Groundbreaking Ceremony (5)
I didn’t particularly enjoy stepping in front of people.
Still, there were things a person simply had to do.
As a student, I had to run for class president and deliver unwelcome speeches.
There are duties that must be performed.
The next day.
Ground-floor reception room of the Capital Defense Command.
Beneath the grand chandelier, camera flashes from reporters lit up the entire space.
I was in the waiting room reviewing the press release.
Green Energy Park groundbreaking ceremony in progress in Clovan City.
Environment Ministry Minister found dead in his office with a sharp instrument wound to the neck.
Thanks to the Deputy Chief Prosecutor’s perfect timing, the headline dominated the front page without delay.
Reporters crowded the official briefing room about the incident, as expected.
The murmurs of the press grew louder as the stage door opened.
I stepped onto the platform in my formal uniform, expression calm and composed.
“I am Zeo Blood, 1st Grade Prosecutor of the Capital Defense Command.”
I placed the microphone near my lips, and the flashes exploded again.
“Is it true that the Environment Ministry Minister was murdered in his office?”
“Who was the first witness?”
“Who are the Capital Defense Force suspects at this moment?”
I adjusted the microphone position and began answering one by one.
“The Environment Ministry Minister was discovered yesterday afternoon in his private office with a sharp weapon severing his neck.”
“Was the weapon recovered?”
“Did he have any grudges with acquaintances?”
“Did the Environment Ministry’s security system function properly?”
“Was this an act of terrorism?”
The reporters’ intensity was overwhelming.
“The investigation authorities arrived at the scene first and collected all evidence without contamination, leaving every possibility open for further investigation.”
I laid the groundwork with a simple reply and gave the reporters time to let their imaginations run wild.
I scanned the room and locked eyes with the man raising his hand frantically.
“Has the culprit been identified?”
This wasn’t the question I wanted.
“The forensic analysis is ongoing, and we expect good news within a short time.”
Another hand shot up from the back.
“How many personnel have been assigned to the current investigation?”
I was beginning to suspect the man couldn’t even see straight.
“We have formed a central investigation headquarters with four teams totaling one hundred twenty investigators. The on-site forensics team of thirty, including forensic experts, the magic-stone imagery analysis team of twenty, and fifty-five behavioral analysts and search teams are operating on a forty-eight-hour rotating schedule.”
The reporters scribbled furiously, trying to keep up with the numbers.
A hand flashed again.
“The numbers don’t add up.”
“The remaining undisclosed personnel cannot be revealed due to investigative secrecy. Please understand.”
If these questions kept coming, I might as well not have arranged the press conference at all.
Where was the smart reporter hiding?
Just then, a reporter hunched under a pillar in dark glasses raised his hand.
“If the Environment Ministry Minister was assassinated, shouldn’t we consider this a politically motivated crime rather than a simple murder?”
Oh, perfect! The man had delivered exactly the question I needed.
The water was flowing nicely in the right direction.
I straightened my expression and suppressed the urge to smile.
“We are not excluding the possibility of political connections or organized, meticulous criminal syndicates linked to cartels.”
I answered concisely.
Shorter answers always conveyed the message more precisely.
“Cartel?”
“The man who started as a low-level Environment Ministry official and rose to minister… isn’t that him?”
“But where does the cartel come in?”
The murmurs spread through the reporters.
“Is there a specific group under suspicion?”
“While I cannot discuss ongoing investigations, we are focusing on the use of materials that are difficult to obtain even within the Empire.”
A second hook cast into the water.
“Materials difficult to obtain?”
“What is that?”
“Please be specific.”
This was the final hook—the reason I had arranged the press conference in the first place.
“We will prioritize the investigation of weapon production and distribution companies with connections to the Environment Ministry. This will include military enterprises as well as magic-stone processing firms, with no sacred ground left unexamined.”
At this point, everyone’s mind was surely turning to someone.
A man in his thirties slammed his fist on the table while watching the press conference on video.
“Zeo Blood, that bastard is going down!”
Sorry, sir.
For now, I felt sorry for President Demison.
* * *
“What happened?”
A call came from President Demison.
“I’m sorry.”
I had nothing to say.
I started with the basic apology: I’m sorry.
Who would sue someone who says “I’m sorry”?
“I will sue you.”
…So that’s how it was.
But he hadn’t directly named our company, so a slander suit would be difficult.
“Please give me a moment.”
“I cannot allow our company’s honor to be besmirched just because of the Capital Defense Force investigation.”
“The situation is serious.”
“Our shareholders are in trouble too. Did you see Red Corporation’s stock plummet after the press conference?”
“Did the side card not trigger?”
“The drop was so severe that trading was suspended!”
President Demison’s voice blasted through the magic-stone receiver like it was being pierced.
“It will recover soon. There will be compensation too.”
“Compensation?”
But he was a businessman.
As long as the interests aligned, he would surrender his hand.
I gripped the magic-stone receiver and continued.
“Yes, as you said, I had to divert attention to the investigation. I apologize for not discussing it beforehand. However, once the investigation concludes, I will deliver a valuable gift to Red Corporation and President Demison.”
It wasn’t boasting.
It was sincere.
Let him get caught in the storm for a while, and I would bring him a beautiful rainbow afterward.
* * *
I had been splashed all over the national news and cursed at by President Demison.
This investigation would be closed by my hand.
“Administrator, have the account analysis results come in?”
I rushed back to my office without even changing out of my uniform.
“Yes, Prosecutor. These people have been thoroughly laundering their funds.”
“Did the tracking succeed?”
“Of course it did. Enormous sums have flowed from this company.”
The place Piaget found was EcoNova Industry.
The very company behind the Green Energy Park groundbreaking ceremony.
“Only the money that flowed to the Environment Ministry Minister amounted to fifty billion crams over two years.”
“Fifty billion crams?”
The kind of money ordinary Empire citizens could never save in a lifetime.
A huge sum had been deposited into the Environment Ministry Minister’s private account from EcoNova Industry.
“However, the company’s revenue is unimpressive. Last year’s total revenue was only ten billion crams.”
A company with annual revenue of only ten billion crams was spending fifty billion crams on bribes…
Anyone could see it was a ghost company.
They were using shell companies like marionettes to hide their crimes.
“Did you receive anything in exchange for the bribes?”
To be recognized as bribery, there had to be consideration.
Meaning the recipient had to provide some benefit.
“They swept all contracts issued by the Environment Ministry.”
The Imperial Palace museum renovation project.
Matillous waterfront development project.
And this Green Energy Park project by the Environment Ministry.
EcoNova Industry had won every contract the Environment Ministry offered.
But.
“The bids were submitted at extremely low prices.”
Every single contract was bid at two billion crams—completely below market.
“It is a loss-making structure no matter how much work they get. I still cannot understand how they can continue.”
If they priced every contract at two billion crams, they were truly losing money.
They must have spent over ten billion crams on the museum renovation alone.
And for the Green Energy Park project? Hundreds of billions could be involved.
“Someone behind this must have poured out fifty billion crams without blinking.”
EcoNova Industry had a hidden giant willing to dump money like that without a second thought.
Otherwise they could not have kept losing money for so long.
What was he aiming for…?
Tightening a net around a high-ranking official to swallow him in one bite?
Aligning with the royal family?
Or was he going for something even larger?
At the moment, all we had was information on someone brazenly committing illegal acts under the guise of his own face.
“How are things with Representative Zylas?”
Zylas was the representative of EcoNova Industry.
The man who had delivered the groundbreaking speech alongside the Environment Ministry Minister.
A rising star businessman of the Gilorian Empire, someone who stirred up tabloid rumors.
“That’s strange.”
Piaget shrugged.
“This man simply appeared out of nowhere.”
“…”
“There is no record of when or where he was born. He suddenly showed up one day.”
I stopped in my tracks as I removed my formal coat.
“…Is he a heretic?”
A heavy topic to even mention.
Heretic.
“That’s not possible, though. According to Capital Defense Force records, he received a royal decoration.”
The Gilorian Empire strictly rejected heretics.
Therefore, the first task for awarding the royal decoration was thorough verification of whether the recipient was a heretic.
The probability that someone receiving an official royal decoration from the Empire is a heretic is nearly zero.
But if a heretic could influence the Empire, the story changed.
Or perhaps he had performed a status wash.
All possibilities had to remain open.
“Administrator, continue investigating Representative Zylas’s background.”
“Yes, Prosecutor.”
Piaget returned to his seat with a stern expression.
As the tail wagged, the person behind the Environment Ministry Minister’s murder would be revealed.
The plague, the Environment Ministry Minister’s corruption, and this mysterious businessman.
They were clearly connected.
As we narrowed the gaps, there would surely be a point where we caught them.
Just then, the office door creaked open slightly.
It was Dr. Miko.
“You seem to be picking up on things well. Hehe.”
I hoped she had come for useful information.
* * *
Dr. Miko poured out information with an excited face.
Her eyes were unusually hollow from staying up all night, and her cheeks were sunken.
But her gaze remained sharp, as always.
Dr. Miko began explaining what she had investigated.
We sat in silence and listened.
After a long explanation, Dr. Miko asked.
“The situation really is serious, you see… What do you plan to do, Prosecutor?”
“…”
I had listened intently, but I didn’t understand a word.
“Dr. Miko, if you continue explaining in only specialized terminology, how are we supposed to understand it?”
Piaget seemed to be thinking the same.
What we barely understood was.
“A virus has been detected in the water source, but drinking it won’t kill you?”
“That’s right. You’re listening well.”
No.
I hadn’t understood at all.
It was barely a little bit.
“Are you practicing saying things in reverse so the experts can understand?”
“Is explaining accurately a crime?”
While Piaget and Dr. Miko argued, I organized my thoughts. It was not a lethal dose of contaminants.
It would not cause symptoms like the current monster plague.
Therefore, we could not develop a monster plague treatment from the detected virus.
The Health and Sanitation Bureau was separating the water-source virus to respond separately.
Then.
“What is the cause of death on the bodies?”
Dr. Miko turned her head abruptly while arguing.
“It is similar to the virus found in the water source, but different.”
Dr. Miko handed over several documents.
“The virus code found in the water source is VO-5,241.”
“Is there any meaning hidden in the code?”
“Of course. Viruses starting with five are dangerous but not fatal.”
Dangerous but not fatal.
Whereas the monster plague had a disease code starting with two, guaranteeing death.
There was no connection between the two.
Therefore, the water source was not the origin of the monster plague.
But all evidence seized locally pointed to the water source as the origin of this incident.
Let me reorganize.
The virus found at the water source was named VO-5,241.
The original cause of the virus had not yet been identified.
We only knew it was not deadly enough to kill.
And the monster plague that had terrified Clovan City.
The virus found here was VSU-275.
Unvaccinated, it guaranteed death.
And we estimated that drinking the water from the water source caused infection with the monster plague.
There was something we were missing.
If we thought backwards completely?
If we developed a treatment to uncover the virus mutation process.
“Dr. Miko, what is needed to develop a monster plague treatment?”
“Since we cannot identify the cause virus… we have no choice but to obtain the original form of that virus.”
Dr. Miko’s ears drooped again.
“Ha… I’m doomed…”
Even with the Health and Sanitation Bureau’s thorough epidemiological investigation, obtaining the original virus form was uncertain.
“Original virus form.”
I reaffirmed my determination.
And told Dr. Miko my other hypothesis that had surfaced in my mind.
There was a natural intuition in my head that something hidden must exist.
“Doctor, what if VO-5,241 was cultured under different conditions not involving the water source and then spread in water?”