I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 24. Three Techniques (3)

The end of a sweltering summer.

After this brief autumn, the long and harsh winter would arrive.

The entire continent busily prepared for the approaching winter, but there was one place busier than any other.

It was the Dragon’s Cradle, preparing to welcome new riders for the coming winter.

Each year, hundreds of prospective riders entered the Cradle.

Of course, only a small fraction of them survived the five years and graduated, but once they were admitted, they were under the strict management of the Cradle.

With hundreds of prospective riders scattered across the continent, it was natural for the Cradle to be busy.

Especially as the entry day for new riders approached, the investigation corps had to gather personal information, making them even busier.

During such a time, in the middle of a busy morning.

Harry Watson, the head of the investigation corps, was sweating nervously after receiving a sudden summons from his superior.

Standing stiffly on the dark red carpet, Harry remained in a rigid stance.

In front of him sat an old man with white hair and blue eyes at a wooden desk.

Seeing the old man’s stern expression, Harry swallowed dryly.

‘Wh-why would they summon someone like me?’

Of course, as the head of the investigation corps, he wasn’t exactly a low-ranking member.

But to the old man before him, he was just one of many subordinates.

Thus, he couldn’t understand why someone like him was summoned by the great commander.

‘This is driving me crazy. I feel like I’m going to die of nervousness.’

The highest-ranking official he had ever met was the deputy commander who oversaw the investigation corps.

He had only seen the commander, Gordon, from a distance during ceremonial events.

And now, a private audience with the commander!

Harry sensed something was terribly wrong.

‘Think! What did I do wrong? What did I do… what… what exactly…?’

Unable to figure out why he had been summoned, Harry’s anxiety surged.

‘Argh! I really have no idea!’

Just as he was screaming internally.

“Hmm, you there.”

Gordon’s low voice made Harry’s already stiff body stand even straighter.

“Yes! This is Harry Watson, head of the investigation corps!”

“Yes, Harry.”

“Yes!”

“Did you submit this report?”

As he spoke, Gordon placed a few documents on the desk.

Seeing this, Harry quickly racked his brain and rolled his eyes.

‘A report? One that I submitted?’

He had submitted countless reports. However, there was only one significant report he had submitted recently.

‘An investigation into the whereabouts of a Class 1 subject!’

The order had a Class 1 confidential stamp, which initially puzzled him, but he had understood once he saw the contents of the investigation.

Ten investigation corps teams had been mobilized to carry out that order, and it was Harry who compiled their findings into the report after six months.

‘Ah! The commander must have issued that order!’

A quick glance at the documents confirmed they were indeed that report.

“Yes, that’s correct!”

“Hmm, I called you because I had some questions. I thought it best to ask the person who submitted the report.”

“I-I will answer to the best of my ability!”

“Before that… how accurate do you think this report is?”

Gordon tapped the report with his index finger.

In that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Harry’s mind.

‘Is he testing me? Testing someone as low-ranking as me? The commander himself?’

His mind tangled with confusion.

Unable to find an answer despite his thoughts, Harry spoke candidly.

“Sixty percent accurate!”

“Sixty… that’s an ambiguous figure.”

Gordon stroked his chin and re-read the report he had already gone through several times.

—

Mission Report

1. Mission Objective:

– Investigate the past actions of the subject.

– Determine any relationship with Johan Redner, the Relentless Sword.

2. Subject: Yuri Holland.

*Subject Special Notes: Prospective rider for the 50th class, Tenth Black Dragon Plaque Holder.

*Due to the subject’s connection with Johan Redner, information about the subject is classified as Level 1 Confidential.

3. Mission Duration: Until the entry of the 50th prospective riders.

4. Assigned Investigator: Head Harry Watson and ten teams from the investigation corps.

5. Report on the actions of Yuri Holland (hereafter referred to as ‘the subject’).

*This report is written in reverse chronological order, starting from the time the subject took the certification test.

– The subject took the certification test at the Irons estate in the Croton Administrative District on the recommendation of the Relentless Sword.

– The subject stayed at the Irons estate for an estimated 192 days.

– Before staying at the Irons estate, the subject…

…

…

—

The report started with Yuri’s recent actions and gradually moved to the past.

However, while the recent actions were detailed, there were many gaps in the past actions.

—

– Six years ago, the subject appeared in the Briwell Administrative District.

– Seven years ago, the subject’s whereabouts were unknown for about a year.

– Eight years ago, the subject was confirmed to have lived in a village in the Baul estate within the Saintjohn Administrative District.

– The village where the subject lived was destroyed by an unknown attacker, with the subject being the sole survivor according to a witness.

– The witness was a merchant who supplied goods to the village and stated that the subject lived with a woman named ‘Moara.’

– The relationship between the subject and Moara is unknown.

– Eight years ago, records of the region’s residents were held by the Pauli Family, the former lords before the Baul family, but the records were lost due to the unexplained extermination of the Pauli Family.

– With no further clues, the investigation into the subject’s past was concluded.

6. Conclusion:

– Based on a comparative analysis of the movements of the subject and Johan Redner, there is over a 99% probability that their first meeting was at the Irons estate.

—

It was indeed an impressive feat to have uncovered this much about a single person’s past on such a vast continent in just half a year.

This demonstrated the investigation corps’ intelligence prowess, renowned as one of the top in the world.

However, Gordon hadn’t summoned Harry just to praise him for this.

Fixing his gaze on Harry, Gordon spoke.

“You said the report’s accuracy is 60%.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then, do you believe the contents here are about 60% accurate?”

Gordon pointed to the very end of the report with his finger.

—

7. Other Notable Points:

– During the investigation, peculiar points related to a woman named Moara (presumed to have been 64 years old at the time of death) were discovered.

– Traces suspected to belong to one of the classified items were found among the remains of the house where Moara and the subject lived.

– Therefore, further investigation into the woman named Moara is deemed necessary, and depending on the situation, an investigation into the relationship between the subject and Moara may also be required.

—

Finally, Harry grasped why Gordon had summoned him.

‘It’s because of the classified item!’

An item so classified that even access permissions were divided into upper, middle, lower, and lowest levels.

Only those with the highest level of clearance, such as the commander, knew exactly what it was.

Harry had been able to mention the classified item in his report only because the lowest level of access was granted to division heads for information classification purposes.

‘Hmm… Has there been any information related to the classified item reported to the higher-ups in recent years?’

Early in his tenure as head, during a time when he lived with enthusiasm, he had accessed ten years’ worth of information available to his clearance.

Judging from his memory, no information had been classified as a classified item in those ten years.

‘So, it means I’m the one who reported the classified item after ten years! No, wait! If the commander himself summoned me, then… it means no information on the classified item has been reported for more than ten years!’

And it was Harry who had reported it.

This meant…

‘An opportunity!’

A perfect opportunity to get noticed by the commander!

Having calculated how to seize this chance for himself, Harry cautiously replied.

“No, the accuracy of that part is less than 60%!”

“What do you think it is?”

“Around 20%.”

“It dropped further.”

“My clearance for the classified item is the lowest. Therefore, there were too few reliable sources to make a definite judgment!”

“Does that mean if your clearance level were higher, the accuracy of the information could be increased?”

“Yes, that’s correct!”

At Harry’s confident response, Gordon’s eyes gleamed sharply.

It was as if he could see right through Harry’s intentions, making Harry swallow dryly.

A brief silence filled the commander’s office.

In the midst of the uncomfortable silence, Gordon smirked and spoke.

“I’m issuing an order. Effective immediately, Harry Watson of the investigation corps is relieved of all frontline duties. Instead, you are to focus solely on investigating the relationship between Yuri Holland and Moara, as well as the classified item. Furthermore, for this task, Harry Watson’s clearance level for the classified item is raised to intermediate.”

Finally hearing the answer he wanted, Harry clenched his fist tightly.

He shouted joyfully.

“Yes, sir!”

“Next time, I expect a 100% accurate report.”

“I will definitely meet your expectations!”

“You may leave.”

“Yes, sir!”

At the dismissal, Harry briskly exited the commander’s office.

Click-.

As the door closed, Harry clenched his fist again.

‘Intermediate clearance!’

That was a clearance level for deputy commanders.

He had expected to receive the lowest clearance, but

the commander had granted him one level higher.

This meant the commander had high expectations for this task.

‘This is a rare opportunity! I will succeed for sure!’

The success of this task would be a solid stepping stone to a higher position.

‘In 2-3 years, I should be able to outline the information the commander seeks.’

With that thought, Harry left the front of the commander’s office with a light step.

However, he had no idea.

What he thought would take 2-3 years would end up taking much longer than expected.

Meanwhile, Gordon, left alone, murmured as he looked at the spot where Harry had stood.

“He’s a capable one.”

A perceptive and quick-thinking individual.

Judging by how he assessed the situation and seized the opportunity with just a few conversations, it was clear why he could attain the head position at a relatively young age.

Moreover, he seemed to have a fair amount of ambition.

“Such people are good at their work.”

Easy to use, too.

Thinking that last part internally, Gordon rose from his chair.

Swish-.

He slowly walked to the window.

With his hands behind his back, he gazed out the window.

‘Interesting.’

He had intended to investigate the boy Johan was interested in, but something unexpected had come up.

‘The traces found for the first time in 36 years happened to be connected to the boy Johan is interested in….’

It was still uncertain if the traces were genuine.

Even if they were, it was unknown whether they were connected to Yuri.

However.

‘Even so, isn’t this situation unfolding in a very interesting way?’

With a smile, Gordon’s gaze reached the northern sky.

“Dark clouds.”

According to a recent report, they were still staying within Ralph Schnell’s territory.

Recalling those who were somewhere in the north.

Plop-plop-.

Plop-plop-.

The rain clouds began to pour, the rain hitting the window.

—

Plop-plop-.

Increasingly heavy raindrops flowed down the silver blade.

Yuri’s sword was still at Mucci’s neck.

When Mucci showed no reaction, Yuri smiled faintly and withdrew his sword.

“Do you agree that I won? Well, even if you don’t agree, the result speaks for itself.”

“…….”

Mucci remained silent.

Yuri continued, unfazed.

“You said you didn’t want to hurt your opponent?”

His smile turned slightly cold.

“Now, as you wished, it ended without anyone getting hurt. So how do you feel? Since no one got hurt….”

“…….”

“…Are you really happy?”

Click-.

Sheathing his sword, Yuri walked past Mucci without waiting for an answer.

Mucci stared blankly at Yuri’s retreating back.

“Ah…….”

He recalled the recent duel.

Though it started with Yuri’s surprise attack, Mucci had also used Frenzy, fighting with all his might.

‘But if Yuri had used that move he showed at the end from the start… the duel would have ended instantly.’

The swift movement that pierced through Frenzy.

If Yuri had used that from the beginning, the duel would have ended immediately.

But Yuri hadn’t.

That meant, although it started with a surprise attack, Yuri had actually held back in the middle.

‘Yuri….’

In just half a year.

Yuri had completely transformed.

He was no longer someone Mucci looked down on, but someone who stood as an equal.

‘No, maybe… he’s above me.’

For the first time.

Mucci felt someone his age was superior to him.

At that moment, Yuri’s words echoed in Mucci’s mind.

[So how do you feel? Since no one got hurt… are you really happy?]

Mucci bit his lip.

‘Why…….’

Despite the duel ending safely without anyone getting hurt, just as he wished.

It should have made him happy.

But Mucci wasn’t.

‘Why… do I feel so frustrated?’

An inexplicable frustration surged within his chest.

‘Why am I feeling this way?’

Mucci analyzed his emotions.

Though he might seem clumsy, he was far from stupid.

If he were, he wouldn’t have mastered the Magic Body Technique to this level.

In fact, he was far more intelligent than other kids his age, with a mindset comparable to adults.

Only Yuri had ever seen him as lacking.

Thus, Mucci took a long time to reflect on his emotions.

‘Ah, I am….’

Finally, he objectively defined his frustration.

‘I’m… angry?’

Why was he angry?

He soon found the answer.

‘I’m angry that I lost to Yuri.’

While Mucci was coming to terms with his emotions.

Yuri approached Johan and extended his right hand.

Johan also extended his hand.

Clap-.

Their hands met, making a cheerful sound.

“Old man, I won!”

“Well, of course you should win! Using Cloud Step and Thunder Wing, if you lost to Ralph’s Magic Body Technique, you wouldn’t be human.”

Watching the two laugh at Ralph’s expense, Ralph’s face contorted.

But he had nothing to say.

The duel had undeniably ended in Yuri’s victory.

‘That makes it 1-1.’

Originally a best of three duels.

It was annoying that the duel’s results were turning out this way, having thought it would be an easy win.

‘Tsk, I shouldn’t have given him time….’

But what could he do? It was his fault for underestimating Yuri and giving him time.

Yuri’s efforts and talent, resulting in a tie with Mucci in just half a year, couldn’t be disparaged.

Ralph sighed slightly and asked.

“So when is the final duel? How long do we have to wait this time?”

“What’s with that tone, like you’re the one giving us time?”

“Am I wrong?”

“It’s your fault for not setting a duel period in the first place!”

“Is it normal to take months for each duel?”

“Hah! What’s wrong with that? It took me ten years to have another duel with the Sword Master! And we’ve been at it for fifteen years now.”

“Is that the same thing?!”

As the two Masters bickered childishly.

“Is there a need for that?”

Yuri interrupted.

Smiling, he said.

“Let’s do it right away.”

“…Right away?”

“Do you mean now?”

At Yuri’s suggestion for an immediate final duel, Ralph and Johan’s eyes widened.

Yuri smiled and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb.

“I think someone over there is getting impatient?”

Following Yuri’s finger, Ralph and Johan saw Mucci, standing with burning eyes.