Chapter 118
I told Liana that it would be good to target the “Dark Mages” next.
Liana crossed her arms, pondered for a moment, then calmly nodded and spoke to me.
"In that case, it would be best to target Illeon, the Dark Mage Executive we failed to capture last time."
I nodded, recalling the man named Illeon whom we hadn't managed to kill in The North.
Liana sighed and said to me.
"The only problem is that we don't know where Illeon is."
Dark Mages have a characteristic of hiding in obscure places, like cockroaches.
It seemed even Liana couldn't pinpoint Illeon's location.
At her words, I thought for a moment before offering an idea.
"Then, who would know where Illeon is?"
"There are many who are connected to him... but Damian, you... *Sir*, as you know. Dark Mages tend to cunningly mix lies with 'truth,' even among those they consider close. So, I doubt any of them truly know the truth."
In short, even if we were to capture and interrogate someone connected to him.
The chances of what they say being true are extremely low.
*It's probably not just untrue, but likely a trap.*
Therefore, she concluded that capturing and interrogating those connected would be inefficient, and continued speaking to me.
"Of course, it's not like there's no way at all. We could set a trap and wait or wait until information gathers..."
The moment I heard Liana's words, a brilliant idea struck me.
"Right. We can do that!"
"Huh?"
"We can make Illeon come out on his own."
"...?"
Liana blinked, seemingly not quite understanding my words, and stared at me.
I chuckled, looking at Liana, and then added a detailed explanation.
"Didn't you just say you knew people connected to Illeon?"
"Yes, that's right."
"If we round up all those guys and take them *hostage*, wouldn't he have no choice but to come out, even if he doesn't want to?"
"..."
Liana stared at me, somewhat aghast at my words.
Wondering why she reacted that way, I asked Shiren for her opinion.
"I like anything Damian does."
A positive answer came back.
As I nodded, listening to this, Ruen, who was beside me, suddenly nodded vigorously, sending me a signal of approval.
"Me too! I was thinking the same thing."
"Thanks, Ruen."
"Don't mention it."
Since the “Older Brother” incident, Ruen seemed to have decided to be more proactive, looking at me with fervent eyes.
Of course, as a man myself, I didn't dislike it, so I accepted it and then said to Liana.
"Majority rules."
"You *madman*."
I waved my hand at Liana, who was showering me with 'praise' and feeling smug before me.
Deciding it was time to stop teasing, I spoke to Liana.
"There isn't really any other way besides this, so it seems best to choose it. And besides, anyone involved with a High-ranking Dark Mage Executive probably isn't normal anyway, so it shouldn't matter much."
Liana didn't seem to genuinely disagree either, as she just nodded without any counter-arguments.
*Indeed, if she were the type to genuinely oppose such things, she would have stopped my acts of terror long ago.*
With that thought, I said calmly.
"Then, compile a list of all the people connected to him and let me know. We'll *gently* abduct them and hold them in one place for now."
"Yes. I'll also mark their importance separately and deliver it to you."
I nodded in thanks, then decided to attend to other matters until the list was ready.
*Since I have some free time, should I visit the House Karsaril?*
Since I had reached the Highest-grade Expert level, it seemed appropriate to inform them, so I decided to make a visit, and I stood up.
*
Since Liana had to gather information and Ruen wasn't supposed to be out and about.
Only Shiren, Lorraine, and I went out and headed towards the House Karsaril estate.
"Young Master Damian, welcome to the House Karsaril."
When I reached the main gate, the Knights guarding it politely greeted me and opened the doors.
Thinking that security had become very strict since the Terrorist Incident, I accepted their greetings and entered, spotting Sister Lilia training.
*She's working hard.*
As I watched her, I approached.
The moment Sister Lilia spotted me, she smiled brightly and rushed towards me.
"My dear brother!"
Then she began to examine me, touching my face with her hands.
"Why are you so thin? You *are* eating, aren't you? Oh, this won't do. First, you need to eat..."
"I have something to tell you."
"Hm? What is it?"
At her words, I stated only the facts, indifferently.
"I've become a Highest-grade Expert."
"Uh... what?"
At my words, Sister Lilia froze, then put her hand on my forehead with an awkward, worried expression.
"Really? Is that so?"
Judging by her reaction, it seemed she thought I was lying.
Finding her reaction amusing, I was wondering how to convince her that reaching Highest-grade Expert was the truth.
Just then, Lorraine, who was behind me, subtly stepped forward and told Sister Lilia the truth.
"Even I can hardly believe it, but Young Master has become a Highest-grade Expert."
"Oh...? Really?"
"Yes."
"..."
At Lorraine's words, Sister Lilia stared at me, still frozen.
Then, with a greatly surprised expression, she called out to me.
"*Youngest*, what, what?! How did you do it? Isn't our dear brother truly a genius? No, you're even more amazing than a genius, aren't you? Is it okay to be this incredible?!"
I had told her to boast a little, but her reaction was so over-the-top that I was actually quite flustered.
As I was trying to calm Sister Lilia, who kept repeating how amazing I was,
Sister Lilia seemed to remember something, gently pushing my back as she spoke.
"Go quickly and boast to Father! He'll be so happy, you know? His face might be stern, but he truly cherishes you, my dear brother, so he'll be thrilled."
While one reason for coming here was simply to pay my respects.
Another was to warn them that the Dark Mages or the Order might target the House Karsaril, so I thought it best to inform them of my new level while also delivering the warning, and nodded.
*
After that, I headed to the Office, where Damian's Father, Dominic Karsaril, as he gazed at me and spoke, seemed to have known I was coming.
"You've become the Highest-grade Expert. Congratulations."
A calm yet sincere compliment.
Finding such praise strangely, unusually pleasant, I awkwardly scratched my cheek.
I calmly shook off these feelings and expressed my gratitude.
"Thank you."
"Indeed."
Though mutual trust had built up through various incidents, it didn't mean we had become close.
The moment the pleasantries ended, only silence flowed, and I felt an urge to say something, anything.
Therefore, I spoke to the Family Head, intending to deliver one of the reasons for my visit: a 'warning'.
"We are already prepared, so do not worry."
A slightly different answer than I expected came back to me.
"I don't know how much you know. But if you are close to the truth, you will roughly understand my words. So, I will omit the explanation and speak plainly."
Seeing him speak so vaguely, I wondered if he was testing how much I knew.
The Family Head looked at me and calmly continued speaking.
"Originally, the House Karsaril was not meant to be involved in such matters. However, after discovering that the Dark Mage Faction had interfered excessively with the House Karsaril, we naturally became deeply entangled as we pushed them back."
What did “such matters” mean?
I couldn't know precisely, but as soon as the countless incidents I'd witnessed melted into my intuition, a hypothesis bloomed in my mind.
*He seems to be talking about why the Dark Mages, the Order, and the Imperial Family joined forces.*
On my mind was the reason why groups that were realistically impossible to be intertwined had become so.
I wondered if he was talking about that very reason.
He continued speaking.
"Because of that, the Containment from the Imperial Faction and the Order Faction intensified. We were experiencing considerable difficulties in managing the House, but recently, the continuous occurrence of *Unidentified Terrorist Incidents* has greatly alleviated all these problems."
"..."
*The Unidentified Terrorist Incidents must be referring to the acts of terror I committed.*
I feigned ignorance and nodded.
He smiled faintly at me, then looked at me and spoke.
"With the leeway created, we've not only focused on managing the House but also significantly strengthened our defenses. So, even if problems arise, they won't be too difficult to resolve. Don't worry too much."
"That's a relief then."
"Indeed."
Though his words were stiff, his deep care for Damian was palpable.
I nodded at his words and expressed my gratitude.
*
After that, I met Damian's Mother, Brother Aiden, and other family members.
After greeting my family, I returned directly to my room.
As I returned to my room, Shiren scurried over, took my clothes, and said...
"You worked hard."
"...Thanks."
"Mm-hm."
It seemed she had seen scenes of someone tidying clothes for another in a romantic tale.
Though clumsy, she diligently tried to imitate it, haphazardly folding my clothes.
I smiled, finding Shiren cute, then slowly met her gaze and spoke.
"Anyway, Shiren. I have something to ask you."
"Yes?"
"Are there, by any chance, any *Traces of Dark Mages* left in the House Karsaril?"
At my question, Shiren pondered for a moment, then nodded.