Chapter 216
As Siegfried took off his knight’s helmet, with which dragon wings were engraved, his neck-length, navy blue hair fluttered in the breeze .
The crowd was abuzz after seeing his appearance .
“What brought the leader of the Flying Dragon Division here… ?”
The leader of the Flying Dragon Division was one of the most powerful people in Divide . It was understandable that people were surprised by the appearance of someone like him .
Hephaestus stepped in .
“What’s the matter, general?”
“It’s an inspection . We ask for your cooperation and apologize for the inconvenience . ”
Everyone widened their eyes . They knew that Divide was thoroughly inspecting people as they were warned, but they did not expect that the Flying Dragon Division would be inspecting them directly .
With Zod’s nod of acknowledgement, everyone submitted themselves to be inspected without relaxing their vigilance .
The Flying Dragon Division exhaustively inspected the personnel from the Magic Tower . Not to mention their identity as well as their belongings .
‘This inspection is unnecessarily thorough . ’
Desir thought it was too much, looking at their inspection . Their behavior could be considered as a discourtesy to inspect people who came for the Great Council .
However, they did not care about such things and inspected even the Magic Tower Master, Zod .
“Nice to meet you, Magic Tower Master . It’s been years . ”
“Somehow I haven’t had the chance to see you . By the way, is it really necessary to inspect me?”
Siegfried looked at the Starling Party and grinned .
“It was an order from His Majesty, Clora Baldershu . He specifically told us to thoroughly inspect anyone from the Empire . We have reason to believe that someone in the Hebrion Empire is trying to spy on the royal family . ”
“If that’s the case, is it safe to say that Divide thinks the Magic Tower Master is assisting the Empire in finding such information? This is what your actions imply . ”
As Zod spoke with a serious face, Siegfried waved his hands .
“Of course not . This is just a formality . The only guests for the Great Council from the Empire are the Tower Master’s escorts . ”
He was just doing this job, so Zod knew it would be pointless berating him further . Zod was now silent and didn’t make further comment while being inspected .
Next, the inspection for the Starling Party began . Their participation was strictly legal, and there was nothing suspicious to be found, so it went smoothly .
The only individual who would concern them would be Swan Katarina, who had accompanied them at Desir’s request .
She had faked her identity to conceal her status as Royal Guard, and used an artifact to change her face .
If she was caught, it would very likely cause a significant commotion .
“… ”
But the members of the Flying Dragon Division found nothing suspicious about her .
She easily passed Divide’s inspection .
“… Good to go . ”
Siegfried lowered his head one more time after receiving the report from a member of his team .
“Welcome to Divide . ”
* * *
Romantica complained as she left the inspection . She wasn’t happy about them ransacking her baggage .
“Seriously, did you see how arrogant they were? They went through all my bags . It feels like I was treated like a criminal!”
It was natural for them to be thorough in such matters after a history-defining event, the war on the Outsiders . Even still, they certainly gave the impression that they were investigating criminals while inspecting Desir’s party in particular . It was also doubtful whether they had the necessary skill and resources to foil any actual attacks via this display of security theatre .
It certainly wasn’t normal to besiege guests like this and subject them to mandatory inspections .
It wasn’t just the Starling Party that was left unhappy about the process . Hephaestus and the other Magic Tower personnel seemed to be quite offended too .
‘It’s obvious how Divide thinks of the Empire . ’
Anyway, entering Divide was successful . That was a start .
Once they came out of the building, they were greeted with the scenery of Pittsburgh, the capital of Divide .
“It’s well-organized . ”
If Dresden of the Empire looked colorful and beautiful yet complex, Pittsburgh of Divide was simple but very well organized . It was easy for people to walk on the well-maintained streets, and in fact, there were many people currently doing so .
Oddly enough, the street wasn’t lively though . The people present were all very quiet and kept to themselves .
The Starling Party members felt a chilly breeze while walking along the street .
“Let’s unpack first at the Magic Tower . ”
The Magic Tower had different branches all across the continent, and it was safe to assume there would be one, no matter which big city you were in .
Of course, the capital of Divide, as part of the Western Kingdom Union, had their own branch of the Magic Tower .
It was a big advantage . Having a base that wasn’t under Divide’s surveillance was a great convenience for Desir further his plan .
Arriving at the Pittsburgh Magic Tower Branch, the Starting Party and Swan were assigned to their own rooms .
They had a look at their assigned rooms, and were left impressed by the size of them .
There was nobody left unhappy to see a room that had better facilities than most hotels .
After unpacking in their respective rooms, Zod gathered the group in the lobby .
“I got an invitation from Divide’s royal family for the banquet, sent to all those who participate in the Great Council . Of course, you all are welcome to join me . ”
Desir seemed impassive, having known about it already, but Romantica and Pram looked hyped up .
“Really?”
“I didn’t bring any party outfits!”
Zod took something out of his bosom with a smile .
“I was going to prepare them myself, but it’d be better for you to choose what you want to wear personally . ”
Romantica realized what it was that he pulled out and got excited; pop-eyed even .
“A credit card!?”
Zod handed Romantica the credit card .
“You can buy anything you want . ”
“T-Thank you!”
Romantica and Pram left in a hurry, while cheering .
Adjest was about to follow them with a bitter smile, when she suddenly turned back to see Desir .
“Desir, are you not going?”
“I have something to do . I’ll catch up with you later . Go shopping first . Swan, please look after everyone . ”
“Don’t worry about it . ”
Desir went back to his room, after sending off his party members .
In his room, Desir settled down to business . The first thing he did was contact the Side Guards that were hiding in Divide .
After Divide had intensified their immigration inspections, it was impossible for Desir to plant additional secret agents, but the ones he was contacting now had been stationed since long ago . Trying to contact them from outside Divide had proven to be challenging, and had been rendered them useless until now .
Desir got their contact information from Alfred prior to entering Divide, and he could now put this information to use . He passed on a brief outline of what he needed and gave them their orders .
“Pass on any information you can dig up, no matter how insignificant . If you find anything related to alchemy, that takes utmost priority . ”
[-Okay . ]
They had been living in Divide for a long time with fake identities . As a result they could wander freely anytime, anywhere . It was very useful for Desir’s purposes .
‘If this operation gets caught, the blowback will be huge . ’
Desir had summoned all of the Side Guard members, previously scattered across all of Divide, in Pittsburgh . With how much control the Outsiders had over Divide’s politics, he was certain that there was something to be found within the capital .
Their scope was narrowed from a whole country to a single city, so they had a far greater chance at finding useful information .
However, once they were caught, it would be impossible to gather any more information within Divide .
The number of such embedded informants played a large part in measuring the influence of a national power . Losing any of them would cause huge damage, and require years of diplomatic efforts to mend .
‘But I have no choice but to take this risk . ’
Desir’s ultimate goal was to clear the Shadow Labyrinth and save humankind .
Getting rid of the Outsiders had become an integral part of this process .
If refusing to take action to save the public face of the Empire resulted in the end of humanity, it would have all been for naught . If he hadn’t taken risks every step of the way, it would be impossible for him to achieve anything significant .
Desir solidified his determination one more time .
* * *
The day before the Great Council, there was a banquet for the guests held in Divide’s royal palace .
Divide was far from glamorous, and thus the banquet wasn’t anything spectacular to behold, but the prepared feast was impressive enough to satisfy the nobles visiting from other countries .
The banquet hall was soon filled with numerous people . The few people that stood out amongst them were the heads of the Western Kingdom Union .
“This way, Your Majesty . ”
They enjoyed the banquet from their designated seats, separately arranged by Divide .
The uproarious banquet hall became quiet all of a sudden with someone’s appearance .
It was the Magic Tower’s Master Zod Exarion, Desir Arman of the Royal Guard, and the members of the Starling Party .
They received the undivided attention of almost everyone present . The popularity of the only Seventh-Circle magician in the continent, and the war hero Desir, was a league above the Western Kingdom Union .
“That’s the Starling Party . ”
“The Magic Tower Master and the war hero… ”
“Is that young boy really Desir Arman?”
A lot of people talked in hushed whispers .
The Starling Party gained some popularity and had been invited to various parties .
But they hadn’t experienced a party this big, so Romantica and Pram couldn’t hide their tension .
“Behave with dignity . ”
They tried their best to act normal at his words .
As Zod sat down in his assigned seat, his escorts sat down shortly after .
----
Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .
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ED: Purplemen101
TLC: N/A
QC: N/A
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