NOVEL WEB Chapter 85
BEEP
In the chaotic swirl of nonsense, I thought this was another pointless post, much like the others.
But something kept pricking at my mind.
Why? I don’t know.
If I don’t know, I can just poke at it.
With that thought, I attempted to poke it.
SWISH!
“Oops…”
Silina snatched the device away.
“Why are you staring at me like that? This is mine.”
Tsk, I clicked my tongue, feeling a pang of regret, and pulled the device out of my pocket.
Just as I was about to enter the community through that earlier message…
“Eliaernes.”
Silina halted my actions.
“Oh, why now?”
My annoyance made her look slightly hurt, but she quickly regained her composure and spoke gently.
“Earlier, you asked what kind of person is planted within the cartel.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll tell you.”
Her gaze was unusually serious.
And her voice, a bit heavier than usual.
“It’s hard for me to make a judgment.”
“Just because it’s hard for you, doesn’t mean I’m right.”
“But unlike me, you can think without personal feelings. And… you seem to have read information about the cartel in the Forbidden Library.”
“Alright, just tell me.”
Reluctantly, I stashed the device back into my pocket, sat down again, and waited for Silina’s words.
After a moment of thinly-lipped hesitation, Silina took a sip of her Mint Chocolate Milk and slowly opened her mouth.
“First of all, Eliaernes, you suspect the orders from the cartel are fishy, right?”
“Yeah.”
The cartel’s orders are suspicious as hell.
If they wanted to cut off information, they could have thrown us off with misinformation from the start or played puppet master behind the veil.
But they just boldly commanded to cut it outright.
The cartel is a global organization.
Their tentacles reach the far corners of the world, spreading into information guilds, merchant guilds, adventurers’ guilds, and more. There’s nowhere they haven’t infiltrated.
So did they really not think this information would leak?
That can’t be.
They knew and deliberately issued commands for it to leak.
But why?
For now, the apparent reason is that the cartel is aligning with the side branch of Eustetia to crack down on me…
Maybe to keep Eustetia’s main family in check.
The hidden reason… I can’t quite grasp it yet.
For now, I suspect, but this is too simplistic a suspicion.
And… I have a small hope that they wouldn’t dare perform such shady stuff under the name of Eustetia.
Anyway, the first reason for such a foolish order seems to be a challenge.
It’s a pretty arrogant message, but the cartel also has weapons to challenge Eustetia, just like a side branch would.
Next.
The reason they allowed information to leak so easily is simple.
They’re trying to find the mole hiding within the cartel.
Of course, there are probably many moles within the cartel. But they aren’t after those underlings.
The cartel is looking for the royal moles.
Whatever’s happening inside, by confirming this information leak and responding accordingly, that mole is likely to be caught.
That’s why I inquired about Silina.
About who that person is.
Whether they are significant to Silina.
Or if they can be cut off at any moment.
I didn’t ask if it’s okay to kill them.
What matters is whether they can be cut off.
If we uncover the cartel’s intent and respond, the person who leaked that information will be exposed.
Then naturally, they will face the cartel’s pressure and be killed soon.
What happens next? Simple.
They either die as is, or bargain their life with the cartel for imperial information.
The former may leave a bitter taste, but it’s no big deal.
But the latter? That’s problematic.
No matter how much they know about the royal family or the empire, if someone like that surrenders to the cartel, it would undoubtedly spell trouble.
Sure, the biggest troublemaker would be the royalty.
But I have my own concerns.
The secrets of Eustetia.
If that information ever leaked to the world, it would cause chaos in the empire.
The fact that Arisa’s blood doesn’t flow in my body or my family’s is not the issue.
But it would be a damn painful situation if Arisa’s name became gossip among the citizens regarding Eustetia being controversial.
The empire’s social scene would act much like the community I just saw in the academy.
And the rumors would definitely spiral into a dire direction.
That’s messed up.
So right now, I’m forced to have these thoughts and worries that don’t even suit me.
“I agree. There’s really no need to issue such commands; they could just provide false information. But if they directly commanded a cut…”
“It means they’re provoking us.”
“…Yeah. That’s what it means. So… what do you think we should do?”
I watched Silina’s dark expression.
“But why are you consulting me about this? There’s someone closer, better than me.”
“Fabiana would definitely say to cut.”
“Why?”
“…I cannot say.”
“You can’t say? It’s because you might endanger your life, so she says to cut, isn’t it?”
Silina’s nostrils flared.
“…What’s your basis?”
“Fabiana seems to care a lot about you.”
CRUNCH – Silina gritted her teeth.
“Is that care? Making me do nothing and turning me into a potted plant? If that’s care, then we should be chopping off the heads of every teacher who filled my head with wrong knowledge.”
I don’t get why both Fabiana and Silina seem to have a knack for wanting to chop heads.
SNORT – My laughter elicited Silina’s annoyance.
“What’s so funny?”
“Both Fabiana and you, always talking about chopping heads. It’s just amusing. I think we should certainly chop off the teachers’ heads too. It seems they taught me to cut heads at the slightest mistake.”
“I’m not in a joking mood.”
“I’m not joking; I’m serious.”
SIGH – Silina clicked her tongue and hesitated whether to drink her nearly-finished Mint Chocolate Milk.
In the end, she gave up the drink and opened her mouth.
“Anyway, what do you think you’d do?”
I pulled the leftover Mint Chocolate Milk closer and asked her.
“Is that person significant to you?”
I gulped it down.
“Significant… Wait, hey! Why are you drinking what I was drinking?!”
HAAK!
“HAH! What, am I supposed to call it indirect kissing or something?”
“No, it’s not that! Do you have no sense of nobility?”
“There’s no need to be formal in front of you.”
Silina’s face twisted.
“What does that mean?”
“You know what kind of person I am. Why should I put on an act in front of someone like you?”
“…Hah. Honestly, sometimes you seem less like a duke’s daughter and more like some ruffian from the back alley.”
“That’s a very rude statement.”
“You’re doing enough already.”
I shrugged my shoulders and steered the conversation back to its original topic.
“Anyway, is that person significant to you?”
Silina fell into thought.
With just that one action of deep contemplation, I already had my answer.
So I asked again.
“Can you cut them off?”
“If the empire is in danger, then yes, I would have to.”
“Not just ‘cut them off’; you might end up being killed by them later.”
Silina flinched, her body shaking.
I had heard she grew up with numerous death threats, but if she flinched like that, it seems they meant more to her than I thought.
“Well, that’s a distant issue, so let’s set that aside for now. Have you thought about how much damage could come to the empire if you cut that person off?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“I’m not trying to teach you; I’m asking because I genuinely don’t know. How much does that person know about the empire?”
After a moment of blank confusion, Silina fell back into thought.
After a long while, biting her lips, she sighed and finally spoke.
“That person is like… my mother.”
I was taken aback by her incredibly wistful tone.
“Wait? You grew up without a mother?”
Then I startlingly noted what I had just blurted out.
“Huh.”
“…Are you insane?”
“Sorry. That just slipped out.”
But honestly… it was surprising.
Silina has a mother.
Not someone unfortunate from a broken home, but a thoroughly decent, outwardly beautiful and gentle mother.
But to suddenly refer to an unexpected person as ‘like a mother’…
I was quite shocked.
“What do you mean it’s a habit? Ugh… Forget it. Anyway, that person is a bit significant to me. So… to be honest, it’s hard to easily cut them off.”
“I see, it makes sense.”
I pretended to softly agree with the grim-faced Silina to avoid turning her expression more twisted and organized my thoughts.
The cartel planted such a crucial person in Silina’s life.
Who? It’s someone from the royalty, likely monitoring Silina.
If that’s the case, then the cartel’s higher-ups already might know who their moles are.
They could were being leaked that information by someone in the royal family.
Or they could have twisted it further, leaking just the existence without disclosing the mole’s identity, perhaps to incite division within the cartel.
On a short-term view, it’s a nasty succession struggle among the royals.
But looking at it from a broader perspective, it feels like there’s a bigger plot utilizing the succession struggle hidden behind it.
And behind that plot, if my predictions hold…
It’s the demon race.
Similar to the dirty schemes of the demon race that infiltrated the continent 400 years ago.
These schemes are designed to corrode human society from within.
I don’t yet know if the cartel’s leader is a demon or if they have allied with the demons, or if the royal family is harboring demons.
One thing is absolutely certain.
“For now, we shouldn’t respond.”
We can’t act recklessly right now.
To be honest, even if stopping would be what they hope for, we have no choice but to halt our actions for now.
“…Why do you think that?”
“Because we’re still lacking information.”
“Information? If it’s about the cartel, I—”
“No, not cartel information. I mean information about what’s behind it. For now, it’s best to refrain from acting and observe their next moves.”
Whatever happens, if we deemed it can be taken by force, we would act, no questions asked.
But not now.
Even if we could break through, we can’t predict what would happen if the information they hold spreads across the empire.
Communications artifacts have advanced too much now. It would be foolish to act recklessly like 400 years ago.
And…
I have an inkling of the weapon the side branch of Eustetia is holding as they stir things up… I hope I’m wrong.
“Anyway, don’t do anything unnecessary for now. And don’t consult anyone related to the royal family regarding your worries. Don’t ask for help either.”
Having concluded my heavy warning to Silina, I rose and pulled out a fresh bottle of Mint Chocolate Milk.
“The only person in the empire… no, the entire continent who can casually order a princess around aside from you, is me.”
Silina glared at me as she rose from her seat.
Ignoring her, I took out the device from my pocket to enter the community.
I finally found the post that had been on my mind.
PING!
The title caught my eye. It read: [The Beastman Spring Going Out In This Situation].
Since becoming this new self, my instincts have sharpened strangely.
Not the instinct for battle, but perhaps the instincts for daily living?
That kind of awareness feels markedly more developed.
And that instinct is suspiciously fixating on that title’s post.
…But I can’t find it.
Where did it go?
“Hey, Silina.”
“What?”
“Can you find the title of the post I’m looking for in the community?”
“I can find it.”
I quickly handed Silina the device.
“Find it for me.”
“Why don’t you do it?”
“…I don’t know how.”
Silina’s eyebrows twitched.
“Why don’t you learn a bit? You’ll pick it up quickly anyway.”
I did learn! I learned plenty!
I spent almost two hours being drilled by Yurasia!
But strangely enough, I’m not getting used to the device.
“Just find it.”
“…Fine.”
Reluctantly nodding, Silina took the device.
“Tell me the title.”
“In This Situation, The Beastman Spring Going Out.”
CLICK-CLACK – Silina skillfully searched for the title and handed back the device.
“Wow…”
I immediately grabbed it and checked the content inside.
[The Beastman Spring Going Out In This Situation] – xx
A professor was seen leaving with a student.
And they returned freaking fast. About 10 minutes?
But if professors are leaving, can’t they still go out? Aren’t they under a prohibition?
No. They’re prohibited too?
How do you know?
I’m a professor.
Yeah, I’m a student.
What? How did you go out?
I’ve heard the first-years are getting a lot of perks, but is that true?
Isn’t that professor privilege? I thought special professors had a lot of authority.
Cute?
Don’t know, just saw a tail.
What kind of beastman are you?
With that fluffiness, I think it was a squirrel.
Oh, furball! LOL.
A squirrel…? Could it be Pina?
“Silina, do you know who the professor for [Mana Operation B] is?”
After pondering for a moment, Silina replied.
“I think it was Professor Paid Haberon.”
“…Paid Haberon?”
“I heard he’s a newly appointed professor.”
“What’s his field of study?”
Silina gave me a look as if surprised I was asking such things, then spoke in a slightly sharp tone.
“I think it’s mental manipulation.”
“…Hmm.”
This guy’s definitely freaking suspicious!