○
Arpina's experiments continued.
The psychologist and professor who simply dealt with memories, twisting people's intimate aspects for self-satisfaction and pleasure, was now gone.
There was only a plunderer and murderer who extorted beyond memories to talents, and finally even parts of souls.
"Hu, ha, hahaha."
Thus, by twenty-five, Arpina already possessed numerous abilities.
In the light, as a psychologist and counselor, she corrupted or absorbed the abilities of the most talented students.
In the shadows, numerous strong individuals near the kingdom were mysteriously killed and buried.
They were all mercenaries or adventurers who, had they lived, could have become great forces for the continent in the future.
"Boring material!"
Her talent as a serial killer was outstanding.
Some of those killed by her were now beginning to be 'exhibited', and beside them lay journals detailing their most secret affairs.
Sometimes good deeds. Sometimes evil deeds. Sometimes even unbearable facts.
And in all those places, a strand of her black hair and a green brooch were left behind.
"Please exercise restraint. Don't forget that the royal family is watching."
"I'm always grateful for the support."
The royal family, having confirmed this, had known from the beginning that all these murders were her doing, but they hushed it up and received parts of her research.
"This isn't enough. I need more, much more!"
She increasingly targeted stronger individuals.
She indulged in physical pleasure with dying bodies, and reached mental climax with the abilities stolen from them.
"I'm becoming more and more perfect. More! Even more!"
It didn't matter whether they were men or women.
Only power and pleasure.
And her own perfection being completed.
That was the most important thing.
The more intense the sensation of pleasure, the higher the climax, the more she believed she was becoming perfect.
"You're truly excellent, Arpina."
"Of course, Mother. And now I'll become even more perfect."
"Wait... you just..."
One of the peaks of that climax could be obtained from her mother and family, who had succeeded in becoming nobles again from fallen nobility through Arpina's achievements.
"Mmm..."
Shining between the black hair reflected in the mirror.
Arpina slowly caressed the source of that light with her finger.
Newly grown silver hair gleamed coldly like moonlight.
"Silver is... pretty, I guess."
Soon, a sneer appeared on her lips.
"Though it ruins my appetite."
She raised her eyes, still shining with cunning green, to look north.
She now prided herself on being almost perfect.
Having devoured countless souls, stealing their abilities and advancing step by step, she had reached a position approaching the level of a sovereign.
But it wasn't enough yet.
A powerful piece, decisive and ultimate, that would lead her to true perfection.
"Noble Abelus."
It was then that she heard rumors of that hero arriving in the north.
One of the 13 greatest adventurers on the continent.
Known as the most powerful among them, one of the three heroes who firmly protect goodness.
He, who should have been guarding the demon realm in the north, had briefly come inland for family matters.
"Ah..."
Arpina felt a tingling tightness inside her abdomen.
A thrill ran through her just imagining how great the pleasure obtained from his flesh would be.
How great would be the climax and sense of omnipotence when stealing his power.
It would surely be the ultimate ecstasy she had never felt before.
○
-Master. We've discovered an anomaly in the 'owls'' movements during our investigation.
Talhan's voice came through the communication device.
The face visible through the communication device opened after receiving the urgent signal.
Although that face outwardly maintained its usual calmness, I could read the subtle tension flowing underneath.
It certainly wouldn't be light news.
"Explain in detail, Talhan."
-Well... we're not certain, but it seems to be internal strife.
"Internal strife?"
-Yes.
I couldn't hide my puzzlement and tilted my head.
Talhan also looked clearly confused.
This was certainly strange.
While the Information Guild was formed by former colleagues coming together with shared intentions, the information merchants were completely different.
They were a different faction gathered under one man's charisma and the values he put forth.
'If the guild is like a republic, the information merchants are like an absolute monarchy.'
It was hard to imagine internal strife occurring in such an organization.
Then the remaining possibility was...
"Rebellion?"
"I don't believe that's the case, my lord."
At that moment, Ran interjected.
She had come to report on Elena's situation and ended up joining this conversation.
"Why do you say that?"
"There's no one among the information merchants capable of replacing 'Thousand Faces'."
Ran's voice was filled with certainty. It was a firmness contrasting with her faint smile.
"They don't have such individuals?"
"It's not that they lack capable individuals..."
Ran tilted her head and paused to choose her words, then continued.
"...there's no one who can surpass him."
I nodded, finally understanding.
Indeed, 'Thousand Faces' is estimated to be at the boundary between high-rank and sovereign-rank.
It couldn't be the subordinates' fault that they couldn't match a leader who was a superhuman existence.
"I see... then."
"The Witch of Dreams has various powers, Master..."
This time it was Xue's words.
She, who had been lost in thought all along, had recalled something.
"...Among them is the ability to control people's minds."
It made sense immediately.
The situation fit together from an unexpected angle.
"I didn't think there would be someone else using such methods besides me. And to humans, among humans at that."
This was a mistake in my judgment.
It's because I had limited my thinking of Arpina to the simple category of a 'criminal'.
Arpina was one of the continent's top powerhouses. Also, she was someone who had succeeded in escaping after being caught once by the strongest adventurer.
'I should have thought of her not as a simple criminal, but as a big shot. At least as someone who had single-handedly cultivated an organization.'
Then of course she would have had the appropriate arrogance and pride.
Although it was an assessment largely based on Earth's standards, it probably wasn't far off.
Humans are similar wherever they go.
'In other words, she might have thought that dealing with an information organization itself was beneath her dignity.'
Xue's following words proved my hypothesis.
"It probably wasn't an attempt to take over the information network... she might have just tried to use a part of it. I'm not sure... but maybe she thought they wouldn't notice if she put it back."
It was a plausible guess.
It was unlikely that the 'Witch of Dreams' had truly attempted to forcibly take over the entire 'Gray Eyes' organization.
She had experienced the power of the continent's strongest, and must have known that 'Gray Eyes' was also in that rank.
Of course, the subsequent talk was just her hypothesis, so it should be taken with a grain of salt...
'Borrowing someone else's organization.'
...There was some 'consistency' visible here now.
If she had been someone who thought so sensibly from the beginning, she probably wouldn't have thought of challenging 'Noble Abelus', one of the continent's strongest.
She wouldn't have needed to enter 'another body' either.
She before and after that were essentially the same, but clearly different beings.
"Come to think of it, I haven't heard about what motivated her to challenge the demon realm."
-From what's known...
It was Talhan who spoke up.
But he was frowning. Hesitating as if unsure whether he should say this.
"Just say it."
-There's a record saying that to challenge Abelus again, she said she needed to know the power of the Demon Realm Archduke, which even Abelus was too afraid to challenge.
"Where from?"
Talhan hesitated again.
Like his expression earlier, the credibility of the information seemed to be the main reason for his concern.
"It's alright, speak."
-Well... it's from a tavern in the north... It's not certain, but.
"I see. But looking at the current situation, it seems likely to be true."
Stealing and accumulating the powers of nearby high-ranking ability users.
Challenging the continent's strongest at a time when it would have been difficult to digest all that, getting caught and released.
Immediately after, recklessly challenging the demon realm Archduke.
After being released by the Archduke, she moved south without even hiding her tracks.
She didn't deal with the information merchants but tried to control and use part of them.
Pieces that seemed completely irregular now connect as one.
Like a mosaic.
Although the intentions of individual events couldn't be fully grasped yet, now the outline of what kind of person she was had roughly taken shape.
"A talented child. And desperation from something."
"It seems so."
"Indeed..."
Seeing that Ran, Xue, and Talhan all seemed to agree with my words, my judgment didn't seem to be far off.
It was interesting that Ran and Xue seemed to truly 'not know' about Arpina, but...
I'll ask about that later.
"If her target is us, she'll be coming down soon."
"Why...?"
"Because she won't be able to get information about me from the information merchants."
If Arpina had heard about my information from the demon realm Archduke and come out, she would likely know my location as well.
The location of my dungeon was information that could be found out easily enough if investigated in the demon realm.
Even if Scarlet, Marie, and others in the East Continent Sales Department of the Mammon Guild tried to prevent information leaks, there were limits.
Even if not the exact location, she would have grasped the approximate area.
So.
"Ran, try to finish your work as quickly as possible and come back. Call Eve too."
"I'll have the queens on standby nearby as well."
"Yes. That would be good."
Someone with at least high-rank abilities.
Although it's not certain yet if she's really coming with aggressive intentions, there was no consistent pattern in her actions.
Even if she seems to have different intentions, she's an opponent we must never let our guard down against.
Such a person was now approaching us.
And with the very item I had put in my shopping basket, snatched away and held in her hand.
"I see..."
"Master...?"
"My lord?"
I felt my lips tightening involuntarily.
I could sense Ran and Xue cautiously reading my mood, but nevertheless, I couldn't stop my feelings from plummeting to rock bottom.
"...Soon I'll be able to see the face of the one who touched what I was trying to obtain first."
The information control power possessed by the 'owls' is so important that I wanted to obtain it by investing numerous personnel including Talhan.
And yet, someone had broken that, something that would be insufficient even if obtained intact, that big piece needed for the perfect safety of me and my people.
And it was probably someone who either couldn't judge its value, or had abandoned judging its value, an unqualified person.
'For a very long time...'
I felt my tightened lips loosening slightly, and a smile forming involuntarily.
'...I'll have to keep her alive.'
I wanted to trample her.
Thoroughly.
'Completely.'