Gun of Ashes

”Where should I begin?”

Erin murmured to herself, looking somewhat confused, her injuries still throbbing slightly, making her thoughts stall.

”I’m Erin Adler, formerly associated with the Iron Law Bureau, responsible for external espionage operations.”

Erin reintroduced herself, while also observing the expressions of those around her, especially Hebdo’s.

”The information you have is almost the same as what I want to say, isn’t it? I deliberately approached Ivar, captured him, and then got him caught by the Iron Law Bureau.”

She spoke lightly, this attitude caused Hebdo to feel extremely angry.

”So why are you coming to find me?” Lorenzo asked, ”Shouldn’t you be hiding far away? Why are you still being hunted by the Iron Law Bureau.”

”Because I know too much, Mr. Holmes, the details of the entire operation, and some deeper secrets, I know too many things.”

Erin’s gaze dimmed.

”After the successful operation, I returned to Gaulunaro, and in the process of reconnecting with headquarters, I felt uneasy... headquarters has changed, during the time I was on the mission, they supported a new religion called Orthodoxy, I started investigating it and discovered the inside story.

The religion was just a guise, they seem to be secretly organizing an army.”

”Choir,” Lorenzo said.

”You know about this?” Erin looked at Lorenzo somewhat surprised.

”I only just found out, so? You violated the rules and were hunted down?” Lorenzo asked.

”That’s about it, sometimes curiosity can really get you killed.”

Erin shrugged helplessly, her movements tugging at her wounds, causing her to gasp in pain.

Lorenzo didn’t say anything further, he didn’t trust Erin, at least not completely, and at the same time, Lorenzo began to gradually understand what Hebdo meant by magic power.

Although they hadn’t met for long, Lorenzo could already sense Erin’s peculiarity, despite the situation being so dire, she still appeared composed, as if everything was part of her plan.

”What do you know about the Choir?” Lorenzo pursued further.

Erin’s expression changed, her body leaned forward as she carefully scrutinized Lorenzo’s face until she could see her own reflection in his gray-blue eyes.

She appeared as if teasing a puppy, and said,

”Oh, you also want to know about those things, indeed you have connections with them.”

”What do you mean?”

”Weren’t you curious about how I found you? It was a list, though not really a list, with only your name on it.” Erin withdrew her body.

”I’m a spy, an agent, a killer, I am skilled at things ordinary people aren’t, I feel terrified about the changes in the Iron Law Bureau, it’s a powerful secret organization, but I’ve always vaguely felt that during the time I left, it has been taken over by someone else... another presence I can’t describe.

I wanted to understand why, so I delved into investigating, I discovered many interesting things, and it was these interesting things that led me to a dead end, but just when there was despair, a turning point appeared.”

Erin smiled as she looked at Lorenzo.

”It was a hypothetical enemy war plan targeting a guy named Lorenzo Holmes, with his address, some of his work history, and for the Iron Law Bureau... no, precisely speaking, for the Choir, he posed a strange threat, even higher than that so-called Purification Mechanism.

Different combat plans were listed one by one, I was curious about who could make the Choir take this so seriously, and I was also pleased that, from this point of view, you are an enemy of the Choir.”

”So you came to find me? Trying to get me to fight against the Choir,” Lorenzo asked.

”I know, you won’t trust me, might even want to kill me.” Erin’s gaze flitted between Hebdo and him, ”But at least we now have the same interests, I count as a senior member of the Iron Law Bureau, with my help, no matter what you want to do in Gaulunaro, it will be much more convenient.”

She reached out and pointed at Lorenzo.

”You want to kill all the Choir guys, right? I saw it when I was feigning death, you harbor extreme anger towards those monsters.”

She then pointed at Hebdo.

”You want to rescue Ivar, I’ll help you with that, after all, I was the one who sent him in personally.”

”Erin!”

Hebdo growled in anger, unable to bear Erin’s provocation, throwing a punch heavily beside her.

”Seems like you acknowledge my value, don’t you?”

Erin wasn’t afraid, instead, she smiled and asked Hebdo.

”Erin, what you say isn’t enough to keep you alive.”

Lorenzo said once more, the information Erin provided did indeed fill in some of Lorenzo’s information gaps, like the Iron Law Bureau seemingly being controlled by another person, but these intelligence pieces weren’t particularly valuable.

Watson had warned him, but Lorenzo was well aware, if necessary, he would use Authority: Gabriel again to obtain the intelligence he desired... he might even directly invade Erin’s [Gap], tearing away all her disguises.

”I know, likewise, this isn’t enough to make the Iron Law Bureau determined to hunt me down, is it?”

Erin seemed completely prepared, as if she had anticipated all possible directions the events could develop.