Chapter 66

“Now that we’ve come this far, I’m starting to wonder why Master Hayanosin is siding so heavily with Django,” Neitz said, her eyes smiling even if her face didn’t.

“Hmph, that is only natural. First, the reason I can guarantee the rules is that I was present for several of those experiments.”

The room stirred at that statement.

The thought that this high-ranking noble of Isu had been present for those spine-chilling experiments—experiments one could barely stand to imagine.

Furthermore, it meant that the relationship between Hayanosin and Django went back a very long time.

“My Lord, that is…”

This appeared to be information even Watch didn’t know; despite being the guard, he seemed the most shaken.

“It is fine. It is a disgrace to Isu, but I do not believe I have done anything wrong.”

Hayanosin cut off Watch, who had spoken with a gentle yet concerned expression.

“My association with Master Django began exactly when the Blue Wolves started their activities in my home country of Isu.”

Hayanosin’s recollection began.

At the time, the start of Blue Wolf activity in Isu sent a massive shockwave throughout the nation.

I suppose there was a sense that it was a fire on the opposite shore. When actual damage occurred within our own borders, everyone was shaken.

And the incidents in Isu thought to be the work of the Blue Wolves had characteristics different from those in other countries. The Blue Wolves were expanding their influence rapidly, but usually, their motives were purely for profit. However, the incidents in Isu carried a lingering scent of political undertones.

A hallmark of the Blue Wolves was their ability to recruit members one after another. Therefore, at that time, the rulers of Isu—myself included—considered the possibility that Isu’s own insurgent groups had been absorbed by the Blue Wolves.

If an organization as large as the Blue Wolves were to take on the objective of overthrowing the current Isu regime, it would become extremely dangerous for the nation.

Thus, Isu launched a nationwide investigation into the Blue Wolves. Using that as a cover, we deployed our “Shadows,” using any means necessary behind the scenes to investigate them: torture, deals with illegal organizations, and infiltration of groups thought to be connected to the Blue Wolves.

Watch here was a member of the Shadows, so he has been active since that time.

The thing we had to be most wary of was the possibility of the Shadows themselves being absorbed by illegal organizations—or by the Blue Wolves. Therefore, while we moved the Shadows, it was necessary to monitor them.

The ones entrusted with that duty were the Yazaki family, whom the King graciously trusted.

Then, one day, word reached my ears of a betrayal by one of the Shadows. That Shadow had made contact with Master Django. That in itself was not surprising. Even then, Master Django’s skills were well known. The fact that he was conducting research that was unethical and illegal—yet useful for investigations—with the cooperation of Pace was an open secret among those in the know.

The problem was that while making deals, that Shadow was attempting to become a member of Master Django’s group in exchange for a wealth of information about Isu.

Upon learning this, I disposed of that Shadow and decided to continue the dealings with Master Django myself.

At the time, Master Django was going through a process of trial and error to establish the so-called Kijiitsu System. Specifically, he was conducting various experiments to understand the rules of the compass in detail.

Yes, of course. Having heard the concept, I expected that if it could be put into operation, we could capture the Blue Wolves—and the Isu insurgents who had become members. Thus, I cooperated fully.

Yes, at that time, the one who obstructed the anti-Django faction in Pace led by Master Ray Colt… was me. Or rather, it was the consensus of Isu.

In any case, that was how the rules of the compass that Master Django described earlier were finalized. And eventually, investigations using Master Kijiitsu were conducted and proved effective to some degree.

Yes, before we knew it, a structure had formed where I became the client, and Master Django would investigate the Blue Wolves.

That structure—the connection between myself and Master Django—was solidified when that incident, the Wald Incident, occurred and Master Django resolved it.

Yes, that incident was… yes, a tragic one. But even more than that—no, I shall say no more.

“My Lord.”

Watch muttered as Hayanosin hesitated. His expression had become a Noh-mask-like void, identical to Rose’s.

“Yes, quite right. This is the critical moment. We still have need of Master Django,” Hayanosin said, as if convincing himself.

“It goes without saying, but please keep what is spoken here strictly confidential. If the contents of what I am about to say leak out, even as a rumor, I—and Isu—will judge that it was leaked by someone in this group. You understand the implications?”

A sticky, viscous light dwelled in those otherwise calm eyes.

“Punish on suspicion. You mean the Shadows would retaliate against all of us. How convenient. For my part, I intended to kill everyone here if the contents of this meeting were to leak anyway,” Ray shot back, completely unfazed.

You’ve got to be kidding me, I wanted to complain, but the atmosphere was not one for speaking up. I really didn’t want to hear the rest of this.

“Then, I shall tell you. I explained earlier that the Shadows had been infiltrating organizations related to the Blue Wolves. The matter is simple. Among the faction of Blue Wolves that caused the Wald Incident, there was…”

“An infiltrated Shadow. I see. That explains why your relationship with Django became so deep. Django got his hands on the secrets of Isu’s dark side,” Bob said with a sneer. “So, you asked Django to overlook that Shadow?”

Hayanosin nodded at Bob’s cynical question.

“Honor is unnecessary for a Shadow, but I will say this for his sake: that Shadow never laid a hand on a villager during that slaughter. However, because the incident itself occurred spontaneously, and because at that point we had no confirmation that the organization was part of the Blue Wolves, and because he was infiltrating alone, the Shadow had no way to stop the massacre.”

“If he had pride, regardless of the odds, regardless of whether he would simply be killed, he would not have participated in a slaughter,” Ray remarked. “Even if he had to reveal his identity and be tortured to death, it would be better than participating in a massacre. But, if he is a Shadow and not a Knight, I suppose it cannot be helped. The Shadows of Isu are famous for prioritizing the mission over honor or life.”

Contrary to his words, Ray’s attitude showed no actual contempt for the Shadow in question.

“I will excuse myself as well.”

At that moment, Rick left the room.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but why leave at this exact timing?

“Tch.”

For some reason, Hauser looked as if he had swallowed a bitter bug.

“In any case, through those circumstances, Master Hayanosin and Master Django became deeply linked,” Kirio said, trying to push the conversation forward to fill the strange silence left by Rick’s sudden departure.

“Indeed. He has been hunting the Blue Wolves for us for a long time. However, even if we catch the underlings, it is a drop in the bucket; the Blue Wolves have continued to swell and gain power. Still, we cannot give up. I thought the recent ‘Labyrinth of No Return’ might be the break we needed…”

“Eh? The Labyrinth of No Return?”

I reacted to the familiar term—one that was still fresh in my memory.

“Oh, that is right. Master Van was involved in that matter. I thought that perhaps that dungeon, from which no one returns, might be one of the Blue Wolves’ hideouts. An organization of that size could easily use an entire dungeon as a lair. So, I took advantage of the Treasure family’s recruitment and asked Master Django to have Kijiitsu infiltrate. It was a surprise to find that Watch was also participating via a completely different route.”

I see. They thought if Kijiitsu was killed inside by a member of the Blue Wolves, they could catch them with that system.

But as it turned out, it was really nothing more than the scheme of some petty thugs.

“We have strayed a bit from the main topic, but for the reasons stated, I guarantee the rules of the compass.”

“Wait a minute. Even if we believe the rules, there are other possibilities,” Bob persisted. “For example, you could have manipulated the compass needle with magic.”

“Magic does not work on the compass. That has also been verified,” Hayanosin cut him down flatly.

This is bad.

I kept my face composed, resting my chin on my hand as if sinking into deep thought, but internally, I was panicking.

This was seriously bad.

At the moment, I had nothing to use as a counterargument against Hayanoshin’s story. And if those were indeed the rules, then regardless of whether the compass was officially certified as a Holy Relic or not, I couldn’t be seen as anything other than a murderer.

But something was off.

I had killed Kijitsu? I had absolutely no memory of that. Since I didn’t possess the self-awareness of having killed him, according to the rules, the compass shouldn’t have been pointing at me as the killer.

Wait a minute.

“Can I say something?”

I raised my hand. Everyone’s eyes turned toward me.

“So, Kijitsu was killed, the compass says the culprit is me, and that’s why I’ve been branded a member of the Blue Wolves, right?”

“Correct,” Django agreed, confirming my summary.

“First of all, I have no recollection of killing any Kijitsu. What does the current Kijitsu even look like?”

At the very least, it couldn’t have been the Kijitsu I knew. That one was definitely killed back in the Earthen Labyrinth.

“Furthermore, when, where, and under what circumstances was this Kijitsu deployed and then killed? Come to think of it, I haven’t heard a single bit of that basic information yet.”

I had been so distracted by the unique details like the “Kijitsu System” and the “Holy Relic Compass” that I’d let these fundamental facts slip through the cracks. Though, if the rules were absolute, I had a sinking feeling that even if these gaps were filled, it wouldn’t change the fact that the compass was pointing at me.

“That’s a fair point.”

Django’s eyes widened as if he had only just realized this omission, and he glanced at Rose.

“Wait.”

Ray cut in, stopping Django before he could comment.

“Before that, bring out the compass. We will determine right here and now whether it is a Holy Relic. I want that settled first.”

For Ray, whether I was a member of the Blue Wolves was secondary. He just wanted to certify the item as a Holy Relic so he had a legal pretext to eliminate Django.

“Hold your horses. We agreed on a joint appraisal with the country of Shark,” Bob protested. “Our appraiser isn’t even here yet. I just arranged for Rick to give a letter of request to the coachman. The earliest they could arrive is tomorrow afternoon.”

Naturally, Bob wasn’t going to let this slide. He glared at Ray with visible irritation, while Ray stared back with a gaze as cold as iron.

“Give it a rest, Ray. Bob’s right,” Neitz said in a relaxed tone, taking Bob’s side.

“She’s right. Master Ray, you were the one who suggested a joint appraisal in the first place,” Hauser added, siding with them as well.

“Very well.”

Ray simply closed his eyes, offering no further argument.

“Fine, are we done? Then I’ll answer,” Django said, waving his hand dismissively. “The current generation—well, he’s dead now, but the Kijitsu in question is someone you know well, Van. You too, Watch.”

“Eh?”

“Hmm?”

Watch and I exclaimed at the same time and locked eyes. But a moment later, it clicked. A person we both knew. Someone who was in that labyrinth. Someone who was there, didn’t die during the incident, but disappeared afterward.

“Mora…?”

The image of that woman came to mind—the dwarf who looked young and short but was actually the one who had orchestrated that entire incident.

“Exactly. We tracked that woman down with the compass and turned her into the material for the new Kijitsu.”

The details were gruesome, but if I got hung up on that then, the conversation would never move forward.

“She was excellent material. A different league entirely compared to the previous Kijitsu,” Rose said, nodding slightly several times.

“Hmph.”

Watch looked like he wanted to spit on the floor. I doubted he felt any friendship toward Mora, but I could sympathize with the sentiment.

“In any case, we had that new Kijitsu infiltrate a slum on the outskirts of the country of Shark. This was per Lord Hayanoshin’s request.”

“Indeed,” Hayanoshin agreed. “The petty thugs in the slums were making suspicious moves. A while ago, such people wouldn’t have been associated with the Blue Wolves, but lately, the organization has expanded so much that they’re even recruiting hoodlums.”

“And as a result, Kijitsu died, and when you used the compass, it pointed to me.”

Finally, I felt like I could see the whole picture of what was happening.