Chapter 260: Listening to the Circumstances

In the darkness.

[...Have we been discovered?]

[Not yet. They probably can't even imagine it.]

[We've lost ■ and ■■■, and ■■ is in grave danger.]

[But it's not over yet. There's still hope.]

[That guy's a monster. How did they manage to bring someone like that?]

[Don't be too afraid.]

[I'm worried about you.]

A brief silence.

[...Wait until I send the signal.]

[Alright. Stay safe until then.]

***

Ion Iolkaf thought.

'It's over.'

Ion was currently at the headquarters of the Intelligence Agency, located in the vast inner palace of Orazen, the capital of the Empire.

Since the end of the war with the Union Kingdom, the Intelligence Agency had reduced their notoriety by declassifying past confidential materials, but it was still not known for its virtuosity. Although the world had practically unified into one nation, it was a popular opinion that the social structure and classes had gone through many changes, especially in the past 20 years or so, that it resulted in the Intelligence Agency not becoming weaker, but more covert and intricate.

The Intelligence Agency was rumored to be so powerful that it didn't even listen to the Emperor's commands, following only the direct orders from the Pantheon, which indicated the immense authority and influence that the agency wielded.

Next to Ion, Ramin chattered. There was no telling if she was aware of Ion's state of mind.

"It looks like we'll have some time. What should we do? Should we go to the basement first?"

“Oh no, the infamous underground torture chamber of the Intelligence Agency headquarters..."

"Uh...our agency's basement is actually a cafeteria. You haven't eaten, right?"

"Can I eat with my mouth?"

"Mostly? ...Were Kobolds ever able to eat with other openings besides the mouth?"

The Intelligence Agency's basement was designed to allow people to take whatever they wanted on food trays prepared at mealtimes. Despite it being dawn, quite a few people were there. And contrary to expectations, the place was bright, spacious, and clean, with excellent food, which would have made for a pleasant meal elsewhere. But Ion was completely out of it, that if questioned, he wouldn’t be able to say whether he was shoving food in his mouth or his nose.

'Oh no, is this my last supper?'

Ramin, somewhat aware of how others viewed the Intelligence Agency, had made an effort to ease the tension. After eating, they even stopped by a famous tea franchise attached to the headquarters and went up with a cup each. However, when they entered the office with a good view, Ion looked as exhausted as someone who had been interrogated for days.

"Did you scare someone again?" Gorgota Falu chided Ramin when they saw Ion’s face.

"No, not at all!"

"Really?"

"Of course."

"You're not just using the Intelligence Agency's misconceptions to needlessly administer fear and intimidate, are you?"

"How old do you think I am?"

"You were doing just that until a few months ago."

"People change."

"If you weren't like that, please don’t change anymore."

Gorgota Falum could be considered Ramin’s long-time partner. Until a few years ago, Gorogta was active in the field, but now that they were no longer young, they were overseeing internal affairs. Although to a lesser extent than Lizardmen, Frogmen’s appearance didn’t accurately reflect their age. Still, Gorgota’s large build and the wrinkles on the neck would inform those familiar with the species their age.

"Why does his face look like that if you didn't scare him?"

"It must be because it's dawn."

Gorgota waved their hand and gave up their seat to Ion.

"Please, have a seat, Ion Iolkaf."

"I'll stand!"

"Please sit."

"Right, sorry!"

Ion sat stiffly on a chair prepared for smaller species.

Gorgota asked, "Do you know why you were brought to the Intelligence Agency, Ion?"

"Ah, well...that is..."

Ion, pondering, thought he hadn't done anything bad enough to be brought to the Intelligence Agency. Ion may have lived his youth recklessly, but he hadn’t committed any crimes.

'...Well, there were some...'

They were mostly minor offenses like public urination, loud disturbances, or brawls, usually resolved with a warning. Obviously, the problem must’ve been related to the assailant he had recently encountered.

"I don’t know anything about that person!"

"We know that too."

"Pardon?"

Gorgota shrugged and said, "It’s well-known outside as well. Our Intelligence Agency has the capability to access most information on Sky Net. Some people call it illegal surveillance or eavesdropping but..."

That sounded strange to Ion, as he had only seen such topics on the Conspiracy Theory forums.

Ramin interjected and said, "It is illegal surveillance. It’s written in the Empire’s Law not to do so."

"For significant matters threatening the Empire, there are exceptions."

"That's too broad an interpretation."

"Agent, you're not going to spend all day debating this with me again, are you? Let's leave what's right to the lawyers and politicians to decide… Anyway, whether you talk about this matter or not, Ion, is not very important."

"Oh, okay."

"We are keeping an eye on communities we consider important and are tracking the relationships that form within them. And the person impersonating the scholar Lide Oboren using the ID Oboren was someone we were particularly cautious of. They belonged to a radical secularist secret group called the Power of Reality. We were surprised when they suddenly made contact with you, as our observations showed no connection between you and such groups."

"That's right! I don't know anything."

Gorgota nodded.

"Of course, we know that you are a secularist, or hold a view close to that. Secularism itself isn't bad. You might not know, but the Pantheon and the gods don't view secularism that negatively, and theologians and priests tend to have a positive view of it."

"...Really?"

"Regardless of that fact, secularists are obsessed with increasing their numbers, especially the secret organizations."

Ion was aware of the radical secularists. Most secularists belonged to the moderate group or had comparatively conciliatory aspects, but some secularists insisted that the Pantheon must be overthrown immediately. The central, eastern, and southern continents were relatively okay, but in the western continent, where many people had memories of the Union Kingdom, priests were often killed or large secularist radical groups were frequently taken down. In fact, these incidents seemed to be increasing.

"So initially, we thought the Power of Reality was trying to recruit you, but that wasn't the case. If it weren't for the agent who was free at the time, your survival would have been difficult. We never thought you would be attacked."

"Oh, thank you."

Ion finally realized his life had been saved and nodded gratefully to Ramin.

Ramin smiled and waved her hand.

Gorgota said, "The actual problem is this... We don't know why you were attacked."

"Oh."

"Do you really have no connection with the Power of Reality or other secularist groups?"

"That’s right.."

"Think a little more before answering. Could there have been members of such groups around you, even if you didn't contact them recently? We know you attended university and met many people. We can look into Sky Net and find out about your university department, and with a little more investigation we will know more about your surroundings, but we don't know everything about you."

"Right..."

"We believe that even if you are a secularist, you distance yourself from those who intend to harm others in pursuing their beliefs. Could you help us?"

Ion began to stutter as he talked. Ion really didn't think of or suspect anyone like that. A senior's words, or memories of close schoolmates, juniors, or professors making inaccurate comments or mentioning such people came to mind. More than an interrogation, it was like reminiscing about school days, to the extent that Ramin even joined in, sharing her student days stories, until Gorgota intervened and stopped her.

"Oh, um, I hope what I said won't cause them any trouble..." Ion trailed off.

"It doesn't seem like it will. They sound like good people. We'll browse through the records as usual, but I don't think there will be any major issue."

"That third person you dated didn't seem too good, did they?" Ramin butted in.

"Do we really need to bring up their dating history now? And in my opinion, Ion also had some faults."

"Can we not talk about that?"

Gorgota said, "Let's approach this from a different angle. Have you ever done anything that might have attracted the attention of secularists?"

"I'm not sure...."

"Even a slight suspicion is fine."

Ion hesitated before saying, "I've actually been thinking about something since earlier. Personally, I think it's the most rational explanation."

"Great, let’s hear it."

"It's unfortunate that the person wasn't Lide Oboren, but could they have disguised themself as Lide Oboren to meet people like me, I mean, those studying astronomy in non-mainstream fields, right?"

"Uh..."

"So, could it be that this secularist group called The Power of Reality was actually very interested in my research..."

"Hmm."

"...You don't see it that way at all."

Gorgota said calmly, "Honestly, we're not experts in that field, but we don't hold high regard for researchers who conduct studies without being affiliated with a formal institution."

"Oh, right..."

"You did graduate in the related field but didn't pursue postgraduate studies or work at any research institutions."

"That's right."

"I've read your post, but it lacked the coherence a typical thesis should have, with weak citations and too much subjectivity to be considered an objective research paper."

"...I see."

"So, it seems unlikely that..."

Then, Ramin interrupted, "But isn't that all we have?" Ramin continued, "My teacher always said to keep things as simple as possible. If we don't know the exact details, we have to draw conclusions based on what we do know. Ion's writing might not have been the best, but it could still have elicited a response."

"Are you saying the moon's mass being different from what we think holds significance for them?"

"We don't know that," Ramin replied, patting Ion on the shoulder. "Besides, I found it quite interesting to read. You write well. The sentences are rhetorical but powerful."

Ion coughed awkwardly at the unexpected compliment.

Gorgota crossed their arms and swiveled their chair around to look out the window, seemingly lost in thought. Soon, Gorgota turned back around.

"We'll conduct an interrogation and other investigations, but approaching it from this angle doesn't seem like a bad idea. The Intelligence Agency is always busy and short-handed, but..."

"We have capable agents like me."

"Let's go with that. You take charge of this."

"Yes, sir."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"We'll use the method we often resort to."

“Ion, you'll have to help us. Since you've quit your delivery job, you'll have some time on your hands."

"Huh? Me?"

"I don’t think you’ll be too displeased to help."

It wasn't just a matter of not being displeased. It was incredible luck.

The next day, Ion and Ramin arrived at the very Imperial Aeronautics and Space Agency headquarters that Ion had longed to visit.