Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor [EN]: Chapter 908

“This is….”

Arena stared at the Idgal, his mouth agape. Wasn’t this the forbidden magic stone, the Idgal, that he had barely seen himself? Besides the one the Magic Department kept for research, there shouldn’t be any others in circulation, right?

“Where did you get this?”

“From a desk drawer in Crony’s study.”

“I’m going crazy.”

Leaving aside why Crony had this, the question was how he got it. This situation could only be seen as a challenge to the Magic Department.

Arena lightly infused magic power into the Idgal with his fingertips, watching its reaction.

“It’s real….”

It was a genuine Idgal.

Arena clenched his fist, shaking it as if he wanted to crush the Idgal. Ian Hadel was in front of him, so he suppressed his urge to curse out loud.

Oblivious, Ian took out a business card and placed it on the desk.

“And this was next to it. It seems to be a merchant guild card. Could it be related?”

“Black Merchant Guild? Have you heard of it?”

The aide adjusted his glasses slightly and shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.

“I haven’t heard of it before.”

“This smells fishy.”

“I’ll look into it.”

Arena slipped the card between his fingers and handed it over. The aide respectfully received it and tucked it into his inner pocket. Unlike Ian’s bright eyes, Arena’s gaze narrowed further.

“Ah. And I found something strange in the bank account list.”

“…What is it?”

“Usually, there are only transfer records, but there was one instance of cash withdrawal. In gold coins, about three months ago.”

“Hmm.”

Arena responded with a hum, but that was it. He just kept staring at Ian, who awkwardly smiled and tilted his head.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Why am I doing that?!”

Thump!

Arena stood up and grabbed Ian’s cheeks, pulling them from side to side. Not painfully, but as far as they could stretch.

When Ian’s eyes widened in surprise, Arena almost burst out laughing without realizing it. …No, no! This is a serious moment.

“Who told you to do such a dangerous thing? Huh?”

Not only did he enter Crony’s mansion alone, but he also infiltrated the study and ransacked the desk? Is this kid really five years old? He’s fearless and bold; it’s amazing the more you look at him.

Then, Ian slightly raised his small hand as if to protest.

“Hana and Romandro went with me too.”

“Could those two have protected you if something had happened?”

“Well….”

“And how did you open the locked drawer anyway?”

“Ako helped me with that.”

Thud. Arena’s hand slipped in surprise.

“…Who?”

“Ako.”

“The madman researching in the basement?”

“…Ako wanted to be called a genius.”

“Hey! Bring that guy here right now!”

At Arena’s command, the aide quickly went outside. Ian hesitated whether to speak or not, but eventually revealed the matter about the Idgal.

“And about the Idgal, Ako has the same thing.”

Shock. Arena’s expression accurately conveyed those two words.

Ian rubbed his cheeks and added.

“I saw it when I was at Joy Department Store. He said he was researching the Idgal. But he said he needed me there….”

Crash!

It was then. Ako, wearing safety goggles, was dragged in, his arms held by mages. He smelled faintly of medicine, as if he had been in the middle of an experiment. Ako struggled and shouted, but it was no use.

“Ah, whyyy! I need to stir that now! If I miss the time, I have to boil it again for two days, you guys!”

“Shut up, you!”

“Minister, no, why is the Minister wasting the Magic Department’s materials like this? What’s so urgent that you’re dragging people away! Did you forget our contract? You said you wouldn’t touch me when I’m researching!”

“You gave Ian Hadel a potion kit, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah-?”

“Yep.”

When Arena’s eyes flashed, Ako calmly regained his senses and answered.

“Are you crazy? Sending a kid to such a place without reporting it?”

“I did report it. And look at Ian. Is he the type to listen if you tell him not to?”

At Ako’s words, the mages looked at Ian. His bright eyes seemed to shine particularly.

Everyone stood there like they had swallowed a fly, unable to refute, and Arena pointed his finger at them.

“Report? I didn’t receive anything?”

“Huh? That can’t be.”

Ako swaggered over and flipped through a pile of documents. A memo fell out from between them. Arena reflexively grabbed it and immediately felt a deep sense of frustration.

-Minister. This is Ako, I sent Ian Hadel to Crony’s house with a kit. The performance is awesome, so don’t worry♡

“Hey-!”

At Arena’s roar, the mages covered Ian’s ears. Ako, the person in question, was nonchalant, picking at his ear as if nothing had happened. She tapped the memo as if asking if there was a problem.

“Recipient, sender, content, everything is perfect. What’s the problem?”

“You are, really….”

“Ian, how was it? The potion worked great, right?”

At Ako’s proud question, Ian nodded slightly.

See, I knew it! Ako hummed happily and was about to return to the lab, but Arena grabbed her by the collar.

“Wait a minute.”

“Why again? I’m really busy.”

“Idgal.”

“…Huh!”

Even the arrogant Ako was visibly flustered and stopped when the Idgal was mentioned. And then she turned sharply to look at Ian.

“You, you, traitor! I told you not to say anything!”

“Sorry, Ako. But I couldn’t help it. The Idgal was found in Crony’s mansion.”

“Even so… Huh? What did you say?”

Ako, who had been complaining and whining, stopped talking, as if wondering how Crony could have obtained the Idgal.

Her gaze was subtly like, ‘If there’s a route, I want to get more too,’ so Arena frowned.

“Don’t think nonsense, and tell me. Where did you get the Idgal?”

“Uh, if I tell you, will you let it slide?”

“We’ll see how you do.”

“Ugh.”

Ako sat down with a thud and pondered for a long time. As Arena’s gaze grew increasingly harsh, she had no choice but to open her mouth, pretending not to know.

“Will you believe me if I say it’s a keepsake from my grandmother?”

“Would I?”

“Okay. I’ll be honest. It’s a keepsake from my grandmother.”

Then Ian, who had been listening quietly, interjected.

“No, you said you got it somewhere when we talked at Joy Department Store.”

“Ian! Are you really doing this? We’re breaking up!”

Huh. Ian opened his mouth as if shocked by the harsh words he had heard for the first time.

Arena hid Ian behind him and tapped his baton on his hand, as if to say that it would hit her butt if necessary.

“Breaking up? You’ll be fired. I’ll kick you out of the lab without letting you take even a piece of paper.”

“Nooo! Wait! Okay! I’ll tell you. But it’s true that my grandmother gave it to me. In the north, there’s a place where a rift occurred a long time ago, and the hole is huge—no, very big.”

A huge rift? It was known that the north was once a dangerous rift zone, but that was a long time ago. Recently, there has been no surge of monsters, and the damage caused by it has been insignificant, so there was no problem.

“But?”

“The entire rift was blocked with Idgal.”

“What?”

“I don’t know who got so much Idgal from somewhere. They poured it there to block the hole, like in Prodohna.”

Prodohna, the capital of Clifford, was flooded with monsters due to a rift incident about 100 years ago, and it is said that it was sealed with the Idgal that was in circulation at the time.

Even now, traces of it remain, and the Idgal, which is a sealing maintenance device, is specially managed by the country so that no parts are lost.

“Anyway, that’s what I heard. I don’t know the details. I’m not my grandmother.”

Arena rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

‘There’s a rift somewhere in the north, and it’s blocked by Idgal. But if humans who want Idgal take the magic stones from there—’

“Will the rift open again?”

At Ian’s question, Arena came to his senses. He didn’t want to admit it, but that was the result. And if that actually happened….

“Then the monsters will flood again, and the Idgal will be distributed throughout Gaia, restricting the actions of mages.”

A simple but clear interpretation.

Ako raised her eyebrows as if to say, ‘See that?’ She was so smart and sharp, would she have not gone to Crony’s mansion even if she was told not to?

Arena banged on the desk and gave a loud order.

“Bring all the past records about the northern rift.”

“What’s the deadline?”

“Since the Idgal was first discovered about 100 years ago, from then on.”

He gave the order, but Arena knew it wouldn’t be easy. Places that officially use Idgal, like Clifford, are all strictly identified and managed under the Magic Department. Yet, the fact that Arena didn’t know meant that there were no records.

‘Crony, that bastard, has a lot to do in the north.’

If his guess was correct, he might have thoroughly explored the area while he was in the north. How much Idgal is buried, and whether it can be mined, etc.

“But Minister. Do you think Chief Crony would go that far? It’s a rift, not just anywhere. If it opens again, it’ll be real chaos.”

When a mage expressed doubt, Ian answered instead.

“Crony is capable of anything.”

He was a cold-blooded man who even used his father’s death. A ruthless human who only moved for his own purposes, regardless of the damage to the people of the empire. And chaos? The bigger, the better. The Imperial Defense Force has always wanted war.

“He’ll use this as a way to overcome the failed northern expedition. If there are monsters, the Magic Department will have to provide full support, and the Imperial Palace will be empty.”

Everything was falling into place.

The mage scratched his head, feeling an increasingly uneasy sensation. A premonition that a bloody storm would blow through the peaceful Imperial Palace.

“Okay. First, everyone find the data and organize it. And Ian Hadel.”

Arena looked down at Ian with his arms crossed. Would he get another scolding? Ian looked up at Arena nervously.

“…You did well. But from now on, no more dangerous actions. Got it? If anything happens, report directly to me and then move.”

“……!”

“Answer?”

“Yes!”

When Ian nodded confidently, Arena ruffled the child’s hair. If it hadn’t been for Ian, he wouldn’t have known that Crony was after the Idgal at all. In addition, there was also evidence of the almost-forgotten minister assassination attempt.

‘Black Merchant Guild.’

He thought that this might be a big clue, and Arena flipped through the report. With a gesture, he told everyone to leave.

Squeak.

The door to the minister’s office closed. Ian and Ako stood there for a moment, speechless. Then, suddenly, Ian looked up at Ako with apologetic eyes.

“Um, Ako.”

We were supposed to keep it a secret, sorry. But I couldn’t help it…. He was about to apologize. Ako blinked as if something had flashed in her mind.

“Wait. So, the Magic Department is going to find that Idgal deposit now. And Crony seems to know roughly where it is too.”

“Huh?”

“If they find it, they’ll bring it all to the Magic Department, right?”

“I guess so? They can’t let it leak out.”

“Yee-haw!”

Ako jumped up and down, yelling, and a crashing sound of something hitting something came from beyond the door. It was Arena.

“It’s noisy!”

“Oh my, the Minister is so bad-tempered. I’m avoiding him because he’s so dirty. So dirty.”

“I can hear everything!”

“Gasp.”

Ako grabbed Ian’s hand and quickly ran down the hallway.

“Then shall we try to find it too? The Idgal deposit.”

“Yeah, let’s do that, but….”

“Breaking up canceled! We’re friends again!”

“Really?”

When Ian smiled bashfully with a dazed look, Ako grinned, revealing her fangs. Yay! Ian ran after Ako, who was jumping up and down.