Chapter 446
Chapter 446
«Are you talking about Triana? I got her from the Golden Pig guild for temporary service. I must admit, these merchants know a lot about good gifts: they can give you a reusable attacking formation, or a beautiful girl and a bodyguard at the same time. They bought my favor, which they use now: I cooperate with them.»
Kyon’s words confirmed themselves: it is known that Triana wore the Bakers’ formation, many people can confirm this, and the Bakers are the hidden owners of the Golden Pig guild. The zero general surely knows about this. He also managed to anticipate the next possible question about how exactly he defeated all the participants of the forest tournament alone.
The head of the department trusted the investigation of the Hunters (3), because they know better than anyone in the empire how to track down the supreme beast, but until now he had vague doubts.
The man’s gaze, as expected, softened, and he continued his interrogation: «How could you escape from the underground auction a second before the explosion?»
«I wasn’t there.» – with these words, Kyon created a clone next to him from pure energy, ether and spatial attribute. He exactly repeated the figure of the creator, emitted his aura and could even imitate a voice, but once you scan him, it becomes clear that he is a clone, because he is hollow inside.
Lovr purposely did not want to show his real clone and reveal his ability to teleport to him. To reveal such a trump card would be the height of stupidity.
«Any more questions?» – the clone asked in a slightly distorted voice of a young man and dispersed.
The man shook his head: «There are a lot of blank spots in your answers, Kyon, but as a gesture of goodwill and gratitude for the destruction of the seven clans, I will not forcibly reveal your secrets. The same goes for the money you raised in the underground auction. Keep in mind, if your actions do not overlap with the interests of the empire, I do not mind.»
The zero general adhered to a simple and effective principle: I either control, or cooperate, or eliminate. It is impossible to control the messenger of the goddess, which means that there are two options left. Since Kyon has been trying his best to prove his usefulness to the empire and willingness to cooperate over the past year, killing him is stupid and unprofitable, at least for now, as long as he does not pose a danger. He chose the only right strategy.
A heavy stone fell from Kyon’s soul. It doesn’t seem to be a full-fledged interrogation, but it tickled his nerves as if an arrow flew past his temple. If the zero general had found out, for example, that Triana was a white tiger that was being chased by the Hunters, a catastrophe would have happened.
«Where do we start our cooperation?» – Lovr asked in a businesslike manner.
«Do not rush.» – the zero general raised his palm. – «Over the past year, you have really brought great benefits to the empire: you have rid the Iron Throne of demons, donated firearms to the army, and three days ago you have completely rid Dantes of the lion’s share of garbage. However, this is not enough for me to make sure that in the future you will not turn against us for personal gain. Let’s do a little oral test. Are you ready?»
«Test?» – slightly surprised, Kyon nodded. – «Wait, what do you mean “turn against you for personal gain”? I do not abandon my comrades for easy gain… Those are my principles!»
«The test will contain tasks related not only to this. Are you ready?»
«I’m ready.» – Kyon nodded.
«Great. Answer as quickly as possible. I’m starting. Whose life do you think is more important: a Rosarrian or three Saturnians of the same position in society?»
«If there is only one option to choose from, the three people’s lives are more important than one.» – Kyon immediately replied.
«Who will you give preference to: ten lives of poor hardworking men or one person with a surname who gives them a job?» – the 0th general continued coldly.
Kyon spent the next ten minutes answering ethically awkward questions. Admittedly, this method of studying personality is not bad, although it is too straightforward. Instead of having many hours of conversation, collecting the personality of the interlocutor piece by piece, the man asks about the main things, clearly wanting to find out what the life orientations of the messenger of the goddess are, whether he is a patriot, whether he is inclined to lie and much, much more in the same spirit. Of course, the entire conversation is recorded.
«And the last question: what is your purpose in life? You can take your time with the answer.»
Kyon thought deeply. Should I tell him that he plans to become the emperor of the world? Too risky. They can eliminate him now or in the future when they feel threatened. To bring good to the world? Even a child wouldn’t believe such nonsense. Pretty women and expensive booze? It’s a good option, but where is his harem of beauties then?..
Having come up with the answer, Lovr said with calm confidence: «I am driven by fate. They say that heavenly geniuses who possess five elements change history, then what awaits the owner of all nine elements? Without a doubt, grandiose accomplishments and feats. Maybe I will destroy demons and supreme beasts. I do not know. I am still too young.»
The zero general shook his head: «Fate leads everything to the benefit of those whom it protects. In world history, there are enough heavenly geniuses with a great destiny, but they created it themselves with constant hard work, and it favored them. If you are the darling of fate, you will become the most dangerous enemy and the best ally. You will make your way, and everyone who gets in your way will be trampled.»
«I have to agree with you.» – Kyon shrugged.
«The question remains open: what motivates you?» – the man repeated insistently.
«I want to challenge the sky.»
The eyebrows of the 0th general raised questioningly.
«Don’t get me wrong. I do not want to wreak havoc and destruction, my goal is the path to the unattainable and boundless sky. We live only when we move; we get pleasure not from achieving the goal, but from the successful path to it. Achieving the goal gives only a short burst of satisfaction, after which only the decay of meaningless existence remains.»
«So you just want to have some fun?» – the 0th general summed up.
«I want to live my life as brightly as possible.» – said Kyon.
«Judging by the test, your moral compass deserves respect, but if you give in to your impulsiveness more and more often, you will quickly lose everything human and turn into a greedy creature.»
«My principles are above my desires. A person without principles and concepts quickly ceases to act like a human being when power over other people’s destinies falls into his hands.»
«What principles are you talking about, youth? What principles are you talking about, youth? You killed several members of your family, blackmailed them for a large sum, robbed the whole kingdom with insane bets on the victory of the Stones, mocked the students of Cernos for no reason, and even killed Prince Charles! You look more like an inveterate villain than what you think you are.»
Kyon disagreed: «On the surface, this is true, but let’s look at the situation from all sides. I only killed those who tried to kill me. I robbed those who wanted easy money or owed me.»
{Or in debt.} – he mentally added and continued. – «Even during the explosion of the underground auction, my people took civilians away from the epicenter to minimize the number of victims. Having lived almost all my life as a beggar, I learned a lot about the world and the value of human lives. I always repay my debts and try to do without unnecessary violence. These are my principles, and I’m not going to break them until I die!»
The 0th general smiled rapaciously because of the fervent words of the messenger of the goddess: «Fiery speech, young man! Your blood… seems to be boiling with passion! You have so much energy of youth…»
A herd of cold goosebumps ran down the back of Kyon’s head, and the blood seemed to freeze. The man’s intonation and facial expression made him look like a real maniac. Usually cold-blooded, now he suddenly showed such a sudden burst of emotion…
«I have answered your questions, and now tell me: are you ready to cooperate with me?»
«What do you mean by cooperation?» – the man asked, resting his chin on his fingers. His gray eyes seemed to look at the interlocutor in a different way.
«Joint business management. Some tasks. I can help with economic, social and even strategic plans. Believe me, my knowledge will surprise you. Or, perhaps, you are interested in making me stronger, and then in the future I will definitely repay the debt tenfold. Or maybe you will somehow connect me with… with the great bloody empress, for example, and make me her disciple…»
«I’m afraid she will eat you.» – the zero general grinned. – Do not think about it. The only important thing is that you have not yet proved to me that you are worthy of becoming a representative of the Russells – someone for whom the empire will not spare colossal resources and who can be fully trusted.»
«Trust can be earned only by deed. Then check me out.» – Kyon demanded.
«What enthusiasm…» – the man muttered, closing his eyes for a second. – «Good. The condition is as follows: you will rise to the imperial investigator of the first rank. As soon as you cope with this, I will give the empress such a laudatory recommendation about you that you will instantly become her direct disciple, which, by the way, she has never had before. You will be the first one. Your authority in the empire will be second only to me and the master.»
«The first rank?» – Kyon repeated.
«And by the way, for the destruction of the underground auction, from now on you are the investigator of the second rank. My congratulations.» – he patted the fat man on the shoulder with a heavy palm.
The value of the imperial investigator of the 2nd rank is more than 10 times higher than that of the 3rd rank. Such people are treated no worse than elders from the top ten families. This can only be achieved by the best investigators, besides, as a rule, with a high origin.
The investigator of the 2nd rank can dispose of 3 investigators of the 3rd rank, 10 royal phasers, 3 of which are at the finishing stage, and 30 lord phasers. The investigator of the 2nd rank has a whole squad of powerful practitioners.
Also, the investigator of the 2nd rank gets access to the archive with documents of special importance. Kyon wanted to get there to do the same thing he did in Boston: he blackmailed the first 10 families for evading taxes.
However, his target is the 1st rank investigator like Milan. Such a person has a huge influence in Dantes. No one will dare to cross his path, by no means, everyone is trying to establish relations with him and give gifts.
But Kyon, having received the first rank, will become a direct disciple of the bloody empress. His status will increase so much that the investigator of the 1st rank in comparison with him will be like a bastard prince in front of the king, that is, someone almost insignificant.
«Thank you very much. Mr. Zero General, may I ask you not to put any espionage functions inside the formation in order to spy on me?»
«I will respect your privacy.» – he agreed.
«Thanks! And also… how do I get the first rank? Maybe I’m rushing things, but if the goal is clear, then motivation will increase.»
«Considering the recent destruction of the underground auction, I am ready to promote you immediately if you destroy the last shadow clan. With your talents, it shouldn’t take long. In a month you will take the oath of allegiance of a direct disciple to the bloody empress in front of the great guests.» – the man assured him.
{Destroy Valeera’s clan?!} – although Kyon’s face did not flinch, he was overwhelmed by a storm of emotions. Again, his personal gain gets in the way of this girl. Fate seems to mock the man with his «amazing» uck and, accordingly, continues to try to exterminate the last member of the Weber family.
Even if Lovr hadn’t offered Valeera a deal today, he still wouldn’t have betrayed her. He felt sick at the very thought of repeating the story of their first meeting in Boston again, and then handing the unfortunate girl over to the zero general (otherwise how else to fulfill the condition), who commanded the destruction of her family… This will not happen. The girl has suffered enough in her life.
The motive of the 0th general is also very clear: he wants to prevent the emergence of a megaclan. Since the messenger of the goddess has already completed all the cases of the “S” rank, except for one, why not offer the promotion and put forward a simple condition: close the last case?
As a result, for Kyon, everything is going, as usual, not in the best way. A request to get the promotion in another way will seem damn suspicious to his interlocutor. But the lack of results for many months will also ruin trust. Are there any other options? No, there aren’t any. Roughly speaking, he will have to pretend that he is trying to solve the case, and in the future come up and say that the head of the Silent Horror clan is too good even for him, please give me another chance with another task…
«Deal. You’ll see, I’ll do it in the blink of an eye.» – with a confident smile on his lips, Kyon said, shaking the interlocutor’s hand.
«Let’s hope.» – the head of the department replied in a frightening whisper.
Lovr left the office with mixed feelings. The meeting with the 0th general was not as pleasant and smooth as he would like. Such people are the hardest to deal with. They can have all the information, but deliberately provoke a lie, driving someone into a dead end from which no one can get out later. Also, in each of their words and actions, several non-obvious motives may be hidden, and the interlocutor tells everything about himself, without suspecting it. Also his strange reaction… And the smell… The man smells of blood. He is very dangerous and unpredictable, like some kind of psychopathic killer. He can only hope that one day his head will not be cut off through his fault.
When the messenger of the goddess left, the zero general sighed with relief and wiped off the sweat on his forehead: «This smell… I’ve never felt so thirsty before…»