Chapter 938

“Ian really knows how to get things done.”

At Arena’s muttered praise, the other mages naturally nodded in agreement. After all, it had only been a day since they assigned Ian to investigate the Black Shadow Corps member, and already he’d brought in a suspect. They all stared down at the man, bound tightly to a chair, gagged, and unconscious.

“That’s right. He handles things so efficiently.”

“Did he even file a report?”

“Of course. He handed it over along with the guy.”

“Scary… When did he get so good?”

“Where on earth did he catch him?”

“The report just said ‘Ruggerspell district.’”

“But seriously, it’s impressive. I wish Ian would handle my work too.”

“Me too, me too.”

While the mages chatted idly around the suspect, Ian, now changed into fresh clothes, stepped outside.

He stood quietly, watching the mages. It was amusing to see them hunched over, scrutinizing the suspect’s face from every angle. Slipping on a pair of sanitary gloves, Ian called out to them.

“Minister. Seniors.”

“Oh? Oh, you’re here?”

The mages turned around in surprise as Ian nodded slightly, his hands clad in thin white leather gloves.

“Aren’t you going to work?”

We didn’t bring you here just to watch, you know. At Ian’s calm question, the mages scattered slightly, but their eyes remained sharp, glaring at him in unison.

“What’s with that attitude?”

“You’ve changed, Ian.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve changed!”

Back then, he used to rush over like a little kid, clinging carefully to their waists with bright, eager eyes. Now, with those leather gloves and a look that could tear a man apart, he seemed downright fierce.

Ian looked puzzled, silently urging them to explain more, but the mages wisely shut their mouths. Saying anything foolish here would get them in real trouble—with Ian and the minister.

“Ready the truth serum?”

“Yes, it’s prepared.”

“Remove the gag.”

Arena nodded toward one of the mages, signaling him to wake the Black Shadow Corps member. The mage wrapped magic around his hand and pressed lightly near the man’s heart.

Zzzzz! Zzzzz!

Thump!

The mage’s magic flowed into the man’s heart, delivering a brief shock—

“Gahhh!”

The Black Shadow Corps member screamed suddenly and snapped awake. Covered in sweat and dirt, his eyes widened in shock, frozen, unable to immediately recognize the people looking down on him.

Arena clicked her tongue, holding the report.

“Telling him to rub his heart just makes him groggy.”

“But it’s the most effective. He wakes up in a second. Why bother pouring water or hitting him around?”

“True.”

With a swish, Arena handed the report to a mage and approached the Black Shadow Corps member calmly, her tone cold and businesslike—as if she had no more time to waste on him.

“We’re starting the questions now. You just answer.”

“W-where… am I?”

“Ian.”

“Yes?”

No one responded to the man’s question. There was no need.

Ian stepped forward, holding the vial of truth serum.

The man’s last memory flickered—a boy blocking his sword with a fingertip, the mage who had bound his entire body. So this was the mage’s den… no, the Imperial Magic Department?

“Wait! Please spare me! I’ll tell you everything!”

“What did you do to deserve mercy? What a joke.”

“Anything, anything you ask, I’ll tell the truth!”

Hmm. Ian shook the vial lightly and glanced at Arena. She shook her head mercilessly.

“Give it to him.”

“Wait, wait! Ugh—”

Ian grabbed the man’s cheek firmly and pried open his mouth. The man struggled, but it was no use. A mage watching nearby chuckled.

“Ian, just shove it in through the gap in his front teeth.”

The strange-tasting potion slid down his throat with a gulp. Some spilled down his chin, but Ian didn’t care and poured it all in. When he finished, he frowned slightly in displeasure and peeled off his gloves.

“Okay, good. Hey, Black Shadow Corps member.”

Arena patted Ian’s shoulder in thanks and tapped the man’s forehead. The man turned his head, trembling with fear as he looked at Arena.

“Was what you said earlier true? That you’ll tell the truth to any question?”

“That’s a lie—ugh!”

The man blurted out the words before realizing it, freezing in surprise. Arena’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Effective.”

“Say that to Senior Ako yourself.”

“Nope, don’t want to see you getting cocky.”

What was going on? The man’s eyes flickered wildly, but Arena straightened up after confirming the potion’s effect. Now, it was just a matter of asking questions.

“Name?”

“…Kane.”

“Short answer.”

“Sorry, not sorry.”

Ian pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time. Since the man had spilled more than half the potion, the effect would probably last about ten more minutes.

“Alright, Kane. You’re a Black Shadow Corps member, right?”

“Yes, Nio.”

“Nio? Is that even an answer?”

Arena frowned in confusion. Ian added his insight.

“The truth serum compels the drinker to answer truthfully from their own perspective. His immediate response was ‘yes,’ but he quickly recognized and corrected it to ‘no.’ I suggest rephrasing the question more specifically.”

“Hmph. Got it.”

Arena crossed her arms and smiled.

“You were a Black Shadow Corps member?”

“Yes.”

“But not anymore.”

“Yes.”

“Kicked out?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Two summers ago.”

So he wasn’t currently with the Black Shadow Corps. They hadn’t disbanded right after Crony died.

Ian recorded every word carefully in his report. The scratching of his pen echoed through the underground prison.

“What kind of work does the Black Shadow Corps do? And who’s the leader?”

“The Black Shadow Corps does anything for money. But we don’t handle low-level scum. Mostly, we run errands and gather information for high-ranking clients. Guys like me did the grunt work.”

“Grunt work?”

“Delivering letters, organizing things, that sort of stuff.”

“You had a base? Where?”

“Ruggerspell, number 34. The green building’s basement.”

So that was it.

Arena had thoroughly searched the central districts back then but found no trace of the Black Shadow Corps. They vanished quickly, but mostly because they hid within the chaos of Ruggerspell, where dozens, even hundreds, of groups with names ending in ‘-corps’ or ‘-clan’ operated.

“Remember ten years ago, when Captain Crony of the Imperial Defense Department died? That was when Bariel rose, right?”

“Yes. The leader hurriedly disbanded and left the center.”

“Who is the leader?”

“Unknown.”

“Name?”

“Unknown.”

“What? That’s impossible.”

“It’s true. We only called him ‘Leader.’ We knew almost nothing about him. He paid us regularly, so why ask? It was dangerous.”

Sometimes ignorance is a blessing. Not knowing much about the leader might have been why Kane escaped the organization safely.

“All we know is that he went to Hwan Kingdom to lie low for a few years, then returned to Bariel a few years ago.”

“We found that guy’s business card at Crony’s mansion.”

“Then he must have been a regular. The leader only gives cards to special people. With that card, you can summon the Black Shadow Corps.”

“What?”

Arena blinked in surprise. So according to Kane, that card was a ‘summoning token’—a special privilege given only to VIPs to easily request missions.

But the mages couldn’t wrap their heads around it.

“That sounds like a lie. Isn’t the truth serum’s effect over? That wasn’t a magical item.”

“Exactly. If it were, we would have noticed by now.”

“Ian, you have it, right?”

“It’s in the office drawer.”

Could it be a device powered by magic? How else could it work without magic? Arena slammed her palm hard against Kane’s cheek.

Smack!

“How’s that? Say it hurts or you die.”

“It hurts! It hurts!”

“Looks like the potion’s still working.”

The mages suddenly grew serious, whispering among themselves. Ian, though suspicious, finished the report as calmly as possible.

“Let’s keep going, Minister.”

“Right. Tell me about the relationship between the Black Shadow Corps and Idgal.”

“I’m a low-level member, so I don’t really know.”

“Did Crony give any orders?”

“There are people close to the leader. The Black Shadow Corps’ affairs were handled mainly by them.”

“Damn it. Then what are you?”

“I told you! A grunt! I got kicked out because I tried to skim some money and got beaten up badly.”

“This is driving me crazy.”

Tsk. Arena sighed, brushing her hair back. She couldn’t get access to the core intel, but this guy would still be useful for piecing things together bit by bit. Snapping her fingers sharply, she gave the order.

“Go get his business card.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Just as Ian set down his report and started to head up the stairs, another mage coming down called out to them.

“Minister! There’s a message from the administration.”

“What now? Is it about giving a congratulatory speech at Romandro’s wedding or something?”

“…No, sir. It’s approval paperwork. Please check it. And Ian.”

“Yes?”

Arena grabbed Kane’s hair roughly, shaking his head silently in irritation. The other mages took the report from Ian’s hands.

“Someone came looking for you.”

“Who?”

“Beric. Kind of a… noisy guy.”

Ah, Beric.

Only one night had passed, and he was already making moves? That was strange. The response to healing magic was unusually fast.

“Honestly, I don’t know how he even got into the palace… He’s a weird one. Ian, he said he found your button. What happened?”

“Oh, yes. Something like that did happen.”

“Alright. Go on up. Minister, you’re coming with me.”

“Oh? Since when are you my superior?”

“If you don’t like it, you can carry those papers yourself.”

“…Fine, let’s go.”

Arena sighed deeply, about to turn away, but then paused. She signaled another mage with a gesture.

“Keep him secured. We’ll deal with this again tonight.”

“Yes, understood.”

Kane’s eyes went wide in panic.

“Secured? What do you mean, secured?!”

“Now, now, calm down. I’m so jealous.”

Ziiing! Ziiing!

As the mage’s golden eyes flashed and he approached, Kane screamed in terror. Having been harshly reprimanded by Ian before, his whole body trembled.

But the mage, expressionless, roughly placed a hand near Kane’s temple and injected a brief surge of magic.

Ziiing!

Kane’s head snapped back, and in an instant, he was out cold. Arena glanced at him with a worried look and muttered.

“Isn’t that going to turn him into an idiot or something?”

“Oh, Minister, don’t you trust me?”

“Lock him up tight. Let’s go.”

Leading the way, Arena and Ian left the underground prison. They parted ways to attend to their duties, and Ian headed toward the Ministry of Magic’s lobby.

“…?”

There, sprawled on a sofa like it was his own home, was Beric, casually tapping his toes.

Beric was fiddling with a button, turning it over in his hands. Spotting Ian, he jumped up.

“Hey!”

His voice boomed through the hall, and Ian already felt a wave of annoyance wash over him. He considered ignoring him and slipping back to his office, but Beric beat him to it. He charged over with a thundering run and shouted,

“Thief! Give me back my money!”