Chapter 2270 – 2270. God’S Atlantis
“What’s your name?”
“……”
Samuel asked the man. There was no reply. Samuel gave a wry smile.
“You wouldn’t answer even if I asked, would you? I knew it. I would be the same. Mirror.”
“Yes.”
Elena, wearing a mirror mask and watching from behind, snapped her fingers.
*Snap.*
Immediately after the crisp sound, the man’s eyes widened as if they would tear, then slowly drooped.
“…An interesting mental state. He split his mind to maintain different states. Is this a way to hide his core, true mind? Well, it’s useless in front of me.”
The man trembled, then slumped like a limp doll. If not for the bone armor for restraint, he would have collapsed on the floor.
“What’s your name?”
“Eric…”
The interrogation began with Samuel’s question. Now that his mind was controlled by Elena, he would answer everything he knew.
“Affiliation and position?”
“I’m an intelligence operative of the Barclay Legion Alliance…”
“Ahem.”
Sparkle cleared his throat.
The Barclay Legion Alliance. In terms of the size of the Legion’s forces, it was the best on the continent. Even the Ustia Empire couldn’t ignore them. A force that would be troublesome to get entangled with. As a merchant, Sparkle wouldn’t want to be hostile to them.
Samuel continued the interrogation. It lasted about 10 minutes. He got what he needed.
“He doesn’t have any particularly great information.”
“Maybe he was expecting to get caught. Boss. The Barclay side knows about this place. Is it not dangerous?”
Despite Sparkle’s worried question, Samuel was relaxed.
“It’s fine. Barclay wouldn’t want an all-out war with us either. Even if they do invade here, it doesn’t matter. We can abandon this area anytime.”
The mirror behind him walked forward. She stopped in front of Eric’s feet.
“Are you going to dispose of this one? His ability is quite useful. It’s a shame to dispose of him.”
Eric’s unique trait was Method (SS). He could almost perfectly imitate the appearance, voice, and actions of a target. The conditions were observing the target for more than ten days and not being able to transform into a target of a different gender.
“You’re suggesting we use him in reverse? That would be difficult. Barclay would be wary of Eric too. That’s why Eric, despite being an informant, knows surprisingly little about Barclay.”
“Hmm. That’s true. Then let’s dispose of him. Shall I do it myself?”
“I’ll leave it to you, Mirror.”
*Snap.*
The mirror snapped her fingers again.
That was the end. Eric would never rise again. I confirmed through my senses that Eric’s heart had stopped. He was stopped both physically and mentally.
“Boss. I have a question. Why did you put on a show? You knew from the start that this guy was a spy, didn’t you? Are you sending us a warning?”
“A warning? No way. Helten is an organization I founded, but it’s an organization you belong to. I’m not a tyrant. I can’t control you as I please, and even if I could, you wouldn’t follow me. I want to tell you. I have no intention of leading Helten by force. And I want to make this clear to you. The process is more important than the result. Don’t forget. If you know the process, you can change the result.”
Everyone nodded.
“What’s next? Is the story over here and we’re dismissed? No way. We were attacked by Barclay or whatever. If we end it here, Helten’s name will cry.”
Lion swung his spear in the air, speaking with a rebellious attitude.
“Of course. If we were just going to end with talk, I wouldn’t have called you. There are things I want each of you to do. Lion, cause a ruckus in Barclay’s territory to draw their attention. Sparkle, I want you to get the items I asked for.”
Samuel gave instructions to the various executives without hesitation. The last were me and Mirror.
“Mirror and Cheonma, follow me. There’s an area we need to attack… It’s difficult with just my power.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to spare. It’s about the rift issue today.”
I and Samuel, who knew Mirror’s identity, immediately understood.
Elena was the Illusion Duke, one of the five Imperial Dukes of Ustia, the only empire in Atlantis.
With the unprecedented event of a rift appearing in the sky, she would be busy.
“What about Cheonma? Are you busy?”
“…I don’t have any particular schedule. I’ll go with you.”
“That’s good then. Then, dismissed. Please do your assigned tasks. Cheonma and White, please wait for about 30 minutes.”
Samuel left the area. The Helten executives also disappeared. In less than 10 seconds, only me, Mirror, Sparkle, and White remained.
Sparkle approached.
“Wow. It’s been a while, Cheonma.”
“Yeah. Is the business preparation going well?”
“Of course. The warehouse is already full of masks. According to you, there’s less than half a year left until the volcanic island appears. The time to become the richest man on the continent is approaching. Haa, haa!”
“There could be various problems.”
“That’s right. The biggest problem is the monopoly. A merchant is always jealous when others do well. There will be many merchants who will try to stop me. But don’t worry. I’ve prepared for everything. Isn’t that right, Mirror?”
“Shut up. I have something to talk to Cheonma about, so go away.”
“Oh, I was being insensitive. Cheonma, let’s talk later when you have time.”
Sparkle left.
Mirror looked at White. I also naturally looked at White.
“Do you know this guy’s identity?”
White stood still, wearing an expressionless mask. It was impossible to tell their gender because of the black robe that covered their entire body. But I knew their identity.
“I know.”
“I was going to say it’s dangerous… but it was unnecessary meddling. I’ll be going now. The Emperor has issued a summons to the Imperial Dukes because of this incident. Honestly, I really don’t like it… but I have to fulfill my duty as a Duke.”
The relationship between the Ustia Emperor and Elena was not good. But they couldn’t openly oppose each other. It would be a loss for both of them.
“Ah, wait a minute. Yuria has something she wanted you to deliver.”
“Yuria?”
I handed Elena a letter envelope. It was a letter Yuria had written to Elena. I respected my woman, so I didn’t peek at the contents of the letter. Instead, I asked her, and she said she wrote a greeting. She wanted to say hello, even if it was like this, since they hadn’t met for quite a while.
‘My women get along well. That’s very desirable.’
Elena looked around before opening the letter envelope.
“It’s light. It doesn’t seem like she put anything strange in it.”
“Come on. Would Yuria put something strange in it?”
“I’m kidding. I know Yuria isn’t that kind of woman. Unlike that fox.”
Certainly, if it were Mireung, she might put in a surprise talisman or something.
Elena immediately opened the envelope. A photo came out along with the letter paper. Elena held the photo and stared at it for a moment.
Because of the mirror mask, I couldn’t see Elena’s expression.
“…She had a daughter. Congratulations. She’s a beautiful baby.”
“She is cute.”
Elena read the letter. Honestly, I wanted her to read it out loud. I was a little curious about the contents of the letter.
“Hmm, it’s a normal greeting letter.”
*Crumple.*
Elena’s fingers tightened. The letter crumpled. Her hand was trembling, as if she was agitated.
My curiosity soared. For Elena to have such an emotional reaction. I subtly moved behind Elena and checked the photo and letter.
First, the photo was of Yuria holding Yuna with a soft smile. Next to her, I was standing with my hand on Yuria’s shoulder. It was a family photo we had taken recently.
‘The contents of the letter are…’
[To Her Excellency, Duke Elena Valdert.
Elena. How have you been?]
It started with a normal greeting. It was written in Korean, and the handwriting felt warm and gentle. It was so perfectly balanced that it seemed like it was written and printed by a computer.
[A new family member was born between me and my master. Yuna is a bright child. She doesn’t cry as much as other babies….]
It was full of praise for Yuna. It felt a little like she was showing off, but most other mothers would probably be like this.
[Do you have any plans for children, Elena? Any family needs an heir to feel stable…. Ah, before discussing plans for children, you need to get married first. As a Duke’s family, you can’t have premarital pregnancy, even for the sake of legitimacy.
Elena. Being a wife and a mother is a strange feeling. Of course, you wouldn’t know that feeling since you’re still unmarried. What I can tell you is that it’s a new life and happiness. You don’t know two kinds of happiness, Elena. It’s a shame.]
The letter was full of good things about getting married, how much better it is to have children, and how much I was great.
I smiled contentedly. The handwriting and content of the letter showed how happy she was. And it was me, her husband and master, who gave her that happiness. I can make my woman happy! How gratifying is that?
*Crumple.*
The letter was completely crumpled.
“El… Mirror?”
I couldn’t call her by her real name since she was wearing a mask. White was also in front of us. Even though White had no interest in us, I had to keep my guard up.
“Ah. I was thinking about something else for a moment and used too much force.”
Elena unfolded the letter, then neatly folded it again and put it back in the torn envelope with the photo.
“I will keep the letter and photo safe.”
“What about a reply?”
I knew well since I was a noble in another world. If you received a letter, it was polite to reply. Of course, most letter replies were written by maids.
“…I have a lot of work to do. It seems difficult to write a reply right now. Instead, tell her that I received the letter well. I’ll be going now. I have a lot of work to do.”
She walked out of the area with heavy steps.
*Stumble.*
She tripped over a rock.
Elena got up from her spot and kicked the rock with all her might to vent her anger, then walked out and disappeared.
