Ch.35First Entanglement – The Traitor and Blues (4)

# Just when I felt like I’d accomplished something, that feeling faded away as naturally as it had come. Is there really no way out of this? The reporter looked around.

Besides Paulina’s shield—now badly cracked from the detective’s gunfire and looking ready to shatter at any moment—there was nothing else in sight. The silence continued as she held the receiver, until finally the call disconnected.

“What’s wrong, Rose? I mean, you were talking with the editor-in-chief, so why…?”

The reporter collapsed to the floor. She wasn’t strong enough to bear the layers of frustration piling up.

“That hyena was there. From the way she took the phone, it looks like she brought her goons along. She said something about the article being incorrect and wanting to talk about it… What should we do?”

It had been hard enough dealing with the detective who had tried to kill her out of a sense of duty rather than any real murderous intent. Learning that Giuseppina had beaten them to the punch was like a dagger to her already overwhelmed heart.

Paulina couldn’t speak either. Rose’s father, the head of Clichy Corporation, could send people capable of resolving this situation. But he didn’t want Rose to see that side of him.

Outside the boundaries of family, he was by no means a good person, but he genuinely loved his family. Rather than show Rose that side of himself, he would try to convince her to give up the newspaper.

What about someone other than Rose’s father? They could ask Ysil for help, but she was a different kind of person. She didn’t have a militia that could be called out in the middle of the night.

Was this kind of problem part of a lawyer’s job? Paulina had once worked like the detective they’d just seen, but she had since blurred many lines. Even if it wasn’t a lawyer’s job, she would do it for her client.

“You should hand over the article, Rose. There’s nothing we can do right now… They called the office.”

It wasn’t likely that Giuseppina was alone. There would be other ghouls besides her. The lawyer could fight two or three female ghouls simultaneously, but what if there were ten or twenty?

The shield that could block bullets was already half-destroyed from protecting Rose from the detective. Those ghouls wouldn’t shoot Rose anyway, so if she just handed over the article, they would let it go quietly.

Having to compromise twice in one day was terrible. Should she be grateful that she could protect Rose from the detective with his abnormal strength and vitality, and from the mafia?

“If I do that, will that ghoul really leave everyone alone? I mean, saying she already got what she needed…”

Fear crept back into Rose’s expression. She’d been like this ever since seeing the Cowboy die. The lawyer shook her head reassuringly.

“If they cause a scene at the newspaper office, people will try to figure out why, and digging deeper will eventually expose that ghoul’s dirty secrets. Neither she nor her superiors would want that.”

This time, the handling was too clean. That ghoul who seemed capable of nothing but throwing punches and firing guns couldn’t have done this alone.

Placing someone in the police investigation team—which was filled with humans, excluding angels—was certainly done by higher-ups. As for the detective… that was unclear. He must be involved somehow.

“Then… I’ll hand over the article. One article is less important than a person’s life, right?”

What did it feel like for a reporter to sell the truth to save her life? Paulina couldn’t gauge the feeling, as she would readily abandon her pride or anything else to protect Rose.

Rose’s hands were trembling. She tried to control the shaking. She looked like she might cry, but no tears fell. Paulina nodded back at her.

This was the only thing the reporter could do. Even if there might have been other options, Paulina believed this was the only way.

The only person Rose could trust was Paulina. The police had disappeared and hadn’t returned, and just moments ago, she had nearly lost her life to an unexpected intruder. Somehow… she was too exhausted to think clearly.

The reporter was an idealist, but she wasn’t stubborn. She knew that when ideals clung to reality’s pant leg and threw a tantrum, they would only be kicked away by reality’s boot before reality continued on its way.

Steeling her resolve—ironically, steeling it to surrender—she got into Paulina’s car to return to the company building. New York’s typically bright sky looked strangely different than usual.

It had seemed to sparkle beautifully before, but when had it become so dull? When she rubbed her eyes to check, the colors returned to normal, but a haziness remained in the reporter’s vision.

They arrived at the parking lot of the building with the Golden Age Press sign. Ghouls guarding the parking lot snickered when they saw the two women arriving at the newspaper office by car at this hour.

“Ah, I like this newspaper. I really do. They respond so well to requests for corrections. Isn’t that right, sis?”

A small male ghoul snickered, relying on the female ghoul standing nearby. Paulina stuck her head out of the driver’s seat to check the female ghoul’s attire. She wore pants secured with suspenders and a thick jacket. Not a suit.

From the way she looked disapprovingly at the male ghoul’s snickering, Paulina could guess these mafia members’ tendencies. The branch manager was just a huge, beast-like ghoul too.

If they wanted and worshipped power, then she would show it to them. Making a first impression was Paulina’s job. She opened the driver’s door and stepped out.

The female ghoul seemed to prefer Paulina with her half-ogre bulk over the male ghoul she had brought, whistling once, and Paulina approached the male ghoul standing on the opposite side of the car.

“Physical argument, commencing. Rose, please close your eyes.”

It wasn’t strange for a lawyer to argue on behalf of a client who had been insulted. The male ghoul was too intoxicated by a situation he hadn’t even controlled yet.

“I heard from your branch manager that we were supposed to come for a conversation, but is this how you normally treat people who come to talk?”

The female ghoul, leaning against the parking lot wall and flaring her nostrils as if displeased with her minor assignment, shook her head.

“Of course not. That one just has a bad personality… I’m going to smoke a cigarette.”

Implicit permission granted. The ghoul put a cigarette in her mouth, leaned her shoulder against the wall, and turned away. Paulina was able to grab the male ghoul’s head without any resistance.

She could feel eyes watching from the office windows. Someone would be watching. The ghoul who had insulted Rose—who had compromised twice in one day yet still came here for her editor—was in a desperate situation.

There was no better opportunity to both make a first impression and defend her client. Paulina tightened her grip and slammed the male ghoul’s head against the building’s outer wall.

As he bounced back from the impact, she punched him, driving him back into the wall. He wouldn’t die, but he’d have to lap up his food from now on.

Rose flinched in shock, her eyes closed, trembling. Before she opened her eyes, the lawyer had pushed the ghoul’s quivering body into the bushes.

The organization member who had been leaning against the wall with a cigarette in her mouth turned around with an eerie smile. She had the eyes of a beast. She growled in an uncivilized manner as she looked up at Paulina.

“The boss said if you were the type to just bow your heads and trudge in without answering that little shit’s taunts, you wouldn’t be worth dealing with. Good instincts?”

“A lawyer only protects her client. My client was insulted after compromising twice in one day to come here, so I argued her case. That’s all. Let’s go, Rose.”

In response to Paulina’s answer, the female ghoul made another chuckling sound and opened the door to the company. Paulina walked through the open door with Rose.

Inside the company building, thirty—exactly thirty-two—ghouls were spread out. Fortunately, they were gathered in one floor of the office where there were no reporters besides the editor-in-chief, emitting a disgusting smell of rotten meat.

Paulina let Rose take the lead, trying not to cower, as they entered the office floor. Disgustingly, a ghoul who had half-reclined her large body in Rose’s seat stood up to show off her size.

“Ah, this feels familiar. Do all New Yorkers these days know how to earn our respect? Anyway, I’m Giuseppina Proci. Where’s the article?”

The lawyer felt that the detective must have used a similar approach when he first met this ghoul. That must be what she meant by “familiar.”

Rose stepped forward. At the very least, she wouldn’t tremble like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. She looked up at the massive ghoul.

“First, I need confirmation that no one will be harmed. I didn’t come to hand over the article—I came to talk, right?”

There was no way to tell if it was courage or recklessness. Probably closer to recklessness. It was the desperate stubbornness of someone with nothing left to lose. The massive ghoul burst into laughter as if she liked that tone.

“Heh, look at this one. I thought only the half-ogre beside you was worth something, but you’re something too. An elf who doesn’t act weak… It’s almost amusing.”

Giuseppina clicked her tongue, making a ticking sound as if calling a dog, and two more ghouls walked out of the inner office with the editor-in-chief.

Though she was clearly a thug, Giuseppina was in a good mood, believing that if she could just get the article, she would be able to have dinner with the Godmother. She seemed to know how to keep her promises.

The editor-in-chief also seemed fine apart from being tense. Seeing this, Rose finally took out the photos and article from inside her coat. She handed them to Giuseppina.

Giuseppina’s large hand took the article, and her eyes happily scanned it as if curious about its contents. Everyone is curious about what others think of them.

After satisfactorily scanning both pages of the article, Giuseppina tucked them into her coat. She growled with satisfaction.

“If this had been distributed during rush hour, everyone would have come running to hang me. Looking at the content, it’s definitely an authentic article, written with care word by word. You’ve shown trust, haven’t you?”

“I didn’t show it for your sake. I showed it because you made it obvious you were holding the editor-in-chief.”

“Ah, you seem to think we’re some kind of beasts, but even if we are beasts, we’re beasts in suits, little elf. As long as we’re wearing suits, we don’t act that way.”

Her flippant tone, lacking intimidation, was actually more intimidating. Giuseppina seemed to want to show how routine this action was for her, and the reporter was seeing that fact very clearly.

“Anyway, you’ve shown trust, so I should show trust too. I hope you enjoy your happy reporter life until I visit next time. Oh, do you have any questions?”

Rose boldly asked in return. She had shown trust, and if they wouldn’t bother her, she had something she wanted to ask.

“Who’s the informant?”

Giuseppina’s entire facial expression twitched. She looked like she couldn’t decide whether to laugh or bark, but she seemed to like the question itself.

However, for Giuseppina, the trust of the Godmother and her desire to reward this reporter’s boldness were not things she could weigh against each other. She clicked her tongue and gave a vague answer.

“The one who seems to have no reason to betray is usually the traitor. Do you think an idiot who openly displays reasons deep enough to betray would still be walking around with their head attached to their neck?”

Giuseppina raised her fist, twirled it in the air a couple of times, and made a gesture as if pouring something out.

It was a signal to leave, and as soon as they saw it, the ghouls left the newspaper office, leaving only their thick fur smell behind.

Paulina knew why the mafia left so easily. For them, it was simpler to persuade a newspaper that dared to expose their dirty laundry than to pressure it into closing down.

Prohibition had given them money. And just as mana creates magic, money creates magic too. In this era, their bribes became entertainment, and bribery soon became favor.

She should tell the editor-in-chief about this. Someone who had experienced this today would find it hard to resist such temptation. People found the kindness of those they feared particularly sweet.

Giuseppina returned to the restaurant, feeling relieved and excited about meeting the Godmother. She growled with satisfaction when she saw an unfamiliar car parked outside. It smelled like the detective’s car.

She opened the restaurant door and went in. The smell of a cozy home and her compatriots wafted through the air, and in the middle, at a table, sat the detective, continuously downing alcohol made with ground bone.

“They both seemed fine. Did you steal it without fighting? If that’s the case, I should introduce you to the Godmother. That is, if your liver doesn’t fail first.”

Just looking at the number of glasses in front of the detective, it was enough to make a ghoul drunk, but he was still sober. As Giuseppina wondered if he had two livers, the detective sneered.

“I benefited from the rat you planted. And I’m not seeing the Godmother. If Irish guys give me jobs, I need to make money from their jobs too, so why would I eat with your Godmother? Do your damn family play among yourselves.”

The detective’s caustic words couldn’t provoke Giuseppina’s anger. She was a person who had tolerance for people who did their jobs well. That’s probably how she could rise to this position.

“Ah, you capitalist son of a bitch… Will you take your payment in cash?”

The detective ordered another drink, drank it, and stood up. A photograph was burning in the fireplace that had been installed to create a family atmosphere in the restaurant.

“I don’t want to get killed in a year-end tax audit for taking money from you guys. I didn’t even get hit by a bullet anyway… I’ll take a driver in lieu of the drink tab.”

The IRS was scarier than the police. Money received from businessmen and others was clean, but money from gangsters had untraceable origins, and when the IRS started investigating, there was no way out.

Giuseppina provided a male ghoul who didn’t smell much, and the detective could somehow make it back to his apartment today. Today, too, he could drown his dreams in alcohol before falling asleep.

People who had resolved to reveal the truth strengthened their resolve at the end of today, while for those who saw it merely as a livelihood, all of this was just another day in their routine.