Vol 4. Chapter 158: A Guest

Somewhere in the central district of Anvika, the capital of the Crimson Leaf Empire.

The Imperial Secret Investigation Bureau, the largest investigative organization in the empire, was located here.

Inside a dimly lit cellar, dozens of guards radiating a murderous aura stood neatly on either side of the passageway.

Under their solemn gazes, the cellar's iron doors opened, and the protective magic formation was temporarily deactivated.

Amid a flurry of noisy activity, several enormous tree trunks and the severely damaged remains of buildings were slowly carried into the concealed cellar by a group of burly men whose bodies were reinforced with battle aura.

After directing the men to arrange these materials properly, a gray-haired woman dressed in a black-and-gold uniform slowly walked toward the center of the cellar, stopping before her superior.

She then bowed respectfully, yet elegantly.

“General Boan, as instructed by His Highness Anmutu, the Second Prince, all the wreckage has been transported to the imperial capital. The first batch has already been delivered here. Please inspect it, General.”

“Mm.”

Standing before the gray-haired woman was a tall man with a rugged beard, clad in crimson-and-gold armor.

He nodded approvingly, evidently quite satisfied with his subordinate's efficiency.

After giving her an appreciative look, the man named Boan, one of Anmutu's trusted confidants, slowly turned his head toward the newly delivered 'evidence' nearby.

“What are the results of the investigation into those items?”

“Reporting to the General, not only were traces of Shadow of Silence Power found on them, but we also detected residual magical auras belonging to several members of the Black Rose Family.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes. When those members of the Black Rose Family entered Anvika's territory, they submitted magical energy samples for registration in accordance with the law. After comparing the samples, we can confirm that the magical energy remaining on these architectural ruins belongs to members of the Black Rose Family. In particular, the individual named Saiboke left behind the greatest amount of residual magical energy. This is the Research Department's investigation report. You may examine it.”

With that, the gray-haired woman handed the black document folder in her arms to Boan.

After quickly reading through its contents, Boan's expression gradually turned solemn.

However, beneath that solemnity was also a trace of admiration.

Admiration for his superior, the Empire's Second Prince.

“As expected of His Highness Anmutu. It's almost exactly as he suspected.”

“His Highness Anmutu's suspicions?”

“Mm. After entering our territory through Jiawu Pass, the members of the Black Rose Family did indeed encounter two incidents involving Abyss Demon 'attacks.' However, it appears they didn't actually eliminate those Abyss Demons... In fact, judging by the dispersion of magical energy, although they encountered the Abyss Demons, no battle took place at all.”

“No battle? That's difficult to imagine...”

The gray-haired woman spoke in astonishment.

After all, the inherently ferocious and bloodthirsty nature of Abyss Demons drove them to launch hysterical attacks against any living creature.

No matter how powerful their opponents were, Abyss Demons would continue charging at them until one side was dead.

Yet when the Black Rose Family encountered those Abyss Demons, the monsters hadn't attacked them at all?

It was truly inconceivable.

“Could it really be as His Highness suggested? Does the Black Rose Family possess some technology capable of controlling Abyss Demons? If so... could the Abyss Demon horde that attacked the Snow Night Empire have been brought there by the Black Rose Family as well? But aren't those people human? Why would they command Abyss Demons to attack their own kind? Could they really be planning to use the Abyss Demons' power to help themselves unify the continent?”

Various conjectures began emerging in the gray-haired woman's mind.

“That's still uncertain. Don't make wild guesses.”

Boan frowned and stopped his female assistant.

“We don't have any evidence establishing whether they were involved in the Skyvault Calamity. However... one thing is almost certain. Those people... definitely have some connection to Abyss Demons, and may even possess some special technology.”

As he spoke, Boan slowly turned toward a figure standing a short distance behind him.

It was a little boy dressed in ragged clothes. He looked extremely unkempt and thoroughly 'traumatized,' his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Although the two officers from the Secret Investigation Bureau assigned to watch over him had managed to calm him somewhat, his brown eyes remained filled with anxiety and agitation.

Upon noticing Boan looking at him, the little boy hurriedly spoke.

“W-what is this place?! Why did you bring me here?! Didn't you say you'd give me money if I provided information?! I've already told you everything! Why won't you let me leave?! Why did you even bring me to a place like this?!”

The little boy's voice was filled with unease and suspicion, and he repeatedly glanced around as though still frightened out of his wits.

“Don't worry, child. We're protecting you.”

“Protecting me?”

“Mm. After all, you're an important witness.”

...

...

“General Boan, who... is he?”

The gray-haired woman, who had only just arrived in the cellar, looked at the disheveled little boy in confusion.

Judging by his clothing, he seemed to belong to one of the ethnic groups living along the empire's borders.

“A witness?”

“Yes.”

After offering the little boy a few more reassuring words, Boan turned toward his female assistant with an exceptionally serious expression.

“And an extremely important witness at that. You must keep his existence a secret. Under no circumstances can we allow the Black Rose Family to silence him. Although we're in the imperial capital, there are still quite a few spies from the Sadik Empire operating here.”

“Understood, General Boan. However... may I ask what exactly this child witnessed?”

“Him...”

Boan glanced solemnly at the little boy standing nearby.

“When his village, Sase Village, was raided by forest bandits from the borderlands, Abyss Demons appeared. According to our previous investigation, no one survived the incident, and those Abyss Demons were subsequently eliminated by members of the Black Rose Family who happened to be passing through. But do you know... where those Abyss Demons came from? After all, no Shadow of Silence Power had been detected in that region for several years.”

“My apologies, General. I don't know.”

“According to this child, those Abyss Demons were transformed from the forest bandits' magical pets.”

“Transformed?!”

“Mm. And the person who transformed those creatures appears to have been... the young lady of the Black Rose Family herself...”

...

Meanwhile,

Inside a certain bookstore in Anvika...

After placing the last few magical books onto the shelves, a little girl with water-blue twin tails tied by an enormous blue bow walked toward the bookstore's front counter on her short little legs.

She looked toward the woman sitting behind the counter with a mischievous smile on her face.

“Mommy, I've finished organizing everything.”

At that moment...

An elegant woman with five or six magical grimoires floating around her was sitting leisurely behind the counter.

Surrounded by waves of platinum-colored magical energy, she was playing with an exquisite crystal orb roughly the size of a football.

Images resembling live broadcasts continuously appeared across the crystal orb's surface.

The woman appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old. She had a voluptuous figure, a graceful bearing, and an elegant, refined manner in both speech and conduct.

Her platinum-blonde hair was soft and beautiful, her skin as flawless as jade, and her lovely eyes sparkled with captivating charm.

Every frown and smile carried an indescribable sense of allure and maturity.

Her clothing was equally mature and seductive.

A sexy brown plaid dress hugged her voluptuous figure, while milky-white stockings held up by garters covered her long, slender legs.

Her beautiful platinum-blonde hair was loosely gathered with a simple hairpin, allowing it to cascade over her shoulders.

Combined with the fluffy, enchanting fox ears atop her head, her captivating, mature beauty was displayed to perfection.

Upon hearing the little girl's voice, the fox lady named Noya stopped observing the crystal orb and turned toward her adopted daughter with a cheerful smile.

Her platinum-colored eyes were filled with affection.

If she hadn't adopted such an adorable daughter, wouldn't spending every day following her master's orders and gathering information from around the world have been unbearably boring?

“Well done, Linxi.”

“Thank you for the praise, Mommy.”

The girl responded with a smile.

At the same time, Linxi seemed to notice the faint, mysterious smile lingering on Noya's face and couldn't help asking curiously,

“What's wrong, Mommy? You look so happy. Did you discover something interesting?”

“As expected of my daughter. You're quite observant. Indeed, I found something... rather amusing.”

As she spoke, Noya playfully stroked the crystal ball before her.

“Those fellows from the Sadik Empire—or rather, the Black Rose Family—have been purchasing military raw materials on a massive scale~”

“Hmm? But that's nothing unusual, is it?”

Linxi tilted her head dismissively.

“Isn't that perfectly normal? After the Abyss Demons invaded Skyvault, practically the entire continent has been worried about whether another large-scale Abyss Demon invasion might occur. Almost every faction has been expanding its military and increasing its defense budget. Although the Black Rose Family belongs to Yumo's side, they still need to maintain appearances, don't they? Otherwise, they'd probably arouse suspicion.”

“That's true. But here's the problem. Those Black Rose fellows have also secretly been purchasing large quantities of Black Origin Steel, Magical Magnetic Powder, and Pulse Particle Stones from the black market... and even from me. I believe they've bought several dozen tons by now?”

The instant she heard those words, Linxi's pupils suddenly contracted.

A flash of realization appeared in her eyes.

“Hmm?! Wait, aren't those materials...?”

“That's right~”

Noya nodded knowingly.

“The Kabodom Giant Cannon. One of Xue Tianao's 'inventions'~ Its primary purpose is to lay siege to cities and destroy protective barriers. And those materials happen to be the main ingredients required to manufacture that cannon. As expected of the Black Rose Family. To think they managed to obtain the blueprints without anyone noticing!”

“The Kabodom Giant Cannon... That thing wasn't designed to fight Abyss Demons, was it?”

“That's right. Its primary purpose is to attack cities and break through protective barriers~ In other words, it's a weapon designed to fight humans~”

“What exactly are those people planning...?”

“Hehehe~ Who knows~”

Noya smiled playfully.

However, she had no intention of answering her daughter's question any further.

Instead, she slowly shifted her gaze toward the bookstore's main entrance.

“Let's put that aside for now, Linxi. Get ready. We have a guest~ And quite an unexpected guest at that~”

“A guest?”

Linxi frowned slightly.

Holding her broom, the blue-haired little girl followed her mother's gaze toward the bookstore's entrance.

This bookstore wasn't somewhere ordinary people could simply stumble upon.

To reach it, one either had to be someone Noya wished to welcome, in which case she would personally guide them here...

Or possess such extraordinary strength that they could see through the bookstore's disguise.

Judging by the brief look of surprise on her mother's face just now, their unexpected visitor probably belonged to the latter category...

“Who could it be, coming here at a time like this?”

...

A moment later...

Under Noya's somewhat amused gaze, the gentle tinkling of wind chimes rang through the air.

The bookstore's main doors slowly swung open.

An elegant, graceful figure enveloped in black entered the shop.

...

“Welcome to Noya's Secret Bookstore~ Miss Youlan of the Black Rose Family~”