Since this involved inhibitors, the Lungn Guard Departnt could only be said to have limited knowledge. They had so understanding, but not nearly enough.
When it ca to truly understanding the inhibitor market…
Shirou's first thought was the Rhodes Island branch office in Lungn.
But after thinking it through, he felt that was not quite right. The inhibitors there were supplied internally by Rhodes Island itself so they might not be very familiar with the black-market side of things.
That led him to think of another person he had worked with before, a rather unusual doctor.
Aak.
Although Aak was not exactly a conventional doctor, nor a specialist in treating Oripathy, he had more or less co into contact with the slum's inhibitor trade.
At least, that was Shirou's assumption.
Still, gathering as much information as possible was important.
If possible, Shirou wanted to capture everyone involved in this entire operation in one sweep. So even the smallest piece of information was worth pursuing.
However, it was already quite late, and he was not sure whether Aak was still awake. He could only send a ssage first, saying he had a few questions to ask.
"If soone is looking for you, you can head back first. I will finish refining the operation plan with Hoshiguma."
Noticing Shirou using his phone, Chen assud it was soone from Penguin Logistics contacting him.
Being urged to go ho… that kind of feeling sounded strangely nice.
It had been a long ti since Chen had experienced sothing like that.
"Huh? If it is Penguin Logistics, I already told them what I am doing. They would not contact unless it is important."
Shirou paused for a mont, then explained.
"Then what are you doing?"
If no one was contacting him, was he slacking off?
Chen briefly imagined Shirou slacking… then dismissed the idea. It did not fit him at all.
"I am contacting soone I know to gather more information."
Shirou raised his phone slightly.
"I see… That makes sense. You know a lot of people in the slums. Information from acquaintances might be more detailed and accurate than what informants provide."
Chen did not find anything wrong with that.
She and Hoshiguma had already gathered as much as they could. Shirou had not been in the slums or even Lungn for very long so she did not probe further.
He did not seem like soone with an extensive social network anyway, and his acquaintances were probably just limited to that one shop.
…Speaking of the shop, Chen suddenly rembered a certain purple Cautus who had not reported to the Guard Departnt in quite so ti.
Rope.
If Chen rembered correctly, Rope used to gather and sell intelligence in the slums. Chen herself had bought information from her a few tis.
Sotis she would even give extra Lungn coins… only to see Rope greeting her again the next day from inside a jail cell.
Now, however, she no longer saw her around.
But Chen knew Rope was living properly at Shirou's shop, finally experiencing the kind of life soone her age should have.
Not struggling on the streets of the slums.
Not risking her life gathering intelligence.
…That was a good thing.
"Oh, right. You can ask Rope. She used to gather a lot of information in the slums so there might be sothing useful."
Since she had thought of it, Chen decided to have Shirou "make use" of her a little.
If there was information, great. If not, no harm done.
"Got it."
Shirou nodded.
He had heard about Rope's past, but when he thought about the purple "mochi" usually sprawled lazily over the shop counter, it was hard to imagine she had once been such a capable informant.
Still, whatever she used to be did not matter to him.
And he certainly would not let her return to such dangerous work.
At least not until she beca an adult.
He sent her a quick ssage and received a reply almost instantly.
Rope: "I have heard so related information."
Rope: "Most of them are people who hold hostility toward the infected. The exact production location of those inhibitors is unclear but it is certain they are not made in Lungn and they are imported from outside. That is all I know."
"…."
Reading the ssage, Shirou suddenly felt he should have asked her earlier.
That way, he would not have had to piece together clues from Chen and Hoshiguma's reports.
After replying with a sticker, he shared the new information with Chen and Hoshiguma.
"So they are imported after all…"
Hoshiguma let out a small sigh of relief.
If they were not being manufactured within the slums, that eliminated a lot of complications.
At the very least, it narrowed down the search area and allowed their support teams to focus elsewhere.
"We still need to consider how up-to-date this information is. Rope has not updated her intelligence network for quite so ti so just treat it as a reference."
Even as she said that, Chen pulled out records of inhibitor shipnts that had entered Lungn over the past few months and began examining them carefully.
"Do not mind her, she is always like this. Go ahead and get back to your work. If there is nothing urgent, it is fine to rest for now. You are the main force in our planned operation, so you need to get proper rest."
Hearing Chen's words, Hoshiguma heavily placed a stack of docunts in front of her, then turned around and spoke to Shirou.
"Oh… alright."
Originally, Shirou had wanted to say he could continue helping, but since Aak had said he could co over now to talk and Hoshiguma's attitude was sowhat firm, he agreed.
After a quick cleanup, Shirou left the Guard Departnt office.
It was now past nine in the evening. Normally, people would have finished bathing and be getting ready for bed at this ti. He did not expect that Aak would be willing to chat with him at this hour.
What a genuinely kind person.
Soon, Shirou arrived at the location Aak had sent him.
It was so distance from the Guard Departnt, but for Shirou, who was riding a bicycle, it was not a problem.
"'Lee's Detective Agency'?"
Looking at the sign above and then at the address in his hand, Shirou checked several tis before confirming he had not co to the wrong place.
The last place he had gone to was a clinic that Aak had specially borrowed. This was his first ti in this area.
He was simply a bit surprised that Aak would be staying at a detective agency.
Shirou parked his bicycle and knocked on the door.
"Coming. You are Aak's guest, right? Please co in."
The one who ca to open the door was a tall Perro.
He looked quite large and strong.
Only the pink apron he was wearing seed out of place.
"Yo, you got here pretty fast! You are here to ask about those inhibitor incidents lately, right?"
On the other side, Aak was lying on the sofa in front of the television. He tilted his head back to look toward the door and spoke to Shirou.
"That is correct. Do you have any impression of this matter, Aak?"
Under the reception of the Perro, who was called Hung, Shirou entered the agency.
The furniture and fittings in the agency were fairly ordinary except for a wooden post in the middle that was sowhat eye-catching.
However, Shirou knew why he was here. He quickly put aside other thoughts and answered Aak's question.
"Hmm… I do have so impression of it. The batch of inhibitors back then was far too low-quality. After I rejected them several tis, they stopped coming to promote them to . Also, do not call Mr. Aak. Just call Aak, I am not used to being addressed like that."
As he spoke about what he knew, Aak also corrected how Shirou addressed him.
The two had t several tis, and each ti Shirou addressed him as "Mr. Aak."
It made him feel extrely uncomfortable.
This ti, he was determined to correct that habit.
"I see? Then Aak… do you have any other information?"
Holding the small notebook provided by the Guard Departnt, Shirou recorded this and continued asking.
Since he had been asked to co here, it ant the other party should have more information.
And the kind that was not suitable to be shared over the phone.
"Yes, but that will require paynt. It falls under the agency's work."
Seeing Shirou take out the Guard Departnt notebook, Aak imdiately sat up and said.
Originally, he had intended to provide it for free. After interacting several tis, Aak had a fairly good impression of Shirou.
He was certain that this guy would get along very well with Waai Fu.
Moreover, Shirou had a group of infected children to take care of. Aak had thought that perhaps Shirou was investigating such matters for the children's sake, so charging him would not be appropriate.
However, since Shirou was holding a Guard Departnt notebook, it ant his current position might represent the Guard Departnt.
If it was for an organization, then charging a fee would be reasonable.
"Paynt? Give a mont."
Hearing Aak's words, Shirou paused. He put down the notebook and took out his phone, preparing to ask Hoshiguma.
"Do not listen to Aak's nonsense. There is no charge for this."
Hung, who had been listening nearby, walked over and pressed Aak's head down, then spoke to Shirou.
"???"
Shirou's hand holding the phone froze in midair, unsure whether he should put it away.
He understood that so information required paynt. He had learned this long ago from Yith.
He had already applied with Hoshiguma for funds to purchase intelligence.
As for Aak charging money he was not very surprised.
When Chief Chen obtained intelligence from informants, she would also provide so Lungn currency or other compensation. After all, leaking information could put these people's lives at risk.
So of this information might even have been obtained at the cost of their lives.
"Hehe, the paynt thing was just a joke."
Knocking his head and sticking out his tongue with an "eh-heh," Aak used Exusiai's signature pose when she made a mistake.
"Mr. Shirou, you are with the Guard Departnt, right? Providing so verbal information is not too difficult for us, so there is no need to charge. Of course, it also depends on the value of the information, but considering that this incident is rather severe, we will not charge this ti."
Noticing Shirou's confused expression, Hung kindly explained.
"I understand. Thank you very much for your help. And please do not call Mr. Shirou. Just call Shirou."
Hearing Hung's words, Shirou nodded to show he understood and thanked him for the help.
"Hah."
Seeing Shirou like this, Aak felt a strange sense of déjà vu and let out a laugh.
So you have a mont like this too?
"You two continue talking. I will go make so tea. Shirou, you drink tea, right?"
After patting the sofa Aak was sitting on as a reminder, Hung prepared to make so hot tea for them.
"Yes, I do."
Seeing that Hung had already picked up the tea leaves, Shirou, who originally wanted to refuse, could only accept the gesture.
"Then let us talk about business. Shirou, you are still assisting the Guard Departnt, right?"
After confirming that Hung had left, Aak continued the conversation.
From what he knew, Shirou had been a newbie at the Guard Departnt recently and had built quite a reputation even stirring up a wave in Lungn's intelligence circles.
"Mm."
After receiving Shirou's confirmation, Aak went on, "Hmm… There has indeed been more talk lately about those low-quality inhibitors. I am not entirely sure whether they are the sa batch I encountered before, but I can first give you the person who tried to sell them to back then. I cannot guarantee it is the sa group, but you should still be able to get so related information from him."
Aak asked this mainly to probe Shirou's current position.
If he had finished his newbie yet was still acting as an instructor for the Guard Departnt and helping investigate cases, that essentially ant Shirou was now tied to them.
That in itself was useful information.
"Thanks."
Taking the docunts Aak handed over, Shirou quickly glanced through them.
It was a middle-aged male of the Vulpo race. In Shirou's understanding, Vulpo were essentially foxes.
A relatively rare race in Lungn.
"You are welco. That is just a lead I am personally giving you. The real highlight is this."
As he spoke, Aak placed a large tablet in front of Shirou.
This was the real reason he had called Shirou over. Compared to simply giving information, data-supported intelligence was far more convincing.
These were analyses of inhibitor samples he had obtained from other infected individuals over the past two days after hearing the news.
"May I ask… Does this data an that sothing has been added inside?"
Looking at the dense information, even for Shirou, who had read two of Blood's books…
Most of it was still incomprehensible. However, he did rember the usual composition of inhibitors.
From the parts he could recognize, these inhibitors should still be able to suppress Oripathy, but it seed that additional substances had been mixed in.
Pointing at the abnormal data, Shirou found it particularly concerning.
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