"The root of the matter lies in the so-called True Dragon's Legacy."
Nia Honjo tore a small strip from Raziel, on which was written 'True Dragon Sorcerer', and placed it on the table.
"Luo Shu, you must have heard of this, right? The Class that evolves to the Angel Rank—the True Dragon and such."
Luo Shu nodded in agreement:
"Indeed, Officer Lin from the China Union mentioned it to me."
Nia Honjo picked up a pen, circled the words 'True Dragon Sorcerer' on the strip, and wrote 'Unknown' beside it as a note:
"But here's the problem."
"Raziel cannot investigate the specifics of the True Dragon Sorcerer."
Luo Shu's eyes lifted slightly, immediately grasping the issue:
"Unable to investigate? Is it like when you searched for my information, and everything was blank, or something else?"
"The results are inconsistent and contradictory—a strange phenomenon where the findings don't match."
Nia Honjo shook her head and explained:
"In short, using Raziel to repeatedly search for the True Dragon Sorcerer's Class abilities yields completely different, even opposite, results."
"For example, one moment the result suggests abilities leaning towards physical enhancement, and the next, it changes to summoning-type abilities. The answers seem to refresh constantly."
"Is Raziel being interfered with?" Luo Shu understood her implication. "Direct interference from an Angel?"
"Yes, interference from an Angel."
At this point, Nia Honjo couldn't help but complain:
"Honestly, there are very few things that can interfere with Raziel's searches nowadays. Yet, strangely, you always seem to encounter such situations, Luo Shu!"
Hearing her gripe, Luo Shu could only smile wryly:
"Perhaps it's because the concept I wield is Calamity."
Just as raindrops gather to form rivers and seas, concepts—such powers—also attract and converge with one another.
And for Luo Shu, who holds the Calamity Concept, what draws near is inevitably calamity itself.
"Attraction between concepts? That's certainly a possibility. But it also means the True Dragon's Legacy holds a calamitous nature for you."
As she spoke, Nia Honjo tore another slender strip from Raziel, wrote 'Angel's Legacy?' on it, and placed it beside the 'True Dragon Sorcerer' strip:
"Judging by the interference in the divination, this so-called True Dragon Legacy must be a direct product of an Angel. That's why it carries Angel-level interference."
Luo Shu's eyes flickered: "The current world environment cannot support the descent of an Angel."
Nia Honjo nodded in agreement: "In other words, the Angelic power remaining in the True Dragon Legacy likely has high authority but minimal actual strength—perhaps even none at all. It's only due to its authority that it can interfere with Raziel."
"And when faced with such interference, investigating the target requires more complex methods."
"Leaf imprints in the frost?"
Luo Shu instinctively recalled Nia Honjo's past methods of tracing his whereabouts.
When the target itself cannot be investigated, one instead examines the traces left by the target.
For example.
Since Luo Shu cannot be directly observed, information like 'Luo Shu ate an apple' would be unsearchable in Raziel.
But Nia Honjo could use Raziel to investigate who grew the apple, who purchased it, how it appeared in the Hidden Management Department, and how it vanished from this world during a specific timeframe.
From these data points, Nia Honjo could deduce the answer: 'Luo Shu ate the apple.'
This method, akin to big data collection, involves tracing the traces left behind when faced with higher beings that cannot be divined.
Though troublesome, it can yield some crucial results.
"Leaves leave traces? Using the traces left by fallen leaves to locate the leaves themselves... That's quite an apt analogy."
Nia Honjo nodded, then curled her lips slightly and said:
"So, if we want to know about the True Dragon's Legacy, this is the only tracking method we can use now."
As she spoke, Nia Honjo tore off another slip of paper and wrote the name 'Rad Moore' on it:
"Rad Moore, commander of the First Paratrooper Division of Thailand, currently the youngest major general in Thailand, and the first discoverer of the True Dragon's Legacy."
"According to Raziel's retrieved records, his whereabouts became obscured during a paratrooper training exercise in the suburbs of Bangkok 11 days ago. Presumably, that was when he came into contact with the True Dragon's Legacy, thus opening the initial scenario."
"The reason I mention this person is that, five days ago, he met with Derek, the American ambassador to Thailand, in Bangkok."
"The first point of contact was a mole?" Luo Shu's expression turned slightly odd at this.
If he were the ruler of Thailand, upon learning of something like the True Dragon's Legacy, he would undoubtedly move to control the involved parties immediately.
But the issue was that six days after the incident, Rad Moore, the person involved, appeared in Bangkok and met with the American ambassador.
In other words, during those six days of investigation, Rad had gained the ruler's trust—only to turn around and sell the information to America?
"What price did the American Union offer to make Rad take such a risk?"
If Thailand trusted Rad, it meant he had presented something sufficient to earn that trust. Yet he still betrayed them to the American Union.
That could only mean the Union's offer outweighed the price Rad had paid to prove his loyalty.
What kind of offer was that?
"Likely the first inheritance qualification for the True Dragon Sorcerer."
Nia Honjo tore off another slip and wrote the name 'Joseph':
"Joseph, director of the Central Intelligence Bureau of the American Union, secretly promised Rad Moore the first Class beneficiary position in exchange for his trust, along with a contract-type Abyss Artefact and the safe extraction of Rad's family."
"And Joseph must have obtained complete information about the True Dragon Sorcerer from Rad after the contract was fulfilled."
"The specifics, being core secrets of the True Dragon's Legacy, remain unclear for now. However, we can infer a thing or two from Director Joseph's actions."
Hearing this, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes and asked:
"What did Joseph do?"
Nia Honjo's expression turned peculiar as she replied:
"He bypassed the White House and had the Central Intelligence Bureau's affiliated publishers worldwide print 1,000 invitations, then ordered the Bureau's spies to sell them at exorbitant prices."
At this, Maria Naruse, who had been silent until now, seemed to recall something. With a strange expression, she pulled out what looked like a concert ticket:
"You don't mean... this invitation, do you?"
Staring at the ticket in Maria Naruse's hand, Luo Shu fell into deep contemplation.
An invitation to the True Dragon's Legacy... being sold at a maid cafe now?
Thinking of the mere two slots Lin Qi, the military attaché at the consulate, had in his possession, then looking at this ticket before him, Luo Shu suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
The Central Investigation Bureau really is something else!