THE CONSPIRATORS: THE PONTIFF OF THE WORD OF GOD
“I see… My team of Word of God intelligence agents who were hiding disguised as robbers have all been wiped out?”
My subordinate nods meekly.
“Yes, sir. However, the spies who have been long disguised as residents of Keren County, merchants, and so on are unharmed. And since other robbers besides our disguised agents were killed as well, it would appear the thieves were the target, not our agents.”
I cannot help but sigh at this report.
This all started when the disguised intelligence team we’d sent into Sariella was destroyed.
And those who were disguised as robbers suddenly dropped all communication.
We hurried to investigate, but we were not prepared for what we discovered.
“Dear me. We have an unexpected interloper on our hands.”
You must forgive me for the idle complaint.
After all, a major part of the network we were setting up in Sariella has suddenly been crushed by the appearance of a powerful outsider.
I review the report once more.
It contains information on the mysterious monster that suddenly appeared in the labyrinth and exhibited inexplicable behavior: the Nightmare.
These documents include all the tracks that we know to be connected with the Nightmare.
A postscript on the final page describes the aboveground appearance of a queen taratect at the same time as the Nightmare’s discovery, complete with an eyewitness account from the oldest Divine Beast.
If the Nightmare is a spider-type monster, it must be the offspring of Lady Ariel.
One can only wonder why Lady Ariel would do such a thing when she has hitherto never intervened with worldly goings-on, but it is impossible to divine meaning behind her movements and the Nightmare’s alike.
It looked as if Lady Ariel was searching for something, but in my later investigations, I have been unable to determine what she might have been attempting to find.
The Nightmare’s behavior is yet more mysterious.
I do not understand what thoughts motivate its actions.
At times it helps people, and at other times it attacks them.
If all this is in accordance with orders from Lady Ariel, the intent is completely lost on me.
“Well? Are there any signs that the Nightmare might know about the other spies?”
“Not at the moment.”
What is Lady Ariel trying to do?
Surely she did not simply set out to dispose of some robbers.
Am I to take this as a warning to us?
Perhaps she means to tell us not to lay a hand on the land of Sariella.
However, I cannot agree to such a request.
In which case, our only option is to observe with utmost vigilance.
And Lady Ariel is not the only one to watch.
“Do we know whose employ the other thieves were under?”
“It seems they were members of a human trafficking organization operating not just in Sariella but all over the world. And the masterminds behind this organization are the elves.”
I already half expected my subordinate’s reply.
The elves. Potimas Harrifenas.
What in the world has moved him to create a human trafficking organization?
I cannot say, but surely any actions taken by that man will cause more harm to the world than good.
I must expose and stop him at once.
But right now, we must deal with the Goddess followers first.
Until we clean up this problem, we will never be able to stop a worldwide human trafficking organization.
Our forces are so concentrated on the Goddess at this stage that we simply do not have the resources to spare.
We have already made up our minds to destroy the Goddess’s religion.
Ariel’s unknown machinations concern me, but we cannot change our plans now.
We have prepared too much.
The deaths of some intelligence agents disguised as thieves will have no great bearing on our plan.
That damn lord of Keren County has made great efforts to avoid war with Ohts, but the center of Sariella is beginning to lean toward open conflict.
Little do they know that we have been slowly guiding them toward it all along.
If a spark emerges with Ohts, it is sure to spread into a wildfire all on its own.
Sariella’s Goddess religion despises the Word of God, and we Followers of the Word of God view them as heathens in turn.
With the coals of hatred already thus ignited, one simply needs to prod those embers until they burst into the flame of war.
Quite laughable, when one considers that the Goddess and the Word of God are in fact one and the same.
“Shall I continue the report?”
Oh dear. I must be more mindful.
I let my thoughts wander in the middle of listening to the briefing.
It is a bad habit of mine.
“The robbers have all been wiped out, but there are still elves remaining in Keren County, sneaking about on business unknown. Shall we eliminate them?”
The elves are still lurking about after their forces have been destroyed?
To what end?
According to the reports, the elves have taken aim at Lord Keren and his family not once but twice.
Is Lord Keren their target?
However, I cannot imagine why Potimas would have any need to target Lord Keren.
There is no connection between them to my knowledge.
For that matter, I do not understand his motivation behind carrying out human trafficking in various places, either.
Kidnapping. What does he aim to accomplish by stealing away a great deal of children?
No, wait.
Is it the opposite?
Could it be that he needs not a great deal of children but a select few, and he has made this large-scale operation to mask that fact?
But why would he go to such extreme lengths?
What kind of child could possibly be worth that much trouble?
I do not have enough information to determine that.
Any further contemplation would be mere speculation—nay, delusions.
However, it does seem quite possible that he is targeting specific children.
If so, could the elves’ target in Keren County be not Lord Keren but his child?
That is certainly worth considering.
Once the problem of the Goddess worshippers is dealt with, it may be the hint that helps me expose Potimas.
“Let them be. However, be sure to monitor them closely.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hrm.
Come to think of it, the elves have yet to target the Nightmare, even though it has now protected Lord Keren and his family from them not once but twice.
Could it be that they, too, have decided to let it swim free in order to lie in wait for an even bigger fish?
In that case, the angler in question is surely none other than Potimas Harrifenas.
The Nightmare of the Labyrinth, eh?
That creature has a strong connection with the land of Ohts.
As Lady Ariel’s offspring, it is doubtless potentially dangerous to meddle with, but it may yet serve our cause, as well.
The best-case scenario would be if Lady Ariel and Potimas go head-to-head themselves, but it would be difficult to ensure such a thing.
This situation is likely to require a careful hand and a watchful eye.
Such a complex game we play.
Who will emerge victorious?
Will it be Lady Ariel, Potimas, or myself?
In any case, whoever controls the events in Keren County is sure to take the lead.
“We must be more thorough in our intelligence operations in Keren County. Send along every piece of information you can find, no matter how trivial. We had best assume the battle has already begun.”
This is a true matching of wits, in which each of us tries to predict and outwit the others.
Perhaps we should throw in a move of our own?
“The adventurers who encountered the Nightmare in the Great Elroe Labyrinth are in Ohts now, are they not? Send them a request, one that will not provoke their suspicion. A request that will set them up to encounter the Nightmare once again.”
Now, how will our Nightmare react?
Whether it helped those adventurers by chance or for some larger purpose, I should hope that it will send some kind of response.
How will it warp the stone I have thrown in?
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