The Imperial Special Task Force was the Samael Empire’s independent intelligence agency. Their sole purpose was clear and absolute: “For the empire.” They would do anything that benefited the empire, no matter how immoral or inhumane. And in doing so, they were granted unlimited support from the empire without bureaucratic delays. Of course, results were demanded. A single failure meant immediate dismissal and stripping of title. There was no second chance. That was why the Special Task Force never began anything they were not certain would succeed. Kai, an eleven-year veteran operative, scanned the man before him: Keter. He was the unpredictable variable in what had otherwise been a flawless operation. Kai had accounted for every possibility except this man. It didn’t matter that Keter was the illegitimate son of Sefira, or that he was from Liqueur. What mattered was that he was now interfering. “Thank you for accepting my invitation, Lord Keter. I’m Hanson, a humble merchant operating a small trading firm in the Baen Kingdom.” Kai introduced his alias with ease. The usual course of action would be to eliminate anyone interfering with the mission. But Keter was not ordinary. Kai decided to probe him first to understand his psychology. Keter, however, shook his head. “It’s just the two of us here. Drop the fake name and tell me who you really are. Then we’ll be able to have a real conversation.” From the start, Keter called out the alias. Kai chuckled smoothly. “Haha, Lord Keter, I mean no offense, but this isn’t a false name. Hanson Merchant Company is also real.” Keter raised a hand to call the waiter, uninterested, as if he already knew everything. Kai was taken aback by the psychological play. He’s not just some brute with power. He’s sharp. Not long ago, Keter had leaped from a moving carriage and asked the surrounding nobles who was buying him lunch. Dozens of nobles named prestigious restaurants, trying to outbid each other. Kai was one of them. However, he only had to say one thing. “I will escort you to Lagrande, Lord Keter.” And here they were. He had said nothing more, yet Keter saw right through him and seemed to know that he was part of the Imperial Special Task Force. He probably hasn't deduced that I’m Special Task Force yet, but he definitely suspects something. Kai was looking for an opportunity to approach Keter, but he hadn’t expected this kind of opening. His goal was to kill Eslow for the Samael Empire, and to do that, he needed to eliminate all variables. Failure meant death. However, disappointing the emperor was worse than death. His partner, Ailos, had claimed he could handle Keter, but he failed, and Keter had tampered with the underground bombs again. Then, Ailos irresponsibly vanished, saying that he was going to step away for a while. That left Kai under heavy surveillance by Eslow’s eyes—the raven beastfolk—which made it even harder for him to act. Even this conversation with Keter was burning through a fortune in manpower and money. Just one hour of this setup cost tens of thousands in gold. As Keter said, time was not on his side. Dragging this out was dangerous. “How much do you know?” But Kai was no fool; he wouldn’t reveal anything himself. More than that, he found it amusing that Keter dared to play mind games with him. Emotional manipulation was the first thing every Special Task Force agent mastered. They wouldn’t be swayed by anyone. Keter scratched the back of his head and answered, “That you’re working with Ailos?” “Hm? Who’s this Ailos you speak of?” Kai responded cluelessly. He actually sounded so sincerely oblivious that he could probably trick himself. If others were listening, they would think Keter was simply making things up. “Go ahead and pretend. I’ll talk anyway. Ailos told me everything. Your goal is to kill Eslow, right? You set up the bomb in the sewers, and now you’re pissed because I messed with it.” “Ahaha, a bomb? Even if such a thing were placed in the sewers, how could it possibly kill Lord Eslow?” Kai played along lightly. Keter continued unfazed. “Of course a bomb alone wouldn’t do it, even if it’s a Rose crafted by Ragnon, the explosive master of Liqueur. It’s probably just bait to lure him out. The real plan is something else.” “I had assumed you were an archer from Sefira, the Masters of Archery, but judging from your creativity, you may have a future in the arts, Lord Keter.” “There are a few things that could kill an eight-star Irregular, but it’s not something you would have. Then, is it another eight-star Irregular? No, I don’t think so, since someone like that would draw the entire world’s attention. Yet here you are, confident in your plan. It’s not an object or a person, so it’s one of three things.” “If I were truly a spy trying to kill Eslow, would I really want to meet you in person, Lord Keter?” “First possibility: a living weapon.” “I’ve never heard of such a thing. And might I ask for an answer to my question?” Kai repeated himself, but Keter ignored him and raised a second finger. “Second possibility: a living weapon.” “Third possibility: again, a living weapon. It’s the only thing small enough to sneak into the city but powerful enough to kill one of the Four Lords. Only two places could handle something like that: the Grey Tower headed by Franken, the chimera mage, or arcane engineers from Baen that make humanoid golems.” Kai’s finger twitched involuntarily. He almost blurted out that there was another place that dealt with living weapons—that the alchemists from the empire were creating superior living constructs called Homunculi that were superior to chimeras or humanoid golems. “From your reaction, it’s neither chimera nor golem, huh?” Idiots who couldn’t control their emotions could never join the Special Task Force, so Kai found it ridiculous that Keter was acting like he read his mind, as his expression hadn’t changed once. Then Keter pointed to Kai’s nose. “You hold your breath when your emotions slip.” “Do I? I wasn’t aware.” “Also, it’s obvious that you’re from the empire.” “You probably think that because my suit is from the empire.” “How many organizations can control their agents’ emotions and habits this precisely and possess the means to kill one of the Four Lords? Only the empire can do that.” “That sounds like confirmation bias, Lord Keter. You’re seeing what you want to see.” “Anyway, the point is: meeting you might have been a coincidence, but inviting you wasn’t.” “So…” Keter paused and leaned in. “Want to be secret friends?” Keter jumping out of the carriage wasn’t a whim. It would have been rude to ignore those suckers—no, nobles—who had been waiting eagerly just from seeing his divine aura. He was scanning the crowd, wondering which one he would squeeze lunch out of, when someone stood out. Amid the swarm of similar nobles, he spotted a man in a crisp white suit. He was too perfectly average. He had a face that looked like he could be from anywhere. His clothes that were just the right amount of flashy were almost a prime example of a baronet. He blended in too naturally. There’s something off about him. This man was exactly Keter’s type: people who were hiding things. If he was truly suspicious—if he was faking normalcy—he would offer to buy Keter lunch. If he didn’t? That still made him suspicious since he was being weirdly wary of him. As such, Keter wandered near him to make it easy, and he took the bait. “I will escort you to Lagrande, Lord Keter.” And sitting across from him now, Keter had a good sense of who this person was. He’s from the empire. Blending in was foundational to intelligence agents, and someone who dared to operate in Eslow’s fief was likely from the empire. Sure, there was a chance he wasn’t. But the odds were higher that he was. So, an imperial spy sniffing around me… How should I interpret this? Is it just a coincidence? Or is there a connection? If it was a coincidence, there’s nothing I can do. But if it’s the latter, only one person comes to mind: this must be the ‘ally’ Ailos mentioned. Whether he was the ally himself or one of their lackeys, it all fit. He could deny it all he wanted, but if Keter said he was from the empire, then he was, at least until he proved otherwise. Plus, he had always been interested in imperial spies. The name “spy” is so cool. Plus, having more cards in one’s hand was good. In poker, a two or a three were considered low cards, but collecting four of them became a four-of-a-kind. “I brought you to Lagrande because I want to get to know you, Lord Keter, but honestly, I’m starting to regret it. You’re talking about whatever you want without even listening to me.” Others would have dropped the act by now, but he’s not revealing himself easily. How befitting of the empire’s prestige. That makes me like you more, and once I like you, you can't get out easily. “I don’t care which kingdom you belong to. I like you. I admire your guts and competence for trying to assassinate Lord Eslow. So I’ll help you.” “Ha… I thought you were joking all this time, but you’re really just going to say whatever you want without listening, Lord Keter.” Hanson stood up, clearly fed up. “You don’t even need to blow up the bombs in the sewers. All you really want is to lure Eslow out, right?” The bombs in the sewers wouldn’t go off anyway. If Keter told him that, he would go tweak them again, but that wasn’t the point. “I’m sorry, Lord Keter. But I can’t listen to any more of your delusions.” Hanson sighed, bowed politely, and walked away. “I’ll draw Eslow out for you. Let’s do the orchard near the west gate. It has high walls, and it’s currently empty because it’s fallow land.” Hanson left without a word. But so what? Even the staff here are your subordinates. “Timing-wise, I think the weeklong break after Group C’s battle royale ends would be best. Can’t give you the exact day, so keep your team on standby.” Keter was getting hungry. He did come here for lunch, and they hadn’t even ordered yet. “Waiter! Ten servings of your best dish! Oh, and Hanson—since I’m luring Eslow out for you, there’s only one thing I want in return.” “Your aperitif, Lord Keter,” the waiter said. It was an amusing drink that was both cool and warm at the same time. “You have to be my secret friend.” Keter was already excited. Will Eslow really come to the orchard as I planned? Will Hanson show up with the living weapon he’s so confident in? Keter’s heart was racing faster than it had against Henya and Pashian. But what if I read him wrong? What if, after all this, I can’t take Eslow to the orchard? Or worse, what if I take him and Hanson never shows? “Hahaha! That would be hilarious!” That would still be fun, in its own way. The cafes surrounding Lagrande were packed. All of them were filled with nobles or their representatives waiting for one thing: Keter to come out. Though they had lost Keter to the man in the white suit, the night was still young. And even if it wasn’t, what did it matter? A noble’s persistence was not light. They wanted to speak to Keter, and they believed it would happen. Their obsession was partly fueled by the fact that everyone from Sefira only remained inside Eslow’s palace, which made it nearly impossible to speak to anyone from Sefira. The door to Lagrande opened an hour later. Nobles who had been sipping coffee in boredom or sitting with their eyes closed instantly shot to their feet. “Kete… Oh, never mind.” “...Hmph, just an employee.” The source of this content ɪs 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱 “They sure are talking for a while.” It wasn’t Keter who stepped out. It was a waiter. Just as disappointed murmurs began to spread and people returned to their seats, the waiter said loudly, “If you’re here to see Lord Keter, please form a single line in front of the entrance.” Everyone blinked in confusion. What kind of nonsense was that? This wasn’t just representatives and baronets; there were actual nobles here, as well as high nobles. But Keter wanted them to line up. Even the waiter seemed to find it absurd, barely suppressing a chuckle as he clarified, “Lord Keter has asked that if anyone wishes to speak with him, they should enter one at a time, in order.”