Read Novel Full Chapter 858: They Don’t Like Him That Much
Chapter 858: They Don’t Like Him That Much
I told my girls everything I’ve learned in that meeting with Kaito.
"So... We have to sneak that... Thing... Into a highly fortified base?" Ries asked.
I nodded, "Pretty much."
"How would we even do that?"
"Well... I have a few ideas... One of which involves Renata sneaking it in there which should be doable since she’s already shown she could swallow the entire thing without changing her actual size..." I pointed out.
In fact, the turtle was still stuck inside Renata at the moment, even though all the police officers had already left our ship. It was still better to be safe for now so we kept it hidden in case someone suddenly showed up again or something.
Renata grinned at me, "Then should I head over there right now, Daddy?"
I shook my head, "Not yet... I’m still not sure whether this guy is actually telling me everything. For all I know, he might actually be lying this entire time just to get me on his side so I want to find out if he’s telling the truth first."
Mara tilted her head at me, "Do you want me to go read his mind, Captain?"
I shook my head, "Unfortunately, I doubt I would be able to go meet him again as he expressly stated that he doesn’t want our conversation to be brought up ever again so he’ll probably turn me away from his office until this job is done."
"Mmm... In that case... Are you planning to talk to that Yuki woman then?"
"That’s what I was thinking... But first..."
I pulled out my Codex and rang up Clement.
The call needed a few moments before it was answered, the smuggler hiding himself somewhere before he turned to look at the screen.
"Mistress T?" He greeted me, using the name that my girls told him to use. "Ah! You’re checking in, right? I’m very happy to let you know that we’ve been really successful with your sales so far! I’ve found a few good buyers for your stuff!"
I nodded, "Hmm... That’s good. Any problems on your side?"
"Not at all, Mistress T! This is what we’re familiar with, after all! We know what we’re doing here!"
"Good. Depending on how much you got for us, I might even pay you a bonus too."
His eyes lit up, "Re... Really?! Oh! I will not disappoint you, Mistress T! Thank you!!"
Hey, got to give him some carrots to reward him, right?
Especially when I need this from him for the next part...
"Hey Clement..."
"Yes, Mistress T?"
"Just letting you know... We’ve reached the station that we were supposed to deliver that turtle to... How do we... You know..."
He gasped, "Oh!! You’re supposed to send out a ping that can only be detected by them! I forgot about that! Let me send you the frequency you need to use! Once they detect your ping, they will contact you and ask ’Is the shell prepared’ and you’ll have to answer with ’It has yet to come out’."
What the heck kind of arrangement is this with that secret code? Is this some noir crime flick or something?
Whatever...
I nodded at him, "Don’t suppose you know who you are delivering to?"
He grimaced, "I... Might have an idea, but I was not explicitly told who it was... Just that they are really powerful in terms of influence."
"Who is it?"
"Well... I believe it’s a person called Yuki Nakamura, she runs a syndicate family within the Inner Colonies and has a lot of influence in the private security and arms trade market. That’s what is publicly known at least... But for people like us who deal in the black market side of things, we know that she also has fingers in that as well and has a criminal network big enough to ruin your life if you mess with her... Especially for someone who is relying on working inside this market for a living..."
"I see... Does she have rivals or something?"
He chuckled, "Ahahaha, of course she has. While she might be quite influential, she doesn’t exactly have a monopoly on anything. There’s rival syndicates and companies who are always looking to try and get a bigger share of the market for themselves. Which is actually good for freelancers like us since we can use them as cover for our own activities, hahaha!"
"In that case... What do you know about this guy called Kaito Matsumoto?"
Both Ries and Yumiko cried out at the same time.
"Did you just say Kaito Matsumoto, Boss?!"
"Mistress, you met Kaito Matsumoto?!!"
I blinked at them, "Eh? Did I not mention that guy’s name? Like, the one that I told you I met was him?"
All my girls shook their heads.
Ah... I think I’ve been calling him ’that CEO guy’ to my girls this entire time... My bad.
"Judging by your reactions... I’m guessing this guy is someone that is well known?"
I thought Ries would start praising him or something, only to see her suddenly scowl and scrunch up her face in disgust, "He’s the founder of Kaito Business Holdings... A private security company that only recently rose to be one of the bigger security companies by buying out other smaller companies and, allegedly, recruiting a whole bunch of former criminals and, also allegedly, engaging in piracy with them to fund his business... That’s not even the worst part as he has invested in several arms manufacturers that have made weapons and gear that he refuses to release to the public! All that firepower and he keeps it for himself!!"
Ok... Umm... I find it ironic that she thinks the latter part is worse than him using criminals to engage in piracy because I’m pretty sure it’s completely reasonable and legal for him to make weapons for his own company’s use and not sell it to the public...
But hey, what do I know, right?
I then turned to Yumiko and she also had a scowl on her face and I could guess why.
"He’s... Matsumoto’s cousin..." She seethed, looking like she wanted to strangle someone.
"Ok... Err... I’m assuming he did something to you guys as well?"
"Where did you think he got the money to buy up the smaller companies from? When my unit was declared ’lost’, he seized all of his cousin’s assets and used them for himself."
Ok... Yeah... Now I’m really thinking that it’s good that we didn’t just trust this guy for just his word...
I turned back to Clement and he realised I wanted his opinion as well.
He scratched his head, "Umm... I’m not too sure about him since... I don’t think he’s involved with the black market... But I guess I have heard of that company from time to time, that’s all I know."
"Right... Then do you know why this Yuki person would want that turtle you’re smuggling?"
He paused and looked around, as though to make sure there was no one around him before he leaned forward to whisper.
"This is... Just assuming that she is the one who wanted that creature to begin with... But I heard that she keeps some kind of zoo where she collects weird creatures for herself or something. I don’t know if this is true but that’s what I’ve heard at least..."
Hmm... Interesting...
Ok, let’s not jump to conclusions yet.
I nodded at Clement, "Thanks. Send me the details and I’ll ping the client to see what’s going on. Also... My maid?"
He blinked, needing a moment to realise I was asking about Renata’s clone.
"Ah! She’s still with us, Mistress T! Should I call her here?"
"No need. I’m just wondering how you’re going to return her to me?"
"Eh? Ah... She said that she would find her own way back to you once we finalised the sale. Should I take her back after all?"
Renata wants to come back by herself? Well... I guess she could do that so I don’t need to worry about her... Seeing that she doesn’t even need a ship to travel around in space.
But I wonder how fast she’s able to fly in space because if she’s limited to just her momentum... I think it might take centuries or more for her to even reach us from wherever she is.
I waved at him, "If that’s what she told you then it’s fine, you don’t need to worry about her. She can handle herself."
"Oh, I know that from first hand experience."
I paused and narrowed my eyes at him.
He quickly raised his hands, "Ah!! I mean... We were intercepted by an Insurgent ship that wanted to rob us... She basically killed their entire crew by herself! We didn’t do anything to her!"
Hmph... Good.
"Fine then. Just send me the details and I’ll get in touch with the client."
He saluted, "Right away, Mistress T!"
The call was cut and I leaned back to let out a breath.
Guess things were more complicated than we thought.