The Returnee's Hidden Strategy Stream

Chapter 48

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter: 48

"Hmm."

A man stood at the altar, dressed in ceremonial robes. Cowen gritted his teeth as he recognized the parted hair and snake-like eyes beneath the thick eyebrows.

"As expected, it's you, Barres..."

-Damn, lol.

-The main villain appears.

-He looks like a total JOAT no matter when you see him;

-But even with evidence...

-LOL

They had suspected early on that Barres had some connection to the Holy Kingdom. However, due to the lack of even the smallest piece of evidence, even the covert investigation had not progressed for a long time. In such a frustrating situation, the scene shown in this magical tool was enough to break through the blockage.

"You've come early."

At that moment, another man appeared in the depicted scene. The star emblem on his shoulder indicated that he was a bishop of the Holy Kingdom.

"It's been a while. Did the Archbishop have something to say?"

"He said that if the plan proceeds well, a suitable position will be prepared. How are the preparations going?"

"You don't have to worry."

Barres nodded, his jowls shaking. And then he spoke of the crucial 'plan'.

"When the war begins, Edlen will become a forward base for the great Holy Kingdom. I will dedicate my life to returning the Raven Kingdom to the embrace of God."

"A forward base...?"

Cowen's expression was filled with shock at Barres' shocking statement. He had expected that Barres might be connected to the Holy Kingdom, but the realm of war was beyond common sense.

The scene reflected in the crystal ball continued.

"Excellent mindset. When I said we would frame Mayor William as a spy for the Holy Kingdom, I was a little concerned, but fortunately, it's proceeding smoothly."

"Thanks to Brook, who has an inferiority complex towards his brother, things have worked out easily. He will be a puppet and keep his position until the plan is executed."

"Good. An expendable pawn is always necessary."

The bishop slowly nodded with a benevolent expression. Staring at the altar for a moment, he continued with a faint smile.

"By the way, I received a report yesterday. Is it true that William's daughter escaped from Edlen?"

The bishop, with narrowed eyes, was still smiling. Barres, meeting his gaze, answered without hesitation.

"Yes. But that was also part of the plan. If we had tried to touch his daughter as well, William would have fought to the end, giving up on the future of the city."

"You mean he accepted it, knowing his future?"

"William is a wise man. He knew early on that if he didn't sacrifice himself, the entire city would be in danger. But for that man, the safety of the city is nothing compared to his daughter's life."

-??;

-There was a story like this;

-Simply the GOAT.

-City or whatever, you have to protect your daughter.

-Will-father, I now realize.

Chats quickly popped up about the unrevealed truth.

The bishop, who was listening to the story, closed and opened his eyes for a moment and said, "...That's an insane paternal love. I understand the situation at the time, but what do you plan to do if that child interferes with our plan?"

"When that time comes, all the plans will have already been executed. If she's William's daughter, she wouldn't be stupid enough to dare bare her teeth at the Holy Kingdom. She'll live quietly in a foreign land."

Whether considering the past, present, or future, the Holy Kingdom was the world's greatest power. As the daughter of a fallen family who has lost all of its foundation, she wouldn't be able to dream of revenge. No matter how you think about it, it's a foolish judgment.

The bishop, closing and opening his eyes for a moment, turned his back and said, "This plan is important for the future of the Holy Kingdom. His Holiness the Pope is also watching, so keep in mind that it must not fail."

Leaving those words behind, the bishop left the altar.

Barres, left alone, slowly raised his bowed head and quietly muttered, "I can't hand it over to a mere bishop."

He slowly stroked the altar with his hand and let out a sneer. And then he looked up into the air and said, "I will definitely get my hands on the traces of the Spirit King."

Swoosh-

The light faded along with the last voice.

Everyone who was watching the scene fell silent.

Only the viewers were busy chatting.

-So Barres knew about the Norton ring;

-But why hasn't he targeted Lia yet?

-Does he not know she's in Edlen?

-No, judging by the fact that he lied about her escaping, he knows.

-It's like he just doesn't know Lia is Liventia?

-Does he have a problem with facial recognition?

-Kids grow up fast;

-In the first place, how would he know if she's living in the slums, lol.

The chat window was chaotic with all sorts of speculation flying around.

Meanwhile, a message popped up in front of his eyes.

[Main Quest #6 completed.]

[Received 50,000 gold.]

[2 stat points awarded.]

[Experience increased by 15,000.]

[Progress increased significantly.]

[Main Quest #7: Consolidation]

You discovered the projection magical tool inside the workshop.

It is crucial evidence containing Barres' crimes, his connection to the Holy Kingdom, and his future plans.

How can this be used?

Objective: Talk with Cowen and Lia.

Reward: None

*Current progress: 60 percent

'60 percent.'

Thanks to obtaining the crucial evidence, the progress increased by 10 percent.

The important thing was the simple objective: talk with Cowen and Lia. It was clear that how he continued this story would have a big impact on the progress.

"Phew."

Cowen, lost in thought, let out a deep sigh. Then, with a heavy expression, he said, "The situation is worse than I expected. I didn't know Barres was after the Norton ring."

He had already figured out that Barres was tracking down Liventia's whereabouts. But he had assumed that the reason was simply to eliminate the remaining bloodline. He hadn't even imagined that Barres would be aiming for the power of the Spirit King.

"The information about that ring isn't known at all, right?"

"Even Brook doesn't know. It's originally something passed down orally only to the head of the family. How he found out... I have no idea."

William didn't open his mouth until the moment of his execution. He only left behind the words that the executioner had worked hard. In other words, Brook, who inherited the position of the head of the family, did not receive any information about the family.

"But really, how did he find out? No one told Uncle Brook. Dad emphasized it many times," Lia also expressed her doubts.

Even if it was a childhood memory, the story about the ring was very vivid. Along with it was her father's request not to tell anyone, especially her uncle.

"The records about the Spirit King are torn apart like fragments. Unbelievable records appear in completely unexpected places. You can't even ignore a diary written by a coincidental witness."

"Indeed... That's quite possible."

Cowen stroked his chin and agreed with Hanbit's opinion.

In fact, the material from which Barres obtained the information was a diary of an adventurer collected from the black market. The time he acquired it was the day after William's execution. That's when he began to secretly track down the ring and Liventia's whereabouts.

'He knew she was in Edlen.'

Barres had recorded all the people entering and leaving Edlen even before the execution was carried out. Although he wasn't targeting Liventia, it eventually became a stepping stone for his goal.

There was one reason why he hadn't conducted a radical investigation until now. It was to avoid stimulating the traces of the Spirit King, who might go berserk.

"So, if we use this evidence, can we make my uncle and Barres get punished?" Lia asked, staring at the magical tool.

After a moment of contemplation, Cowen slowly shook his head. "It's strong evidence, but it's not conclusive on its own. We need evidence that records what plan they made and how they executed it."

"Where do we get that?"

"I have an idea..."

He turned his gaze to the blueprint that was placed next to the projection magical tool. The newly renovated Norton mansion and Barres' mansion. It was so detailed that the structure was clearly drawn in his mind.

"What's this red part?"

Lia, who was looking at the blueprint together, pointed to a peculiarly marked part with her finger. It was in the form of O's and X's written in red at several locations in the Norton mansion.

"I think it probably indicates the location of the safe."

"A safe?"

"Yes. This is something I heard from an acquaintance, but the location of Brook's safe changes daily for security purposes. I think it might be some kind of magical tool."

"...That's really suspicious."

Excessive caution that anyone would find suspicious. It was natural to think that the contents of the safe were not mere gold bars.

Hanbit continued the conversation with a question. "You're saying there might be other evidence in there?"

"It's quite possible. Considering Brook's suspicious and greedy personality, he would have prepared to betray Barres. It's about time he started wanting to make Edlen his own city."

It was publicly known that Barres was the one in power in Edlen.

Whatever their past relationship, Brook was the one currently in the mayor's seat. Naturally, he would want to monopolize power. It wouldn't be strange at all if he had been secretly preparing for this from the past.

"Wouldn't Barres have noticed?"

"This is just speculation, but Barres' perception of Brook is worse than that of a scarecrow. In that case, there are two possible thoughts he could have. Either he thinks Brook doesn't have the guts to betray him, or he's confident he can crush him even if he does betray him."

It had been quite a while since Barres appeared in front of Brook. The relationship and perception that had been fixed since then wouldn't change easily. That's how insignificant Brook was to him.

"In the end, we just need to steal what's inside this safe, right? I'll do it."

As the objective appeared, Lia stepped forward first. She thought her abilities were sufficient for the task, but Cowen thought differently.

He shook his head and said firmly, "My lady, I think it would be best if you moved outside of Edlen. No, you must go."

[Translator - Jjescus ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]