Chapter 139 : Business Expansion (6)
The red carpet that cushioned the soles of my shoes. The elegant paintings, the awards that filled the display case, and the glittering gold nameplate. The factory manager’s office was the same as when I had last visited. No, perhaps there were more decorations.
Such luxury was out of the question for the income of an ordinary factory manager. It meant that the interests of District 17, which had taken control of the illegal weapons market, were that great.
「The World Tree likes this place!」
“Heup!”
As the World Tree squirmed and pulled out its stem, the factory manager bit his fist and swallowed a scream. His plump cheeks trembled. The high-end brand suit couldn’t withstand his sagging flesh, and the buttons were about to pop. It was a world apart from the workers who were so thin that their bones and skin stuck together.
“……”
I no longer had any feelings about such absurdity. If I were to react to each and every one of these things, I would have to start a revolution in this world itself. The factory manager was also just a replaceable part. Even if I dealt with him here, the structure would not change.
Since I had already taken out my anger on the supervisors, it would be more efficient to use the factory manager in a more useful way.
“Wh-where are you from?”
“It’s none of your business where I’m from or who I am.”
“Yes, yes! Of course! It’s only natural!”
There was no need to threaten him by mentioning the supervisors scattered outside. To be faithful to one’s own self-interest and have no trouble, one had to be quick-witted. The factory manager had noticed that there was only one way for him to live and had prostrated himself before me.
“If you just answer a few questions honestly, I won’t threaten your life.”
“What would a guy like me know… but I’ll answer everything I know.”
“Do you know anything about the Guardians of the Dawn?”
“Th-huhuhu, that’s a cool name. But I don’t know it.”
“Really?”
“I-if you give me time, I’ll mobilize my connections and find out for sure.”
“There’s no need for that. And you don’t need to know in the future either.”
“Yes! I’ll live without knowing in the future too!”
As expected, he doesn’t know. It wasn’t strange that the factory manager didn’t know the name of the ruler of District 17. He was just a person who was busy filling his own greed. He probably hadn’t even been interested in the recent tectonic shifts in District 17.
“I heard you receive a lot of gifts.”
“Yep, I’m quite a social butterfly. It’s a relationship I’ve cultivated by providing appropriate convenience and sharing good things when I have them.”
“Do you remember all the contents of the gifts you’ve received so far and the people who sent them?”
“Of course.”
“There must have been more than one or two.”
“That’s so I can repay them next time.”
“You’re diligent.”
I didn’t believe him blindly. There must have been some exaggeration. But he only had to remember one person. If he had forgotten that… it probably wouldn’t have been a good thing.
“Then do you remember who sent this gift?”
A large seed appeared on my palm. It was a counterfeit made from the stem of the World Tree.
“This is… that…”
“You don’t know?”
“W-wait a minute!”
It was a pure question, but the factory manager broke out in a cold sweat and racked his brain.
“Ah! I remember! It was an item that had disappeared, I thought some guy had stolen it.”
“……”
It was a strange feeling that he remembered the commotion I had caused.
“That was an item excavated from the treasure vault of a certain fallen noble family.”
“Excavated?”
“Yes, there’s a friend who specializes in excavating… robbing that kind of thing. I helped him out once in the past, so he sometimes sends me souvenirs.”
“I’d like to hear the details.”
As I leaned in, the factory manager started talking excitedly.
“The fall of a noble or the bankruptcy of a company is not that different. Their money has dried up, or they’ve been pushed out politically, or they’re paying the price for getting on the wrong side of the city government. But even if they’ve fallen, a noble is a noble. They say the city seals up their houses, at least their furniture, and their family heirlooms and doesn’t touch them. Under the pretext of protecting their last honor.”
“Is it a mercy in case they make a comeback later?”
In this world, the upper class deals with the law. If they had made a lifeline in preparation for a disaster that might befall them someday, it wasn’t a culture to be disparaged.
“In theory, yes. In reality, there are no fallen nobles who have made a comeback. On the contrary, they are busy hiding their identities and running away. There are so many packs of hyenas who flock to steal their hidden assets and the secrets of their family.”
I was about to point out that the ‘excavation team’ friend was also one of those hyenas, but then a guess came to mind. If those so-called fallen nobles were being swarmed by hyenas like that, wouldn’t the best way to hide their identity be to change their appearance? For example… if they were to burn their face, it would be certain.
I unconsciously touched my face.
“Anyway, so my friend got it from that mansion. He said it was much safer than exploring ruins or robbing tombs, and it was also easy to convert to cash.”
“How can I get in touch with that thief?”
“Ah, that, he’s probably dead. I haven’t heard from him since he sent a text saying he got caught by a Public Security Bureau patrolman, so that’s probably what happened.”
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue in disappointment. If he had been caught committing a crime inside District 2, that’s probably what would have happened.
“Then I just need to know which mansion he robbed.”
“It was probably on 7th Street. He said it was easy to work there because it was on the outskirts of District 2.”
“District 2, 7th Street.”
I memorized it. If I ever went to District 2 again, I would have to stop by. I didn’t know how many fallen nobles there were there, but if I narrowed down the candidates, it wouldn’t be a number that was difficult to look through one by one.
“Then this is the last question.”
I had obtained an unexpected harvest regarding the seed of the World Tree, which I hadn’t even expected. So this question was a bonus.
“A worker named Allen, who had severe burns. Do you happen to remember him?”
***
“What did the secretary say?”
“They say the contractor side has swept the leadership and is in the process of cleaning up the remnants.”
“……That’s fast.”
“Yes, it’s fast.”
Poldon lit a cigarette. In this world where it was difficult to harvest good quality crops, real cigarettes were a luxury item. But cigarettes were not a favorite item that could not be replaced. In terms of efficacy, drugs were better. And they had fewer side effects.
The reason why cigarettes were treated as a top-class luxury item was simply because they were rare. It was also a boast of wealth that he could obtain and smoke such a thing.
“Phew.”
Claire provided Poldon and her private soldiers with such favorite items without limit. Although it was a welfare to hold on to her own people, she was basically a person with a big spending habit. Now, she had overcome adversity and had even become a de facto heir.
If she inherited the company, the honor and benefits that would be given to them, her subordinates, would be incomparable to this kind of cigarette. That’s why Poldon was not pleased that this operation had been entrusted to a mere contractor.
He thought he had a right to be dissatisfied, and that thought had not changed even now. In the first place, did it even make sense to entrust such an important task to a contractor with a short career?
He conceded a hundred steps and acknowledged his ability. He had proved it as confidently as he had said. The rumors were probably not false either. Even if only half of the rumors were true, he was worthy of being the central figure of the operation.
However, the realm of rational judgment and emotion were different. Although it was a loyalty bewitched by material support, the meaning of his years of dedication did not change. If the price of loyalty was a picture of being pushed aside by an outsider like this, it was too harsh a treatment.
“The Guardians of the Dawn, is it certain that they approached the Balban Mercenary Corps?”
But they were not in a position to express their dissatisfaction directly. They were just hunting dogs. Like hunting dogs, they had no choice but to bring back their prey and prove their worth. So this was an appropriate competition that could arise without interfering with Claire’s business.
“Yes, it’s a content that has been cross-verified by interrogating several mercenary corps members. They say there will be a final agreement between the mercenary corps leader and them soon.”
“Hmm. I’m worried.”
The secretary had said not to provoke them or set a trap just to catch them. If they hadn’t listened, they were professionals. Since they had been warned, they would not even think of doing such a thing.
“Couldn’t they have been together by chance when we attacked the mercenary corps?”
“Yes, by chance.”
So this was not a mutiny. It was just an accidental variable that had occurred in the course of the operation. They had not set a trap, and they had not chased them directly. It was just that they were at the scene of the operation.
You can’t just cancel the operation and withdraw just because a related person is there, can you?
“Let’s go.”
Poldon packed his equipment, imagining the proper reward that would be given to him. In his head, there was no assumption that the operation would fail.
***
「The World Tree comforts you.」
I let out a chuckle at the antics of the World Tree, which had bloomed a rose on its stem.
“I’m not disappointed.”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find out about Allen’s past. Allen was just a mere worker at the factory. Although he remembered the seed of the World Tree that had been stolen by someone, the factory manager did not remember a worker with impressive burns.
‘Well, if he had a special past, the factory manager wouldn’t have left him like that.’
He would have given him some convenience. But the only convenience given to me was being excluded from the violence. And that was because the supervisors didn’t even want to see my face.
‘The harvest on the other side is so big that I don’t really care.’
I had confirmed the source of the seed of the World Tree. It was much more important information than the past of this body. I was happy, if anything, it wasn’t something to be comforted about.
If my expression was not good, it was for a different reason. District 2, 7th Street, I had found out the general area, but a visit using the Future Pass system like last time would be impossible. The one-day pass I had received as a reward for the request from Karsche had expired.
Besides, even if I used Future Pass, the range was too vague. I had to find the mansion in question and even infiltrate it, but how many clues could I find in a mansion that had already been robbed once? The risk was high, but the reward was uncertain.
For now, let’s just remember it. I have a more important goal now.
It was then that I was organizing my thoughts. An urgent signal came from the communication device in my ear.
[Allen?]
“I’m listening. Speak.”
[I think you need to head to the scene urgently.]
It was a voice that tried to speak calmly but could not hide its bewilderment.
[There was an accident at the place where they were fighting with the Balban Mercenary Corps.]
“Explain in detail what happened.”
[It seems the Guardians of the Dawn were in contact with the Balban Mercenary Corps. The timing was bad. They intervened during the battle with the Balban Mercenary Corps.]
“What’s the address?”
It was a matter that could not be delayed. I put aside my thoughts and moved quickly.
***
The office of the Balban Mercenary Corps was a low-rise mixed-use complex. As if to put on the appearance of a mercenary corps, a spacious open space and training facilities were visible in front of the site.
“I’ve arrived. What’s the current situation?”
[They say they have completed the suppression of the Balban Mercenary Corps. The number of personnel dispatched from the Guardians of the Dawn is one, and they are still engaged in battle here.]
Gunshots, the sound of windows breaking, shouts and screams, and a flashing light. Claire’s private soldier group was closer to a military force with excellent equipment and organization rather than a combat unit led by a skilled person.
[Poldon says he can handle it on his own and asks us to trust him, but… the situation is not good.]
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure fell.
“Kkeueuk!”
The visor of the helmet was broken and embedded in his face, and the sturdy combat suit was in tatters.
“It would be better to hear the details from the person himself.”
I approached the man who was writhing in pain on the ground.
“This will sting a little.”
I stuck the needle of the cartridge into the forearm that was revealed through the torn combat suit. A drug that activated physical abilities. It would have side effects if it wasn’t me, but that was none of my business.
As the sedative took effect, the man stopped writhing in pain and stabilized his breathing.
“You… contractor…”
Poldon, the leader of the private soldier group.
“If you’ve come to your senses, explain.”
I was not interested in what complicated feelings he might have had at my appearance, soaked in shame.
“What’s going on inside?”
It was an important turning point that would decide the success or failure of the request.
(End of Chapter)