Chương 410: Chapter : 410

"The local lords promised to handle it," the young sailor added. He pointed a shaking finger toward the center of the town.

"They printed official, high-reward circulars. They posted bounty posters all over the city. They promised a massive fortune to anyone who could slay the Titanoboa. The lords told us they sent urgent distress letters directly to the Upper Council in the capital." The old fisherman nodded slowly.

"The lords told us to stay off the water. They told us to wait for the central government to arrive. They promised the Emperor would send an elite army to destroy the serpent. So, we waited. We tied our boats to the docks. We abandoned the deep waters entirely." The fisherman looked down at the wooden planks. He looked completely defeated.

"But nobody ever came," the old man whispered sadly.

"We waited for weeks. The capital never sent a single soldier. The central government completely ignored our distress calls. They left us here to starve. They left us to lose our jobs. Now, the town is running out of food, and we are too terrified to sail." Princess Iris frowned deeply. Her heart ached for the sailors. They were trapped on the land. They were losing their livelihoods. And they thought the Emperor had abandoned them. The story was incredibly tragic.

It was a tale of a legendary monster ruining a peaceful town. The fishermen believed they were completely forgotten by the world. But as the old fisherman finished his story, a sudden, jarring realization struck the 13th Unit. The tragic story had a massive, glaring flaw. Something about the timeline made absolutely no logical sense. The pieces of the puzzle did not fit together. The elite girls stood in silence. They processed the new information.

And the true, horrifying reality of the situation was just about to reveal itself.

Laxmi stood perfectly still. The bright orange flames around her knuckles completely vanished. Her golden eyes widened in pure, unfiltered shock. She looked at the old fisherman. Then, she looked at Princess Iris.

"Wait a second," Laxmi said loudly. Her voice cut through the noise of the crashing waves. She took a step forward. She crossed her arms tightly. Her face twisted into a fierce, angry frown.

"You said you sent distress letters to the capital? You said the local lords asked the Upper Council for help weeks ago?"

"Yes, miss," the old fisherman nodded slowly. He looked confused by her sudden anger.

"The lords assured us the letters were sent via the fastest messenger birds. They said the Emperor received our pleas."

"That is completely impossible," Laxmi declared firmly. She pointed a finger toward the sky.

"We just came from the capital city! We stood in the middle of the Upper Council building just three days ago! Nobody was talking about a giant sea monster!" Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The entire 13th Unit froze. The realization hit them like a physical blow. Sayma rapidly flipped through the pages of her neat notebook. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her analytical mind worked at blinding speed.

She checked her records of the official Royal mission board.

"Laxmi is absolutely correct," Sayma announced. Her polite voice turned incredibly serious.

"I memorize the daily briefings from the Upper Council. I read every single incident report. There was absolutely zero mention of a colossal sea serpent destroying ships in this coastal territory." Princess Iris gripped the hilt of her silver rapier. Her violet eyes filled with deep, undeniable concern.

"Are you absolutely certain, Sayma?"

"I am entirely certain, Princess," Sayma confirmed. She tapped her pen on the paper.

"A monster of this magnitude would automatically generate an immediate, top-priority S-rank mission. The Upper Council would have dispatched the 3rd Prince's naval fleet instantly. But the capital is completely unaware. No distress calls ever arrived." The young sailor on the wooden crate stood up. He looked panicked.

"But the lords promised us! They posted the bounty circulars! We saw the posters with our own eyes!" Zinia cracked her knuckles. The strong earth mage glared at the distant luxury mansions sitting on the hills above the town.

"If the capital never received the messages, then the local lords lied to you. They never sent the letters." Luna rubbed her sleepy eyes. She let out a soft yawn.

"Why would they lie? A giant snake is bad for everyone. Do the messengers just fly very slow? Maybe the birds got lost in a cloud." Ira stared blankly at the ocean. Her face showed zero emotion.

"Statistically speaking, the simultaneous failure of multiple official messenger birds is practically impossible. The communication lines were deliberately severed." The girls debated the logistical failure. They tried to figure out the missing pieces. Why would the wealthy politicians pretend to ask for help? Why would they print fake bounty posters? It made absolutely no sense to let a monster destroy your own town. Ken Eliot stayed leaning against the wooden piling.

He slouched his shoulders as far as they could possibly go. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, sealed bag of dried seaweed crackers. He bought them from a vendor on the way to the docks. He ripped the bag open. He pulled out a dark green cracker. He took a bite.

"Ew," Ken mumbled lazily. He chewed the dry snack.

"This tastes exactly like ocean dirt. Why do people eat this? It is like chewing on a salty leaf. I demand a refund." Naomi walked over to him. She did not look angry. She smiled a warm, fond smile. She playfully bumped his arm again.

"Ken, stop complaining about your snacks for one minute," Naomi chuckled softly. She treated him exactly like a fun, goofy friend.

"We have a massive mystery here. The letters completely vanished. The capital does not know about the monster. We need to figure out why the messages disappeared." Ken swallowed the terrible seaweed cracker. He let out a long, dramatic sigh. He looked at Naomi with sleepy, half-closed dark eyes.

"You guys are missing the entire point," Ken stated casually. He shoved his free hand deep into his pocket.

"Birds do not just get lost all at once. Magic communication crystals do not just randomly break. The messages did not vanish. They were intentionally intercepted." Princess Iris turned to look at him. She respected his logic deeply.

"Intercepted? You believe someone captured the messenger birds?"

"I believe the local lords threw the letters directly into a fireplace," Ken explained lazily. He leaned his back against the wooden post. He took another bite of his terrible cracker.

"You guys are trying to think like noble heroes. You need to think like greedy politicians. You need to follow the money." Sayma pushed her glasses up.

"The money? Ken, the town is losing money. The fishermen cannot work. The ships are destroyed."

"The fishermen are losing money," Ken corrected her smoothly. He pointed a lazy finger at the terrified sailors sitting on the docks.

"But the local lords are not losing anything. In fact, they are making a massive fortune right now."