Chapter 173
A wagon arrived at a farmhouse located on the outskirts between Heli and Mycenae.
The man driving the wagon looked towards the cargo and said,
"Master, we've arrived."
The man was Richmond, disguised using the Transformation Cloak.
Zeke, who was hiding under the wagon, got up.
"You arrived safely without being noticed."
Zeke had escaped Heli riding Richmond, who had transformed into a monster.
The duration of Richmond's transformation was about an hour. So, before his transformation wore off, they had boarded a prepared wagon and come to the safe house.
Getting off the wagon, Zeke took out a box that was placed under the hay.
Opening the lid of the box, which was nailed shut, he found Dario curled up inside.
"Ugh..."
Dario had been confined and transported inside the box for days.
Zeke dragged Dario out and took him inside the farmhouse.
As they entered the safe house, Boris and Bisco appeared.
"Boss."
Zeke threw the captured Dario onto the floor and said to Boris,
"You escaped safely, then? The Rose Knights and the Syndicate?"
"The Knights and the Syndicate members scattered and went into hiding. We'll regroup later in Mycenae."
Both were experts in escape and evasion.
Zeke nodded.
"Take him downstairs. We'll start the interrogation in a bit."
Bisco quickly grabbed Dario and took him to the prison they had built in the basement.
Watching them, Zeke asked Boris,
"What do you think of him?"
"He's better than I expected. Quick-witted and agile."
"That's surprising. I thought you'd be picky about the people you employ."
"Even when I was in Room 13, I treated my juniors well. I was once voted the number one agent people wanted to partner with."
Zeke looked disbelieving for a moment, then asked another question.
"What's the situation in Heli?"
"It's going according to plan. We only targeted the Nostra clan's shell companies and with the undead appearing, it seems they're attributing it to a Red Eye terrorist attack."
"The fact that Red Eye and Nostra are on the verge of conflict helped."
"Yes. There have been frequent clashes in the eastern region lately. Soma sells quite well in the Eastern Empire, but Jason can't touch it since it's Draker territory. It seems the turf war is intense on the outskirts of the neutral cities."
"By neutral territory, you mean where the Alchemist Tower is located?"
"That's right. There are plenty of alchemists there, so it's easy to find technicians to refine Soma, and it's also convenient for securing ships to the Eastern Empire."
"That makes sense."
"It was originally Red Eye's territory, but the Nostra clan gradually increased their influence. These days, they're openly setting up workshops, and the conflict has intensified."
"I thought Red Eye only dealt in weapons. Are they dealing with Soma now?"
"Soma is more profitable than weapons. I hear it's extremely lucrative to smuggle it into the Eastern Empire."
With the Nostra clan and Red Eye, two major Mafia organizations in the Central Continent, clashing, it seemed likely that attention would be diverted towards them.
Zeke said to Boris,
"Spread more false information to increase the confusion."
"But what if a real war breaks out?"
"If they're busy fighting each other, it'll create openings for us to exploit."
"Are you planning to completely wipe out the Nostra clan, like the McCain Cartel?"
Zeke shook his head.
"It's different this time. The more I dig into the Nostra clan, the more suspicious they seem. We need to investigate and find out who the real boss is."
Boris shook his head at those words.
"If anyone else said that, I would have scoffed and ridiculed them, but since it's you, boss, I can't laugh."
"Didn't you hear anything else about the Nostra clan when you were in Room 13?"
"Mafia matters weren't our responsibility, so I only know what I heard from other agents. I haven't heard anything specific about their boss."
Zeke also couldn't recall any significant incidents involving the Nostra clan's boss from his previous life.
'Were they laying low because of the Continental War?'
If not, they might have been eliminated by the Empire without it being publicly known, or they might have participated in the war on the Empire's side.
"I guess we'll have to hope Dario gives us the answers."
After a short rest, Zeke headed to the underground prison where Dario was held.
Clank!
Dario's hands and feet were shackled. Despite that, he lunged at Zeke as soon as he descended into the prison.
"Die!"
He tried to stab Zeke with a hidden metal skewer.
Snatch!
In an instant, Zeke snatched the skewer from Dario's hand and threw it towards the wall.
The skewer embedded itself deep into the solid stone wall.
"Ugh..."
Feeling his strength was no match for Zeke's, Dario fell into despair once again.
Zeke grabbed Dario by the neck.
"Gah!"
"Pathetic. This is one of the bosses of the Nostra clan?"
Zeke flung Dario against the wall.
"Ugh!"
Dario gasped, his back hitting the wall with a bone-jarring impact.
Zeke pulled up a chair, sat in front of Dario, looked down at him, and said,
"Why don't we avoid unnecessary trouble and you simply answer my questions?"
Dario raised his head and spat at Zeke.
Zeke lightly turned his head to avoid the spit, then nodded and took out a Healing Potion.
"Right. Everyone starts like that."
Zeke forced open Dario's mouth and poured the Healing Potion down his throat.
"Ugh!"
Against his will, the Healing Potion restored Dario's body and stamina.
Zeke swiftly drew a chain from his left hand.
Clank!
The chains wrapped around Dario's body and gradually tightened.
"Ugh!"
He tried to bite his tongue and die, but Zeke, as if reading his mind, forced his mouth open, preventing it, and then healed him again.
Zeke smirked at him.
"Shall we start lightly?"
Crackle!
With blue sparks, Dario's screams echoed through the prison.
***
"Stop, please stop..."
Even if he wanted to die or faint, Zeke's Area of Effect Buff prevented it.
Ten hours after the interrogation began, Dario's mind crumbled.
Zeke took a bite of his sandwich leisurely and said,
"Are you ready to talk now?"
Dario looked at Zeke and said,
"Why… Why are you doing this to me?"
"I told you. I have questions for you."
"Then… ask. I'll answer."
"I don't see sincerity in your eyes yet."
"Damn it! I said I'll answer, so why?! Just ask me something! I'll answer!"
Zeke, having finished his sandwich and juice, got up from his seat.
Dario flinched and recoiled. Zeke brought another chair and sat in front of him again.
"Tell me everything you've heard about the Elder Dragon's relics."
Despite saying he would answer everything, Dario remained silent at Zeke's question.
However, when Zeke took out another Healing Potion, he was startled and spoke up.
"Th-the Empire! The Empire contacted us first. They told us to report any ancient relics related to the Elder Dragon or immortality as a top priority!"
Zeke pulled his chair closer to Dario and asked,
"How did you find out about Dusk?"
Dario answered, his body trembling,
"I-I was looking for a shaman to cast a curse. For business purposes."
"Did you curse Lady Angelina for business purposes too, you perverted scum?"
Zeke channeled electricity through the chains again.
Crackle!
"Grrr!"
Dario foamed at the mouth and collapsed again.
Zeke healed the fallen Dario once more.
He finally took a deep breath.
Zeke asked him again,
"You know that's not what I asked, right? I'll ask again. Where did you meet Dusk?"
Dario hesitated before finally speaking.
"I-I was introduced!"
Little by little, the answers Zeke wanted began to emerge.
"Where, by whom, and how were you introduced? Tell me properly."
Dario, trembling, barely managed to speak.
"Th-the first introduction was through an Imperial connection."
"More specifically, in detail."
Dario breathed heavily, his eyes darting around.
After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke.
"I-I was introduced by a knight of the Cheongal Palace, one of the Thirteen Palaces."
Zeke was surprised by Dario's words.
"A knight of the Cheongal Palace. An Imperial general introducing a shaman to the Mafia?"
Dario continued, trembling,
"Th-the Cheongal Palace Knights and our Nostra clan have a blood oath."
'Oh?'
He hadn't expected one of the Empire's Thirteen Legions to be connected to the Mafia.
Zeke moved closer to Dario and asked,
"Dario. You're not lying in this situation, are you?"
"Damn it, how could I lie about something like this? It's true."
Zeke stroked his chin and continued his questioning.
"Let's say the Cheongal Palace Knights have a blood oath with the Nostra clan. How did they introduce you to Dusk?"
"It wasn't Dusk, but a clan called 'Narak.'"
Finally, the answer Zeke wanted emerged.
Zeke pressed Dario, pretending to be unaware.
"Narak. I've never heard of them."
"I didn't know such people existed either at first. In fact, I still don't know their true identity. The way to contact them is extremely complicated, and I haven't really communicated with them except when I was introduced to the shaman."
"So they were the ones who introduced you to Dusk?"
"Yes."
"Tell me in more detail how the Cheongal Palace Knights introduced you to this Narak. Also, who initially approached you and how did they contact you?"
Zeke asked Dario similar questions in various ways, organizing the information.
Narak's security was so tight that it was difficult to find anything specific even in Dario's answers.
'I thought I could uncover Narak's true nature by interrogating Dario.'
Their true identity was more deeply hidden than he expected.
While organizing his thoughts, Zeke heard something unsettling in Dario's answer and asked,
"Again, where did you say the first meeting point was when you first met those Narak guys?"
Exhausted by the repeated questions, Dario spoke with difficulty.
"I was blindfolded, so I don't know exactly where it was… but it was a small church-like place."
"What do you mean by 'church-like' and not a church?"
"It didn't have anything… church-like, I guess. But it felt like a church."
Zeke felt there might be a clue hidden within Dario's vague answer.
"Dario. Think carefully. What made it feel like a church when it wasn't?"
At Zeke's question, Dario struggled to recall his memory.
That's when it happened.
Zeke placed his hand on Dario's head and used Dragon's Sense.
Woooong!
Instantly, Dario's memories flooded into Zeke's mind.
It felt like everything Dario had felt, seen, and heard was mixed together and seeping into his brain.
The most intense sensation Zeke felt was the sense of smell.
'What is this smell? I've smelled it somewhere before.'
And then he heard a sound.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The sound of a bell ringing in the distance.
Finally, Dario's gaze swept past.
In a small, old space with whitewashed walls, long benches were lined up closely together.
Zeke realized what Dario meant by feeling like a church.
The structure resembled a chapel, but there were no emblems or statues of the Sun God around.
And again, Zeke smelled the scent from before.
A burning smell.
Zeke tried to identify the source of the smell in his memory.
He had smelled it when he visited the Ishtar clan.
It was similar to the smell he encountered in the market street right before entering the main palace.
Zeke recalled the memory from that time.
The scenery of the market vividly appeared in his mind.
He could sense the smell rising amidst the numerous merchants and people.
There was a man where the smell originated.
The man was stirring something in a large cauldron with a ladle.
A strong aroma wafted from within.
Zeke slowly opened his eyes.
He realized the identity of the smell he had smelled in his memory.
"Coffee."
The strong smell he had sensed in Dario's memory was none other than the aroma of coffee.