chapter 134
The members of Albatross PMC headed toward the room where the scouts had gathered.
Scouts, by the nature of their work, were highly observant individuals, yet they still failed to detect the Albatross members hidden by their concealment equipment.
‘Peaceful…’
The scouts were either sitting on chairs or around tables, resting, or reviewing documents related to the individuals they were scouting. Even if they were relaxing like this, once a “revenge-capable” individual who had just completed testing in the examination room appeared, the scouts would immediately spring into action to recruit them.
‘So, among all these scouts, who is their actual target?’
Albatross PMC quietly scanned the room and moved toward each corner, keeping a careful eye on the scouts as if to monitor every action.
‘…What’s going on?’
Could it be that their target wasn’t here? No, if the target weren’t present, they wouldn’t be surveilling all the scouts in this way.
It also didn’t make sense for them to be trying to subdue the target elsewhere; if that were the case, they would only monitor the target and those nearby, not every scout in the room. This meant…
‘Could it be that Albatross PMC doesn’t even know exactly who their target is?’
If they only knew some features of the target but not the precise individual, their behavior made sense. Perhaps they didn’t even know minor details. Instead, they might be looking for actions that only the target could perform. If so, who exactly was this target?
A thud.
“(Uh….)”
As I was thinking this, a young woman entered the room. She appeared to be a newcomer to the workforce and seemed surprised at how crowded the room was.
‘Judging by the direction she came from, she just finished testing in the examination room…’
She must have heard, like the scammer did earlier, that scouts were gathered here. But she likely didn’t expect there to be this many.
“(Um… hello…?)”
She awkwardly greeted the scouts.
“(Hello, I’m from the Infantry Guild….)”
“(Ahem. Didn’t you recruit the last revenge-capable individual too? Step back a bit.)”
“(We just offered better conditions. If that’s an issue, can’t you do the same?)”
The scouts who spotted her approached to pitch their recruitment. Normally, it would be the awakened individuals trying to get noticed by scouts, but now the scouts were trying to get noticed by an awakened individual, which felt slightly off.
‘Infantry Guild… That’s the one backed by a major American corporation. If I remember correctly, it’s infamous for aggressively recruiting promising awakened individuals with corporate support, stirring resentment from other guilds.’
Although notorious, the guild was so massive that it had branches in multiple countries, leaving no one able to protest.
“(Tch….)”
“(If we don’t recruit anyone at this rate….)”
Looking around, it was clear that other guild scouts weren’t able to recruit revenge-capable individuals properly due to the presence of the Infantry Guild scouts.
“(Excuse me…?)”
“(Ah, sorry. May I ask where you’re from, miss?)”
“(I… I’m from Denmark….)”
The woman answered instinctively, and the other scouts brightened upon hearing this.
“(Denmark? Doesn’t Infantry have a branch there?)”
“(Nope. Our guild has a branch in Denmark, but….)”
“(If things go well, we might have a chance…)”
But the Infantry scout’s next words silenced everyone.
“(It’s actually a place where our guild was preparing to open a new branch.)”
“(…What?)”
No way. Such a fortunate coincidence seemed improbable, but this was the headquarters of the Association. Even an Infantry scout wouldn’t make such empty claims here. Which meant…
“(Insane….)”
“(Recruiting a revenge-capable individual and opening a branch at the same time…?)”
It was a display of the Infantry Guild’s financial power.
‘No wonder they’re notorious.’
At least the young woman would feel compelled to accept the offer due to the pressure. Likely, those previously recruited by Infantry felt the same.
“(If you wish to join our guild, please sign here.)”
As this conversation unfolded…
‘Hmm?’
One scout quietly left the room. And…
‘Those guys….’
Albatross PMC began moving as well, following the scout who had just exited. It seemed that the scout who slipped out while everyone’s attention was on the young woman and the Infantry scout was their actual target.
I, too, was more concerned with Albatross PMC and their target than the Infantry Guild, so I decided to follow. Although, oddly enough, the scout only headed to the hallway outside, so it didn’t really matter.
A moment later…
Thud.
“(Ugh… I accidentally signed the contract… Was that really okay?)”
The woman who appeared to have been coerced into signing with Infantry emerged shortly after. Judging by how quickly she came out, she probably hadn’t even read the contract properly.
“(Excuse me?)”
An Albatross PMC scout approached her. The woman, still wary from her coerced signing, appeared reluctant.
“(I… I’ve already signed with Infantry…)”
“(It’s fine. Even if you have a contract, if you haven’t received anything from Infantry, it’s easy to terminate. And….)”
It was possible for her to belong to Albatross PMC while still affiliated with Infantry.
“(…Where exactly are you from?)”
The young woman asked, and the scout’s reply surprised me.
“(Have you heard of Oracle?)”
“!”
Oracle. I had expected members of Oracle to be present at the Association headquarters, but I hadn’t anticipated hearing the name here. Now, it became clear why Albatross PMC was behaving as they were—they anticipated Oracle appearing to make a recruitment offer to the revenge-capable individual who had just finished testing.
‘So it’s confirmed—Albatross PMC is hostile toward Oracle.’
While I was thinking that, the woman who received Oracle’s offer tilted her head in confusion.
“(…Oracle? The prophet?)”
Normally, only those in high positions would have an idea of Oracle’s existence, so it made sense she didn’t know. Although, due to recent incidents in East and Southeast Asia, civilians had begun hearing the name. Those incidents were caused by impersonators, not Oracle itself.
“(It’s a secretly established organization. Its official name isn’t Oracle, but influential figures worldwide know us. Anyway….)”
Oracle’s scout made the offer.
“(Will you join our organization?)”
“(…Why would I ever join?)”
The woman viewed the scout suspiciously. Joining Infantry was one thing—it was globally known—but Oracle was unknown to her.
Then the scout added:
“(If you join and prove your abilities….)”
You and your family will be taken to the safest place in the world—our headquarters.
“(Safest place…?)”
“……”
The woman didn’t understand and asked again. I listened carefully, sensing that I might finally uncover one of the biggest mysteries about Oracle.
‘Why they put so much effort into reaching their headquarters…’
What kind of place could it be?
“(Our headquarters is on Mars.)”
“(…Mars?)”
“(Yes.)”
Even the ominous Black Fog couldn’t reach it due to its nature.
“(No matter how powerful the Black Fog becomes, safety is guaranteed there. That’s where our headquarters is.)”
The scout smiled.
“(To add more… the Black Fog will grow stronger.)”
And it will increasingly threaten humanity in more cunning ways.
“(Like the monsters that simultaneously appeared in major cities worldwide years ago.)”
The Black Fog will keep attacking, keep expanding…
“(…And within decades, it could cover the entire Earth.)”
“(……)”
“……”
The woman fell silent, overwhelmed by the information. I, too, remained silent, though for a different reason.
‘I see now.’
Having returned from a future destroyed by the Black Fog, I knew the scout spoke the truth. This was why Oracle had been able to expand unchallenged.
‘I knew that future and tried to prevent it…’
Oracle knew the same future and aimed to survive on Mars.
‘Of course, this alone doesn’t explain all of Oracle’s motives.’
The use of chimera for terrorism, supporting criminal organizations, acquiring humans kidnapped by them… and finally:
[Oracle said our Sydney operation would fail partially, and even they couldn’t predict why.]
[…]
[We’ve waited a long time for someone to overturn Oracle’s prophecy. Even Oracle themselves.]
I still didn’t understand why this had been said when I met an Oracle member in Australia.
“(You seem troubled. That’s fine for now. We’ll give you time to think.)”
When she returned to Denmark, another Oracle member would contact her, and she could respond then. The scout disappeared back into the room. They spoke as if they were certain she would join.
However, the scout didn’t know one thing:
[(Did you record everything?)]
[(Of course, boss.)]
Besides the scout and the woman, Albatross PMC and I were present in the room.
