Chapter 83

The young man left a lingering message and disappeared in a flash.

Ivelyn sank into her chair silently and sighed.

"Is he someone from Raycen's secretariat?"

"Not from the secretariat... he was the deputy leader of the security team, I think, but his position changed so many times I can't remember. He's a martial artist from a famous martial arts school."

"A martial artist..."

"His skills are definitely solid, so even though he can't handle machines at all, he's favored by the councilor. In fact, it might be because of that point that he's trusted."

The advantage of not having to worry about information leaking due to hacking was clearly a hard one to sell in this city.

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

Despite the grand words, in the end, as soon as Raycen sent someone, the information was quickly handed over.

"At least I thought you would pretend to try to negotiate."

"There's no need to reveal our intentions to Raycen."

Ivelyn said this while eating the snacks on her desk.

Even those were probably something made using the vegetables she had grown.

"The data interpretation is all done, and I confirmed that there's no information about the slush fund inside. The only thing that can be inferred from the communication records is the location information of Palsion's main base and other bases."

"You handed over the location information of the main base too?"

"Of course, I'll leave that out."

"......"

Renock immediately understood the meaning of her words and shook his head.

"You're planning to completely hand over the task of dealing with Palsion's remnants to them. Isn't that too bold?"

When he heard that Raycen had hired private troops to get involved in this matter, Renock had considered using him.

Indeed, if the location information was as mixed up as it is now, using Raycen's hands would make dealing with Palsion much easier.

"Even if we don't give the information and hold out, the result will be the same."

Ivelyn answered calmly.

"The estimated amount of the slush fund exceeds a hundred billion cells. Moreover, since the money isn't entirely Raycen's, he'll be desperate to find it. It wouldn't be strange for him to conduct a search and seizure on us if necessary. It's better to bow in appropriately and wait for the opportunity before that happens."

"Wait for the opportunity?"

"Why are you asking something so obvious?"

Her green eyes glinted coldly.

"When those guys are busy destroying other temporary bases and making futile efforts, we'll raid the main base."

"......You think everything will be over by then."

Considering Raycen's movements and information-gathering abilities so far, he would eventually realize that she had omitted the information, whether sooner or later.

Ivelyn had judged that she could finish everything and achieve her goal in that time.

But when she heard Renock's words, she shook her head decisively.

"That's not how I think. That's what we have to do."

"......"

Reading the firm resolve in her gaze, Renock remained silent.

Ivelyn turned her gaze to Renock and smiled faintly.

"In a way, all of this is possible thanks to you. I set ambitious goals, prepared for multiple failures, and pushed myself a bit too hard, but we achieved results beyond expectations in both operations against Palsion."

"Is that so."

"Yes. Thanks to you, we now have options, even though we've been at the mercy of the city council all along. If we miss this opportunity, it might never come again."

"......"

This is just the result of that choice, Ivelyn muttered as she stood up, and Renock watched her silently.

She must have her own reasons for opposing the city council and trying to remove Raycen from his position.

The monstrous archer who shot black arrows that darkened the sky was, in the end, just a minor piece in the city's web of interests.

Or, perhaps not.

Because she is such a capable person, and because she has that much power, she has responsibilities to bear.

Ivelyn Marcia is here because she has walked this far without shirking those duties.

It's not far.

The presence that always felt blurry, as if it could disappear at any moment even when facing her, was now vividly flashing before him today.