The scene returned to the frontline encampment established to intercept the Rakian army.
"You certainly seem fired up."
"Finn…"
While the rest of the camp was too intimidated by Tsuna's dangerously sharp aura to approach him, Finn casually walked up to him.
"Being motivated is fine. But you're too tense; you need to relax your shoulders. Even with the enemy's low Level, you'll just burn yourself out, and your tension is spreading to the rest of the camp."
"—!?"
Finn's words snapped Tsuna out of his intense focus. He looked around and saw the surrounding adventurers watching him with uneasy, nervous expressions.
"S-Sorry… I was so focused on my own objective, I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings."
"…It's rare to see you like this. Did something happen?"
"…The person I've been looking for might be in Rakia. I guess I got a little too worked up."
Knowing that if Celua was operating in the shadows, Finn and the others were highly likely to suffer casualties as well, Tsuna decided to be honest.
"Did you volunteer to join the Rakia interception force on your own? I'm surprised you managed to get permission."
"Yeah, I got permission directly from Ouranos to participate."
"I'm surprised… You actually know Lord Ouranos personally?"
"Apparently, my ancestor saved Orario a few hundred years ago when the city's public order was terrible. When Ouranos realized I was his descendant, he requested a meeting. We've been keeping in touch ever since."
Judging that telling the truth was better than trying to lie his way out of it, Tsuna revealed his connection to Ouranos.
Still, to actually grant him permission… Does Lord Ouranos know about Sawada Tsunayoshi's true strength…?
Despite their personal connection, Finn found it incredibly hard to believe that Ouranos would grant a Level 1 adventurer permission to join a frontline warzone purely out of sentiment. He deduced that Ouranos must be fully aware of Tsuna's monstrous power.
If that's the case, is Ouranos intentionally turning a blind eye to him?
Even if Tsuna was officially Level 1, from Ouranos's perspective, a fighter of Tsuna's caliber was an invaluable asset for Dungeon exploration—and more importantly, for the eventual subjugation of the One-Eyed Black Dragon. There was no reason to leave such a talent unchecked. Finn couldn't understand why Ouranos was letting him operate under the radar.
By law, when an adventurer achieved a [Rank Up], they were required to report it to the Guild. Failing to do so resulted in severe penalties. In fact, the Hermes Familia notoriously hid their members' Level ups to avoid their faction rank increasing, which would force them to pay higher taxes and subject them to mandatory expedition duties.
Does this have something to do with why he wants to keep his existence a secret…?
Finn suspected that Ouranos's silence and Tsuna's desire for secrecy were deeply connected. However, even with his brilliant intellect, he couldn't piece together the exact reason.
"And? Who exactly is this person you're looking for?"
Realizing there was no point in endlessly pondering a mystery he couldn't solve, and knowing Tsuna wouldn't just give him the answers, Finn smoothly changed the subject.
"…She's a scientist who creates highly illegal items, and a black market dealer who sells them. I have to capture her no matter what."
"What makes you think she's in Rakia?"
"Do you know about the incident at the Grand Casino recently?"
"I believe a criminal impersonated the real owner and was using the casino as a front to kidnap women, correct? What does that have to do with this?"
"The Ganesha Familia hired me to help with the sting operation. I infiltrated the VIP room with Shakti using my illusions to arrest the fake owner, Ted. When Ted realized he was cornered, he threw a tantrum because he lost a game to one of his guests and ordered his bodyguards to kill them. We managed to stop them, but the real problem happened right after."
"What happened?"
"When Shakti and I revealed our identities, Ted panicked. He ordered his bodyguards to equip a special ring—one that granted a massive power boost at the cost of their sanity."
"A [Cursed Weapon]…"
"Yeah."
Finn placed a hand on his chin, his expression turning serious.
Before the operation, Tsuna and Ouranos had agreed that if anyone asked about the rings, Tsuna would pass them off as [Cursed Weapons] to avoid explaining the complex mechanics of Dying Will Flames.
"I instantly realized she was the one who made them. After we took down the bodyguards and arrested Ted, I interrogated him. He told me a female merchant in Rakia gave them to him, claiming they were 'prototypes.'"
"So that's your proof that she's in Rakia. But that alone isn't enough to—"
"I know, but it's the only lead I have. Besides, she's the type to pull strings from the shadows rather than fight on the frontlines. I came to this battlefield hoping to find any clues that might lead me to her."
"…That certainly sounds troublesome."
If she was freely handing out [Cursed Weapons] and calling them "prototypes," she was without a doubt a massive threat. If she had supplied those weapons to the Rakian army, this invasion wouldn't be the usual walk in the park. More importantly, the fact that Tsuna was on such high alert proved to Finn that this enemy was exceptionally dangerous.
"Do you know what she looks like?"
"Unfortunately, no. All I know is that she's an illusionist. She can disguise herself just like I can, so even if I infiltrated their camp, she'd probably notice me instantly. I know her name is Celua Lastor, but I doubt she'd be stupid enough to use her real name. Interrogating the Rakian soldiers probably won't get us much either."
"I see… So that's why you didn't infiltrate the enemy camp."
"That said, just like you pointed out, there's no guarantee Celua is actually in Rakia. And even if she is, we don't know if she'll make a move during this invasion. Honestly, I really didn't want to involve you guys in my personal mess…"
"No, if there's a mastermind trying to manipulate Rakia from the shadows, that changes everything. We're certainly not uninvolved anymore. And even if this mastermind does nothing, having you here is honestly a huge help. Despite their low Levels, we're still dealing with an army of 30,000. Wiping them out these past five invasions has been incredibly tedious."
"I've been meaning to ask, how is Rakia even capable of launching so many invasions? If they actually fought you guys head-on, their casualties would be astronomical…"
War inherently resulted in massive casualties. Tsuna couldn't understand how Rakia could continuously afford to launch full-scale invasions against Orario.
"The reason is simple. The commercial Familias strictly ordered us not to kill them, because they want to sell potions and weapons to the retreating Rakian soldiers afterward."
"They're seriously capitalizing on a war…"
Tsuna was stunned by the sheer commercial ruthlessness of Orario's merchants, but at the same time, he was deeply relieved to hear that he wouldn't have to kill anyone in this battle.
"Anyway, I'll inform the others about this. Since Shakti was a witness to the Grand Casino incident, they should easily believe your story. Just to be safe, I'll adjust our formations to ensure your true strength isn't exposed."
"Sorry for dumping more work on you when you're already exhausted…"
"…It seems I really can't hide anything from you."
Tsuna's Hyper Intuition had immediately noticed that Finn had lost weight since their last meeting, and that he was suffering from deep mental fatigue.
"We raided an Evilus hideout, but I misjudged the enemy… We suffered casualties…"
"I see…"
Knowing it would only reopen fresh wounds to ask for details, Tsuna chose not to pry.
"If you ever need my power, just say the word. I don't want to fight if I don't have to, but I'm not going to stand by and watch my friends die."
"Sawada Tsunayoshi…"
"Sorry… Saying that to the Captain of the Loki Familia is a bit arrogant, isn't it…"
"No, titles don't matter. I want to remain friends with you. Please, don't worry about it."
"Finn…"
"Anyway, right now we need to focus on the battle in front of us. Let's switch gears."
"Yeah."
─────
Meanwhile, in the Rakian encampment.
"It's finally time… Seven years since that day… We can finally take our revenge on Orario…"
"Why didn't we just resurrect her immediately, instead of waiting for the Rakian army to fail their invasion?"
"I told you, she doesn't want that. Besides, with her resurrected at a power level far beyond her prime, destroying Orario won't be an issue at all."
Her fanatical devotion to that woman makes her incredibly easy to manipulate, but dealing with this zealous obsession is such a massive pain…
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