Chapter 133

Chapter 133

Shocking news hit Kilikia.
Last night, MP Johanna Feldner was arrested on suspicion of possession and trafficking of illegal drugs.
Rep. Johanna Feltner is credited with exposing corruption within the council and the police force, and is credited with helping to prove criminal charges against Chief Allen Iver…….
The suspect is vehemently denying the crime, but the circumstances and evidence are strong enough to warrant an…….
Law enforcement officials have vowed to further crack down on illegal drugs.
“It was a lot faster than I thought it would be.”
Kim glanced across the table and smiled.
“You must have touched it, right?”
“I was just jumping on the bandwagon.”
Kabek shrugs it off. He had left work yesterday, or rather, today, around 2 a.m., but was back at work just two hours later. The reason: an urgent message came in at the crack of dawn.
Johanna Feltner’s arrest.
The first time I heard it, it was so out of nowhere that I doubted my ears. Even now, after running around the government center for about 15 hours, I still felt a bit nervous. Maybe it’s because I’m tired.
It was a golden opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.
Harizo and the Paneros partisans moved quickly. They published articles that seemed to confirm Johanna’s guilt and, conversely, swayed public opinion that Allen had been unjustly arrested.
“Allen Iver will be released by the middle of the week.”
“Oh. Am I reinstated as captain of the peace?”
“Absolutely, because people like that are rare.”
You have a sense of justice and responsibility as a public servant, but you know politics in moderation. He is trusted by his subordinates and has a strong sense of personal power. Worthy of Johanna’s dismissal, even at the cost of her own life.
I’m sure he’d have been devastated. Thrown in jail for a crime he doesn’t remember, then released after less than a month, only to have his accusers take turns leading him away.
The mood had changed overnight. The culprit was obvious. Despite his nonchalant demeanor, Kabek could feel his throat burning.
“There’s no way I’m going to survive.
The Paneros partisans didn’t have to play games.
Johanna’s crime was too obvious.
Claims that she was not of her own free will, that she was kidnapped, are but crocodile tears; her enemies will bite at the evidence.
“The video footage on ……CCTV was decisive. It showed Johanna Feldner walking into the warehouse where the drugs were stored, on her own feet, without any intervention from anyone.”
“It’s a scary world. A man like that as a congressman.”
He shrugs his shoulders and criticizes the state of the world. At any other time, he would have fit right in, but Kabek is a caffeinated man, which means he’s a little far from sane.
So I asked them directly.
“How did you do that?”
However, I didn’t expect a response.
* * *
“I said, “What?”
“……Haha!”
Harijo Metsokalu chuckles as he receives the story. He stroked his beard and glanced at the monitor on his desk. The screen displayed material on certain people.
Former bounty hunter Kim Yi Hyun.
Chelsea, who was the same bounty hunter.
Asteriske appeared like a comet and wiped out the league.
It was not just the three of them, but every member of the Dustborn Corporation. Most of them had been researched in detail, down to their past careers.
But for one person, the remarks section was blank. His whereabouts since his departure from Kilikia had been investigated to some extent, but his past was still a mystery.
“What happened to the disturbance at the Sylenian Grand Palace?”
“It went off without a hitch.”
“Good for you. We’ll be comfortable with each other.”
A bizarre attack with no name and no casualties. Harijo knew what had happened. At the very least, there was no doubt that Dustborn was involved.
“There was no evidence, no proof.
Investigations are not just the domain of law enforcement. To hide something, you must first find evidence. If Harijo found something incriminating, he would cover it up. For each other, as they say.
I didn’t have to.
Harijo’s gaze dropped down. On the desk were several photographs. CCTV footage of the goons. Not a single one of them was Dustborn.
It was a ghost. Aside from the driver, a search of Kilikia’s databases turned up no matching citizens. As an aside, the unfortunate driver was taken into consideration by the council.
They had no way of knowing.
That Dustborn’s people used the Banzar’s “face” in Priya’s memory. That an unconscious Johanna Feldner was manipulated by Assam.
“Hmm.”
Harizo turned back to the monitor. His eyes locked on Kim’s photo, and he asked.
“What does it look like to you?”
“You mean Dustborn?”
“So does the company, so does the boss.”
“It’s definitely not the same Dustborne with Mr. Hyun.”
That doesn’t mean Bryce is lacking. Even without him, they have fulfilled the mandate of Congress without fail. They’ve had their ups and downs, but they’ve basically been able to do it.
In terms of being predictable, I actually felt comfortable with Bryce. After all, Kim was a variable and the eye of the storm from the day we met.
However, this situation was Kim’s main stage.
“He said he left for Kilikia as soon as he was contacted by the branch chief, which means he’s keeping an eye on this place even while he’s out of town. Even if he’s not in the city, we can’t rule out Mr. Hyun’s influence. The usual incidents can be handled by the resident staff alone.”
“That’s pretty good.”
“It’s an objective assessment based on evidence.”
Click, click, click.
The e-cigarette, held like a pen, hit the table lightly.
In Kilikia, there was a rather bizarre culture of young people smoking tobacco. It was a fad that Harijo didn’t understand.
“Umm. A contract is a contract, so I guess we’ll have to put a cloak on it….”
The question was, how far should we go? In truth, we didn’t need to give them official status. Just publicly acknowledging the connection between Congress and Dustborne was enough to keep the promise.
However.
“Ambiguous relationships are not good.
Treating people poorly is a recipe for discord. It’s time to make a choice. Kick them out of Kilikia or embrace them.
I calculated the cost.
On the left side of the scale is the damage that could be done by antagonizing Dustborn and the effort it would take to repair it. On the right side is the cost of quelling any backlash that might come from empowering a private company.
The scales in my head quickly tipped to one side.
“We’ll have to move the office first.”
* * *
I’m moving on a whim.
From the grungy neighborhood where the original Dustbone nested to a commercial area near the main street. Not just one floor, but an entire four-story commercial building.
“Kya. Look at the big barrel.”
“I’m going to have to float and bark in the direction of Congress in the morning.”
“You’re not praying?”
“How does a dog pray, woof!”
Ignoring Chelsea, who had started her bullshit again, I looked around Dustborne’s office building. The building was still empty. Even if we moved everything out, there would still be room. There’s even a whole floor in the basement.
“Use the first floor as a lobby. The second floor will be used for operations and waiting rooms, and the basement will be converted into a firing range….”
Bryce was biting his nails and muttering to himself, a rare occurrence. Jenna and Pep were frozen in admiration. The rookies were busy moving furniture.
“Pfft, my, what was I thinking, this is going to be a lunacy.”
“What the heck. Fill it with whatever you want. Spend the money.”
“……Is that okay?”
“You’re the branch manager.”
He was the one who took care of the chapter’s affairs while the president was out of town for a year. Kim feels indebted to Bryce. He’s been luring her in, but he’s been out of town.
“I’m going to be around.
There’s no point in personalizing it. It was better to leave it to Bryce, who would be spending a lot of time in the building. The corner of his mouth twitched, wondering if he wanted that.
“It would take me days just to get the materials and do the work, and I don’t have time for that.”
“Oh, do I have to go out again?”
“They’ll be hearing about it soon enough.”
“What do you mean?”
We didn’t pass it on because it wasn’t finalized yet. But it was close to being finalized. I also heard from Kavek a while ago.
“Soon there will be an all-continental summit. The Kilikian Parliament is on the invitation list. The council will need a bodyguard to accompany them.”
“It doesn’t look like it’s anything to do with us. Isn’t there a riot squad?”
“The main one, of course, is the police.”
Kim smirked.
“I think we’re going to have a few people from Dustborne.”
“…… crazy.”
Bryce was stunned. It meant the council would take care of Dustborn’s public relations. It was an absurdly large agenda.
“Hey, are we in business?”
“Yeah, man. We’re fucked.”
“I’ll follow you for life, boss…!”
I patted Pep on the shoulder as he wiped away tears of emotion. I’m not good at acting, so I didn’t actually cry, but I understood the emotion.
“Hmm, woohoo. I’ll be an A-list matrimonial agency!”
“You’re an idiot. That’s all you think about.”
“You’re a nice guy, but you’re doing it for nothing.”
Jenna giggled at Pep’s nudge.
“That’s nice. Wow, Robben’s gonna be sick to his stomach when he hears that.”
“Don’t tell me. It’s annoying to snoop around.”
“It won’t take long for the word to get out.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”
He was also relentless with his former Whitefang colleagues.
“It’s a no-brainer.
There are few things more disrespectful than sticking around after you’ve made it big. Kim Yi Hyun hoped that bald Robben wouldn’t do anything stupid. He didn’t want to tarnish his memories as an old comrade-in-arms.
“By the way, the question is how many people will be called. We’ll start with Hyun as the representative….”
As I was listening to Bryce, I realized something.
“I think you should join from here.
Celbrosix Labs will be joining the talks in conjunction with Bastiera. Kim was going to do the same, but if you look closely, the picture is pretty ridiculous. The dustbunnies look like hunchbacks.
On the other hand, if you’re going with the Council of Kilikia’s offer, you have a legitimacy. In fact, you’ll be walking out with a steel plate in your face, but you deserve better.
“Because it’s weird to be torn apart.
I should probably send a message to the lab first. The twins need to be sent back, and the weapon I requested from Tam Tam is almost finished, but I can’t take it to the meeting anyway, so I might as well return and get it.
“How do we pick the right people?
First, Arya is out of the question. Any rampage would be an international incident. Edwin and Ekidna, two vicious criminals, are also dangerous. If you subtract the three, there are only two left.
In the end, it was the same old crew again.
* * *
“Gee, why is it so cloudy.”
Stepping out of his apartment, Roscoe jerked his head upward. The dark sky looked like it was about to pour rain at any moment. The damp, humid air was unpleasant.
I’m stuck at home today, I thought to myself, dragging on my slippers. I was approaching the automated recycling bin.
Live.
Yeah, that was close to living. A sensation I sometimes felt in the past, when I was on an informational roll. Even now, full and warm on my back, my instincts could sense the signs of death.
When I turned around, I saw an unexpected figure.
“Ah, Miss Asterike?”
It was an asterike with horns on its head.
Roscoe’s pupils dilated at the long-lost face. For a moment, he felt a flicker of recognition in his chest. Memories came flooding back as he read the anger in Asterike’s eyes.
Whoa. I was trying to keep it quiet. You’re Asterique, right?
I was actually the manager of that legendary player….
으흐허헣! 아가씨 얼굴이 이쁘장하긴 하지. It’s worth several times the premium…!
“Shit.”
“What the fuck? Did you just curse at me?”
Roscoe straightened up as soon as I raised my eyebrows.
“Shoes!”
“What?”
“Do you mind if I lick your shoe…?”
Asterike’s face showed disdain.
“Dirty.”
Rothko, now a rich man, couldn’t help but think. I wonder how much I’d make if I took a picture of me now and put it up for auction. There are a lot of perverts out there with unusual tastes….