Chapter 103
Mizuno Rena was already starting to believe Usuha Izuki's nonsense.
After all, although Usuha Izuki always talked nonsense, twisted logic was still logic. It did sound like there was some reasoning to it, and this time he was dressed so formally that it was hard to immediately realize this guy wasn't actually normal.
Plus, Mizuno Rena had been with the Organization for some time now and had a sinister filter when it came to the Organization. Everyone she'd encountered fit the stereotypical villain image.
For her to immediately realize that this codename member who seemed to have high status and power, who could directly contact the Boss, and who even made Gin and Vodka back down, was actually just a mental patient with connections... who could have thought of that!
The normal thought process would be that in such a serious setting, the other party couldn't possibly be joking. Even if they did something that seemed like a joke, there must be an ulterior motive. Everyone in the Organization was scheming and calculating, never doing anything pointless.
Therefore, when Usuha Izuki said he was an interviewer and that what just happened was a test, not only did Mizuno Rena believe it, but even her father, who was also a CIA undercover, believed it!
And think about it carefully! What did Vodka say just now? He said "reporting us as undercover agents again" and "this kind of complaint will be Rum's responsibility from now on," which means Botanist really is responsible for investigating who are undercover agents.
Although the testing methods were a bit... not just a bit, they were completely unheard of, but if the Organization made him an interviewer, there must be a reason!
Especially since Botanist looked particularly young, he must have some powerful talent that made people overlook his age. Not to be underestimated!
Mizuno Rena completed a round of self-persuasion and secretly heightened her vigilance, feeling that after experiencing this test, her heart had become stronger.
But Vodka was having a bit of a breakdown. He really didn't want to get entangled with Usuha Izuki—he had felt from the beginning that Usuha Izuki shouldn't be involved in this mission, but Big Brother didn't believe in superstitions and insisted on trying once, and now they'd summoned a ghost!
Vodka watched Usuha Izuki still editing his email and felt he couldn't let him continue slandering them like this. If Rum wanted to sabotage them, they wouldn't even need to do the mission—everyone would just stop work and undergo inspection.
So Vodka decided to summon his buddy: "Scotland! You explain!"
"......?" Receiving the hot potato Vodka had thrown at him, Scotland was silent for a moment before reluctantly speaking, "Botanist......"
"Don't speak yet." Usuha Izuki looked deeply pained. "The results of my report to the Boss about you aren't out yet, and you're already acting so suspiciously again. Even as friends, I can't pretend not to see this anymore......"
Mizuno Rena silently gathered intelligence: Scotland and Botanist are friends.
Scotland looked quite calm and said methodically: "Is there a possibility that we don't speak because we don't feel qualified? Even Gin didn't react, so it wouldn't be appropriate for us to overstep our bounds and express anything."
Vodka: "......?"
Hey! Scotland, you little rascal! To clear yourself, you're directly shifting the conflict to Big Brother?!
Scotland gave Vodka a meaningful look.
Stop worrying about your big brother. Rather than letting Botanist report all of us in one go, let's reduce the number of victims first!
Usuha Izuki pondered: "Gin, do you have anything you want to defend yourself with?"
Gin sneered: "Report whatever you want. That gentleman has his own judgment."
"Alright, alright......" Vodka began playing peacemaker. "Botanist, reporting now won't do much good. The results from last time aren't out yet. Why don't we wait until all the results come out? Investigations take time too! With you constantly reporting others, couldn't I say that you're the undercover agent, trying to waste the Organization's manpower?"
Scotland looked at Vodka in shock, discovering that Vodka had evolved and learned to turn the tables!
Vodka was actually a bit nervous inside, as using Usuha Izuki's logic against Usuha Izuki could easily make one fall into a trap.
However, Usuha Izuki looked at him with emotion: "Vodka... Just the fact that you think I'm an undercover agent proves you're devoted to the Organization and definitely not an undercover agent! Worthy of being my close friend!"
Mizuno Rena: Noted, Vodka and Botanist are also friends... Botanist seems to have good social connections, though his logic isn't very comprehensible. It might be encrypted slang between friends—she still needed to work harder.
Akai Shuichi was thoughtful.
Could suspecting Usuha Izuki of being an undercover agent clear oneself of suspicion of being an undercover agent? Should he try this approach later?
Vodka was speechless but still patiently said: "For the sake of our friendship, you're not participating in this mission, but please don't interfere with us, okay?"
Usuha Izuki's suspicion values had already been farmed far beyond expectations, so he backed down and didn't continue tormenting people with that overused excuse.
Sure enough, people meeting him for the first time today gave the most suspicion values. He would need to interact more with other Organization members in the future.
But he didn't leave either, just watched from the side, listening in on the mission arrangements.
The mission wasn't starting tonight. This abandoned factory was just a meeting point. Since Gin had known the identity of today's traitor long ago, he had specifically chosen this place to conveniently execute the traitor and give this team of mostly newcomers a show of force. If they had switched to a hotel, it wouldn't have been as convenient to operate.
Now Vodka finished explaining what needed to be explained, and Gin began assigning tasks one by one—who was responsible for which street, who was responsible for assassinations, who was responsible for fishing in troubled waters, who was responsible for secretly transferring money, and so on.
Usuha Izuki listened for a while from the side and asked in confusion: "If they're doing all these things, what are you doing, Gin?"
Vodka quickly said: "Big Brother is responsible for overall command!"
"Where is he commanding from?"
Gin frowned sharply: "Why do you want to know this?"
"Just wondering if while everyone is fighting desperately in the danger zone, you'll be drinking wine in front of floor-to-ceiling windows while enjoying the night view." Usuha Izuki sighed. "After assigning the tasks, you seem so idle."
Gin: "......"
Vodka took a deep breath: "Big Brother has tasks too. He's responsible for sniping the leader of the second-largest faction, the Horikawa Group."
Usuha Izuki said: "Then I want to follow Gin."
Gin frowned: "You said you weren't participating."
"I only refused to violate my principles by killing those relatives, but that doesn't conflict with my desire to monitor you." Usuha Izuki insisted. "Rum's investigation is too slow. I trust my own eyes more—don't let me catch your weak points, Gin. You'd better not be a rat."
Gin: "............"
Vodka's mouth fell open: "............"
Big Brother was always the one saying such things to others. No one had ever dared to say such things to Big Brother... Living long enough, you really could see anything!
Usuha Izuki checked the time: "We should go, right? Which hotel did you book?"
Who's "we" with you!
Gin's expression was dark as night: "You're not allowed to follow."
Usuha Izuki narrowed his eyes suspiciously: "Are you feeling guilty? Otherwise, why are you afraid of being monitored by me?"
Mizuno Rena: Botanist and Gin have a very bad relationship.
"Because it's unnecessary." Gin sneered mockingly. "No matter what you do, it won't affect me. Put away your petty schemes and go play with your 'friends.'"
Usuha Izuki glanced at him and lowered his head to type: "December 25th, Gin refused my monitoring out of guilt......"
Gin, who had become immune to his strange behavior, ignored him and said to the others: "Dismissed. Go complete your tasks. Any means necessary—I only look at results."
Usuha Izuki didn't care about his silent refusal either. Pulling his suitcase, under everyone's gaze, he followed behind Vodka out of the abandoned factory, then forcibly got into Gin's car.
Gin: "......Get out."
"Do you need me to call the Boss and ask if I can monitor you?"
Gin: "............"
Although he believed that gentleman wouldn't doubt his loyalty, it was hard to say whether that gentleman, woken up by Usuha Izuki's call in the middle of the night, might take his anger out on him...
So Gin closed his eyes and tacitly allowed Usuha Izuki's freeloading behavior.
Anyway, he had nothing to hide and wasn't afraid of shadows. As long as he ignored Usuha Izuki's garbage talk, it wouldn't affect his mission.
Meanwhile, in the back seat, Usuha Izuki began emailing Hagiwara Kenji.
[Tomorrow night at 7 PM, the yakuza battle in Kansai will enter a new phase. Their relatives will become assassination targets. The leader of the Horikawa Group needs to be careful of sniping.]
Hagiwara Kenji, who was peacefully spending Christmas but received such an email in the middle of the night: "......???"
—Wasn't Little Shinryu supposed to be visiting graves?! Where did this information come from?! Is it really okay to leak it to him so directly?!