Chapter 699: Chapter 699

The fourth head of the organization, in charge of the information gathering and assassinations team.

“Ah, that reminds me. You know that Jorg man you captured, Grandpa? According to our information, he’s also part of that team, and thanks to you, we’ve got their base intact and all of his men too. You really made things easy for us, Grandpa.”

“Heh, that was no sweat off my back.”

Jorg, the boss of the assassin group Mira had found, was also involved with the fourth team of Ira Muerte, and Alma was certain that he would provide vital information once they interrogated him.

“On top of that, Ira Muerte tends to be really secretive all the time, so they hardly ever hire any outside help…”

The fourth team handled all things relating to information, and as some say, knowledge can be more valuable than money. They attempted to control the flow of information to their advantage, sometimes twisting the truth, and other times covering up certain incidents. Most of the organization’s top skilled members were in that team too.

It was also that team that would move whenever something important happened, especially if they wanted to keep things under wraps.

“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this is the worst state the organization has ever been in, so I’d wager they’ll send their own best men to deal with us.”

There was no denying that one of their four heads was compromised due to the powers of the Oracle. And it was also true that they would never want anyone in their same line of work to catch wind of that.

What had happened with August could easily shatter all the trust and respect they had built up.

There was nothing more embarrassing for Ira Muerte than having everyone else finding out that a young girl they only knew as the Oracle had made them lose five hundred billion Rils while also shutting down their underground trade routes.

The only way they had of getting out of that situation without word getting out was to deal with it internally with their own members, specifically those in higher ranks that knew about August’s plight. Or at least that was Alma’s hope.

“Hmmm, that sounded really complicated, but I guess they’ll just want to keep their shame to themselves.”

There was always the possibility that the Oracle would also reveal all the organization’s dirty and shameful secrets to a hypothetical mercenary that went after her, so the safest option would always be to send a high ranking member that was already aware of everything there was to know.

“That’s basically it. And their high positions also make them priority targets for us, since they’re the ones hiding and manipulating all the information involving the organization.”

That team was in charge of silencing any news that could be detrimental to the organization, just like what happened to August. And that was also why they knew the most secrets.

Alma had come up with the idea of organizing the whole tournament with the sole goal of capturing the people leading that team.

“How do I put this…it sounds like a really reckless and uncertain strategy.”

Mira expressed her unfiltered opinion.

She could see how it had a chance of working, but there was no guarantee that someone in a high position in that team would actually come. And while having the Oracle leave the palace to watch the tournament presented a good opportunity for an assassination, they could choose not to take the bait and find a way to infiltrate the palace regardless.

With all those uncertain factors, Mira was still a bit unconvinced, but Alma continued saying, “But actually, I think our chances of success have improved with you here, Grandpa.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Alma’s confidence was unwavering, and Mira wanted to know why. The answer turned out to be connected to Noin.

“Noin’s unbreakable defense is well known even outside of Nirvana, so they would be really careful knowing he’s guarding the Oracle. That’s what made me question whether they would actually attempt anything against her. But the important thing is that now I can assign Noin to stay in position somewhere else, thanks to you.”

Now that Noin had been relieved of his bodyguard duties, Alma was planning on making him show up publicly during the tournament, making the lure more enticing.

As the more he was seen outside, the more obvious it would become that the Oracle was no longer being guarded by him.

Alma believed it was safe to assume that Ira Muerte was aware of the Oracle’s phobia, thanks to the way her powers connected her to August. But in the end, it would not matter if they knew the real reason for the change of bodyguards. As long as it was someone else, the organization would see that as a chance to attack.

“The Oracle’s defense will have weakened, and they might as well attribute that to August’s wicked acts. So it makes sense that they’ll try to exploit that opening, right?”

Alma sounded fully confident of her plan, and she had a point. The logical conclusion was that August’s meddling had successfully weakened the Oracle’s perfect defense, replacing it with whatever was at hand for Alma.

Even if another of the Twelve Apostles had taken Noin’s place, their defensive abilities would be inferior. That was something Mira could agree with.

“And on top of it all, we could use her powers to let them know that the new bodyguard is you, Grandpa, or rather, the Spirit Queen. That could also help us, as you’ve become a pretty popular adventurer recently.”

The stories about Mira made her seem like a good fit to be a bodyguard, and her appearance would not trigger the Oracle’s phobia. Overall, Alma was convinced that Ira Muerte would not suspect anything, and simply assume that Mira was the first available person who fit the criteria necessary.

There was still the possibility of keeping Mira in disguise as some mysterious bodyguard, but Alma insisted that it would be easier for Ira Muerte to underestimate the Spirit Queen, a known summoner.

“No matter what the stories about you say, the people see the Spirit Queen as an up and coming adventurer. If anything, this will make them want to attack even more, not knowing that they’re rushing straight into the jaws of one of the Nine Wisemen who stands on equal footing as Noin. It’s the perfect strategy, wouldn’t you say?”

Alma looked really smug about the plan she had concocted, and Mira was starting to get convinced too, as she grinned and said, “That sounds like fun, let’s do it.”

Overall, that plan reminded Mira of those prank shows of world class professionals going undercover as amateurs to shock others, which made Mira’s motivation skyrocket.

“I know, it’s so exciting. I knew you’d also want to be part of this, Grandpa!”

While Mira always loved a good fight, back during the game days she would often be relegated to defensive duty.

The main reason for that were her Holy Knights, which excelled at defending, and could be given orders to automatically engage enemies they spotted even if the summoner had not seen them. On top of that, they were easy to summon in large numbers to rapidly enhance one’s defenses.

So overall, Mira was rather confident in her own abilities as bodyguard. But there was another reason that made her smirk with anticipation.

(This could be the perfect opportunity to test out my new ideas.)

She was thinking back to the month or so of free time she had at the Tower, during which she immersed herself in her research and experiments, some of which she believed could come in handy here. But she tried to keep those ideas secret for now, as she simply declared, “No one will touch even a hair of her as long as I’m her bodyguard.”

Hearing Mira’s confident words, Alma and Esmeralda thanked her one more time. Updates are released by n0velfire.net