Hunter fiddled with his powered-off phone. Mate, who was sitting across from him speaking energetically, snapped his fingers.
“Hunter, focus. Are you even listening?”
“Yes. The Costra guys approached Cenaline. And Arangeti naturally wants to talk with us.”
“It’s the opposite. Arangeti approached Cenaline, and Costra wants to talk with us.”
“Right, I know. I was just checking if you remembered correctly.”
Mate shot Hunter a suspicious look.
“Anyway, things are going to get busy now, right Mate? If we get involved in this situation, weapons exports will be the first thing to pick up.”
“Are you saying we might get involved too?”
“Yes. But what’s important here is that our involvement would be to prevent war.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s an unnecessary power struggle. Whether they win or lose, both sides will suffer tremendous damage. There’s no need to force a fight that will only lead to a foolish outcome.”
“Huh, that’s unexpected.”
Since when did you become a pacifist? Mate sneered.
“Haha, a pacifist.”
Hunter laughed.
“Are you worried that we might lose?”
“Actually, it’s the opposite. It’s a fight we can’t help but win.”
“You can’t know that for sure.”
“No. It’s an easily predictable outcome. Even with Cenaline supporting the opposing organizations, they’ll still only have half the power our organization currently possesses.”
“Wait, isn’t that too arrogant?”
“My, your intention to judge neutrally is commendable, but your shallow knowledge is a flaw.”
“…What do you mean?”
“‘Gostin’ is an organization with deeper roots than you think, Mate. Among the American mafia groups that rushed to expand their influence during Prohibition, ‘Gostin’ was the only authentic Sicilian mafia organization that steadily expanded its influence. It has a cunning history of accumulating wealth by selling weapons under the guise of helping whenever American mafia groups were in danger during the wars that broke out.”
Do you know what ‘Cenaline’ was doing at that time? Hunter asked Mate. For a moment, Mate felt that whatever he said would be wrong given Hunter’s smiling face, but he bravely answered anyway.
“Well, since ‘Cenaline’ would have also derived from American mafia, they must have received support from our organization.”
“Good guess. But ‘Cenaline’ didn’t exist for more than 50 years after that.”
“What?”
“Haha, it’s an organization with a history of barely 25 years. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? In that short time, they’ve trampled on existing mafia groups and risen to an equal rank with ‘Gostin’.”
That’s probably why even the self-centered Federico is wary of her. Hunter continued.
“Anyway, ‘Cenaline’ still can’t defeat ‘Gostin’.”
“By that logic, wouldn’t it be good if war broke out? Saying they can’t beat us yet implies they might someday. Shouldn’t we crush them before that time comes?”
“It can’t happen that way.”
“Why not?”
“I’m a pacifist.”
Mate crossed his arms at Hunter’s playful response. Something’s suspicious.
“Now is not the time.”
Hunter said seriously, his smile vanishing. If they’re too weak to be a match, it’s no fun. Mate stared at Hunter trying to gauge what he was thinking, but gave up and shook his head at Hunter’s persistently expressionless face. I can never figure you out.
“By the way, Mate, can I borrow your phone?”
“No way. The boss specifically instructed me not to grant any of your requests.”
“Hmm, what if I asked you to pick up the pen that fell by your feet?”
“Anything.”
“You’re so cold.”
You’re making me feel hurt, Mate. Hunter tilted his head as if feeling sorry for him.
“If I were you, I would have treated me better. I am your generous superior, after all.”
“Haha! That’s the funniest joke I’ve ever heard, Hunter.”
“It’s a shame you take this as a joke. You seem to have forgotten all your mistakes, so let me remind you. Last month, you lost an important client due to a calculation error, right? The bigger problem is that Cenaline’s people snatched it away.”
Mate’s mocking laughter gradually subsided. H-How did you know that… Mate stammered uncharacteristically, flustered.
Hunter smiled benevolently and extended his hand to him.
“…You’re a devil.”
Mate muttered softly. He rummaged through his coat pocket and took out his phone.
“Go outside.”
“No way! Do you want to see me dead?”
“The camera isn’t working right now, so it’s fine.”
Hunter pointed to the surveillance camera hidden in the corner of the room. As he said, the red light that should have been blinking was gone.
You’re more fearful than you look. Inflamed by Hunter’s laughter, Mate stomped out of the room and slammed the door shut.
Easy to handle. Just like Theo. Hunter’s face returned to its expressionless state as he pressed the numbers firmly.
[…]
“It’s me, Marsha.”
Hunter greeted Marsha softly, who answered quickly before the connection tone even started. It’s been a while.
[Hyungoh and Theodore discovered that room.]
Marsha said abruptly. Hunter, momentarily startled, soon sighed. I had a bad feeling about this.
“Won’t you greet me first?”
[It’s been a while, Hunter. Hyungoh and Theodore discovered that room.]
“Sometimes I wonder if you’re an AI robot or not.”
Hunter calmly ran his hand through his hair.
“I see, so Hyungoh and Theo discovered that place. Those two always cause me trouble whenever they meet.”
[What should we do?]
“Hmm, how is Michael doing now?”
[He’s with Herick.]
“Intrusions?”
[They’ve been increasing. I encountered someone scouting the house just this morning.]
Then it would be difficult to send Marsha to Hyungoh. Hunter sighed deeply once more.
“I’ll send people soon, so hang in there a little longer. When they arrive, take Theo and Hyungoh to Michael’s mansion. It will be safer there.”
[Yes.]
“Anything else to report?”
[Michael’s condition has worsened.]
“Seems there’s not a single piece of good news.”
I leave for a short while and everything falls apart. Hunter frowned.
[There is one piece of good news.]
“Oh? What is it?”
[One of the guys we caught today confessed his origins.]
“Oh, did you torture him?”
[I just tore off his fingers one by one and put them in his mouth.]
“Haha, you have a talent for torture. So who was he working for?”
[Sergei Gostin.]
So it was one of the executives after all. Hunter thought of the man who handled weapons alongside Mate.
[But the tortured guy had a rotten rose tattoo on his side.]
“…A rotten rose?”
[Yes. Was it a false confession?]
Hunter burst into laughter. How can someone be this stupid? Marsha remained silent, perhaps surprised by Hunter’s sudden outburst of laughter.
The rotten rose tattoo carried an implicit meaning. It was a tattoo that those who hadn’t killed anyone yet, and thus couldn’t become full members, drew on their sides to flatter and swear loyalty to Cenaline. They were reckless individuals who wouldn’t even mind being used as cannon fodder.
It seems one of them was not only stupid but also disloyal. Hunter said.
“Sergei was a spy.”
[A spy?]
“Yes, a spy for Cenaline. It seems he also passed information about me to them.”
[…Wait, Hunter. Someone else is… I think I need to go check.]
The call ended before Hunter could respond. Hunter, looking down at the darkened phone screen, shrugged his shoulders. It’s difficult for Marsha to hold out alone. As Hunter opened the door, Mate, who had been standing right outside, grumbled as he came in.
“Mate, I’ve identified the spy.”
“What? Who is it?”
“Sergei.”
“Sergei?”
Mate raised his voice, seemingly excited. Is that really true? Hunter nodded.
“I’m sure he’s also the one who arranged for ‘Cenaline’ to snatch your client.”
“Ah, that makes sense! I didn’t think I made a calculation error. It was that sneaky bastard.”
I knew he was eyeing my clients! Mate exclaimed.
“Mate, how many ‘candidates’ are assigned to you?”
“About thirty-five. Why suddenly ask about the ‘candidates’?”
“It seems Sergei has leaked information about Michael too. They’re trying to invade my territory.”
“So you’re going to take the ‘candidates’ to stop them? Why not take made men or soldiers instead? Why give such a mission to those novices who haven’t even killed anyone?”
“No one can surpass the desperation and boldness of those who haven’t been accepted into the organization yet.”
Even if they die, there would be no personnel loss within the organization since they weren’t official members, and those who survive and complete the mission would be recognized for their merit and accepted as members. For this reason, Cenaline must have also mobilized ‘candidates’ to attack Michael’s mansion to test the waters. The problem was that there was an idiot among them.
“Got it. I’ll send those guys over there.”
“By the way, does the Mandro Family know about the signs of this conflict?”
“From their movements, they seem to be getting worked up over nothing. They’re probably doing such pointless things because they don’t know what’s going on.”
“Then subtly leak information to them. Make it seem like a war is about to start.”
“If they get interested too, won’t the situation become bigger?”
“The bigger, the better. Arangeti and Costra are organizations without war experience, so they’ll get scared if the situation becomes complicated.”
What they wanted was a hegemonic struggle backed by large organizations, not a messy mudslinging fight. The war will naturally be canceled.
Above all, we must protect our young master from the forces of evil. Hunter thought of Taylor’s straightforward gaze and grinned.
