My Ultimate OP System: Summoning All Dragons, Gods, Heroes & Villains-Chapter 53: Uncovering Victor Keating(I)

Ethan waved his hand dismissively, shaking his head. "It’s fine, Eduardo. You couldn’t have known. And besides, I’m still here, aren’t I?"

Eduardo straightened up but still looked troubled. He took a breath, then asked, "Just who could possibly put out a hit on you, Master Ethan?"

Ethan leaned back against the couch, folding his arms as he thought it over. "So far, I’ve crossed only three people."

He raised a finger, counting them off one by one.

"First, Beatrice. She was the mastermind behind my kidnapping and has proven to be a psychopath through and through."

He raised a second finger. "The Heydrichs. Even despite what they say and their bullshit apology, you still can’t rule them off." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

A third finger went up. "And Victor Keating, whom I just suspended."

Ethan paused, then tilted his head thoughtfully. "Or maybe the fired secretary? Nah, that lady barely has her life together to even think of something like this. Unless..."

He suddenly turned toward Valerie, who had been standing obediently by the corner of the room.

"Unless this is your doing, Valerie."

Valerie’s eyes went wide in absolute panic and shock. Her face turned bright red as she shook her head desperately, stammering, "N-no, no, no! Master Ethan, why would I...?"

Ethan narrowed his eyes at her, and spoke in a calm tone. "Perhaps you think by killing me, you’d be able to get back that grimoire of yours, eh?"

"No! Please, Master Ethan, I would never!" Valerie’s voice cracked as she frantically waved both her hands in front of her. "Why would I ruin an opportunity you’ve offered me? Why would I throw that away?"

She panicked even more when she noticed Eduardo and Francesca both turning suspicious stares in her direction.

Ethan stared at her for a moment as his eyes narrowed even further. "Hm..."

Then he turned away and shrugged. "Alright."

Valerie let out a shaky breath as her shoulders sagged in relief.

Eduardo cleared his throat, redirecting the conversation. "Should I seek out Hitman X, Master Ethan? Surely, given some time, I’m certain I can find him."

Ethan nodded slowly, then said. "That’s definitely on the table. No one is shooting me like that and just walking away."

He paused, then added, "But first, I want to ask about your findings today."

Eduardo nodded and straightened his posture. "Of course, Master Ethan."

He began, "First off, I have paid the working men their fees in arrears and issued the bonuses as you instructed. I can assure you, everyone is very happy."

Ethan nodded in approval, with a little smile crossing his face. "Good. That’s what I wanted to hear."

Right then, a system notification appeared before him.

[You have completed a self-imposed objective: Pay the workers their arrears and bonuses]

[Reward: +3,000 XP]

[Total Experience Points: 16,450]

Ethan stared at the notification for a brief second, then mentally dismissed it.

Earlier that day, he had also gained 1,500 experience points for another self-imposed objective: reminding himself to reply to Isabella’s messages.

It was really an interesting pattern.

The system rewarded him for completing any objective he imposed on himself, regardless of its form.

Whether it was a self-initiated task, like deciding on his own to pay the workers, or a self-reminded one, like replying to Isabella’s messages after seeing her texts and telling himself he needed to respond, the system acknowledged it the moment he followed through.

As long as he committed to it and concluded, the system recognized it as his objective and granted the corresponding experience points.

It was a flexible system, one that adapted to his intentions rather than rigidly defining what counted as progress, and Ethan found that oddly satisfying.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Eduardo then continued, "And you were right, Master Ethan. The funds meant for the pay of the workers were being diverted."

He paused, then added, "After my findings, the details all lead down to one person. Victor."

Ethan didn’t seem surprised. He simply nodded and said, "Go on. How did it all happen?"

Eduardo nodded and walked over to the dining table, where he’d left the files he’d collected during his investigation today. He gathered them up and returned, placing them in front of Ethan.

Then he scattered out a few pieces of paper so that Ethan could get a clearer view.

Eduardo began, "Stark Industries receives money primarily into the Company Account. And when it’s time to pay workers and other parastatals, money is moved to the Disbursement Account."

He pointed to a specific section on one of the papers.

Ethan said nothing, but he was clearly following along.

Eduardo continued, "The Company Account is in your name, and mine as your guardian, until you rescind that now that you’re of age. The Stark family receives money directly from the Company Account into the family’s home account, and I keep track of the inflow there, so there are no issues."

He paused, then added, "The real issue is with the Disbursement Account. That account is primarily in the names of two signees: Victor and Truman, the accountant."

Eduardo pointed to another part of the paper. "Everything was fine until three months ago."

He tapped the section that showed the change. "Money stopped moving from the Disbursement Account to the accounts of the various people it should have gone to."

He slid another document forward. "Instead, it started going into Truman’s personal account. And it was also getting withdrawn out of that account the same day, or within the next few days."

Francesca, who had been listening intently from the side, suddenly chimed in. "But doesn’t this mean that it was Truman taking the money?"

Eduardo shook his head and said, "Now, that is what every normal person hearing this would be led to believe. But I had our guy at the bank pull up the personal account records for Keating."

He pointed to another document.

"That was when I saw that all the money withdrawn physically from Truman’s account was being deposited directly into Keating’s account. Sometimes it happened the same day. Sometimes over the stretch of a week"

"And of course, Victor never complained about not receiving his pay, despite all of it from the Disbursement Account going into Truman’s."

Valerie’s eyes widened when she heard that Eduardo had been able to pull up someone’s personal account records.

At that point, she couldn’t help but ask, "Is that even legal? For the bank to show another person’s records?"