Chapter 24 …

Three Clauses (3)

The end of a sweltering summer.

Soon the short autumn would pass, and a long, long winter would arrive.

Because of that, the entire continent was busy preparing for the coming winter. But among all places, there was one location busier than anywhere else.

It was the Cradle of Dragons, which was preparing to accept new riders before the approaching winter.

Every year, hundreds of candidate riders entered the Cradle.

Of course, only a small number of them survived the five-year training and graduated safely. But once they were granted admission, they were placed completely under the Cradle’s control.

Since hundreds of candidate riders who needed to be managed were scattered all over the continent, it was only natural that the Cradle was extremely busy.

Especially as the admission day for the new riders approached, the Investigation Corps, responsible for verifying their personal histories, became even busier.

And during such a time—when work was at its peak, in the middle of the morning—

Harry Watson, a Captain in the Investigation Corps, was sweating nervously after receiving a sudden summons from above.

Standing rigidly on the dark red carpet, Harry held a stiff posture.

In front of him sat an old man with white hair and blue eyes behind a solid wooden desk.

Seeing the stern-faced old man, Harry swallowed nervously.

W-what in the world… Why would someone like me be summoned?

Of course, as the captain of the Investigation Corps, he was not exactly a low-rank officer.

But to the old man before him, he was merely one subordinate among many.

Which was why it made no sense.

Why would the great Commander summon someone like him?

Th-this is crazy. I-I feel like I’m going to die from nerves.

The highest official Harry had ever personally met was the Vice-Commander who oversaw the Investigation Corps.

As for the Commander, Gordon, Harry had only seen him from afar during ceremonial events.

And yet suddenly—he was being granted a private audience with the Commander!

Harry instinctively felt something was wrong.

Th-think! What did I do wrong? What mistake did I make… what… what on earth…?

Unable to understand why he had been summoned, Harry’s anxiety grew wilder.

Aaah! I have no idea!

Just as he was screaming internally—

“Hm. You.”

At Gordon’s low voice, Harry straightened his already stiff body even further.

“Yes! Captain Harry Watson of the Investigation Corps!”

“Yes, Harry.”

“Yes, sir!”

“You submitted this report?”

As he spoke, Gordon placed several sheets of paper on the desk.

Harry’s mind and eyes began moving quickly.

A report? The one I submitted?

He had submitted many reports.

But among the recent ones, only one carried significant weight.

The investigation of a Level-1 monitored individual!

The order had carried a Top-Level Confidential label.

At first, Harry wondered why something like that would carry such a classification—but after seeing the contents of the investigation, he understood.

Ten investigation teams had been mobilized to execute the order.

They gathered information for half a year, and Harry compiled their findings into a final report.

Ah! So the Commander himself issued that order!

After glancing at the papers on the desk, he confirmed that it was indeed that report.

“Yes, sir!”

“Hm. I called you because there’s something I want to ask. Since you were the one who submitted the report.”

“I-If you ask, I will answer to the best of my ability!”

“Before that… what do you think the accuracy of this report is?”

Gordon tapped the report lightly with his finger.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Harry’s mind.

What? Is he testing me? Personally?

His mind tangled in confusion.

No matter how much he thought about it, no clear answer came—so he spoke honestly.

“Sixty percent!”

“Sixty… an ambiguous number.”

Gordon stroked his chin while scanning the report once more.

Mission Report

1. Mission Objective

• Investigate the subject’s past actions.

• Determine whether there is any relationship with Johann Redner, the Broken-Sword.

2. Subject: Yuri Holland

Special Notes:

• 50th generation candidate rider.

• Tenth Black Dragon Overlord.

Because of connections to Johann Redner, all information about the subject is classified as Level-1 Confidential.

3. Mission Duration:
Until the 50th candidate class enters the Cradle.

4. Personnel:
Captain Harry Watson and ten Investigation Corps teams.

5. Report on the subject Yuri Holland (hereafter referred to as “the subject”).

This report is written in reverse chronological order, starting from the time the subject took the certification test.

• The subject took the certification test in the Irons Territory of the Crotan Administrative District, recommended by the Broken-Sword.

• The subject is estimated to have stayed in the Irons Territory for 192 days.

• Before arriving there, the subject…

…

…

The report began with Yuri’s recent activities and gradually moved backward into the past.

However, while recent events were described in detail, his earlier history contained many gaps.

• Six years ago, the subject appeared in the Briwell Administrative District.

• Seven years ago, the subject’s activities for roughly one year could not be confirmed.

• Eight years ago, the subject lived in a village belonging to the Paul Territory in the Saint John Administrative District.

• Witness testimony states that the village was destroyed in an attack, and the subject was the sole survivor.

• The witness was a merchant who supplied goods to the village. According to him, the subject lived with a woman named Moara.

• The relationship between the subject and Moara could not be determined.

• Records of the territory’s residents from that time were held by the Pauli family, the previous lords before the Paul family. However, the Pauli family was mysteriously exterminated, and the records disappeared with them.

• As all clues to further track the subject disappeared, the investigation concluded.

6. Conclusion

• After comparing the movements of the subject and Johann Redner, there is a 99% probability that they first met in the Irons Territory.

Investigating one person’s past across a vast continent—and uncovering this much in only half a year—was undeniably impressive.

It proved that the Investigation Corps’ intelligence network truly ranked among the best in the world.

But that was not why Gordon had summoned Harry.

Looking at him, Gordon spoke.

“You said the report’s accuracy is sixty percent.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then do you think the content here also carries that level of probability?”

Gordon pointed to the final section.

7. Additional Notes

• During the investigation, a peculiar clue related to a woman named Moara (estimated age at death: 64) was discovered.

• Among the ruins of the house where Moara and the subject lived, traces were found that may belong to one of the items on the Special-Class Confidential List.

• Therefore, further investigation of Moara is recommended. Depending on the results, it may also be necessary to investigate the relationship between Moara and the subject.

Only then did Harry fully understand why he had been summoned.

Because of the Special-Class Confidential List!

The most secret of secrets—even access rights were divided into high, medium, low, and lowest levels.

Only the Commander with top authority knew the truth behind them.

Harry had been able to write about it only because captains were granted lowest-level access for information classification.

Hmm… Has any Special-Class information been reported in recent years?

Early in his career as captain, he had once reviewed ten years of accessible data.

From what he remembered, no information had been classified as Special-Class during that decade.

So I’m the one who brought it up after ten years? No—if the Commander personally called me… it must have been even longer!

And he was the one who reported it.

Which meant—

This is an opportunity!

A perfect chance to catch the Commander’s attention.

After quickly calculating how to use the moment, Harry answered carefully.

“No. That section’s accuracy is lower than sixty percent.”

“Then what do you think?”

“Around twenty percent.”

“Lower.”

“My access to Special-Class information is only the lowest level. I lacked enough reference materials to make a firm judgment.”

“So if your authority were higher, you could increase the accuracy?”

“Yes, sir!”

At Harry’s confident reply, Gordon’s eyes gleamed sharply.

For a moment, silence filled the room.

Then Gordon smirked.

“I issue the following order. From this moment, Captain Harry Watson will withdraw from all frontline duties. Instead, he will focus on investigating the relationship between Yuri Holland and Moara, as well as the Special-Class Confidential List. Furthermore, for this mission only, Harry Watson’s Special-Class access authority is elevated to mid-level.”

Harry clenched his fist.

“I accept the order!”

“Next time, I expect a 100% report.”

“I will meet your expectations!”

“You may go.”

“Yes, sir!”

Harry exited the office with energetic steps.

The door closed.

Mid-level access…!

That was vice-commander level authority.

The Commander had granted even more than he expected.

Which meant the Commander had great expectations for this mission.

I’ll definitely succeed.

This would be a stepping stone to climb higher.

In two or three years, I should be able to outline the information the Commander wants.

Thinking that, Harry walked away briskly.

But he didn’t know.

What he thought would take two or three years would end up taking far longer.

Inside the room, Gordon murmured to himself.

“Not bad.”

The man was quick-witted and sharp.

With only a few words, he grasped the situation and turned it into an opportunity.

It explained how someone so young became a captain.

“And he’s ambitious too.”

Men like that got things done.

And were easy to use.

Gordon stood and walked slowly to the window.

Interesting.

He had tried digging into the child Johann was interested in—only for something unexpected to appear.

A trace discovered after 36 years… and it happens to connect to that boy Johann is interested in.

It wasn’t certain whether the trace was real.

Even if it was, there was no guarantee it was connected to Yuri.

But still—

Things are becoming interesting.

Gordon smiled and looked toward the northern sky.

“Storm clouds.”

According to the latest report, they were still within Ralph Schnell’s territory.

At that moment—

Rain began striking the window.

Rain droplets slid along a silver blade.

Yuri’s sword was still touching Muchi’s neck.

Seeing no movement from him, Yuri smiled faintly and withdrew his blade.

“You agree that I won, right? Well, even if you don’t—the result speaks for itself.”

“….”

Muchi said nothing.

Yuri continued.

“You said you didn’t want to hurt your opponent.”

His smile turned slightly cold.

“Now it ended just the way you wanted—no one got hurt. So how do you feel?”

“….”

“…Are you really happy?”

Yuri sheathed his sword and walked past him without waiting for an answer.

Muchi stared blankly at Yuri’s retreating back.

“Ah…”

He replayed the duel in his mind.

Yes, it began with Yuri’s surprise attack.

But midway through, Muchi himself had fought with full power using Berserk.

But if Yuri had used that final move from the start… the duel would’ve ended immediately.

That flash-like movement that pierced through Berserk.

If Yuri had used it from the beginning, the duel would have ended instantly.

Which meant—

After the initial ambush, Yuri had actually been holding back.

Brother Yuri…

In just half a year—

Yuri had become a completely different person.

He was no longer someone Muchi looked down on.

Now they stood at the same level.

No… maybe even higher than me.

It was the first time.

The first time he had felt someone his age was superior.

Then Yuri’s words echoed in his mind.

“So how do you feel? No one got hurt… are you really happy?”

Muchi bit his lip.

Why…

Even though it was a duel with real swords, no one was injured.

Exactly what he had wanted.

He should have been happy.

But he wasn’t.

Why does my chest feel so suffocating?

After thinking for a long time—

Muchi finally realized.

…I’m angry.

But at what?

The answer came quickly.

I’m angry… because I lost to Brother Yuri.

Meanwhile, Yuri approached Johann and extended his hand.

Johann raised his own.

Clap!

Their hands met with a cheerful sound.

“Old man, I won!”

“Of course you did! If you used Cloud Step and Lightning Wings and still lost to Ralph’s martial arts, you’d be less than human.”

Seeing them laughing right in front of him, Ralph’s face twisted.

But he couldn’t argue.

It had been a clear victory for Yuri.

So now it’s 1-1.

Originally it was a best-of-three match.

Ralph clicked his tongue.

“Then when will the final duel be? How long do we have to wait this time?”

“What’s with that tone? As if we only won because you gave us time?”

“Am I wrong?”

“It’s your fault for not setting a time limit!”

“So is it normal for a single duel to take months?”

“Hah! Why not? It took me ten years to fight the Sword Master again! And we’ve been going at it for fifteen years now!”

“T-that’s completely different!”

While the two masters bickered like children—

Yuri suddenly spoke.

“Do we really need to wait?”

He smiled.

“Let’s do it right now.”

“…Right now?”

“You mean immediately?”

Both Johann and Ralph widened their eyes.

Yuri pointed behind him with his thumb.

“I think someone over there is getting impatient.”

Their gazes followed his finger.

At the end stood Muchi—

his eyes burning with determination.