Chapter 804 – Manuscript of Evil

000

While Noctis was talking, Jinmidang’s food came out one after another, stimulating the sense of smell of the two hungry people and making them even more concerned about their empty stomachs.

When Cleon told Noctis that he could eat without worrying about himself, Noctis said ‘Ugh…’ With a reluctant expression on his face, but slowly began to move his chopsticks, as if he couldn’t overcome his empty stomach.

Meanwhile, after listening to her story, Cleon began to organize the things he was concerned about.

First, the woman who said she was an investor in the newspaper she was affiliated with.

Speaking of the impressive-looking woman that Noctis had mentioned, Cleon also had something to remember about her.

Thinking that she had met her once in the not-so-distant past… She slowly pieced together the information she said and pieced it together in her head.

‘… Indeed. Is that so?

The face that was finally completed in Cleon’s mind was ‘Darwin of Evolution’, a member of the Returners.

She has had an influence on Asteris from the past to the present, so it was not unusual for her to have connections in her newspaper.

Even if information manipulation or impression manipulation is being done knowingly or unknowingly, it would not be a problem.

＂Over there…＂

After Cleon succeeds in finding the criminal, a small voice calls out to him.

Noctis was watching her as she glanced up at him with chopsticks in her mouth.

＂What’s wrong?＂

When Cleon talks about his behavior like a small animal that is afraid of being scolded, Noctis responds cautiously.

＂Are you angry? Because our newspaper is trying to write such an article… Or because of such ridiculous rumors.”

＂Hmm.＂

Cleon sighed softly at Noctis’ words.

When living as a member of the Black Demon’s clan, there were many cases where I was misunderstood for things I couldn’t remember, or received strange prejudices from others based solely on first impressions.

As a result, my senses are a bit numb, but if a newspaper comes out with such content, ‘some’ residents of Asteris may have a negative view of Cleon.

However, as Noctis himself said, the literacy rate in Asteris was quite high, and in addition, the penetration rate of newspapers was not that high.

The people who read the newspaper are some of the leading intellectuals in Asteris or people who are interested in current affairs.

People of that caliber would not be swayed by every single word written in the newspaper.

If they were going to do that kind of work, they might have thought it would be more effective if they started after they came to Asteris, or at least right after they found out about their existence.

Of course, if the officials of the palace, including Duke Miyeom, or the humans of the Dark Dragon Company had intervened, the spread of such rumors would have been prevented.

So what is Darwin’s purpose?

Why is the newspaper being used at such a late hour to manipulate such impressions?

＂… Maybe-＂

Maybe the information Noctis talked about – or something other than the information she confirmed – was in the manuscript she handed over to her boss?

“It might be a good idea to go check.”

＂Eh.＂

When Cleon muttered that, Noctis looked up at Cleon in confusion.

“You’re going to check… Are you at our newspaper?”

“Ah. The manuscript she handed me. The content of her writing alone doesn’t have that much power… But if I knew her, she wouldn’t do something meaningless just to do something like that.”

When Cleon said that, Noctis narrowed his eyes and seemed to realize that the ‘her she’ Cleon was talking about was the woman who gave him the manuscript.

“What on earth is that person? She doesn’t look that old, but I guess I should say that she gives off an impression that makes her a little uneasy… She seemed to send goosebumps down her spine when she looked at her.”

＂… Originally, it would be better not to talk about her for your safety…＂

Noctis looked at her Cleon, his eyes full of intent to ask until she told him.

“… Do you know about regressors?”

Noctis appears to think for a moment in response to Cleon’s question, then nods her head.

Then, perhaps because she thought that Cleon’s question had meaning, she looked surprised and raised her voice loudly, then covered her mouth.

“… Her brain is quick.”

Cleon nodded her head as if to stamp his thoughts, and Noctis carefully removed her hand from her mouth as he spoke, as if her heart was still pounding.

＂Seo, who would have thought she was such a dangerous person… Does her boss know?＂

“Well… But if you continue to receive her support while knowing about her, that would be a pretty serious sin. Likewise with En Lai, who had been arrested for treason not long ago, there was evidence that she was collaborating with the Returners. Maybe it could be treason.”

Noctis flinches and trembles at Cleon’s words.

Of course, treason would be a crime in other countries as well, but it is a crime that is punished quite severely in Asteris as well.

If the president cooperated with her while knowing her identity as Cleon said, there was a high probability that she would be punished by death.

＂Hey, me! “I have to ask the boss!”

When Noctis says that and tries to get up from her seat, Cleon grabs her wrist.

“Wait a moment. I’ll go with you, so calm down a little.”

＂Oh, Cleon too?＂

If Cleon were to accompany her, she would definitely feel more relieved than if she went alone.

“Anyway. “You can’t just leave the food like this, right?”

＂Well… That’s also true.＂

Remembering that he hadn’t even finished eating half of the food he ordered, Noctis calmed down a little and sat down.

“Whew… Let’s calm down… Noctis… I’m sure it’ll be okay…”

And, as Cleon watched her mumbling in that way to further calm herself, he thought.

Looking at her reaction, it was clear that she had a lot of trust in her boss.

Noctis is a smart girl.

There are times when she acts a little impatiently, but that can also be attributed to her quick thinking.

If she were someone she trusted, it could be said that even in her usual appearance, she was someone who would not betray Noctis’ expectations.

The reason he took such action this time could have been his judgment as a person responsible for the livelihood of his employees due to the newspaper company’s worsening finances.

So, it would be better to think that the ‘what if situation’ she was thinking of would not happen…

Considering even the slightest possibility, she needed to brace herself.

001

When the two people left Jinmidang and returned to the front of the building where the newspaper office was located, the light was still on in the newspaper office on the second floor, and light was streaming out of the window.

It was past evening, and it was almost night, but the streets were not dark at all because the flowers that suppressed the occurrence of ghosts were in full bloom.

Residents and travelers who couldn’t sleep due to the excitement of the festival came out to the streets and walked around Asteris at night, or found a store that suited their taste and mood and went inside to have a drink before going to bed.

[Call me if anything happens!]

Listening to the telepathic message conveyed from Amelia, Cleon lowered his hand to his ear.

When I relayed my news about her newspaper and Darwin to Lila and her colleagues who were waiting for her at home, Lila didn’t seem too worried.

As expected, Sasha and Amelia seemed to be worried about this person, to the point where they seemed a little restless.

Well, being trusted and being worried were both happy things for Cleon.

＂Are you okay?＂

When Noctis, who was looking at Cleon from the side, spoke, Cleon nodded his head.

“Ah. I just informed another colleague that I might be a little late.”

“Oh… You know how to use telepathy.”

Did you say that in Asteris, where the concept of magic has been replaced by incantation, the method of directly transmitting voices through food spirits is the mainstream?

However, considering that he also knew about external magic called telepathy, Cleon thought that Noctis was really knowledgeable.

Come to think of it, Cleon’s knowledge of the girl named Noctis was really part of it.

The amount of knowledge he had and the fact that he was able to work as an apprentice at a newspaper company even at a young age meant that he was recognized for his skills.

Cleon briefly thinks that maybe Noctis himself has some secret.

However, he soon shook his head and thought about the manuscript that Darwin had brought with him.

“The light is on…”

＂It means that other senior reporters have returned, or the boss is still there. He said he writes the articles himself, so it’s probably the latter…”

Cleon nodded his head in response to Noctis’ answer, and he took the lead into the newspaper building and up the stairs.

Then, when Cleon felt someone running out from inside at the sound of footsteps on the stairs, he reflexively tensed his body –

“Noctis! “You’re back!”

Then, a bald man with a generous look opened the door of the newspaper office and jumped out, making eye contact with Cleon.

＂… Hmm, a young man from the dark demon clan…! No way!? “

Then, as if he had immediately realized Cleon’s identity, his face turned pale, and he immediately closed the door, and the sound of the door being locked came from inside.

＂Ah…＂

Cleon scratched his cheek, feeling a bit of longing for this response, and then turned around and looked at Noctis.

There was Noctis, looking at the president who had disappeared beyond the door with a dumbfounded expression.

＂No, it was just… You were the boss, right?＂

“Hmm… It’s similar to the facial expression you described, so I guess that’s probably it.”

In response to Cleon’s answer, Noctis sighed heavily and then took out his key from his bag.

“It’s a good thing you brought it out.”

“… You didn’t bring it out arbitrarily, did you?”

Noctis, who only whistled softly in response to Cleon’s question, put the key into the keyhole of the locked door, and it clicked! The door that was locked a moment ago opens again with a sound.

And this time, Noctis opened the door first and went inside.

＂Boss~!? What are you doing all of a sudden?”

And when the voice was so loud that it was deafening, the president, who was fidgeting in front of his room, turned around in surprise to see the door open and Noctis appear.

“No, Noctis!? Just now, in front of him, a young man from the dark demon clan… Wasn’t he the protagonist of this year’s exorcism!?”

＂Are you talking about me?＂

When Cleon appeared along with Noctis in front of the president who asked such a question, he would step back while making a noise that sounded like a scream, ‘Hehe~!’.

＂Seo, no way, Noctis! Did you bring it here!? Talking about the article… Trying to stop it by force!?”

＂If you use force to stop it, anyone will think that this person is a hired thug!＂

Noctis scolded the president and then spoke.

“… I want you to calm down. I just wanted to check the manuscript Darwin brought.”

＂Darwin…?＂

The president slowly lowered his hand from his head and looked at Cleon, thinking that he had heard the words out of his mouth somewhere.

“Okay. This is Darwin, one of the regressors’ executives. For inducing you to write a bad article about me. She is.”

When Cleon said that, the president blinked for a moment, then jumped up from his seat in shock.

＂What, what!? She’s a returner!? So, then, our company has been receiving support from regressors until now…!?”

“I guess I really didn’t know.”

＂Thank goodness…! The boss didn’t degenerate that far…!”

Noctis sighed in relief at the president’s reaction, and Cleon nodded his head as well.

“I thought that the important part of the manuscript she brought might not be the content. If it’s okay, can you show me the manuscript?”

“Now, wait a minute! We had no intention of helping the returnees! So… I only received financial support to a certain extent and occasionally published articles with content that I wanted to be published…! Well, of course, it’s something a journalist shouldn’t do, but…! What can we do for our employees─＂

Noctis sighed, looking at the president, who seemed to have not heard Cleon’s request and was almost in a state of panic.

“I think I need to calm down a little.”

“… I’ll leave that to you. Then, I will check the manuscript from the president’s office.”

“Yes! If you find out anything, please let me know!”

After saying that, Noctis walked up to the president and made him sit on the chair.

And, in the meantime, Cleon went into the president’s office and looked at the stack of paper on the table that was torn in the middle and had traces of being tried to be read.

＂… This is it.＂

When Cleon lifts the stack of paper that he thinks is Darwin’s manuscript and carefully examines its contents-

What was written there was not much different from what Noctis had said.

Just-

I could see that in the middle of the manuscript, there were ‘symbols’ that made me wonder if this was the right place to go.

＂… What is this…＂

Exclamation points, question marks, commas, etc. We’re natural symbols to be used in sentences, but they felt awkward in some context.

And, the suspicious anxiety felt from that symbol makes Cleon’s heart tremble.

“… I think it would be better to ask an expert about this.”

Cleon was thinking like that, holding the manuscript, and leaving the president’s office.