novelraw Chapter 186 : Aberdeen (3)
Chapter 186 : Aberdeen (3)
A moment of silence hung in the air.
“…Hmm?”
Ludwig Allegro’s eyes momentarily shone with a strange light.
“What kind of reaction is that? You don’t mean…?”
To his incredulous reaction, I replied without showing any emotion.
“…I was prepared for it, but I never imagined I’d be asked for something so personal.”
“…What?”
“I never thought someone of a High Priest’s standing would have a hidden child.”
“……”
Silence fell once more.
His eyes, which had held a strange light, now furrowed in disbelief.
“…So that’s what you were thinking.”
“……”
“What kind of sacrilegious thoughts are you having about a Priest who serves God, you damned bastard?”
“…Smoking seems sacrilegious enough as it is, couldn’t get much worse.”
“What does it matter to me if a Priest smokes, or if a tiger smokes?”
“……”
“If you don’t like it, you be the Priest.”
Tsk-
“It’s nothing like that, so stop looking at me like I’m some lonely old widower.”
…I knew.
The fact that Emily wasn’t his hidden child.
Though I’d managed to bluff, there was no way I wouldn’t know that from the start.
I had merely blurted out the first excuse that came to mind to hide my surprise at that moment.
‘……’
I truly hadn’t imagined that name would come from this person’s mouth, at this timing.
It was fortunate that, thanks to the location, I had Emily’s name tucked away in the back of my mind.
If not for that, the sudden mention might have elicited a reaction that would have been impossible to bluff.
Tsk-
He took out a cigarette and clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“Catch.”
Thud-
He then tossed the newspaper he was holding directly to me.
I caught it and looked at his face, and he gestured with his chin, as if telling me to open it and read.
And as I opened the newspaper.
+
■ Age: 19
■ Occupation: Future Magitek Engineer (qualification pending)
■ Description: A future Magitek technology developer for Aberdeen-Delta City, currently showing the fastest progress among Magitek scholars in the Delta district. Deemed to have the highest potential to contribute to the future development of Magitek. Subject to protective observation.
■ Special Notes: Currently being pursued by an unknown organization.
+
“This is…”
Information that was both familiar and awkward sat before my eyes.
Ahem-
As I turned my gaze to the newspaper, Ludwig cleared his throat once and added an explanation.
“Well, I don’t know how much one of our kids blabbed while shitting their pants… but you’ve got the gist, right? What UMC does.”
“…Well, I guess I get the feeling they’re like underground Exorcists.”
Nod-
“If you get into the specifics, they’re full of differences from that old geezer’s group, but broadly speaking, it’s mostly correct. In that they deal with special targets.”
“……”
“However, Exorcists are an organization that openly deals with clear targets, Demonic Species. UMC, on the other hand, is a secret agency directly under The Order’s headquarters, tasked with secretly protecting and managing things that shouldn’t be seen by ordinary people.”
Shrug-
“You probably already know, but Valencia la Bael Tigris, whom you escorted, and that ‘Villain Hunter’ were also among them.”
Ludwig Allegro was calmly lying, puffing on his pipe.
His skill at mixing half-truths was quite cunning, and I wondered if anyone who didn’t know him would be completely fooled.
But from the moment I opened the newspaper, I had a premonition.
That he would lie to me.
Of course, I didn’t immediately reveal that thought.
There were many points I wanted to refute right away, but I suppressed them inwardly and nodded, pretending not to know.
‘……’
Whether my creeping suspicions were right or wrong, it wasn’t too late to judge after hearing everything out.
With only a vague hunch like, ‘He seems to be lying,’ it was impossible to determine the correct way to react.
Perhaps being fooled might even make my future actions more convenient.
“Well, if we’re being picky, she’s not that amazing. Not even a useful asset right now.”
“……”
“She’s just one of the most talented children chosen from each of the four districts—Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta—of the Magitek City. If you consider the potential of Magitek and the potential of the Beastkin Faction you’re reviving to be equal, she’d have about a 1/4 importance.”
“……”
His vague explanation seemed plausible at first glance, but if one looked closely, it was a baseless claim.
The Beastkin Faction and Magitek had to have distinctly different levels of importance from The Order’s perspective.
Magitek was currently practical and a field that was developing in real-time through Emily’s hands.
As such, it was a field in which The Order was investing.
Of course, if the Beastkin Faction were to regain its former power, it would be difficult to say it was lagging, but that was a discussion only possible under the assumption of its recovery.
If my thoughts were correct, The Order would have tried many times to restore the Beastkin Faction over the past period and failed, concluding that it was impossible.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have lowered the management level to protective observation, which was no different from neglect, without any significant intervention.
Crucially, if they considered it that important, they wouldn’t have allowed me to approach it in the first place.
‘…They probably would have put it under UMC’s joint management long ago.’
Indeed, no event like the resurrection of the Beastkin Faction occurred even until the end of my previous life, which had continued in that way.
Therefore, the importance of the two areas, as judged by The Order now, could not be the same.
Moreover.
+
■ Age: 19
■ Occupation: Future Magitek Engineer
■ Description: A future Magitek technology developer for Aberdeen-Delta City. Qualification pending.
■ Special Notes: Currently being pursued by an unknown organization.
+
This simply summarized description of Emily was entirely bogus.
‘…A false identity.’
First of all, Emily had no surname.
Being an orphan of unclear origin, she hadn’t been born with a surname, and even the name Emily wasn’t given at birth but was a common name in Aberdeen City that she had adopted herself as a child.
In other words, this identity, written as Emily ‘Delta,’ was a fake identity forged by UMC.
And it wasn’t just the name ‘Emily Delta’ that was a fake identity; it also connected to Ludwig Allegro’s additional explanation that they had simply designated one child from each of the four districts as the most promising.
I, who had met her in person, knew best.
If there were three more individuals with Emily’s genius.
No, if there were even half that many capable of assisting her, Magitek wouldn’t have merely shown unprecedented growth as an emerging field. It would have long since abolished the existing system and completely revamped all of The Order’s military systems to be Magitek-based.
In other words, the three children from other districts he mentioned were clearly other false identities of Emily: ‘Emily Alpha,’ ‘Emily Beta,’ and ‘Emily Gamma.’
There was only one Emily in Aberdeen City.
Furthermore, the description of Emily as a future Magitek Engineer was, of course, nonsensical.
It was no exaggeration to say that the entirety of Magitek’s progress over the past decade was virtually the complete achievement of this genius girl.
If Magitek’s history were divided, it could be separated into before and after Emily, so vast was the difference.
There was even a saying that all achievements before Emily’s Magitek research began couldn’t even touch the heels of the progress made after her involvement.
If such an Emily was deemed unqualified as a Magitek Engineer, then no one in all of Aberdeen City could be called a Magitek Engineer.
Well, I still didn’t quite grasp the ‘Special Notes’ part.
Aside from that, it was a fraudulent identity with nothing fitting except her age.
“So, she’s a kind of seed, then?”
Shrug-
“Well, it’s a bit cringeworthy, but something like that.”
Well, of course.
All of this was something I could only realize because I was a Regressor.
At this point, Emily’s identity itself was information considered top secret by The Order, and Ludwig Allegro had shifted his gaze, speaking as if he were directly revealing UMC’s secrets, while talking about a false identity.
In a situation where the head of a secret agency directly under The Order’s headquarters revealed himself and made a personal request, not many people would be able to harbor suspicion.
Anyone who didn’t know about Emily’s existence would have been completely fooled without a shred of doubt.
“Well, I’m not asking for much. Just take care of the girl for a while.”
“……”
“Like it says there, I just have a bad feeling, so I need a place outside the city to entrust her to for about half a year, and there’s no suitable place, that’s all.”
“……”
“There probably won’t be any trouble. And even if there is, you don’t have to feel burdened. I’ll take responsibility. It’s not really your concern.”
Ludwig Allegro was putting on quite a sophisticated act.
In fact, if I hadn’t known Allegro’s personality, I might have been completely taken in.
“What happens if I refuse?”
“Well, that’s your freedom, of course, but…”
Shrug-
“I don’t really recommend it. The older I get, the only thing I get better at is doing dirty deeds.”
“……”
“I’m incredibly dirty. Unlike how I look.”
A response that was close to a threat.
This was his way of telling me not to resist needlessly.
Indeed, Ludwig Allegro held a position of considerable power.
He was, after all, one of the few High Priests in The Order.
He had something to gain from me and knew about my past actions, which was why he had come in person to speak with me.
Normally, even a Hero who had earned a fair amount of renown wouldn’t have direct dealings with a High Priest.
‘……’
I remained silent for a moment.
I needed to sort out my thoughts a bit.
At first, I hadn’t understood why this man had bothered to come to me, or why he would entrust Emily to me at this point.
But by weaving together the clues that emerged one by one from his lies, vaguely.
A rough picture began to form in my mind.
And just as Ludwig Allegro, unable to wait out my silence, was about to press for an answer.
“If you don’t like it, get lost. There are other people I can ask…”
“Alright.”
I was able to answer.
The reason was simple.
“It’s my first time looking after a child, but.”
Shrug-
“I guess I can give it a try.”
…The picture in my mind regarding Ludwig Allegro’s intentions and the current situation was complete.