The Journey begins with a detour which becomes a clue?

Although running would have been faster for Luke, he now had to bring along the extra lucky charm named John, and so he had to take his Lukemobile.

Naturally, it also had been improved, with not only a better engine tires and overall build, but also sections where bombs were placed for self-destruction when needed, hatches to leave behind a trail of bombs as a present for any pursuers, as well as a storage of almost 60 bombs that he could pull out and throw at enemies in any directions.

Thankfully, the Lukemobile was a two-seater, else it would have been very awkward for himself to run while his disciple used his vehicle.

Where were they headed? No one knew, not even Luke himself. He was just going out for a leisurely walk, hoping something would come up due to John's existence.

And what do you know, something actually did happen! Although, it was not what Luke was hoping for. Instead of clue related to the dragon, he got a new mission from a random dying soldier who he just happened to chance by, to deliver a message to MI9.

However, since it gave a tonne of exp, he would not reject it, and instead went decided to head to the capital.

Within a day, the duo reached the capital and Luke swaggered into the MI9 base, which was now bustling with activity, unlike the previous secretive mode that they were operating in.

"You are here?" Asked Barton.

"I found a dying soldier, he told me to give this to you guys."

Saying that much, Luke handed an envelope which had not been opened before sitting back down on his chair, waiting for Barton to read it.

…

"Shit!"

After exclaiming, Barton ran out of the room in a hurry, and although Luke was a little curious, something like this should not move him, and so he just remained in his place, chatting away with John.

"Did you see that guy?"

"Yes, master."

"Tch. You annoying brat."

"…"

"That fellow, is the executive commander of MI9, which is the organisation that maintains order and everything else apparently within Leon. And this organisation is controlled by the council of 12, who are the true rulers of Leon. All the other military organisations and stuff, including nobles and even the king, as all fake. Puppets, whether they themselves know it or not. Do you understand?"

"…no" John said frankly.

"Hmm. Imagine this. You know the king is the ruler of a country right?"

"Yes"

"Under him are the nobles and military generals, and below them are the lower nobles and military personnel right?"

"Yes."

"Now imagine this. Imagine the king, who is said to be at the top of this hierarchy, as a puppet. A puppet whose strings are being controlled by an organisation called the council of 12."

"Oh!"

"Now MI9 is the executive branch of the council of 12, which in essence enforces all the decisions made by the council. It also contains around 80% of the military personnel of Leon, as well as almost 99.9% of the military power of Leon."

"OH! So, like, they are the secret rulers of the Leon kingdom?"

"Haha! Yes!"

…

After 20 minutes, Barton returned, his face beaming.

"So, what was it?"

"News from a spy within Roland."

"Hehe, so it was important information?"

"…Yes" After hesitating for a while, knowing that Luke was getting at something, Barton agreed since he could not refute.

"Good. Then, you should give me something in return as well."

"What do you want?"

"I want to ask old man Mark something."

"This…"

"Just call him up and ask him if he is free for a single question of mine on the phone."

…

A while later, Mark, who never actually responded to Barton's calls, picked up and agreed.

"So, you felt that picking up this call will help you in something again?" Luke asked probingly. He knew that Mark never picked up anyone's calls, not even those officially from the council unless he wanted to. That was the reason he had not directly come here in the first place.

"Haha! Brat! This is the second time I got this feeling from you. You are truly a lucky person. Tell me, what do you want?"

"Where is my pet?"

"Ah!" Mark exclaimed.

[1] Lol, the name of the chapter is just… Exquisite… Marvellous… Perfection.