Chapter 192
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 192
Guided by Lisanda, we arrived at the Menoa family's conference room.
Only one personal bodyguard was allowed inside. The Equesian mercenaries Japa had brought waited outside.
My role here is to observe.
I stepped into the conference room and took my place behind Japa.
Slither.
The Tajiruns’ gazes were unnervingly still. As Japa and I entered, only their pupils shifted to track us, the heavy silence pressing down like a physical weight.
A round table and ten chairs.
Japa had already briefed me on the Menoa family's decision-making process.
The family granted voting rights to the ten Tajiruns who brought them the most profit, seating them at the round table. The Family Head, by himself, held three votes.
This brought the total to twelve votes. Naturally, this meant a tie was possible, preventing a decision from being reached.
If there's a tie, the two chairs set apart from the round table gain voting rights.
My gaze shifted. Those seats belonged to the two Elite Guard Captains. One was currently vacant; the other was occupied by an Equesian. The empty seat, of course, had belonged to the captain I’d killed.
It was surprising. Two Elite Guard Captains, outsiders and former slaves, could actually influence the Menoa family’s decisions. Of course, the vote must rarely ever come down to them.
And if it's still a tie even with the Elite Guard Captains, the Family Head gains sole decision-making authority.
For a merchant family, it was a remarkably progressive and democratic system. It was likely how the Menoa family had survived for so long. Most importantly, it allowed outsiders to participate in the family’s governance, even in a limited capacity.
Akbaran also constantly integrated talent from the Lower District into high society.
My thoughts had wandered, but less than three seconds had passed since we entered the room.
There was no seat for Japa. We were left standing as if we were being interrogated. Japa was the first to break the silence.
"I see keeping guests standing is a Menoa family custom now. It seems a lot has changed while I was away."
"I highly doubt we can call you a guest," replied the Tajirun sitting at the head of the round table. He held a scepter topped with an orb, marking him as the Family Head.
Ozmer, eldest son of the Menoa family's direct line.
His actual name was much longer, but Japa had shortened it to ‘Ozmer’ when he told me about him.
Ozmer’s skin was darker than that of the other Tajiruns, a dull brown that was almost black. In many ways, he looked far more insidious and dangerous.
"How cold. You could have at least invited me to Father's funeral."
"An exile? How dare you utter such words when you carry nothing but shame."
The hostility was blatant. Japa must have been prepared for this.
"Well, fine. It’s not like I came expecting a warm conversation and a hot meal. So, will you sign a non-aggression pact, or will you make peace with me? You could even lift my exile order. After all, Father is dead now."
"Peace? Laughable. Truly laughable."
The Tajiruns burst into laughter all at once. A sinister, rustling sound spread through the conference room, seeming to gnaw at the very air.
"So you want war, then," Japa said, completely unfazed. "I'm ready."
He was someone who had clawed his way up from the absolute bottom. He wouldn't be shaken by such petty insults.
Snap.
The laughter stopped instantly. The Tajiruns froze, their slightest movements ceasing. Only their vertical slit pupils shifted, locking onto Japa.
"War?"
"You're the ones who attacked first, yet you're surprised by the word? Now that is truly laughable," Japa chuckled.
"Arrogant fool. You think you’re somebody just because you scraped together some petty business."
"I did become somebody. That’s why I’m proposing war. This isn't very Tajirun-like of you, though. You will never choose war. You're perfectly fine with one-sided raids and covert assassinations, but you dread an all-out conflict."
A stir ran through the Tajiruns. They had clearly expected Japa to take a submissive stance.
Even if Japa Trading is famous in Border City, Japa is still just the powerhouse of a single city.
The Menoa family’s power and influence were undoubtedly greater. The sheer scale of their mothership made that obvious.
If the Menoa family crushed Japa with their full might, he would have a hard time holding out.
But it would come at a great cost to them as well. Even if they were guaranteed to kill Japa, it would be a mutually destructive affair.
That's why the former Menoa Family Head made peace with Japa. Japa was someone they could handle, but who was too troublesome to be worth the effort.
Reading the room, Japa pressed his advantage.
"You must have thought I would grovel and offer you a cut of my profits. That was merely out of respect for Father. Now that he's dead, I don't intend to pay you a single credit."
"Are you really going to push this to the limit?"
"I'm giving you a choice. Cut all ties with me… or we go to war. And for your information, I am well-acquainted with war and violence. To run a business in Border City, one must occasionally act against their nature."
"Nature? To hear such words from your mouth. The very reason you were exiled…"
Ozmer trailed off, as if the topic was too loathsome to speak of.
Japa's unyielding attitude had thrown the conference room into an uneasy limbo. His words and actions had completely defied their expectations.
"I will let you use your old room," Ozmer said flatly, dropping the mockery from his voice. "Stay for a few days. We will speak again once we have decided on a course of action."
The other Tajiruns also refrained from provoking Japa any further.
* * *
Japa and I walked down the corridor. Since Japa knew the layout of the Menoa mothership, we didn't need a guide.
"They won't choose war. No, they can't," Japa chattered excitedly. "When they weigh profit against risk, they cannot make a choice unless the scales tip heavily toward profit. They've been educated that way since childhood. It's practically an obsession, hoyot, hoyot."
He seemed to thoroughly enjoy having dealt them such a solid blow.
"So they've lost the decisiveness to accept a calculated loss."
"Exactly. If one could perfectly predict all profits and losses, never choosing a loss would always be the right decision. But no being possesses such an ability. Even someone who has trained Akies Victima to its absolute limit can only predict outcomes based on their own narrow scope of information. And even that isn't entirely accurate."
"But it's precisely because they never choose a loss that the Menoa family has survived and prospered until now. Everything has its pros and cons."
"The universe has its principles. If you don't change, you don't survive. That is an unchanging truth, no matter how strong a creature is. The environment is bound to change, so existing methods must change as well. If you can't keep up, you get left behind."
Easier said than done. Most attempts at innovation end in failure. But if you fear change because of that, you will only rot away and disappear.
Creak.
We entered Japa's old quarters. Five of the Equesians followed us inside while the other five stood guard in the corridor. We swept the room and confirmed there were no surveillance devices.
"…Luka, are you ready?" Japa asked, opening a bag brought by one of the Equesians.
I was already stripping off my clothes. "I've never done this before… but it's not like there's anyone else who can."
This was something we had agreed upon beforehand.
"Since it's a prototype, it will feel incredibly stuffy, hoyot. Not that the standard ones are comfortable to begin with."
Japa pulled a full-body combat suit from the bag. Its surface shimmered, changing with the angle of the light.
A camouflage combat suit.
And a brand-new prototype, at that, featuring the latest technology. It was said to bypass not only infrared sensors but a host of others as well.
Clack, thud.
I set down my Hwagwang Yedo and auto-tracking pistol. Once I slipped off my pants, I was completely naked. Japa averted his eyes, looking slightly uncomfortable.
Slide, click.
I struggled to squeeze into the airtight combat suit. Calling it 'airtight' was a polite way of saying it felt absolutely miserable to wear.
Hiss.
Once the helmet was on, even breathing became a chore. The filters had to absorb any leaking body odor, and to bypass complex detection devices, the intake and exhaust of air were painfully slow. The visor was a narrow slit, severely restricting my field of vision. I could already feel the stress building.
Bzzzt.
I tapped my wrist to activate the camouflage function. A current of electricity surged over my bare skin, sending a chill through me. The surface of the suit turned transparent as electrical impulses flowed over it—the pinnacle of modern camouflage technology. On top of that, it must have incorporated all sorts of advanced tech I couldn't even begin to comprehend, designed to evade the senses of various alien species.
"I'm counting on you, Luka. Now that I think about it, I've given you quite a difficult task. I'll compensate you handsomely once this is over."
The door to the quarters opened and closed as Japa's Equesians moved in and out. Taking advantage of the motion, I slipped outside.
Impressive.
It was my first time wearing a camouflage combat suit. A Tajirun walked right past me without a hint of recognition.
It blocks any trace of biological information from leaking out.
Still, I couldn't be reckless. A presence can betray itself in the most unexpected ways.
More importantly, what a surprise. To think Japa's insider was that… Tajirun.
I had only been told about the insider moments before putting on the suit. Classified information was best kept on a need-to-know basis. It wasn't that Japa didn't trust me; it was just living by the old saying, "To deceive your enemy, you must first deceive your allies."
Japa had received advance warning of the raid through this insider. Naturally, the insider wasn't powerful enough to attend the Round Table Conference. If they had been, they would have sent the warning much sooner.
Come to think of it, that Tajirun did have a reason to cooperate.
The insider was a Tajirun in an ambiguous position within the family.
I followed the map I had memorized and arrived in front of a door. Leaning my back against the wall, I waited for it to open.
Hiss.
The automatic door slid open. The Tajirun inside stepped out, went somewhere briefly, and then returned.
Hiss.
I slipped in right behind her before the door could close. She had no idea I had entered.
Tap.
I tapped my finger on her table. The Tajirun flinched in surprise.
"Japa sent me, Lisanda," I said, my voice filtering through the translator.
The insider was indeed Lisanda—the very same Tajirun woman who had guided us to the conference room, and one of Japa's siblings.
Despite being of the direct line, she was pushed out of the Round Table Conference due to her poor performance.
Just a few hours ago, Japa and Lisanda had been trading vicious insults. Because of that, even I hadn't suspected they were working together.
"Ah, the ticking time bomb," Lisanda said. Her words flowed in my own language, no translator needed. Her tone was more polite than I had expected.
"Tell me what happened," I said. "Who killed the former Family Head?"
Lisanda slowly sat down.
"You're not even an Equesian mercenary, yet you seem highly trusted. Are you Japa's lover?"
…I was taken aback.
"I don't have a fetish for dating aliens. Besides, Japa is a guy. An alien homosexual? What a horrific kink."
Lisanda tilted her head, as if wondering what on earth I was talking about, then flicked her tongue. She seemed particularly puzzled by the word 'guy.' My Akies Victima intuition flared, completely unprompted.
…I was utterly dumbfounded.
Everything that had just happened flashed through my mind. I remembered Anguis Regina. I had once sarcastically asked her if she was Japa's lover, and she had laughed as if it were the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. There was a reason for that.
Japa… was a woman?!
…I wanted to scream.