Setup (2)
In the bowels of the Libra Intelligence Agency—the waste disposal site.
I pulled out a notebook amidst the heaps of shredded papers. Tearing off a page, I imperfectly imitated someone’s handwriting to make it look like a practice attempt.
Whoosh!
I set the paper ablaze.
“Grawl, look into the mafia side.”
I issued a specific command to Grawl at the same time.
“The mafia?”
“Yes.”
The Libra Intelligence Agency is an organization that gathers all the underground information. Therefore, a team leader-level agent can easily access even the most crucial information.
That in itself is a temptation for him.
It’s practically no different from a mint that handles money. If utilized properly, it can be monetized.
And as far as I know, ‘Benedict,’ the team leader, is not a man resistant to temptation.
“There’s bound to be a history of him selling information to the mafia.”
“Got it!”
The enemy of my enemy is my ally.
Since Johanna’s enemy is the mafia, the scum under Derek’s command must be selling information to them.
“Phew!”
I snuffed out the flames clinging to the paper and pocketed the charred remains.
Right after that, I left the Intelligence Agency.
It was already dawn outside.
Beep beep!
A car horn sounded from the street. I turned to look.
It was Bell Moore.
“Get in. I’ll give you a ride.”
He spoke as if he were some kind of hero.
“Is this your car? You’ve changed vehicles.”
“Ah, this? Yeah, something like that. Just get in.”
I climbed into the passenger seat. Bell Moore smirked and asked.
“You’re an internal investigator, right? Lucky you. Being chummy with the junior has its perks.”
“Perks?”
He must have come to persuade me. To wrap up the internal investigation quickly.
“Of course. There’s hardly anything to do. Just do a cursory investigation and it’s over. It’s a line on your resume.”
“......”
I silently looked at Bell Moore.
Bell Moore is far from loyal. More bat-like than anyone, ready to abandon anyone for his own survival.
“Bell Moore.”
“Yeah, what?”
I opened my mouth with as much significance as I could muster.
As if I had discovered some dark conspiracy from the unknown.
“By any chance, that letter...”
“......Letter? Sonya’s letter?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, what about it?”
Bell Moore swallowed his saliva secretly, showing signs of tension. I asked him.
“Did you receive it from within the Intelligence Agency?”
“......The Intelligence Agency?”
“Yes.”
It’s not for nothing, a fabricated letter.
Meaning, the evidence that put Sonya in jail right now is Bell Moore’s specialty. Thanks to him leaving my name out of the report.
“Don’t you know it’s amateur to ask about the source of information?”
Bell Moore tried to dodge the issue, but I coolly countered.
“Ms. Sonya claims the letter was forged.”
“Bullshit. Do you believe that? A traitor is someone who’d slice off heads at first sight.”
“I’ve seen the search report of the mansion, and there was no evidence other than the letter.”
“Ha. So what. You’re saying you suspect the person who delivered that evidence?”
Bell Moore snickered.
The person who had directly delivered the evidence was me, after all.
“It’s not about the person who delivered the evidence... I’m talking about the reliability of the evidence itself.”
“The evidence itself?”
“Yes.”
I pulled out a slightly burnt piece of paper from my pocket. It was a trap I had just set up.
“Take a look.”
“Ah, you’re such a nuisance. Hey. You bumped shoulders with Zendri, didn’t you?”
“Who’s Zendri?”
“A scary guy. Since you’ve caught his eye, just do a sloppy job and—”
“Just look at it.”
I thrust the paper in front of Bell Moore’s eyes.
Even the annoyed Bell Moore suddenly widened his eyes and snatched it up.
“...What’s this?”
Tiny sentences were written on the scrap.
“It’s Ms. Sonya’s handwriting. But she didn’t write it. Some parts are awkward, right?”
I had just written it.
“It looks like someone practiced the handwriting.”
“You, you, you. Where did you get this?”
Bell Moore asked urgently.
“...Do you trust me, Mr. Bell Moore?”
“Of course, I trust you. Where did you get this?”
I pretended to ponder and crossed my arms. Bell Moore grabbed my shoulder.
“Where did you get it!”
“...I’m telling you because it’s you, Mr. Bell Moore.”
Pretending as if there was a nonexistent friendship, trust between us, I acted as if I trusted him.
I confessed to the heavily breathing Bell Moore.
“I turned the Intelligence Agency’s garbage dump upside down.”
“The garbage dump? You found this tiny thing there?”
“Yes.”
Bell Moore looked at me in disbelief, but he was already caught in the trap.
“Ha... the garbage dump.”
Eventually, Bell Moore would become suspicious. Exceptional survival skills are synonymous with endless doubt.
“...Well. With your psycho-like tenacity, what can’t you find? Anyways, have you told anyone about this?”
I shook my head.
“Don’t tell anyone. If this is real, it’s a much bigger deal than you think.”
Bell Moore opened the car door.
“Get out.”
“...But this isn’t my house yet.”
“Ah, get out. I have things to do.”
I got out of the car grumpily and with a snort.
Vroom—
He drives away, but it doesn’t matter to me.
Not in the slightest danger.
Above all, Libra, including Bell Moore, doesn’t know my ‘enmity’. They’ll mistake anything I do for loyalty.
Since Mila herself told me before the regression, it’s probably certain.
“First off, I’m rich.”
“Great, use that wealth.”
“Anyway! What about you. What’s your specialty?”
“I’m a swordsman. A swordsman who beat Gerkhen.”
“...”
Layla looked at me with eyes full of superiority.
“Then... Oh? It’s Elly!”
She reached out somewhere. There was Elise, with Gerkhen by her side.
Elise and Gerkhen are a team.
A super elite combination.
“Elly~”
Layla waved her hand. Elise, noticing us, shuddered.
Ding-
That’s when a text message arrived.
────
[Notice]
: Teams that have completed teaming must spend 15 hours together over the course of a week.
: The line of magical energy connecting the bracelets must not be broken.
: If it is broken for any reason, the teaming will be dissolved, and both students will return to the ‘pool.’
: You cannot team up with the same student more than once.
: Teams must complete various assignments while in a teamed state...
────
“Ooh~ Shion. Look at this. It’s fascinating.”
“...Hey. We might need to run away.”
I nudged Layla’s shoulder with my elbow.
“Huh? Why?”
“Look over there.”
Elise stood in the distance. Gerkhen seemed uninterested, probably reading the notice on his smartphone, but Elise, having already read it, was glaring this way.
With eyes that were incredibly fierce and incredibly terrifying.
She clenched her fist. Magical energy began to gather above it.
“Uh, uh oh! Is she going to attack us?!”
“That’s why we need to run.”
I quickly grabbed Layla’s wrist. We dashed away, dodging the telekinesis that reached for our backs.
* * *
────
[Notice]
Here is the list of assignments to be completed while in a teamed state:
1. Share your hobbies.[br][/br] 2. Synchronize training at the training grounds.[br][/br] 3. Hunt monsters in the monster-infested area (20 required).[br][/br] 4. Share a meal.[br][/br] 5. Write a report assessing and evaluating each other.[br][/br] 6. ...
────
Vroom...
“Shion, you’re good at driving~”
I’m currently driving. Layla is lounging in the passenger seat like a queen, having reclined it all the way back.
We ended up in Layla’s car after fleeing from Elise.
“Hey.”
“Hmm?”
I called out to Layla, who had her eyes half-closed. I didn’t want to see her sprawled out asleep, no matter what.
“What happened inside that tower?”
I asked about the Silonti Tower, and Void.
Layla’s complexion darkened rapidly. She let out a small sigh and said,
“...Something did happen.”
“No, I’m asking what happened. Of course, something happened.”
“...”
Layla glared at me. I added another comment.
“Why are you so dumb?”
“Sand.”
Layla stretched like she was yawning, placing her hands behind her head.
“Just... I realized I was too weak there.”
“Weak how?”
“When that villain was about to kill a 10-year-old kid... I was sprawled on the ground. I couldn’t breathe.”
Her voice was quite damp with recollection, but it’s often the villain that fosters a hero’s growth.
Layla will surely grow. Into the proper Mila.
“So... Oh? We’re here.”
“Looks like it. The field.”
While driving, we arrived at the ‘monster-infested area.’
As the name suggests, it’s swarming with monsters.
This place, also known as ‘the field,’ has one of our teaming assignments.
“Do we just need to hunt the monsters?”
“Yeah.”
We got out of the car.
The sky was unnecessarily clear. The surrounding scenery was vividly beautiful in the monster-infested area.
“Huh? Some other kids are already here?”
Layla’s eyes widened as she looked around. There were quite a few others like us, wearing bracelets.
“Be careful.”
“Huh? Careful of what?”
“Didn’t you see Elise? She’s a competitor.”
“Oh, right.”
Layla quickly took out her smartphone and made a call.
Ring-ring- ring-ring-
“Luckily, it’s not ringing. She must not be here.”
She’s surprisingly cunning.
“How many do we have to catch?”
“Twenty.”
As I was answering and stretching, suddenly.
‘Master! Someone is tailing you!’
At Grawl’s words, I straightened up.
‘Who is it.’
‘It looks like the mafia!’
‘The mafia?’
‘Yes!’
My brow furrowed.
There is a reason for the mafia to follow me...
The gambling venue.
If I win the 6th round of the World of Series Poker, the mafia would suffer a 300 million ren loss. They might try to nip the possibility of my victory in the bud rather than leave anything up to chance.
‘It’s okay.’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah.’
I glanced at Layla.
“Hut two! Hut two! Hut two! Kyaaaah.”
She was stretching like a pony.
‘I have a hero by my side.’
Strong enough not to lose to the likes of the mafia, at least.