Jeanne decided to trust Kashchey's suggestion. After all, they weren't enemies for the time being, and he had no reason to deceive her right now.
However, she found the Baron's family crest—a golden Ripping Beast—very strange. She had been hunting for years and had seen Ripping Beasts of many colors, but never a golden one. Just think: if there were a breed with golden fur, how popular would it be among Ursus nobles? How much would a single pelt be worth?
But now wasn't the time for such thoughts. Jeanne shook her head to bring her wandering mind back to the task at hand. She couldn't let herself get distracted and become as dense as Talulah; Reunion already had one "airhead" leader, and Jeanne needed to hang onto what remained of her own wits.
"I've noted that down. But I've heard the Lungmen Guard Department searches that place often. Something so obvious should have attracted their attention and been investigated already."
Although the LGD often arrived just as things were ending, Jeanne believed that under the leadership of little sister Ch'en, they were quite capable. Surely a golden statue would be suspicious to anyone? Had the Baron not considered that when he built the place?
"That man is a fool; he's incapable of foreseeing such possibilities. But you might be misunderstanding one thing—those secret rooms often involve Originium Arts. They can't be found without a specific method. However, for you, that shouldn't be much of a challenge."
Hearing Jeanne's doubt, Kashchey couldn't explain much further. He hadn't seen the exact structure of the family's secret rooms himself; no one talks about such things. His knowledge came from living for a very long time—long enough to pry into any secret he desired. He just happened to know where it was; he hadn't bothered to infiltrate a minor family's vault. He believed that with Jeanne's near-prophetic intuition, these clues would be enough for her to find a way in.
"So I still have to confirm the details on-site..."
Jeanne sighed. She had just escaped an assassination attempt, and now she had to dive straight into the enemy's headquarters. She silently prayed she wouldn't run into another group of lunatics; being chased across the city was exhausting.
"It can't be helped. Even if I gave you the blueprints, you'd have to see for yourself. The man came from Rhine Lab; there's no telling what kind of tricks he's integrated into the security."
Kashchey shrugged. His knowledge of Rhine Lab was limited, and he wasn't keen on dancing in front of them—he didn't want to be snatched up as a test subject. He had heard rumors of how insane that company was; apparently, they were very curious about him. An ancient, immortal entity claiming to be an evil god would be a goldmine for their research into "divine" biology. While other eldritch horrors were too dangerous to study, a "specimen" like him could probably be handled by their Defense Section.
"You're right. I forgot Rhine Lab was involved. I just wonder if they'll try to silence me to protect their stock prices if I actually find a scandal."
Jeanne joked half-seriously. She knew that for Rhine Lab, the interests of the board came first; they would do anything if the price was right.
"In that case, Mr. Kashchey, can you tell me where your 'chess pieces' are hiding? I feel I might need them later, even if it's not for something pleasant."
Kashchey didn't hold back. He gave Jeanne the general locations and contact codes for all his subordinates in Lungmen. He wasn't worried about her selling them out to the LGD. What would she gain from that? If these people stayed in Lungmen, they remained a card he could play in the future.
Jeanne committed the data to memory. Perhaps they would be useful one day, or perhaps they would simply live out their lives in peace.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I have much to attend to."
Seeing that Jeanne had no more questions, Kashchey hurried to escape the "danger zone." Back in reality, Patriot had returned from clearing snow and was listening to FrostNova's report. Kashchey felt the old Wendigo was very tempted to slam a shield into his head. Unfortunately, it was Talulah's body, so Patriot stayed his hand.
"Ah, right. Jeanne, the Shimmering Vigil you sold us is indeed very effective. The Northern Border has been able to free up half its forces to deal with other threats. The Emperor asked me to thank you."
Before hanging up, Kashchey suddenly remembered to mention the "holy water." This was monumental news for Ursus. Patriot's eyes flickered as he watched Kashchey, silently weighing the truth of the statement. From the Duke's expression, he wasn't lying.
" I didn't expect the results to be that good, but give the Emperor my regards. It's good for us too; at least we don't have to worry about demons appearing on the snowfields."
After a few more pleasantries, Kashchey vanished from the mental world. Unlike the calm conversation on the phone, the Kashchey currently inhabiting his backup body was livid. Originium Arts swirled around him in a dark haze.
Today was the closest he had ever come to death. Because of those incompetent fools, he had nearly been erased! Fortunately, Jeanne was reasonable. The longer a creature lives, the more it prizes its own existence. They see humans as pawns, but they themselves never wish to face true death.
Kashchey sat in his room, fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk. His eyes suddenly glowed with a red light similar to Patriot's as he looked at the ceiling with a cruel smile.
"Perhaps I can find a way to make those factions in Lungmen reveal themselves all at once. It's not time to collect the principal yet... but I should certainly collect some interest."