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Chapter 196: The Turncoat (1)
When it comes to the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs—specifically, the Bureau of Public Safety—there’s one word that encapsulates it:
Elite.
That’s because the Bureau of Public Safety is where they cram in every last talented individual they can gather from across the vast empire.
And why would they need so many brilliant minds?
The answer is simple.
“We’ve detected traces of the top-tier criminal Moritz in Louang, in the East!”
“What? That guy snuck into Yan three years ago to evade our surveillance, didn’t he?”
“Seems he crossed back over the border recently.”
“Unbelievable. What’s the Border Control Department even doing…? Louang, huh? Request cooperation from the Yellow Tower and dispatch the nearest investigators!”
“Also, anti-government forces have looted the Red Tower’s logistics warehouse in the Southwest.”
“...There’s no way those Red Tower bastards would just sit back and let that happen.”
“Exactly. They say they’ll handle it themselves—kill every last one—so we shouldn’t interfere.”
“Are they kidding me?! If we leave it to the Red Tower, they’ll burn the whole place down just to squash a few bugs. Intervene immediately!”
Maintaining public order, investigating crimes, safeguarding national security, managing special disasters…
And while the average person may not know, they’re also responsible for handling incidents involving ‘demons.’
People who don’t understand ask why the Bureau needs so much manpower—but the truth is, it’s still not enough.
After all, even ten strong men can’t catch a single thief.
And the enemies they’re dealing with are far worse than thieves.
“...Did we come at a bad time?”
“Whether now or later, this place is always busy.”
Oscar replied briefly to Fran’s comment as he crossed the bustling office toward the Chief’s Office.
Just then, a flustered investigator, having only just noticed them, hurriedly put down the receiver and stopped them.
“Hey! What are kids like you doing here?”
“We’re here to see the Chief.”
“What? The Chief?”
The man let out a heavy sigh, as if mistaking them for student reporters.
“Sorry, but the Chief isn’t someone you can just waltz in to see, so you’d better just—”
Whack!
A rolled-up newspaper smacked the investigator hard on the head.
Shrieking in pain, he rubbed his scalp furiously and turned around, eyes full of confusion and annoyance.
“Inspector Belz? What the…?”
“How can an investigator not recognize the Noble?”
“The Noble… wait, don’t tell me—you mean that White Tower…?”
His eyes, round as coins, now turned toward Oscar.
The irritation in his gaze quickly transformed into awe and astonishment—like a fan meeting their idol in person.
‘…Should I be waving or something?’
While Oscar seriously debated it, the woman who had shoved the man aside spoke up.
“I’m Inspector Belz Moria from the Bureau of Public Safety. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Oscar nodded.
They’d crossed paths a few times in the Free City of Baran and in Saint Hill.
‘She was the one working with Chief Walker.’
They hadn’t been formally introduced, but he remembered she was a Level 6 knight with a refined aura.
“Yes.”
“Follow me. The Chief mentioned you'd be visiting soon anyway.”
They followed her into a quieter hallway.
As they walked, she glanced back and asked,
“Do you take drugs or anything?”
“...Excuse me?”
“Sorry if that sounded rude. It’s a professional habit.”
“No, it’s not that. I just don’t get the question.”
Drugs?
If you included potions, sure, he’d drunk a few—but that obviously wasn’t what she meant.
In Bureau terms, “drugs” usually referred to narcotics or something similar.
“It’s just that your growth has been unusually fast. Like, beyond normal bounds. So I was wondering if you might be taking that new thing—‘Satori-X.’”
“Satori-X?”
Oscar frowned at the unfamiliar name.
Turning to his side, he saw Fran nod knowingly.
“Satori. It means ‘enlightenment.’ It’s a drug that supposedly deepens your mana and raises your level the moment you take it. There are rumors that several knights and mages broke through barriers after taking it. It's spreading quietly, but more people are secretly searching for it.”
“That kind of drug shouldn’t exist.”
“Well, it kind of does.”
Oscar turned to Belz again.
“Are you saying the drug actually works?”
“That’s right. And I believe you’ve seen something similar before?”
Seen it?
A drug that boosts strength like that—he’d never seen one—
“Ah.”
A memory suddenly flashed through Oscar’s mind.
Moira Main.
A woman born human, who lived as a Level 5 mage of the Blue Tower, and died as a demon.
“You remembered?”
“...But that drug turned people into demons. And NewTech was taken down, too.”
“We believe it all comes from the same root. Only, the current version is a more advanced form—tweaked so that anyone can easily access it.”
Belz gave a light chuckle and glanced back.
“You didn’t think cutting down NewTech meant you’d severed all their limbs, did you?”
“...Happy End.”
The massive drug cartel that had once meddled in the mayoral election of Baran.
Oscar’s hunch seemed to be right, as Belz nodded.
“We’re prioritizing our investigation into them too. The thing is, they’re far too cleanly operated to be just another cartel. Every guy we catch is just a delivery boy. There has to be someone higher up.”
“Then isn’t this a serious situation?”
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“The Imperial family is already cracking down hard. We’ve sent warnings to the Towers, the Sword Houses, and even the Academy recently. But... yes, it is a serious social issue.”
Nobody in this world enjoys harsh training.
Well—aside from a few masochists.
‘But a drug that helps you break through levels…’
It felt strange to say this himself, but in the end, this world was a battle of talent.
There are those who, lacking talent, train all their lives and still can’t surpass Level 5.
And then there are people like his past self—gifted by birth—who reach Level 8 in their twenties.
‘Especially those stuck at Level 5 or 6... there are many of them.’
From what he’d seen, their thoughts usually followed a pattern.
At first, they deny it.
They tell themselves they haven’t reached their limit, that it’s just a plateau.
But as the years go by—one, two, five—that hope crumbles to dust.
What remains is bitterness and desperation.
‘Can those people really resist reaching for that drug?’
Oscar fell silent.
Unless such an option had never existed to begin with, he couldn’t think of a way to stop them now that it did.
“Are there any side effects?”
“Of course there are. We didn’t classify it as a narcotic for nothing. It’s quite effective at first, but the more you take it, the weaker it becomes—and only a strong addiction remains.”
“So in the end, they become total wrecks.”
“The autopsy showed their mana circuits were completely ruined. Maybe that’s why most of them died from... let’s just say, bad choices.”
“……”
The “bad choices” she referred to meant suicide.
If someone who had pursued power to the extent of taking that drug ended up with destroyed mana circuits, the sense of loss would be unimaginable.
“In any case, I’m not one of them.”
“That’s surprising. When we first met... I think you were level 3?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He had just reached level 3 when he was active in Baran City.
Looking back now, he couldn’t understand how he’d made it out of there alive and in one piece.
“This is the room.”
Inspector Belz stopped at the end of the hallway and knocked lightly on the door.
–Let them in.
With Chief Walker’s curt voice, the door opened.
As they stepped inside, they saw a very different side of Walker than usual—sitting at his desk, rapidly going through paperwork with a pen in hand.
‘Doesn’t suit him.’
‘Definitely doesn’t suit him.’
Unaware of their thoughts, Walker muttered briefly.
“Just sit and wait for a moment.”
After sitting in the high-grade guest chairs for ten minutes, Walker finally finished the urgent documents and moved to the seat of honor.
He let out a faint sigh, prompting an awkward smile from Fran.
“You look very busy.”
“No need to worry. This is just the daily routine here.”
Shouldn’t that be more concerning then?
As the two tilted their heads in confusion, Walker looked at Oscar.
“You did a very good job.”
One might expect such praise to be flattering, but Oscar replied without a hint of excitement.
“Was there an attack?”
“I wish I could say there wasn’t, but unfortunately, there was. Which means there’s been a leak.”
Walker’s dark circles seemed to have deepened since the last time they met.
“So it’s true then. There’s a Black Finger mole inside the Imperial family.”
“That’s why, since returning to the capital, we’ve had two-man shifts guarding Neil Brion’s prison 24/7.”
To prevent assassination or escape, no doubt.
Nodding at the thoroughness, Oscar spoke.
“Has a trial date been set?”
“Two days from now.”
Fran, who had been listening, asked cautiously:
“Does a trial even matter for someone like that? He’s getting the death penalty anyway.”
“It does.”
Oscar explained succinctly.
“Like you said, Neil Brion has so many charges stacked up he’ll definitely get the death sentence. But the knowledge he holds is essential to the Imperial family.”
“So they’ll torture it out of him?”
“No. They’ll probably approve the use of the Crown of Truth in court.”
The Crown of Truth—
One of the Empire’s treasures, with only a few uses left.
The trial wasn’t about deciding the sentence—death or imprisonment.
What mattered was that only the Chief Justice could approve the use of the Crown.
‘Once we put that thing on Neil Brion’s head, we’ll uncover everything—his backers, his secrets, all of it.’
Oscar felt a sense of relief.
Even if there was still a mole in the Black Fingers, they likely couldn’t interfere any further.
“Please take care of Neil Brion’s safety until the trial.”
“You don’t even need to ask.”
With a short reply, Walker reached into his coat and pulled out a cigarette.
Just before lighting it, he remembered the two sitting across from him and asked:
“...Mind if I smoke?”
“Do as you like.”
“I don’t mind either.”
“Thanks.”
With a puff of smoke, some life returned to Walker’s tired eyes.
“Your energy’s gotten stronger. By any chance…”
“I don’t take that drug. I already heard all about it from Belz on the way here.”
“Then that’s a relief. I won’t have to arrest you with my own hands.”
“Sounds like it’s gotten pretty bad.”
“…I can’t name names, but people from all kinds of fields—people you’d recognize—have used it.”
Walker frowned as he continued.
“There’s something I want to ask you later, related to alchemy. But that can wait until after the trial.”
“Understood.”
“Also, you two will be rewarded separately.”
“We already spoke with His Majesty about compensation, though.”
“This one’s from me, under my own authority. Consider it separate. There’s no harm in accepting both.”
No one refuses a reward.
Especially not one from a Chief—it’s unlikely to be a can of tuna.
“Much appreciated.”
“Thank you.”
With that, they left the room.
Two days passed.
The day of the trial had arrived.
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