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A week had passed since Gilbert made a request to the Wild Roses. It seemed that gathering information was taking quite a bit of time, probably because these guys demanded a hefty upfront fee of 30 gold. Even the Wild Roses, who usually delivered information quickly, contacted him saying they needed a bit more time.

Well, they were that kind of bunch.

Gilbert clicked his tongue, thinking about the Slaves.

The scariest thing about them was that even they didn’t know who their leader was. The meticulous leader of the Slaves had never once stepped into the spotlight.

Moreover, their leader was so vicious that anyone who tried to impersonate him would inevitably be met with assassins sent to kill their entire family or sell the good-looking ones into slavery.

There was even a story that when a slave trader pretending to be him appeared, he slit the family’s stomachs right in front of him and tore them all apart.

Gilbert didn’t know who the guy was either. In fact, most users doing Tactical Combat didn’t even know he existed.

Gilbert only found out about the existence of the Slaves’ leader when it was time to work on the slave trader achievement.

Curious about who this guy was, he struggled to uncover his identity during that playthrough, but even by the end of it, he couldn’t catch a glimpse of the guy’s shadow.

So, while he entrusted the task to the Wild Roses, he didn’t think they’d catch him this time either. All he wanted was to locate their core base and eradicate the Slaves.

Gilbert closed his eyes and began to organize his thoughts.

To catch them, he first needed to gauge their scale.

Even though he had entrusted the task to the Wild Roses, it was impossible to grasp the full scale of the Slaves, who operated as a decentralized network. So, he needed to recall his memories from when he played the slave trader route.

From what he remembered, they were divided into seven branches centered around the main base.

The one Gilbert belonged to was the 3rd branch.

He still remembered its location clearly, so finding it wouldn’t be difficult.

However, the other branches and the central base were a bit ambiguous. While there was interaction between the branches, their locations changed frequently, so he didn’t know where they were currently stationed.

The reason Gilbert knew the location of the 3rd branch was because he had pinpointed it based on timing. Confirmation was necessary, but if the Tactical Combat setting hadn’t changed, the 3rd branch should still be there.

He wanted to raid the 3rd branch immediately, but if he stirred things up, they would just go deeper into hiding, so the standard method was to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

If Gilbert had acted alone, it would have been impossible, but he had the solid backing of Seraphina.

This extermination order had been issued directly by her, so he could expect full support.

One concern was that the Slaves had close ties with the Empire’s power structure. If they found out Seraphina was making a move, it was entirely possible the information would reach their ears.

Ultimately, the most important things in this extermination were speed and secrecy. The best approach was to catch them with as few troops as possible.

After roughly planning, Gilbert went to find Seraphina. She was, as usual, working on documents.

“Priest, your expression suggests you have something to say to me… Am I right?”

“Yes, I have something important to discuss.”

“Don’t worry. This place is so quiet you can’t even hear birds chirping.”

It was code.

Code meaning the soundproofing was thorough.

Currently, she was an Academy Cadet and Student Council President, but she was, after all, the Empire’s Princess.

Moreover, she was a central figure in the Empire’s power structure, close to the Crown Princess.

Even within the Academy, Seraphina’s rivals monitored her every move and reported to their superiors, who in turn reported to higher-ups.

Yanic sticking close to her was not just for protection but also to filter out such disloyal elements. While his combat skills were somewhat lacking, his tracking abilities were unmatched.

Having served as the Unit Leader of the Empire’s famous Ranger unit, he was a master at finding people or traces. That’s why Yanic became the Princess’s closest aide and her guard knight.

“So, what do you have to say?”

After dismissing all the maids, Seraphina got to the point. Her eyes indicated she had noticed Gilbert had brought some information.

“First, I requested information on them from a back-alley information guild. They haven’t gathered precise information yet, but I did hear about their identity.”

“Oh? I also received a report from the intelligence department. It would be good to compare them.”

“Good. From what I heard, they are a large slave trader group called the Slaves. However, since they operate as a decentralized network, gathering information is difficult.”

“The Slaves… That matches the report from my intelligence department.”

Seraphina’s expression soured.

Her competent intelligence department had collected information as soon as the order was given and had recently submitted a preliminary report.

Their report also suggested that the group Gilbert mentioned, the Slaves, was a slave trader organization. Their scale far exceeded what Seraphina had predicted, and if they had been discovered any later, they might have grown beyond control.

If it hadn’t been for that day’s covert operation…

Seraphina quickly shook her head. It was an assumption she didn’t even want to think about.

“I had no idea such scum existed in places the Empire’s eyes couldn’t reach.”

“It’s not too late now. We just need to uproot them completely.”

“Even so, this is a result of my lack of virtue.”

She loved the Empire as much as she loved its people.

Seraphina never forgot that the current Infractus Empire existed because of them.

That’s why she now felt a heavy sense of responsibility for having overlooked human traffickers until now.

“Priest.”

“It’s fine. As you said, we just need to sweep them all away.”

“Exactly. And there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“Go ahead. I’m always ready to listen to what you have to say.”

“As you know, they are a decentralized network. No one knows how many there are. But the fact that they’ve grown so quickly suggests there might be a leadership group within the Slaves.”

Gilbert decided to release some information under the guise of speculation before coming here. The longer it took, the harder it would be to deal with them.

He needed to set the stage for Seraphina to make a decision and take command of the situation.

“I think so too. Even though they’re a decentralized network, they’ve been operating under the Empire’s radar. There might even be rotten insiders within the Empire.”

Seraphina sipped her tea and moistened her throat. Her eyes began to burn with anger again.

Gilbert, who had been quietly watching, swallowed hard.

Geniuses were indeed different.

With just a few words from Gilbert, she had grasped what he was trying to say and inferred even more.

And it was very close to the truth.

“I know what you’re requesting. You mean we need to wipe them out completely to clean them up, right?”

“Exactly. And as you’re concerned, there might be insiders. We need to keep this operation confidential.”

Seraphina’s fingers tapped on the armrest.

“It’s difficult. If we use too many people, there’s a risk of being discovered early. We can only move with a trusted few elites.”

It would be good to mobilize Briana, but there were too many eyes on her.

If she suddenly disappeared, it would raise suspicions.

Seraphina didn’t have many options.

After a few minutes of deep thought, she looked at Gilbert, who had been silent.

“I have a task for you.”

“Give your orders.”

“Select trustworthy cadets from the Academy and form a special unit.”

“The cadets?”

“Yes. We’ll use the students under the pretext of field training to catch them.”

“Won’t their skills be insufficient?”

“Even so, catching them is the priority. At this very moment, there are citizens suffering. As cadets of the Demia Empire Academy, we cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of our people. And I will also make preparations.”

Yanic, who had been quietly standing behind her, nodded at Seraphina’s glance.

It seemed Seraphina had a private military organization that no one knew about.

“That proposal is a reserve force in case the troops I’ve prepared fall short. So don’t worry.”

“How could I doubt you? It was just an old man’s concern.”

“Even such words are important to me. So, you do what you can.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Gilbert continued to discuss the Slaves with Seraphina. While they couldn’t make a concrete plan due to the lack of specific information, it helped lay the basic groundwork.

***

Three days after Gilbert met with Seraphina.

The Wild Roses contacted Gilbert.

They had obtained the information.

 

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