[136]
After Mrs. Grandis stepped forward, the suppression team became more respectful than before.
The change was astonishing.
“Ma’am, please come this way.”
It also helped that Abigail, who had been keeping an eye on the warehouse, returned due to the commotion happening here.
“Treat those who cooperate humanely.”
Peter, who had been watching this entire situation, bit his lip.
‘…I don’t want to start over from the beginning.’
He recalled Mrs. Grandis crying after the Thorns Order’s terrorist attack at the flea market.
Seeing all her merchandise burned to ashes, she wanted to collapse on the spot rather than evacuate.
She was reasonably tough but a person worn down and exhausted by life.
He never thought someone like Mrs. Grandis would have such fire within her.
‘Debt…’
He felt like he owed too much now.
She had stopped Peter, who was about to step forward in case violence broke out and things escalated, and went ahead herself instead.
Not only that, she successfully quelled people’s hostility and secured a promise for their protection.
‘The issue now would be what happens after we’re transferred to the city hall prison…’
Peter checked Abigail Chung’s face again.
Obl’s sister, whom he had seen through his terminal.
Since her brother was on their side, Abigail wouldn’t treat them badly.
‘It’s strange that I want to find comfort even in this.’
He swallowed a bitter smile.
Peter created a passage in the floor and poured the documents that the flea market had been storing through it.
The truly important ledgers were on this side, so that was fine.
But he found it difficult to leave because his heart felt heavy.
Peter understood intellectually that he didn’t need to take responsibility for everything. Nevertheless, leaving behind the other illegal immigrants in the same situation as himself felt cowardly.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
Mrs. Grandis had deliberately left Peter behind and gone out alone. It was partly thanks to coincidental timing, but if Mrs. Grandis hadn’t had the courage, Peter would have gone instead.
So he could save this emotional struggle for when he was alone in bed at night, curled up and unable to sleep.
With a hardened face, he crossed through the passage he had created.
***
“So the flea market was attacked again.”
With Baekyah not in the Spring Continent, the sparks had flown to the Barrel Society instead.
The Barrel Society was quite a large organization with amazing potential. Its members were spread across all corners of the continent, and they shared bonds and secrets that couldn’t be obtained through ordinary means.
But their most vulnerable link was still the fact that they were “illegal immigrants.”
“The baker and the shoemaker started undermining each other behind the scenes, and it seems they each reported the other to the city hall.”
Peter muttered while covering his face.
How dumbfounding it was to figure out how the flea market had been exposed?
Moreover, the initial report had been received weeks ago, but Martha Chafnil had covered it up.
There might have been a request from the Thorns Order not to lose a collaborator in making that decision. But when she found herself cornered, she decided to overturn everything.
To bring this massive illegal immigrant organization to the surface and hide behind it herself.
“Cutting off her own flesh…”
Yuri clicked his tongue.
They thought they would only fight within the organization, but suddenly they tried to bring in outside forces.
“I think they felt there were limitations to kicking under the table.”
Peter looked exhausted.
He kept thinking about Mrs. Grandis.
‘If the baker or shoemaker falls, maybe I’ll consider nominating her as the next candidate.’
“I hope this helps.”
Yuri nodded to Chris. Chris handed him a terminal chip.
Peter connected the chip to his own terminal and began checking the information inside.
At first, he was leaning comfortably on the sofa, but gradually his posture straightened, and eventually his entire body leaned forward as if being sucked into the terminal.
“Is, is all of this provable?”
The terminal contained records showing that Martha Chafnil had been embezzling city funds, laundering them through illegal gambling dens, and converting them into personal assets.
“Yes.”
Yuri confirmed.
“How on earth did you manage this?”
“With some help from the mayor of Ishtar.”
They had been grinding their teeth at how the Babel mayor had slipped away like a loach.
Ishtar City was extremely frustrated with Martha Chafnil, who consistently feigned ignorance about the abandoned factory district incident. When they got the opportunity to reignite suspicions about Martha Chafnil’s morality, they pounced on it, determined not to let it go this time.
“How did you find out about the money laundering and this account?”
“Tips from gambling buddies, brokers, an insider whose family was held hostage, and aggrieved victims who realized they’d been scammed.”
In other words, they connected pieces of information into one complete picture.
“I’d been looking into the city budget because it seemed suspicious for a while… but Investigator Abigail’s help and the cooperation of Ishtar’s mayor were crucial. They said something about the systems used by each city being similar, so they created backdoors the same way.”
Yuri added.
He hadn’t actually discovered the system backdoors himself.
Martha Chafnil had committed so many wrongdoings that corruption poured out without much effort. Yuri had simply strung it all together.
“I’ll put this to good use.”
Peter took the chip with a cold expression.
“You’re helping more than I expected.”
“There are constraints to operating without a foothold on the Spring Continent.”
Yuri paused briefly before adding.
“And the fact that they keep targeting the Barrel Society… I think it’s because information about you being our collaborator has leaked.”
“Ah.”
Peter frowned at those words.
“No need to feel sorry. It’s obvious how the information leaked.”
Damn traitors.
He grumbled inwardly, thinking of the two executives.
Did they know that while they were fighting for a bit of power, the Barrel Society nearly split in half?
Did they even consider that they might have become sacrifices themselves?
It was a pointless question. Their greed was fundamentally different from Peter’s. Naturally, their criteria for making life decisions would also differ.
Still, the feeling of betrayed one-sided camaraderie was quite bitter.
Bitter and hollow.
“I always thought they were too focused on self-interest, but I believed the organization needed people like that.”
Peter muttered as if complaining.
“Do you feel like cutting them out now?”
“That’s not for me to do. We need to convene an executive meeting, weigh the rights and wrongs… and decide on punishment and treatment after disciplinary action.”
“But,” Chris quietly spoke up.
“Surely there are organization members who follow those two people?”
“…Well, yes.”
Peter hesitated momentarily.
As executives who had been with them from relatively early on, the baker and shoemaker had quite a following.
There were even people who could be called their inner circle.
“Unless there are more traitors among them, if we cut them all out, the organization’s functions would be paralyzed.”
“Still, what needs to be pruned should be pruned.”
“Your ideals are so lofty that you can’t tolerate anything dirty.”
Yuri, who had been listening quietly, clicked his tongue.
“Doesn’t Baekyah also eliminate traitors without mercy?”
Peter responded sharply, but Yuri shook his head.
“During the resistance, we deliberately left them alone. It was convenient to use them as double agents without their knowledge.”
“…Hmm.”
Feeling a chill on the nape of his neck, Peter rubbed it while looking at Yuri.
“Of course, now we clean them out.”
“I also think there’s no need to keep traitors or their subordinates around.”
Peter was resolute. It was natural to not want to experience betrayal again. He tended to give his heart easily to others, developing affection quickly and dedicating himself just as much.
Chris looked at him.
“However, the Barrel Society and Baekyah are completely different types of organizations.”
“…Ah.”
“Anyway, as long as illegal immigrants exist, the Barrel Society will continue to have fluctuating membership. It’s a structure where it’s easy for outsiders to enter and infiltrate.”
Despite how stubborn Peter was being, Chris’s voice remained calm.
“Many people will inevitably come and go. So in this case, rather than eliminating all the traitors, you should selectively thin them out while keeping others.”
Eventually, Chris glanced at Yuri as if checking his reaction.
He stared back at Chris with a look that seemed to encourage him to continue.
Having gained something that might have been courage or tension, Chris swallowed dryly and added:
“While maintaining a loose common goal. By appropriately replacing parts as needed. Yes, that’s how I think it should be done.”
After finishing somewhat awkwardly, Chris retreated slightly further back.
Perhaps from spending so much time with Yuri, Chris’s thinking had cold aspects similar to his.
“Chris explained it well. My thoughts are the same.”
“…Ha.”
Peter rubbed his face dry.
“I don’t understand how you can think about it so coldly and detachedly. When working as a team, people develop a sense of belonging and intimacy.”
“Well, this is just a suggestion, so do as you please.”
At those words, Peter’s ears perked up.
“If it’s just a suggestion, does that mean there’s a clean way to cut out only the shoemaker and the baker?”
“I wouldn’t suddenly tell you to change your way of life without having at least that much of a solution.”
Yuri said in a cold voice.
Peter sensed it. This was something he needed to accept.
While Yuri Sobolev wouldn’t feel guilty, as long as they were using the Barrel Society as a temporary base, he would have to ensure some benefit for them.
That meant there really was a way to cut off the heads of those two executives without removing their factions.
He wouldn’t make empty promises about such things.
Peter exclaimed enthusiastically:
“Alright. Let’s try changing things.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
