Chapter 32: Senior, I’m sorry.
Though surprised by the information, Suna didn’t interrupt Darkness’s report, listening intently instead.
While she could glean bits about Skull from newspapers or magical broadcasts, those were filtered public reports.
She was eager for real intel on Skull to confirm his status and whether she’d completed her “mission.”
“Despite the investigations, Skull doesn’t seem to care. Aside from necessities like eating and sleeping, he spends nearly all his time training, sparring, and studying magic. Recently, he’s even requested real combat. In just a month, he’s reached silver tier. That’s my report, but I have additional details, like why he’s so driven and who he’s connected to.”
Pausing, Darkness produced a thin file and sent it to Pepas with wind magic.
As Pepas skimmed it, she noticed Suna’s glance and teased with a slight smirk.
“What? Suna, want to take a look?”
At Pepas’s question, seeing her wave the file, Suna clicked her tongue.
“Yeah.”
“Here you go.”
Unsure why Pepas was so generous, Suna didn’t hesitate, taking the file sent via Pepas’s origami magic.
As Suna read, Darkness cautiously asked.
“Chief Pepas, why’d you let Miss Suna read it before you finished? Is my intel lacking?”
Before Darkness could finish, Pepas cut her off with reassurance.
“Darkness, you’re overthinking. Your intel is thorough. But she’s the agent assigned to disrupt Skull’s fate.”
“Wait, hold on! Don’t—”
Pepas’s second sentence overlapped with Suna’s protest, but Suna, a beat too slow, glared at Pepas’s sly smile.
Hearing Pepas, a flicker of sympathy crossed Darkness’s widened eyes.
“Oh? So you’re that senior agent. My apologies.”
Meanwhile, Kerol, perched on her water orb, burst into laughter, digging into Suna’s past.
“Hahaha, you’re the one who tanked the year-end review, showing off your slacking records! I heard the deputy minister—a bloodless lich—turned red with rage.”
Stone, staying neutral, pushed the topic forward.
“I recall your codename’s [Blood Ring Octopus]. You were forced to choose between dismissal or disrupting the hero’s fate.”
With her embarrassing history exposed, Suna gave up and leaned into it.
“Yup, I’m that unlucky idiot. Go ahead and laugh, Darkness! That pitying look is worse.”
“No, I think it takes real courage to take on such a mission,” Darkness said, surprising Suna.
Suna shrugged, recounting the fates of fools who tried forcibly altering a hero’s destiny.
“Sure, sure. The Demon Kingdom’s had plenty of those ‘brave’ idiots. Like the demon lord who tried bombing the hero’s village before he matured, only to get minced by the surviving hero. Or the cadre who hypnotized the hero’s childhood friend to betray him, only for the hypnosis to fail and his own subordinates to defect to the hero. Need more examples?”
While citing history, Suna knew those who tried forcibly changing a hero’s fate or killing a future hero before their rise faced backlash from fate magic, manifesting as events or natural magical phenomena that wrecked their bodies and led to defeat.
That’s why Suna took a roundabout, almost exploitative approach to twist Skull’s fate.
As a minor player, she couldn’t withstand direct fate magic backlash—especially against the future’s strongest hero.
After her rant, Pepas spread her hands, offering a warning.
“Well, Suna, didn’t you go even further? Your methods may avoid direct fate backlash, but be careful not to let Skull catch you.”
“I planned to stay far away from him!”
Suna’s voice rose, her nerves fraying at Pepas’s words.
But as Pepas’s sly smile grew, an indescribable fear and sense of crisis gripped Suna.
“Well, I’m afraid I can’t help you with that. It’s a direct order from the Demon Lord.”
As Pepas floated a folded letter to Suna, her instincts screamed danger.
“I don’t want to read it now. Can I open it later?”
“What do you think, Miss Suna?”
Pepas snapped her fingers, and the letter unfolded.
The familiar magical signature on the paper bore a single sentence:
[Suni Deadwood, or rather Suna Florist, I order you to continue closely monitoring Hero Skull.]
Processing the command, Suna let out a piercing scream.
“Aaaaah! This is a death sentence! How am I supposed to monitor him up close? I’m a mimic beast who can’t change human forms anymore! This is like dancing Swan Lake on eggshells!”
Seeing Suna’s reaction, Pepas continued calmly.
“Well, I think the Demon Lord wants you to clean up your own mess. According to some intel I got, in future-predicting magical visions, Skull’s fate has veered into an unpredictable direction.”
“What? His fate shifting is good, isn’t—”
Mid-scream, Suna stopped, but Pepas, rolling her eyes, continued.
“In the prophecy, there’s a vision of half the empire being destroyed.”