The guards rolled their eyes and watched each other in a hostile atmosphere.
The moment any one of them pulls the trigger, a fight will break out.
What kind of result would that bring?
"Who are you?"
William asked calmly in the tense atmosphere.
He must already know from the reports, but the fact that he's playing dumb shows his question has clear intentions.
"I'm Lucent Philburg’s guard."
"Yes, a guard. But now that you're here, further protection won't be necessary, right?"
"That's not for you to decide."
William's eyebrow twitched at Osian's sharp remark.Though he's smiling, his true nature is ultimately a slave to greed.
He couldn't have good feelings about Osian interfering with him and taking such a stern attitude.
If he had his way, he'd want to order the surrounding guards to open fire immediately.
'But he can't do that.'
Osian knows. William is very careful with his actions because he's greedy.
Right now, protesters and sentries are in a standoff outside.
Starting a fight with gunfire from headquarters? That would only provide justification for external intervention.
"I am Lucent's workplace superior. So naturally, my words should carry equivalent authority, shouldn't they?"
"Well. Being an uneducated fixer, I don't know about such complicated things. I'm only here to guard Lucent."
"Until when?"
"Since no specific period was set, I'd say at least a week would be needed."
Osian implied that he could stay longer than a week if needed.
William hid his displeasure and managed his expression, but the other directors with less patience couldn't do the same.
"These damn bastards, what kind of foolish game are they playing here! What do you think you're doing! Get them out!"
"Stop!"
William shouted angrily and stopped the guards.
The other directors looked at William with puzzled expressions.
William's lips trembled briefly before he forced a smile.
"Well. Having more people to safely protect our employee is better for me. I'll grant you access."
"Di-Director William."
"Enough! The decision has been made."
William signaled to the other directors with his eyes.
They roughly caught on to what William was planning, so they nodded and stepped back.
When the directors retreated, the guards lowered their guns and made way.
Confirming their reaction, Osian slightly turned his head to look at Edgar.
Edgar was still looking around with an indifferent expression while sucking on candy.
'Everything's going according to Edgar's plan so far.'
Before coming here, Edgar had laid out a brief plan about what to do next.
The first step was to personally return Lucent to Saint Tree.
When concerns were raised about what if they try something after going to Saint Tree, Edgar dismissed it with a snort.
-Look at how they're acting. Anyone can see they're cowering because of the attention from outside. In such a situation, would they try something right after we arrive? That would only give justification for external intervention.
Edgar said.
The directors absolutely cannot touch Lucent and the others carelessly.
-Of course, that's temporary. For now, they'll welcome us with smiles, but inside they'll be calculating how to exclude us. And after letting us in, once they finish their calculations...that's when they'll move.
Edgar's prediction was exactly right.
The directors welcomed Osian's group with smiling faces for now. They had no choice.
If things go wrong here and Lucent leaves again, it would be like losing a fish they'd already caught.
"Come inside. We have urgent business to attend to in a meeting."
William and the other directors withdrew with their people.
Of course, there couldn't suddenly be urgent business, so their intention must be to discuss how to deal with this group.
Since this was also expected, Osian simply nodded as if it was nothing.
"Sure."
*
The place where Lucent and Osian's group were guided to was Saint Tree's research wing.
Though called a research wing, it was practically a detention facility.
It was sealed off to the point where the inside couldn't be seen from the outside. Looking at the internal facilities, it was clearly built more to prevent internal security from leaking out than to protect against external threats.
Even considering that research results need top security, this was too excessive.
'Thinking about what's happening now, they must have built it this way with this in mind from the start.'
The passing researchers had dark expressions.
And armed guards were always following beside the researchers.
They were called guards but were essentially monitors to prevent researchers from doing anything suspicious.
They watched Osian's passing group with sharp glares.
Their intention was to warn against any suspicious behavior, but considering what they would do soon, it only made Osian want to snort in derision.
He knew their gun barrels would soon be pointing this way even without any suspicious behavior.
-Creeak.
The door that resembled a bomb shelter opened and Lucent entered the laboratory.
As befitting his position as chief researcher, his laboratory was set up for his exclusive use.
All sorts of plants were displayed in the white interior laboratory.
They were plant samples to be used in collaboration with elves.
When the door closed, Lucent sat down weakly in a chair as if finally relieved of tension.
"Now what do we do?"
"Well, now that we've gotten in here, you could say the operation is almost halfway successful."
"It won't be easy to leak information from inside to the outside. Security has increased, and they've especially blocked all exits to prevent us from getting out."
"I saw that on the way in. And..."
Osian noticed presences beyond the door.
As soon as they went inside, pre-stationed guards had set up surveillance.
"Never mind. What we need to do hasn't changed anyway."
Osian asked Edgar.
"So what's the next plan?"
"Actually, there isn't much. Since we achieved the most important goal, now we just wait."
"Is that really necessary?"
"It is, that's why I'm saying it. You know how those old men all left saying they had a meeting?"
Everyone nodded at Edgar's question.
Edgar took the candy out of his mouth briefly and smirked.
"Those old men must be really heated up by now. Not only did someone who was running away come back voluntarily, but they even let external combat personnel inside."
In a situation where they were already getting headaches from watching external reactions, Lucent suddenly returned.
They must be wondering first.
Why? What was Lucent's purpose in returning?
"Would they think he gave up and will comply? No way. They already know he's working with Goldiron. Moreover, in the past few days, Goldirons pressure has made their situation even more difficult."
Lucent returned while they were being hit repeatedly from the outside. Would they genuinely be happy about that? Think that this fool walked right into their mouths?
Of course, they would have to suspect that Lucent had hidden intentions.
"The situation is too coincidental to just be happy about. Other idiots might swallow it gladly, but old men who've risen to these positions by pulling big scams have to be careful. They'll be cautious with every step they take."
Edgar twirled the candy with his finger before popping it back in his mouth.
"They'll mobilize everything they have to check us out. What intentions we came with, and what preparations we've made."
"But didn't we just come in first?"
Edgar nodded at Diolan's question.
"Right. And once they realize we don't have any plans, they'll show their true colors. They'll try everything to extract the necessary data from Lucent's mouth. But here's the problem. Those guys are trying to secure Lucent's technology and then sell it off. So who exactly would be their target buyer?"
Lucent pondered the question before answering.
"Would it be rival companies?"
"Which rival companies?"
"You know, people who don't want new communication networks being laid like now. For example, the telecommunications bureau?"
"Wrong. They might covet this technology, but if they pull this kind of thing inside the city, Tirna would take notice. They could be marked as accomplices in the Saint Tree incident."
"That means whoever buys this technology would have to drink from a poisoned chalice."
"Right. And it would be hard to find companies willing to accept that risk in Tirna."
That's when Lorraine, who was maintaining her gun, spoke up.
"Then it must be foreign companies."
A casually thrown comment. Lucent thought 'surely not', but Edgar nodded.
"Correct. If they're not affiliated with Tirna, they don't need to worry about the city's attention, plus they can steal Tirna's technology, so it makes sense."
Osian offered his opinion.
"Foreign companies, huh. But making contact won't be easy."
"Right. The directors would be caught immediately if they try to leave the city with the technology. So they must be here now. Somewhere in this headquarters, they've been waiting. For that moment of transaction."
Lucent's eyes widened.
His face said 'surely not?', but the other fixers were nodding as if they found Edgar's words convincing.
"That's probably why the directors tried to capture or kill Lucent to steal his data. Their warm welcome just now? Simple. They're just desperate. They're anxious because a deal that should have been finished by now has been delayed."
After hearing everything, Lucent expressed his doubt.
"I understand we've found an important clue. So what should we do now? How can we secure evidence of their illegal deal when we're trapped and under surveillance like this?"
"Who says we can't?"
"What?"
Edgar looked at Diolan to satisfy Lucent's curiosity.
Understanding what that gaze meant, Diolan smiled awkwardly.
"Wait a minute. Here? Are you serious?"
"Would I have brought you here for no reason?"
"Did you calculate even that?"
Diolan didn't want to show his secret. But to Edgar, that just seemed like whining.
"Everyone here who needs to know already knows. Only the client doesn't know."
"That's why I don't want to show the client."
"Only you can do this. You know that, right? Otherwise, well, we can just mark this operation as a failure."
"Ah really. You had to go that far? Then I have no choice."
Diolan shook his head as if troubled.
He had finally surrendered.
"Right, can't be helped. I came this far to help because a fellow colleague was in danger."
"Are you okay with this?"
When Lorraine asked, Diolan shrugged playfully with a mischievous smile.
What's not to be okay with? If it had to be done, this much could be endured.
"It's for a colleague, so."
Diolan immediately warned Lucent.
"Hey client. Some surprising scenes are about to unfold, but don't scream or anything, okay?"
"Wh-what? What are you going to do?"
"You'll see, so keep your mouth shut. You might bite your tongue."
At Edgar's ominous warning, Lucent shut his mouth tight.
Osian stared intently at Diolan. Perhaps feeling that gaze, Diolan smiled and said.
"Hey, it's too much pressure when you stare like that."
"I'm just curious. Wondering how you'll change."
"What? You knew?"
"Wouldn't it be strange not to know?"
Lorraine was referring to what happened when they were involved with the Ghost Corps.
Diolan scratched his head and chuckled.
"That's true."
Diolan untied his boot laces. It was the old boots he always wore.
While Diolan always wore new clothes, he stubbornly kept these boots unchanged.
The reason was soon revealed.
The moment Diolan pulled his foot from the boot and stepped barefoot on the ground, his appearance began changing from the toes up.
Black fur sprouted all over their body and his size inflated like a balloon.
What finally revealed itself in the laboratory was an enormous black cat that filled the field of vision.
Even calling it a cat is being cute about it. It had a face more huge and fierce than a tiger.
"...!"
Lucent nearly fainted. If Edgar hadn't warned in advance, he certainly would have.
It was a natural reaction when a person suddenly transformed into a giant cat monster.
Diolan, now transformed into a giant cat, looked at Edgar.
Edgar took the candy from his mouth and pointed at Diolan while saying:
"Now then, go fetch us some information, Puss in Boots."