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Chapter 216. Divide (5)

As Siegfried took off his knight’s helmet, with which dragon wings were engraved, his neck-length, navy blue hair fluttered in the breeze.

The crowd was abuzz after seeing his appearance.

“What brought the leader of the Flying Dragon Division here… ?”

The leader of the Flying Dragon Division was one of the most powerful people in Divide. It was understandable that people were surprised by the appearance of someone like him. Hephaestus stepped in.

“What’s the matter, general?”

“It’s an inspection. We ask for your cooperation and apologize for the inconvenience.” Everyone widened their eyes. They knew that Divide was thoroughly inspecting people as they were warned, but they did not expect that the Flying Dragon Division would be inspecting them directly.

With Zod’s nod of acknowledgement, everyone submitted themselves to be inspected without relaxing their vigilance.

The Flying Dragon Division exhaustively inspected the personnel from the Magic Tower. Not to mention their identity as well as their belongings.

‘This inspection is unnecessarily thorough.’

Desir thought it was too much, looking at their inspection. Their behavior could be considered as a discourtesy to inspect people who came for the Great Council.

However, they did not care about such things and inspected even the Magic Tower Master, Zod.

“Nice to meet you, Magic Tower Master. It’s been years.”

“Somehow I haven’t had the chance to see you. By the way, is it really necessary to inspect me?”

Siegfried looked at the Starling Party and grinned.

“It was an order from His Majesty, Clora Baldershu. He specifically told us to thoroughly inspect anyone from the Empire. We have reason to believe that someone in the Hebrion Empire is trying to spy on the royal family.”

“If that’s the case, is it safe to say that Divide thinks the Magic Tower Master is assisting the Empire in finding such information? This is what your actions imply.”

As Zod spoke with a serious face, Siegfried waved his hands.

“Of course not. This is just a formality. The only guests for the Great Council from the Empire are the Tower Master’s escorts.”

He was just doing this job, so Zod knew it would be pointless berating him further. Zod was now silent and didn’t make further comment while being inspected.

Next, the inspection for the Starling Party began. Their participation was strictly legal, and there was nothing suspicious to be found, so it went smoothly.

The only individual who would concern them would be Swan Katarina, who had accompanied them at Desir’s request.

She had faked her identity to conceal her status as Royal Guard, and used an artifact to change her face.

If she was caught, it would very likely cause a significant commotion. “… ”

But the members of the Flying Dragon Division found nothing suspicious about her. She easily passed Divide’s inspection.

“… Good to go.”

Siegfried lowered his head one more time after receiving the report from a member of his team.

“Welcome to Divide.”

* * *

Romantica complained as she left the inspection. She wasn’t happy about them ransacking her baggage.

“Seriously, did you see how arrogant they were? They went through all my bags. It feels like I was treated like a criminal!”

It was natural for them to be thorough in such matters after a history-defining event, the war on the Outsiders. Even still, they certainly gave the impression that they were investigating criminals while inspecting Desir’s party in particular. It was also doubtful whether they had the necessary skill and resources to foil any actual attacks via this display of security theatre.

It certainly wasn’t normal to besiege guests like this and subject them to mandatory inspections.

It wasn’t just the Starling Party that was left unhappy about the process. Hephaestus and the other Magic Tower personnel seemed to be quite offended too.

‘It’s obvious how Divide thinks of the Empire.’

Anyway, entering Divide was successful. That was a start.

Once they came out of the building, they were greeted with the scenery of Pittsburgh, the capital of Divide.

“It’s well-organized.”

If Dresden of the Empire looked colorful and beautiful yet complex, Pittsburgh of Divide was simple but very well organized. It was easy for people to walk on the well-maintained streets, and in fact, there were many people currently doing so.

Oddly enough, the street wasn’t lively though. The people present were all very quiet and kept to themselves.

The Starling Party members felt a chilly breeze while walking along the street. “Let’s unpack first at the Magic Tower.”

The Magic Tower had different branches all across the continent, and it was safe to assume there would be one, no matter which big city you were in.

Of course, the capital of Divide, as part of the Western Kingdom Union, had their own branch of the Magic Tower.

It was a big advantage. Having a base that wasn’t under Divide’s surveillance was a great convenience for Desir further his plan.

Arriving at the Pittsburgh Magic Tower Branch, the Starting Party and Swan were assigned to their own rooms.

They had a look at their assigned rooms, and were left impressed by the size of them. There was nobody left unhappy to see a room that had better facilities than most hotels. After unpacking in their respective rooms, Zod gathered the group in the lobby.

“I got an invitation from Divide’s royal family for the banquet, sent to all those who participate in the Great Council. Of course, you all are welcome to join me.”

Desir seemed impassive, having known about it already, but Romantica and Pram looked hyped up.

“Really?”

“I didn’t bring any party outfits!”

Zod took something out of his bosom with a smile.

“I was going to prepare them myself, but it’d be better for you to choose what you want to wear personally.”

Romantica realized what it was that he pulled out and got excited; pop-eyed even. “A credit card!?”

Zod handed Romantica the credit card. “You can buy anything you want.”

“T-Thank you!”

Romantica and Pram left in a hurry, while cheering.

Adjest was about to follow them with a bitter smile, when she suddenly turned back to see Desir.

“Desir, are you not going?”

“I have something to do. I’ll catch up with you later. Go shopping first. Swan, please look after everyone.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Desir went back to his room, after sending off his party members.

In his room, Desir settled down to business. The first thing he did was contact the Side Guards that were hiding in Divide.

After Divide had intensified their immigration inspections, it was impossible for Desir to plant additional secret agents, but the ones he was contacting now had been stationed since long ago. Trying to contact them from outside Divide had proven to be challenging, and had been rendered them useless until now.

Desir got their contact information from Alfred prior to entering Divide, and he could now put this information to use. He passed on a brief outline of what he needed and gave them their orders.

“Pass on any information you can dig up, no matter how insignificant. If you find anything related to alchemy, that takes utmost priority.”

[-Okay.]

They had been living in Divide for a long time with fake identities. As a result they could wander freely anytime, anywhere. It was very useful for Desir’s purposes.

‘If this operation gets caught, the blowback will be huge.’

Desir had summoned all of the Side Guard members, previously scattered across all of Divide, in Pittsburgh. With how much control the Outsiders had over Divide’s politics, he was certain that there was something to be found within the capital.

Their scope was narrowed from a whole country to a single city, so they had a far greater chance at finding useful information.

However, once they were caught, it would be impossible to gather any more information within Divide.

The number of such embedded informants played a large part in measuring the influence of a national power. Losing any of them would cause huge damage, and require years of diplomatic efforts to mend.

‘But I have no choice but to take this risk.’

Desir’s ultimate goal was to clear the Shadow Labyrinth and save humankind. Getting rid of the Outsiders had become an integral part of this process.

If refusing to take action to save the public face of the Empire resulted in the end of humanity, it would have all been for naught. If he hadn’t taken risks every step of the way, it would be impossible for him to achieve anything significant.

Desir solidified his determination one more time.

* * *

The day before the Great Council, there was a banquet for the guests held in Divide’s royal palace.

Divide was far from glamorous, and thus the banquet wasn’t anything spectacular to behold, but the prepared feast was impressive enough to satisfy the nobles visiting from other countries.

The banquet hall was soon filled with numerous people. The few people that stood out amongst them were the heads of the Western Kingdom Union.

“This way, Your Majesty.”

They enjoyed the banquet from their designated seats, separately arranged by Divide. The uproarious banquet hall became quiet all of a sudden with someone’s appearance.

It was the Magic Tower’s Master Zod Exarion, Desir Arman of the Royal Guard, and the members of the Starling Party.

They received the undivided attention of almost everyone present. The popularity of the only Seventh-Circle magician in the continent, and the war hero Desir, was a league above the Western Kingdom Union.

“That’s the Starling Party.”

“The Magic Tower Master and the war hero… ”

“Is that young boy really Desir Arman?”

A lot of people talked in hushed whispers.

The Starling Party gained some popularity and had been invited to various parties.

But they hadn’t experienced a party this big, so Romantica and Pram couldn’t hide their tension.

“Behave with dignity.”

They tried their best to act normal at his words.

As Zod sat down in his assigned seat, his escorts sat down shortly after.