Revealing The Secret To The World

A week had passed since the lockdown and quarantine had been lifted. People had gone back to their daily lives, yet beneath it all they carried the worry, What if we end up living like before again?

Carrying that faint anxiety, they lived their recovered daily routines, even holding festivals as they enjoyed drinks and snacks and indulged in brief moments of escape. Then, suddenly, both the newspapers and the radio announced that around 11 a.m. the next day, His Majesty the King would be making an important public statement.

At this sudden news, everyone could not help but feel uneasy, wondering, What could it be about? Thus the next day arrived, and before long many people had gathered around radios. Soon, King Ian’s voice began to come through.

[People of the Polia Kingdom, We are Ian di Polia, king of this nation. We expect that you are all tense over this announcement of Ours. Some of you may be wondering if the lockdown and quarantine will begin again. We say now: that will not be the case.]

At Ian’s words, many people let out sighs of relief. At the same time, they could not help but wonder what sort of grave announcement he was about to make. Ian’s voice continued.

[What We are about to announce is the hidden truth of the epidemic known as Vera. Many biologists of our kingdom have studied it, and among them the renowned Dr. Plank has informed Us that he has discovered something remarkable. That finding is that this epidemic Vera is, in essence, a manufactured biological weapon.]

“What… what is he talking about?”

“Biological weapon? What’s that supposed to be?”

“So basically, he’s saying someone created this epidemic on purpose, right?”

“Who… who would do something like that?!”

“Then all of this… was a situation someone made on purpose?!”

People could not help but be shocked by their king’s words. The very term “biological weapon” was something most of them had never heard before, so all they could do was tilt their heads in confusion. But they understood the part about it being created, and that was enough to fill them with shock and anger.

Meanwhile, the ambassadors and journalists of various nations who were listening showed considerable surprise at what they heard and hurried to relay the news to their home countries. In the midst of this, Ian’s speech continued.

[We do not yet know exactly who is behind the spread of this epidemic. However, We tell you that this secretive and despicable secret organization truly exists in this world, and they now have their sights set on this country. They have already attempted to infiltrate the royal palace several times. We do not yet know who they are or for what purpose they have committed these acts, but We shall ensure that they pay the price they deserve.]

Ian’s voice, calm yet filled with anger beneath the surface, sent a chill through many listeners. At the same time, a blazing fury rose in their hearts. A secret organization? To hear that such people had already tried to infiltrate the palace several times made it impossible not to feel enraged.

[Today, We intend to make known to all of you a new truth. It may well be that We are revealing one of the secrets of this world.]

At these words, people had no idea what kind of secret could be so great that the king himself would personally reveal it. Some of them were probably thinking, Surely not… with a sense of foreboding. And soon enough, that “surely not” was laid bare to the world.

[There exist hidden ruins in this world. And the existence of those ruins can bring forth monsters into the world.]

Ruins? Monsters? Everyone could only look puzzled, wondering what on earth he was talking about. Yet some people would have realized at once what King Ian meant. Right now, he was truly speaking to the world about a hidden layer of reality.

If an ordinary scholar or noble had said such things, they might simply have been dismissed as speaking nonsense. But for the king of a great power—the Polia Kingdom—to say this directly to the public, it amounted to stating the truth.

Ian had chosen to ram straight through. A story that ought to be hidden? He did not care. From the outset, he had decided not to cling to the idea that this secret must be kept from the world. In doing so, he was showing everyone just how little he cared about holding back once his anger was roused.

‘This essentially means admitting that I took that white crystal from the ancient ruin… but since they keep attacking anyway, it’s better to openly admit that I really have it.’

Of course, the white crystal had already lost its value. They probably did not know that, and even if he told them, they would never believe him, so he had no intention of clarifying it. With that thought, he opened his mouth again and continued.

[The goblins that appeared in the Marin Archipelago were just such a case. A ruin was discovered, and We assume that something within it was activated, bringing monsters into this world. We believe that the Kraken that appeared in the past likewise emerged under similar circumstances.]

At these words, people finally began to realize that the Kraken’s head and tentacles currently kept in a museum, and the goblin hordes that had appeared on an island in the Marin Archipelago, were deeply tied to these things called ruins.

Even as they realized this, Ian’s speech carried on. The key point was that he had not yet dropped the real bombshell. Beyond revealing these secrets, he also had a plan to immediately constrain the secret organization’s movements.

[Therefore, We intend to offer an enormous reward to anyone who brings back anything emerging from such ruins. If anyone discovers a ruin, explores it, and brings back the treasures within, We shall pay them ten million grang in Polia currency. Furthermore, if We judge that its value is higher, We promise an even greater reward.]

At this announcement, many people could not help but gasp. Ten million grang—an enormous sum that even most high-ranking noble houses would struggle to produce. Anyone who earned such a reward would live in wealth not just for their own lifetime but for generations.

‘That price is more than justified.’

Considering the power that had awakened along with his third ability, he felt there was value beyond even that. The thought of how flustered “they” would be made him feel oddly pleased, as if he had gotten in a small measure of revenge by throwing everything into chaos.

‘It won’t just be our own people who try to explore them. The empires will learn of this as well, and they will certainly turn their attention to ancient ruins.’

It might have been better to keep quiet under normal circumstances, but since they had shamelessly unleashed a lab-made pathogen as a biological weapon, he was meeting them head-on with a move like this.

For now, the empires were busy waging war and might not pay much attention, but they too would surely form exploration teams—either openly or in secret—modeled after his approach to go searching for ruins.

‘They really shouldn’t have provoked me.’

He had been minding his own business; they were the ones who kept coming after him. Now he wanted them to experience what it felt like to be properly burned. What was no longer a secret could no longer be kept as one. With this being broadcast to the world, the constraints they would face on their operations would surely be enormous.

He could just imagine their dumbfounded reactions to his move. And as Ian expected, the secret organization had indeed been left dumbstruck by the news of his actions.

“…This is utterly absurd.”

“That guy’s completely insane!”

“Who could’ve imagined he’d do something this extreme?”

“What are we supposed to do now? The world already knows everything we’ve been trying so hard to keep hidden.”

“What about spreading lies? Manipulating the press in each country so that people believe King Ian is mentally unstable. Then everyone would treat this as nonsense, wouldn’t they?”

“You really think that will work?”

“We still have to try! Because of this, it’s obvious that finding ruins will become far more difficult for us!”

“Besides, the emperors of the various empires have learned the truth as well. They’ll undoubtedly take an interest. Even if we label King Ian as insane, the emperors will accept this as truth.”

“It was bad enough dealing with the Emperor of the Magnia Empire, and now we have to worry about the other empires too?”

“The real problem is the reward that madman Ian put up. He offered the massive sum of ten million grang. And it doesn’t just apply within the Polia Kingdom—it’s valid for people of other nations as well. Everyone will form exploration teams and rush to find ruins.”

“Hmm, if we’re not careful, large numbers of people might flood into the sites we’ve been secretly exploring.”

“…Nothing good has come of anything related to him, including releasing that pathogen.”

At these words, they all nodded in agreement. The pathogen they had engineered and released was now spreading through the world as the epidemic called “Vera.” Yet the very country they had intended to destabilize, the Polia Kingdom, had successfully contained the epidemic through the unprecedented measures of lockdown and quarantine.

“What are we supposed to do about this…?”

“Still, what’s certain is that King Ian has effectively admitted to possessing it. If he knows about the ruins, it must mean he has it.”

“And what difference does that make? We need to accept it. King Ian is not someone we can easily touch. The more we provoke him, the worse the results become for us.”

“Even so, we can’t just give up! We need it to fulfill our great ambition!”

“Even so, if we push him, there’s no telling what he’ll do next. We must acknowledge that, like Emperor Jedic of the Magnia Empire, he is someone we must approach with great caution.”

Unlike before, their tone regarding King Ian had become cautious. His presence itself had grown into an obstacle for them. Their direct attacks had failed, and even releasing a pathogen had not worked, so what more could they do?

“Let’s choose. We have two options. One is to resume our attack on King Ian. The other is to give it time and take a patient, step-by-step approach.”

From this, it became clear they were not quite as dictatorial in structure as one might imagine. They exchanged opinions through a vote—in a way, a surprisingly democratic process. In any case, everyone wore deeply troubled expressions, and soon one of them raised a hand and spoke.

“I choose to take our time and act slowly.”

“I agree with that.”

“So do I. It feels like there’s some hidden power behind King Ian that we don’t know about. We shouldn’t act rashly until we understand it.”

“I also reach the same conclusion.”

“Let’s give it some time. We’re exposing ourselves far too much right now.”

“Agreed. We must proceed carefully. If we act on emotion, we’ll end up in an even worse position.”

“It’s better to postpone things and aim for later.”

“Same here…”

Before long, the majority had come out in favor of caution. Only a few, dissatisfied, kept their hands down, but the tide had clearly turned. In the end, they decided not to attack immediately but to bide their time and target King Ian slowly.

“Then, so be it. And now we have a report concerning the ruin currently under investigation.”

“Oh? Have we finally found a ruin?”

“Yes, we were fortunate enough to discover one this time.”

“Oh-ho, with that troublemaker King Ian making things difficult, we’d best hurry and finish our exploration.”

“Exactly. That’s why we need to concentrate our forces. It may end up being a race against time.”

Their original plan had been to proceed slowly and secretly, but now that the existence of ruins had been made public, they needed to act quickly. Everyone seemed to agree.

They too believed they had to move before large-scale exploration teams could be organized. With that decision reached, they began shifting their forces and moving into action.

The imperial palace in Noa, capital of the Magnia Empire.

“He’s really gone and stirred things up.”

Emperor Jedic’s expression carried a hint of exasperation. A secret was only a secret if it remained truly hidden. Once it leaked into the world, the secret of the ruins was no longer a secret at all.

“King Ian must be properly enraged.”

At Lisen’s words, Emperor Jedic nodded.

“Those bastards pulled something truly vile. Releasing a biological weapon, of all things.”

As he spoke, his face was filled with anger. Within the Magnia Empire, chaos reigned because of the epidemic Vera. Many people had been infected, and the number of infected continued to increase exponentially.

“Lockdown and quarantine… Could we even do what the Polia Kingdom did?”

“It’s certainly an effective method. But I’m not sure the imperial populace would endure it.”

“I thought as much.”

The Magnia Empire had a population of four hundred million. Its territory was so vast that there were places beyond the reach of effective administration. The idea that such an empire could truly withstand lockdown and quarantine seemed doubtful to him.

He felt it would probably be a better use of time to develop a treatment instead. They had already gathered hundreds of people with antibodies and begun work on a cure using them. He was confident a treatment could be developed soon.

The Magnia Empire prided itself on having the most advanced medical science in the world. As such, they believed they would be able to conquer this epidemic in short order.

“More importantly, it seems King Ian has it as well.”

“Princess Adrina seems the most suspicious.”

“I’ve started to think so too. If not for her, he would never have known.”

Once he became certain that Ian possessed it, he could only conclude that it must have been a ruin that would have remained unknown if not for Princess Adrina. Looking back on events, the fact that the two of them had gone together to the Marin Archipelago now seemed like solid confirmation. Reflecting on that made him think his younger sister was truly a troublesome woman.

‘How did he find out?’

“Shall we summon Princess Adrina back?”

“I’m not sure… what should we do…”

Emperor Jedic wondered if she would even come if summoned. King Ian might very well refuse to send his fiancée back to the Magnia Empire.

“Let’s watch the situation for now. And as for those people—wipe out every base of theirs we’ve identified.”

“Is that wise, Your Majesty? Wouldn’t it be better to investigate further and uproot them completely?”

“Just wipe them out. We need to show them that we are truly furious this time as well.”

“Understood.”

At Lisen’s reply, it became clear that the Magnia Empire had begun to bare its teeth at the secret organization. The intelligence service put into motion a plan to attack every base they had identified at once.

The number of such locations reached no fewer than thirty-three.