Chapter 258: Meeting Caution

The amateur astronomer, Kobold Ion, was well aware of the ID LiveKindly. A well-known figure in various forums for their fanatical dedication, they were known for committing to the role they invented for themself. According to their own narrative, they were a Vampire who had lived for over 150 years, which was absurd.

Up to 50 years ago, Vampires were not considered a mainstream species, even on the central continent where Black Scale was. And this Vampire claimed to have lived in the western continent, where the Union Kingdom once existed, implying they survived both the species purge of Vampires and the unification wars.

Recent research did suggest that Vampires could theoretically live very long, but 150 years was not an insignificant timespan. Simply put, a person's life was like rolling a dice daily. If a high number came up, they would survive, and roll a one, and they died. The chances of rolling a one were high. For a Vampire, there was the species purge, and at that age, they would have experienced wars, if not, any other accidents. Even though Vampires hardly aged, they could still fall ill. If not a fatal disease, accumulated minor illnesses could lead to weakness and fragility.

‘I would have to do the math to be sure, but even for a Vampire, surviving to that age seems less likely than getting struck by lightning.’

Ion doubted they were really a Vampire. After Vampires became one of the mainstream species, massacres against them stopped, but Vampires still faced social discrimination and prejudice for their need to consume the blood of other species. While open discrimination had reduced due to consistent social movements advocating for their rights, it was widely believed that Vampires still faced prejudice in the shadows.

Also, there was the concept of reproduction rights among Vampires. Since Vampires couldn’t have children, they created other Vampires through a process called embracing, which involved biting someone's neck and injecting a toxin into their bloodstream, but Vampire reproduction without official permission was strictly illegal. Reproduction rights were scarce, as Vampires needed to accumulate significant public merits to obtain them. Therefore, the probability of a real Vampire being among the youth frequenting Sky Net was extremely low.

‘Whether this person is a Vampire or not isn't even the important issue.’

Even if one were to accept all aspects related to being a Vampire, there was another problem. This so-called Vampire claimed not only to be a Master Swordsman, but also to be a secret teacher of Master Swordsmen.

While gun possession was illegal in many parts of the Empire, many regions allow sword carrying for self-defense and environmental preservation, as there were ancient monsters in various places. Sport swordsmanship using blunt swords was already an international sport.

International swordsmanship organizations and the Swordsmanship Federation, which encompassed real combat swordsmanship schools from all continents, granted the title of Master Swordsman to the highest-ranked instructors. There were less than twenty Master Swordsmen worldwide, renowned for their ability to slice bullets with their swords. It was unlikely that these Master Swordsmen would need a teacher.

‘A bit too much exaggeration there.’

Even if that wasn't the case, LiveKindly was known for posting fantastic stories about having met someone who died and went to the Pantheon, encountering apostles of the Pantheon, and even having conversations with the gods when they were bored. These tales often led to accusations of blasphemy from devout believers and criticism from secularists as being overly religious. However, since they didn't cause major disturbances or use harsh language, the administrators usually just temporarily banned them from the specific forum, after which LiveKindly would pop up again in some unrelated forum.

‘Now they just had to be in the Conspiracy Theory forum…’

Ion opened another window and checked the Fencing forum, where LiveKindly was usually active. There, Ion saw posts like so:

[Please take away the 150-year-old Vampire Master Swordsman from our forum]

[Nope, we don’t accept returns]

[They’re on a 15-day ban]

[Why?]

[They got reported for fraud after giving unsolicited advice to someone trained by an actual Master Swordsman]

Ion laughed and returned to the Conspiracy Theory forum. The post by LiveKindly, passionately defending themself, was still getting the most views and comments. In a way, the very existence of LiveKindly seemed like a conspiracy theory fitting for the forum.

‘What else to read…’

Although Ion was interested in the Parasite Spook, the Conspiracy Theory forum was filled with intriguing posts. He particularly enjoyed those written by secularists.

Secularism, especially active on the western continent where the former Union Kingdom was located, had developed significantly in recent decades. It was a comprehensive field encompassing religion, politics, philosophy, and ethics. While most supporters weren’t scholars, they supported it for various reasons, and on the western continent, secularists were as numerous as those who believed in the Pantheon.

After the Union Kingdom and its god, the Angry One, attacked the Rasdasil Ruins and failed to return after defeat, people were divided into roughly three groups at the sudden disappearance of their god.

One group was the waiters for the Angry One. Even at that time, some gods of the central continent had returned, and their followers had received rewards. Especially since the Pantheon led by Night Sky had restored the gods previously vanished by the Angry One, there was heightened expectation for their comeback. A significant portion, about one-fifth of the western continent's population, believed in their eventual glorious return. However, the number of waiters gradually decreased over time, with many moving to the other two groups.

One of these groups was the followers of the Pantheon. If the Angry One was to return within the Pantheon, then faith in the Pantheon would be no different from faith in the Angry One. The Tailless species that experienced the revolution led by the Pantheon couldn’t help but have a generally favorable view of it. The leaders of the Pantheon's revolutionary faction, represented by Hwee Juran Muel, embraced the new religion without much difficulty, occupying two-fifths of the western continent.

The other two-fifths were secularists, who felt disillusioned by the gods' battles, especially after the decisive battle at the Rasdasil Ruins. Though the strategic objective of the Rasdasil Ruins was known, it wasn't directly related to the lives of mortals. It was merely a goal for the victory of the gods.

Despite the Empire's generous and smooth post-war handling, many were fed up with all these battles, believing it was time to achieve everything solely with mortal effort. Revolutionary Sarcho, a representative figure of the secularists and the current chairman of the highest council on the western continent, raised doubts in their writings whether all of civilization was created for mortals or forcibly for the victory the gods spoke of. Many priests and scholars commented on this question, and it remained unresolved, but it was enough to provoke hidden secularists.

Particularly, after a series of events on the western continent, the Empire failed to suppress the secularist revolutionaries, essentially allowing secularism. This was considered a victory for secularism against the Pantheon, uniting secularists outside the western continent. Although a minority suggested that even the existence of secularism could be the Pantheon's intention, it was seen as speculative. Who would nurture their own enemy?

Ion also considered himself leaning closer to secularism.

‘Look at those stars. Night Sky and his Lizardmen followers named them as they wished. But it's been revealed that the universe is much wider and grander. Even though the Pantheon is great, it's just a small part of the world.’

Of course, Ion didn't entirely dislike the Pantheon, having grown up with stories of its heroes and apostles, and illustrations of Night Sky’s creations, which somewhat influenced his dream of becoming a scientist. In Ion's hometown, Kamairu, there were still tin statues of Sratis and other guardians of Night Sky on his desk. Even though plastic models were common now, the tin statues from Ion’s childhood were the best. One of them, a gold-plated Lakrak statue, was a limited edition and a subtle source of pride. Ion intended never to sell it, wishing to be buried with it when he died.

Ion, after discussing various topics including serial posts about a mad swordsman killing people in the dark streets of Orazan, the dangers of posting secrets on Sky Net due to surveillance by intelligence agencies, and a secularist's post titled The World Might Just Be a Game, suddenly remembered his own post and returned to the Astronomy forum he had published the post in.

"Huh?"

The Kobold Ion, looking at the monitor, let out a short sound from his mouth. There were three new comments on his post, Evidence of Two Moons. Ion briefly looked down at the neon-lit night streets of Orazan, took a sip of his strawberry-flavored soda from the can, and scrolled down.

[FineThreadOfBindingGod: It seems like the author might not fully understand, but the moon's size and weight have already been verified. The claim about discrepancies in tidal forces seems too exaggerated. Maybe reading other scholars' work on this would be beneficial.]

The first comment, while not a criticism, didn't sit well with Ion. Ion felt annoyed by the commenter's assumption that his knowledge was lesser due to being an amateur astronomer and that he was merely echoing mainstream academic opinions, which he had already read extensively.

‘Just because it's not a mainstream opinion doesn't mean it's pseudo-science.’

Before responding, Ion decided to read the next comment, as Ion thought his reply could get long.

『RedButterfly: Interesting, but shouldn’t this be in the Conspiracy Theory forum?]

Ion snorted and moved on to the last comment.

『Oboren: I enjoyed reading your post ^^ Could you check your messages for a question?]

Ion was momentarily taken aback. If this Oboren was the same as the one Ion knew, then it was a scholar working with the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency, a prominent figure in the field of astronomy.

‘It wouldn’t really be the Oboren…right?’

Ion reasoned that it was unlikely for someone to impersonate the scholar. The knowledge and specifics necessary to convincingly pose as a scholar would require thorough research and familiarity with astronomical journals, and moreover, there was no apparent reason for someone to impersonate a scholar from a field that wasn’t too popular.

Ion cautiously checked the message.

[Evidence of Two Moons was an interesting read. I am Lide Oboren from the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency. The topic you've posted is also under meticulous review by our agency. Your approach, especially the calculations using tidal force discrepancies, caught my interest, and felt it was worth sharing with our colleagues. However, I have some questions that aren’t clear from just reading the post, and Sky Net isn't the best place for in-depth discussions. Would you be willing to come to the agency to present your findings? I would appreciate it.]

‘M…me presenting at the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency?’

Before Ion could think more about it, Ion had eagerly replied that he would do so. Soon after, Ion received another message from Lide.

[Thank you for your prompt response. It seems you haven't registered as a member of the academic society yet, but I can help you contribute to the next issue of Night Sky Academic Journal. Let's discuss the details over the phone. Here’s my contact information…]

Ion, who had been working a temporary job delivering food after graduation, quit his job immediately. The owner of the soup kitchen, though pretty sad, was genuinely happy for Ion after hearing he had achieved what they wanted to do.

"Your efforts have paid off. It seems Night Sky himself has paved the way for you."

Though Ion coughed awkwardly, he didn't outright deny it in front of the owner.

On the appointed day, Ion headed to a rundown building in Orazan, the city of self-reflection. Although the Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency building Ion knew of was massive and located on the outskirts of Orazan, Ion learned that this building housed the publishing office for the Night Sky Academic Journal. Lide told Ion they had chosen this location for the convenience of transportation.

Lide said through the phone, "The scholars of the agency prefer to meet here privately rather than at the official building.”

Ion was happy as it seemed like an insider detail known only to the agency's scholars.

As the appointed time arrived, Ion checked his digital wristwatch and looked around the street. The meeting was scheduled late in the evening after the scholars finished their work, and the streets were mostly deserted.

‘Has no one arrived yet?’

Then a Human, wearing a hat low on their face and a coat, approached Ion. Since they came directly toward Ion, Ion was sure this person was here to meet him. Although Lide was a woman and not a man, anyone could be sent to guide Ion.

"Uh, are you...?"

The man stopped a short distance away where having a conversation would be difficult.

"Are you Ion Iolkaf?"

"Yes, that's me."

The man then pulled out a gun from his coat.

Ion froze at the sight of the gun. Ion reflexively raised his hands, and couldn't even think about fleeing the spot.

‘A robber? No, no, he knows my name…’

As Ion shut his eyes tight, a gunshot was heard.

Bang!

…Clang!

The gunshot was followed by a strange metallic sound.

Ion opened his eyes. A Human woman stood with her back to Ion, holding a sword.

Ion, realizing he was unharmed, was surprised and asked, "W...what about the bullet?"

Ramin Solost Muel replied, "Sliced."