46
Come to the Negotiation Table
In this world, there are those who run and those who fly above them, and Sebastian was a man who never lost a battle of wills, even in a place swarming with armed men. Far from losing, he had an innate talent for putting down his opponents while elevating those around him.
He was such a perfect employer that it made me seriously consider blackmailing him to hire me as his lover.
Damn, he’s so cool…! To hell with the Security Bureau. It was only a few weeks ago that I made a deal with the director to secure my position in the Security Bureau, but now I already want to write a resignation letter. I’ve been such a frog in a well all this time!
“Nakaban.”
At Sebastian’s call, Nakaban, who had been standing behind us, walked over. Nakaban also looked unafraid of this situation. But it wasn’t because he was used to such scenes like me or Kouri, nor did he have Sebastian’s innate dominant charisma. Nakaban seemed to be overflowing with ambition from head to toe.
Such a style usually goes one of two ways. Either they die by a stray bullet, or they really climb to the top. He’s somewhat reminiscent of an ambitious person like Nina Volkari.
Completely ignoring this atmosphere of “lots of guns on this side, lots of guns on that side, ready to be provoked at any moment,” he neatly laid out the prepared items on the table. He handed over a pre-prepared tablet, which was playing CCTV footage. Glancing at it, I saw a slow-motion clip of Josef Kuno swinging a knife at Sebastian.
“First of all, the knife was an automatic folding knife. It’s a double-action type, one of 100 limited edition pieces released two years ago, and due to its high price, we were able to identify the customer it was sold to. The knife was indeed sold to Josef Kuno, so the owner of the knife is certainly Josef Kuno. And this knife is a prohibited item in Rotman. So he’s already broken one law.”
August Kuno’s eyes became much more vicious than before, but Nakaban didn’t even sneer.
“Mr. Riegel’s trouser hem was cut. Upon examining the cross-section of the cut fabric, we discovered an unexpected fact. There was blood from a third party, neither Mr. Riegel’s nor Mr. Kuno’s. I won’t tell you whose blood it was.”
What does it mean that blood from a third party, neither Riegel’s nor Kuno’s, was found on the cut section of Riegel’s trousers? It means the blood was already on the knife.
“You should tell us.”
When August Kuno fiercely protested, Nakaban sneered.
“With your bare mouth?”
“You bastard…!”
The overzealous bastard who had earlier demanded we hand over our weapons moved first. So I immediately stepped in front of Nakaban, inserting myself between them.
“Why do you keep interfering? Is your master unable to control you, or is he ordering you to do this?”
At my words, the bastard’s eyes wavered for a moment. It was clear he was acting on orders. Trying to set the mood like this, what era’s tactic is this? Well, this tactic may be old, but it’s still effective. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was used even in ancient times.
“Ah, Mr. Riegel. Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t order anything at all.”
August Kuno pretended to be surprised and raised both hands. What’s the point of trying to smile innocently? Even in this situation, his eyes are still crazed.
I pulled out the knife I was carrying. Ah, if it were fully automatic, it would have been perfect, but my knife is a manual folding one. I’ve rarely seen anyone around me use an automatic. Despite everything, two fatal flaws are decisive. It might not work when needed due to malfunction, and it’s heavy due to the various mechanisms.
I put the blade of the knife close to his lips and whispered kindly.
“Get lost, you bastard. If you pop up again next time, I’ll cut off your tongue, whether you’re the master or not.”
His eyes widened. He seemed to have underestimated us. Usually, the most incompetent ones bark the loudest. Surprised that I put a knife to you? To be honest, I could tear your tongue out with a fork if I wanted to. I don’t need a knife.
This is purely a performance. I could see Kouri, who could tear out a tongue with a fork or bare hands like me, smiling benevolently with a face that said, ‘How cute you’re playing.’
“Mr. Riegel!”
August Kuno screamed. In response to his protest, Sebastian leisurely said,
“Armin, you should use prettier words. It’s not like you were going to cut it right now anyway.”
“I’ll be careful.”
At my words, Sebastian smiled and then said to Kuno,
“He says he’ll be careful.”
A vein popped on August Kuno’s forehead. Oh, what if he falls backward? I don’t want to meet him again. Unlike me who was worried, Nakaban continued speaking.
Nakaban revealed numerous other pieces of information to Kuno. In other words, he only said what he wanted to say. Listening to Nakaban, it seemed Josef Kuno shouldn’t set foot in this country for the rest of his life. August Kuno’s face turned red and blue, but Nakaban showed not a shred of sympathy. From my perspective, it seemed he was angry not because Kuno’s subordinate had threatened him, but because Kuno’s son had swung a knife at Sebastian.
“So, the point of all this is,”
“When I was young, I was kidnapped by your colleagues, and a few days ago, my life was threatened by your son, so the ‘trust relationship’ you speak of is a bit… dubious.”
August Kuno, who was already at his limit, stood up abruptly.
“Then is this a breakdown? Fine, do as you wish. We’ll find our own way.”
“It’s not exactly a breakdown.”
Sebastian said leisurely. August Kuno’s eyes were bloodshot. Isn’t his blood pressure dangerously high?
“It’s just too one-sided, Mr. Kuno. Asking us to mediate the purchase of energy bombs, vouch for identities, pay deposits… It’s all fine, but we’re just receiving orders and don’t know how Canaris actually operates. Well, since you’re such a traditional organization and seem to need to maintain security, we’ve been patient until now, but…”
“You don’t need to be patient anymore.”
Kuno, who was furious, sneered. Sebastian chuckled.
“Is that the opinion of the entire Canaris?”
“Since Canaris has recognized me as the person in charge of this matter, you can consider my words as Canaris’s opinion.”
The deposit for the energy bomb must be no small sum, and they’re asking us to pay that money, vouch for the identity for purchasing the bomb, whining about all sorts of things using blackmail as an excuse, but they don’t like their pride being hurt. They’re really something else.
As I frowned, August Kuno said with a vile face,
“If you don’t spend money on us anyway, you’re just heading for catastrophe. Do you think you can set foot in this country after helping Yudorov defect?”
It seems he means why are we being so stubborn when we have no choice but to comply due to blackmail. Although the atmosphere was conciliatory when we first arrived here, it no longer seemed to be the case.
I subtly pushed Nakaban back under the table. Understanding my intention, Nakaban quickly gathered the documents and went behind Kouri. Meanwhile, I stood behind Sebastian.
The air in the room was tense and expanded. In the tension where even a small mistake could cause an explosion, Sebastian was the only one who remained relaxed. He tilted his head and said “Well,” then turned to look at me.
“What do you think, Team Leader Schnieke? What’s the Security Bureau’s opinion?”
At the mention of the Security Bureau, the Canaris guys pulled out their guns. The moment they drew their guns, we drew ours too. Everyone simultaneously pulled out their guns and aimed at each other.
August Kuno glared at me. He, who had only thought of me as a ‘unlucky bodyguard’ until now, was completely flustered by my unexpected identity.
“Se-Security Bureau? Team Leader?”
“Security Bureau Division 1, Armin Schnieke.”
I said my name, but I was at a loss for what to say next. The Security Bureau’s opinion? There’s no such thing. The Security Bureau only allowed us to approach Josef Kuno. The Bureau’s primary goal is, of course, to rescue the White Sparrow.
“The Security Bureau…”
As I was fumbling for words, Sebastian picked up where I left off.
“Thank you for letting a Security Bureau employee directly hear that we were ‘blackmailed’ by you. And regarding Uncle Yudorov’s defection, we’ve already talked to the Security Bureau, so let us handle our side of the problem. Do as you wish. Report it, or publish it in the newspapers.”
Good heavens, Sebastian was bluffing.
Could it be that this was a planned bluff from the start? I felt I needed to keep a poker face. I shouldn’t show any signs of being flustered. Fortunately, while I couldn’t show any other sophisticated expressions, I could maintain a blank face. That’s not difficult.
Perhaps Sebastian had aimed for this from the beginning. He wanted to prevent Canaris from blackmailing his father, and I happened to be by his side. But he couldn’t ask me to cooperate in this matter. As a member of the Security Bureau, I couldn’t cooperate in advance. It’s impossible due to my job. However, if things unfold like this in real-time, I have no choice but to cooperate.
This is impressive.
It was so impressive that I wanted to whistle.
“Do you think you’ll be safe after turning Canaris into an enemy?”
August Kuno spat out a line like a third-rate villain. It’s well-known that the Canaris guys are crazy fanatics, and they wouldn’t hesitate to do things like suicide attacks if things went wrong. I was preparing my body to grab Sebastian and throw him behind me if necessary, when Sebastian stood up. For the first time, he put away his kind expression and said with a cold face,
“I can’t continue because you’re not understanding. Let me say it again. We are now equals. You can’t blackmail me anymore. But I am a bit interested in Canaris. I can handle Armin Schnieke on my own. Now, I’ll give you a week. Bring someone worth negotiating with before me. From then on, we’ll start collaborating to create the future of Canaris and Riegel. Do you understand, ladies and gentlemen of Canaris?”
Only when Sebastian said this could I finally realize. August Kuno is not the leader of Canaris. He’s close to being a puppet. There are true pillars of Canaris watching the situation in this room. And Sebastian knew this. He was speaking to those lurking behind August Kuno.
Telling them to come to the negotiation table.
