Chapter 76

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Chapter 76: The Special Operations Division (1)

The White Tower, which had finally found some peace, was quiet.

The White Anvil tribe was busy modifying bikes on the 13th floor, and the squabbles between the delivery and potion departments had died down.

‘I’ve finally got some free time, but…’

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much room to slack off.

He needed to draft the recruitment criteria and training programs for the upcoming “Wind Tribe” hires.

‘First, for the hiring criteria, focus on criminal records and personality. For the training content, base it on the royal family’s established driving test…’

While his pen steadily created a detailed manual, there was a knock at the door.

‘Who could it be at this hour?’

Turning his attention to the door, Oscar froze.

He couldn’t sense any presence beyond it.

‘Someone skilled enough to evade my magic detection?’

To his knowledge, only a handful of people in this tower could do that.

And even among those few, none had any reason to conceal their presence.

‘Which means, it’s most likely an outsider.’

Oscar pressed himself close to the door and asked,

“Who’s there?”

Silence.

As the chilling atmosphere caused his eyes to narrow, a voice finally broke through.

- I’m here on behalf of the royal palace.

It wasn’t something he could easily ignore.

At the same time, a comment from the lord of Vince before he left came to mind.

"They’ll likely send someone from the royal palace to meet you soon."

So the time had come.

Swallowing hard, Oscar prepared for any sudden attack as he slowly opened the door.

Standing in the corridor was a tall man dressed in a suit, hands clasped behind his back.

Wearing a broad smile, the man spoke warmly,

“May I come in?”

“...Please do.”

The man stepped inside, quickly scanning the room before pausing.

“Do you share this room with someone else?”

“I live alone. Why do you ask?”

“Hmm. It’s part of my job to examine the layout of a space as soon as I enter. Just by doing that, I can glean a bit about its occupant’s personality. But this room... it feels like it holds two personas.”

“...”

Oscar was taken aback.

He hadn’t expected someone to deduce so much just from the state of his room.

“Impressive. So what do you make of it?”

“Normally, it would mean the room has had multiple occupants. But if that’s not the case, then the owner has undergone a significant change. For instance...”

The man’s smiling eyes met Oscar’s.

“...Something like amnesia.”

“...Wow, that’s uncanny. Look at the goosebumps on my arm.”

Oscar held out his arm in amazement.

The man chuckled heartily, scratching the back of his head.

“Oh, come on. This is just what I do for a living, but I’m flattered.”

“Truly impressive. Oh, by the way, I’m Oscar Crucian, a 3rd-level mage of the White Tower.”

In response, the man pulled a card from his inner pocket and handed it over.

“Nebula Graim, Special Investigation Bureau under the Royal Ministry of Internal Affairs.”

“The Royal Ministry of Internal Affairs... Special Investigation Bureau...”

Oscar had never heard of such a department.

It must have been established after his previous life.

“Forgive me, I’m not well-versed in royal institutions. What exactly does your bureau do?”

“Hmm, well, we handle all sorts of things, but our primary mission is straightforward.”

With a bright smile, Nebula answered,

“To track and trace the presence of demons hiding within this land.”

“...Are there demons within the Empire?”

“Who’s to say? Assuming not a single one has infiltrated this vast Empire would be a bit optimistic, don’t you think?”

“This could be a long conversation. Please, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”

“No need, thank you. Time is short, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

Seated on the sofa, Nebula asked,

“How did you resolve your mana loss?”

Starting with the hard questions, huh?

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Oscar responded,

“I can tell you, but I need one assurance.”

“What kind of assurance?”

“That you’re an ally. That you’re someone I can trust with my secrets.”

“Being from the royal palace isn’t enough... Ah.”

Realizing the implication of Oscar’s words, Nebula nodded.

“Fair enough. I rushed in too eagerly. There’s a process for this, after all.”

He pulled a document from his pocket and signed it.

“This is a pledge issued by the El Terra Church. Read through it and sign if you’re satisfied.”

“Let me confirm it first.”

After inspecting the document, Oscar nodded.

“It’s genuine.”

“You’re quite the skeptic. Not that I’m complaining—it’s a compliment, honestly.”

Nebula’s faint smile suggested he was genuinely impressed.

“Nowadays, people tend to trust anything labeled ‘royal.’ It makes my job easier, sure, but it’s worrisome. What if I weren’t actually from the royal palace?”

“Indeed, people today can be rather lax about their personal security.”

“Exactly my point.”

The pledge’s terms were simple:

If any of Nebula’s words—past or future—were false, he would burn to death on the spot.

On the other hand, Oscar faced minimal risk; the parchment would simply turn red if he lied.

“You’re okay with such one-sided terms?”

“Of course. It’s all about earning trust.”

After signing, Oscar spoke.

“Does this mean that if you are from the Imperial Court, you work exclusively for His Majesty, the Emperor?”

“Oh?”

Nebula, who was used to testing others but not being tested himself, nodded his head.

“That’s correct. The Special Division is a direct organization under His Majesty, and we follow only his orders.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Good.”

He didn’t know the current power dynamics of the Imperial Court or who held key positions.

The only person he could trust in this situation was the Emperor himself.

“Then, could you answer my question now?”

“Oh, the Mana Loss Syndrome? It’s simple. I wasn’t a victim of it.”

“…Excuse me? What do you mean?”

A slightly flustered Nebula glanced at the Pact Scroll, but its color remained unchanged.

“I mean it literally. My body’s circuits were intentionally sealed by someone.”

“…Intentionally? Do you have any idea who the culprit might be?”

“That much, I don’t know.”

“Hmm, you must have gone through a tough time.”

Oscar didn’t respond and merely gave a bitter smile.

Little Oscar had indeed suffered, but claiming it as his own experience felt complicated.

“I’ll report this to the Imperial Court. We need to investigate whether it was the act of a jealous mage, a faction, or perhaps even demons.”

“If you do that, I’d be grateful.”

“You know why I visited today, don’t you?”

“Yes, it’s because of the incident in the Vince territory, isn’t it?”

“That’s correct.”

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Nebula elaborated further.

“Did you know this isn’t your first encounter with demons?”

“…I had no idea.”

“The Cadena Flu that spread in Vince was also a case where demons were involved. Since they can’t act directly in the continent, they likely…”

“Relied on the Black Fingers.”

“Exactly. And planting the Heavenly Silkworm Egg in the Magic Power Plant was also their doing. The traces match those of a Black Finger operative we’ve been tracking, so we’re 100% certain.”

Oscar’s brows furrowed.

The Black Fingers were proving far more active than he had anticipated.

“Why would they betray humanity to side with demons?”

“Our investigations suggest it’s to become what they call the ‘New Humanity.’”

“New Humanity… A Black Finger operative I dealt with in Vince said the same thing. What is that?”

“Simply put, humans transformed to resemble demons. They call it a blessing and collaborate with demons to achieve this state. We call them ‘Demonic Humans.’”

“That sounds impossible…”

“We think so too. For now, it’s just a rumor; no evidence has surfaced yet.”

Nebula’s gaze deepened.

“However, over the years, demons have been conducting various experiments using monsters. We suspect their ultimate goal is to mass-produce Demonic Humans.”

“….”

As the atmosphere in the room grew heavy, Nebula skillfully changed the topic.

“Our organization has a significant interest in you, Mr. Oscar.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Although your level is low, your encounters with demons have been abnormally frequent. Recently, you even survived an indirect encounter with the Nightmare Baron.”

True enough.

Whether by design or coincidence, every case he touched seemed to be connected to them.

“For this reason, His Majesty has issued an order to reexamine the drug cartel, Happy End. He suspects they may not be just a cartel.”

“Haha, surely not.”

Oscar laughed awkwardly.

If that were true, it would mean every incident he’d been involved in since arriving here was tied to demons.

“Well, I agree it sounds far-fetched. But you never know. If they’re connected to the Black Fingers, you might be caught in a whirlwind of destiny far greater than you imagine.”

With those enigmatic words, Nebula checked his watch and stood up.

“It’s getting late. I should take my leave. One last piece of advice, out of personal goodwill—focus on building your track record.”

“My track record?”

“Yes, your record with the White Tower. Without more accomplishments, you might face difficulties during the White Night Festival.”

“….”

This was undoubtedly a warning about the “Expulsion from the Four Towers” motion.

Oscar’s expression hardened as he nodded.

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Well, even without my advice, you’ll soon find yourself in a position to build those accomplishments.”

A position to build accomplishments?

Oscar wanted to ask more, but Nebula tore the Pact Scroll and gave him a slight nod.

“Then, I’ll take my leave. We’ll be watching.”

“….”

Watching him, huh?

Would that gaze hold only goodwill?

* * *

The next day, after lunch, Oscar was summoned by the Deputy Tower Master.

The room, as always, was filled with the crisp scent of phytoncides.

“You really like pine needle tea, don’t you?”

“The scent is pleasant, and it helps clear the mind. I drink it often.”

With a soft pour, Deputy Tower Master Hamel filled a cup.

“How was your meeting with the Imperial envoy?”

“So, you knew?”

“Well, they were meeting a White Tower mage, so we received a report.”

Oscar nodded.

“Yes, the discussion went well.”

“Good to hear. Did they say anything about accomplishments?”

“How did you…?”

“The Imperial Court sent an official directive. Each Magic Tower is to establish a new department.”

He had a hunch about the department’s purpose.

“Is it to counter the Black Fingers?”

“Well, that’s part of it, but it’s not the sole purpose.”

The Deputy Tower Master smiled faintly as he continued.

“The official name is the Special Operations Department. In short, Special Ops.”

“Special Ops… What would they be tasked with?”

“They’ll handle incidents in the northern territories, including Sirin. Think of it like the Magic Power Plant incident.”

In other words, a department for handling all the messy, miscellaneous tasks.

Then, a suspicion crossed Oscar’s mind, and he asked:

“Are you telling me this because…?”

“That’s right.”

The Deputy Tower Master nodded.

“The Imperial Court specifically requested that you, Oscar, lead this department for the White Tower.”

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