## Chapter 125 – The Price of Dipping a Toe (3)
“That’s all the information we got from the interrogation.”
“Sales ledger. Those bastards are unnecessarily meticulous.”
“It details where the drugs are flowing. Well, mostly back into the back alleys, or into ordinary households. But… it seems to be written with pseudonyms… so it doesn’t mean much…”
“Wait. Turn it back.”
“Yes…”
As the subordinate flipped back a page, Deborah’s eyes, which had been staring intently at the contents, began to freeze over.
Glancing at her, the subordinate, stealing a glimpse of her beautiful, glacial face, chose to hold his breath without making a sound.
Before she was beautiful like a snowflake or anything, disturbing her would bring down a world of trouble.
After staring at the ledger for a while, Deborah pointed to one corner.
“See this?”
“Um… this… Rora…?”
“Rora. A name that appears several times in the ledger.
The purchase volume is high, and the visit cycle is relatively short.”
“Oh… does that mean…!!”
“If she were using it herself, she wouldn’t buy such a large quantity at once.
And she wouldn’t buy it this frequently.
It’s highly likely she’s another middleman.
Maybe we can catch the other criminals all at once.”
Currently, the damage from the illegal drug sales and abuse in the capital is steadily increasing.
The investigators were whispering amongst themselves, sensing that they might be able to uproot the whole problem at once if they could tie everything together well.
“Then I’ll go back to those guys and gather related information!!
It won’t take long this time!!”
“Do so.”
.
.
.
“I can’t allow it.”
“Everyone knows you have a good sense of things.
But this is an excessively dangerous matter.”
“I’m always prepared for danger.”
“So, you’re saying you’ll raid a noble’s banquet hall based on your ‘conviction’?
Based on the information obtained, it’s plausible that the middleman frequents the Saint Flansina Academy.
I can acknowledge that, and I can approve a search warrant for Saint Flansina Academy based on the information we have so far.
But for that to lead to a noble’s banquet is conjecture!!
What good will it do to overturn the banquet of the renowned Proden family!!”
The information obtained by interrogating the captured peddlers and fishmongers in this case was truly astonishing.
A woman suspected of being a middleman had, on one occasion, visited while wearing a uniform that appeared to be that of a student from the academy.
And based on that information, by comparing it with the most recent ledger and records, the investigators had discovered that she had recently bought a large quantity of drugs.
They were quietly whispering and exchanging opinions, holding their breath so as not to disturb Deborah, who was deep in thought with her eyes tightly closed.
The implication of the fact that the saleswoman had purchased a large quantity of drugs was clear.
That a sales outlet where she could sell a large quantity had appeared somewhere.
“I’m catching the criminal. That’s all.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about!!”
“Banquets cannot be established without being based on extravagance and indulgence.
Surely there will be noble scions who want drugs among them, and it is clear that selling drugs to them will leave a large profit.”
“I said no!!”
“They are merchants.
Therefore, they will never miss this opportunity.
And… even the nobles who are rotten to the root at this opportunity…”
“Deborah!!”
Deborah’s head turned to the side from the sudden stinging impact on her cheek, and she slowly turned her head back to the front.
What she saw before her was the face of her superior, flushed and breathing heavily.
“You still don’t understand.
How long are you going to live like this?
I understand well enough what you’re doing this for!!
But you must also know how to accept reality!!”
“But… Chief Inspector…!!”
“They’ll disappear without a trace.
You!! Me!! And the other investigators outside!!
Don’t you know what it means to touch a noble!!
I understand that you’re dragging your superior into hell with you.
It’s my fault for keeping someone like you around until the end!!”
Words he didn’t mean.
“But what crime have the other guys committed?
They’re doing this to make a living.
Those guys also have wives and children like Jumping Rabbit waiting for them at home!!
Are you going to push even their families into the abyss with your recklessness?”
“I’m… for the sake of doing what’s right…”
“No one doesn’t know that!!
Am I the only one who feels that you’re unnecessarily picky and annoying?
I know that your heart is true to your desire for something more.
That’s why they follow you, isn’t it!!
But it doesn’t matter how great you are!!
You’re just one. What can you do with just one Inspector Deborah!!”
“……”
Deborah, who ended up shutting her mouth, quietly lowered her head.
Her expression remained unchanged, but the emotion in her eyes was a gray disappointment.
She, who was about to give up in this situation with the only goal she had to pursue as a human being right in front of her, bowed and turned around from that spot.
“Where are you going!! Are you going after all!!”
“I’m sorry. I understand.
So I’ll take all the responsibility.
It will surely be an excuse if it’s just my recklessness.
Thank you for everything so far.”
“Wait. Stop right there.”
“I’ll somehow try to get an invitation with my connections.
I can somehow manage to get you inside the Proden family’s social gathering.
But the moment it’s discovered that an investigator is stirring things up inside, it’s over.
Do you understand what I’m saying? Carefully, and quietly, move to find evidence.
If not, don’t even mention the word investigator there.”
“Chief Inspector…”
“Really, you’re such a high-maintenance subordinate.”
“Thank you, Father…”
“Huh? Why am I your father?
Just because I feed and house you doesn’t mean I’m your parent.
Above all, if I were your parent, I wouldn’t have raised a daughter who doesn’t listen like you.
That guy was all trouble, and his daughter takes after him so much…”
“You are the only family and parent I have left.
I will never forget that grace.”
“Get rid of the cheesy talk.
Clock out from here today, and go prepare for the infiltration.
Are you going to advertise, ‘I’m an investigator’?
What’s with those clothes? I bet you don’t have any other clothes since you’re just a girl.
I thought you were only avoiding social gatherings during your school days…
Tsk… You should have at least had a dress that you could wear to a matchmaking meeting…
Put it on my tab, and run to the shop in front right now and get one!!”
“Yes… Thank… you…”
How long had it been?
Perhaps because it had been so long since her expression had changed, the corners of her lips, which had forgotten how to move, were slightly distorted as if they didn’t know what kind of expression to make.
Eventually, watching her leave the office without a word, the Chief Inspector quietly took out a cigar from the case.
He struck a flint against a small piece of straw, lit the cigar like a small match, puffed his cheeks for a moment, and then slowly exhaled.
“Not getting married even at this age…
A father with only a wooden daughter…
Just thinking about it is terrible, terrible… Father, my ass…”
But unlike his complaining words, a satisfied smile was slightly hung on his face.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Everything was no different from gambling.
She had forcibly forced her stubbornness by selling out her superior, her adoptive father.
At the very least, her purpose had to be kept secret.
That’s why she even brought a dress that didn’t suit a woman like her, wasn’t it?
Although it was still in the bag since it had just arrived.
“That’s how it is.
It’s an extension of the outside investigation.
So get out of here, Polcinella.
I have no intention of catering to your meddling.”
Therefore, she was in no mood to be disturbed while things were going well, as she was planning to scare a spaced-out drug addict girl into telling her everything she knew.
Especially not by someone she didn’t like very much.
“But… I can’t just stand by and watch you threaten our student…!!”
“I don’t care about your circumstances.
Or are you saying you want to try me?”
“I don’t mind at all?
Either way, you’re the one who’ll be in trouble if there’s a commotion, Deborah?
And let me tell you one thing, I’m also an expert in my own way?”
“What…”
“You want to find the guys who use drugs like water, right?
If that’s the case, you’ve started off well.
But you’ve buttoned the next button wrong.
In the first place, she wasn’t originally a drug user.”
“What?”
“Um… I’m saying this from an expert’s point of view…
As you know, the front lines are a living hell where you go back and forth between life and death every minute and every second, right?
So, in the end, there are quite a few guys who do drugs.
I guess it’s like wanting to roll happily even in a pile of shit…?”
“So?”
“In that sense…
I’ve given her drugs before, you know?
Enic’s tentacle powder, I mean.”
As the atmosphere became heavier due to the sudden bombshell, Deborah, who was glaring at Polcinella, who was smiling gently, once again placed her hand on the hilt of the sword at her waist.
“That means I can arrest you too.”
“No? Either way, I’m useless even if you arrest me?
They’ll immediately parole me to bring me to the front lines, right?
Why are you in such a hurry? Do you have a date with a man later?”
Polcinella, who was meeting Deborah’s eyes distorted with annoyance at the endless jokes, averted her gaze slightly and let out an awkward laugh.
Letting out a small sigh, she seemed to be continuing the conversation with a relatively serious voice this time.
“Haa… So the important thing is this.
In the first place, people who have been doing drugs even a little bit don’t react to Enic’s powder.
That’s because it’s weaker than other drugs that concentrate and refine the ingredients.
In other words… if you build up even a little bit of resistance to other drugs, Enic’s powder won’t even have any effect.
That means she had a pure body that had never taken drugs before.
She was really cute back then!! Like a whimpering puppy?”
“It’s a waste of time anyway, but I’d appreciate it if you could testify to that in court.”
“In the first place, you can find out by asking our cute student first.
When, where, and from whom she received the drugs. Right?
Wouldn’t that be an easy problem to solve?”
“Don’t you know that you’re interfering with that, or are you pretending not to know?”
“So… I’m saying let’s make a deal.
I’ll tell you what our student knows.
Then you’ll turn a blind eye to what happened today.
Wouldn’t that be a good deal for each other?”
“Bargaining won’t work.”
Deborah’s eyes narrowed at Polcinella’s words, who was demanding a deal while making the most sinister expression she had ever seen.
Moreover, Deborah was even pulling out her sword by a fingernail, as if a sword fight would break out at any moment.
In a truly touch-and-go situation, Anne, who had been fidgeting between the two women who were glaring at each other, raised her eyes at Polcinella’s actions of making a sly smile, at that very moment.
“Heeeuuueup… Here, the cop……!! Eupe!! Eueupe!!”
“You rotten bitch… you better have important information.”
Deborah, who had ended up back at square one and reached out to cover Polcinella’s mouth, who was about to scream again, seemed to be tired of even calculating now, and was growling at Anne.
If she was going to do it anyway, it was better to extract as much important information as possible.
If she could draw out stories about other cases she was investigating from Anne Monehen, it would also help the investigation.
As a result of Deborah’s decision, Anne unintentionally became an important witness.
Feeling a chill that seemed to seep into her bones, she had no choice but to nod her head, trembling, and her eyes were filled with a deep sense of tension that she must not make even the slightest mistake.
