Although Buggy knew there wouldn't be any real gains, he still conducted a full search of the underground base. As expected, he came up empty-handed. Aside from what was already visible, not even a strand of extra hair remained.
But this didn't disappoint Buggy too much. It was within the range of what he had anticipated. Without hesitation, he left the site and set off toward his second target.
This time, he arrived at the City Guard headquarters. From his previous conversations with Bro, Buggy was certain that Jesse, Bro's superior, must know something important.
Since the first location yielded nothing, finding Jesse was now his only option.
Outside the City Guard compound, Buggy found a high vantage point and observed the base.
Normally, the grounds would be full of guards training or patrolling, but now only a handful of City Guards remained, scattered and stationed in different areas.
Buggy quickly deduced the reason: most of the guards had been dispatched into the capital to either strengthen security or manage the angry and protesting citizens.
Seeing this, Buggy had no reason to hesitate. He located an unguarded route, then used Shave (Soru) to leap directly into the largest building inside the compound, which he guessed was Jesse's office.
Once inside, his guess was confirmed. The room was filled with Jesse's items — the uniform of the City Guard commander, a signed nameplate on the desk, and even a photo of him in uniform.
But the office was deserted — and it looked as though it had already been ransacked. Scattered documents and overturned furniture made it look nothing like the office of a high-ranking military officer.
From this, Buggy drew two conclusions:
The trafficker organization had already wiped out all connections to the old woman he'd previously encountered — likely through murder.
Jesse was deeply involved with the human traffickers, and now he had disappeared. His fate was probably no better than hers.
Even though he didn't gain anything directly, these clues confirmed his suspicions:
The human trafficking ring had infiltrated the entirety of the Kingdom of Illusia.
The City Guard followed their orders. Even the head of the City Guard was in their pocket.
And if they could make someone like Jesse disappear, then there were undoubtedly even higher-ranking officials involved.
This kingdom ran deep with corruption.
With no leads left in the compound, Buggy didn't linger. He used Shave again and left the compound, returning to the city streets.
He didn't rush back to the hideout. Instead, he continued investigating, hoping that the chaos might bring unexpected revelations.
As soon as he stepped into a busy district, Buggy noticed something strange. Crowds of people were all heading in the same direction, and many wore expressions of relief — even joy.
"Did you hear? They caught the mastermind behind the trafficking ring!"
"Seriously?! Who was it? What kind of monster could do that?"
"Heh… take a guess."
"Quit playing around. Say it now, or I'll beat the answer out of you."
"Alright, alright — it was Jesse, the head of the City Guard."
"No way! He's got such a good reputation! I've always heard he's righteous and loyal — a real patriot. You sure you're not just spreading rumors?"
"Hey, believe what you want. But you can go see for yourself — his head is hanging right now in the royal square."
"Then let's go see it!"
"Fine. I'll go with you. Hope you're ready to eat your words!"
This kind of chatter was happening throughout the crowd. Buggy, moving among them, heard every word.
His expression turned increasingly grim.
Jesse had been silenced, and all the blame had been pinned on him. With him dead, there was no one left to testify, and just like that, the entire human trafficking incident would be "resolved."
Buggy didn't believe it for a second.
How could the kingdom have concluded so quickly?
They'd never managed to uncover the organization for years, yet the moment Jesse was exposed, they immediately labeled him the mastermind and executed him.
There couldn't have even been time for a proper interrogation — and yet his head was already on public display?
"A cover-up," Buggy thought.
And if the story were real — if Jesse were the mastermind — then why not make him publicly confess in front of the people? That would have been far more effective in calming the crowds.
Instead, the whole affair had been rushed and sloppy — an attempt to silence Jesse before he could talk.
While this might calm the surface for now, it was bound to leave hidden dangers beneath.
Buggy was certain the kingdom's upper echelon understood this just as well.
Which meant Jesse was only the tip of the iceberg. There was a larger, darker hand pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Buggy didn't leave immediately. He followed the crowds to the royal square.
The plaza of the Illusia Kingdom was enormous — big enough, Buggy guessed, to fit hundreds of thousands of people. When he arrived, the place was already packed to the brim. People were standing on the main streets surrounding the plaza.
If he weren't as strong as he was, he might have been stuck in the outer crowd himself.
Pushing his way forward with great effort, Buggy finally reached the front — and was met with the sight of dozens of severed heads.
Below each head was a plaque with a name and description. Buggy quickly located Jesse's head, confirmed by the nearby onlookers who showed no signs of doubt.
Buggy hadn't seen Jesse in person before, but he trusted the crowd's reaction — and he didn't believe the officials would dare to display the wrong head in front of tens of thousands of people.
Among the heads were Jesse, his aide, and several mid-level human traffickers.
The aide was nothing more than a scapegoat — an innocent sacrifice. During the inner council's discussions, it had been decided that pinning the blame on Jesse alone wasn't enough. Someone else from the City Guard would also need to die to convince the public.
Naturally, his aide was the perfect choice.
Unaware of the plan, the aide had been silently eliminated by agents of the high-ranking official.
As for the traffickers, they were already exposed. Killing them posed no risk. Even their lower-ranking subordinates were wiped out. None were spared.
The leadership had decided to rebuild the organization from scratch after a period of calm. These exposed agents were no longer useful. Sacrificing them meant nothing to the real masterminds.
Soon after, an elderly man dressed in regal clothing and a crown appeared.
It was King Shoen Marich, ruler of the Illusia Kingdom.
Facing the massive crowd, the king took a deep breath, held a loudspeaker in his hand, and solemnly began:
"My beloved citizens — this tragedy was a grave failure of our kingdom's leadership, and above all, a failure of my own.
That such darkness could take root within our land without our knowledge… fills me with deep regret. On behalf of the royal family and the kingdom's administration, I offer you my sincerest apology."
With that, the king bowed deeply before the people.
The crowd was visibly shaken.
No one had ever seen the king — a man of such high station—bowing to commoners.
Many were moved to tears. Others began to cheer and shout their gratitude aloud.