BMD 356

“Heuheum, heumheum….”

In the cityscape crowded with spires, at the top of the tallest building. Beneath an open space in the rotunda style, where columns met the rounded ceiling in an arch, a man was humming a tune with a lollipop in his mouth.

Despite the warm, sunny weather, he was wearing a thick brown leather jacket, while his lower body was clad in black Imperial army uniform pants, and his shoes were light-colored work boots that had lost their original luster due to dirt.

The man, dressed in a rather unconventional manner, had spread out as many items on the floor as his clothes were far from the norm. They were illegally modified firearm parts. Unlike the possession of menacing weapons, the man’s impression seemed languid, as if he were sleepy.

Chijijik—

—Finder, finder. All set?

Nero’s voice flowed from one of the walkie-talkies scattered haphazardly in the corner. The man called Finder didn’t answer. He simply continued humming, peering into the gun’s barrel and carefully applying oil to the entrance with his finger.

Following that, he generously coated a long rod with lubricant, inserted it into the muzzle, and gently pistoned the inside of the barrel. The rhythmic touch was somehow sticky.

Chijijik—

—Finder, sir, can you hear me? Are you ready?

As the interspersed urging continued, Finder frowned and turned to look at it. He bent his oily finger, pressed the button on the walkie-talkie with his knuckle, and retorted irritably.

“Hey, don’t talk to me. I’m having a good time with my lover.”

Chijijik—

—Ah, is this the time to joke around? You have to keep watching! You never know when they’ll co—

“I’m watching, so stop nagging—.”

Finder, having adequately ignored him, turned off the walkie-talkie as it was. He continued to deeply poke the inside of the barrel, and when he deemed it sufficient, he pulled out the inserted rod. Then, as if gagging his beloved, he combined the gruesome parts one by one.

Clank, the sound was heard in succession for 30 seconds. The modified firearm became quite heavy in size and weight and was embraced in his arms.

He approached the pillar where the telescope was installed and placed the completed firearm in a sniper position. A closed railing rising about 70cm from the floor concealed the large firearm and the scattered junk. With the entire body hidden, only the muzzle quietly peeked out.

“Wow… there are a lot of people.”

The scenery he looked down upon was more crowded than usual with tanks, carriages, and people.

This was Pentagov, located at the 6 o’clock direction from the Zodiac. It was named Pentagov to commemorate its registration as the last of the five cities adjacent to Saint Laina as a major administrative area.

Today, nobles and attendants invited from outside were visiting in large numbers ahead of the grand banquet held at the party house. In addition, farmers transporting groceries, servants of noble families hired as extra hands, and merchants trying to seize an opportunity to make a fortune were lined up to pass through the checkpoint.

Even with all the Gates open, traffic congestion was severe, so in some areas, they were busy dealing with the influx of people by simplifying inspections. It was a busy scene befitting a joyous day. The bustling noise echoed to the top of the spire.

But on days like this, unsavory elements are bound to gather.

“2km from the Gate to the main street… I could shoot with my eyes closed. You worry about everything.”

Finder recalled Nero, who had been chattering, and clicked his tongue, saying that kids were no good. Even so, he put on the sniper goggles he had hung on the railing. It was a Magic Tool that widened the viewing angle and could see up to 5km away, and was only given to snipers certified by the Imperial army.

The magazine was filled with air bullets specially made with magic. If it receives exactly two impacts, the bullet scatters into the air, minimizing traces of the sniping. Once upon firing, and once upon hitting the target.

Having roughly finished preparing, he adjusted the magnification of the telescope, and with the other hand, he held a portable electric shocker. He brought the sharp tip slightly to the vicinity of his neck as if he were familiar with it, and his whole body trembled at the stinging shock. His brow furrowed at the unpleasantness, but the man put down the electric shocker and simply rubbed the flushed area around his neck and turned his head from side to side.

“How long do I have to do this….”

Even while muttering with a sigh, this time he reached back and operated the set-up phonograph.

The sound of the snare drum in the orchestral piece and the flute playing to open the gates began to flow mixed with noise.

“Heum—, heueeum….”

That, which was the identity of the humming, matched the man’s voice and rhythm, gradually stepping on the melody. Perhaps because the surroundings were so noisy, the music only reached his ears and did not leak out elsewhere.

Lowering his posture and shouldering the firearm, Finder looked up at the sky for a moment. Even though the local time was well past 5 o’clock, the sun was still shining brightly in the sky. As he brought the pupils contracted by the sunlight to the scope as they were, the gray eyes revealed beneath the languid eyelids became as sharp as they were alien from before.

On the middle finger of his left hand, which supported the bottom of the barrel, was a silver ring symbolizing Dark Silver.

“Still, it’s our boss’s request….”

He crunched and swallowed the lollipop that had already been separated from the stick, and licked his lips with the tip of his tongue, his eyes shining.

“Shall we do it properly?”

A faint sense of excitement lingered in his gaze as he searched for the target that would soon approach.

The flow of the orchestral piece gradually intensified following his gaze.

At the checkpoint leading from the Zodiac’s southern Gate to Pentagov, the Duke’s white carriage was stopped. Hugo sat inside the carriage with the curtains drawn, his arms crossed, staring at the empty seat opposite him. The outside was particularly noisy, but he had no time to pay attention. He had been in this state ever since departing from the Imperial Palace.

Except for occasionally contacting Flynn with a communication Magic Tool, he had been repeatedly closing and opening his eyes for almost three hours. His mind was complicated.

Fortunately, his white carriage passed through the Gate without a separate inspection, using the family’s symbol as identification. Perhaps because it was the first priority for passage, excluding the Emperor, the waiting time was not as long as other carriages.

As the carriage began to pick up speed again, Hugo habitually checked his wristwatch.

5:03 PM. It was a bit tight, but he would still arrive before the start of the main ceremony.

If he attended late on a day like today, there would be many who would be curious about the Emperor’s and his private meeting. It was wise to show his face as early as possible and quietly disappear in the midst of the chaos.

‘As soon as I enter, I’ll exchange greetings first… and when the banquet is in full swing, I should slip out appropriately.’

In the early days after his inauguration as Duke, he used to travel around, handling more than five schedules a day. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t tired then, but it didn’t weigh on his mind and body as much as the single schedule he had today.

Hugo leaned back against the seat in the carriage, recalling the fresh scent of the Lambers saplings he had smelled last. As he inhaled, his broad chest swelled as if it would burst. As the buttons of his suit were pulled tautly, he exhaled a hot breath along with his worries.

The Duke, who had briefly let go of his dignity, gently tilted his head against the window. Perhaps because he had safely escaped the Zodiac, his stiff posture gradually relaxed. He was planning to rest like this for a while until he arrived.

He didn’t care that his clothes were wrinkled, and he crossed his legs and closed his eyes tightly. It was a defenseless appearance that he rarely showed. His gloved hand recalled the softness of the golden hair he had once rummaged through.

‘Is it okay to dig into his past?’

Leonardo was shrouded in secrets that didn’t suit his age. The reason why he doesn’t bring it up first is probably because he doesn’t want to reveal it.

But unlike his worries, Hugo was already roughly counting the list of attendees at today’s banquet.

‘I’ll run into Sylvia and her husband too.’

Through his cousin, who married a high-ranking military officer, he might be able to find out something about the relationship between Leonardo and the Emperor during their military days. It would be even more welcome if he could make contact with the people around them. The more testimonies, the better.

The carriage passed through the Gate and entered the main street in the city. Perhaps because the road was well paved, the shaking was relatively reduced. Hugo, entrusting his body to the vibrations of the rolling wheels, listed the people he wouldn’t find strange to talk to in his mind one by one.

The accompanying calming breath sounded as if he were falling asleep, but his mind was clearer than ever.

Rather, as his vision was blocked, his other senses gradually became more sensitive.

It was thanks to that that he felt a strange Magic Power cutting through the air and opened his eyes wide.

Kwajik, kkieeeeeeik—

The friction of the wheels dragging on the ground was heard. A short scream echoed from outside.

Reflexively grabbing the window frame and raising his upper body, the entire carriage shook as if it would overturn with a great impact.

Kwang—!