성황의 아이들 [3]

406

406. Head Tower (4)

After the Emperor returned to government affairs, the palace seemed to quickly regain peace.

But that was only the surface. Like lava that might erupt again at any time, intense suspicion and confusion were still seething beneath the cooling rock.

First of all, the high-ranking priests of the Holy Assembly.

Are they whisperings of subtle evil? Ah, Lord! I'm afraid it may actually be literal! - At the sound of the deceptive voice, I felt the defenses of faith that I had maintained throughout my life shake completely.

So what should you do? I can only close my eyes and ears, which have become insensitive to good and evil, and pray ceaselessly for the Lord to quickly take away this harsh ordeal.

Such internal turmoil and tension, which were different from what it seemed on the outside, could be seen frequently even outside the imperial palace recently. An example of this is the 'Monkey Watchtower', an intelligence organization that closely assists the imperial family.

Number 21, who returned after a brief report to Seonghwang for the first time in a long time, noticed that the atmosphere in the basement of the bar, which was usually engulfed in secret silence, was excessively tense.

"... "Why is the atmosphere here like this?"

Then No. 19, who had become noticeably pale after half a day, silently gapes at him.

'I don't know! Please save me!'

just as expected. At the center of the raging air, there were veteran intelligence agents whom No. 19 could not dare to touch.

"Senior No. 9 and... Senior No. 13?"

In fact, the two, who had seen each other for the first time in a long time, were not very close friends from the beginning, as far as No. 21 knew.

But now, both of them are glaring at each other with grimly distorted faces, as if something is going wrong in their judgment.

Since the main job of informants is physically demanding work, it is not uncommon for friction to arise from time to time.

The problem is that these two people, who are barely awake, are fighting over each other, with the unfortunate No. 19 in between them.

"That's funny. It's been so long since I served my master, and I feel like I've already become a loyal subject of the Lord of War. What do you think of this? "It's number 19."

Number 9, who has a petite physique, asks, placing his arm affectionately on Number 19's shoulder, which is not that big as expected. His pronunciation has seriously deteriorated due to years of fighting among Barça's tribe, and his speaking style is particularly light and feels like he is being rude.

Number 19 trembled in front of his distant senior, unable to say anything.

"Even if the period of service is long, the trust relationship will not be proportional to it. Doesn't the owner's trust in the source of information depend on how closely he keeps it close to him? "Answer me, number 19."

No. 13, who is neatly tall, glares at No. 19 with a cold expression. Even so, I was doubly scared to see my normally shrewd senior with a straight face.

No. 19 now looked like he was going to cry.

'... aha!'

Number 21 was able to roughly guess the details of the argument.

'It's a problem with the monster task force that's going on a business trip this time.'

When I heard it, Senior No. 13 said he was following Prince Mores this time too.