What?!
Bell Moore received the news while at the club.
Your car exploded.
Why? I had it well-maintained.
He said, swirling his whiskey glass.
-NO Ah.
Over the phone, Riley sighed in exasperation.
It blew up in the Intelligence Agency parking lot. It was a bomb. Your subordinate, Chaser Shion, got caught up in it.
Bell Moore was montarily stunned, his eyes blinking rapidly as he gripped his drink.
Can you hear ?
He flinched suddenly, recalling what Shion had said just monts before.
The operation was originally ours, Team Leader Bell Moore. So now, the director thinks you deliberately screwed them over
Handso.
A sultry voice called to Bell Moore from the seat next to him. He turned to look. There sat a woman with the looks of a celebrity.
Hey handso, what are you doooing~?
Her face was all flirtation as she cooed at him
Ah, fuck, what the hell is this.
Suddenly, all the pieces of the situation struck him like lightning.
Huh? Whats wrong all of a sudden.
The woman, who seed drunk, suddenly asked soberly. Bell Moore quickly stood up.
I have to go.
Ah handso, where are you going?
Sothing urgent ca up. My subordinate is hurt. Ah, shit.
Cursing, Bell Moore left the club.
Of course, there was no life-threatening injury. However, his body was definitely caught in the explosion.
It hurt, but it was bearable. I had lightly encased myself with Grawls power.
Were currently conducting an internal investigation.
In a hospital room at Libra dical Center, Riley asked while peeling an apple.
How did you survive?
Her face was a mix of admiration and surprise.
I looked at her suspiciously. Riley chuckled dryly.
I have an alibi. Besides, you almost died. It was a high-grade magic bomb.
Indeed, it was not an ordinary magic bomb. It had a circuit board integrated with pure magic.
Using a cheap bomb would have been too suspicious.
I shrugged.
I felt sothing was off when I grabbed the steering wheel. I used my rspectrumj right away.
Quick reaction.
Riley smirked, then handed a plate with sliced apples. I crunched on a piece.
Was it an inside job?
Well Team Leader Bell Moore gets around a lot, so its hard to say for sure it was an inside job, but for now, it seems like its from within
The door opened. It was Team Leader Bell Moore.
He walked in, fluttering a report in one hand, and sat down on a chair.
Wow. Hey Shion, youre still alive? I heard the bomb was pretty intense.
l've already explained it to Riley.
Really? Well Anyway.
Bell Moore started to say sothing but then subtly glanced at Riley. He crossed his arms.
Alright, Im leaving.
Riley pouted her lips in disappointnt as she left the hospital room. Only then did Bell Moore ask.
Was this Ged ley's doing?
lts not certain yet. Jumping to conclusions might just cause more conflict, so act normal for now.
Bell Moores face hardened. He let out a faint sigh.
I didnt think he was that kind of person.
People change, you know.
Ah, shit. For now, lets just assu it wasnt him and start the investigation. Ill look into it too. Im going.
Bell Moore stood up.
Team Leader Bell Moore.
I stopped him. Bell Moore just turned his head to look at .
What.
Be careful. They werent targeting , they were targeting you.
Bell Moore lost his words for a mont but soon nodded with a grim expression.
Got it, you bastard. Just rest up.
In the office of the Director of the Intelligence Agency. Gedley had also received the news about the bomb. It was quite a shock for him too.
If Bell Moore had been taken out, it would have been like picking his nose without lifting a finger, but instead, his subordinate Shion got caught up in it.
An internal investigation team is being ford as we speak.
Gedley snorted at his secretarys words.
An internal investigation? I'm the Director, who dares to form an investigation team
lts from the direct line.
Direct line.
Ged ley frowned.
Whom from thre direct line? Is it Derek?
I cant say that much
But it didn't matter.
It wasn't Gedleys own doing anyway.
lt could have been the team leaders doing.
It wasn't just Gedley and Derek who had squandered money on this operation. Team leaders had also secretly invested.
n who lose their senses sotis commit ridiculous accidents.
If they had just waited, he would have handled it himself, but being blinded by rage made things worse.
Check the accounts of the team leaders and find out who suffered the biggest loss.
If a direct line forms an investigation team, Gedley himself needs a tail to cut off. It's also a chance to tighten the slackened discipline of the Intelligence Agency.
No matter how much they lost their senses, internal bombing is an unforgivable act. Make sure to catch them.
Yes, understood.
The secretary bowed and left the room.
anwhile, Sheron was staring up at a sign that read [Castrology], her hands full of offerings wrapped tightly.
IS this the right place?
Despite her doubts, she trudged inside.
She cautiously pulled back the tent flap. A round table where people sat facing each other was the first thing she saw, and on it, oddly enough, lay a tablet PC.
Whats this?
Welco.
A voice flowed from the tablet PC.
7
Sheron blinked. On the screen, a man wearing a hat that resembled a hijab was sitting.
It was a trick by Shion to avoid detection of her frequency.
ls this how its always done here?
Sheron asked incredulously.
It's for the sake of identity protection.
Ah Well, I guess that makes sense.
Famous fortune tellers, after all. Anything could happen.
State your inquiry.
She took a seat.
Fortune Well, is sothing like inheritance fortune possible? Like power factions?
Snap!
Jesus.
The man on the screen imdiately drew a card. It was blue.
Is it a matter of people?
Sheron was startled.
Yes. It seems like internal information keeps leaking.
They say hes skilled, and he guessed it right away.
Snap-
He drew another card. This ti it was gray.
I see old faces.
At that mont, goosebumps erupted all over Sherons body, a chill ran down her spine, and her cheeks trembled.
Old faces.
Sheron was also suspecting the 'Elders!
Ma, ah, uh. Yes. 0, old faces. Among the old faces, who should I suspect?
Among the elders of Aventagher, there was definitely soone trying to sabotage her business.
I brought so files just in case.
Sheron handed over the familys top-secret information to the fortune teller. The fortune teller didnt even glance at it before drawing another card.
Hmm.
Then he suddenly paused.
Sheron swallowed hard. She perked up her ears.
And then
Start by suspecting the closest person to you.
Excuse ?
An old face who has been with you for a long ti. He is deceiving you.
The closest person who had been with her for a long ti.
Sheron mulled over the fortune tellers words and her mood turned icy cold.
Still, at Libra dical Center.
I remotely passed on the necessary advice to Sheron, pointing out the elder who would later betray her.
Now, the future would not repeat itself.
The reason I inford her was simple: if Aventagher grows, it benefits . If Eric becos the head, hell be manipulated by the elders.
But its not just Erics problem alone. Its a trick of Libra itself. Libra is weakening its competitors by spreading money among various roundtable families.
Among the various missions of the Intelligence Agency, many are just like this.
Once my access to information increases, Ill be able to see who the Intelligence Agency has been feeding money to.
H m m?
Suddenly, I looked towards the door of the hospital room.
I sensed soones presence. Soone was standing there.
I couldn't tell who it was.
Who's there?
I said as I got up.
Swoosh
With a slightly startled breath, the presence disappeared. I strode forward and opened the door. No one was there, but I could tell from the faint scent lingering in the air.
Johanna.
She had been here.
.
I smiled slightly.
Johanna of the regression wasnt soone who would co for a hospital visit.
Sohow, my strategy must have worked.
Shion Ascal.
Then soone called .
It was Professor Yu Hains.
Ah, Professor.
Co in.
He was my attending doctor at Libra dical Center.
Yes.
I welcod him in.
I sat on the hospital bed, and Yu Hains looked at the chart and said,
You shouldn't keep pushing yourself like this.
I know. But it wasnt that I was pushing myself; it just happened suddenly.
I raised my eyebrows.
Shush- Shush-
I watched quietly as Yu Hains checked sothing on the chart and then asked,
Professor, could you possibly get a pen and paper oh, never mind.
I noticed Yu Hainss chart and pen.
Could I borrow so unused chart paper and a pen?
I was thinking of drawing sothing.
As a way to repay Johanna for bothering to visit.
Johanna herself was also flustered.
Upon hearing the news about him, she found herself at the hospital without realizing it. When she opened her eyes, she was at Libra dical Center, in front of the VIP room where he was admitted.
She almost got caught by him.
IS this Gedley's doing?
Quickly, Johanna retreated to the chairmans office on the top floor of the dical center and asked Vitro.
lm not entirely sure yet, but it seems the target was not Shion Ascal but Bell Moore.
Upon hearing the news, Johanna was furious. She almost reverted to her old self.
But she knew Shion wouldnt appreciate her stepping in.
Were also planning to form an internal investigation team on our side.
Good. Find them and punish them.
Johanna sank into her chair, glaring at the chairmans exclusive monitor before squinting her eyes slightly.
By the way, have you found any records on Dale Ascal?
Ah.
Vitro, who was about to leave, stopped.
There are no detailed records, but we've secured a 'witness account that he participated in so experint.
A witness account?
Yes. About 17 years ago, he was involved in a Libra project. Its unclear whether he was a knight or a test subject.
Test subject. It was an odd term.
Vitro asked again.
Should I continue to look into this?
Yes. Keep investigating.
U n d e rstoo d .
With that, Vitro left, and Johanna monitored the hospital room situation using the chairman's computer.
What the
Her eyes suddenly turned sharp.
This crazy bastard has already been discharged?
VIP room 303, the very place where Shion Ascal had been hospitalized, was now empty.
He had been discharged.
Psychotic bastard.
Johanna suddenly felt enraged, as much as when she had first heard he was caught in an explosion.
Just he should rest.
Muttering to herself, Johanna left the chairmans office. She took the elevator down and arrived in front of room 303.
Initially, she thought about smashing sothing, but she hesitated.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump
Suddenly, her heart pounded wildly. The sound of drums echoed. Just the thought that he might still be inside made her nervous, causing her to break out in a cold sweat.
Silently, Johanna gripped the doorknob of the hospital room.
With a forceful pushshe flung the door open.
Ha.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
The bed was neatly made, and there was a single sheet of chart paper beside the pillow, but the most important thinghimwas absent.
Only a faint scent of him lingered.
That crazy bastard.
She gritted her teeth and opened the window of the hospital room. Just then, she saw the back of Shions head as he was leaving the hospital.
That guy never rests.
A man in poor health, with not much life left, what on earth does he desire so much that he grinds down his own life
Whoooosh
Suddenly, a small breeze blew in, toppling the chart paper beside the pillow.
Rustle
What seed like an ordinary piece of chart paper flipped over on the floor.
Johanna quietly turned around and picked it up.
Her heart sank.
Her fingertips trembled as she held the paper, and she let out a breath she didnt know she was holding.
It was a drawing.
On the back of the chart paper was a drawing.
The image of her, by the one who haunts her every thought.
A portrait containing herself.
Johanna bowed her head sorrowfully, staring only at her toes while biting her lip hard.
You too.
Just as she thinks of him, he also lives his lives thinking of her.
Broken by him
With a sad smile, she tucked her own portrait into her embrace.
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