Chapter 1201. Too Astute (1/2)
”You stupid kid! Do you have any idea what you've brought on this planet?!”
This was the first time Ves saw Calabast losing control over her impeccable composure. He didn't have to puzzle or second-guess his judgement to determine that the woman was furious!
What Ves found more alarming was that his mask of innocence failed to work on the astute spy. No matter how clueless he appeared, he couldn't do anything about the clues that Calabast pieced together!
This was a fatal flaw that Ves hadn't fully considered!
Ves tore away his mask seeing as it didn't do him any good. A subtle change in demeanor swept over him. He no longer appeared meek.
”I had to do what I needed in order to design my next mech.” He said with little remorse.
”VES!” Calabast raged. ”If you wanted to obtain a relic so bad, at least tell me so that we could plan your heist properly!”
Ves crossed his arms. ”I already asked you to get me a relic, but you rejected my request, remember? Since you weren't any help back then, I decided that I needed to take matters into my own hands.”
”You reckless dimwit! I thought you only wanted to obtain a curiosity to understand Ylvainan culture better! I had no idea you were this desperate to obtain a treasured relic to the point of riling up the entire Ylvainan Protectorate to get what you want! If I knew you were this serious, I would have backed you up all the way!”
Neither of the two understood each other's intentions. Both Ves and Calabast realized that their miscommunication led to a far more dangerous outcome than if they cooperated!
On his end, Ves didn't communicate the desire to obtain a relic clearly enough. In his perspective, a relic connected to a great figure in the Ylvainan Faith possessed real, practical value that he could definitely make use of in order to enrich his upcoming mech design!
To Calabast, his request seemed very outlandish and frivolous. The spy didn't fully understand the specialty and capabilities of her partner. Her ignorance led her to believe that Ves wouldn't gain anything from a relic. Since the price of fulfilling his request was far too grave, she outright rejected it without understanding what it meant!
”What's done is done. Blame me all you want, but now that we've come this far, it's best to look ahead.” Ves sighed.
He grew uncomfortable as Calabast continued to stare at him like he was a kid who did something naughty. Even if he acted recklessly, it was her fault for failing to hear him out in the first place!
”You're right, but that doesn't mean I'll forget about your stunt!” She gritted her teeth. ”It could have been much worse for the both of us if I hadn't acted as soon as I heard what happened at the grand cathedral. Do you think we would be free to meet with each other if I hadn't covered your tracks?”
”What do you mean?”
Calabast threw up her hands in an exasperated fashion. ”You're lucky I'm smart enough to figure out who's responsible as soon as I first received the news! I worked quickly to publish a statement on the galactic net that the True Believers have claimed responsibility for the theft. Not only that, but I've also hacked the security systems of the grand cathedral and wiped out as many logs and recordings as possible. While I haven't managed to erase everything, I've at least made it harder for the authorities to figure out what happened.”
Despite her disapproval, Calabast nonetheless backed him up when she figured out the truth. Ves appreciated her help. It seemed that she was very sincere about their partnership.
Deflecting the blame to the New Ylvaine Dynasty was a particular masterstroke. Ves hadn't thought about using them as a scapegoat. They were currently the biggest bogeymen on Kesseling VIII!
By throwing out their name, the Ylvainan authorities instantly adopted the assumption that the living prophet and his lackeys truly took action at the grand cathedral!
Most of the assets allocated to the investigation should be spent on rooting out the True Believers, thereby diverting a lot of attention from Ves. The fact that only a single Protector captain interrogated him in a perfunctory manner showed that they had little reason to suspect that he was involved.
Ves would have been in a much more troubling position if Calabast hadn't taken quick action!
”Do you think your countermeasures worked?” He cautiously asked.
”There is still a chance that some of the more suspicious and skeptical Ylvainans are prejudiced towards us.” Calabast grimly replied. ”So don't put down your guard. Act like you are constantly being monitored. Even if you activate a signal jammer, don't make use of it too often, or you'll definitely attract suspicion. I'm sure our private conversation has attracted a lot of questions right now from the people who are assigned to monitor our movements.”
That was bad news to Ves, but at least the Ylvainan minders shouldn't look at him too closely or care too much about what he was doing.
”Will the high inquisitor pay another visit?”
Calabast shrugged. ”Probably. Once the Ylvainans failed to track down their missing relic, they'll cast a wide net. As persons of interests, both of us will receive a lot of scrutiny. Before they rule us out as suspects, we shouldn't do anything that arouses their suspicion. The biggest problem right now is that I'm not sure whether they truly bought the story that the True Believers are behind the theft.”
”Oh? Didn't you say that this cover story worked?”
”It's undoubtedly effective to the public and the vast majority of the Ylvainan authorities. The average Ylvainan isn't exactly good at critical thinking, so they have no cause to doubt that the True Believers are responsible. That doesn't mean that the higher-ups are equally as ignorant, especially those who are aligned with the traditionalists. You know what I mean, right?”
Ves tentatively nodded. If the attack on the Grand Church of the Grey Martyr was a conspiracy of their own making, then this incident might lead them to believe that someone was giving them a taste of their own medicine!
Throughout all of this, the actual New Ylvaine Dynasty were unjustly maligned! They must be puking blood when they heard that unknown people ascribed terrible events to their organization!
Why would the True Believers risk turning public opinion against their cult by slaughtering so many innocent Ylvainans?