Plimene swallowed her breath. She too had aged sufficiently and had experienced various things while working as a civil servant in Tirna.
That had made her grow as a bureaucrat, and she didn't deny that it had made her gain recognition despite being a woman.
She had often thought to herself that she wouldn't be inferior anywhere she went.
'But now it is different.'
The old man before her eyes. A man in his 80s but still possessing the blazing eyes of a passionate 20-year-old.
'William Sterling.'
In Tirna, there was the military that protected the city from external enemies, and the security force that was responsible for internal public order. But these two organizations weren't everything that protected Tirna.
For instance, there were those who oversaw both the inside and outside of the city, moving only to respond to special situations.
'Emergency Response Bureau, Council of Guardians.'
'A place that secretive. But their influence and the power they possess is truly enormous.'
Even Tirna's five mayors couldn't manipulate the Council of Guardians at will. They were an agency that existed solely to protect Tirna, possessing independent and powerful authority.
And William Sterling, who was here now, was one of the leaders of that Council of Guardians. Naturally, since it was a large-scale agency, there were several leaders, but William had considerable influence even among them.
The reason he could summon a high-ranking bureaucrat like Plimene alone was because of that.
"Tell me in detail what happened at that time."
His ability to come on so strong also showed fragmentarily how powerful the authority he possessed was.
"I believe I submitted a report."
Plimene had written and submitted a report about what happened at Trinity Building. Just from that, one could sufficiently know what she had seen and experienced.
"Mere words cannot capture all the horror of that scene. Even the world's greatest calligrapher would find that impossible."
"If my writing skills are insufficient, I'll prepare an additional report."
"I'd rather hear it directly."
Plimene had a gut feeling that William had sensed something that wasn't written in the report.
If he had risen to this position, his intuition wouldn't be ordinary either. No matter how perfectly written the report was, he would have noticed subtle inconsistencies.
"You must have heard information from the Tea Party as well."
Plimene spoke as if testing the waters deliberately. It wasn't a difficult thing to do. The fact that the witch Maia had been with her was something the city government agents who had accompanied them at the time also knew.
And if it was the Council of Guardians cooperating with the Tea Party, they would have heard something separately from that side besides from her.
'The important thing is whether Maia actually told the truth or not.'
Maia was one of the people who knew the 'truth' of the scene along with her. Even if they had no choice but to turn a blind eye and let it pass at the time, it was common for people's hearts to change easily.
'If Maia made a report related to Julius. Even if not that, if she gave even a slight hint.'
Plimene had to desperately suppress her heart to avoid showing emotional disturbance. What made this possible was thanks to the talent and experience that had allowed her to rise this far.
Nothing was confirmed yet. So let's trust Maia. Trust that she's not a bad person.
She knew that nothing was more meaningless than trusting people. The people she had seen always only betrayed others.
One gets betrayed because one trusts. Her former self would have definitely thought that way. But at Trinity Building, she had seen a person who moved relying only on compassion and faith and the miracle he had created.
So she wanted to trust again that not everyone would use others' secrets as weaknesses. That sometimes they could accept disadvantages for the sake of others.
"You mean the Witch Tea Party?"
William snorted. From that cold smile, Plimene realized that his relationship with the Tea Party wasn't very good.
"Those guys can't be trusted. They're always doing as they please. Even though they stay in Tirna and have gained privileges, they rarely handle things properly."
Plimene's anxious speculation became certainty. Maia had kept her promise. She had kept the secret strictly, and beyond that, she had clearly conveyed the situation at that time vaguely to the Council.
‘Thank you, Maia. I'll buy you a delicious dessert next time.’
"...But didn't you dispatch as many as three witches?"
Even during the terrorist incident by the witch [Mother Goose], only one witch had appeared at the scene at the time. But this time, they had dispatched as many as three. The members belonging to the Witch Tea Party were few compared to the organization's reputation. It was due to the outstanding abilities of individual witches, but having few people meant carrying considerable disadvantages as an organization.
Such a Tea Party had dispatched as many as three witches for this incident. It might be dissatisfying that they weren't all sent at once, but it wasn't something they could complain about.
"Originally, only one was officially dispatched. The following two were actions to save the first witch they sent. It wasn't for Tirna."
William's gaze toward Plimene sharpened. His frosty stare was so sharp it seemed like it would cut into her flesh right away.
"So you're the only way to know the situation at that time."
"I see. I understand."
This was inescapable. William was suspecting her right now. It wasn't particularly because he disliked her. This was just like an occupational disease.
'That's probably why he can maintain his position even at that age.'
He was a person who deserved respect. But right now, that person was having a private meeting with her and sharpening his blade. He probably wasn't even conscious of sharpening his blade. That would be the same as his usual state.
She was nervous. But she was also a veteran who wouldn't be inferior anywhere.
She had already run simulations several times to prepare for this kind of situation. If she couldn't overcome this crisis, she would have to give up on rising to a higher position.
'The truth related to Julius must be hidden.'
There were quite a few other truths that needed to be hidden. For instance, the fact that she had joined hands with the terrorist organization, the Blood Brotherhood. Just revealing that fact might get her dismissed.
'What to reveal and what to hide. From here on, tightrope walking is necessary.'
It might seem entirely disadvantageous, but it wasn't. She had an advantageous card. That was the card of 'information' that only she, who was at the scene at that time, knew.
She had to carefully control which of these to play first and their importance. Depending on how she ordered them, the results would vary drastically.
'And the most optimal card to use in a situation like this is.'
Plimene thought of a man. The knight of starlight, wearing brilliant armor all over his body.
"Do you know about knights, Chairman William?"
A fairy tale-like topic had come up. For the first time, puzzlement appeared in William's eyes. But he didn't ask back in surprise. He was too seasoned for that. William took off the glasses he wore on his face. His gaze became much gentler.
"Tell me more."
She had succeeded in drawing his interest.
Osian went to work at Violet Fox. The day before, he had been tired, so after eating breakfast, he had gone straight home to rest.
Now that his body had recovered sufficiently, he came to kill time as usual. But outside Violet Fox, it was already bustling with crowds.
"What?"
Words he wouldn't normally say to himself came out of his mouth. The people gathered at the entrance were diverse. There were people who looked like reporters, and there were also those who appeared to be fixers from the same industry.
Of course, the majority were ordinary people who came with curiosity and interest, but that wasn't something Osian needed to worry about.
"Huh?"
The people loitering at the entrance spotted Osian. Countless gazes turned toward Osian.
"That's him, right?"
"Of course it's him. Who else would look like that?"
As soon as confirmation was over, people rushed toward Osian.
"Mr. Osian! Is it true that you were at the scene during the District 17 incident!"
"I heard you made a tremendous contribution to solving the case together with Mr. Basilio, an industry legend?"
"Could we have an interview!"
Reporters took the lead and got heated up. This was Osian's first time in such a situation, so he was quite flustered. He had no choice but to be. Although Osian had successfully completed major requests until now, he hadn't been widely known to the public.
Most of them were secret matters, and even when solved, the fact that a single fixer had achieved merit was usually buried. Osian knew this too, and since he had no interest in fame to begin with, he hadn't paid much attention to it.
But this time was different.
'I became this famous?'
Considering the level of people who were at the scene at that time, this wasn't the kind of attention one would pay to a mere fixer unless someone was blatantly promoting him. Something had happened in a place he didn't know about.
'It's not that it's bad, but it's also true that it's bewildering.'
From the perspective of reporters desperate for scoops, Osian was very attractive prey. They hadn't come here recklessly either. Just handling one case well wasn't enough to gain fame in Tirna, which was not a lenient place.
It was ridiculous to call the District 17 incident just one case, but this was reality. There was a reason why people evaluated as industry legends were still active even now.
They had achieved solid results. And to maintain their reputation, they had to continue producing such results consecutively. The veterans of the industry were such people. Only such people remained, which is why they became legends.
The reporters who had checked Osian's information like this were able to discover unexpected facts.
'This guy is more of a rough diamond than I thought?'
'Why on earth hasn't someone like this been known until now?'
He was a fixer, but his face was handsome, and the records of his past participation were not ordinary. There were activity records in between that couldn't be confirmed even through their connections, and even those seemed significant to the reporters.
They could smell the scent of a scoop. Reporters in Tirna were different from other reporters. They were warriors who had overcome battlefields to survive in this harsh city. If they didn't have this kind of sense, they would have been tightening screws with wrenches in steam-filled factories long ago.
'Violet Fox office. This place is different from other fixer organizations. It's somehow more serious.'
'It's a hidden place known only to those in the know in the industry.'
'Basilio, one of the industry legends, belongs here. Could he be his direct disciple?'
All sorts of pictures were drawn in the reporters' minds. Most were far-fetched, but some were close to the truth.
That wasn't important. They had to somehow not let this scoop be taken by others.
'This is troublesome.'
Osian sighed inwardly. Of all things, people had become interested in him.
'I don't mind hiding achievements outright, but who would have thought they'd inflate and spread rumors like this.'
He had a guess whose work this was. It was probably Plimene's doing. A bitter smile formed. He could roughly guess what she was thinking when she did this.
'Is it that a woman in love can't see anything?'
Plimene was planning to make Osian a hero. In situations of confusion like this, people tended to be even more enthusiastic about the appearance of heroes. This was similar to the vision that Tirna's mayor, Deliphiros, had been drawing from the beginning.
'Indeed, when you reach the level of a high-ranking bureaucrat, you're like a ghost at using people.'
People who had done politics for a long time were indeed different. They knew like ghosts which way people's hearts flowed. This was possible because of their exceptional insight into human dynamics. They had survived until now because they realized this.
'Even so, this is a bit troublesome.'
He was just pondering how to deal with people who were almost losing their reason.
"Hey. Move aside."
"You bastards! Clear the way!"
"Damn it! What are you looking at!"
Rough and menacing shouts rang out. Soon after, sturdy figures rushed in and pushed the reporters aside.
Osian stared at them intently.
‘Fixers.'
These were fixers. And they were ones whose level wasn't that high. If he had to categorize them, they were at the level of picking up appropriate requests from the bottom, not much different from mercenaries.
But their menacing faces, manner of speaking, and presence were things that only those crawling at the bottom could obtain. Therefore, reporters and citizens with low immunity to this kind of thing had to back away in fear.
'Are they helping me?'
While Osian was thinking this, the fixers who had calmed the commotion momentarily turned to look at Osian.
The sight of distinctive characters with their own unique personalities all turning to look at once was overwhelming in a different sense from when corrupted beings rushed in.
It felt even more so because they had frowned to chase away the reporters and people. But their expressions looking at Osian changed in an instant.
"A-Are you Mr. Osian?"
They began to melt away as if they had fallen in love for the first time.