Chapter 255
After hearing Bourbon's words, Usuha Izuki fell silent for a moment, then suddenly showed a somewhat shy expression.
"...Really now, even if you want to praise me, you don't need to praise my interpersonal skills, right? Actually, they're just so-so~"
Bourbon: "...I wasn't praising you! Get serious!!!"
What time was it! The fire was practically at his eyebrows! And he was still playing around! Did Usuha Izuki's mental age even exceed 15? Did he understand the importance of this matter at all!
Ultimately, the reason Usuha Izuki could act so crazy in the organization while even Gin could only endure it was because of Arak Wine's legacy from the Middle East.
Simply put, the ace salesman had turned clients and channels into family.
Now Rum had cultivated another ace salesman who was currently performing well on other smuggling routes. Since Arak Wine had been dead for seven years, Rum was thinking that when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out—even the greatest favors should fade after this long. Was this finally an opportunity to promote someone to replace Arak Wine?
Once Rum succeeded, Usuha Izuki would truly be in danger.
Usuha Izuki surely understood this principle himself, but he acted as if he didn't care...
"Alright." Usuha Izuki rested his chin on the cushion in his arms. "Rum's person, who's also good at interpersonal relationships... is that person you?"
Bourbon: "...No, it's Stout."
He had already been completely open and honest, yet the other side was still playing word games and acting dumb. Bourbon felt like his rare moment of kind-hearted warning was being treated as meddling.
"Stout..." Usuha Izuki pondered for a moment. "Never met him."
"Well, he's never been to Japan..." Bourbon wordlessly showed him his phone, which displayed Stout's basic information. As one of Rum's valued subordinates, managing to obtain this much intelligence wasn't a problem. "This is him."
Usuha Izuki glanced at it and commented: "That face—obviously an undercover agent."
Bourbon: "...Here you go again?"
"Alright, thanks." Usuha Izuki clapped his hands. "Don't worry too much. My nominal deputy has been in the Middle East for several years now. Have you seen him accomplish anything? Five years ago, he actually thought the weapons in the Middle East were too expensive and wanted to switch everything to the American route..."
As if Arak Wine didn't know that buying weapons in the Middle East wasn't as cost-effective as elsewhere.
But when you're constantly passing through someone's territory and they watch you making big money, over time they'll inevitably have some opinions. They could mess with your operations and make you lose everything. If you want to build long-term success, you have to give them some benefits. It's the same principle as foreign aid—even if it's just a drop in the bucket compared to your profits, showing the gesture makes them feel better.
But many people in the organization were always thinking about saving money for the organization, as if this would make a great contribution and show their abilities to the Boss. This mindset was wrong.
Money isn't saved—you have to be willing to spend money to make big money!
↑Usuha Izuki had even discussed this topic with the Boss, who rarely gave Usuha Izuki genuine praise, feeling that Usuha Izuki had some of his own style.
The Boss, born as a wealthy family heir, couldn't really understand how penny-pinchers thought, just like how big bosses wouldn't be happy if HR desperately lowballed salaries during interviews to save a few hundred or thousand each month—wise people would only worry whether such operations might cause potential losses.
You could tell from the expense allowances the Boss gave to executives—he always believed that if you wanted loyalty, you had to pay properly. If you were stingy, don't blame people for having other thoughts.
This was also why the Boss never worried about Usuha Izuki being a traitor—besides the organization, where else could let Usuha Izuki enjoy so much money without having to work?
Only an idiot would betray the organization!
As for young people's rebellious little tantrums, the Boss was only bothered a few times at the beginning. After throwing the problem to Rum (mainly Bourbon) and Gin (actually Vodka), Usuha Izuki's impact on him became negligible. Compared to the benefits Usuha Izuki brought, the Boss felt—
Wasn't this quite good? What was wrong with it? Rum and Gin who thought it was bad should reflect on whether you yourselves had problems.
But even so, the Boss had to consider practical issues—namely that after Arak Wine's influence faded, someone would need to fill the position. Usuha Izuki's personality was completely opposite to Arak Wine's and couldn't be relied upon, which was why he had Rum cultivate more people.
Once there was replaceability, Usuha Izuki's value would instantly decrease, and everyone's tolerance for him would also decrease. That's why Bourbon warned Usuha Izuki, hoping he would restrain himself recently.
Although Usuha Izuki still seemed not to take it seriously, Bourbon didn't want to repeat himself. He coldly turned off the signal jammer and rolled up his sleeves to start cleaning.
While Bourbon was looking for a broom, the system came to talk to Usuha Izuki with worry: [What should we do? You're suddenly in danger!]
[What do you mean what should we do? You don't actually want me to keep my tail between my legs, do you?] Usuha Izuki indicated that was quite a thought. [Of course, we handle things as they come.]
System: [...Aren't you worried?]
Usuha Izuki pondered: [How should I put it... Since the undercover system still hasn't returned, I can't get answers to some questions and can only verify things myself. This time is also an opportunity... Seriously, it's been seven years. Did the undercover system flee to avoid punishment?]
The suspicion value system had originally wanted to ask what exactly Usuha Izuki wanted to verify, but upon hearing the latter part, immediately had its attention diverted and earnestly explained: [For it, maybe only an instant has passed. Perhaps it'll be back tomorrow! We don't have such things as fleeing to avoid punishment!]
While sweeping, Bourbon glanced at Usuha Izuki with his peripheral vision.
He noticed Usuha Izuki was spacing out.
Hmm... although he was joking around earlier, he must have finally realized the seriousness of the situation, right?
So next, would Usuha Izuki be able to settle down a bit...
Then Bourbon watched as Usuha Izuki called Vodka and immediately asked upon opening his mouth:
"Has the organization recently found someone who can replace Arak Wine as the Middle East route supervisor?"
Bourbon: "..........."
You really ask Vodka about everything! No wonder Vodka complains about you the most!!!
Vodka was very alert: "Why are you asking about this again?"
"Like I said, it's to figure out how much longer I can keep playing around. Once the organization finds a replacement, I definitely won't be able to act as carefree as I do now, right?" Usuha Izuki said honestly, then pressed: "So, have you found one?"
Vodka hesitated.
He had indeed heard some rumors, but if he told Usuha Izuki, he didn't know how Usuha Izuki would react. If something happened, responsibility might ultimately fall on him...
Usuha Izuki: "Looks like you have found one."
Vodka: "...?!?!?!"
"After all, I ask you this question often. Except for the first time when you asked why, every other time you've readily told me no. This time you actually hesitated for several seconds..." Usuha Izuki sighed. "Whose person is it?"
Vodka didn't speak, afraid Usuha Izuki would go crazy.
Usuha Izuki didn't intend to make things difficult for him—he was just using Vodka as a stepping stone: "Forget it, I'll ask Rum. Hanging up now, bye."
After hanging up, Usuha Izuki asked Bourbon: "What's Rum's phone number again?"
Bourbon was very speechless that he didn't even save Rum's number, but still irritably rattled off a string of digits, then asked: "You're just going to ask directly like this?"
"Don't worry, I won't expose you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have needed to call Vodka."
Bourbon rolled his eyes. If he wasn't worried, he wouldn't have given Rum's number. He mainly felt that once Usuha Izuki understood the situation, he wouldn't torment him anymore: "I mean, isn't it too direct?"
Usuha Izuki: "I'm an intelligence officer after all. If I don't ask directly for intelligence, how else would I know?"
Actual intelligence officer Bourbon: "..........."
Apologize to intelligence workers everywhere!!!
Although Usuha Izuki didn't save Rum's number, Rum had saved Usuha Izuki's. Looking at the caller ID, he hesitated a bit, but considering that Stout might be able to completely replace Usuha Izuki, he felt more confident and chose to answer.
"Hello, Botanist? What a rare guest." Rum said through a voice changer. "Why are you suddenly calling me? Don't you usually look for Bourbon?"
Usuha Izuki said without changing expression: "It's like this—Vodka said the organization found someone who could replace me, but when I asked for specifics, he knew nothing. I went to ask Bourbon, and Bourbon told me to ask you, so here I am."
Whitewashed Bourbon: "..."
He'd always been tormented by Usuha Izuki—implicated, framed, forced to take the blame... This time he was suddenly protected a bit. Why did he feel somewhat moved?!
He must have Stockholm syndrome. He'd need to see a psychologist with Hiromitsu later.
But did this count as returning a favor? Could he expect Usuha Izuki to seriously stand on their side and help them?
The adopted son of Public Security should return to the side of light, right?
For some reason, Bourbon felt the hope was slim, probably because of Usuha Izuki's sinister expression of "I'm going to frame that guy as an undercover agent and drive him out of the organization."
After hearing Usuha Izuki's summary, Rum indeed didn't blame him, just secretly made a note about Vodka.
Gin's people were actually somewhat at odds with him. Rum figured Vodka didn't know how much he'd said, and being evasive was equivalent to telling Usuha Izuki "come give me trouble," so he simply answered: "That's correct. After all, seven years have passed. No matter how good the relationship with Arak Wine was, with the person dead, feelings will inevitably fade. The organization needs to prepare in advance. Don't you think that's reasonable?"
"Very reasonable. But considering your eyesight isn't that great, show me that person's information. What if they're an undercover agent?"
Rum said: "It's Stout, a very capable guy. He's not a newcomer either. I think he's trustworthy."
"Vodka used to say Tequila was very capable too. How did that turn out?" Usuha Izuki complained. "Hurry up and give me the information. You're not worried I'll find fault with him, are you? If there's nothing wrong with him, I naturally won't do anything. I'm wholeheartedly devoted to the organization's good."
Rum was very doubtful. After all, if it were him encountering a competitor, he'd definitely try to eliminate them.
However, considering Usuha Izuki's methods, it would just be claiming the other was an undercover agent, or having Middle Eastern contacts ostracize them—but the latter would be perfect for testing Stout's capabilities... So after thinking it over, Rum agreed: "I'll send it to you later."
Bourbon, having observed Usuha Izuki's "intelligence gathering process," was very speechless: "Then what? What do you plan to do once you get the information?"
"Naturally, say he's an undercover agent!"
Bourbon rolled his eyes: "This kind of method... at most you'll make him undergo a few more investigations. Someone who was cultivated with such effort—Rum won't easily believe your nonsense, much less easily give up."
"I just need to find a way to make Stout give up himself."
Bourbon: "...?"
Usuha Izuki dragged Akai Shuichi's email from his blacklist and sent him an email.
Although Usuha Izuki didn't quite understand why Akai Shuichi went to the FBI when his mother was MI6, this kind of interpersonal network was very useful at times like this.
[Contact your mother. Isn't she MI6? The MI6 undercover agent in the organization—the one codenamed Stout—has been exposed. Tell him to withdraw quickly, or I won't be polite.]