Volume 6 Chapter 1 The Outstanding 'Ears'
After quite an eventful vacation, we returned to the royal capital and a few days had passed.
"I heard about it, Yukina-kun. Seems like you've been quite active in Eubarest."
"You just show up out of nowhere, hey. And don't just sit down without permission."
While having breakfast at a daytime restaurant, Rudel, with whom I had previously collaborated, appeared without warning. Without waiting for permission, he sat down at the opposite seat and proceeded to place an order with the waiter.
"Hahaha. We're pretty close, aren't we? No need for formalities, right?"
"That's probably a line from me who was sitting here first."
Giving Rudel a sidelong glance as he laughed cheerfully, I found my unable to complain as he began eating the breakfast brought by the waiter without a care in the world.
After enjoying the breakfast for a while and finishing most of it, Rudel spoke up once again.
"It seems like you've caught quite a big fish this time. I was too busy with something else, so I couldn't make it, but if not, I would have definitely wanted to participate in that conflict. Of course, on your side."
"Your ears are quite sharp. That information is still hidden from the public, you know."
"My ears are just a little bit exceptional."
Rudel proudly points to his own ears. Surely, he must have his own unique connections and sources of information.
──Unfortunately, it was impossible to completely cover up the incident involving Eubarest.
Originally, the plan was to settle the conflict within Eubarest, and secretly transport the corrupt merchant Narinki, who was the root of all evil, to a neighboring country.
Honestly, it wasn't impossible to do so.
However, Aina put a stop to it.
The reason is the existence of Bael and Weiss.
Hiding this information could lead to significant disadvantages for all of humanity. This is because demons disguising themselves as humans and lurking in society is not limited to just Eubarest. There might be demons disguised in some city even now.
...While there may be friendly demons among them, it's not a story that can be completely hidden just because of that.
However, to explain the existence of Bael and others, it is necessary to reveal the circumstances involved, including the fact that they were hired by Narinki.
As a result of discussions between us and Reed, the fact that Narinki was secretly active in Eubarest was reported to the guild. However, as originally planned, Reed was to transport Narinki herself to the neighboring country, who was the original client.
Neighboring countries will expose their own failures to Arcus, but they can secure Narinki themselves. It is likely that negotiations will take place between the neighboring country and Arcus, and Aina anticipated a flow where demon-related information obtained from Narinki's interrogation would be shared.
"Narinki is quite a big shot in the underworld. If he had seriously expanded into Arcus, it would have been quite troublesome. It was good fortune that you were able to prevent it at the last minute. If only you could have brought him over here, it would have been a huge victory."
"If that happened, all the credit would go to me alone."
"It involves Reed the Trampling, so it's too extravagant."
The great capture of Narinki would have been a failure for us alone or for Reed alone. It was a great job that succeeded only because we teamed up with the local organization, the Jingin Family. It would be too ungrateful to claim all the credit for myself.
"By the way, I heard that Nikyou Jingin became your sworn brothers."
"It's supposed to be completely confidential, though."
"Don't worry. I won't spread rumors. I'll keep it to myself."
"Please do so."
In response to this incident, the soldier army seems to be sending an inspection team to Eubarest, but there was also suspicion towards the Jingin Family, an underworld organization. However, negotiations with the captain of the Eubarest guard organization were made to ensure an explanation.
The captain of the Eubarest guard organization was somewhat under the influence of Narinki, who had bought him off. It seems that Narinki had also infiltrated the organization with his henchmen disguised as guard soldiers, causing quite a bit of chaos. The soldier who intervened when I was almost captured was likely one of those individuals.
Probably, it was inevitable for the captain to be dismissed due to the responsibility issue in this case, but if the connection with Narinki is exposed, it won't end there. At the very least, it could lead to imprisonment, and perhaps even heavier punishment.
Unable to resist the threat disguised as negotiations presented by Nikyou, the captain obediently accepted our demands.
"However, are you finally making your debut in the underworld?"
"Just hearing that sounds really bad."
"Well, Nikyou and his Jingin family are surprisingly old-fashioned mafia in this day and age. They're known even outside of Eubarest."
"Oh, I see. I always thought they were different from the mafia I had in mind."
"Regardless of their origins, most of the mafia today are the ones who take from the weak."
The mafia I know is often associated with the image Rudel described. Even in this relatively safe place, Arcus' royal capital, if one delve into the underworld, they'll come across some shady organizations. They usually don't have a good reputation, and if an amateur gets involved, they'll be completely taken advantage of.
Originally, the mafia seems to have originated as a vigilante group protecting people from ruthless acts that couldn't be dealt with by the law. Their main source of income was supposedly protection money. It's a sad reality that they have long since become a mere shell of what they once were.
"If Nikyou Jingin are really that kind of scum, would you still want to associate with him? What kind of people were Nikyou Jingin, actually?"
"He was a big drinker who loved to make a scene. And when it came to combat, he was skilled enough to earn Mikage's recognition."
"That's impressive. I kind of want to meet him now."
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