72-Dark leap



 

 Guarán has previously opposed the assassination of Matou when asked by Caliguda, who has been sibilant about Matou's growing power, whether or not he would assassinate Matou.
 The reason for this is that there are now, as a reality, a large number of people and junior soldiers who are dissatisfied with the status quo. He advised that it was not advisable to restrain these people by force.

 Caliguda looked uncomfortable for a moment, and the heavyweights around him looked frightened, but regardless, Guaran continued to speak.
 There was no end to suppressing the discontent. Once they are suppressed, new disaffected individuals can emerge and eventually gain great power. When that happens, it can be extremely troublesome.

 If this is the case, he should have Mattoo denounce the disaffected groups and try to vent those disaffected groups to prevent their outbursts first. Then, he would be able to make some measure of accommodation to the people and reduce Mattoo's political power while dissipating the discontent of the people.
 This would be less risky and would take the popularity of Gen. Khaliguda without diminishing the power of the country. Why not take control in such a direction, Guarán suggested.
 Caliguda initially stared at Guaran with a deep-seated stare as he dismissed his idea, but he responded to the part of Guaran's story about gaining popularity. He then chuckled as he rubbed his belly, which was bulging in front of his large military uniform.

'That was one of the ideas I had in mind,'

 He said, and in doing so he drank Guaran's suggestion and ordered Guaran to proceed in that way. As if that had been his original idea.
 But after about two months, Kaliguda reversed this order. After all, he said, it was better to assassinate Matou. It started with information that Mattoo was stepping up his lobbying efforts against the United Nations. Since this information was not in the possession of the bigwigs, and was proprietary to Khaliguda, they all wondered if it was true.

 But Kaliguda didn't say where the information came from, and decided to assassinate him in a strong tone of voice. He said that this was confirmed information.
 Moreover, when Kaliguda put forth this assassination plan, he said that this plan would be carried out by Kaliguda himself. Caliguda has been giving orders, but rarely has he been in charge of executing them himself.
 Guarán, too, watched the snarky Caligda quietly, but he agreed with the other chiefs, without expressing any opinion, that he could no longer oppose Caligda for making such a decision himself.

(Now that I think about it, the source of that information must be this guy...)

 Guaran stared at the suspicious hooded man up ahead. Guarán understands that this creepy man is the guest of Caliguda that the Captain of the Konoe Guard had mentioned earlier.
 When Caliguda decided to assassinate Mattoo, he didn't use the special forces in the country, but instead hired people with different powers, known as "gifted people". This surprised Guaran and the other heavyweights, but Kaliguda only tried to be satisfied with the surprised faces of his subordinates.

 Since then, Kaliguda has been in frequent secret talks with these dubious people, and no one, not even the heavyweights, knows what kind of people they're hiring for their abilities.
 All that is known is that they are very uncanny and mysterious. Everyone wondered if it was a good idea for the head of the country to associate closely with such people for the purpose of assassination, but there was no one who could say that to Kaliguda.



 The hooded man stopped as he came to Guarán's side and took off his hood. Then he bowed his head condescendingly.

'This is His Excellency Guarán. How are you feeling?

"Hmmm ... you said your name was Lokiarum, I think.

 Guarán responded to Lokiarum's greeting, suppressing his displeasure.

''It is left-sama. It is an honor to have your name remembered by Guaran-sama, who is considered to be a famous vizier.''

...Is that your real name?

Mr. Guarin. Our names do not mean anything to you, Mr. Guarin. We are only called Lokiarum now.

Well that's all right. So, I hear that the assassination of Mathew has been slow in coming?

It's a bit of a stretch, but you're quick on the uptake. But don't worry, sir. I will do everything in my power to fulfill your request, Mr. Khaliguda.

Hmm, I hear you're offering all sorts of favors. And if you're not impressed what exactly do you want from me, sir?

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sorry to hear this, but we are rootless. I'm sorry to say this, but we are rootless, and it is inevitable that we ask for a fee that is commensurate with the difficulty of the request. Please understand that we are not asking for a reward that is commensurate with the difficulty of the request. We will not ask you to increase your reward for no reason. In this world, trust comes first, sir.

Well said........... So you lifted the money.....

No....

Ho...... Then what is it?

I've requested the land.

Land? Does that mean ... that you wanted the Land of Millmar?

We were feeling a little tired after so many years of wandering. We were looking for a safe place to live. Of course, we would never wish for an expensive place in the city. Besides, such a place does not suit our taste. So we have asked Mr. Khaliguda for our land, even in the middle of nowhere.

"..... What are you going to do there?

I have no idea what to expect. If I accomplish this request, I will receive some money. So, I've been thinking about living quietly with my friends there.

Well, all right. Don't let your lordship down.

Of course, sir. "Of course, sir. I'll do everything I can to meet your expectations. We are at your service, my lord, if there is anything we can do for you. I will retire to the frontier, but if you request it, I will be readily available.

Well I'll think about it then. Well, enough of that, go.

Haha!

 Lokiarum bowed deeply to Guaran and walked away. Guaran took one look at the figure and walked off to the second reception room.

(What a ... white-knuckle.)

 Guaran is a man who has risen in this military regime inhabited by many evil spirits of rivers and mountains. Therefore, he's a master at speculating about the person he's talking to, always speculating about the person he's talking to.
 That Guarán was convinced.

I'm not telling you anything true.....)

 Guaran raised his alertness to the maximum level for the man named Lokiarum.

(I don't know ... yet ... but I don't know if Lokialm ... will be an obstacle to our (...) plans ...)

 Guarán cocooned his eyes behind the Captain of the Kingsguard and bit his lip.

(We're almost there. We're almost there. Here ... we will not let someone like that get in the way.)

 Determined, Guaran opened the door to the second reception room of the Marshal's Office.



 Lokiarum puts his hood on deeply and leaves the Marshal's Office, disappearing into the city.
 And his mouth is ugly and twisted.

''Kukuk ... Guaran ... little wise man.

 Lokiarum muttered and moved his mouth as he entered the unpopular slums of Napi, the capital of Millimer, and moved his mouth.

'No, good. We already have a road map. The story is simple. All that's left to do is to kill Mattoo and make this filthy country our bridgehead...

Hey! Tema.

 Suddenly, a group of slum dwellers blocked Lokiarum's way in front of him, blocking his path. They are looking at Lokiarum with a grin, as if they were inspecting him. But Lokiarum doesn't stop walking as if to ignore them. As it is, it proceeds to pass through the place.
 The man who seems to be the leader of the group grabbed Lokiarum's shoulder.

''Ora! It's you! Old man! Where are you looking? You're losing your mind, huh? Who's giving you permission to come through here?

 He grabbed me by the shoulders, but Lokiarum was still talking to himself as he kept walking.

'Kukuk..... Thank you for your hard work, Kneesbeck.........

"This guy ... what is this guy ... he's a creepy old man. Hey! Don't ignore it! You've got some money, haven't you? Hey, hey, hey! I told you to wait!

 A man grabbed Lokiarum by the shoulders and forcefully pulled up the hood that Lokiarum, who hadn't stopped walking, was wearing from behind. Lokiarum's hood comes off, revealing its entirely hairless head.
 The head was clearly not the color of a person's skin, but rather a dull, lifeless color of blue-white, with only the veins bulging greatly.

''Ugh!''

 For a moment the men were frightened by the sight of that creepy, skin-baring head.
 Lokiarum stopped and slowly turned back to the men.

''Ahhhh ... what ... what ... what ... you ...''

 The men swayed unconsciously on their knees as they looked at that eyeless, gray-eyed Lokiarum, some of them hunched over.
 From a corner of that unpopular (human) slum, the screams of a few young men echoed........

That land shall be our sanctuary!

 Underneath the high-smiling Lokiarum were scattered chunks of flesh that must have been several human bodies....