My Scumbag System - Chapter 309

Chapter 309: Some Graves Are Better Left Undisturbed
The woman with the dead eyes shifted her weight. The other agent, a broad-shouldered man who hadn’t spoken a word, suddenly found the medical equipment very interesting.

Karras remained perfectly still, a statue carved from ice and government clearances.

“Think about it,” I continued, savoring each word like a fine wine. “The President’s sister. The heir apparent to the most powerful political dynasty in Valoria. Dead in a ‘tragic training accident.’ Very clean. Very convenient for whoever wants to hurt Seraphina Vance.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees. Or maybe that was just the weight of Karras’s attention, now focused on me with predatory intensity.

“So instead of interrogating the guy who saved her life,” I spread my hands, wincing at the pull in my shoulder, “maybe you should be finding out who disabled the security grid to let that thing in. Because someone on your end screwed up, Agent. And someone almost turned the VHC President into a grieving sibling.”

The holographic display flickered and died. Karras closed his tablet with a soft click that somehow echoed like a gunshot in the stillness of the room.

For a long moment, nobody spoke. The silence stretched between us like a wire pulled taut.

Then Karras smiled. It was the kind of smile that didn’t reach his eyes, that existed purely as a social convention rather than an expression of actual emotion.

“You have a sharp mind, Mr. Nakano.” His voice was soft, dangerous. “Dangerous.”

I matched his smile with one of my own. “I prefer ‘observant.’ Less threatening.”

He stood, adjusting his suit jacket with a motion that was probably meant to look casual but really just gave his hand better access to whatever weapon he had hidden beneath it.

“We’ll verify your statement. Don’t leave the city.” He turned toward the door, his shadows falling into step behind him. “And Mr. Nakano? Get some rest. You look terrible.”

“Charming as always, Agent.”

They were almost at the door when I spoke again. My voice came out different this time. Quieter. The cockiness stripped away, leaving something raw underneath.

“Is this because of him?”

Karras stopped. His hand hovered over the door handle.

“Him?”

“My father.” The words tasted like ash in my mouth, bitter with memories that weren’t even mine. “Kenji Nakano. Is that why you’re really here? Because you think I inherited whatever problem he was working on?”

The silence that followed was different from before. Heavier. Thicker with unspoken truths. The other agents had gone completely still, statues in charcoal suits.

Karras turned slowly. His pale eyes found mine, and for the first time, I saw something other than professional detachment in them.

Recognition. And something else that sent ice down my spine.

Fear.

“Your father was a brilliant man, Satori.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “But brilliance often burns the hand that holds it.” He held my gaze for a long, weighted moment. “Don’t dig up ghosts. Some graves are better left undisturbed.”

The door opened. The door closed. They were gone, leaving behind only the scent of expensive cologne and government secrets.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. My hands were shaking slightly, and I told myself it was from exhaustion rather than the adrenaline crash.

Natalia was at my side in an instant. Her hand found mine, cold fingers intertwining with my warmer ones. The telekinetic energy that had been coiled around her dissipated slowly, like smoke in a breeze.

“They were scared,” she said. Her voice held a note of wonder. “When you mentioned Celeste… they knew. They’re terrified Seraphina will burn the department down if she finds out someone used her sister as bait.”

I nodded slowly, my mind racing through the implications, building connections like a spider weaving its web.

Someone had planted an A-Rank killer inside a training dungeon. Someone with the clearance to bypass VHC security protocols. Someone who wanted Celeste Vance dead badly enough to risk exposing themselves.

And now that same someone knew that I had figured it out.

“Someone tried to kill the Princess,” I said. “And now we’re in the crossfire.”

Natalia’s grip on my hand tightened. “The VHC will protect her. Seraphina has resources we can’t even imagine.”

“Maybe.” I stared at my free hand, at the fingers that had channeled enough power to wound an A-Rank entity. “But whoever did this has those same resources. They’re inside the system. Playing the long game.”

The System notification pulsed in the corner of my vision. Forty-seven unread messages from Apollo’s Divine Emporium. Rewards waiting to be claimed. Power waiting to be absorbed. A treasure trove of abilities and items that would make most hunters drool with envy.

Not enough. It was never going to be enough at my current rate.

“We need to get stronger,” I said. “Faster. Because next time, they won’t send a monster.”

Natalia’s purple eyes met mine, deep as twilight oceans. In them, I saw the same cold calculation I felt in my own chest. The same understanding of what was coming, of the storm gathering on our horizon.

“They’ll send a professional,” she finished, her voice soft but steel-edged.

I smiled. It probably looked unhinged with my bruised face and bloodshot eyes, but I’d stopped caring about appearances a long time ago. What mattered was survival. Power. Control.

“Then we’d better be ready to send them back in pieces.”

Outside the window, the sun was setting over New Vein City, painting the skyline in shades of amber and crimson. The sky burned orange and red, colors that reminded me of fire, of blood, of the cathedral chamber where I’d almost died.

Somewhere out there, someone was making plans. Moving pieces on a board I couldn’t see. Plotting the death of princesses and the fall of dynasties.

And I was just a C-Rank student with a baseball bat and a bad attitude.

But I was also something much more dangerous – a man with a System, a Queen at my side, and absolutely nothing left to lose. The perfect ingredients for someone ready to tear down a kingdom, one corrupt pillar at a time.