[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Chapter 417: Unfamiliar Peace (1)
“Oscar! Over here!”
As he stepped out of the temple, his party had already gathered in one place.
Oscar approached Fran, who was waving his hand, and quickly scanned their bodies.
‘Everyone has some minor injuries, but...’
Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any major injuries.
Lightly relieved, he pointed with his chin at the people he was seeing for the first time.
“Who are they?”
“The Fingers who arrived late.”
Fran nodded and explained them one by one.
“That guy passed out over there is the Lumberjack, and this one here is the leader of the Salvation Cult.”
“I was worried, but it looks like you subdued them well.”
“Worried about what. To begin with, rather than us...”
He could feel gazes turning toward him, including Fran's, who trailed off.
It was inevitable, considering he had dragged along two individuals who looked incredibly strong at a mere glance.
“...Just how strong are you?”
“Just enough to walk around with my head held reasonably high.”
Oscar replied lightly and gestured to the back.
“Hey, you two go stand over there as well.”
At that command, the Hound and the Alchemist awkwardly moved their bodies.
Oscar stroked his chin as he looked at the gathered executives.
‘Four Fingers in one place.’
There was absolutely no way this was a coincidence.
Because there had never been a single reported case of these guys operating together until now.
“Did you find out anything?”
“Not yet.”
“Their lips are tighter than expected.”
Veronica replied with an expression of sheer disgust.
“Even after smacking them a few times, they wouldn't talk.”
“Tight lips, huh.”
Receiving Oscar's gaze, the cult leader spoke calmly.
“Staring at me like that is useless. This Cult Leader has no intention of opening her mouth.”
“Suit yourself.”
He didn't want to cling to someone who didn't want to talk either.
“Instead, since it's your choice, deal with the consequences yourself.”
“...?”
The moment the cult leader's eyebrows drew into a character eight (八) shape, failing to understand his words.
A streak of wind bored into her seven orifices.
Penetrating inside in an instant, the wind began to tear through the insides of her body.
“G-Uuaaagh!”
As the cult leader screamed, Oscar looked at the Fingers he had brought.
“If there's anyone among you who doesn't want to talk, raise your hand.”
“.......”
“.......”
Glancing at each other, the two opened their mouths without needing to see who went first.
“What exactly are you curious about?”
“I, too, am willing to cooperate.”
Nodding in satisfaction, Oscar snapped his fingers.
What unfolded next was 『Sound Binding』.
Seeing the cult leader, who had been vomiting agonizing screams, instantly muted, the two shuddered.
‘Even though he achieved what he wanted, he isn't stopping the torture...’
‘To just make it so the loud screaming can't be heard.’
Oscar asked the two men with tense faces.
“First question. Why did you gather here? When I count to three, answer at the same time.”
It was a method to prevent them from getting their stories straight or telling lies.
Fortunately, the two people's answers matched.
“A summons was issued.”
“The First Finger told us to gather.”
The First Finger.
Frowning, Oscar asked again.
“The reason?”
“I don't know that far. In the first place, this is my first time seeing the other executives.”
“Same for me. Not a single Finger other than myself has ever visited this temple before.”
Indeed, even just looking at the underground laboratory, this place looked like a location where the Alchemist researched the Demonic Prison.
“Second question. When did the First Finger issue the summons?”
“Three days ago.”
“Three days ago.”
At those words, Oscar's eyes narrowed.
‘If it was three days ago...’
It coincides with the day the Black Finger's airship hijacking ended in failure.
In other words, it meant the summons was issued the moment that operation failed.
Perhaps they moved unreasonably to make up for that failure.
“Third question. What is the First Finger's identity? Tell me everything you know.”
As he counted the numbers in the same way, the exact same answer returned this time as well.
“I don't know. Looking at the quality of information provided normally, they might be closely related to the Imperial Family.”
“I presume it's a high-ranking noble or a member of the Imperial Family...”
So what these guys knew was about the same?
Then again, they wouldn't have left any traces that could be caught.
If they were sloppy in the first place, they would have been caught a long time ago.
‘The first and last time that bastard left a trace was three days ago, during the airship terror incident.’
They revealed the fact that they could personally access the Imperial Family's classified information.
And right after that operation ended in failure, they issued a summons to the entirety of Black Finger.
‘Maybe...’
Trying hard to erase the ominous thought, Oscar asked.
“How is contact with the First Finger made?”
“There is a dedicated communicator. They always contact us first.”
“Same. As for a method to contact them from this end... I don't know about the others, but it's impossible for me.”
At this point, it seemed like he understood the ruling structure of the organization known as Black Finger.
They were only superficially called the Five Fingers.
The one practically running the organization was just one person: the First Finger.
‘But these guys couldn't have been unaware of that, right?’
One way or another, with the exception of the one called the Cult Leader, they were all powerhouses who had reached Level 7.
There was no way such people would just stupidly let themselves be used.
The answer returned to that doubt was clear.
“Well, it was piss-inducing that they acted like our superior, but I didn't have major complaints. As long as I could become a demonic human.”
“Same for me. I received a facility to research becoming a new humanity, experimental materials, and even funding. From my perspective, there was no reason to refuse.”
In short, it was a structure where they provided what each individual needed and received labor in return.
It probably wasn't much different for the Lumberjack or the Cult Leader either.
“Last question. Are there any more hidden executives or troops of Black Finger?”
“No.”
“Well, this temple is all I know.”
What returned was a clean denial.
If so, with four Fingers restrained right now, Black Finger had practically disintegrated.
“.......”
However, like a fishbone stuck in his throat, exactly one thing bothered him.
The very existence of the First Finger.
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
‘Since this operation was originally meant to capture the Fingers and dig up information on that guy...’
But at this point where these guys knew nothing, the operation was nothing more than a half-success.
Oscar looked at the party looking at him, one after another.
Forcing his heavy lips to part, he spoke.
“Operation over. We withdraw.”
After dropping off the entire party at the White Tower, Oscar headed straight to the Imperial Palace.
“Fingers, you say? All of them?”
“Yes.”
“...This, this is no time to be standing around.”
Confirming the four prisoners, old man Andre quickly gestured to the royal guards.
“Detain all of them in the underground prison. Put them in solitary confinement, but make sure to seal their entire bodies with mana-sealing restraints.”
“Understood.”
As they were all dragged away, old man Andre turned around.
“You, follow me. It would be better to report to His Majesty together.”
“Yes.”
As Oscar walked down the long corridor, he took something out of his pocket.
“And please check this out.”
“Isn't that a communicator?”
“Yes, to be exact, it's the communicator the Fingers possessed. I was told the First Finger always contacted them first through this communicator.”
“Hmm. It definitely seems worth researching.”
Receiving the communicator, Andre muttered.
“I should inquire with the Yellow Tower about this part. There might be records left in a place like the communications bureau.”
“I think the chances are slim, but it would be good if it works out.”
From what he had figured out, it was a little different from the communicators sold on the market.
Because it was a method of directly connecting through the caster's mana.
It even had the characteristic of resetting the residual mana once every five minutes to prevent anyone from reverse-engineering that mana.
“Lord Andre, please take charge of three, and I'll keep one separately.”
“Let's do that. It's more efficient to divide the research anyway.”
Engaging in light conversation, they arrived at the Emperor's office before they knew it.
Knock, knock.
As old man Andre knocked on the door, a voice told them to come in.
“Hm?”
Seeing him, Uncle Emperor made a surprised expression.
But that was only for a moment; realizing why he was here, he nodded.
“Report.”
“Yes. We raided the location presumed to be the headquarters of Black Finger as Your Majesty commanded. We wiped out all residual forces and captured alive the four Fingers known as the organization's executives.”
“That was fast.”
The Emperor reacted as if he wasn't particularly surprised.
Since he had entrusted it to Oscar in the first place, he hadn't even considered the possibility of failure.
“Then did you obtain information regarding the First Finger?”
“No, sir.”
As Oscar laid out an explanation regarding the matter, the Emperor's brow furrowed.
After pondering for a moment, he opened his mouth.
“Andre. Leave us for a moment.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
After old man Andre bowed his head and left, Uncle Emperor stood up from his seat.
Approaching a cabinet situated on one wall, he took out a good bottle of liquor and two glasses, speaking.
“It certainly seems like the operation was a success, but your expression isn't very good.”
“...I consider it a half-success since we couldn't uncover his identity.”
“You could think of it that way. Have a drink first.”
Moving to sit on the sofa, the Emperor poured the liquor with a trickling sound and offered him a seat.
As Oscar politely received the glass with both hands, the Emperor poured liquor into his own glass as well.
Then, emptying his glass in one gulp, he grimaced.
“Kuh, that's strong.”
“Aren't you going to start taking care of your health?”
“I'm perfectly fine thanks to you taking that bug out of my head. I'm also getting regular checkups from my personal physician and the priest.”
Pouring another glass, the Emperor swirled his glass and said.
“Above all, didn't we always share a drink like this whenever you returned after making contributions on the battlefield?”
“Just how long ago are you talking about...”
As Oscar grumbled, Uncle Emperor chuckled.
“Are you frustrated that you couldn't catch him?”
“I don't know how to explain it, but it's true that it bothers me a bit.”
Even right now, they could be sharing a roof in this very Imperial Palace, couldn't they?
If a war with the demons broke out without quickly figuring out that guy's identity, it was certain that this side's information would leak out freely.
“More than anything... I suspect that maybe this is the situation he wanted.”
“Hmm. Do you mean he cut off his tail?”
“That's right. I strongly feel that he threw away the entirety of Black Finger just in case his identity would be exposed.”
At those words, the Emperor's expression became peculiar.
“From what we've found out, Black Finger is a faction that has been formed for over 15 years. No matter how incredible that guy is, he won't be able to rebuild a force like that in a short period. The most he could do is leak our information.”
Taking a sip from the lightly swirled glass, the Emperor continued.
“Rather, if he sold out that massive force to save his own skin, I don't see it as a bad trade.”
“...What are you going to do if the demons cross the mountain range as soon as tomorrow?”
“Keuk, it seems you're getting older too.”
The Emperor wore a relaxed smile.
“If it were like before, you would have boasted that it didn't matter, and that you'd kill them if they got caught.”
“I would have done that if I was the one exposed to danger.”
This time, the case was different.
Because the First Finger would continue to lurk at a short distance from the Emperor from now on.
“Besides, since the airship incident, I've changed the system so that all records are kept when major information is accessed. I've even set a trap by slightly altering the viewable information for each individual, making it possible to reveal who leaked it.”
“...That's good.”
If the opponent planned operations based on internal Imperial information like before, they would be able to root him out in an instant.
“Whoever it is, for the time being, they will keep completely quiet and just read the room. Since their limbs have all been cut off and they even know that they are suspected. So, don't waste your energy either and enjoy this peace for a while.”
“Even if you tell me to enjoy peace...”
He couldn't even remember what that felt like anymore.
Because he had always lived with his nerves on edge.
Staring at Oscar's ambiguous expression, the Emperor spoke.
“Or how about learning it this time?”
“Learn? What do you mean?”
“How to live like a completely ordinary person.”
“.......”
How to live like an ordinary person.
Oscar looked down at his glass of liquor, from which he hadn't yet taken a single sip.
“Well, I will live like that someday. But that's... Kuh.”
Emptying the glass in one gulp, he felt the burning sensation down his throat and wiped his mouth.
“The day not a single demon remains on this land, I will do so.”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]

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