Chapter 102 – Cemetery

“Correct. He is a dragon, and the leader of such dragons. The Dragon Lord. Yet, unable to block a single evil god, the absolute being of another world concluded to send him to a different world in the end. Actually, the term ‘absolute being’ is laughable too. He is just a shameless loser.”

“So that was Zodiac.”

The mischievous laughter soon transformed into a lukewarm smile.

“I believe he can be blocked.”

“You are overconfident. Have you not thought about the possibility of my failure?”

“If that were the case,”

Kaiser continued, referencing the two items placed before him.

“I would not have gone to this kind of trouble. Anyway, if there is any interesting news while I’m in the club, I will visit you again.”

“Aren’t you going to ask about the exiled Emperor?”

Kaiser had an expression of showing no particular interest.

“She must be doing fine. The military wouldn’t be able to target her at this point either, and she will likely take the same line of action as me. The best outcome would have been for her to be executed on the guillotine that day, but since that didn’t happen, she’ll probably think similarly to me. If you can’t eliminate them, you have to use them.”

“You have similar thoughts. But this is a future we do not know. Nobody knows how it will change.”

He did not deny it, but Kaiser did not seem to be particularly worried.

“Would it really be a big problem even if she disappeared anyway?”

Rashid also laughed and did not deny it.

“Correct. I will obtain a point in all stats. And you…”

If he succeeded.

His title would change like this depending on whether she survived or not.

“You would become a Führer, not a Prime Minister.”

“Yes, probably. Whatever it is, it’s the same that I will sway this country. She is just like a trophy.”

“If only dating were possible, that is.”

At the words that hit the nail on the head, Kaiser flashed a smile just like Rashid.

“Right. If only dating were possible, I wouldn’t be this uninterested. Or would you like to give it a try? Since we both saved her anyway, I’m willing to readily yield her to you.”

“I sincerely decline. I tend not to do foolish things where the outcome is obvious.”

“That is the same for me as well.”

The reason why both of them gave up so easily.

It was because there was a great textbook named Ryden.

“Anyway, let’s meet again next time.”

“If there is good news, run over immediately. Because from now on, the one going to the front lines will be me, not you.”

* * *

A luxurious limousine pulled up quietly at a quiet suburban cemetery.

In the silence where even the engine sound was swallowed.

Kane, who was sitting in the back seat, stayed still for a while, then picked up the bouquet of flowers placed beside him and spoke to the two people sitting in the front seats.

“You may head back first. It will be boring to wait.”

It was a low and calm voice.

Before the two could react, he opened the door and got out of the car.

He was a tall man easily exceeding two meters.

His polished shoes made noise as they stepped on the gravel, and the hem of his long coat and the bouquet in his hand swayed in the wind.

Kane moved his steps inward, where tombstones were densely packed.

His figure passing between the neatly aligned graves vanished before they knew it.

The driver, who watched this silently, said in a low voice.

“It’s a place he comes to every year. For me, this is the fourth time in terms of count.”

Beside the driver was an assistant student who had followed the professor.

“Although this is my first time…”

She suddenly recalled a memory from her childhood.

She had definitely seen a similar scenery.

“But this place doesn’t feel unfamiliar, does it? When did I come here?”

“It is the largest and most famous cemetery located in the suburbs. You could have come for various reasons.”

“But why did the professor come here? Is there a reason?”

“It must be because of a lover he cannot forget. I don’t know in detail either, but I heard the professor had a lover he loved. Coming here is probably to reminisce about her.”

“A lover?”

Kane was single.

“I didn’t know the professor had a lover. Among ourselves, there was a strange rumor that the professor might be gay. Because he kept his distance from women so much.”

The driver laughed.

“No. I heard he had a lover a long time ago.”

“I see. Then coming here must be because of her, right?”

“Yes, probably.”

“Ah! I think I saw her face on the professor’s desk. He kept the photo face down, so I sneaked a look, and there was a photo of a woman.”

“That was probably her.”

The person in the photo she remembered.

Was a woman with an elegant and gentle smile under the warm sunlight.

“I remember her hair color was similar to mine. It’s brown, which is a common color though.”

“Come to think of it, it’s strange.”

“Yes? What is?”

“The professor is so strict and fastidious that he isn’t the type to keep someone by his side for long.”

“Ah… I heard that story often. They said I was the first one? Whom he let follow him around for several years.”

“Excuse me, but what is your relationship with the professor? By any chance… are you a distant relative?”

“No. I am actually from an orphanage. I heard I was in an orphanage and then adopted by my current parents.”

“If they sent you to university, you must have been adopted into a wealthy family.”

“It was just an ordinary household…”

“If it was an ordinary household, it would have been hard to reach university? The tuition…”

The tuition for the academy itself was enormous.

Let alone the university.

“I heard there was someone who sponsored me.”

“A sponsor?”

“Yes, and thanks to that, I am on the verge of graduating from university.”

“By any chance, was that sponsor…?”

The driver made a reasonable suspicion.

Luna placed her index finger on her lips.

“Shh! I already know, but I’m just keeping it a secret.”

“Haha…”

The driver had an expression of finding it hard to understand.

“I had no idea the professor had such a side to him. To think he would bestow charity upon others.”

“They said my talent had been unique since I was in the orphanage. Thanks to that, the adoption was fast, and I must have caught the professor’s eye, right?”

“I see.”

“And this is a secret. If this rumor spreads, the professor will probably hate it immensely, you know?”

“Ah, I will be careful. Nothing good will come of it being rumored.”

Professor Kane.

He stood in front of a certain grave.

-Sophia Lazarus.

-The authority on Source Alchemy, rests here.

Having stood silently for a while, he.

Laid down the flowers he brought in front of the tombstone.

* * *

At the reception table located inside the office.

Rashid sat down with her, who had come to find him.

She had an expression of having a great deal to say.

“Inquisitor. I will ask point-blank. Where did you place Her Majesty? With the Knights?”

Rashid shook his head and laughed before answering.

“What will you do with that knowledge anyway? Even if I tell you, would you even be able to take her away?”

Wearing round-rimmed glasses, she glared at him fiercely.

“It seems you haven’t realized at all that the situation is serious. Currently, the military is taking over the Imperial Capital. Furthermore, the military is searching for the escaped Empress.”

Rashid did not talk back and just listened quietly.

“Do you know that the Basilica is currently besieged by the Imperial Army?”

“I heard about that. But they didn’t seem to have the guts to actually invade.”

Perhaps thinking that threats were not the only answer.

Her expression softened slightly.

“Let’s make this easy. If you hand over Her Majesty, the military will show mercy. There would be no reason to sour relations with the Order in an already chaotic time anyway.”

“More importantly, since when did someone of an Inspector’s caliber become a lackey of the military? Weren’t Inspectors originally loyal hounds to Her Majesty?”

Thud!

She strongly struck the floor with the tip of the ceremonial sword she brought.

It was a threat beyond a warning.

“Depending on your answer, the Basilica could be attacked by the Imperial Army. Is that what you want?”

Rashid looked at her and could be certain.

That in the situation where the Empress survived and became unpredictable, she had sided with the military, not Kaiser.

A short silence flowed.

Soon after, Rashid changed his attitude and glared at her fiercely.

“Hey, Inspector. This is the Order.”

Armed clerics rushed into the office, but they were soon stopped by Rashid.

Blocking the progress of the clerics by raising his hand, he showed an expression calmer than before.

“Where do you think you’re flapping your mouth so insolently? Do you think you are some kind of inquisitor? I wish you would choose the place more carefully.”

The momentum of the two clashed intensely.

To the point that Karl, who was watching, swallowed dryly.

“And the Imperial Army besieges the Basilica? Whose head did that idea even come out of?”

The Imperial Army besieging the Basilica?

That was truly a ridiculous threat.

“Stop taking useless actions and go guard the border, why don’t you? The entrance is empty. Do you think the Allied Kingdoms will sit still? If it were me, I would have pushed straight in.”

“Inquisitor. Do you think the Imperial Army won’t attack here?”

“Try it. Because I am curious too.”

She jumped up from her seat.

Then, as if it were her own office, she walked over to the communication terminal and made contact somewhere.

Soon, she finished the conversation with someone.

She waited for a moment, but.

Regrettably, there was no development that she expected.

Having expected something, she soon returned to him, resigned.

As if she were ridiculous.

Rashid sneered openly.

“Why? Were you trying to put on a show of force?”

If it went like this, she would only make a fool of herself, but.

She also seemed to understand why the commander would not bother to push unreasonably.

“There is no need to have a bad relationship with the Order, indeed.”

“I got it, so get lost. You don’t have anything else to say anyway, right?”

She thought she had been humiliated.

“Before coming here, the commander proposed something to me. I rejected it then, but seeing the state of you, I simply cannot tolerate this.”

Before Rashid could cast a puzzled gaze, she walked away without even looking back.

‘What is she talking about?’

Leaving his office, the place she headed to was the Director’s office.

* * *

“Chief Inquisitor. The Director is calling for you.”

When Karl delivered the news, Rashid expressed doubt.

“The Director?”

“Yes, he wants to see you now.”

At the Director’s office he visited.

Rashid could see both her and the Director waiting for him.

‘What is with that woman? She hasn’t left yet?’

His curiosity lasted only a moment.

The Director called him.

“Inquisitor Rashid.”

“Yes, Director.”

“I called you because it seems I need your consent.”

“My consent?”

Rashid looked alternately at the Director and her.

The expression of Rashid, who narrowed his brow, immediately cooled down.

He had realized the reason.

“Sir Varasha said so. That she wants to transfer back to the Inquisition Bureau.”

“……”

He wondered what she meant by the words she spoke as she stormed out of the office earlier.

When Rashid’s gaze landed on her, she responded with a hostile look.

“Transferring back… The intention is obvious.”

Before even discussing the intention, Rashid knew a way to cast her off.

“Director. We don’t need fair-weather birds. She will transfer to the Inspectorate again anyway.”

“No. She made a clear promise with me. She said she would stay here for at least ten years.”

“Ten years?”

Indeed, if it weren’t for a condition of that level, the Director would not have called him.

“As you know, Sir Varasha is a very talented individual. It was regrettable that she went to the Inspectorate, but fortunately, since she says she is coming back, I am in a welcoming position. However, I thought you might dislike it. That’s why I called you. If you only consent, I plan to accept her back. What do you think?”

“The reason she came must be obvious.”

Rashid also faced her with an unfriendly gaze.

“It would be to monitor Her Majesty, who has fled to the Order. Realistically, the military has absolutely no assets to monitor the inside of our Order. If there is any, that Inspector, who once belonged to the Inquisition Bureau, would be the only one. That’s why the military that took over the Imperial Capital must have persuaded her.”

She seemed to believe in the promise she had put forward.

Sure enough, the Director began to defend her.

“She is a talent with no shortcomings. From my position, I want to accept her even knowing that. Since Her Majesty is taken care of by the Knights anyway, what could be the problem?”

He was about to refuse, but.

Rashid, having thought of a use, soon agreed.

“Then let’s do this. I plan to stir up the Magic Tower soon; if she helps me punish the Magic Tower professor who committed blasphemy, I will also agree to accept her.”