Ch.139Report on the Downfall of Diligence (4)

“What are you talking about?”

“Eagles look down from high in the sky. Everything in the world must seem small and insignificant to them. Working with authority is like an eagle swooping down to catch prey—it’s easy and straightforward.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not exactly. Just as an eagle that misses its prey becomes a laughingstock, when authority-driven work fails to produce proper results, it backfires badly.

Eagles get two chances, but authority doesn’t even have that. That’s why there’s such obsession with appearances—things that look impressive, things that are grand, things that can be shown to others.”

“I suppose so.” Maria nodded. “When they hold a big witch trial and nothing comes of it, there’s nothing more embarrassing. So what about the ground beetles?”

“It means that by the time something reaches the Security Bureau level, you’re dealing with incredibly bad people. People who are experts at hiding and concealing, people who can even neutralize authority.

To catch such people, you need to crawl down to the bottom of the bottom, the root of the root. Look at Hans. If we’d investigated using authority, we wouldn’t have caught anything.”

If this hadn’t happened, Hans would never have been suspected.

A solid family man, a hero of the Empire, a high-ranking politician who uses his lobbying money for poor relief.

As a former con artist who reformed, he was literally the stuff of legends.

‘Yes. It’s truly beetle-like work.’ Kain gave a bitter smile. From an eagle’s perspective, the one wallowing in dirt looking for flaws wasn’t Hans but Kain.

“Still, I don’t like beetles.” Maria grinned and lay down on the floor.

“That person speaks well.”

“He does. He’s good at cursing, good at drinking. He’s gruff but has a lot of heart.”

Thinking about it, Verneith and Maria seemed similar in personality. At the same time, Kain realized that Verneith was actually an incredible person. It was something he hadn’t fully appreciated before.

As ridiculous and eccentric as he was, he had seen everything during the Empire’s chaotic period while in the Royal Guard Bureau, and rather than becoming disillusioned when the organization was restructured, he ended up in the leadership position of the new organization.

Surely even Verneith must have wanted to quit at times. But he endured until the end, still fighting today. Having worked as an agent for three times longer than Kain, he was still fighting.

Feeling a sense of respect beginning to form, Kain stopped his train of thought.

“Yes. He’s as tough as tree roots.”

“As tough as Lily?”

“…About that much.”

“I miss Lily,” Maria yawned lazily. “When Lily’s around, the world feels more secure.”

“That’s true.”

“And she has a pretty face.”

“…That’s true.”

“I bet if you could just bury yourself in that large chest of hers, you could forget all the world’s troubles.”

Kain almost agreed out loud. But drowsiness overcame him, and he didn’t respond. The next morning, Maria chirped like a bird.

“Morning! Morning! Wake up!”

It was dawn, too early to really call it morning.

Kain and Maria slipped out through the window. The revelers on the streets had tired and fallen asleep, and even the watchmen waiting for dawn were nodding off.

After easily escaping the riverside district, they headed to the boarding house where Maria was staying. Fortunately, Maria had prepared men’s casual clothes in advance, so they didn’t need to wander around the shopping district in rags.

As day broke, Maria called loudly for the maid to prepare bath water. A wooden tub large enough for one person was filled with cold water. Indeed, asking for hot water in such a shabby place would be unconscionable.

“Wash up and come out.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll wash downstairs.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Maria went out the window. Kain wondered what she was up to, but he obediently washed and waited.

A little while later, Maria climbed back through the window. Her pale face was framed by wet hair wrapped in a towel.

“That’s better now. It’s good to be clean. Doesn’t it feel nice?”

Kain was too dumbfounded to respond.

* * * * *

Inwardly, Kain had worried, “Will this work?” Since he had been a street beggar and Maria had worked as a janitor at city hall, he was concerned someone might recognize their faces.

Of course, the city was large and incredibly complex, and people generally don’t pay much attention to others, but still, there’s that sense of “I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

But after spending half a day with Maria, those worries completely disappeared.

Kain knew about the “art of looking like a completely different person.” When repeatedly engaging in disguise and infiltration, sometimes you need to approach with a changed identity. Like entering as a servant to gather information, then walking boldly through the door like a nobleman.

But he couldn’t match Maria’s level.

“Ah, stay still! Can’t you bear it?”

“Cough, cough!”

Maria didn’t stop her brushwork despite Kain’s coughing.

“Look in the mirror!” Following her instruction, Kain looked in the mirror and took a step back. A stranger was there. No, it was disturbingly familiar, which made it more unsettling.

Though Maria had wielded her brush dramatically, she hadn’t applied powder to Kain’s face.

All she’d done was darken his eyebrows slightly and add some shadow beneath his cheekbones. It was such a simple adjustment that unless someone got close enough to touch his face, they wouldn’t even know he was wearing makeup.

Yet he looked completely different. Somehow sharper… more cunning. Perhaps it was because she’d extended his eye corners slightly, or maybe because she’d drawn his eyebrows a bit closer together to make his brow appear narrower.

“H-how did you do that?”

“If you hadn’t coughed, it would have been even more perfect,” Maria said as she packed away her cosmetics and brushes, then peeked out the door.

“Hey, get out quickly. No one’s there. Wait for me in front of the bull statue in the shopping district.”

While walking from the boarding house to the street, Kain unconsciously kept an eye on his surroundings. He was a bit intimidated, worried someone might notice his makeup, and concerned about drawing attention. Like a child venturing out in fine clothes for the first time.

Fortunately, people didn’t pay much attention to Kain. Only women occasionally gave him contemptuous glances. Of course, even to himself, he looked like a sinister villain, but it still felt somewhat unfair.

But he was nothing compared to Maria.

“Oh my. You’re here? Did you wait long?”

A deeply cut dress that looked like something from the Eastern Union, a bright red fan. Her hair was pulled up dramatically, her face radiant, her lips bright red. But what shocked Kain was something else.

Normally, Maria walked carefully, more delicately than a cat. She seemed to deliberately avoid making footsteps.

But now Maria’s walk was completely different.

With each step, she exaggerated the twist of her waist. Her backside, pushed out behind her, wiggled like a duck, and her chest, thrust forward, bounced up and down. Partly due to her slightly heeled shoes, but clearly intentional.

“Um…”

“What’s with the ‘um,’ hey.” Maria snapped her fan shut and slapped the back of Kain’s hand. “Get your head straight?”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Shall we go then?”

Even as Maria took Kain’s arm, she cast flirtatious glances at nearby men. She looked like someone determined to start fights between passing couples.

To anyone watching, Kain and Maria would appear to be working in “that kind of profession”—past their prime but still retaining their lewdness.

One thing was certain: the street beggars and city hall janitors wouldn’t recognize them.

* * * * *

On one side of the commercial district were fabric shops, and on the other were tailors. Kain and Maria wandered around both.

They made quite a commotion. Maria let out laughter mixed with suggestive sounds, while Kain played along, mixing in Eastern Union accents and words.

To Imperial citizens, they would appear to be Eastern Union people who were “trying to imitate Imperial citizens while being inappropriately open and flirtatious.”

When someone made a teasing remark, Maria would exclaim “H-h-how dare you!” then stand up abruptly, glare, and then bend forward dramatically. Faced with her angry glare, then distracted by the white cleavage visible when they lowered their gaze, merchants would stammer, “Ah, no, I just…” and try to smooth things over with sidelong glances.

Each time, Kain would clear his throat with a “Kl-hmm” and crack his knuckles, making the conversation partner unconsciously tense up. To anyone watching, Kain didn’t look friendly. He had the appearance of a vagrant who might throw a punch if things went wrong.

But most conversations went quite smoothly. While Maria dealt with infatuated men, Kain awkwardly conversed with wealthy-looking women.

Thanks to this, Kain and Maria were able to gather quite a lot of information. These clothing shops couldn’t be entered without a certain level of wealth.

Also, since they didn’t sell pre-made clothes but rather involved selecting fabric, taking measurements, and detailed discussions about style, customers had to spend a long time there.

Since people with means had to spend time together, the shops also functioned as meeting places for conversation. Elegant yet comfortable chairs and tables were standard, along with sweet desserts, tea, and even perfumed spaces in many places.

With their somewhat vulgar attire and manner of speech, and their unabashed boasting about money, their conversation partners seemed to view Kain and Maria as nouveau riche who didn’t know what to do with their wealth.

From “I heard spice investments are good these days…” to “If you gather investors and pay a certain amount, you can earn money while sitting down.” The opportunists swarmed remarkably well.

Kain and Maria patiently listened to their nonsense, then asked how realistic these claims really were.

Is there a guarantee that profits would be that high? How would risks be handled? Faced with surprisingly sensible objections, their counterparts flinched but still offered various appealing responses.

“If you just talk to the city hall committee properly, things will work out. Going through them makes impossible things possible, and bypassing them makes possible things impossible. Either way, they’re the ones who decide.”

“Really? So should I go to city hall and say I want to invest here?”

When Kain spouted nonsense as if he knew nothing, the fat merchant shook his protruding belly and burst into laughter.

“Hehei. Who works like that? You need to visit with a small gift.”

“To the committee members?”

“Oh my. Those people are so honest and frugal. You’ll be turned away at the door. But if you want to get things done, rather than hitting directly, there’s a way to go around and tap-tap. Yes, yes.”

“So how do you do this ‘tap-tap’?”

Maria opened her eyes wide, rounded her lips, and leaned forward. When the merchant was reluctant to speak, she slightly protruded the small, pointed tip of her tongue between her lips.

Then the merchant would spill information about “people who could influence the city hall committee members.”

So-and-so from somewhere was the patron of some Imperial committee member’s son, or a retired Imperial officer living in a large mansion in the west was the father-in-law of someone on the committee and had such a loud voice that his son-in-law couldn’t move an inch…

Kain and Maria continued moving from clothing shop to clothing shop, listening to stories.

Since powerful people were few and those seeking connections were many, the information sometimes contradicted itself and occasionally completely irrelevant names came up. Someone said to influence Imperial personnel here was said to influence the Elector’s personnel there.

But by the time dusk was falling, they were able to glean one meaningful name. At least about this person, everyone they met at the clothing shops had the same opinion.

“You must meet Brother Theodore who lives in the northern part of the city.”

“Who is that?”

“Someone who may not be able to make impossible things possible, but can make possible things impossible. He could be called the mentor of Hans, the hero of the Empire.”