Shadow Alliance

Lynch suddenly had the feeling of going to a neighbor’s house to borrow something, only to walk through the door and find the president sitting in the living room smiling at him.

Because the other elderly gentleman who had walked in was Duke Vane, the governor of Rhine City.

A century ago, his title would have been "feudal lord." The title had changed, but the meaning remained much the same: he was the patriarch of a thousand-year-old family that had governed the south for generations on behalf of the Lande royal family's Rose family.

Looking at this old man—genial on the outside, yet with an oppressive gaze—Lynch suddenly realized that Duke Vane was likely the client behind Trinlais. For him to come meet him in person, Lynch’s performance last night must have truly satisfied him, prompting him to extend greater trust.

Lynch didn't particularly care whether he was trusted or not. As a transmigrator, it was hard to hold the local nobility in the same reverent awe that natives did, so he was hardly overwhelmed by the honor. Still, since he had already decided to repay the archbishop's prior kindness by seeing this mission through, gaining a deeper understanding meant holding more initiative. There was everything to gain and nothing to lose.

“Not bad. Quite composed—much steadier than most kids your age. Trinlais picked the right person.”

Lynch hesitated over what attitude to adopt. But realizing he was facing two old political foxes, putting on airs would only invite ridicule; it was better to be frank and straightforward. He smiled and replied, “It’s not composure. Seeing your Grace just had me daydreaming about how much I could hike my rates in a moment. I was so engrossed in calculating that I forgot to be nervous.”

“Hahaha, well said! Sadly, you’re dreaming.” The old duke naturally took off his hat and formal coat. In just his shirt, he comfortably sank into the sofa and propped his legs onto the coffee table, showing none of the majesty he had displayed in the morning council. “You two already settled on the remuneration yesterday. To ask for a raise, you’d at least need preliminary results to have bargaining chips. Right now, impossible. I may be a wealthy and powerful grand noble, but I’m no fool.”

“Tsk, what a shame. If you aren't here to give me a chance to raise the price, do you have any extra instructions for me?”

Duke Vane said nothing. He simply sat up, poured himself a cup of the black tea the church used for guests, and closed his eyes to savor it slowly. Meanwhile, Archbishop Trinlais walked to the door, took a glass dome handed to him from outside, brought it back, and placed it over the coffee table.

【The Silent World of Roman I: A treasure Emperor Roman used for years to keep his working environment quiet, until he was driven mad by the sound of his own heartbeat and dug out his own heart.】

“Is it done?”

“Yes. A destruction grade mystery relic. Its soundproofing isn't foolproof, but it is sufficient for non-top-secret conversations,” Archbishop Trinlais said. “First, let me clarify: I truly did not expect that after tens of thousands of years of silence, the Lady of the Red Moon would still have a Soul Severer active in the mortal world—one capable of triggering an outburst of the red moon's power. If this has offended anyone, please allow me to apologize first.”

Huh? Why do you believe a super-expert helped me too? And the rumor has already upgraded to this expert being a Soul Severer of the Lady of the Red Moon? Things are moving too fast. Neighbor, there isn't actually someone like that, is there?

【No.】

‘Should I just acknowledge it and take credit?’

Predictably, silence answered him. Lady Red Moon clearly couldn't be bothered to respond to such a question.

Lynch had a slight headache. While this misunderstanding offered far more benefits than drawbacks in the short term—which was why he hadn’t explicitly denied it this morning—if the truth ever came to light, he would surely be labeled a fraud and targeted by these high-ranking figures. Hesitating for a moment, he tried to explain, “Actually, you've misunderstood. That moonlight was just a coincidence; it was merely an anomaly triggered when I underwent alienation.”

“Yes, I understand. I understand.”

The archbishop gave a knowing half-smile, looking completely in on the secret:

“The Red Moon Memories you used to guide your alienation were just something you accidentally stumbled upon after leaving here, certainly not provided by that lady. That red moon’s power just happened to shine down on its own, completely unrelated to her. And the fact that even the mysterious filth left behind by the power outburst was cleaned up spotless was surely a coincidence too, because such a person doesn't exist at all. Yes, I completely understand.”

I don't think you understand at all.

Lynch was caught between laughter and tears. Yet these were things he couldn't explain anyway, so having the archbishop concoct a self-consistent cover story was actually a good thing. After all, if anyone discovered that a voice belonging to what was likely the Red Moon herself resided in his mind, it would be far harder to wrap up than the current situation. Thus, he could only maintain an awkward yet polite smile.

Seeing Lynch's smile, however, Archbishop Trinlais became even more certain. He asked, “We certainly won't pry into the internal affairs of fallen gods' Soul Severers, but I need to confirm: do you still require the Red Moon Memories agreed upon yesterday as your mission reward?”

“Of course! When I alienate to rank two authority, I won't have ready-made holy memories on hand. I must use that.”

Lynch was startled. That item was essential for advancing; he couldn't let them take it back.

“None on hand? Oh, I see. Lifesaving holy memories can be provided to you in time of need, but standard advancement materials must be obtained and gathered by yourself, is that right? That's quite good training for you. It seems she's a very responsible guide. Is she still staying in Rhine City?”

Are all you high-ranking figures former web novel authors? How do you come up with so much headcanon?

Lynch knew it was impossible to clear up something they were so convinced of, so he simply gave an ambiguous reply: “In the short term, it will be impossible for you to find the person you're imagining in Lande.”

“So she has already left Lande?” The archbishop breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently, having an unidentified legendary expert lingering in the city exerted immense pressure.

Lynch offered a noncommittal smile. If they insisted on fooling themselves and couldn't be dragged back to reality, and it brought nothing but benefits with zero harm, he might as well let them imagine whatever they wanted while he quietly reaped the rewards.

Trinlais nodded to the old duke, who raised his cup in thanks to his old friend before turning to Lynch. “Young man, I visited Trinlais today hoping he could arrange a private meeting between us. I didn't expect you to come on your own, which saved us the trouble. In my original plan, this meeting wouldn't have happened, which you should understand. But circumstances have changed. On one hand, your results yesterday were indeed effective; on the other, your status... sticking to the original plan is no longer appropriate.”

Lynch understood the subtext. It seemed that partly due to his stellar results, and partly because he now had a ‘backer,’ what had previously been a purely transactional hiring relationship now demanded greater sincerity.

“We still won't provide any information—that won't change, so as not to bias your findings. But at the very least, we must explain the mission clearly to you. Otherwise, leaving you in the dark about what you're even doing would be asking too much.”

As expected. Lynch didn't mind either way; as long as he knew they weren't just putting on mystifying airs, he was fine with it.

“This railway was actually planned jointly by the Vane family and the Rose family. Boring through the Carlos Mountain Range to connect the north and south of Lande could theoretically benefit Lande for centuries. However, it also brings numerous drawbacks, both overt and subtle. In this regard, Rudolph and I are fully prepared mentally. If the harm truly far outweighs the benefits, we are willing to accept that. Heh, this project is immensely costly. A grueling construction period spanning over a decade might not be sustainable for Lande's national strength over the long haul, and it would likely drain the coffers of the entire Rose family. Rudolph and I are not so humble as to insist on throwing this money away.”

Lynch nodded, immediately reminded of a certain canal-building emperor from his homeland. But shouldn't this kind of risk assessment have been completed before the project even began? Or had the infighting among various factions crossed the line?

As he was pondering this, he heard the old duke explain, “Of course assessments were made in advance, and we were mentally prepared for all kinds of resistance. The current level of dispute hasn't actually exceeded our expectations by much, and normally we wouldn't interfere heavily. However...”

“Hmm?”

“Someone warned us that very dangerous conspiracies are brewing behind this project, which makes it hard to accept.”

“Conspiracies? Plural?”

“Yes, more than one.” Duke Vane's gaze hid behind his teacup, yet the rising steam could not warm the chill in his eyes. “That is why I asked Trinlais to scout a suitable candidate to investigate. We didn't want you to have preconceived notions, nor did you need to know what the conspiracies were. It relies entirely on your own contacts to analyze the motives and actions of the various parties, and ultimately report back to us.”

“Hiss...”

Lynch hesitated. He was mentally prepared for the commission's difficulty—after all, starting the investigation yesterday had immediately run into the bizarre will of an evil god, so subsequent steps certainly wouldn't be easy. But he didn't yet have a clear concept of what an evil god truly was, so he had thought all along that the risk was worth taking to repay the archbishop and achieve his next advancement.

But from the old duke's attitude now, it was evident that the darkness behind this matter ran far deeper than he had expected, which meant it was significantly more dangerous. He was just a bumbling detective who had only recently transmigrated, having not even learned his abilities yet. Recklessly entangling himself in this might cost him whatever lives he had.

Seeing Lynch's hesitation, the old duke said calmly, “Telling you the inside story is precisely to give you room to choose. If you truly believe the risk is too high, the previous commission can be canceled entirely. You don't need to have reservations.”

“May I ask, entrusting such an important matter to a novice detective who just turned twenty?” Lynch pointed at himself. “Even when I look in the mirror, I don't think I look reliable. Don't you think entrusting it to me is a bit rash?”

The old duke and Trinlais both looked at him with very peculiar expressions. The archbishop sighed and shook his head. “We never said I only found one candidate for him, did we?”

Holy crap, casting a wide net.

Lynch couldn't help rolling his eyes and instantly made up his mind.

For something this dangerous, without the need to worry about repaying a favor, it was better to keep his distance; otherwise, no number of lives would be enough. As for Officer Natalie, finding a way to have her pause the investigation once this phase wrapped up shouldn't be too difficult either.

Still curious, he couldn't resist pressing further. “I have a question. You received word that there’s more than one conspiracy? Isn't launching such a large-scale investigation over uncertain intelligence being a bit oversensitive?”

“Oversensitive? Hardly.” The old duke hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully, “The information came from the Shadow Alliance. Their intelligence is reliable.”

Lynch had never heard the name before, but guessed it was some sort of intelligence organization catering only to major factions. Still...

“If it's reliable, couldn't you just buy the information directly from them?”

“Reliable information and a trustworthy stance are two different things. They are regarded as dangerous elements in every country, targeted for severe crackdowns. You can imagine their mode of operation. No nation dares trust them completely; we must be on guard.”

“And they still dare come knock on doors to sell intelligence?” Lynch asked offhandedly.

“They don't need to knock. They have a special method of contact,” the old duke replied casually. “You just need to prepare an empty picture frame.”

“You said... what?”

Lynch felt a chill shoot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his skull, leaving him cold all over.