Chapter 105
Chapter 105. Casting the Bait (2)
Jurgen's plan was a single one.
To first make it appear as though things were unfolding according to Bell's intentions — staging 'Jurgen's disappearance' to lower her guard — while expanding the Franchise beneath the surface. Each playing their given role, Jurgen had gone into hiding, and Penelope had gathered investors to take on Franchise outlets.
A safe house on the outskirts of Nortaris.
[Gray Council Half Assassinated in Single Night…… Revenge or Internal Strife?]
Having brewed his coffee and checked the morning newspaper headline, Jurgen gave a start.
"Good heavens, what on earth……."
"Good morning!"
Aiden, appearing right on cue, strode in with a cheery greeting. He had clearly been up all night, yet his color looked remarkably healthy.
"Captain, I——ah, you're already reading the newspaper?"
"Is this your doing?"
"Naturally. I'm still very much alive, heh heh."
A beaming smile, as if asking 'Did I do well?' On an innocent child, such an expression might be forgivable — but on a scruffy, unshaven man, it was rather…… Unsettling.
"As you can see, I cleared them all out in one go."
Aiden was part of the Secret Burial Unit. Specifically, an operative who had specialized in assassination.
But even so, results of this scale in a single day were abnormal. Jurgen himself could not have managed this.
"What happened was……."
Though he had been living the life of a layabout for some time, Aiden had been collecting information on the Gray Council as if by habit. A sort of occupational hazard, one might say.
The hideouts, escorts, capabilities, and misdeeds of the lot who fancied themselves board members. He had held information that only an insider could access.
When a first-rate assassin is handed all the information he needs, even the notorious northern Mafia would have stood no chance.
Aiden having pulled off a surprise performance out of excessive loyalty was understandable, but……
This created its own set of headaches.
"Now, when did I tell you to go and assassinate anyone? I told you to handle what Marcus had assigned you and report back."
"Rest easy. There are no witnesses. And there won't be any evidence either. I only targeted those who deserved it."
It was not that Jurgen was reproaching him for the assassinations. Jurgen himself had precious little mercy for evildoers, and if Aiden said he had only targeted those who deserved it, so be it.
But Y&P Trading Company had barely come under attack when half of the Gray Council's seats died in a single night? Marcus included?
"Won't Bell naturally find this suspicious?"
"Captain, you know one thing but not two. They say to hide a tree, hide it in a forest, do they not?"
"So to hide a corpse, you made a field of corpses?"
"Exactly. No no, really, truly!"
Seeing Jurgen's right hand twitch, Aiden shrank his shoulders.
He spoke quickly to get his defense in.
"I know how these Mafia types operate. The Gray Council may call itself a council, but in reality it's nothing more than a fellowship of criminals, isn't it?"
"That's fair."
"What loyalty could there be between them, what great cause? They were killing each other from the start anyway."
"Hmm……."
"Half the board died overnight. What does that suggest? It suggests the work of a traitor within."
"A traitor within…… which isn't wrong."
"Please don't lump me in with those criminal types!"
Aiden fixed his eyes wide and vented his indignation.
"In any case, by now the survivors will be in absolute uproar among themselves. They'll be fighting in the shadows to claim the interests that have floated free. And what does that mean? It means Bell won't be able to extract reliable information from the council for quite some time."
"Oh ho."
He had wondered why Aiden had gone off and done something unsolicited, making things messier. But hearing it laid out, it sounded rather convincing. It also seemed like it would serve as quite a useful smokescreen going forward.
"Well? What do you think of my picture?"
"You haven't rusted."
"That means I'm fully absolved, yes?"
Jurgen let out a small laugh watching Aiden preen with satisfaction.
"Ah, and this is information Marcus left behind……. That Bell woman — she may have some connection to a Dark Mage."
"A Dark Mage, out of nowhere?"
"The reliability is quite dubious. But he didn't seem to be lying, so I'm passing it along."
As Jurgen's expression, which had been lighthearted, suddenly hardened, Aiden tensed alongside him. Anyone who had worked with him knew just how much he despised Dark Mages.
"Shall I look further into Bell's background?"
If a connection to a Dark Mage came to light, even Rosemore would find it difficult to escape the fallout. Jurgen personally had no particular concern about what became of Rosemore, but it could send shockwaves reaching Penelope as well.
There was a need to get ahead of the information.
If Bell really did have ties to a Dark Mage, and if that was Clarisse's doing alone……
It would need to be cut out before things spread further.
"I leave it in your hands. Take care of yourself."
"Aah, now you're making me blush. Is this my first or second time doing this sort of thing? It's been a while, and the old days are coming back to me……. I'm glad."
At Aiden's suddenly wistful tone, Jurgen paused.
"Truth be told, I had been living in a kind of self-contempt. Not that the gambling and drinking weren't fun — that would be a lie…… but there was something hollow inside. An emptiness that couldn't be filled……."
Today's Aiden was unusually sentimental. Excessively so, to be precise.
"It feels like I've finally found what I'm supposed to be doing. It's thanks to you, Captain."
"Aiden, I think that's quite enough of that."
Jurgen tried to stop him, but Aiden's eyes grew moist, as if gazing at something far away.
"When this is all over……. I'm thinking of finding a good woman and going down to the countryside. Ow!"
Jurgen smacked the back of Aiden's head without mercy.
"Wh-why did you do that!"
"What do you mean, why. I just saved your life. Be careful — be very careful. This whole business doesn't seem ordinary."
"If that's what you mean, just say so instead of using your fists……."
Aiden muttered and rubbed the back of his head.
***
Bell was met with a shocking piece of news the moment she woke up.
"Half the board members dead?"
Internal strife within the organization. The board had made too many enemies and provoked the wrath of a powerful noble. It was the work of a Dark Mage — and so on.
The article was rife with speculation.
If this had happened to any ordinary Mafia group, she would not have been so surprised.
But the Gray Council was no ordinary outfit.
A corporate-style criminal organization with deep roots in the gaps of law and system. They were the sort who held covert ties with countless nobles, and possessed an animal instinct for survival.
The occasional seat changed hands or disappeared, but having half the board wiped out like this was an unprecedented event.
"And Marcus, of all people, taken down too."
For all that he was a Mafia boss, he had been a useful hunting hound. He had known how to navigate and how to read the big picture.
Above all, the timing was too convenient.
Just last night she had received a report from Marcus that the mission had been completed. Which meant the moment the mission was done, Marcus himself and a swath of board members had died en masse.
Could it be that Y&P Trading Company — that Penelope — had been pulling strings behind the scenes?
Bell felt her wariness spike to its limits. If that were the case…… She would need to obtain Clarisse's permission and employ more decisive measures.
Trrring——
At that moment, the telephone rang loudly. It was an informant from the underworld with whom she dealt on a regular basis.
[Th-this is urgent! Internal strife has broken out within the Gray Council!]
"What was that?"
[Moments ago, the vehicle of 4th Seat Victor exploded! The driver and attendants are presumed to have died instantly with him.]
"……?"
[9th Seat Roscoe is preparing for all-out war. It appears he has concluded this was the work of an insider and is moving accordingly. It seems likely to escalate into something far more serious.]
"……Right. I understand. Keep sending reports."
Bell ended the call.
"Internal strife……."
Well, this made far more sense. Even granting that Penelope had hidden her fangs, the notion of taking down half of the major Mafia figures in a single night — could such a thing even be possible?
The more logical explanation was that there had been a traitor inside with access to internal information.
"The underworld is going to be in an uproar for a while."
The underworld organizations had lost all trust in one another. The neutrality of the underworld, which had revolved around the Gray Council, was now completely shattered.
To survive, to claim gains, to seize fresh opportunities. For some time, the underworld would become a hell where jackals tore at each other's throats. The nobles would likely back one faction or another, as if placing bets at a dogfight.
"Honestly, this is infuriating."
Bell let out a sigh.
The Marcus she had gone to such lengths to cultivate had been taken down, meaning Bell would have to take action herself. Whether or not she had a grip on the underworld made an enormous difference to the scope of what she could do.
To make up for this loss, Bell would have to pick a dog and make it the champion. What an absolute nuisance.
Not that it was a major concern.
In any case, Y&P Trading Company's Jurgen had been duly chased off, and Penelope was nowhere to be seen — keeping her head down, nobody knew where or doing what. Perhaps her spirit had been completely broken and she was weeping away in her room.
Bell reprioritized. For now, seizing control of the underworld came before dealing with Y&P Trading Company.
And so Bell took the bait.
***
Y&P Trading Company's secret project. 'Ultra-speed Franchise Launch' had already been set in motion.
Under normal circumstances, that would mean Serena ought to have grease on her cheeks while turning a hex wrench somewhere.
But right now——
"When is food ready?"
"Just a moment. Very soon!"
Serena was hovering around the front of the kitchen in her own home. Inside, Brigitte was in the midst of preparing breakfast.
The reason was simple enough.
There had been a word of caution to exercise the utmost care for safety, as there was no telling how Bell might move. Accordingly, capable adventurers maintained an ironclad security perimeter around the Renoir Mansion, and Brigitte was also staying here in the meantime.
Serena, not wishing to add any further kidnapping experiences to her personal record, stayed quietly indoors. The employees of the Renoir Workshop had by now developed enough proficiency to turn out Y&P's machinery quite competently on their own without Serena.
In other words, the happy life of having nothing to do but eat Brigitte's delicious cooking was officially beginning!
"Today's menu is! Toast and omelette, and Brigitte's special herb sausages!"
"Waaah!!!"
Serena clapped her hands like a small child, then cleared her throat and straightened her posture.
That just now had been an involuntary reaction. She couldn't help it.
Both Jurgen and Penelope had heaped praise on Brigitte's cooking, and Serena had thought to herself, 'hmm, how good can it really be?' Jurgen's culinary skills were peerless in their own right, and the winner of the Royal Warrant was Y&P Trading Company, after all.
But no.
She was genuinely, extraordinarily good.
Even looking at what Brigitte called 'a plain breakfast' said it all.
Toast with a cat drawn on the surface by scorching it with a heated knife. A sublime prawn omelette, from which, the moment the knife cut through, a beautiful cascade of moist and tender egg flowed gorgeously. And even a handmade sausage of minced meat stuffed into pork intestine!
Truly magnificent!
"Brigitte! The best! Incredible! To think a human being could make food like this! Are you perhaps the God of Cuisine, Brigitte?"
So magnificent that even her manner of speech had gone strange!
"Ahem, you flatter me."
Brigitte accepted her petite senior's extravagant praise with a swell of pride.
For a cook, reactions were everything, after all. In that sense, Serena was a noble with the finest reactions in the land.
"This omelette in particular! It wraps around the tongue as sweetly as a first kiss — what on earth is the secret?"
"I added minced prawn!"
Brigitte thought it would be perfectly fine if a profession called 'Reactioner' were created specifically to react for Lady Serena. Because Lady Serena would surely become the world's greatest Reactioner!
After finishing their meal in such pleasant fashion, the two made their way to the study.
"Ugh, I hate studying."
"Now, now. You have to be able to read at least, you know."
"I can already read……."
Brigitte was caught by the wrist and fluttered along like a paper doll being pulled by Serena.
Brigitte was of commoner origins and had not been wealthy enough to attend school, so she could not read terribly well. Not completely illiterate, but the sort to tilt her head whenever a slightly difficult word appeared.
They had time to spare anyway…… Serena had lately been reading the morning newspaper aloud each day while teaching Brigitte her letters.
"Alright. Just read as well as you did yesterday."
"Haah…… yes."
"Read well and I'll take you to the dress shop next time, so put in the effort. Understood?"
"Oh! The dress shop!"
Brigitte had been making a show of reluctance, but she was a simple soul by nature. Knowing this was goodwill meant for her own benefit, she opened the newspaper compliantly.
"Gr…… Gray…… Council…… Half, Assassinated, in…… Single Night…… Revenge or…… Ha, Haughtyance?"
"……Brigitte, I think you may have misread that."
"D-did I? Argh! There are so many words I don't know!"
Serena, who had been listening to Brigitte's recitation with eyes closed in the manner of someone who has hired a reading girl, strode over and snatched the newspaper.
"Hm?"
The Gray Council…… that was the criminal organization Rex had belonged to — the one who had commissioned Serena's kidnapping. Serena, a born and bred northerner, had felt the fearsome nature of those who walked the tightrope between legal and illegal right down to her bones.
And creatures like those, wiped out in a single night?
"No?! Goodness! Does that mean something terrible has happened?"
Half out of her wits, Serena explained the words and read the article aloud, at which Brigitte became agitated.
"No."
"Oh! What a relief then!"
In truth, it was not particularly terrible.
The underworld strife that would follow (and the nobles' behind-the-scenes power struggle hiding beneath the guise of it) would render the northern public security somewhat unstable for a time, but…… They were not going to be leaving the house for a while anyway, so it made no difference.
Reading through the rest of the article…… Even the newspaper had been unable to identify the precise chain of events. It wrote only of the fact that all victims save Chairman Marcus had been found in their own homes with holes blown through their throats, alongside vague conjecture.
And yet…… Serena felt it by instinct.
"Brigitte."
"Yes?"
"Be polite and respectful toward Jurgen. Understood?"
"Yes!"
She was quite certain the person who had done this was none other than Senior Jurgen.