Home/How to Survive in a Good Small Guild/ch 81

Chapter 81

"To think I'd be researching the Crown Prince's Oath. All researchers will envy me."

"Right... feeling great..."

Now they treated Cedrian as the Crown Prince, though their attitude wasn't particularly respectful.

But Cedrian seemed to regard scholars as socially inept beings by nature and didn't take issue with their behavior.

"So what kind of research will we do?"

As soon as Cedrian asked in his regained imperial dignity, a chilling answer came back.

"We'll experiment with abilities on criminals! We can test whether criminals who deny their crimes are lying! If they fail, they'll die!"

"I want to see how strong soldiers can become through the Oath..."

"I see... Anyway, can you fabricate records as if the research started much earlier?"

"If I can research the Oath, anything!"

"I'll also manipulate the access logs..."

And so, creating the Crown Prince's false records proceeded smoothly.

We'd just have to report to the Temple that the Crown Prince had been researching abilities at the Star Tower.

"We'll test the Oath on various groups. The Crown Prince would have easy access to criminals, right?"

"...That's unjust. There are ethical issues."

It seemed it wouldn't be easy to mediate their opinions.

"Um, by the way..."

Latelle turned his head to look at me.

"Was Arclight Guild connected to the Crown Prince...?"

It was a sharp question.

Word that Arclight Guild was connected to the Crown Prince must not spread. It would be troublesome if it reached the Temple's ears.

"Could you keep my visit here a secret?"

"Of course! As long as I can do research!"

To them, who maintained their consistent attitude, the Crown Prince decided to use the Oath ability.

"I, Luna Moore, swear to keep secret that I conducted research with the Crown Prince and that Odrette Lavendel came to help. If I break this, all my research results will disappear forever!"

"I, Latelle Aiken, swear to keep all matters related to the Crown Prince and Odrette Lavendel confidential... If I break this, I will never be able to live as a scholar again..."

Watching them swear, it seemed they would never leak the secret. The Oath ability was quite useful.

"Wow, so this is what the Oath feels like!"

"Amazing..."

They actually seemed happy to have experienced the ability themselves and continued their research.

"So what kind of research content should we present?"

When I casually asked Cedrian how we'd report to the Temple, he thought and answered.

"Say that I was researching a legion that utilizes the Oath ability. At first glance, it looks like critical classified information."

"Yes, Mr. Rian."

"Then could we actually test it on a real army...?"

"That would be against justice. As a member of the Imperial Family, I cannot abuse the Oath on ordinary citizens."

"If we get permission..."

"Mr. Rian, hang in there...!"

"Ms. Odrette, where are you going? Wait...!"

Cedrian's desperate voice came from behind, but I pretended not to hear and slipped away.

Ugh, I couldn't stay among these crazy researchers any longer.

In any case, it was a good outcome—we'd gained the Star Tower as allies, following the Red Rose Salon and the Platinum Mercenary Corps.

Wow, at this rate, we could make everyone except the Temple our allies!

---

"I'll report my findings."

A few days later, I was reporting to Matthias what I'd discovered.

"While tracking the robin's whereabouts, I found access logs to the Star Tower."

"The Star Tower?"

Matthias frowned as he received the fabricated access logs from me.

"Yes, the robin had been conducting research at the Star Tower. The scholars who worked with him were Latelle Aiken, a Doctor of Military Studies, and Luna Moore, a Doctor of Criminal Investigation. I couldn't get information directly from them—they seemed to have used the Oath ability to swear secrecy."

To protect Latelle and Luna Moore, I added that I couldn't obtain any information anyway.

Unlike my composed self, Matthias seemed quite surprised.

"This record... means he's creating a legion that utilizes the Oath ability?"

"It hasn't been created yet, but it appears to be in the research stage. I infiltrated and stole the records."

They were actually nothing special.

It was a false record that Cedrian had experimented with creating an Oath legion, and it didn't say he'd actually succeeded.

I'd thought Matthias would be pleased with the new information, but he had a serious face as if facing an unexpected crisis.

What was this? Had he found the Oath legion threatening? I'd done this to make it look like classified information and divert the Temple's attention.

While I was puzzled, Matthias spoke in a trembling voice.

"No..."

"Excuse me?"

"At this rate, they might reach a level of power similar to ours. We must not let them research abilities further."

A similar level? Weren't the Temple's 'Miracle' and the Imperial Family's 'Oath' already on a similar level?

Matthias's words sounded as if the Temple possessed a special power different from the Imperial Family.

"I need to report this to the High Priest. Then we'll probably... have to stop it."

Muttering that, Matthias patted my shoulder a couple of times.

"You've obtained very good information. Go back and focus on other work. I'll call you when needed."

"Yes..."

Unable to ask him why he was so serious, I left Matthias's office.

And I grew uneasy.

Could it be that the records I'd created to divert the Temple's attention had actually provoked them?

What if the Temple became more aggressive?

Why was the Temple so wary of ability research?

---

"Wait, this is!"

"Oh..."

While Luna Moore and Latelle fussed from across the room, Cedrian stood with a hollow gaze. If Odrette had seen him, she'd probably have said "Oh, blank-eyed."

During Arclight Information Guild's work-from-home period, he had to attend the Star Tower every day in his Crown Prince identity.

To create plausible false information, they really needed research records.

'If it's to protect Odrette, it can't be helped.'

No matter how tired he was, protecting Odrette was his top priority, so Cedrian endured.

Cedrian obtained voluntary consent from some soldiers and criminals and was testing the Oath on them.

He didn't think the research results would be significant, but Luna Moore and Latelle were deeply absorbed in the research.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

Luna Moore called him in an excited tone. Cedrian, who had little interest in the research, trudged over.

'Anyway, there are limits to applying abilities.'

He thought he already knew the limits of his ability. He'd researched it himself since childhood.

But Luna Moore and Latelle called him and said something astonishing.

"Your Highness, look at that soldier!"

"What about him?"

"Look, his lie-detection ability has noticeably improved!"

"That's... part of my ability, isn't it? Why is that soldier able to use my power?"

Sensing something strange, he asked, and Luna Moore spoke confidently.

"That's exactly what we've discovered! People exposed to an ability in a certain way for a certain period can also gain abilities!"

"Wait, that means..."

"Of course, the ability itself would be weaker, but with further research, you might be able to grant abilities to others!"

"Grant abilities?"

That was impossible. Weren't abilities only usable by a select few born into the bloodline of their respective groups?

Even branch family members often couldn't use abilities depending on the judgment of the mysterious power.

Stunned by the idea of granting abilities, Cedrian suddenly thought of something.

'Could the Temple already know this?'

The Temple would have researched abilities in more unethical ways than the Imperial Family.

If so... the Temple likely already knew that abilities could be granted to others!

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