It was clear that Zavier didn't like how this officer had just shown up out of the blue. Most people, including Mabel, would have rather talked to him than ignored him because he came from a noble family. It was possible that Gus and his uncle Val were political adversaries.
"I will," he said as he stood there with his arms outstretched, "it is my duty as a member of the Adam family of the Hiling Empire."
"Thank you for your cooperation," Gus said with a broad and sincere smile.
Zavier then implanted his consciousness into the clone while conversing with Rebecca. This conceited young lady was constantly complaining about being excluded from the organization's activities.
"Are you absolutely certain that you want to join us?" Zavier decided to encourage her further.
She gave a brief blank stare in response before nodding emphatically.
"Yes!"
That was sufficient on its own.
"The organization must now figure out what is going on here, as well as the background map of the forces at work. You must complete this practice mission. If you are capable of successfully completing this mission, I will consider inviting you to join our team."
Rebecca exclaimed, "It's a deal!" as she jumped up and down. She returned to campus immediately after that.
In fact, Zavier didn't think she would understand how complicated relationships are. His original body, however, was being examined, and he couldn't just show up on campus as a mystery, so he had no choice but to rely on the girl to help him look for clues to the mystery. Even though he knew Rebecca was unlikely to find anything, he believed that if there were other people who had a stake in the outcome of her investigation, she would be more likely to find something.
It suddenly occurred to him how serious the situation was due to his lack of social connections.
Despite the fact that his clones could perform a wide range of tasks, the vast majority of them shared a single consciousness. When faced with genuine challenges, he did not excel at creative problem solving.
Whatever the reason, he needed to expand the size of his team. This was one of the most crucial points, and he would have to make a deliberate choice.
Even if he didn't go up against anyone in particular, he had to choose people who were skilled in a variety of combat styles.
He thought that mercenaries had the highest level of military skill because they put making money ahead of their own safety in battle. They mostly relied on raw power and pure intelligence, but he knew that raw power alone wasn't always enough to protect himself.
His primary goal was to find people who were skilled in a variety of disciplines. To take advantage of the skills of the other fighters, he would have to persuade the most skilled competitors to join his team. Recruiting them alone would not be sufficient to solve the problem.
He suddenly realized that the way clones shared information with each other was a lot like how people share information on the Internet. He might as well take advantage of the situation. Not only that, but his warehouse also functioned as a logistics station in space.
He used to insist on getting everyone together because it gave him a better chance of getting rid of his opponents. Even though his strategy wasn't to blame for anything, it made it much harder for him to get more people to join his team.
He just kept circling on spot.
He learned more about what he couldn't do, especially after he was attacked by those slayers.
In his mind, a comprehensive strategy began to take shape over time.
Rebecca's return came just as Zavier was putting the finishing touches on a long-term development strategy for his formidable organization.
"I've done my job, and now it's up to you to deliver on what you promised," she said, a gleeful smile on her face.
The incident had no effect on Zavier. "I think you should start with me."
Rebecca was speaking slowly. "Kekkaishi, the person in charge of establishing the border, is an Elven Empire native with a quarter Elven ancestry. According to the rumor, she joined the Slayer's League at a young age."
"Is it the Elves' Empire?" Zavier's thoughts turned to the seductive Calista.
"The other person who used to be releasing demonic magic appears to be connected to the Dawn organization."
"Seems?"
"Yes, I'm not sure."
"Where did you get that information?" Zavier asked, a grin on his face.
"My master."
Zavier recalled the elderly gentleman with the white beard. The bottle in the old man's hand that could seal Chibiterasu impressed him. "Is there anything else?"
"The Pope ordered the arrival of a new team of knights." Rebecca said, spreading her hands. "That's all there is to it,"
Zavier was taken aback by Rebecca's performance. He had expected her to find only minor clues, but he had not expected the old man with the white beard behind her to have such a sophisticated intelligence network.
"I will respond to the organization's senior management about your needs," he said, nodding his head.
"Really? Great!" She danced by leaping and moving.
He then told Rebecca to stay in campus until he informed her of the outcome of the situation and then to leave.
His consciousness returned to his original body and the memory of being interrogated quickly filled his brain.
Gus' demeanor was hostile, but not too difficult for him. Marquis Val arrived after some time had passed.
Gus, dressed in his military uniform, appeared to be waiting for the marquis to appear.
"You appear to have arrived a little later than I had anticipated. Are you currently in a lot of trouble?" Gus let out a strange half-laugh.
"Just mind your own business," said Val, who was clearly irritated. "Follow me," he said, motioning towards Zavier.
"Oh!" Zavier had a much more pessimistic attitude than he did.
Gus didn't really stop Val much, and it appeared that he was just trying to tease him.
After Val led him into the classroom, he put up a barrier that blocked the noise from outside and surrounded the area.
"I heard from Valarie that you reached B rank, that's good."
Val's words were complimentary, but Zavier couldn't make out any tone of voice in his delivery.
"It is necessary for you to describe the events leading up to this mishap to me. Where are the people who are looking out for my safety behind the scenes?" Zavier was clearly dissatisfied with Val's disregard for his responsibilities.
"I nearly died!"
Val's expression never changed from none of guilt. "The truth is that you are still standing in front of me. Don't have emotions in the face of adversity or you'll die without a trace."
"Instead of lecturing me, please provide me with an explanation." Zavier didn't move an inch.
Val's intensity of gaze shifted slightly, and she let out a long sigh.
"Ugh~"
"They're all dead."
Zavier was visibly surprised, but he quickly recovered and continued. After all, he had learned about these occurrences from Valerie.
After a brief pause, he finally broke the silence with the question, "Who did it?"
"Me."
Zavier jerked his head up, his expression questioning, "What the fuck is going on here?"
"Others among them went rogue and plotted to kill you in private, but they were foiled by another group just in time. Those traitors were executed with my own hands." When Val recounted these tense events, he did so in an unusually calm tone, almost as if he were having a relaxed conversation about family matters.
Zavier felt a flutter in his chest, but he chose not to investigate because he was well aware that his power was insufficient to deal with the situation.
"What do you expect from me?"
Zavier didn't believe Val was talking to him alone to share information unrelated to the main topic.
Val's eyes glowed with recognition at that moment. "We're going to increase the number and quality of bodyguards protecting you, and we're going to put some on the table. And all you have to do is keep pretending to be weak."
"Is that it?" Zavier asked, with a curious cocking of the head.
"To make things easier for you, they'll pretend to be your friends or other relatives, and you'll have to match their performance."
"Got it," Zavier said solemnly.
Val's face lit up with tenderness as he looked at Zavier, but it vanished almost instantly. He then quickly withdrew the boundary and left.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶