Hate me, Miss Witch!
Chapter 73 - 61: The Emblem of the Swordbearer

Chapter 73: Chapter 61: The Emblem of the Swordbearer

"Why is it you this time?"

Shiayar closed the estate gate and examined the officer before him from head to toe.

Colonel Zieg was most likely a member of Isadella’s camp, something Shiayar had anticipated. After all, shortly after the Ashes Cult incident concluded, Colonel Zieg had cryptically warned Shiayar a few times, implying he knew some of the inside story.

However—

"Where is President Dyres?"

"She did want to come herself."

"But on several occasions, when she was just a block away from your house, a fierce qi stealthily targeted her."

"According to President Dyres herself, if she had taken even one more step forward then, a major battle would surely have erupted."

Colonel Zieg gestured helplessly.

"It must be your little girlfriend, Enola..."

"There was no helping it; those two are too stubborn. In the end, I had to be the one to deliver this."

Shiayar was speechless. He wondered why Ennie had often gone for walks alone recently; it turned out this was the reason. Even though she had verbally claimed not to care, she was acting completely different in secret.

Colonel Zieg didn’t engage in much small talk.

He took a wooden box from his coat and handed it to Shiayar.

Shiayar accepted the wooden box and opened it without hesitation.

Inside the simple wooden box’s lining lay an exquisite shield badge.

The badge depicted a silver blade piercing straight through the branches of the World Tree, which formed the background.

Shiayar’s spiritual power reached out slightly.

He sensed the faint spatial distortions swirling around the badge.

"A storage magictech artifact?" Shiayar asked.

Since magictech technology could create teleportation arrays, it wasn’t surprising that similar space-type storage devices could be crafted. However, from what Shiayar understood, given the current level of magictech technology on the Western Continent, spatial compression technology was still experimental and had not yet reached the stage where portable storage devices could be mass-produced.

"It’s a new prototype from the Magictech Institute. The technology for secondary plane compression and portability isn’t quite mature yet, so it has many flaws."

"It takes a long time to activate and cannot be used to access items in real-time during combat. Moreover, the built-in secondary plane’s storage capacity is quite limited."

"I recall you have a space-type Pet Beast of your own. For you, the storage function is merely a bonus, not of significant use."

Colonel Zieg glanced at the World Tree and silver sword badge in the wooden box, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes.

"This badge also symbolizes your identity as a Swordbearer."

"With this, you will possess authority equivalent to the second rank, just below the highest level, within the Military Department and the Jurisdiction Bureau, excluding the direct mobilization of troops and resources."

"Additionally, the Empire’s secret sentries and information network outposts throughout the Western Continent will be accessible to you."

"Everything you asked for is also inside. Check it."

Shiayar picked up the shield badge and fiddled with it for a moment.

His spiritual power also delved into the badge, inspecting its contents.

The secondary plane within this badge was extremely small, tens of times smaller than Shiny’s ’Spatial Pocket,’ which had been refined to an ’Expert’ level.

And this small space was already mostly filled.

A pair of discs forged from magictech alloy were etched with numerous profound and complex runic arrays—these formed a small-scale military teleportation array.

There was also a roll of what appeared to be ordinary metal book pages, seemingly made of black iron.

The metal pages were blank, devoid of any writing. However, when Shiayar’s spiritual power probed them—

His soul was suddenly shaken as a rule akin to Sovereignty manifested.

"This must be the ’Judgment Warrant’ Isadella mentioned."

"A document empowered by the Mythical Rank ’Black King’ is indeed extraordinary. It gives me the sensation of facing a contaminant."

Shiayar confirmed the items’ validity. Titled Rank and Emperor Rank represented the pinnacle of mundane power. Beyond them, those of Legendary rank began to touch upon the domain of laws related to the world’s origin. Such power of rules must originate from a Mythical Rank Pet Beast or a Legendary Beastmaster. It couldn’t be faked; or rather, the cost of forgery would far exceed that of the genuine article.

Shiayar withdrew his probing spiritual power and then looked at Colonel Zieg, who was still standing nearby, not having left.

"What’s wrong? Expecting me to treat you to a meal?"

"Not exactly. I must wait for you to acknowledge receipt of the first item before I can hand over the second."

Colonel Zieg smiled.

He then produced an even larger metal case from behind him.

Its surface was carved with countless pitch-black maple leaves, accented by a few slivers of pure silver moonlight.

Shiayar recognized this style of decoration. It was exclusive to the rulers of the Western Continent’s grey world—the Dark Shadow Council.

Shiayar looked deeply at Colonel Zieg. "You certainly have many identities, even being a member of the Dark Shadow Council."

"A double agent?"

"Not exactly a double agent."

"Her Royal Highness the Princess has some private dealings with the Queen of the Night of the Dark Shadow Council, and the Council also cooperates with the Military Department."

"Many seemingly glamorous nobles engage in dirty dealings privately, which are often uncovered by operatives of the Dark Shadow Council."

"You understand, as official members of the Military Department, there are many things we are not well-suited to do."

Colonel Zieg waved his hand.

"As for myself, consider me a liaison maintaining relations between the two parties."

"Both Her Royal Highness and the Dark Shadow Council are fully aware of my identity. To put it bluntly, I’m just an errand boy who delivers messages."

"This metal case was sent by the Dark Shadow Council specifically for you. I have no right to know its contents; I am merely delivering it. I shall take my leave now."

Before he finished speaking, Colonel Zieg turned and left the estate, quickly disappearing at the end of the Black Lily District street.

That’s the way of the Military Department—decisive and efficient, never wasting time.

Watching Colonel Zieg depart, Shiayar refocused his attention on the metal case before him.

"It has finally arrived." He had been staying home lately, not going out much, partly to conduct special training for Crimson. On the other hand, he was also waiting for the final few crucial items for his plan to arrive. And now, at last, they had.

Shiayar silently reached out and gently touched the core mechanism of the metal case.

The next moment, the sound of whirring gears echoed as a series of ancient metal wheels emerged, each etched with a row of numbers.

Following the pre-arranged Secret Key, Shiayar adjusted the numbers on each wheel to their designated positions.

With a crisp CLICK, the metal case swung open.