Volume 2 Chapter 3.2
A Shady Business, Secret Training, and
a Glimmering Sense of Unrest Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
◆Two Weeks Later◆
Perhaps the most
distressing scam that Jin and his foster father, Rusty, committed was the one
targeting Christopher Tsung, who was a senator at the time.
When Tsung visited his
villa with his wife, Rusty and Jin approached him, pretending to be a father
and son who were on vacation in a neighboring villa. The owner of the villa was
on vacation abroad, and Rusty had rented everything including his wife and his
dog from a company specializing in impersonation, so it was impossible to
arouse suspicion.
The first step was to
create a situation where they would happen to pass each other every day and
greet each other while Tsung was on his daily running routine. This strategy
aimed for a simple contact effect, and Tsung gradually began to open up to them
as they saw each other again and again. Since his son Jin was also with him, it
was really easy to get him to let his guard down.
When the time was
right, Rusty invited Tsung and his family to a home party, where he revealed to
them that he had a psychic ability to predict the future.
He used a technique
similar to the <psychic frauds> of the old days.
By using several
tricks to convince them of his abilities, Rusty was able to successfully sign
the advisory contract. Over the next six months, Rusty successfully won Tsung's
trust, and he swindled Tsung out of a total of 200 million El in the form of
consultation fees and various other expenses.
If there were a
textbook in the world of fraudsters, Rusty's work would be the first subject to
be included in it.
At that time, Rusty
was laughing as he tapped the stack of bills on the table. Jin remembered he
was in such a good mood that he had emptied a bottle of expensive liquor in
just one hour, which he had received from a foreign friend he had recently met.
"What's the
matter, Jin? Why don't you be more excited like a kid of your age?"
"You're too
excited. A fraudster should never let his guard down, right?"
"You don't
understand, huh..." Rusty said, giving Jin a flaccid smile, as if he were
comforting a child. " When you succeed in a
big job, be happy about it. That's one of the golden rules of being a
fraudster."
"And why is
that?"
"Because being a
fraudster is a job where you have to give people hope."
"Haa?"
For a moment, Rusty's
eyes took on a serious color.
At a moment like this,
he was trying to tell Jin something important.
"If you want to
convince a pathetic fool that [I can dream if I follow this guy], you can't
have a grim look on your face. It's better to be confident all the time, and to
have the illusion that everything in the world is on your side. It's not an
act, it's not a bluff, you have to feel that way from the bottom of your
heart."
"Isn't that a
very difficult thing to do?"
"That's why you
should accumulate success experiences from now on. We wouldn't have gotten this
200 million els without you, you know?"
"I was just there
though?"
"...... Listen
Jin, you should puff out your chest more. We are invincible."
Not knowing how to
laugh, Jin sipped at his yet-to-be-drunk liquor.
It was a perfect
moment, he thought.
A night of intense
accomplishment, a full-body experience of joy, and a small room filled with the
light of hope. Jin thought that such a happy night would last forever.
The only
miscalculation was that Tsung, who had trusted Rusty too much, had revealed
important government secrets to him.
As a result, Rusty was
hunted by the <White Knights> and eventually captured and tortured to
death.
─The risks involved in getting into the hearts and
minds of the enemy and winning their trust are unimaginable.
The difficulty level
of the scam that Jin and Nina will now attempt will surely far surpass that
time.
Jin lies down on the
mat at the back of the gym and plays with the counterfeit coins with his
fingertips.
Unlike last time, when
all he had to do was frame Bennett, this case had too many uncertainties.
First, he must tread carefully and find a path to victory.
Nina seemed to have
arrived five minutes before the appointed time.
The sound of the door
being opened with a duplicate key that Jin had a contractor he was acquainted
with make.
"...... Anyone
tailing you?"
"No problem. I
detoured along the proper route as you told me, but no one followed me."
"Okay, let's
start the strategy meeting."
Jin opened the locker
containing the cleaning tools and took out a bamboo broom from inside. He piled
up the crates that had been placed haphazardly and climbed up onto them, then
pushed up the wooden ceiling with the handle of the upside-down bamboo broom.
The one-meter square
wooden plank slid off, and the sound of some kind of mechanism working could be
heard echoing in the ceiling. A few moments later, a rope ladder descended from
the hole in the ceiling.
"Then, I'll go up
first."
"W-Wait a
minute!"
It was impossible for
Nina to overlook such an unusual situation.
"W-When did you
make these renovations? This is the school's facility, after all!"
"It was completed
last night. It's a completely unused warehouse, so it's up to us to decide how
we want to use it."
"I-I never even
thought of that......"
"If we don't
prepare a hidden room, we won't be able to avoid the risk of meeting someone
who happens to be visiting the warehouse. And there's also the possibility that
we're being marked by the <shepherd's dog>, no? We need at least this
level of precaution."
Even if it were
necessary, only Jin would be able to really carry it out.
It was probably
constructed by Gasta and his team of landscapers, but Nina did not even want to
imagine how much it must have cost.
"Come on, how
long are you going to stay still? Or are you afraid of heights?"
"Y-You're making
fun of me again!"
After Jin, Nina also
managed to climb up the unstable rope ladder.
She wondered what kind
of secret base was spread out ahead of her as she climbed up, but at first
glance, it was no different from an ordinary attic.
"Ah, it's rather
anticlimactic, isn't it?"
"Y-Yeah. It looks
normal for a place that has been carefully constructed......"
"If we made it so
obvious and then someone were to enter here, we'd be screwed in a heartbeat.
That's why, all the necessary equipment is cleverly hidden."
Jin took out an iron
ruler from the pocket of his uniform and inserted it into the gap between the
floorboards. Using it as a lever, he removed the floorboards to reveal a number
of hidden equipment.
"There are
several of these hidden compartments in this attic. I'll show you where they
are later, so you can hide your disguise gear there. It's safer than your room
in the dorm."
"Wow, that's
convenient......"
Nina seemed to have
already accepted the whole situation. While she was exploring the place, Jin
was sticking imitation papers that he had taken out of the hidden storage on
the wall.
On the imitation
papers, black-and-white photographs of people and sticky notes are neatly
pasted. The imitation papers themselves were also scrawled with notes, arrows,
and other symbols. This would allow them to visually organize a complex
operation.
"Now then, Nina.
It's been two weeks since you formed an alliance with the two targets...... so
let's summarize your progress."
"...... Casper
and I have been having regular weekly meetings at the same café we were at back
then. As you've heard through the wire, there's been no useful information at
all."
"Well, you guys
have been doing nothing but small talk ...... The only thing I could learn
about him is what his hobbies are on his days off. Well, it could not be used
as a potential breakthrough, though."
Jin put a sticky note
next to a photo and wrote Casper's hobbies on it in bullet points.
"Okay, next is
Karen ....... You haven't had any contact with her since then, have you?"
"Yeah. She's been
busy with <duels>, so she had her maid, Satya, handle her communication
with me."
"Satya is an
important person", Jin put another sticky note on the wall.
"Hey Jin, which
one do you think is more suspicious at the moment?"
"Well, I think
both of them. Their every action is too unnatural."
Jin continued,
pointing with a pen to a sticky note that had been pasted beforehand.
"First is Casper.
He's been acting like a harmless guy for a while. The reason he's going out of
his way to say that he's not aiming for the <White Knights> is a bluff to
make us believe that he's not working for the school. The reason for forming an
alliance is clearly an excuse to get close to you Nina, and the fact that he's
approaching girls with no regard could be seen as part of his espionage
activities."
"Now that you
mention it, he also tried to get his hands on Satya ......."
"If he's the
<shepherd's dog>, it seems natural that he'd want to keep an eye on
Karen, who's been very conspicuous at the academy."
"Right, also
Casper's abilities are still [unknown]. Couldn't you ask Rudy-sensei
instead?"
"At Casper's
request, the results of the <ability measurement> are not to be shared
with anyone other than the instructor in charge of the test. I'm sure the
higher-ups of the academy are aware of his abilities, but I can't dig that kind
of information out of them."
"Eh, he's getting
some kind of special treatment, isn't he? That's suspicious....... So what
about Karen? How would you interpret the fact that she hasn't contacted me at all?"
"It's risky to go
out of your way to contact her and get information out of her. Especially if
she is the <shepherd's dog> with a huge secret of her own."
"And also,
Karen's reasons for wanting to form an alliance were a little strange."
"I agree. It's
unusual for a combat fanatic like her to even think about joining forces with
anyone."
"Yeah, she
doesn't seem like the type who would try to scheme like that."
"Well, it's
possible that her usual behavior itself is an act."
"I see. ......
eh?"
Nina noticed a note
pinned to a piece of imitation paper, and she couldn't help but speak up.
"Could that
be...... Satya's psychic ability?"
"Your doubts are
spot on, Nina. She's not at the level that would normally be allowed to enroll
at the Heiberg Academy."
An ability called
<Inexplicable Heat Source> that can heat up a cupful of liquid at will.
Although it may have
some offensive power if heated to the point of boiling, it would not be
surprising if the Heiberg Academy, which places emphasis on actual combat,
eliminated her from the entrance examination. It is unnatural that she was not
even present at the <screening test> that Jin was forced to take part in.
"It means that
Karen's family has enough power to force a maid with only minor abilities to
enter the school."
"Ugh, she is
suspicious as well, huh......"
"There's no end
to the suspicions. In any case, you should only think about gaining their trust
and getting into their pockets."
"B-By the
way", Nina stared at the edge of the imitation paper. "Why is Emma's
picture in here?"
"Well, it's just
a precaution. It's not that I seriously doubt her......"
In the middle of his
sentence, the sound of the plank being dislodged from under his feet rang out.
The mechanism had been
activated and the rope ladder was being lowered down to the lower floor.
Nina covered her mouth
with her hand and her eyes widened in astonishment.
"Don't tell me,
the <shepherd's dog> sniffed this place out ......."
The man who climbed up
the rope ladder was a man in his early thirties, blonde hair, blue eyes, and a
man who could be found anywhere.
But he was dressed in
the same military uniform as the instructors.
"W-What should we
do, Jin? Isn't this bad? ......"
"Ah, don't worry.
He's a colleague of mine."
"Eehh......?"
The man dressed as an
instructor smiled cheerfully as he retrieved the rope ladder to the attic.
"It's been a
while, little genius fraudster. Has it been five years since we've seen each
other?"
"I'm not a kid
anymore, Mr. Heath. And could you please stop wearing such confusing
outfits?"
"There's no way
outsiders can walk around the school grounds unnoticed, is there? It's best to disguise myself as an instructor."
"Wait a second,
please explain! Who is this person?"
Nina was finally able
to interject, and Jin nonchalantly explained to her.
"He's a skilled
detective, specializing in the underworld. He is the one who investigated
Bennett's background last time."
"Your shady
connections triggered once again......."
"I've requested a
background check on Karen and Casper. Have you completed it yet?"
Heath, the detective,
pulled a brown envelope from his pocket and tossed it to Jin.
"This is a midway
report. I just wanted to come by and see you for the first time in a
while."
"I wish I could
ask this to all of you, but do you think I'm some kind of relative's kid or
something?"
"The brat who
used to stick with Rusty-san is now a big villain who picks fights with the
empire. Isn't it natural that people would want to come and see if he's grown
into a great man?"
Several of Rusty's
former business associates, with whom Rusty had a close relationship of trust,
have been cooperating with Jin for a fee after learning of his goals and the
existence of the <shepherd's dog>.
Like Gasta, the
landscaper, he does not take on work for free just because he is the son of a
benefactor, perhaps out of respect for Jin, who has grown up to be a first-rate
fraudster.
"......So, what's
the result of your investigation?"
When Jin cut to the
chase to hide his irritation, Heath finally began to explain.
"There wasn't a
lot of information about Casper Crawford. As written there, on his days off
he's either dating girls or playing his recently purchased guitar in his room.
......The interesting one is Karen Ashby."
"What kind of
information have you uncovered?"
"Karen always
goes out on her days off to the town of Akkas, at the foot of the academy.
There, she diligently attends a dojo that teaches something called <Eastern
Breathing Techniques>."
"That
cautious-looking girl goes to such a shady dojo? Are you sure it's not just a
rumor?"
In contrast to Jin,
who was looking at her negatively, Nina was thinking about it with her hand on
her chin.
"Breathing
techniques, huh....... It certainly is possible."
"Nina, what do
you mean?"
"Sometimes it
takes a great deal of concentration to activate a powerful psychic ability. You
see, I also have a setting that allows me to release my abilities by removing
my brooch, right? The best way to quickly bring your concentration to the
highest level is to have your body memorize a specific routine. That is exactly
why I think breathing techniques would be the best option."
Nina, who has been
playing the role of a psychic for a long time, has also mastered a whole range
of knowledge on the control and application of psychic abilities. In this
field, she is clearly far ahead of Jin.
"You see, Karen's
psychic abilities seem even more difficult to control than my <Queen of
Calamity>, don't you think? I wouldn't be surprised if she practiced
breathing techniques."
"I see...... So
should we infiltrate that dojo and get close to Karen?
As if waiting for Jin
to come to that conclusion, the detective contorted the edges of his mouth.
"And Jin, I have
one more piece of information for you."
"Hee, let's hear
it."
"The name of the
master of the dojo is Nathan Arcollaz."
As soon as Jin heard
this, he laughed out loud. The detective also laughed, holding his stomach.
Nina, who did not
understand what was so funny, could not help but look at them quizzically.
"Really, what a
coincidence. Good job, Mr. Heath."
After a round of
laughter, Jin filled in the details of the operation on a piece of imitation
paper on the wall.
◇
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