Chapter 109 : The Person in Charge
“You must have dug into the Trica side, how was it?”
It was information I had given her when I was preparing for the ruin exploration a while back. A Centrim executive who had connections within Sylvester. For her, who was trying to regain her status as heir and strengthen her influence within the corporation, she must have made good use of it.
“Thanks to you, it was a great help. The beginning was difficult, but once I started digging, they came out one after another. I’ve already gotten rid of two department heads.”
An excited Claire chattered away.
“I’m thinking of cooking the rest slowly.”
“Without dealing with them right away?”
“There’s a good saying, isn’t there, a double agent. Since they caused a loss, wouldn’t the calculation be right only if they brought a corresponding profit? Their disposal… will have to come after that.”
Rational. A way of thinking that seeks to find their value for use rather than immediately punishing the traitors. It was the mindset of an excellent entrepreneur. She was a perfect business partner, as she never let herself be taken for a fool or gave things away for free, and always returned what she had received.
“But why are you suddenly… aha, you have a favor to ask of me.”
Claire grinned playfully.
“It’s fine, I would have helped you even if you had just asked me outright, but a debt is a debt.”
Her way of answering was refreshingly direct. I, however, was not as magnanimous as she was.
“What kind of trouble are you trying to get into by giving me an excuse?”
“It’s a favor, I tell you. I have no ulterior motives.”
Her smiling eyes seemed to flutter like a fox’s tail. Her ulterior motive was obvious. If I started to rely on her one by one, I would soon be bound and unable to escape. In this city, the schemes of entrepreneurs were like a spider’s web.
‘I can’t let go of the initiative.’
Although we were showing each other as much convenience as possible, I had to remember that we were, at the end of the day, business partners.
“Go ahead and tell me. I’ll help you as long as it doesn’t harm my interests.”
“Is there a picture Sylvester is planning in this city government’s crackdown?”
“……You’re poking at a sore spot.”
Claire’s bouncing stride narrowed just a little.
“There isn’t.”
“There’s plenty of meat to be had, and you’re just watching quietly?”
“We had to read the room.”
She pulled my arm and subtly led me to a less crowded place.
“Usually, the story leaks to our side before the city government takes action. It depends on the interests or the amount of grease, but no matter how tight the security is, we can at least get the gist of it.”
It could be a tip-off from a council member whose interests were intertwined with the corporation, a confession from an aide who had received a bribe, or a report from a servant who had been trained as a spy and infiltrated. It was an example of the fierce war of nerves that the city government and corporations waged under the surface.
“This time, the crackdown started without any notice, which is unusual. It wasn’t just us who were surprised; everyone else had a similar reaction.”
The fact that smugglers were involved in the process of sweeping up Al-Raid was a result of my actions. The city government, thoroughly angered by this, immediately launched a large-scale crackdown. It was a move that could only be bewildering to third parties who didn’t know the intermediate links.
“And this time, the atmosphere is that they’ve really sharpened their swords. It’s like, if we jump in just to test the waters, we’ll only get bloodied. No matter how tempting it is, you have to look before you leap.”
It was more of a gut feeling than an analysis. But sometimes, one had to follow their gut rather than reason. This was one of those times.
I advised her.
“Don’t even think about getting involved in the future.”
“Do you know something?”
“As you predicted, if a megacorp gets involved, the city government won’t let it slide. It’s that kind of thing.”
“……”
This meeting also had the meaning of a warning. The reason for the crackdown was that the Public Security Bureau, unable to trace the corporation that had sponsored Al-Raid, had decided to stir up their collaborators, the smugglers. If they were blinded by greed and tried to get a piece of the action, they could be misunderstood as the culprits.
“I won’t ask for details. I’ve never lost out by listening to you.”
Claire nodded and said.
“A big deal is scheduled to happen soon, and there was intel that the city government would unusually not get involved, so I was contemplating it. There have been arguments within the company to intervene before it’s too late. If that’s the case, it would be stirring up a hornet’s nest. I’ll have to give up.”
“A big deal?”
“Yes, they say the Brotherhood is stepping up. On the surface, it’s a deal led by Branch 52, but… there’s talk that it’s a deal planned by the higher-ups.”
The Brotherhood, Branch 52, the higher-ups. I chewed on the words that came out of her mouth.
“But it’s a waste to just let this good opportunity go.”
A nasal sound mixed into her voice. She chuckled softly, like a mischievous child planning a prank.
“If I use it well, I can feed the traitors to the wolves, take only the profits, and wash my hands of it. If it seems too dangerous, I could leak a contradictory story and force a loss on the traitors’ backer.”
However, the plan being concocted in her mind was a vicious scheme that couldn’t be laughed off as a prank.
“Thank you for the good story. Now, tell me what you want. Seeing as you brought up this topic, it seems to be related to this crackdown, right?”
“Yes.”
Just as I was about to ask, Claire coincidentally brought up an interesting story first.
“You said you just heard the intel.”
“Yes. I heard it from a reliable source, so it’s a sure thing.”
“It’s hard to believe that the city government would not get involved even though they know there’s a big deal. Who is that reliable source?”
“Don’t doubt its authenticity. I said it was intel, but I actually heard it directly from the mouth of the person in charge at the city government. It was more of a lament, though.”
“The person in charge?”
I wanted to fan the flames that had swept through the smuggling market even more. In that process, the city government’s actions were important. The reason I had contacted Claire was to borrow the capabilities of Sylvester, which had gotten closer to the city government. If I could identify the person in charge here, it would be a jackpot.
“You don’t have to be so surprised. You probably know him better than I do.”
The identity of the person in charge, delivered through Claire’s mouth, was both unexpected and yet, I felt it was only natural.
***
Grrrr!
“Ugh!”
The man was startled by the sudden roar of a beast and jumped. He was a man who prided himself on being a tough guy from the Brotherhood, the godfather of the underworld, but this was something he couldn’t help. Imagine walking down a familiar path, lost in thought, and suddenly a beast roars. Who wouldn’t be surprised?
“Pfft, idiot.”
“Look at him, he got scared.”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that bastard is all brawn and no balls?”
However, his colleagues seemed to have no intention of taking his circumstances into account. They were delighted to have found something to tease him about and snickered.
“Who the hell is it again! I told you to avoid that path as much as possible! Damn it, now I have to listen to the damn beasts barking again!”
“……I’m sorry!”
The man, who was about to talk back, restrained himself at his superior’s outburst. When one of them roared, the others were stimulated and started barking, biting, and struggling, causing a ruckus. The man was busy trying to calm down the animals, which had started to go crazy in the alloy cages.
The commotion subsided only after a good hour. The exhausted man sat down and quietly spat out a curse.
“Damn beast bastards. Dogs are at least cute, I don’t know why those ferocious things are sold at such a high price.”
A colleague who had been laughing at the man’s hardship approached and said.
“Well, so are you going to sneak up and smack him on the back of the head at night?”
“How did you know?”
“Don’t bother. If you hear where that thing was caught, you’ll be trembling and serving it.”
“Bullshit, it’s just the borderlands. I know it’s a precious thing that poachers have to run themselves ragged to find just one, but is it that much?”
“Surprisingly, they say it’s not.”
The colleague looked around for any signs of people and then whispered, as if telling a secret.
“There’s one mixed in that was brought from the end of that continent.”
“……Really?”
The end of the continent. An unknown land that nothing was known about. The creature caught there was a great stimulus even to a man who had smuggled all sorts of rare animals.
“There’s only one, but they say it’s mixed in. That’s why we’re treating it like a sacred jar.”
“It must not be cheap.”
“Of course, not only our higher-ups, but the big shots are determined to get their hands on it.”
“But if rumors spread and it gets noisy, won’t the city government intervene?”
It wasn’t that the man was chicken-hearted, as his colleagues had teased. The words ‘the end of the continent’ made him worry more than think about the scraps that might fall.
“It’s already chaotic, isn’t it? I heard there are a ton of guys who have already been caught and had their heads chopped off.”
“It’s fine, we’re not going to trade those right away. And I told you, the big shots are determined to get their hands on it.”
“Why is that?”
“The people at the top of this city are also human. It seems not everyone welcomes the crackdown.”
The top of this city.
“A city councilor has decided to back us. They said they would take responsibility and block the crackdown. If the safety is confirmed with this deal… then the real deal will happen.”
***
There were a lot of people. The square was so full that people were overflowing and lining up on both sides. Men in black suits controlled the crowd. It was a scene similar to what I had seen at various events and concerts in Korea. However, the chilling fact that the guards were each holding and aiming a gun was very different.
I hoped there would be no firing, but that would probably remain just a wish. The Public Security Bureau wouldn’t hold them accountable for any unfortunate accidents that might occur. Those with power have no hesitation in taking drastic measures.
“Get a grip.”
A finger poked my side. I tried not to react to the ticklishness and just rolled my eyes to the side.
“Are you nervous?”
It was a gorgeous makeup that intensely caught the eye. Her attire, which emphasized her slender figure, came across as impeccable, perhaps because of the occasion. Perhaps because she was wearing high heels, our eye levels were not that far apart.
Claire performed the trick of speaking with her lips still.
“You must be human too. There’s nothing to be nervous about. You just have to stand still. I didn’t ask you to take on any particular role.”
It was an event hosted by Sylvester. Was the crowd gathered for a single corporate event excessive? It was not. Megacorps dominated the city’s industries and were closely intertwined with the lives of the citizens. The proof was right before my eyes. The seats in the square were filled with just the officials invited by the corporation, and even ordinary citizens, unable to contain their curiosity, tried to watch from a distance.
“I’m not nervous.”
Standing in front of such a crowd was an extremely rare experience. But I had been through too much to be intimidated by their gazes.
「The World Tree cheers at the thrilling attention.」
On the contrary, the World Tree, which should have been the object of my concern, seemed to have awakened to a special emotion and was very excited. It wouldn’t even be visible, but it was waving its branches in response to the welcome from inside my sleeve. I thought it had an attention-seeking tendency, but was it this much? I didn’t know if it was developing a strange hobby.
“Then do you know some faces?”
“……It’s hard to say we know each other, but.”
I was indeed interested in the various faces that were usually hard to see. The heads of corporations, council members, the nobles from District 2 and District 1 who rarely showed themselves… They were characters who played important roles in the game’s scenario. But in this world that had become a reality, it was hard to even see their faces if not for an event like this.
Claire followed my gaze, scanned the venue, and then muttered meaningfully.
“Hmm. You’re not used to this kind of place, and you don’t know those people, but you know who they are, right?”
“……?”
I think she’s making a strange assumption.
“““Waaaaah!”””
I, who was about to say something, shut my mouth at the cheers of the crowd. The event had begun.
I hadn’t properly heard what kind of event it was. I wasn’t at the level to lead the scenario among the people who led this city yet anyway. I just had to grace the occasion as a distinguished guest personally invited by Claire.
“Next, to commemorate the partnership between Sylvester and the Gellerg City government, the representatives will come forward!”
“Let’s go.”
I walked quietly behind Claire. The two groups stood facing each other on either side of the stage. As Claire stepped forward, a representative from the other side also stepped forward and shook her hand. The face that was waving listlessly was familiar.
As if to show not a single bit of warmth, he was about to turn his body right after the handshake, but he flinched for a moment.
“……”
Giselle Willow. My gaze met that of the pointy-eared councilor.
(End of Chapter)