allendalepharm Chapter 300 The End of the Forest Mansion Incident
Chapter 300 The End of the Forest Mansion Incident
"Phew... We finally got rid of this incident. To use that troublesome investigator's words, it was like a sea cucumber spitting out its entrails to escape—a huge loss indeed."
Inside the impressive luxury limousine, Chairman Hayden reclined his seat, propped his shoes-clad feet against the windshield, and made a remark with utterly no grace.
"Mr. Hayden, the Alola box cucumbers are actually surprisingly brutal. Their name isn't without reason; once stepped on, their gutted organs will brutally beat the enemy like fists. Therefore, rather than shedding their tails to survive, their act of gutting out their internal organs is more like a suicide attack..."
The man known as Aying adjusted the car navigation system in front of his seat, carefully correcting his employer's words.
"Speaking of which, is it really appropriate for me, the driver, to sit in the car with you, the employer? Although Corviknight itself remembers the route back to the center of Eterna City, it's still easier to control the stability of the flight if a trainer is riding on its back."
"Don't be so formal, Aying."
Director Hayden waved his hand with his eyes closed.
"As you know, this heterochromatic armored raven has undergone professional training by the Galar Racing Company. No matter who sits on its back, it's practically just for show. So don't stay up there in the cold wind. At worst, just make it fly slower."
"Ok."
Upon hearing the employer's instructions, the bodyguard/driver, dressed in a butler's uniform, calmed down, pressed the button on his headset again, and gave the order to the Steel Raven on the roof of the car to take off immediately.
Hayden gazed at the slowly descending horizon and the villa in the woods gradually disappearing from view, letting out a groan-like sigh—
"I don't know why, but ever since I entered that Forest Mansion, I've had this uneasy feeling. Even now, after we've driven away from that strange building in the Steel Raven, that ominous premonition still lingers and won't go away. Aying, do you feel the same way?"
Could it be that the business owner insisted on having the driver sit in the truck with him because he was worried about a plane crash?
The steward sitting next to Hayden shook off his inner grumbling about the wealthy and, spreading his hands, answered the question truthfully—
“I don’t feel that way at all, sir. Rather, because I designed most of the interior furnishings myself, I feel quite at home when I stroll around the mansion. I was a bit surprised when the earthquake happened, but before I could react and realize that something was wrong, Zhu Lan Champion had already solved all the problems neatly and efficiently.”
"As expected. Whether it's Medan or the builder from a hundred years ago, their schemes have absolutely no effect on someone like you."
Hayden tugged at his seatbelt, shifting to a more comfortable leg-crossing position, then wagged his index finger at his steward and said—
"It was the same when I sent you to inspect the mansion in the past. You personally experienced that abandoned mansion, which was a hundred times more eerie and terrifying than it is now. But when you came back, you were as calm as if you had just gone for a walk. With the same indifferent expression as usual, you reported to me that the mansion could be completely renovated. I was terrified when I just glanced at the photos you brought back. Those images, which at first glance looked no different from ghost photography, gave me the creeps."
"That was probably a prank by the ghost Pokémon in the mansion back then. I've lived in similar remote mountain villages since I was a child, so I'm very familiar with this kind of environment."
Ah Ying shrugged.
"This is not just a problem of living environment."
Director Hayden finally put his feet down, then turned to the butler, carefully examining Ah Ying's middle-aged face, which was much younger than his own.
"When that champion made his declaration of solving the mystery, revealing the nature of the experiment, and disclosing the historical truth, you were still as uninterested as ever, weren't you? Ah Ying, you are completely indifferent to elements like the supernatural, the bizarre, the sublime, and the sacred. Compared to Mei Dan, who tried to prove it, you, who always maintain an attitude of no doubt, are more like a more steadfast atheist, aren't you?"
"It's just that my senses are dulled. I do not believe in gods, though. I think it's better if such things don't exist, whether they are real or not. But in this respect, how could I possibly compare to Professor Medan?"
The manager gave an awkward, wry smile.
“Mr. Hayden, you clearly know my background perfectly well. There’s no need to pry into my mind like this. Just ask me directly, and I will answer honestly.”
“Okay, then I’ll just ask directly.” The employer didn’t stand on ceremony and said directly.
"Although it was just out of curiosity, how did you feel when my old classmate, Professor Medan, mentioned the Arceus Society in the mansion?"
"I don't feel anything. If you know my past, you can understand. I have no attachment to that place."
"Really? Then the second question is the one I'm most curious about."
Director Hayden then asked—
"As the saying goes, 'once bitten, twice shy,' having suffered a great loss in this informal interrogation, I really want to know—how exactly did you manage to successfully conceal your true identity from Officer Jenny?"
"Is that the intelligence investigator who's been relentlessly pursuing the master?"
Manager Aying was not surprised by the term "true identity," and simply recalled it calmly.
“When you and Professor Mei Dan were chatting in the curator’s office, she asked me a question. At the time, I felt that hiding it from them might cause some trouble, so I took the initiative to tell her about the construction of this Forest Mansion. She seemed very satisfied with my voluntary confession, and in addition, those people were later distracted by the chaos in the curator’s office, so they didn’t pursue the matter any further… Can you accept this explanation?”
"Hmm—so you started spreading secondary information just based on a fleeting sense of crisis in order to protect yourself? I want to say that this approach is too conservative, but I have no right to criticize you after being completely defeated by the opposite action."
Hayden rhythmically shook his gray-haired head, his knuckles tapping the rounded end of his cane.
"You're incredibly lucky, as always. This time alone, your self-preservation tactics have been a resounding success. After all, even that Officer Jenny's family intelligence agent didn't suspect your strange name—Ah Ying."
“Speaking of which, I just remembered.” The butler’s uniform man, whose name was called, scratched his head.
“When introducing myself, in order to avoid trouble, I told them that my current job is related to security, so it is inconvenient to reveal my real name. In this way, I can get away with using a pseudonym or nickname instead of my strange-sounding name.”
"Heh, pseudonyms and real names, huh? This is really interesting..."
Perhaps he was thinking about his old classmate's experiment again, because Hayden was laughing so hard he was doubled over, showing absolutely no airs of a business tycoon.
"Medan probably never imagined in his life that the organization he desperately used as a shield—the Arceus Society, that illegitimate cult that has already fallen apart—was actually right under his nose. Just as he was making things up, the cult's designated next successor stood silently beside him. It's a shame we were still so arrogantly fantasizing about replacing the gods."
The lawless entrepreneur pressed his forehead and burst into unrestrained laughter. It was unclear whether he was mocking his companion's ignorance or ridiculing his own foolishness—
"Just as he was staring at the electronic screen, diligently calculating Arceus's real name, the shadow of Arceus had already quietly enveloped him. How ironic, how utterly ironic..."
“I think this is just your far-fetched interpretation, Mr. Hayden.”
The manager earnestly offered this advice, attempting to calm the employer down—
"The Arceus Society you mentioned isn't even a proper religious organization; at best, it's just a fraud ring created by some man to swindle money and women. And my name wasn't actually chosen for any ritualistic reason..."
"Oh? Isn't it because he is the successor of the so-called 'Messenger of Arceus' that he was specially named 'Projection of Arceus'?"
Hayden looked surprised.
"No, although I was indeed groomed by that man to be his next successor and was carefully taught his methods of gathering followers and manipulating faith, the name Aying was not given by him. It was my mother, who was blinded by the cult and thus developed a fanatical faith, who came up with it. So, rather than saying that it contains the will of God, it is more accurate to say that it embodies the ignorant dreams of a poor woman."
Ah Ying stated the heartbreaking truth upon closer examination, her face expressionless...
A father who deceives the world and a mother with fanatical faith—it's perhaps inevitable that a child born into such a family would have no reverence for God as he does today.
"A dream..."
Perhaps because the topic had become heavy, the director remained silent for a long time.
Hayden didn't speak again until the Steel-Armored Raven on the roof of the car flapped its steel wings a few more times.
"Judging from the fact that you still keep this strange name, you must have had a deep affection for this mother. Even though you were burdened with such heavy dreams, you still chose to run away from the society and leave home at that time. I suppose you were also suffering from a great deal of guilt back then."
"Back then, we were truly grateful to Hayden Pharmaceuticals and you, sir, for taking us in."
Ah Ying straightened her back in her seat and said.
"Not only that, you didn't care about my past at all, and made me, a person of unknown origin, your personal assistant in charge of your personal security. Later, you even went against the opinions of others and appointed me to take full charge of the reconstruction of the Mori Mansion."
"You don't need to be so grateful to me. Shortly after you officially became my assistant, that illegal society was dismantled and banned by the Sinnoh League, right? Even if you want to get involved with them now, you can only submit a prison visitation application. You have achieved your current position entirely because of your own abilities."
Hayden once again lifted his leg and cast his gaze upon the vast, clear sky ahead.
"Of course, the reason I trusted you so much when you first joined was simply because I had done my due diligence beforehand. You may not have noticed at the time, but before promoting you to my assistant, I commissioned a very reputable private investigator to investigate the backgrounds of all the candidates—although I didn't meet the investigator who completed the commission so quickly, I was quite surprised when I opened your background report in my office. At the same time, I immediately decided that you were the next assistant."
"I see. Having a certain amount of leverage over subordinates can actually help control their loyalty."
"Hmph, you can be quite outspoken sometimes. This kind of measured probing is actually quite to my liking, an old man like me."
Hayden did not refute, and continued to speak frankly and fairly.
"The reason I appointed you to rebuild the Forest Mansion is precisely because I saw that investigation report. The Arceus Society was able to gather so many followers because it cloaked itself in a flawless mythological guise, right? Having grown up in that environment, you should at least have a good understanding of the architectural structures and heraldic patterns of that kind of mysticism—it is for this reason that I ultimately decided to let you oversee the reconstruction of the Forest Mansion..."