95 Episode 29: I explained the plan of "Apostle" to Iris.

I got the plan for the Hourglass Messenger in the ship's mess hall.

According to the plan, all the events of today were caused by them.

...... Isn't it a bit too careless to leave such an important document behind?

Hmm.

In this kind of situation, if it's a drama or a movie, the ship would have a bomb planted in it.

They'd sink the whole ship into the sea to destroy the evidence, and so on.

A bad premonition is always a good thing, so I'd better check it out.

I activate the [Search Marker].

The search targets are bombs and other similar objects.

The result - one applicable case.

The location is the galley, right next to the ship's dining room.

"...... I didn't think it was really there.

Ko, what's going on?

Iris responded to my mumble and turned her gaze towards me.

'Apparently there's a bomb on the ship. I'm going to go deal with it for a bit.

I told him that and selected the Fenrirsuit from the item box and changed my equipment.

I immediately activated the 《God Speed Blessing S》.

My consciousness accelerates and time is stretched out to infinity.

In a second that equals eternity, I head from the cafeteria to the kitchen.

The bomb was at the back of the kitchen.

It's a box as big as a trunk case.

According to [Appraisal], this is a kind of magic tool, and if a certain amount of time passes after it is activated, it will cause an explosion.

Its power is quite impressive, and it seems to be enough to sink this ship.

We have 10 minutes left.

Now, what should we do?

I can dismantle it since I have [Dexterity's Mastery], but there's actually a simpler solution.　

I touched the bomb and stowed it in the item box.

That's all.

Since time has stopped inside the item box, the timer on the bomb won't advance either.

In the future, if I ever visit the Hourglass Apostle's base, I'll leave this bomb in there.

I have to make sure I deliver what I've lost.

Joking aside, I return to Iris and deactivate the "Divine Speed Blessing S".

"Iris, the bomb is taken care of. Don't worry.

'Well, for a moment I thought Ko had disappeared: ......

''I used the Fenrirsuit's Divine Speed Blessing S.'' Either way, you don't have to worry about it anymore.

'...... What a surprise, it's really substandard, ko. How did you know there was a bomb in the first place?

Why, you might ask: .......

'Can, right?'

Not a skill?

I did use my skills to find the bomb.

But it was Kang who decided that there might be a bomb, right?　...... I've thought for a while now that Ko's instincts are sometimes terrifyingly sharp.

Really?

I would never lie to Ko. By the way, what did the plan for The Apostle say?

Iris seems to be very curious about the contents of the plan and has been glancing in that direction since a while ago.

Now, what did I tell her first?

''Did you know that the Adventurer's Guild's system has been attacked?''

I asked, and Iris nodded quickly.

'Of course I know. The culprit was from the Mercenary Guild, and Ko caught him.

'Yeah. ......, but it was the 'Hourglass Apostle' who ordered the execution. From reading this plan, it seems that the upper echelons of the Mercenary Guild have been taken over by the 'Apostle'.

What: ......!

Iris had a surprised look on her face.

Then, after a few crackles and blinks, she muttered, "Speaking of which--

''About a year ago, the cadres of the mercenary guild were replaced in a hurry. Could it be that ......

Maybe The Apostle was involved.

Either they twisted the believers into a cadre, or they brainwashed the cadre into believers.

I don't know the detailed means, but the mercenary guilds were probably all puppets from a year ago.

''Anyway, it seems that the 'Hourglass Apostle' ordered the Mercenary Guild to attack the Adventurer's Guild's system. It looks like he also provided them with magical tools for that purpose.

So they were really behind it. ...... Oh, wait a minute.

Iris seemed to have an idea and muttered as she put her right hand to her temple.

"In the evening, a horde of devilpas came out of the underground city, but the culprit was also a follower of the 'Apostle'. Besides, it was the 'Apostle' who resurrected the white dragon, er, .......

Just as Iris imagined.

I held up the plan for The Apostle.

According to this, everything that happened today is connected.

First, order the mercenary guild to bring down the adventurer's guild system.

At the same time, he sends his followers to the underground city to unleash the devilpas.

Targeting the chaos caused by incident after incident, he would revive the white dragon through a ritual and destroy the entire city.

This is the plan of the "Apostle".

When I told Iris about it, she said, "You mean, it's just as Ko predicted? The words came back to me.

'Well, yes,'

You're good. Ko's instincts are amazing that you were able to come up with a plan with so little information.

No, it's just a coincidence.

What do you think?　...... I don't think you're going to be a guru of The Apostle, Ko, but you're not the guru of The Apostle, are you?　He was the one who planned this,

Iris, in a joking tone, said something outrageous.

'It can't be, can it?'

It makes too much sense for me to smash the plans I've made for myself.

'I mean, why are you a guru?

The fact that they suspect you of being a member of the "Apostle" is, well, inevitable.

It's so unnatural when you think about it from a common sense perspective that your prediction is so accurate.

But it was unexpected to be treated as a guru all of a sudden.

''Because Ko, you have a black dragon and a rampaging dragon in tow, right?　Isn't that an ability that would be at the top of The Apostle's list to manipulate disaster?

Sure. ......

That being said, I can't argue with that.

I mean, what kind of a person am I in the eyes of The Apostle?

They revere disaster as a godsend, and if I were to take the black dragon to an interview (?) You may be greeted with executive treatment if you go to

Well, I heard that if you fight the disaster, you can clash head-on with the "Apostle", so let's look forward to that time.

After that, I lightly explored the passenger ship, but I didn't find anything in particular.

If it were an anime or manga, the bomb would have been discovered at this point in time and we would have had to escape in a hurry.

But I've already dealt with it ahead of time.

We finished our search without any problems and returned to the inn town of Fife.