Knowing Nothing. Because I know nothing.

17.

“Oh, you, you are Minister Barmut!”

Arriving at the Nigreo Swamp, I finally understood why my subordinates had subdued him but couldn’t bring him along.

The old man before me was a repulsive sight, buried within a mass of amorphous flesh, restrained by chains bolted into the ground.

The initial report described him as a hybrid monster roughly the size of a giant.

John had pulverized him to this…state.

A single question surfaced, and I turned to John beside me.

“Couldn’t you have cut him up more?”

We might have been able to haul him back to the bureau then.

“I could have, but that would likely have killed the old man. That mass of flesh seems to be his core, his weak point.”

I see. Then, no matter.

“So, why were you looking for me?”

“…Let me be blunt. Save me. In exchange, I will tell you everything about the .”

?

What is that?

“Hmph, judging by your lack of surprise, you already knew about it.”

…About what?

I wanted to ask what he was talking about, but something in the air suggested it was best to remain silent. The old man continued, assuming things on his own.

“My name is Hans Wolf. As you may know, I was once a rather renowned researcher.”

Would I hurt his feelings if I said I’d never heard of it?

“The Oracle approached me, believing my abilities would be helpful in locating something.”

“Something?”

“Yes, an item they call the Key.”

A key? I’ve got those.

You know, the things you use to open doors.

“No one knows what form this Key takes, or where it might be found. But the Oracle firmly believes it exists, and they’ve been scouring the globe in a desperate search.”

Ah. I see. The Oracle wants to find a Key.

I don’t understand a single word of this!

I’d rather just ask outright than keep listening to stories I don’t comprehend.

“What exactly is the Oracle, to begin with?”

“That… even I don’t know. What I do know is that it’s an organization that has existed since long ago. And that woman…”

Whatever the old man was going to say ended there.

Because someone descended from the sky like lightning, and skewered his head with a spear.

No, ‘smashed’ is probably a more accurate description than ‘skewered.’

“That was close—! This old codger, blabbing everything?! Are you crazy? Crazy?! Huh?”

“＜Thunder Dragon＞ Erich Johann!”

Who’s that now? Why is everyone so shocked? Am I seriously the only one here who doesn’t know these people?

Feeling utterly isolated, I watched Erich Johann, the one who killed Hans Wolf, step away from the corpse and scratch his head as he looked at me.

“Damn it. I shouldn’t have been exposed already.”

“You could have worn a mask.”

It was genuine advice, but Erich started clutching his stomach and laughing.

“Hahaha! Minister, you’re making jokes now. Or should I say, you’re being brazen? As if you didn’t know from the start.”

At this point, I seriously want to ask why everyone, including Hans Wolf, is speaking under the assumption that I know something.

I don’t know anything! I don’t!

Just because I’m the Minister of Imperial Intelligence doesn’t mean I know everything!

“I’d love to kill you if I could, but I know better, so I’ll withdraw for today. You’re welcome to follow, but be warned, I’ve left plenty of traps, just as you’d expect.”

Is he looking down on me?

The thought of traps hadn’t even crossed my mind until he kindly mentioned it, you b*stard.

Why even tell me there are traps? Is *that* the trap?

“Then, farewell. Let us meet properly, later.”

Leaving behind words whose meaning remained elusive to the very end, Erich Johann vanished.

—

‘More formidable than I’d imagined, that Minister.’

Employing every resource at his disposal to lay a trap, and fleeing with all his might, Erich collapsed to the ground, sprawling out the moment he deemed he’d reached a safe distance.

A small girl approached him.

“What did you think of him, Erich?”

“He was… intense, in many ways. I understand why Mother is concerned.”

The girl, addressed as Mother, nodded.

“Tell me your impressions.”

“Hmm. First, his nerve is extraordinary. The instant he realized he’d entered my range – after killing Hans – he didn’t flinch.”

The Intelligence agents, naturally, and even the Owls were prepared to die confronting him.

Despite all that, the Minister showed no movement, no reaction.

“It wasn’t the look of a man trusting his subordinates to shield him. He assessed the situation and was certain I wouldn’t attack him.”

If a fight had broken out, Intelligence wouldn’t have emerged unscathed, but Erich would have certainly been killed then and there.

The Minister, on the other hand, would likely have remained unharmed.

For Erich, there was absolutely no merit in attacking.

“If you think that, then his eye for talent must also be exceptional.”

“Anything else?”

“This is just a personal feeling… but that man, or whatever he is, he’s strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yes.”

Erich recalled the Minister’s presence, and continued.

“He was looking at me, but he wasn’t seeing me. On the surface, he seemed full of openings, but up close, he was like an impenetrable fortress. When we spoke, the words connected, but the meaning… it felt disconnected. In short, he was genuinely strange.”

In a word: utterly unfathomable.

Hearing her son’s impressions, the girl smiled with delight.

“Is that so.”

“Eh? You seem happy, Mother?”

Erich tilted his head, puzzled as to why she would be pleased by such a troublesome opponent. The girl gently stroked his hair, and spoke.

“Erich, do you know how to handle a monster?”

“A monster? Hmmm. You could just give it tasty treats, or if push comes to shove, tame it with violence, no?”

The girl shook her head.

“That might be one way, but even if you got it to obey, you wouldn’t win the monster’s heart.”

“Then…?”

Ceasing her caress, the girl lifted her gaze to the heavens and replied,

“Amusement. If you show them amusement, you can win a monster’s heart.”

“Amusement…?”

The girl extended her hand towards the sky.

Its fingertips pointed to the sun.

—

“Hans Wolf, infamously known as ‘The Wraith of the Black Marsh’, was an exceptionally brilliant researcher, but his ethical failings led to his expulsion from the Academy.”

Being expelled from the Academy would have cut off his funding, making him even more susceptible to temptation, they say.

I see.

“Erich John, ‘The Brain Dragon’, has been a rising star in the mercenary world for several years. He always acts alone, yet his accomplishments outshine entire mercenary companies. In particular, the anecdote of his victory over ‘The Mercenary King’ remains a legend in that profession.”

Whether he was affiliated with Oracle from the start, or joined later, is unclear.

However, the theory is that if it’s the former, he was doing mercenary work to amass funds, and if it’s the latter, he joined for the money.

I see.

“According to Hans Wolf’s research notes and journals discovered in the collapsed ruins of a cave, he apparently desired to create a new type of human. But as you know, the results were…”

Ah, I know this part. It’s the story of how monsters were created through Fairytale, right?

“Effective immediately, we will be designating the mysterious organization or group previously referred to as the Third Force as Oracle. Oracle is searching for something called ‘the Key,’ and it is presumed they are operating clandestinely around the world to find it.”

I heard the words, but I didn’t grasp the meaning.

I see.

Wow, I knew I was incompetent, but I really don’t know anything at all.

“As the example of the Kingdom of Clamor demonstrates, Oracle may have infiltrated deeper into society than we realize. Therefore, the existence of Oracle should be kept strictly confidential…”

Perhaps because I’m anxious from knowing so little, I can’t focus on the story. I fidget restlessly, pointlessly fiddling with my fingers.

“…otherwise we won’t know who is friend and who is foe. It might be best to share at least the minimum information with the intelligence agencies of each country…”

What to do? Is it too late to study? It would be great if there was some kind of encyclopedia of dangerous figures in the world.

“No, I mean, well, or perhaps send agents to directly…”

While tapping my fingers on the table, wondering if maybe there was something like that at a bookstore, I realized Celine had stopped talking.

Huh? What were we talking about?

“Why has everyone gone so quiet?

Is the meeting over? Can I leave now?”

A sigh of relief escaped me, tension easing after what felt like an age. I remembered my promise to Céline and made her aware.

“Céline.”

“Y-yes, Minister!”

“I’m going. Prepare yourself.”

“Y-you’re going, Minister yourself, you mean…?”

“Who else would go?”

She asked me to come along and now she is surprised.

Of course, if she’d said she didn’t need me, I wouldn’t have insisted, but it didn’t seem to be that kind of situation.

“…Understood. I will prepare immediately.”

Later, I ventured into a bookstore, but alas, no “Dictionary of the World’s Most Dangerous Individuals” could be found.

—

The entire continent was seized by a palpable tension.

The Minister of Intelligence of the Acherus Empire had summoned the heads of intelligence from every nation.

Or rather, it was an ‘instruction’: he would arrive, so they had best find a suitable location and assemble there.

On the surface, each nation’s intelligence apparatus vehemently protested, but inwardly, they breathed a sigh of relief, quietly thankful.

Everyone understood the necessity of convening, given the gravity of the situation.

However, they would *never* have gone if the summons had been to ‘come’ to the Empire.

No one willingly walked into the maw of a monster.

The problem, of course, was that no one wanted to invite the monster into their own home, either.

A fierce battle of nerves ensued between all the nations except the Empire.

Then, one country volunteered.

“Our Holy Kingdom of Praus is willing to provide a location for the sake of world peace.”

The world applauded the Holy Kingdom’s decision.

After further procedural preparations, a concrete date and time were settled.

And so, the unprecedented conference, gathering the heads of intelligence from every nation, was held.

—

The Holy Kingdom of Praus, as a nation devoted to the Sun God, was a warm land bathed in intense sunlight.

Perhaps it was due to the benevolent sunshine, but smiles bloomed on the faces of its people, and the streets throbbed with life.

A savory aroma, unfamiliar yet tantalizing, tickled the tip of my nose, while the merry sounds of women’s laughter serenaded my ears.

All’s well.

All is fine, save for one fundamental question nagging at this juncture.

Why in creation am I here?