192
We arrived at the Menoa family’s conference room under the guidance of Lisanda.
Only one dedicated security guard was allowed into the conference room. The Equsian mercenaries brought by Jafar waited outside.
‘My role here is observation.’
I stood behind Jafar and entered the conference room.
Swish.
The attention of the Tajiruns was silent. When I and Japha entered, only their eyes moved, and the silence oppressed us.
‘A round table and ten chairs.’
I had heard from Jafar in advance about the Menoa family’s decision-making method.
Menoa gives the top ten Tajrun, who bring the greatest benefit to their clans, a vote at the Round Table, and the head of the clan gets three votes himself.
Twelve voting rights are moved around the round table. In this case, there may be a tie vote and the decision cannot be made here.
‘If a tie is drawn, the two chairs located away from the round table also have a vote.’
I moved my pupil. There were two captains of the guard. One of them was vacant now, and the other was occupied by an Equusian captain. Naturally, the vacant seat was the seat of the dead captain.
It is amazing that two captains of the guard, both outsiders and former slaves, were able to influence the Menoah family’s decision-making. Of course, it would be extremely rare for something to go that far.
‘If the same vote is cast in the line of the captain of the guards, the head of the household will have the sole decision-making authority.’
For a single family, it was quite progressive and democratic. That must be why the Menoah family was able to survive for so long. It was especially important that outsiders could participate in the family’s decision-making, even if only to a limited extent.
‘Akbarando continued to incorporate talent from the lower classes into the upper class.’
My thoughts were long, but it hadn’t even been three seconds since I entered the conference room.
There was no room for Jafar in the conference room. We had to stand as if we were being interrogated. Jafar was the first to open his mouth and break the silence.
– It was a custom of the Menoah family to have guests stand. It seems a lot has changed while I was away.
-I wonder if I can call you a guest.
Tajirun, sitting at the head of the round table, answered. He was holding a scepter with a jewel attached to it, as if to prove that he was the head of the family.
‘Ozmer, the eldest son of the Menoa family.’
The original name is much longer. Jafar explained to me the current Menoa family head’s name, shortened to ‘Ozmer’.
Ozmer’s skin was darker than the other Tajirun, so he looked like a dull brown or even black. He looked more sinister and dangerous in many ways.
-That’s too bad. If your father had passed away, why didn’t you invite him to the funeral?
– An exile? How dare you say such things, even though you carry such dishonor.
It was blatant hostility. Japha must have been prepared for this kind of treatment.
-Well, that’s fine. I didn’t come here expecting a friendly conversation and a warm meal. So, will you make a non-aggression pact or peace with me? Or at least lift the banishment order, that would be great. My father is also dead.
-Peace? How funny, how funny.
The Tajiruns all burst into laughter. The gloomy laughter spread throughout the conference room, as if it was eating away at them.
-So you want to go to war? I’m ready.
Jafar said, not caring about the laughter. He had worked his way up from the bottom. He was not shaken by such insults and contempt.
Stop.
The laughter stopped. The minor movements of the Tajiruns also stopped. Only the vertical pupils moved and turned towards Japha.
-war?
-You’re surprised by the word war when you attacked first? That’s just ridiculous.
Jafar laughed alone.
-You’re so arrogant. You think you can accomplish something just by starting that one business.
-That’s what happened. So, let’s go to war. It’s not like Tajirun. You probably will never decide to go to war. You may dare to attack and ambush, but you don’t want to go to full-scale war.
The Tajiruns were in an uproar. They seemed to have expected Jafar to come out in a humble manner.
‘Even if Boss Jafar is famous in Border City, he is just a powerful figure in a single city.’
The power and influence of the Menoah family would be greater. Just looking at the size of the mother ship, you could tell how big their business was.
‘If Menoa presses down with all his might, Jafar will have a hard time holding on.’
But that was a loss for Menoa as well. Even if they could definitely kill Jafar, it was an ending where both sides suffered losses.
‘That’s why the previous Menoa family made peace with Jafar. They are troublesome, even if they can be dealt with.’
Jafar observed the atmosphere and then continued speaking.
-You expected me to bow down and give a portion of my income. That was a courtesy to my father. Now that my father is dead, I don’t plan on giving even that.
-Are you sure you want to try it?
– I’m giving you a choice. Either have nothing to do with me… … or go to war. By the way, I’m used to war and violence. Doing business in Border City requires doing things that are outside of your nature.
-Nature? I never thought I’d hear something like that coming out of your mouth. The reason you were kicked out…
Ozmer stopped talking. It seems like it was something he really didn’t want to talk about.
The atmosphere in the conference room became uneasy due to Jafar’s stubborn attitude. Jafar’s words and actions were completely different from what they had expected.
-I’ll give you the room you used to use… … Stay for a few days. We’ll talk again once the policy is decided.
Ozmer spoke plainly, with mockery and contempt. The other Tajrun did not provoke Jafar either.
* * *
Jafar and I walked down the hallway. Jafar also knew the internal geography of the Menoa mothership well, so there was no separate guidance.
“They won’t choose war. No, they can’t. When you weigh the benefits and risks on a scale, if the balance doesn’t tip too far in favor of benefits, they can’t choose. That’s what they’ve been taught since they were young. It’s an obsession, ho ho ho.”
Jafar was chatting excitedly. He seemed to be having a great time getting his ass kicked in the conference room.
“You seem to have lost the ability to choose ‘loss’.”
“That’s the problem. If you could perfectly calculate and predict the gains and losses, then not choosing the loss would always be the right decision. However, there is no absolute being with that ability. Even those who have trained Archie’s Victima to the limit can only predict the results with their own narrow cognitive information. And even that is not accurate.”
“But it is because they did not choose to suffer losses that the Menoa family has been able to survive and prosper until now. Everything has its pros and cons.”
“There is a principle in the universe. If you don’t change, you won’t survive. This is a truth that doesn’t change even for the most resilient creatures. The environment is bound to change, so the existing methods must change as well. If you can’t keep up with the changes, you will be eliminated.”
It’s easy to say, but hard to do. Most attempts at innovation and change fail. However, if you are afraid of change, you will gradually be eliminated and disappear.
Squeak.
We entered Jafar’s old residence. Five of the Equsians followed us inside, while the other five waited in the hallway.
We confirmed that there was no surveillance equipment in the location.
“… … Mr. Luca, is that possible?”
——————
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Jafar said as he opened the bag that Equusian had brought. I was taking off my clothes one by one.
“I’ve never done it before… … but anyway, there’s no one else who can do it but me.”
This is a matter that has been discussed in advance.
“It’s a prototype, so it’ll be very uncomfortable to use, lol. It wasn’t that good to begin with.”
Jafar took out his full-body combat suit from his bag. Its surface sparkled depending on the angle.
‘Camouflage combat uniform.’
It was also a new product that incorporated the latest technology. It was said that it could ignore infrared rays and various other sensors.
Crunch, bang.
I put down my firearm and my automatic tracking pistol. I took off my pants, leaving me completely naked. Jafar looked away as if he was slightly uncomfortable with my naked body.
Ssuk, ssik.
I had a hard time putting on my well-sealed combat uniform. To put it nicely, it was well-sealed, but it felt like crap to wear.
Swish.
Even with the helmet on, it was difficult to breathe. Body odor had to be absorbed through the filter, and the airflow was slow to inhale and exhale in order to avoid the various complex detection devices.
The eye sockets are narrow and straight, so the field of vision is extremely narrow. I already feel like stress is piling up in my head.
Chijik.
I touched my wrist and activated the camouflage function. An electric current flowed through my living skin, giving me goosebumps.
The surface of the battle suit became transparent as the electric stimulation flowed down. It was the pinnacle of modern camouflage technology. In addition, various new technologies that I cannot even understand were probably introduced. This is because the senses of various species had to be avoided.
“Please take good care of me, Mr. Luca. Now that I think about it, it seems like you’ve been given a difficult mission, so if you do it well, I’ll give you a generous reward.”
The door to the dwelling opened as Japha’s Equationsians came and went. I also took advantage of the gap and went out.
‘That’s cool.’
It was my first time wearing a camouflage combat uniform. Even the Tajirun passing by didn’t notice my presence.
‘Blocks all biometric information that could leak out.’
However, you should not move around without thinking. The presence of people tends to appear in unexpected places.
‘That’s more unexpected. I didn’t think Jafar’s traitor would be… Tajirun.’
It wasn’t until I was wearing my camouflage combat uniform that I heard about the informant. The less information is exposed, the better.
It’s not that Jafar doesn’t trust me because I told him late. There’s a reason they say that if you want to deceive your enemies, you have to deceive your own troops first.
Jafar had heard of the attack information in advance through an informant. Of course, the informant was not a person of sufficient power to participate in the ’round table conference’. If he had been able to attend the conference, he would have sent information on the attack sooner.
‘If you think about it, there is a reason why Tajirun colluded.’
Tajirun, who has an ambiguous status, is a traitor.
I walked along the map I had memorized and arrived at the door. I leaned my back against the wall and waited for the door to open.
Profit.
The automatic door opened. Tajirun, who had been inside, came out for a moment, visited somewhere, and then came back.
Chiik.
I followed him in before the door closed. Tajirun didn’t even know I had come in.
Exactly.
I tapped the table with my finger. Tajirun flinched in surprise.
“Jafar sent you, Lisanda.”
My words flowed out through the interpreter.
The identity of the informant was Lisanda. She was the Tajrun woman who had guided us to the conference room, and one of Jafar’s siblings.
‘Even though I am a direct descendant, I am unable to attend the roundtable discussion due to my lack of performance.’
Just a few hours ago, Jafar and Lisanda were exchanging vicious words, so I didn’t expect them to be colluding.
“You’re a ticking time bomb.”
Lisanda opened her mouth. The language came out of her mouth without an interpreter. Her tone was more polite than I expected.
“Tell me what happened. Who killed the previous head of the household?”
Lisinda slowly sat down.
“You’re not even an Equusian mercenary, but you seem to be very trustworthy. Are you Jafar’s lover or something?”
… … I was a bit embarrassed.
“I have no interest in dating aliens. And Jafar is a guy. Homos*xuality with an alien? That’s a terrible barrier.”
Lisandah tilted her head as if to ask what he was talking about, then stuck out her tongue. She was particularly suspicious of the word ‘man.’ Aquis Victima’s intuition was working recklessly.
… … I was very embarrassed.
The past events flashed through my mind. I also remembered Anguise Regina. I once asked her if she was Jaffa’s lover. At that time, Anguise Regina laughed as if it was absurd. There was a reason for that.
‘Jafar, you were a woman!’
… … I wanted to scream.
