Chapter 180
Chapter 180
Episode Fist > Pen (1)
With a heavy thud, the train that had been struck in the side by a gust of wind toppled over.
“Good.”
Ileana shouted that and clenched her fist tight. The power of the gale had clearly increased. In the past, she would have wondered, ‘Can I really do it?’ But now, knocking over an entire train car with a gust of wind was effortless.
“...”
Now it was time for Kairus to get busy. From this point on, the most important thing in the massacre that was about to unfold was detail.
‘If the guy in the engine room is found dead because of something from the cargo car, or if the worker who shovels coal is dead in the cargo car, that would be strange.’
We had to make use of the objects around them as much as possible. And we also had to check where the ones who burst out had come from.
To check all of this and stage the most plausible accidental deaths, Kairus had to take charge of the work.
‘I have the list.’
I had already secured how many people had boarded the train. I had to confirm that every single one of them was dead.
“Ileana! Check if any of them are trying to run away!”
Now Ileana was in charge of surveillance, and Nora checked whether there were any additional trains coming. In the meantime, Kairus began his work.
No one other than Kairus was allowed to walk out of this train alive.
“Urgh… spare… me….”
A worker who had come to kill us was begging for his life. He was trapped beneath three or four cabinets. Kairus applied force to the cabinets pressing him down.
Those in the dining car preparing meals were killed using the tools inside the kitchen.
A worker pinned beneath something was killed by applying force to whatever was crushing him.
Those who were injured were killed by worsening their injuries. The worker who had been shoveling coal into the boiler either died with the shovel embedded in his head, or was burned to death by coal that had backflowed from the boiler.
One after another, murders disguised as accidents continued.
If there was a hell, Kairus would surely go there. That was also one of the reasons I had not let Ileana and Nora join me.
‘If you’re human, you’d be disgusted.’
There was a big difference between being told that we were killing the survivors inside the train, and seeing Kairus actually commit such acts right before your eyes.
Nora probably would not be very shocked, but Ileana would be different. I could not say her hands were clean, but she was someone who had not been stained with much innocent blood as she was.
“...”
After investing a great deal of time, Kairus finished what had to be done, checking the list of the people aboard the cargo train.
“A train is coming!”
Nora, who had been watching for any train approaching from afar, shouted at the top of her lungs toward Kairus inside the train.
“It’s all done!”
I confirmed the deaths of everyone listed on the roster, and those who were not dead were killed.
After getting off the train, Kairus regrouped with the other two. We had to leave this place before another train arrived. After confirming that Ileana and Nora were already bundled up in layers of clothing and inside the bag, Kairus immediately soared into the sky.
Now it was time to run.
“Whose jurisdiction is this?”
Depending on the jurisdiction, the Prosecutor’s Office that initiated the investigation would differ. At Kairus’s question, Nora answered.
“In a train accident like this, multiple agencies will move together. There isn’t just one or two things tangled up here.”
The Fire Department, the police who had jurisdiction over this area, the administration, and the Prosecutor’s Office… countless people would latch onto it.
“If traces of a train robbery are found, the matter will be handed over to the Prosecutor’s Office right away, but this has been disguised as an accident.”
The Aylan Republic would also launch an investigation to determine whether this train derailment was an accident or a crime.
From here on, the real operation began.
“Where are we going?”
“To the Elmont City Prosecutor’s Office.”
At Kairus’s words, Nora looked intrigued.
“This isn’t under the jurisdiction of the Elmont Prosecutor’s Office, though?”
“It doesn’t matter. Once they grasp the situation, they’ll hand it over there anyway.”
As the investigation continued, the police and prosecutors would learn where the opium paste loaded onto this train had come from.
“It’s a tricky matter to handle.”
There had been a train accident, and a large quantity of opium paste had been discovered inside. But upon investigation, it turned out that the opium paste had come from near the district of a presidential candidate.
By this point, any desire to take charge of the case would already have evaporated.
‘If they don’t investigate, it’ll be hard to sweep it under the rug, but if they do investigate, they’ll have to watch the presidential candidate’s reaction.’
If the election campaign had officially begun, they might at least start an investigation and test the waters under the guise of a preliminary inquiry, but right now, the campaign had not even started.
In this situation, the Prosecutor’s Office had two options.
Either take responsibility and bury the case themselves, or claim that it was not within their jurisdiction and pass it over to the Elmont Prosecutor’s Office.
“If they pass it over, will the Elmont Prosecutor’s Office accept it?”
“Yes, they will. The influence behind the Elmont Chief Prosecutor is weaker.”
To put it more bluntly, they lacked seniority. It was the presidential candidate’s hometown, but that had not translated into power for the Prosecutor’s Office.
“So we’ll go and threaten the key figures at that Prosecutor’s Office.”
So that it would be difficult to bury the case. At the same time, we would submit a citizen’s tip to a newspaper in Elmont City.
“This is damn complicated. It’s definitely different from when you were a prosecutor.”
“Our target is the presidential candidate.”
Linking the presidential candidate with a drug factory was not an easy task. On top of that, we were fabricating allegations to force a connection where none even existed.
It was only natural that we would have to go through this much trouble.
“Lunaseeker is taking this matter very seriously.”
“Your country changes leaders in short cycles. Of course it would.”
When a regime changes even once, all sorts of things are overturned. Policies change, direction shifts, and new principles are established.
Bastards who never would have gone to prison end up behind bars, and those who were in prison get released.
Since Lunaseeker is, in the end, a government agency wearing the mask of a company, when the President changes, its policies inevitably have to change as well.
And fundamentally, government agencies do not like change.
“This is only possible because it’s a country where people are crazy about money.”
Unlike the media of the Valorn Empire, which had become the government’s mouthpiece, the media of the Aylan Republic had not fallen that far.
Instead, they had degenerated into money-crazed yellow journalism.
“How much farther do we have to go this time?”
As the altitude steadily increased, Nora trembled uneasily and asked Kairus.
“We’re going as far as the outskirts of Elmont. I won’t fly as high as before, so don’t worry.”
At Kairus’s words, Nora let out a deep sigh.
After finishing the flight and arriving in Elmont, Kairus, Ileana, and Nora quickly completed a simple inspection and entered the city.
“Elmont City.”
It was a large city that had developed thanks to Jericho Juan serving as a member of the National Assembly for a long time.
Of course, development always came with pollution, so thick smog blanketed the entire city.
“It makes you cough without even trying.”
At Ileana’s complaint, Nora replied.
“If you think of it as the smell of money, it’ll feel better.”
When factories run, they produce smog, and they produce jobs and money. The smog of a city is like a medal.
That wasn’t much different in the Empire either. Big cities were, by nature, thick with smog.
“Let’s get started. Government officials will already have been dispatched to the accident site.”
Nora gave a small nod.
If we could persuade them with words and money, we would. If the situation didn’t allow it, we would proceed with threats if necessary.
After renting a shabby inn and settling in, the three of us immediately began by looking into the local newspapers and magazines.
“Daily Elmont, The People’s Voice, Monthly Darpang, The Issue.”
There were plenty of people publishing newspapers. Among them, The People’s Voice was distributed throughout the Republic, so we couldn’t lay a hand on it.
Daily Elmont covered scandals or bullshit like how a special menthol additive in newly released cigarettes was good for virility. Out of sixteen pages total, nine were advertisements.
Well, most newspapers in the Aylan Republic were like this, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.
“We can make use of Daily Elmont and The Issue.”
Covering all sorts of scandals was a good thing. If we succeeded in sweet-talking them, it would help Kairus’s objective.
“Monthly Darpang is too slow since it’s a monthly.”
“What about this one? It’s a weekly called Picky Lady.”
Looking at its contents, it was a magazine mostly filled with things like claims that you could tell a man’s penis size by reading his palm, or articles about finding your own erogenous zones you didn’t even know about, along with advertisements for cosmetics, shoes, and clothes.
“The train accident is outside the interests of this magazine’s readers.”
Even if we submitted a tip, it would be meaningless. It wasn’t something their readers cared about. Naturally, it wasn’t worth putting effort into manipulating them.
“Let’s focus a bit more on The Issue. Since they even cover moderate conspiracy theories, it seems their readers like this kind of thing.”
Which meant the editor or chief of The Issue would likely show interest in the train incident Kairus had caused this time.
That also meant there was a low chance we would have to resort to force.
“It’s a newspaper that writes columns about how Jericho Juan is actually an alien, or that there are really two more human blood types but the government is hiding them for human experimentation… Are you sure this is really okay?”
Kairus looked at Ileana with a surprised expression.
“Of course it’s okay. They’re not writing those bullshit columns because they actually believe them.”
They were just selling those articles because their readers were idiots who truly believed that nonsense.
It was the same logic as gamblers selling their houses and mortgaging their children being fools, not the casino dealers.
“Fine. Then I’ll take care of The Issue and Daily Elmont.”
Ileana nodded and casually pulled the newspaper labeled The Issue toward herself.
“Next are the prosecutors, police, and the radio.”
“I’d be better suited to handle the prosecutors and police, right?”
Kairus agreed with Nora. She was from Lunaseeker, and this was the Aylan Republic. There wouldn’t be many as capable as Nora when it came to stirring up government agencies of the Republic.
“Then naturally I’ll take the radio. If things don’t go well, let me know. I’ll handle any illegal acts, including threats.”
Since Nora was with Lunaseeker, we had to exclude her as much as possible from using illegal means.
As for Ileana… I trusted that she was on Kairus’s side, but trusting her ability was a bit ambiguous. When it came to openly slashing with a blade, she had certainly reached a level I could rely on.
But for this kind of covert work, she still needed more proof.
“Then let’s each finish our tasks and regroup tonight.”
With Kairus’s words, the three of us dispersed to carry out our respective tasks.
“Radio broadcasting, huh.”
The target wasn’t the on-air personality. The host had no power.
The ones who needed to be dealt with were the producer and the station director.
‘First, a simple warning.’
Kairus quickly drafted a letter containing information about the train derailment and the discovery of drugs inside, then headed to the radio station.
The letter included a warning that there had to be a report on the matter before 6 p.m. today.
If the radio station ignored Kairus’s warning, I had more than enough willingness to show them what the price of carelessly ignoring someone’s warning would be.
After finishing what needed to be done, Kairus ate in the inn room and waited for time to pass.
The radio was on. And just now, it had passed 6 p.m.
“This is why I can’t just sit still. Nothing gets done unless I move personally.”
Why was it that when you asked nicely, people pretended not to hear?
Clicking my tongue with a small sense of disgust toward humanity, Kairus gargled with water and then rose from his seat.