Taken (5)

There were several steps Ian had to take in order to catch the puppet master, Rudeus Delmora, who was involved in Yuria's kidnapping.

'First, I need to find out where that bastard's workshop is located.'

At present, Ian does not know the location of Rudeus's workshop.

Ian raided Rudeus's workshop in his previous life when he was 25 years old.

That's an 11-year difference from now.

Because of that, most of the information from his past life probably doesn't match with the present.

Everything from Rudeus's current area of activity, major business partners, and even the workshop's location would be different from Ian's previous life.

Dark mages, by nature, have many enemies and are pursued by the law, so it was extremely rare for them to remain in one place for long.

'But that doesn't mean I need to wander around randomly.'

Just knowing Rudeus's name gave Ian practically unlimited ways to track him down.

Even just checking the business partners connected to the Dark Mage Association would yield countless sources of information on Rudeus.

'Of course, I can't just go poking around everywhere, either.'

Rudeus wasn't a fool.

If Ian made a scene and started investigating everywhere, word would quickly reach Rudeus that someone was after him.

At that point, the guy would immediately flee and hide himself. It would become extremely difficult to find him.

To prevent such disaster, Ian had to approach as discreetly and efficiently as possible.

'At times like this, it's best to use that place, after all.'

There was an information organization that Ian had frequently made use of whenever he needed intel, even in his previous life.

'Nightingale.'

It was an intelligence guild operating on a supranational scale; in reality, it was as close to number one in the intelligence industry as you could get.

No matter what you asked, they'd almost always have an answer, and they were famous for thoroughly protecting the privacy of their clients.

There were only two significant drawbacks.

One was that the guild's locations were hidden, and you needed to know a password to get in, so using them was very tricky.

Naturally, as an organization handling sensitive information about numerous power brokers, secrecy was essential to avoid being exterminated, and so they had to operate in the shadows.

The other drawback was the price; it was extremely expensive.

Since operating in secrecy meant fewer clients, and the limited profits meant they couldn't maintain or update such a vast amount of information without high fees, the cost of using their services was inevitably steep.

'But for me, neither is a problem.'

Whether the location is hidden, a password is required, or the price is high—it didn't matter to Ian.

Thanks to his past life's experience, Ian knew both the locations of Nightingale's branches and the passwords well enough.

And he had a special way to solve the problem of the high price, too.

If he used 'that method', he might even be able to use their services for free.

Even if, by any chance, 'that method' didn't work the way Ian expected, he wasn't worried.

When it came to funding, Javier, the leader of investigation division standing at his side, would take care of it.

"I need to stop by Nightingale first."

"... Excuse me? Nightingale? You mean..."

At Ian's words, Javier's eyes widened.

'The young master knows about Nightingale?'

Nightingale was operated in strict secrecy; most people wouldn't have even heard the name once.

Only veteran specialists who had spent years on missions involving tracking or reconnaissance ever knew of Nightingale's existence.

And yet...

'He shouldn't have gone on any proper missions yet... He's still so young for that. So how...?'

Finding out the Nightingale's locations or making contact was a difficult task, even for Javier, the investigation division leader of the Heavenly Sword Order.

Moreover, Nightingale moved its branches periodically, and once a connection was lost, it was far from uncommon to be unable to use them again even if you wanted to.

"Hm..."

Unfortunately, the Heavenly Sword Order currently had no connection to Nightingale.

No one in the investigation department currently knew the location of a Nightingale branch.

"I'm sorry, young master Ian...? If you're hoping for us to connect you to Nightingale, we can't. Our last contact with them was already three months ago..."

"Oh, that's not what I meant, so it's fine."

Ian waved his hand.

"I'm not asking you to connect me to Nightingale. Follow me. I know the contact location."

"Y-Yes!? Y-young master Ian? Do you mean to say you know the location of Nightingale's branch?"

"Yes. No need to go far. There's one right near the main estate."

Nightingale shifted its branches regularly, but there were some branches that simply didn't move, even after a long time.

Branches embedded within major cities like the Hisperion main estate or the imperial capital were usually just like that.

It was safe to expect that every major power's central city had at least one such embedded branch.

"W-What!"

At Ian's words that there was a Nightingale branch at the Hisperion main estate, Javier's eyes grew as big as lanterns.

'There was a Nightingale branch near here!?'

Javier had been working in the Heavenly Sword Order's investigation department for nearly 20 years now and was now its leader, and yet he was hearing for the first time that there was a Nightingale branch nearby.

'...? Why is he so surprised?'

Ian, instead, was taken aback by Javier's reaction.

'Don't tell me he didn't know there was a Nightingale branch at the estate? And he's the leader of investigation division?'

Hah.

If that was the case, then Nightingale's operational secrecy was even more thorough and secretive than Ian had thought.

To think even Javier, who was responsible for the investigative powers in all of Hisperion, didn't know about the main estate branch.

'They told me quite easily, though.'

The person who had told Ian the location of the Nightingale branch in his previous life was none other than Nightingale's own guildmaster.

'Well... To be honest, at that time the world was already half destroyed, so secrets and security didn't matter much.'

It was during the height of the war with the demons, and Hisperion had already been destroyed.

At the time, Nightingale's guildmaster, Serana, had requested Ian's protection in order to recover artifacts from the branch.

Of course, it wasn't a free request.

She offered to heal Yuria, who was gravely wounded and deteriorating by the day.

Ian, with no other option at the time if he wanted to save Yuria, agreed to her terms and traveled across the continent escorting guildmaster Serana to the Nightingale branches.

'Who would have thought I'd be using that experience like this now.'

Ian may not remember the location of every branch he visited then, but he recalled most of them.

A few spots were hazy, but he was sure that visiting them would bring back the memories in full.

Most of all, the branch at Hisperion's main estate was impossible for Ian to forget.

That day, the devastating, ruined state of the main estate etched itself like a deep scar into Ian's eyes.

"This is it."

Ian led Javier and the Heavenly Sword Knights to the entrance of a sewer just outside the estate's outer wall.

"Hm..."

It was a deserted, secluded place—an ideal spot to lay a trap.

Javier had a vague sense of foreboding, but—

"Keep following. We need to go in a bit further."

"... Yes."

He followed Ian without protest for now.

After all, the odds of Ian—who was doted on by the lord of the Heavenly Sword—plotting nefarious schemes against Javier, the loyal retainer of Hisperion, were exceedingly low.

'I've never been here when it was still intact.'

Ian ran his hand over the sewer wall, covered in orange moss.

This was the entrance to Nightingale's Hisperion main branch.

In his previous life, the sewer was collapsed, and he'd had to spend ages wrestling with debris just to get in.

"..."

Before opening the secret entrance, Ian watched Javier and the four Heavenly Sword Knights closely.

Each of them was tense, warily scanning the surroundings.

'There's no need to be this nervous.'

Ian decided to hurry and open the door to put them at ease.

If the escort forces wasted their stamina being needlessly anxious, that would only be a loss to Ian as well.

–Wuuuum.

Ian infused aura into the moss.

–Grgrgrgrgrgrgr...

The bricks of the sewer shifted like machinery, opening a new passage.

"Hm!"

"What the..."

"Un...unbelievable..."

Each Heavenly Sword Knight let out a low gasp of awe.

"My goodness..."

Javier, too, stroked his dry lips.

Who would have thought there was such a secret hidden in the sewers...

Despite being in charge of investigations for all of Hisperion, he never once imagined there would be a secret space like this in the main estate's sewer.

"Let's keep going."

Ian led Javier and the Heavenly Sword Knights down the newly revealed path.

At the end of the secret passage, there was a rock door glowing with a soft light, almost like moonlight.

"What's this..."

Etched into the rock door were the shapes of a full moon and a nightingale.

"Hah... T-This! It really is!"

Javier swallowed hard, amazed.

The full moon and the nightingale—emblems of the Nightingale Guild.

Ian had really brought them to a Nightingale branch.

"Y-young master Ian! How exactly did you know there was a Nightingale branch here?"

Even Javier, one of the people who handled the most information in Hisperion, didn't know about the Nightingale branch at the estate—so how could this little boy possibly know such a thing?

Just how did he get access to this top-level intelligence?

"I'm afraid it's hard to explain here. Forgive me."

Ian bowed his head slightly with an awkward expression.

He couldn't very well start telling Javier about his previous life.

Javier was certainly trustworthy, but knowledge of his past life or his return to the past was an enormous risk, regardless of trust.

Besides, he couldn't tell Javier a secret not even Sophia knew yet.

"Ah, I see... Haa, that's regrettable, but I understand."

Fortunately, Javier backed down easily.

'I'm dying of curiosity, but...'

The important thing now was finding Lady Yuria.

Javier decided to focus on that.

"Shall we open the door, then...?"

Javier placed his hand on the stone door.

–Wuuuung!

–[I shine on the world without a body, and when I disappear, all the world hides in darkness.]

In a whisper, the stone door posed a riddle.

–[Who am I?]

Apparently, the structure was designed to open only if the riddle was solved.

"Hmm..."

Javier retreated a step, looking awkwardly to Ian.

If he answered wrong and something went wrong, it would be a problem.

Ian nodded as if to say not to worry, then placed his hand on the stone door and said,

"The answer is 'light', brother."

–[Correct. Brother.]

–Kugugugugugu...

When Ian gave the answer, the stone door ground sideways with a stony screech.

"Hm... The answer is simpler and more direct than I expected."

For such a thoroughly hidden location, the difficulty of the riddle was actually low.

"It looks that way when you know the answer."

Obvious, direct answers always seem more difficult when you don't know them.

And in situations where caution is required, the easier the answer is, the more suspicious it tends to seem.

"Let's go in."

"Yes. We'll follow."

Ian's group strode boldly inside.

Beyond the rock door, it looked rather like a private room bar.

Right in front was the lobby and counter, and beyond that, doors lined a narrow corridor.

"Welcome."

As Ian and his party glanced around, a figure in a deep purple robe approached from inside and gave them a bow.

"Welcome. Knights of Hisperion, young master Ian, and Sir Javier."

The voice belonged to a woman.

"... Did you know we would be coming here?"

When the robed figure spoke their names, Javier questioned her in a wary tone.

"Hardly."

The figure in purple shook her head.

"I noticed you as soon as you entered the sewers. The only reason I know who you are is because your faces are so famous, even I know them."

"I... I see."

"Yes. But I absolutely did not expect you to open the way and come in here."

For a moment, a cold silence fell between them.

From beneath the purple robe, sharp eyes flashed toward Ian.

"How is it that you know our location and the password, young master Ian?"

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】