Chapter 5. The Ability Management Bureau
“Stop right there!”
Immediately, people appeared, blocking Radel’s path.
Armandy recognized them. They happened to be his juniors.
‘Damn it.’
They seemed to recognize Armandy too, and briefly hesitated. His appearance was wretched.
“R-release him!”
Still, the juniors had loyalty. They attempted to rescue Armandy.
However, Radel didn't even blink.
“Why should I do that?”
“That is...”
“This man is a criminal who dared to attempt the assassination of a member of the Imperial family. I cannot easily hand him over.”
“...?!”
The juniors' eyes widened. They looked at each other, then back at Armandy.
Their gaze was one that questioned if he was caught after even attempting to assassinate a member of the Imperial family.
‘There’s no way that’s true!’
Armandy let out a desperate gasp of lamentation.
“Gasp!”
As if he understood that, Radel nodded, looking at Armandy.
“Don’t worry. If I put it this way, everyone will know how hard Armandy worked. If he goes back like this, he’ll be scolded for failing the mission.”
“Mmh! Mmh! (That’s making it worse!)”
“I’ll explain it well. Armandy worked hard; he was just unlucky.”
‘Gasp! Sob! (Shut up! Shut up, please!)’
The juniors' gazes were becoming increasingly strange.
It was a look that questioned how someone, who not only got caught while on a secret mission but also attempted assassination, was being comforted by his target.
Armandy felt like he was going crazy.
This 8th Prince was the very devil sent to ruin him.
How was he supposed to continue his professional life now?
He should have turned back time and never taken the surveillance role over the 8th Prince.
Armandy squeezed his eyes shut.
The pitch-black darkness felt like his own future.
***
Radel was instantly escorted inside.
This happened barely ten minutes after arriving at the entrance of the Ability Management Bureau.
‘They call this the Empire’s best-kept secret organization, but is it really this easy?’
Only Radel was unaware that none of this was ordinary.
Since he was there, Radel slowly looked around the Ability Management Bureau. It felt much larger than it looked from the outside.
‘It’s high-grade marble that would be used in a Grand Temple.’
In the center of the hall stood a statue of the Founding Emperor, with the lily, the symbol of the Nameless God, fully sculpted at the Founding Emperor's feet.
Following the stairs on both sides with his gaze, he saw a large window opened in the ceiling, structured so that light poured down fully onto the statue.
While the influence of the Supreme Deity Order was strongest in the Cretian Empire, it did not deny the existence of other gods. Even so, the presence of the Supreme Deity appearing in the Cretian Founding Myth was enormous.
Especially in the Imperial Palace, the center of the Empire, the lily carvings and symbols of the Nameless God could be easily found everywhere.
Since the Creator God blessed the Imperial family with Abilities and blessed the Empire, it wasn't strange to have the statue of the Founding Emperor surrounded by lilies in the lobby of the Ability Management Bureau, which dealt with Ability-related matters.
‘I thought it was a darker and more secret organization, but it feels more sacred than I expected.’
As he approached the statue, he could see the inscription carved below it.
Radel read aloud the inscription that he knew well.
“I bestow a blessing upon you and your descendants; what you achieve shall be my will.”
It was a passage from the Founding Myth.
A story of the Founding Emperor and the Nameless God that any member of the Imperial family would naturally learn.
‘The start of the Ability.’
The content was that the Nameless God who created this world promised to bestow his power upon the Cretian Empire’s Founding Emperor and his descendants.
“There is another phrase after that.”
The figure standing behind Radel, who had approached without him knowing, continued the passage.
“But do not exchange your will for mine. The blessing shall become a curse.”
This was something Radel had never heard before.
The blessing shall become a curse.
These words, at a glance, felt like they were denying the divine blessing, which was the source of the Empire’s power.
He turned around and saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses standing there.
Radel shrugged his shoulders.
“That sounds a bit dangerous. That a blessing becomes a curse.”
The man looked at Radel's composed appearance with interest.
The 8th Prince might not know it, but it was unheard of for a surveillance target to have walked right in here.
“That may be so. But that is also the will of God.”
He extended his hand to Radel and offered a handshake.
“It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Prince Radel.”
Radel also instinctively extended his hand and grasped his.
“I am Ivan Chartrion, the Director of the Ability Management Bureau.”
So this was the Director.
Radel’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the head of the Ability Management Bureau.
‘This person seems to know a lot of information.’
***
Radel sat in the Director’s office and drank tea.
Beside him, Armandy, with bruises all over his body and his lip burst, stood spiritlessly.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes. The aroma is good.”
The Director of the Ability Management Bureau, Ivan Chartrion, despite his rugged and tired look, seemed to be a fairly reasonable person to talk to.
He was personally brewing tea for Radel, saying he would offer his favorite tea.
“I’m relieved. I tend to drink tea rather than coffee due to chronic migraines.”
“You must have a lot of work.”
Radel replied and subtly glanced at Armandy.
“You even sent an agent to worry about me.”
Ivan offered a wry smile and raised both his hands.
“I have nothing to say even if Your Highness interrogates me. That is our job.”
Radel shrugged at Ivan’s words.
“Still, entering the Treatment Room without a word is a bit much. Do you use this method with other members of the Imperial family too?”
“I cannot give you any details.”
He let an outsider in, but it was still a secret organization, was that it?
Radel expected this, so he changed the subject.
‘If I play my cards right, I think I might be able to get some information.’
“Anyway, it’s true that I felt threatened. I thought Armandy was an assassin.”
“I understand.”
Ivan nodded.
Honestly, from the Ability Management Bureau's perspective, they had nothing to say if they were eliminated the moment they were caught.
They were risking their lives when monitoring and collecting information near the Princes or Princesses.
If a member of the Imperial family happened to misuse their Ability and go berserk, it was also the Ability Management Bureau's duty to stop it.
‘Still, judging by the fact that he kept Armandy alive, the 8th Prince isn't too cold-hearted.’
Due to his late manifestation, the Ability Management Bureau lacked information on the 8th Prince.
External information stated he had a weak and timid personality.
‘Indeed, he doesn't act roughly or out of the ordinary when we talk.’
He was surprised when Radel suddenly appeared at the Ability Management Bureau, but at this level, he felt he could persuade him to leave.
“Yes, since you understand, there's something I want to say.”
However, that was Ivan’s misconception.
“I caught Armandy, so he’s my prisoner, right?”
“Pardon?”
“I think Armandy is a quite important talent within the Ability Management Bureau, too.”
Armandy, who had been listening tensely because his name was mentioned, slowly scrunched up his face.
‘What, what is that person going to say now!’
He felt the ominous feeling that arose whenever that person was about to say something strange.
“Why do you think I came all the way here, Director?”
Was it because he was curious about what the Ability Management Bureau looked like? Or perhaps to return Armandy while also taking a walk?
No.
Radel had come here solely to make this proposal.
“I came here to negotiate a ransom for the prisoner.”
Ding.
[The target's Affinity surpasses 20.]
He heard the familiar sound in his ear.
Radel felt a strong premonition that this gamble would succeed.
***
Ivan entered the negotiation for Armandy’s ransom feeling somewhat entranced.
This was the first time he had ever negotiated an agent's ransom since joining the Ability Management Bureau.
The opponent was none other than a Prince of the Empire.
Having a tussle with a surveillance target inside the Ability Management Bureau...
Yet, he didn't feel bad at all.
In fact, it was strangely enjoyable.
“No, this is ridiculous. Director, is that all you think Armandy is worth?”
Radel pushed back the amount written and presented by the Director on paper, looking flustered.
However, Ivan was no pushover.
“Your Highness, you need to be realistic. He's a fellow who failed his mission. Is there any reason for me to raise the ransom?”
“The Armandy I observed... uses Illusion Magic extremely well. That talent is most suitable for the Ability Management Bureau’s work!”
“You are truly soft-hearted, Your Highness. Don’t you see the result of that suitable talent right now?”
“To crush potential after just a single failure? Would that truly be the right thing to do! I will invest this much in his value.”
Radel wrote the amount again and flipped the paper over, handing it to Ivan.
Ivan checked the back of the paper and narrowed his brows.
“This number... is too much for Armandy.”
“That can’t be. Please reconsider.”
“I cannot.”
“Director!”
A strange scene unfolded where Radel desperately defended Armandy, and Ivan desperately belittled Armandy.
And there was one person watching all this with a heart that was tearing apart.
Armandy, the subject of the negotiation.
‘The world... is going crazy.’
He closed his eyes again due to the unceasing pain that had been tormenting him for two days.
He just couldn't get used to this pain. It felt new and painful every time he was hit.
At first, he wanted to take revenge on that crazy 8th Prince, but now things were slightly different.
He wanted to disappear from this crazy world.
‘Should I just quit today...?’
***
Radel and Ivan’s negotiation was dramatically concluded. Both shook hands with satisfied expressions.
“That was a truly good time.”
“I am also satisfied.”
Ding.
[The target's Affinity surpasses 10.]
[The target's Affinity is now 30.]
The sound of Ivan’s Affinity rising was heard.
It was proof that he was genuinely satisfied.
Armandy was handed over from Radel’s hands to Ivan’s, and then was dragged away listlessly by other employees.
‘He doesn't even look back once he meets his colleagues.’
Radel thought he had formed a bond with him after spending two days together, but it seemed Armandy didn't feel the same.
‘Well, his Affinity didn’t rise any higher, after all.’
He resolved to take good care of him next time they met.
But didn't he just praise Armandy more than anyone in the world?
‘I fiercely defended him by blaming his mission failure entirely on myself.’
Thinking a thought that would shock Armandy if he heard it, Radel thought of his fattened wallet.
A benevolent smile naturally formed on his face.
And there was also something else he gained by cutting the ransom.
“Shall we settle the rest of the accounts?”
“Yes, shall we?”
Radel sat across from Ivan and began the next deal.
When Ivan gestured, all the agents remaining in the Director’s office left.
This was due to Radel’s request that the conversation they were about to have should not leave the room.
‘He’s no ordinary person.’
Ivan now knew that the boy in front of him was not a typical seventeen-year-old. All members of the Imperial family had unique personalities, but the 8th Prince seemed to have a wily character sitting inside him.
Thinking he needed to discard the records that stated he had an introverted and timid personality, Ivan opened his mouth.
“What are you curious about first?”
To answer three questions.
That was the condition Radel presented in exchange for cutting the ransom.
Radel asked, as if he had been waiting.
“Who are the people trying to kill me?”
Ivan thought it was a suitable question to ask now.
It hadn’t been long since the 8th Prince almost died.
Naturally, it was no accident.
“There is more than one.”