Chapter 24. The Third Section (3)

At the tail end of a sweltering summer.

Now, as the short autumn passes, a long, long winter will soon arrive.

Therefore, the entire continent was bustling with preparations for the approaching winter, but there was one place busier than any other.

It was the Dragon's Cradle, preparing to accept a new batch of initiates for the coming winter.

Each year, the number of prospective initiates entering the cradle easily reached several hundred.

Of course, only a select few would successfully endure the five years and graduate, but once they were admitted, they were placed under the strict management of the cradle.

With hundreds of prospective initiates scattered across the continent, it was only natural that the cradle was busy.

Especially as the initiation day for the new batch of initiates drew near, the Investigation Corps, responsible for gathering their personal information, became even busier.

During this period, in the midst of their busiest morning hours,

Harry Watson, the deputy commander of the Investigation Corps, was summoned by a sudden call from his superiors and was breaking out in a cold sweat.

Standing stiffly on the crimson carpet, Harry was as rigid as a statue.

In front of him sat an old man with white hair and blue eyes at a wooden desk.

Seeing the old man's stern expression, Harry swallowed hard.

‘What… What could be the reason for calling someone like me, a mere subordinate?’

Of course, as the deputy commander of the Investigation Corps, he was not a mere subordinate.

But to the old man in front of him, he was just one of many subordinates.

That was why he couldn't understand.

Why would the great commander summon someone like him?

‘I’m going to go crazy. I’m trembling so much I might die.’

The highest-ranking official he had ever met was the deputy commander, who was in charge of the Investigation Corps.

Commander Gordon, the commander, he had only seen from a distance a couple of times during commemorative events.

And now, a private meeting with the commander!

Harry instinctively felt that something was wrong.

‘Think, think, what did I do wrong? What did I do wrong… What… What on earth…?’

Unable to figure out why he was summoned, Harry's anxious mind was in turmoil.

‘Aaah! I have no idea!’

Just as he was inwardly screaming,

"Hmm, you."

Gordon's low voice made Harry, who was already stiff, stand even straighter.

"Yes! Deputy Commander Harry Watson of the Investigation Corps!"

"Right, Harry."

"Yes!"

"Is this report yours?"

As he spoke, Gordon placed a few documents on the desk.

Seeing this, Harry's mind and eyes quickly raced.

‘A report? One I submitted?’

He had submitted countless reports.

But among the recent ones, there was only one that was particularly significant.

‘Investigation of the movements of a Level 1 management target!’

It was an order with a Level 1 confidentiality label.

At first, he wondered why such a label was attached to something as trivial as this, but after seeing the investigation results, he understood.

To carry out this order, ten teams of the Investigation Corps had been mobilized, and he had compiled the information they gathered over half a year into a report.

‘Ah! The commander gave the order for this!’

Glancing at the documents on the desk, he confirmed it was indeed that report.

"Yes, that's correct!"

"Hmm, I called you here because I have a question. I thought it would be better to ask the person who submitted the report."

"I will do my best to answer any questions you have!"

"Before that… How accurate do you think this report is?"

Gordon tapped the report with his index finger.

At that moment, all sorts of thoughts raced through Harry's mind.

‘What is this? Is he testing me? Me, a mere subordinate? The commander himself?’

His mind was a jumbled mess.

Unable to come up with an answer, he blurted out his thoughts without hesitation.

"Sixty percent!"

"Sixty… That's an ambiguous number."

Gordon stroked his chin and scanned the report, which he had read several times.

* * *

Mission Report

1. Mission Objective:

- Investigate the past movements of the management target.

- Determine the relationship with the dissolute Johann Leonard.

2. Management Target: Yuri Holland.

*Special Note: 50th batch prospective initiate, 10th Black Dragon Leader.

*The information on the management target should be classified as Level 1 Confidential due to the connection with Johann Leonard.

3. Mission Period: Until the 50th batch of initiates enter.

4. Assignee: Deputy Commander Harry Watson and 10 teams of the Investigation Corps.

5. Report on the movements of the management target, Yuri Holland (hereafter referred to as "the target").

*This report is written in reverse chronological order, starting from the point where the target took the certification exam.

- The target took the certification exam in the Irons territory of the Croton administrative district, recommended by the dissolute.

- It is estimated that the target stayed in the Irons territory for 192 days.

- Before staying in the Irons territory, the target was...

...

...

* * *

The report started with the target's recent movements and gradually moved to the past.

While recent movements were detailed, the past movements had many gaps.

* * *

- Six years ago, the target appeared in the Briwell administrative district.

- Seven years ago, the target's movements for about a year are unknown.

- Eight years ago, it was confirmed that the target lived in a village under the Paul territory of the Saint John administrative district.

- The village where the target lived was destroyed by an attack, and the target was the only survivor, according to eyewitness testimony.

- The eyewitness was a merchant who supplied goods to the village, and according to his additional statement, the target lived with a woman named Moara.

- The relationship between the target and Moara is unknown.

- Eight years ago, the records of the territory's residents were held by the Pauli family, the previous lords of the Paul territory, but the records were destroyed when the Pauli family was wiped out for unknown reasons.

- Due to the complete loss of clues to trace further movements, the investigation of the target was concluded.

6. Conclusion:

- After comparing and analyzing the movements of the target and Johann Leonard, there is a 99% probability that they first met in the Irons territory.

* * *

It was indeed a remarkable feat to uncover a person's past in such detail in just half a year across the vast continent.

This proved that the information-gathering capabilities of the Investigation Corps were among the best in the world.

Of course, Gordon did not summon Harry just to praise him for this.

He looked at Harry and spoke.

"You said the accuracy of this report is 60%."

"Yes!"

"Then, do you think the content here is also 60% accurate?"

Gordon pointed to the last paragraph of the report.

* * *

7. Other Special Notes:

- During the investigation, a peculiar point related to a woman named Moara (estimated to be 64 years old at the time of her death) was discovered.

- A trace suspected to be from the Level 1 Confidential classification list was found in the remains of the house where Moara and the target lived.

- Therefore, I believe further investigation into Moara is necessary, and depending on the situation, an investigation into the relationship between the target and Moara may also be required.

* * *

Only then did Harry fully grasp why Gordon had summoned him.

‘It’s because of the Level 1 Confidential classification list!’

The most confidential of secrets, with access rights divided into upper, middle, lower, and lowest levels.

Only the commander, who held the highest authority, knew the exact nature of these secrets.

He was able to include Level 1 Confidential information in this report because deputy commanders were granted the lowest level of access for information classification.

‘Hmm… Has there been any Level 1 Confidential information reported to the upper levels in the past few years?’

In the early days of his deputy commander position, when he was living an enthusiastic life, he had reviewed ten years' worth of information within his authority.

Based on his memory, there was no Level 1 Confidential information classified in those ten years.

‘So, it’s been ten years since I brought in Level 1 Confidential information? No, no! If the commander summoned me personally… it must have been at least ten years since Level 1 Confidential information was reported!’

He had submitted this report, which meant…

‘It’s an opportunity!’

A perfect opportunity to catch the commander's eye!

After calculating how to make this opportunity his own, Harry carefully replied.

"No. The accuracy of that part is less than 60%!"

"Then, what percentage do you think it is?"

"About 20%."

"It's lower."

"The Level 1 Confidential access I have is the lowest level, so I lacked the necessary evidence to make a definitive judgment!"

"Does that mean the accuracy would improve if the access level were higher?"

"Yes, that's right!"

Harry's bold response made Gordon's eyes gleam sharply.

Under the gaze that seemed to see through his thoughts, Harry swallowed hard.

A brief silence filled the commander's office.

Amid the uncomfortable silence, Gordon smiled and spoke.

"I am issuing an order. As of now, Harry Watson of the Investigation Corps will step down from all front-line duties. Instead, focus on investigating the relationship between Yuri Holland and Moara, as well as the Level 1 Confidential classification list! For this task, Harry Watson's Level 1 Confidential access will be elevated to the middle level."

Finally hearing the