Chapter 4
THE CHIMERA CLAUSEN elites constantly demanded to know why their noble mission was so hard to understand. They were fanatics through and through, poisoned by twisted dogma.
Kagura was forced to change her approach altogether; it was obvious that asking them any more in this vein would be fruitless. Instead, she questioned them about Chimera Clausen’s organizational connections.
The hypnotic state worked perfectly, and the elites yielded information on bases all over the continent, corporate stakeholders, cooperating nobles, and more. Between the three elites, the number of names they named were in the hundreds. The information on the bases alone was of incalculable value. Moreover, each base Isuzu could take would yield yet more information from those running it. It seemed as if they’d be able to expose over a thousand bases, given time.
“In a way, this is where the battle really begins. I’m not gonna let a single one get away.” Once she’d thoroughly dragged this info from Chimera’s leaders, Kagura skimmed Matti’s notes and smirked. Her eyes were those of a hunter watching its prey. “Matti, expect Trinity Church officials to come by in a few days. I’ll need you to hand these hooligans over to them.”
“Leave it to me!”
These five would be taken by a church transport troop in a few days’ time to face judgment by divine rather than human law.
Mira and Kagura left the office after entrusting things to Matti. Their next destination was the Adventurers’ Guild Union, where the hastily captured Chimera stragglers were being temporarily confined.
“Divine law, hrmm?” Mira asked along the way. “I’ve heard of it, but what exactly does it entail?”
“Uh, it’s mostly priest stuff. It has nothing to do with fighting, so I see why you wouldn’t know it,” Kagura said, chuckling, and began explaining in a slightly patronizing tone. Divine law involved conviction in a grand ceremony. Rather than being judged directly by God, judgment was handed down by God’s apostles. As such, the decision could not be appealed by even the kings of the Three Great Kingdoms.
The judgment criteria did differ in some ways from human law, but the biggest difference was the weight of the punishment. The maximum sentence under human law was death, but the maximum sentence under divine law was soul death. That would be, literally, the extermination of the soul.
Some people might question if that was really any different from the death penalty. But in this world, gods existed as actual, perceivable beings, and the cycle of reincarnation was more than just a theory. It was common knowledge that death was not the end. However, soul death was. When this judgment was passed down by divine law, that meant a true end for the sinner. When reincarnation was real, this absolute end was the greatest possible punishment.
“If a soul is so corrupted by sin that even a god can’t purify it, it’s condemned to soul death. Artesia said they usually don’t go that far. But this time? I dunno…” Kagura had a thoughtful look on her face as she turned back toward the branch office.
What sort of divine punishment would they receive? Mira and Kagura wondered in silence as they walked.
When they arrived in the busy part of downtown, Mira spoke up. “You mentioned that reincarnation is real here. Does that apply to people like us, as well?”
Those born of this world would return to the cycle of reincarnation when they died, but what about people who had come from another world?
“It’s a mystery. You never hear about reincarnated former players, and we don’t know what happens to people like us when we die. Some people think you just go back home…but we don’t have any way of going back and checking for ourselves. People are researching it, but there are too many unknowns.”
“Hrmm, I see. Well, I expected as much,” Mira murmured in understanding. After a moment’s pause, she added indifferently, “But is there really no way to go back?”
“Huh? You…you haven’t heard about this from Solomon?” Kagura asked, turning to Mira in surprise. She explained that King Solomon of Alcait was not just a former player but a member of the Hinomoto Committee, a special organization of former players who now led nations. The Hinomoto Committee was charged with researching how the world itself worked. They also researched ways to return to their former world. Naturally, Solomon would know how that research was going. He also had the right to reveal this information to other former players if he wished.
But Mira had heard nothing about this. Or rather, she hadn’t really bothered to ask.
“I never looked into it. If there was a way, he’d tell me. Besides, Solomon’s been in this world for thirty years, and Luminaria’s been here for twenty. There probably is no way to leave. I’ve decided I should simply focus on enjoying myself.”
Those were Mira’s true feelings. Instead of going crazy trying to find a way to go back home, she’d make the most of the present. It certainly helped that she had friends like Solomon and Luminaria so close at hand.
“Uh-huh. When in Rome or whatever, right? You never change, Gramps.” Kagura smiled nostalgically as she gazed upon Mira’s defiant smirk.
At the Sentopoli Adventurers’ Guild Union, Mira and Kagura followed an employee to the third underground floor. It housed a robust jail, built to temporarily confine wanted criminals and people with bounties on their heads. Currently, it was overflowing with Chimera Clausen conspirators.
“Now this is something else,” Mira mused. “Seems like the big announcement was supereffective?”
“The Spirit King’s final warning really did the trick. A lot of them came here on their own looking for protection from the vengeance of the spirits… How self-centered can you get?” Kagura said as she surveyed the jail, her disgust evident.
Some of the criminals were docile, some were loud, and yet others laughed at the ones who were in a quiet daze. For such a dismal place, it was surprisingly lively. Guild Union employees could be seen here and there, gathering information.
“I can’t believe you were a mole. That’s a real shame.”
“…Hmph.”
It seemed they’d even arrested some Chimera people who’d worked in the Guild Union. According to one employee, they’d thrown them in with all the other suspects for the time being.
Mira and Kagura gazed at the cell block as they passed through. A staff member escorted them to an admin room in the center of the building. Several employees awaited them—an older man and woman, and another woman from the Isuzu Alliance.
The woman from Isuzu saluted nervously. “Thank you for your efforts, Lady Uzume.”
“Likewise.” Kagura had a gentle smile on her face, as if the tense atmosphere from before had never been. She then looked to the people behind the woman. “So, who are these two?”
At her cue, they stood.
“Sorry we didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves sooner. I’m Gates, master of the Warriors’ Guild.”
“And I am Deborah, master of the Mages’ Guild. We’ve been waiting here to thank you for your work on the Chimera Clausen case.”
On closer inspection, the guild leaders’ clothes were of the finest quality. Their eyes were sharp, and they had the confident presence of VIPs. It seemed the Isuzu Alliance member’s nervousness wasn’t due to Kagura alone.
“No thanks necessary. I did it because I wanted to. In fact, I’d like to thank you for letting us use this space and for helping with the questioning.” Kagura faced the guild leaders head-on and added, “Thank you very much.”
Mira had already dropped into a nearby chair and was surveying the scene without a word. With the introductions out of the way, they began exchanging information. Kagura asked the Isuzu member to wait outside. She then looked at the guild leaders and said, “Sorry, but I need to be absolutely certain.”
Kagura explained her hypnosis magic and requested that they allow her to use it on them to confirm that they weren’t with Chimera. Rather than objecting, they complimented Kagura on how incredible her magic was.
However, they were clearly disappointed when she refused to teach them how to use it.
That done, the stage was set for the information exchange. Mira and Kagura explained everything they had managed to confirm about Chimera Clausen’s headquarters and the dark truth of Sentopoli to the guild masters.
The guild leaders were shocked to learn that Sentopoli itself had been created by Chimera Clausen.
“Unbelievable… To think, the country itself…”
“It sounds like we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
Chimera’s information control was airtight. None of Sentopoli’s higher-ups knew a thing about the organization. Even if some had their doubts, it seemed the people at the top were as innocent as could be. It would be nigh impossible to connect them to Chimera.
This was difficult news to the two Sentopoli residents. How could their country be so thoroughly corrupt?
“It’s…hard to take this all in, but okay. Leave this city’s safety to us. We promise our organizations will do everything we can to take care of it.”
“I will take responsibility for passing this information on to the guilds of other countries. This is a big deal, so I’m sure they’ll take what action they can.”
“Thank you,” Kagura said. “That helps a lot.”
“Trust us, the feeling’s mutual.”
The work of excising the deep-rooted infestation that was Chimera Clausen would undoubtedly be extensive, and reach far beyond this country’s borders. Kagura feared that even the Isuzu Alliance wouldn’t be able to prevent the chaos that might ensue. The agreement of cooperation made here today was a great step in the right direction.
However, there was one more matter at hand: the bounty on Chimera Clausen.
Isuzu had captured an enormous number of Chimera Clausen members. If they turned them in, they would be worth a fortune. But Kagura had offered to give up this prize money in exchange for the guilds’ cooperation.
By saving the guilds the bounty, Kagura allowed them to allocate those funds to the cleanup work that was to come. It would be an advantageous arrangement for both sides.
Then the guilds offered what they had learned. They had a full dossier containing records of the testimony from all of the Chimera remnants who’d been arrested, the facilities and organizations tied to them, as well as nobles connected to Chimera.
“This is all new info from confirmed sources. You wouldn’t believe what we went through to prepare this in just a few hours.” Gates offered the documents with a weak, exhausted grin.
After the announcement of Chimera’s defeat, the guilds had worked as fast as they could to get these documents together. Isuzu had petitioned for it so that they could clean up the remaining Chimera members and collaborators as swiftly as possible, providing the bulk of the labor required to hunt down the remaining operatives. In exchange, the guilds would share in the glory of having defeated the evil organization.
“Thank you very much.” Kagura accepted the documents with a genuine smile and flipped through them. “When it comes to fighting Chimera, speed is king. Let me give these a quick look.”
The guilds’ information network ran all over the continent and could reach even royal families. These documents were the fruit of flexing it to the fullest to search even the darkest underbellies. It was as good as some countries’ national intelligence, and it connected the dots of relationships between important figures.
Even the guilds were hesitant to collect so much information. But this was related to Chimera Clausen and their crimes—crimes that ran afoul of the laws that governed the Three Great Kingdoms. While disclosing this information might harm their relationship with other organizations, that was far better than earning the ire of the Three Great Kingdoms. These crimes were enormous and deadly serious; to hide them was a fool’s errand.
And now, thanks to the international legal affairs official of the Holy Kingdom of Alisfarius, Isuzu had been publicly recognized as dealing with the Chimera Clausen case. The guilds couldn’t afford to hand over any half-baked report.
After skimming the documents, Kagura offered a satisfied smile. “Wonderful. This should aid us greatly in capturing the remnants.”
Gates and Deborah visibly relaxed.
***
As the duo left the building, Kagura said, “I need to deal with these documents. Gramps, you can go back first.” Without waiting for Mira’s reply, she used her magic to switch places with a shikigami she’d left at Isuzu HQ. The shikigami that appeared was a Yatagarasu, which Kagura had named Yakkycrow. It perched directly atop Mira’s head.
“Good grief. She’s always on the go,” Mira muttered with a sigh. She walked along the main street and watched the streetlights turn on one by one. Then she gazed up at the sunset-stained sky and stopped, wondering where exactly this party was.
Those who had contributed to the defeat of Chimera Clausen still had celebrations to attend; they were to join a grand fete held by the country itself. Of course, Mira—the closing act of the declaration of victory—was an honored guest. She needed to get a move on herself.
She opened her map and checked the location. Then she jumped onto Pegasus’s back and flew gallantly off into the sunset.
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