During Klause's explanation, the key phrase was "deleted from our database by level 9 personnel." Anyone involved in the Curtained world knew that level 9 referred to the highest information clearance level.
Levels 1-3 were for regular people who didn't have access to the Curtained world. Although some of the information might be related to the Curtained World, such as the existence of espers, immortals, or reincarnators, most of it was just hoaxes created by scammers.
Things got more interesting at level 4. This was where verified information from mages and those working in the Curtained World was stored. This included news of vampires, newly discovered pocket dimensions, and even haunted houses with actual ghosts.
The higher the clearance level, the more severe the information.
For example, The discovery of a new ore vein that turned out to be Orichalcum or Adamantine from mythology would be classified at a high level to prevent exposure to normal people. Those who knew too much were either eliminated or offered a chance to join the Curtained World and ordered to keep quiet.
Only the Grand Councilor of the Hightower had level 9 clearance, a position held by only three people with influence enough to cover the sky with one hand. Even Ragnar, the High Councilor, only had clearance up to level 8.
Klause's revelation during the meeting made the room grow solemn. They could only imagine what had happened to cause such important information to be deleted from the database by level 9 personnel.
Klause turned to Ragnar and asked, "Lord Stenmark, Do you have any idea which Grand Councilor might have been responsible for deleting the information?"
"They all have the authority to do so," Ragnar replied with a cautious smile. "But it's not important to know who did it. What matters is understanding the severity of the information."
As the High Councilor, Ragnar was more knowledgeable than anyone in the room, and he was aware that the information could have sparked a devastating war in the Curtained World, potentially exposing its existence.
Klause nodded in agreement, realizing there was no need to probe further. "You're right, Lord Stenmark. Let's continue with the presentation."
Klause then switched the image on the screen, showing a picture of Daniel's old house with a modern design that still had a cozy feel to it.
"After auctioning his technology to the highest bidder in Tessia Kingdom, Mr. Daniel gave most of the proceeds to his foster parents who had adopted him, and used the remainder to pursue his dream of creating a card game," Klause explained.
Victor interjected with a disdainful remark, "Heh, stupid isn't it? He had all that money and a good head on his shoulders, but he decided to make a toy."
Ragnar shot Victor a glare, making him quickly shut up.
"It's as if he paid his parents as a means to buy back his life," Ragnar commented, seeing the root of the problem. In his mind, if they were truly a family, they wouldn't be taking advantage of their child's success in this way.
Klause continued with the information they had gathered, "From what we've learned so far, it seems his foster parents only adopted him because he was the smartest boy in the orphanage and a genius. There's evidence to suggest that they never saw him as their child."
Klause then nodded in agreement and added, "It's possible that he gave his foster parents the money as a means to buy back his life, as you said, Lord Stenmark. because after his foster parents died in an airplane crash, he refused to inherit their money and instead donated it to charity."
Ragnar then exclaimed, "Ah, a man with principles! I'm starting to like this guy!"
Klause changed the image on the screen to show a beautiful mixed-race girl, appearing to be around 10-12 years old.
"This is Koyuki Smith," he began. "The daughter of Alan and Mayumi Smith, a successful businessman couple who tragically died in a car accident when Koyuki was still in sixth grade. With no other relatives to turn to, Koyuki had to enter an orphanage. However, her parent's neighbor, Mr. Daniel, who knew them well, volunteered to adopt her."
Before Klause could continue, Victor interrupted him with a dismissive comment.
"Klause, are you going to keep telling this sob story? I fail to see its relevance to this meeting. What I want to know is how to take down Magitek and whether he has any important people we can use as leverage," he said impatiently.
Klause maintained his professional demeanor and smiled politely. "Your Majesty, it is crucial for us to understand the situation fully, including its origins and consequences. I promise that the next part will be very enlightening," he responded.
He then changed the picture to one of Koyuki in high school, now a grown-up Asian-Caucasian beauty that caused many men to yearn for her. The room erupted in murmurs and whispers upon seeing her face.
"Wrath? Is that... Wrath at age 17?" Montgomery was the first to recognize her, having done business with her before.
As he listened to Klause's presentation, he realized that this was the first time he learned about the origin of Wrath. When he had teased her before, he was only aware that she had a boyfriend in the past.
"Yes, she is The Witch of Wrath That we knew and feared," Klause added before hurrying with his presentation due to someone's impatience.
"Miss Koyuki has lived with Mr. Daniel since she was 12. Over time, they developed a close bond, like that of a big brother and little sister. Eventually, they became a couple when she was 17. Mis Koyuki was a very successful idol, and her agency's stock price increased by more than 600% when she was working for them," Klause continued.
"I remember her as a dream lover for any single dog back then. I used to go to her fan meetings, and her smile was like an angel," One of the attendees remarked, reminiscing about his past experiences.
Klause only nodded in response to the comment before glaring at Victor, who was looking at a picture of Koyuki at 17 with a complicated expression, unlike his usual relaxed and arrogant self.
The slide then changes to a scene of the ritual night where the video of many people who are about to commit the unforgivable against her, some of them are the people who are sitting in this very meeting room, Including Edmon Willow whose face was pale in utter shock.
While Victor gritted his teeth in anger, this incident nearly made him a eunuch. That girl bit off his third leg and stole one of his guard guns! It's good that he issued a gagged order to all the people who witnessed his third leg gets bitten off, but now this damn Klause had opened his old wound!
The video plays to the part where she went to the hole to witness her lover's last breath, the shock rendered her lifeless and she got shot in the head by one of Victor's guards who later got shot by Victor himself in a fit of anger.
"This unfortunate event happened to her on the day she turned 18, the same day that Mr. Daniel promised to marry her, as we found in her diary in Daniel's old home, which now belongs to the royal family along with all of his wealth," Klause said solemnly.
"No wonder she blew up the royal palace back then. If it were me, I would have done more than that," Montgomery's comment about Koyuki's actions earned him many hateful glares from those in the room who had a guilty conscience, particularly from Victor, whose teeth gritted in anger.
Ragnar's face was solemn as he let out a sigh, glaring menacingly at Victor and others in the room whose faces appeared on the slide as the one who was about to commit the unforgivable act. If it were up to him, he would have killed them all.
"Klause, after this meeting, delete all the videos. If you find them on any device, delete them as well. As a High Councilor, I grant you the right to act as the High Councilor's representative in this matter," Ragnar commanded Klause, respecting Koyuki's memory and granting him the authority to search and destroy any of these foul pictures wherever he found them.
Even though Koyuki died before she got her innocence tarnished, he still felt that these foul records should be destroyed.
"As you command, Lord Stenmark," Klause bowed and accepted the order with respect, and continued with the presentation.
"We believe that Mr. Daniel died during the mana pillar ritual because there's no way someone could survive a foot-long radius pillar piercing through their stomach and then being buried alive," Klause stated.
"What do you mean by 'believe'?" Victor asked, still seething with anger.
Without responding, Klause quickly changed the current picture to a refined picture of Magitek, captured by public CCTV.
The Magitek in the picture closely resembled Daniel from ten years ago, but he was more mature with some white hair on his head, even though he was only in his early thirties.
"And this is the man of the hour, Mr. Magitek," Klause announced.
Once Magitek's face appeared on the screen, everyone was shocked to see it. It seemed that the couple was out for their blood!
As the attendees' shock subsided, Klause continued with his presentation, eager to share the important information he had uncovered.
The screen changed to a video of the previous night's event, in which Magitek was seen fighting against one of the royal court's Master Rank Mage elites.
As they watched, the attendees murmured and whispered amongst themselves upon seeing Magitek's werewolf subordinate and his association with the local mafia.
Their horror only grew as a blast spell from the Master Rank Mage failed to even scratch him. And when Magitek unleashed a high-tier faith-based magic, their faces fell into despair. It was clear that the Vatican was backing him. How could they possibly fight him without the power of the Hightower?
Klause then addressed the question on everyone's minds especially, Victor's: how to take down this Mr. Magitek.
"I'll answer the question that His Majesty wants to know the most. On how to take this Mr.Magitek down."
"The first option is to borrow the power of the Hightower," he said, "but that's impossible. The Hightower has a policy of not meddling in personal affairs, and unless Your Majesty allows them to rule over your kingdom, the chance is next to impossible."
"Second, we could request the service of at least a Grand Magician Rank Enforcer, but given our current budget, that's also impossible."
"Third, using Magitek's loved one to our advantage is not an option, as you have already destroyed all that he loves and has, and his only loved one could easily exterminate us in a mere hour if she wished."
"Fourth, we could request the Vatican to deal with him, but given our relationship with them, the possibility is quite low."
"In conclusion," Klause said with a heavy sigh, "Please pardon my language, Your Majesty, but we're f****d. Utterly."