thus diligently worked her head and created a suitable alibi, opened the manager's office with a light heart.

And upon seeing the interior, she froze.

There was already someone inside.

“Hmm? You’re here?”

Rachel just blinked her eyes at the appearance of an unexpected being.

“……No. Why are you here.”

“Hmm? Why? Is it strange that I'm here? Am I not supposed to be here?”

“That's not it, but……”

The man, the Death Council's High Cleric Margo, let out a small laugh and pointed to the side.

“Or fix your expression and stand by the side. The Bishops are watching.”

Only then did Rachel belatedly notice the two crystal orbs that were emitting light and the candlestick placed in front of them.

Among them, the black flame that had formed on the right candlestick was particularly swelling.

[Rachel. Why are you here? You should be grasping the movements of the Academy right now.]

At the words of the black flame, Bishop Lutus, Rachel flinched but hurriedly blurted out an excuse.

“Th-that is. To report the results on behalf of the deceased High Cleric Vilter…… I didn't know High Cleric Margo would be here.”

It was a rambling answer, but there was no one who couldn't understand it.

[Hmm, I see. Anyway.]

[Continue speaking, Margo. So, how did the thief escape?]

At the question of the blue flame, Bishop Cristiano, High Cleric Margo immediately answered.

“I don't know the detailed situation myself, but at the crucial moment when he was completely surrounded and all that was left was to be arrested, I can only say that he escaped…… with someone's help.”

In between, the black flame swelled up hotly, almost burning down the room, but in any case, Margo managed to finish the report with difficulty.

[Hmm. With someone's help…….]

[Strange. Is there anyone who could save the thief in that situation?]

[No. Only other thieves.]

[But the thieves who were his subordinates were tied up in another place. Ah, come to think of it, there was one. That vermin called Guartes or something. So that operation was also ruined, right? Heh heh heh.]

[…….]

[Don't tell me there's another vermin like that hiding on our side? Hey, High Cleric Margo.]

“Yes. Bishop Lutus.”

[That part from before. Explain it in detail. What was the situation like? A black smoke erupted at the crucial moment?]

Rachel, who was cowering in the corner, eavesdropping on the report, felt her mouth go dry.

A feeling of her heart shriveling and cold sweat flowed all over her body.

But she doesn't show it.

It was a hellish time where she didn't know when her own mistakes and impure heart would be revealed.

Nevertheless, for the sake of Gerard's request, Rachel opened her ears and focused her hearing on that conversation.

Every single word they exchanged was key information for the victory of the war.

And so, the morning broke.

***

A dark, sealed room.

Bishop Cristiano, who had finished communicating with the Ladrier Hotel, tapped the table.

Target elimination failed.

He was currently reconstructing the operation based on Margo's report, wondering where it had gone wrong.

On the surface, the operation he had planned was perfect.

In fact, the mana bomb had exploded at the perfect timing, and the explosion had completely swallowed the target and even Ivan, who had been interfering with the cult's events.

However, they all survived.

Was the explosive power weak?

It could be, but the ‘BT-2’ was the bomb with the best performance among the mana bombs that could be prepared at the time.

In other words, that was the best they could do.

And even this part, Bishop Cristiano had taken into account.

That's why the High Priests disguised as villains were dispatched.

They attacked the thief who had survived despite being caught in the explosion.

However, unexpectedly, the thief was strong.

In fact, that didn't matter either.

Because the Academy was a place full of people stronger than the High Priests.

The Skull Mask, who had been caught in the explosion and even ambushed by the High Clerics, was clearly not in a normal state, and in that state, he would not have been able to escape the Academy, which had established an emergency perimeter.

──That was Bishop Cristiano's calculation and final gambit.

‘But it all fell apart.’

Nothing had gone wrong.

It was just that the Skull Mask was stronger than expected.

And Guartes's betrayal was also unexpected.

And the appearance of a third party was also not expected.

To predict such things was in the realm of God's ability, precognition.

Bishop Cristiano gave a bitter smile and admitted his failure.

As a result, the cult had turned useful, no.

A more competent hunting dog than he thought into an enemy.

It was a great pity, but that was all.

No matter how competent, a hunting dog is a hunting dog, a trivial tool that can be discarded whenever the master decides.

He didn't feel worried or in a sense of crisis.

The problem was Bishop Lutus's reaction.

“It seems to be a soot bomb. It's certain that there's a traitor inside.”

Even though the operation had already ended in failure, he seemed to have no intention of letting it go.

“Loki. Are you there?”

“You called.”

“It seems a rat has snuck into our Darkness Council. Go to Icata and root out the traitor there.”

“Yes.”

“If you check the list of those who requested soot bombs and cross-reference the numbers, you'll be able to catch them for sure, even if it takes time. Pluck out his heart and bring it to me.”

“As you command.”

Lutus, who had given the order to the High Priest, opened his mouth as he looked at Cristiano.

“What will you do now? The operation you designed has failed, do you have a next plan?”

Cristiano stared at Lutus for a moment and then tilted his head.

“Strange.”

“What is?”

“You. Aren't you obsessed with Shadow more than necessary?”

“Heh heh. Those bastards are not the type to just quit here. It's foolish to proceed with work while leaving a troublesome enemy behind.”

“Lutus. It's foolish to take your eyes off the corpse in front of you just because a troublesome fly is buzzing around.”

“You call Shadow a fly?”

“Of course, that's not it. It's a fact that we have received their help so far. What I mean is that no matter how much they fly and crawl, they are just a thief guild. Guys we can get rid of whenever we decide to.”

Lutus raised the corners of his mouth.

“Then get rid of them without any more talk. As promised.”

Is he getting cocky because he has the devil's seed?

That was the only way I could think of it.

Because Lutus's attitude had become high-handed since then.

The hand holding the staff under the table trembled.

However, on Cristiano's face, a dignified smile was formed.

“……I hope that your leisure lasts long.”

“Heh heh. Thank you for your concern. So. Your answer?”

“Fine. I will finish off Shadow. Just as promised.”

“You should have done that from the beginning.”

“I'll think of a new method. By the way, now that I see it, you speak as if you know the workings of Shadow well, Lutus?”

In that moment, the smile on Lutus's lips completely disappeared.

“……Did it seem so?”

At that sudden change, Cristiano felt an unreadable sense of unease, but he nodded his head.

“It seemed so.”

“Is that so? Well, I guess it's a sense of kinship between shady bastards. Since we and they both like the dark?”

Lutus, who said so, smiled nonchalantly again.

But Cristiano did not take those words at face value.

Because it was such absurd nonsense that a passing dog would laugh at it.

A sense of kinship.

Coming from the mouth of someone who had not just disliked but despised Shadow, it was a choice of words that was completely unbelievable.

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