After discovering the questionable content in the “Secret” folder, Alice failed to find anything else that was noteworthy even after spending over an hour searching through every folder on Collins’ computer.
Unfortunately, it would seem that aside from the document that recorded the Rhine Kingdom’s recent events, it didn’t seem like Collins had kept anything else that was important on his work computer. Moreover, Alice felt that the only reason Collins was keeping a record of these events was so that he could avoid getting himself implicated in them. It was highly unlikely that he was involved in any of them.
After all, it was unrealistic to think that Collins was involved in every incident listed in the document. Take the latest entry in the record, for example. There was no way Collins could be involved in the Demon King’s appearance in the Royal Magic Tower. As the aforementioned Demon King, Alice knew this very well.
So, this document is, in reality, a record Collins has made as a reminder for himself to not get involved in the recorded events?
Alice massaged her aching temples. It would seem that the Rhine Kingdom’s eldest prince was much less interested in authority than she thought. If Collins was still interested in inheriting the throne, he would have behaved similarly to Etoria and tried his best to get involved in these incidents after they had taken place. That way, he could attract more publicity to himself.
Even if some of these incidents weren’t important enough to generate huge publicity, some publicity was better than none at all. Moreover, Collins could accumulate these small achievements to build up his resume. That way, should he inherit the throne in the future, his citizens wouldn’t have any reason to be dissatisfied with him.
It should be known that there were many examples of uprisings in history. In fact, none of the current existing human kingdoms were over 100 years old.
Because of the existence of magic, a kingdom’s ruler could not relax even if it held control over the army. This also prompted the various rulers to be concerned about the feelings of their citizens and deterred them from becoming dictators.
If I judged Collins based solely on his work computer, he does look like an otaku who is trying to get away from political struggles… Alice thought as she shut down the computer. She also made sure to revert the passwords on Collins’ computer to their original state using Aspect Separation. But I’ll have to investigate his home computer before I can be sure of what is going through his mind.
Although Collins spent a significant portion of his time with his work computer every day, it wasn’t as private as his home computer. Hence, if Collins were to hide any secrets, he would most likely hide them on his home computer. Hence, Alice did not drop her suspicion on Collins simply because his work computer was clean…more or less.
However, if Alice wanted to sneak into Collins’ home, she could only do so tomorrow. Collins would spend most of the day at his company. So long as Alice waited until daytime, she would have a very easy time sneaking into Collins’ home.
As for Collins’ bodyguards, they mainly focused on Collins’ safety. They didn’t pay much attention to Collins’ house, which was a stark difference from Lilith’s house.
Meanwhile, once Alice snuck into Collins house and investigated his computer, she should be able to conclude whether Collins was the mastermind or if he was just trying to become an ordinary working-class citizen.
Regardless of Collins’ aims, Alice couldn’t help but be a little concerned over the stolen Demon King’s Shadow book. Although she couldn’t be certain whether the thief was the same person as the Etoria impersonator, there was no doubt that the thief was also a dangerous individual.
The fact that someone had stolen the taboo book showed that the other party most likely possessed a means of casting the taboo. It should be known that Demon King’s Shadow was a taboo capable of summoning a Demon King. Although the summoned Demon King might not be as powerful as a real Demon King or possess the intelligence of a Demon King, it would still be a troublesome enemy.
Let’s hope this matter isn’t too serious.
Alice shook her head and set her worries aside. Then, she walked to the door and waved at the shota magician. Because Dark Guards were made from dark mana, their bodies were pitch-black. Without any lights turned on, Alice nearly failed to spot the shota magician.
Originally, Alice’s plan was to smash this company’s office if she could verify that Collins was the person impersonating Etoria. On the one hand, she could use this as a warning to Collins. On the other hand, she could falsify a fight between the Hero and the Demon King. The Rhine Kingdom’s government would compensate any losses incurred because of the Hero and the Demon King anyway, so Alice wasn’t worried that the companies and employees here would suffer any actual losses.
However, now that Alice couldn’t verify whether Collins was the mastermind, she had no choice but to abandon her idea of making a mess of Collins’ company. Instead, she decided to find a deserted location, cast a few taboos, and call it a day.
However, it was difficult to find a place devoid of people in Icarus City. After all, Icarus City was the Rhine Kingdom’s capital and the center of culture. The Royal Magic Town and magic town that surrounded it was even a gathering place for magicians. Because of all these factors, most of the hotels in the city were usually at full occupancy. Trying to find a deserted area in such a busy city would be a huge challenge.
.
Of course, there were some business districts that were currently devoid of people since it was late at night right now. However, Alice didn’t wish to destroy other people’s property without a good reason. After all, even if the Rhine Kingdom would make reparations to all of the damages she caused, she would still be interfering with other people’s businesses.
I guess I have to go out of the city.
After wandering the streets of Icarus City for a bit, Alice found that with the exception of a few night markets, most places had already closed shop for the day. However, as most of the buildings in this city were closely packed to each other, Alice failed to find any large and empty space where she could bombard with taboos.
So, Alice had no choice but to take her bombardment out of the city where there would be plenty of uninhabited land. The only problem was that Alice would have to travel to the suburbs by herself. Even with the help of speed-enhancing taboos, traveling across such a long distance was still very tiring.