Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 195: Mr Family Values

CH195 Mr Family Values

***

Alex had learnt many seemingly obvious things that people often overlooked while working for a multinational tech company in his previous life.

Just as he came to understand the importance of funding—and the accounting department responsible for it—Alex had also been made painfully aware of the significance of logistics, and the logistics and procurement departments that oversaw it.

Having access to funds wasn’t enough. It was equally crucial to know what to spend the money on, and how to get said materials to where they were actually needed for operations to function.

Without proper logistics, funding couldn’t exert its true power.

In essence, if funding was the lifeblood, logistics was the circulatory system that ensured that lifeblood flowed exactly where it was needed.

Before his reincarnation, Alex’s company completed many projects for his country’s Department of Defence.

One of the first he personally worked on was a data analysis software tool. Its purpose was to help the DoD’s intelligence analysts sift through massive amounts of data—mostly purchase and spending data—to uncover insights and secrets that would otherwise remain buried.

Alex worked closely with those intelligence analysts throughout the project and, in the process, passively absorbed a wealth of knowledge on how to determine an organisation’s intent simply by tracking how it spent its money.

In the words of the analysts:

’It was shockingly easy to tell a lot about a person just by observing their spending patterns. And at its core, a nation or an organisation was simply a large group of people... a bigger puzzle with the same solution.’

So, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to him when he later discovered that both his country’s military—and even his own company—often obscured their logistics reports by adding bulk materials with little to no use, breaking down key resources into more basic components, or outright encrypting the identities of sensitive materials.

Thus, when Alex had told the table of Fury military officers back at the Northern Dankrot Barrier Fort that he would ask the Kellermans if they intended to wage war against the Fury family, he obviously had no plans to ask that question directly.

Instead, his true intent was to obtain information on the Kellermans’ spending patterns and decipher their strategic intentions from there.

Fortunately for him, during a rough test of the officers at that table, Alex discovered that most noble families in this world—while aware of logistics’ importance in shaping the outcome of war—were still largely ignorant of how precisely those logistics could expose one’s broader intentions.

Logistics officers were paid decently, yes, but they didn’t receive nearly the level of respect or strategic significance they would if this knowledge was widely understood.

And that, right there, was a blind spot Alex fully intended to exploit.

Military and political officers who were truly in the know about the actual military operations were far beyond Alex’s reach. Perhaps it would take a full team of Saints just to get close to them. However, a logistics officer—especially one who wasn’t fully briefed on the sensitive details of said operations—was easily within reach.

As long as Alex could obtain seemingly harmless data from such a person, he could extract exactly what he needed.

Allen Holder, Alex, and Udara entered the bungalow house and quickly secured the only resident inside—a woman in her late thirties.

She was beautiful in her own right, especially plump in all the right places, but Alex had long since built up a tolerance to beauty, thanks to the many stunning women already in his life.

All it took was a single glance at Udara for the woman’s allure to fade completely into the background.

In any case, once the woman—Anna Venshire—was secured, Allen Holder and Udara quietly slipped away to handle the next phase of the plan.

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Alex sat in a high-back chair near the fireplace, one leg crossed over the other as he casually swirled a glass of fruit must—an unfermented non-alcoholic fruit wine—prepared and stored by Anna herself.

From his position, he had a clear view of the front door, which had been left slightly ajar.

If it wasn’t obvious yet, Alex’s true target wasn’t Anna, the so-called homeowner, but her male companion—Lucas Zell.

Alex’s gaze drifted idly across the shelves filled with perfume bottles and framed sketches—each carefully curated to highlight Anna’s feminine charm—and he couldn’t help falling into thought.

Lucas Zell wasn’t the highest-ranking officer in the Kellerman procurement department. He was ranked second or third, depending on who you asked.

But that didn’t matter. According to Black Mantle’s Intelligence, at least the top five officers in the department were aware of the ’not exactly’ sensitive information Alex needed.

So why Lucas, specifically?

Because Anna was publicly known as a widow—and very much not Lucas’s wife?

Ehm... yes and no.

In a world where power was the ultimate law, and where punishments by rule of law were rare at best, adultery was not only rampant—it was normalized.

In fact, the ability to keep multiple lovers had become something of a status symbol in the empire, particularly among men.

After all, it took considerable power and wealth to maintain a mistress while keeping your wife either satisfied... or too intimidated to leave.

What made Lucas Zell so special, however, was the same thing that made him vulnerable.

He was a politician in all but title.

A vocal advocate and public figure who championed family values. His public stance earned him fame and a loyal following among the populace. But, like many men before him, once he tasted the sweetness of power, he succumbed to the very vice he’d so vehemently condemned.

According to Black Mantle intel, Anna’s late husband—Paul Venshire—had been Lucas’s direct subordinate and, by all accounts, a close personal friend.

After Paul’s death, Lucas stepped in to support the grieving widow, just as any honorable friend would. But one thing led to another... and before long, Lucas found himself in Anna’s bed.

And so, their secret relationship began.

Lucas discovered in Anna the ability to indulge certain unspeakable desires he couldn’t even hint at with his wife. Anna, on the other hand—a beautiful woman in a dangerous world—gained a powerful protector she could rely on.

It would’ve been just another age-old tale no one cared about, if not for one key detail:

Lucas was Mr. Family Values.

His reputation would crumble if the affair were ever made public.

Which is precisely why he was the perfect target for Alex’s plans.

Alex shook his head slowly.

The fact that Lucas was able to push such ideals in an empire—or even a world—where the opposite was the norm, spoke volumes about the man’s charisma and ability. Unfortunately, in the end, he too succumbed to temptation.

”Indeed, the graveyard of heroes is between the legs,” Alex sighed inwardly.

Creak!

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed just before the bedroom door opened fully.

The man in question—Lucas Zell—had arrived.

He stood frozen in the doorway, his face—which usually wore a mask of bureaucratic indifference—twitching slightly at the sight of Alex sitting in the master bedroom like he owned the place.

”Who are you?” Lucas asked, doing his best to remain calm.

”A man in your position... there’s no way you don’t at least have an idea of who I am—or the people I represent,” Alex replied evenly.

He twirled the glass in his hand and took a slow sip of the fruit must.

Then, without a care in the world, he calmly poured himself another.

Alex had already removed the dye from his hair with magic, revealing his natural grey-silver. In addition, he had activated Calm Madness, which not only sharpened his mental clarity but also turned his eyes into a proper Fury Crimson.

He wasn’t taking any chances. If there was anyone just as slippery as a politician—or perhaps even worse—it was a bureaucrat.

He had made it incredibly easy for Lucas to deduce his origin.

”Why is a scion of the Fury family in the home of my subordinate?” Lucas asked, his eyes narrowing.

As expected, the man didn’t disappoint.

Alex nodded slightly.

Not only had Lucas correctly guessed his identity, he was also subtly moving into position—mentally and physically—for a potential escape.

’Hmm, as expected of an experienced bureaucrat.’ Alex glanced at the man. ’He’s sharp.’

”I wouldn’t try anything stupid if I were you,” Alex said calmly, without raising his voice. ”This location is currently cut off from the outside world. No one will know what goes on here tonight.”

He set the glass down gently and smiled faintly.

”We have your own meticulousness to thank for choosing such a discreet place. But I also took extra precautions of my own.”

Almost as if on cue, Lucas’s expression darkened slightly as he suddenly felt it—the presence of a Saint-ranker.

A Saint’s pseudo-domain had been cast around the building, isolating it from the outside world.

Even without that, Lucas knew... if a Saint was guarding the perimeter, there was no realistic escape. Not for someone like him.

”Relax, Mr. Zell. I’m not here to harm you,” Alex assured him. ”I simply needed a place where we could speak frankly, without being disturbed. I give you my word—by my noble honour—that your secret is safe...”

He paused, then finished coldly: ”As long as you tell me what I want to know.”

His voice wasn’t aggressive. But it didn’t need to be. It was firm, composed... and left no room for misunderstanding.

Alex gestured toward the chair beside him, like a lord in his own manor. ”Please, take a seat.”

Lucas Zell frowned.

In that single moment, he weighed his options. Pride wrestled with fear. Anger fought against logic.

Eventually, reality won.

He silently walked forward and sat down in the chair.

”Where is Anna?” he asked flatly.

”Don’t worry,” Alex replied. ”She’s safe. We’ve simply sequestered her in another room. I figured we both wouldn’t want her overhearing our conversation... would we?”

Alex raised an eyebrow pointedly.

Lucas sighed and nodded.

A brief silence passed between them.

”So,” he finally asked, voice measured and calm, ”to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

***