The Brotherhood’s underboss is a heavy figure. This wasn’t referring to his physical weight. He didn’t move easily, so his bottom was heavy, and he didn’t talk frivolously, so his mouth was heavy. Because he was such a person, his subordinate was afraid to report his failure to him.
But it couldn’t be helped.
“They say the deal has failed.”
Along with the voice, a fla flared up from the wick of the candle. The space that was thus illuminated was bizarre. The damp walls, the four sides of the basent without even a window, were blocked by iron bars. Like a giant prison.
“Underboss.”
Sothing existed inside. The stench of a beast wafted. A food bowl and a water bowl were rolling on the floor. The Brotherhood’s underboss was looking down into such an iron cage.
“……”
His subordinate couldn’t see his face. It was partly because the underboss had his back turned, and partly because the light of the candle was so faint. He was anxious because he couldn’t confirm it with his own two eyes. What kind of expression would he be making, hearing this news that was making even the speaker’s insides burn?
The unending silence ca as pressure to the subordinate. The subordinate, crushed by his anxiety, continued.
“I hear that the Public Security Bureau has intervened.”
“……The Public Security Bureau’s intervention?”
“Yes.”
“To exclude the Public Security Bureau’s intervention in this deal. That was the condition that Councilor Sorbet had guaranteed.”
The underboss still had his back turned. But the silence was broken. It was proof that his choice was right, so the subordinate secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“They say that Branch 52, which was leading the deal, was annihilated, and a Public Security Bureau security officer happened to find the train that was transporting the smuggled goods.”
By chance. The underboss chewed on the single word in his mouth.
“What happened to the goods inside?”
“They say that although so items were damaged by the fire, about half were salvaged.”
“Councilor Sorbet said he had taken out insurance. They annihilated Branch 52 and even smashed the insurance that the councilor had prepared, but they didn’t take the smuggled goods?”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm.”
The underboss stroked his chin. The corner of his mouth, faintly illuminated by the light, was crooked.
“They colluded with the Public Security Bureau.”
“It is presud that they intervened indirectly.”
This deal was carried out in strict secrecy. Because the success of the deal implied many anings. First, the loss of the Public Security Bureau’s crackdown montum. Second, a warning to the insolent guys who were running wild, taking advantage of the commotion.
So if the deal was successfully carried out, the ssy business could be returned to normal. But at so point, information had leaked. Perhaps soone involved had blabbered about it while drunk. The underboss had thought so and had not been careful. Because only riffraff would gather anyway.
Anyone with skill and that much experience would know that this deal had a line of powerful people behind it that they couldn’t handle. The riffraff could be handled with just the prepared forces.
The subordinate was reporting that such a prediction was wrong.
“We have to assu that the leak of information from the beginning was the work of the Public Security Bureau.”
The noble Public Security Bureau did not easily borrow the hands of others. That’s why he had thought that if he tied their hands and feet through the councilor, they would grit their teeth but obediently suffer. The Public Security Bureau was also an institution belonging to the city governnt, so they had no choice but to be mindful of the councilor, who was at the pinnacle of power.
But if they had designed the sche from that ti… the calculation changed.
“Was the person in charge of this crackdown Councilor Giselle Willow?”
“He has a rigid and uncompromising personality.”
“It seems so. To pull off such a clumsy trick that would be found out soon.”
Should I say, as expected of a pointy-eared noble? He had co on strong, as if he didn’t care about his own political position.
“What is the reaction of Councilor Sorbet’s office?”
“They say they believe the words of the Public Security Bureau security officer.”
“The one who said they found it by chance?”
“Yes.”
“They’re playing dumb. They’re trying to evade responsibility.”
In a deal where there should have been no intervention from the Public Security Bureau, a security officer had happened to find smuggled cargo. If you believed that, you were an idiot. It was the councilor’s fault, who didn’t want to take responsibility. The underboss concluded so.
“What will you do?”
“There’s nothing to be done. Because he’s a councilor.”
The councilor was the final authority in the city. No matter how much of a Brotherhood underboss he was, he couldn’t go against a councilor who reigned over the city governnt. He had already experienced it with one failure. It was impossible to touch them.
“Announce that the offer is still valid.”
Since it was burdenso to be hostile, he had no choice but to beco friendly.
“This case is a coincidence, so it will be left unquestioned. The councilor will block future crackdowns, and we will hand over the desired item as a price for that.”
As the culprit who had triggered the Public Security Bureau’s crackdown, the underboss had a responsibility to resolve this. It wasn’t just because it was his main source of inco and the basis of his power. …It was to prevent the boss from finding out the whole story.
“And.”
Thus, the underboss made a decision.
“I will personally conduct the deal so that sothing like today doesn’t happen again.”
***
“It’s a ss.”
Claire said, flipping through the file in her hand. Although she was deliberately not looking at it, it was surely a confidential docunt of Sylvester. Had there been a loss in one of the business sites?
The war for succession at Sylvester was not over yet. Although the flow had co over with the last incident, it would not have been a decisive blow. Berman was also a person with a great backer, so they would still be exchanging blows and keeping each other in check.
“It’s the city governnt. The big deal with the Brotherhood that I ntioned last ti failed, and there’s a lot of talk.”
Was it that story? Claire closed the file and began to talk in earnest.
“There was a public opinion that the crackdown was enough, unless they were going to completely overturn the smuggling market. On the other hand, there were also hardliners who said they had to show the insolent guys a more bitter taste.”
Gellerg City is a city where they say you can get anything if you have money. That’s because underground transactions such as the smuggling market, auctions, and direct markets are active. Since the main custors are the upper class of the city, such as council mbers and entrepreneurs, the crackdown was also unlikely to be done properly.
Although they had carried out a crackdown out of resentnt that the smugglers had supported a terrorist organization, they had only laundered money and transported goods. They had done what they usually did. It beca a problem because the other party was a terrorist organization.
“The hardliners were a minority. So this deal was important. It was a tacit agreent to eliminate the montum to continue the crackdown with this as an opportunity.”
So even the council mbers who had responded to the ruthless crackdown must have changed their minds later. In the end, it was a market they would use frequently, so if they completely smashed it, it would only beco inconvenient, what good would it do?
“They even nullified the intervention of the Public Security Bureau… but it failed. The word on the street is that Councilor Giselle was the one who did it. They’re launching an all-out offensive, finding fault with everything. Councilor Giselle, as always, is stubbornly insisting that he didn’t do it and that it was just vermin fighting among themselves. It’s not surprising.”
It was not surprising. If he were a person who cared about political dynamics, he would not have taken my hand.
“So of the council mbers who were screwed over, apart from their offensive against Councilor Giselle, are trying to dig into the person or force that nullified the Brotherhood’s deal. Since they’ve been offended, they’ll have to pay a pretty big price.”
It was sothing I had prepared for. I wasn’t scared or intimidated.
‘Giselle will take care of the offensive from the councilor level.’
As long as they were misunderstanding, using their hands on was the sa as attacking Giselle. And Giselle was an upright person and was currently the person in charge who had the weapon of the Public Security Bureau in his hands for a limited ti. He would block the search of the higher-ups, if only for his pride.
“Aren’t you worried?”
“Why should I be?”
“You’re the one who did it.”
Claire had connected with Councilor Giselle. Even if she didn’t know what had been exchanged, it wasn’t difficult to guess since things had flowed this way.
“I can tell from your expression. It must have been a deal to scratch each other’s itchy spots. You ssed up the deal on behalf of Councilor Giselle, and Councilor Giselle protected you, was that the deal? Since there was no monetary transaction, the reward you would receive… would be the act of touching the Brotherhood itself, with a backer.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That’s a sha. I was going to show off a little if you were going to be in trouble.”
Claire licked her lips.
“Anyway, that’s that, look at this first.”
I received the file from her.
“You asked to look at so data from the cultivation factory last ti, right? This is it.”
Inside the file, instead of a report, were full of photos.
“I thought it would be more certain to see this with my own eyes, so I just took photos. You weren’t looking for complicated figures, were you? The content is in my head anyway.”
That was right. These dozens of photos ca to my heart more certainly than a dense line of text.
“As you can see, the quality itself was different. Not to ntion the yield.”
It was a natural result. Because I had used my hands through the spirits.
“So I analyzed what had happened.”
“How were the results?”
“They said there was nothing particularly different. They just grew it the sa way, and it just happened to be a bumper crop.”
“……I see.”
Could the power of the spirits be reproduced with the technology of this city? It was such an experint. Unfortunately, it seed to be a failure.
“But for so reason, I don’t think it was a coincidence.”
A scent ca on strong. Claire’s eyes were sparkling.
“This result ca from the place where you asked to collect data. Would it be too much to think that you did sothing?”
Although she had frad it as a question, her attitude was one of already having a conviction. It was out of the question to reveal my abilities, such as the spirits and the World Tree. Now that I had confird that the power of the spirits could not be reproduced even with the technology of a gacorp, doing so would just be revealing my secret.
So it was right to just gloss it over, but.
“What if I did do sothing?”
For so reason, the story I had had with the lady boss in District 3 ca to mind. The distribution business, the research on the native species of plants. At that ti, I had dismissed it as a distant story, but now might be the opportunity.
“Then of course, I’ll have to listen to what you want. If it wasn’t a coincidence but intentional, this is a revolution.”
Food, clothing, and shelter, the three basic elents of human life. It was a matter that could cause a revolution in one of them, the food culture. In the world of FP, where the spirits had left, the majority of the crops that ca to the table were treated as high-end in this world, even though they were trash by my standards. Even the crops grown by large corporations were shabby compared to those grown in my garden.
If a steady supply of truly good quality crops was possible, I could rake in money with a rake.
“It’s still in the experintal stage for too. So I can’t transfer the technology or anything.”
“It ans there is a way, at least. That’s enough.”
Claire, who had noticed my subtle probing tone, said reliably.
“I can give you my full support.”
***
The house I returned to after having a rough talk with Claire. I was about to turn on the living room light when I noticed soone standing blankly in the corner.
「The World Tree is terrified, saying it’s a ghost!」
“Calm down.”
It’s not a ghost. Though it’s not a living person either.
“What are you doing?”
“On standby.”
Beta answered.
“Bell told to wait and not cause any trouble while he was out.”
“I don’t think he ant for you to stand there stiff as a statue.”
…No, was that right? Beta is very obedient. It’s just that its hands can’t keep up with its motivation. It’s not for nothing that Bell is about to die of frustration.
Of course, for , as long as Beta did its job as a hacker, that was enough.
“Anyway, the house was so quiet because Bell was out.”
No wonder the lights were off in the house. I had never stopped Bell from going out. A person can’t just live inside the house, so he must have gone out while I was away.
“When is he coming back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then how long has it been?”
“He went out about three hours ago.”
He wasn’t a child, so as long as he did his job properly and went out to play, it was fine. I was about to roughly tidy up my clothes and go out to the vegetable garden when.
I received a ssage on my phone.
「Help m」
“……”
The sender. Bell Hackerson.
(End of Chapter)
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