Chapter 177
Chapter177
Candidate Elimination Plan (1)
After finishing my conversation with Cecilia, I put down the receiver, rubbed my forehead, and said,
“I’d like to get in touch with President Younia.”
“Huh? The president? It’s not impossible… but what’s going on?”
I explained the situation to Nora. I also told her about the box.
“Oh, that’s similar to the music box we use.”
The Lunaseeker music box was made so that only agents could open it. Two holes were carved into it. You had to insert your index and middle fingers and press two buttons at the same time for it to open.
The button pressed with the index finger could be activated by bending the index finger toward the palm.
The button pressed with the middle finger was similar. However, you had to bend the middle finger toward the back of the hand. Pressing both at the same time was impossible unless you were a Lunaseeker agent.
“Anyway, because of the box that the Rose Garden side said they’d secure for us, I think I need to talk with President Younia again.”
“Got it. Wait a moment.”
Nora picked up the phone, spoke briefly about a few things, then handed the receiver to me.
― Hello.
“Don’t negotiate with the Rose Garden. Negotiate with me.”
And that was how it turned out.
― Oh my? With you? How did the situation end up like this?
“Business sites. Just erase two of them.”
At my words, Younia let out a hollow laugh as if she found it absurd.
― Excuse me. I believe I already conveyed our position sufficiently through Nora regarding that matter.
“In the end, it’s because of the election, isn’t it? If the goal is the current President’s reelection, there are plenty of other methods.”
And I was the kind of bastard who would commit illegal acts without hesitation if it was necessary.
Silence lingered briefly on the other end of the receiver.
“I’ll take care of the rival candidate.”
― Killing them would be difficult.
“Then I’ll take care of them by other means.”
When Lunaseeker dealt with enemies, they didn’t discriminate between means and methods. However, this case involved interfering in an election taking place within our own country.
There was no such thing as a perfectly just and transparent election in this world, but Lunaseeker was still the intelligence agency of the Republic. There were limits to the methods they could choose.
But I had no such limits.
― If things go wrong….
“You worry about everything. Even if I mess things up, Lunaseeker wouldn’t admit to their own involvement anyway, would they?”
In the end, Lunaseeker could simply cut off its tail.
― We’ve already thoroughly investigated the candidate, and there’s no flaw that would affect the election.
“Then we’ll just create one.”
If you shook someone and no dust came out, you could just sprinkle dust all over them first and then shake them. Then the dust would come out.
The person on the receiving end might feel wronged, but the world was already full of unjust things.
“You could make him a drug addict, claim he accepted bribes. Or you could turn him into a rapist.”
There were plenty of methods. The only reason they hadn’t been attempted was because there would be losses to bear if we tried.
― It would be best to steer it toward the drug addict angle. If we tie it to that, we’d only need to hit two business sites.
It seemed they were planning to raise suspicions that the presidential candidate was a drug addict and, under the pretense of tracing the route by which he obtained narcotics, clean up two business sites.
― Let me say this in advance: actually injecting him with real drugs to make him a drug addict is prohibited.
It had to stop at the level of suspicion. The fact that he formed a rival structure against the current President in the election meant he played an important role in the opposition party.
If such a major figure truly became a drug addict, it would cause serious chaos in the Aylan Republic.
“What an inconvenient country.”
― I think it would be better to say that authority and duty are properly distributed.
The core of the conversation that followed was simple. Out of the business sites and plantations that the Rose Garden had taken over, deal with exactly two.
In return, we would cover the opposition candidate with suspicion of drug abuse so that the election could be won. Even if things went wrong, the flames wouldn’t spread to Lunaseeker.
― For now, I don’t have the authority to make that decision regarding the plan.
Since it concerned the presidential election, the President’s approval had to be granted.
“I hope the answer comes quickly.”
― It won’t take long.
After the conversation ended, just as Younia had promised, the President’s reply came back swiftly.
[As long as it can be done to a level that ensures reelection, it doesn’t matter.]
It was a simple and decisive directive. The process didn’t matter—just bring the result I wanted.
It was the kind of order those in power commonly gave.
‘Whether Emperor or President, there isn’t much difference.’
At this level, the Rose Garden would be satisfied.
They had been on the verge of losing five business sites, and now the damage had been reduced to less than half.
Instead, I would be the one who suffered for it, but if it was the item the Rose Garden was currently seeking, that level of hardship was manageable.
“I’ll have to prepare right away. Who’s this opposition candidate?”
“Jericho Juan.”
He was sixty-three years old, yet his third remarried wife was twenty—a remarkable old man.
Well, apparently under Aylan Republic–style thinking, as long as he hadn’t abducted her and confined her until she stamped the marriage documents, there was no issue.
That too was considered an individual’s choice and freedom. If two people decided of their own free will, exercising free will, then it didn’t matter.
“He lives in the southern outskirts of Avalanche.”
It was the capital of the Aylan Republic. Since he was the opposition’s presidential candidate, that was only natural.
He lived in a massive mansion spanning 1,700 pyeong, and they said it had fifteen bathrooms alone. He also owned twenty-five cars—a very wealthy man indeed.
As a politician considered a presidential candidate, the security at his mansion would be extremely tight.
With the election just around the corner, the level of vigilance would be even more severe.
“So, we’re sending him down the drug addict route.”
We weren’t actually going to turn him into a real addict. We just had to plant suspicion that he was one.
“How about using the method we used to screw over that young prosecutor before?”
At Irena’s words, I shook my head.
“Well, would that really work so easily?”
The one we dealt with back then had been an immature prosecutor. This time, Jericho was a seasoned politician who had survived for decades in the Aylan Republic.
In a society where results proved the process, someone sitting at the pinnacle of politics wouldn’t easily fall for something like a pickup scam.
“First, we need to check his official schedule….”
In any case, we’d take the form of tipping off a newspaper or radio station.
If we turned him into a real addict, the Prosecutor’s Office would move, but this was something that would end at merely raising suspicion.
“But does it really have to be drugs? If he’s lived as a politician in the Aylan Republic, he must’ve done all sorts of shady things.”
At Irena’s remark, Nora made a small sound of confusion.
“Bribery? Ah… you mean lobbying.”
In the Aylan Republic, giving money to a politician and asking for something in return wasn’t considered a problem at all.
Basically, it meant politicians worked while taking bribes.
“Then what about people without money…?”
“They need to earn a lot and rise to a position where they can lobby.”
Nora answered Irena as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Irena stared blankly at Nora, then pressed her forehead.
“How does the Aylan Republic even continue to exist as a country?”
“We don’t get dragged off to a labor correctional facility for insulting the Emperor in a bar. And a rape victim doesn’t get arrested for wiping herself with a newspaper page that has the Emperor’s photo on it.”
Listening to the two of them, I let out a quiet sigh.
“Right, both are great countries with plenty to admire and learn from. Now stop bragging and focus on the job.”
Lunaseeker had already dug into him, and nothing noteworthy had come out. Even if I investigated, the result wouldn’t change.
“I can procure drugs.”
“Just being a simple user won’t be enough. He’d have to be at least a supplier.”
To succeed, a lot of preparation was necessary.
“Are you going to go around the city threatening organizations again?”
“No. The fewer people who know, the better.”
When framing a presidential candidate, the fewer people who knew, the better. We would operate with the minimum number of personnel.
In other words, only the three of us here would take on this task.
“The Veil of Plumed Mist is the problem. If I use it, I’ll definitely get caught.”
The distinctive dark green blade could be concealed by coating it with paint. But the turbine whine and the burst of exhaust that rang out when it was used couldn’t simply be hidden.
[Why hide? I’m the one who wins.]
That was the philosophy embodied by the battle gear Veil of Plumed Mist. It hadn’t even been designed with covert activity as a premise from the start.
Which made things rather troublesome.
‘Even if I say I’ll only use it in a truly unavoidable situation.’
If I did anything with the Veil of Plumed Mist, it would be the same as advertising to the entire Aylan Republic that Kairus was responsible.
While handling this job, I would have to rely only on Flicker. Ideally, it would be better not to use even Flicker.
‘As much as possible, let’s avoid creating situations where I have to fight.’
Slipping in and cutting someone’s throat didn’t count as a fight by my standards.
“By the way, isn’t Nora part of Lunaseeker? I’m wondering if it’s really okay for you to be involved in this.”
At Irena’s words, Nora let out a small huff.
“This level is fine. Framing a presidential candidate isn’t something that harms the Aylan Republic.”
It would have to be something like taking down the President himself to count as harming the nation.
“Good. We’ve talked enough. Let’s begin.”
The first thing I set out to do was secure drugs that had a distribution route we could exploit.
‘Drugs produced at one of the Aylan Republic’s business sites.’
There was no way a drug plantation or production factory would be near the capital. What I needed to look for was one of Tapas’s business sites located near Jericho’s hometown or electoral district.
After examining a map for a moment, I picked up the receiver and contacted Cecilia.
“CEO Cecilia. In exchange for handing over the Featherwing box, you’ll only have to abandon two Aylan business sites.”
― That’s delightful news.
Cecilia had been prepared for some degree of loss, but my proposal was damage she could easily absorb.
“However, there’s one condition. One of the business sites you give up must be the one near Elmont.”
It was Jericho’s constituency. He boasted a 63% approval rating. In the past five parliamentary elections, his vote share had never once fallen below 50%. If he ran, he won—without fail.
― Oh my, that one’s fairly large. It’s a waste to abandon it.
I clicked my tongue lightly and answered at once.
“CEO Cecilia, if you get greedy about everything, you’ll put on weight.”
― Just because we’re on roughly equal footing now doesn’t mean you can speak so carelessly. Want to die?
I hadn’t said it because I wanted to die. In the past, it might have been a capital offense, but now, saying something like that didn’t amount to a death sentence. Cecilia had merely tossed out a passing “Want to die?” without any real intention of acting on it.
“And pick one more that you can afford to discard and prepare it in advance.”
― Fine. That’s the limit. If you try to make me do anything more, I’ll hate you.
With that, the call ended. I had no intention of making Cecilia do anything further anyway.
I planned to disguise the business site near Elmont as belonging to Jericho.
Then I would fabricate the related documents and slip them into Jericho’s mansion.
“We need a plausible trigger.”
As I muttered, Nora suddenly raised her hand and said,
“How about causing a train accident?”
“You’re surprisingly quick to suggest causing a train accident in your own country.”
Anyone watching might think she was from the Empire.
“If we cause an accident with a freight train, the human casualties won’t be significant. Let’s load it up with drugs and then derail it.”
If a train derailment occurred, reporters would rush to the scene. While investigating, they would discover a large quantity of drugs hidden among the cargo.
Unlike the Empire’s newspapers and radio stations, which were thoroughly censored by the government, newspapers in the Aylan Republic were obsessed with scoops.
[Freight Train Derailment Occurs. But What Was in the Cargo?]
There was no way they would pass up an incident that allowed for a headline like that. They would bite without hesitation.