Became a Dark Merchant in the Academy - Chapter 277



276 – Trap_7

“In short, you want to frame the other faction? I understand.”

A secret room in the basement of a building not far from Hyakushiri.

The woman in black kunoichi attire sitting on the sofa used for serving guests there nodded as if she understood.

“Inazuma. I’m not saying that we have to do that. We have to prioritize finding Taylor Marvel and the villain who attacked him. But if that doesn’t work out, we have to find a way to shift the blame.”

However, Tachibana Rie, who was sitting across from him, shook her head and corrected Kunoichi and Inazuma’s words as if there was a difference in nuance.

That would be the case, as it was good to blame other factions, but caution was needed.

This was a method that could easily lead to chaos in the Donggun Alliance itself if done incorrectly.

“Is that so? But our Eastern Alliance’s intelligence agency and the American Holy Empire’s intelligence agency have been searching thoroughly for the past three days. But seeing as we haven’t found any circumstances or evidence, shouldn’t we have prepared in advance? Who knows when the Holy Empire’s leopards might use this incident as an opportunity to go after the Eastern Alliance’s neck?”

That wasn’t a wrong statement.

Intelligence agencies from both countries are doing their best to search, but have not found any clues.

So, instead of thinking about the best number, it would have been right to choose the second best number.

“That’s true. However, you should not mistake your priorities. If it’s your supernatural ability, you can certainly blame it on the third party, but it’s not perfect.”

“For me, the priority is Tachibana, as the lord says.”

“My father left it up to me.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know. The Lord didn’t say anything to me.”

“I thought you ordered me to help you with your work?”

“There was only an order to wipe away the eldest daughter’s mistakes.”

“The opponent is the Holy Empire’s Information Department. We can’t afford to take half measures.”

“I wonder if you’re underestimating my abilities.”

Inazuma looked at Tachibana Rie with a smirk.

It seemed as if someone like you wasn’t in a position to evaluate yourself.

“…Even so, it is not something you can do without my orders.”

“Don’t just come out on your own. I’m just trying to help.”

Words that go round and round.

What he meant was that he would take care of it so you didn’t have to worry about it.

“…”

Tachibana Rie kept her mouth shut and looked at Inazuma.

Now I understand.

I thought it was a chance for redemption given by my father.

When I looked into it, I realized that it had the opposite meaning.

Otherwise, Inazuma would have done as he said.

‘Empty lunch box…’

An old story from the 17 Federations of ancient China came to mind.

“You have no answer. Then I will take it that you agree with what I said.”

“Do whatever you want. That was your plan from the beginning.”

“That may be true. More importantly, I heard you’re getting married next month. I wish you happiness from afar.”

Inazuma smiled and got up.

Then, as if melting into space, my body became blurry.

I couldn’t find her anywhere in the room.

“…I really appreciate that.”

Because there was no opportunity.

Tachibana stared blankly into the distance.

**

When the Holy Empire Intelligence Service of America investigated the disappearance of Taylor Marvel, there were two possible identities of the culprit.

Elizabeth or someone from the S-class of the Donggun Alliance.

That was because it was common knowledge around the world that only S-class could fight S-class.

And the most likely one is…

‘Elizabeth.’

The reason was simply that she was the only S-class nearby.

So, I decided to focus on that and investigate.

I couldn’t find anything particularly unusual, or even trivial.

Her every move was recorded.

There was no problem with the testimony, and the alibi matched.

Especially since she was a surprise attacker.

Human compatibility with Taylor Marvel.

Looking at head-to-head records and simulations, the general consensus was that even if she brought one arm and started, she would lose close to 60% of the time, and even if she won, she would inevitably suffer a serious injury.

But what does she look like?

Were there no wounds?

Also, who reported this incident and made it public?

And above all, why would S-class heroes within the same country fight each other?

‘Because there’s a minor villain? Or because you’re interfering with my love life?’

It was a ridiculous thing to think about.

That’s why the next direction the Holy Empire Information Department set its sights on was the S-class hero of the Eastern Military Alliance.

The reason I limited it to the S-class of the Donggun Alliance is as follows.

The reason for this route was also simple.

It is known to the public that Taylor Marvel is currently in South Korea.

It was because information was controlled.

From noble mtl dot com

And who controlled that information?

Rie Tachibana.

And who brought Taylor Marvel to Hakushiri?

Rie Tachibana.

Who can freely contact the S-class heroes of the Donggun Alliance?

Rie Tachibana.

The eldest daughter of the supreme leader of the Eastern Military Alliance.

There was a possibility that she had guided the S-class heroes of the Alliance to Taylor Marvel.

Of course, this is just a guess.

There is no reason for her to do something like this in the first place.

But now, she was the only person I could find related to this incident.

But no matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find any suspicious evidence.

It’s definitely suspicious.

I just won an award.

There was no solid evidence anywhere.

A meaningful word came out in the midst of all this.

The cross-section of the severed arm was clean, and the actions of the S-class heroes of the Eastern Army Alliance were confirmed, excluding the priestess.

The only ones left are Inazuma and Kensei.

And he who uses the sword…

However, there is no solid evidence.

To begin with, he and Taylor Mabille didn’t even know each other.

There were only two people left in the fight.

There was no way Taylor Mabille wouldn’t have been wary of his sudden arrival.

“…”

No matter which way I tried to solve it, I was stuck.

However, if we try to simply force through the blocked areas, conflicts between countries are expected.

Because it was said that a S-class hero from another country attacked a S-class hero from their own country.

I had no choice but to be careful.

It was during that time.

“Adele, this is a first-class matter.”

A subordinate who comes in urgently.

It seemed like a clue to the solution was in sight.

**

The reason for this incident was not to destroy Tachibana Rie.

Her downfall is merely a byproduct of her efforts to achieve her true purpose.

My real goal is to sow discord between the American Holy Empire and the Allied Forces, destroying their links in the Pacific and cutting off information sharing about what’s going to happen next.

That’s why there was no need to tell the American Holy Empire Intelligence Service that Rie Tachibana seemed to have done something.

Just the fact that Taylor Marvell was attacked by someone in Okinawa, the territory of the Eastern Alliance, guided by Tachibana Rie, the daughter of the Crown Prince, the supreme leader of the Eastern Alliance, will be enough to achieve the goal.

But I left a meaningful message to the intelligence agent.

Tachibana Rie has contacted someone, and Taylor Marvell’s involvement seems to be related to the Eastern Alliance.

The reason was simple.

‘It might be a good idea to try to slowly remove the wart.’

A breakthrough was also seen, and the hypothesis was tested from various angles.

Now, it was time to fully prove the hypothesis.

Of course, my expectations may be wrong.

I couldn’t give up without even trying.

“Huh? Senior, why are you staring at me? Have you fallen in love with me all over again?”

“Ready?”

“You’re suddenly changing the subject? I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”

“…”

“I told you not to be embarrassed. Hey, senior, Seo Eon-bae!!”

Yukina came to me with a broad smile and clung to me.

I looked at Yukina, ignoring her actions, and opened my mouth again.

“How are the preparations?”

“Tch, Senior, it’s still boring. Rather than that, why don’t you ask how the work went? Senior, your eyes, no, your twins, were watching me 24 hours a day. You should know.”

“Because there were empty spaces here and there.”

There have been reports of people using this ability nullification mid-way to get out of sight.

And that time is about an hour.

There was still time to decorate something.

“You even want to see a lady’s menstrual cycle… Honestly, you should understand that much. Otherwise, what is it? Do you think that I, your cute junior, would have done anything during the rainy season?”

“Then no?”

“Um, well, I’m not sure anymore. It happened in the past. I tend to blink a lot, you know?”

Yukina brushed my words aside as if she didn’t care.

‘That’s right.’

I didn’t think you’d answer meekly if I asked.

“I see. If you forgot, there’s nothing you can do.”

“Right? So don’t worry about it, senior. It really wasn’t anything special.”

Even if a deal was made, I didn’t think they would keep their word unless it was a contract.

Yukina Ishihara will definitely come to disturb me.

And then…