More than that, I think you look a little different from when you left. John Doe.

A sensation of coolness was flowing down his spine, sharply picking his lungs. It was a tension he hasnt felt in a long time.

Rudger answered slowly.

Yes, I thought I needed a little change.

Did he get caught?

If Zero came, it wouldnt be strange to know who John Doe really is.

Well, thats not bad either. Before that, you were so ordinary that I had the impression that you would be buried everywhere.

I didnt get caught.

It was fortunate for him now that John Doe ability was specialized in disguise but he may also be trying to sound him out.

Lets be calm.

I closed my eyes and accelerated my thinking. Is the man behind me really Zero Order?

Thats probably right because the voice of the man I saw in Esmeraldas memory is similar.

The next question is why Zero Order came to Theon.

Without letting me who is a First Order know.

I heard that Zero Order would come once in a while after talking to Esmeralda that day. But thats now?

At least he could have informed me of his coming, but he didnt.

There are two possible situations. One is that Zero Order came to Theon for personal confirmation without informing other executives.

However, I could not hastily conclude from a position where I did not know what was going on.

And the other one.

Or is he suspicious that Im a fake.

The circumstances of being suspected and the Zero Order that came all of a sudden are not good and Rudger had no choice but to struggle.

But things are bad.

There is too little information about the zero order. What power he has, what power he uses, how strong he is, what were his weaknesses, what kind of power was useful against him or his fighting habits.

Theres not a single piece of data.

Even in perfect circumstances, it may be difficult, but what if he was in a situation where he ran out of strength like now?

If you try to fight now, I might lose.

The only way is to borrow the power of God but thats too risky.

There are too many people nearby and using Gods power will affect them all.

But why arent you talking?

Zero Order was silent.

At that moments grace, I thought of another possibility. What if Zero Order doesnt completely doubt me yet?

Should I turn around and check his face? No. If I suddenly look back, he is bound to be suspicious.

He had to choose his words calmly so that he wouldnt provoke the other person.

Im sorry, Sir Zero Order.

I naturally moved my mouth, keeping my gaze straight ahead.

Because of the situation, I couldnt say hello properly. I ask for your understanding.

Of course. Im the one who came without contacting you, so you dont have to be too careful John Doe.

[I came to see you without any contact.]

Does that mean that Zero Order had something else to do in Theon? To the point of keeping it a secret from a First Order?

No, nothing has been confirmed yet. I dont even know if Im still under suspicion.

Zero Order confirmed the disappearance of Quasimodo.

Was he watching? All the magic I used?

No, if he was watching it, he wouldnt have asked me what happened. Maybe theres some way to check the energy of Quasimodo, and he confirmed that he was gone.

He didnt know the process but only the results, so he was just going to ask me who was here.

Should I tell the truth or a lie?

Of course, even if its the truth, it will not be 100% pure truth, but some truths mixed with lies. Pure lies are easy to spot, but lies mixed with the truth are more plausible than anything else.

I continued, taking a deep breath inside.

First order Esmeralda, or Quasimodo, is extinct.

Did you know?

I didnt know until now, but I just found out. I didnt think the fire giant was the main body.

Im sorry to keep it a secret from you guys. Because Quasimodo is a bit different from other first orders he couldnt easily reveal himself.

I understand.

More than that, why did Quasimodo disappear? He wasnt that easy to beat.

Quasimodo is a flame cryptid with the power of the highest level spirit of fire. A monster that uses the human soul as fuel and continues to revive if the contractor does not die because it has acquired the characteristics of a spirit.

Since such a fellow disappeared on Theon festival day, it may be questionable for Zero Order.

I squeezed out an answer on the spot.

It was Esmeralda.

Hmm. Esmeralda?

Zero Order knew the relationship between Quasimodo and Esmeralda. This man was the first person to notice and recruit them into the Black Dawn Society, so there is no way he wouldnt know.

Thats strange. Esmeralda was obviously being manipulated by Quasimodo. She couldnt even rebel against Quasimodo with her power.

At the same time, his gaze flies even stronger and falls on me.

Unless someone helps.

The suspicion of the Zero Order towards me grew. This is also a situation within my assumption so I had an answer prepared already.

Crollo Fabius did it.

Crollo Fabius? Is that true?

Indeed, Zero Order asked me again as this was unexpected so I continued my explanation as not to miss this opportunity.

Not long ago, Quasimodo attacked the banquet hall where new teachers were celebrated.

Yes, I heard the report.

At that time, Crollo Fabius was present at the banquet hall and he realized that someone was trying to kill him.

Thats right. Theres no way that the man who was the next head of the family would not know how the people of the Fabius family have died so far.

The problem is that Quasimodo couldnt kill Crollo Fabius in the banquet hall that day.

This is all true but I also mixed it with lies.

Crollo Fabius, who survived, agonized thinking that he might die at this rate so he made a plan.

A cornered mouse bit the cat.

Yes, but Crollo Fabius didnt tell Theon about it. He probably thought it was hard to get help from them and that there might be traitors inside.

I would have thought of something similar to that.

If you think there is an assassin who came to kill you among the teachers, how can you trust Theon?

So he individually asked for help from outside forces. It was the last straw that no one expected.

I added a little exaggeration so as not to lose interest in Zero Order. Of course, my way of speaking remains calm.

I dont think hell be a match for Quasimodo with any outside forces

Fabius was once the most famous magical family in the Kingdom of Durman. The people he called were not ordinary people, I also dont know whether he had made any deals while he was in the Exilion Empire.

They werent ordinary people?

It looked like well-trained elites but they were also hard to identify.

I vaguely released the information that they were great guys.

If you mention an organization here and Zero Order already knows about them, all my alibis will get twisted.

A well-trained elite who moves secretly. If its related to the Exilion EmpireIts the black ops.

Zero Order came to a conclusion on its own. How can he be so sure of the existence of Black Ops, which is difficult to know unless you are even a general?

Zero Order. Was he reaching out to the military?

Its not strange if I think about it. Before I got the name Rudger Chelici, John Doe was active in the military under this name.

Zero Order knows because he actually served as a military officer it was not just a fabricated status.

So Crollo Fabius fought against Quasimodo, and Esmeralda escaped from his control while Quasimodos strength was weakened.

And Esmeralda, who escaped could not be controlled as easily as before.

Then what happened to Crowe Fabius?

Crollo Fabius died fighting to the end.

He fought until the end? Its surprising that he had that much spirit and ability.

People who are about to die always show unexpected possibilities. I watched the situation and tried to intervene, but I was late.

Quasimodo spread flames all over the place, and I was also caught up in it and burned. Then, there were strong people around me who heard the news, so for now, only Selina escaped from the inside.

This is the whole story of the case. Im here in the name of saving Selina so I wont get suspected.

Did Quasimodo and Esmeralda really disappear from Selina?

Yes, I checked with my own eyes.

Is that so?

Zero Orders reaction was quite dull. Was there anything I forgot to say?

How about that teacher named Selina?

What do you mean?

I know Esmeralda and Selina are separate entities. But will Selina remember what happened with Esmeralda and Quasimodo?

Zero Order is saying to get rid of her just in case so I spoke in a hurry.

I checked but she didnt seem to know why she was in that warehouse.

She didnt know.

Yes. She thinks its a dream.

John Doe, that alone is not safe. If youve come to your senses in such a burning warehouse, youll definitely feel uncomfortable.

The slightest possibility could turn against the Black Dawn Society.

Clearly, Zero Order is right. There are too many issues to ignore Selinas existence.

Then, what should I do?

I tried to stay calm and asked Zero Order. Its not right to step up right now. First, I have to read the other persons mind.

But no matter how much I thought about it, all I could think of was Zero Order telling me to kill Selina.

If Zero Order asks me to kill Selina, I cant resist. In order not to arouse his suspicion, I must kill teacher Selina.

If Zero Order orders me to kill, then Ill.

I clenched my fist. Id rather fight him now.

Well, let it go.

But Zero Orders answer was as simple as my concern.

If you tell me to leave it.

You said Selina, didnt you? We dont need it anymore. Weve used enough of that power anyway, so its no longer worth caring about.

Is that so?

Yeah. Did you want to kill her? John Doe, I know youre loyal, but there are times when you have to step down.

Did it seem that way because I asked to reconfirm? And this also confirmed information that John Doe is loyal and radical.

I feel ashamed.

In the current situation, touching a Theons teacher is a significant risk. Youre the only one whos going to take care of the job, and you cant avoid suspicion.

I dont mind.

Theres nothing more stupid than investing time and passion in meaningless things. Even more so if its pushing subordinates to the brink.

Unexpectedly, he tends to care about his subordinates? Besides, its safe to say that Selinas safety is guaranteed.

Have I put out an urgent fire?

But the situation is not over yet because Zero Order asked me another question.

So, are you doing well with what I asked you to do?

What did he asked him to do?

Of course, the first thing that came to mind was an order that has been decrypted and verified.

[Infiltrate Theon and win their favor.]

But is that really all?

Actually, what if Zero order personally left John Doe with another job? Unlike other First Orders, the first order called John Doe performs special missions for Zero Order.

What if theres another mission I dont know?

Im working on it step by step.

I had no choice but to give a vague answer.

Thats a relief. It wouldnt have been easy to proceed while avoiding Theons suspicion.

Was that all?

Its almost time. A troublesome person is coming. I dont want to face it, so I have to go.

It was rather fortunate for me. If he stayed longer, there would have been a hole in my stomach.

John Doe there will be an Orders meeting soon. Esmeraldas seat is empty so other First Orders should know that.

An Orders meeting

I vaguely thought there would be such a thing, but I didnt think Id hear about it myself.

But it was an opportunity for me to find out what the other First Orders are like. So how do I attend this meeting?

Is he telling me to come on my own because the meeting is taking place?

This is dangerous. I dont know where the meeting is.

Zero Order, who was about to leave then, said.

You have what I gave you back then? It cant be done without it.

He suddenly asked and given the context of the conversation it was clearly the key to the executive meeting.

Zero Order. First of all, Ill say Im sorry.

What?

As you know, I was caught in a train attack on my way to Theon that day.

Train attack? Oh, you mean that? The Liberation Army did it.It was something we didnt expect either.

Yes, and part of the luggage was lost because of the train attack. Im ashamed.

Zero Order stared at me silently. The gaze on the back of my head stings as I swallow my saliva quietly. To be honest, this is a risky unexpected act however; it was also an inevitable gamble.

If thats the case, there was nothing you couldve done. Take it.

After saying so, the Zero Order placed a ring next to me. I rolled my eyes and checked the hand of the Zero Order.

I felt it in his voice, but I was sure when I saw his hand. Surprisingly, Zero Order is a young man however, his hands were not noticeable. So, is he a wizard? Or something else?

Ill see you at the meeting.

Zero Order left the words and disappeared with the wind.

I looked at the ring next to me without saying a word, took it and put it in my arms. The presence of Zero Order has completely disappeared.

I didnt get caught.

I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

No wonder Zero Order appeared in Theon at this very moment. Hes not a man Ill get to see easily.

He even noticed the disappearance of Quasimodo.

I was really nervous just in case I got caught.

I took out a tiny red jewel in my arms without saying a word. The energy of the hot fire was wriggling in the jewel.

I thought Id get caught with this.

Quasimodos energy of fire that I got after the fight.