Chapter 82: Conglomerates

I sighed heavily as soon as I confirmed that my niece was out of my office. I thought I was going to have a heart attack from the news. It was unbelievable. A Guardian was trying to circumvent a verdict from the UNH—one that was approved by the Zenith themselves. This was their city. If Zenith didn’t like us, they could get rid of us at any time, and we’d all become Anathema food.

“Damn. I spoke like a child back then…” I muttered weakly, nursing my headache as I lay down on the sofa. Now that I was alone, I tried to analyze what my niece had just said.

First of all, Yuri came to me with a geas. I didn’t know where she had gotten it, but she is a Guardian now. I was wondering what kind of secret would necessitate the use of a geas. I thought she was going to ask me something ridiculous and try to use the geas to coerce me. However, the geas was merely an NDA agreement. At that moment, I thought Yuri just wanted to make sure her identity would remain a secret, probably just a fad with other girls her age.

The next news was even more surprising. Yuri had gotten a quest that would grant her twenty thousand points—a ridiculous amount for a fledgling Magical Girl not even half a year into her service.

Yuri then explained the content of the quest. She said Zenith wanted her to infiltrate Enra and Newstar and tell them what's it like there. My heart turned cold; I almost broke into a sweat. There’s no way Zenith would just hand out twenty thousand points at random. They wanted to use Yuri as an auditor to inspect the inner workings of the conglomerates.

At first, I didn’t believe her. It sounded absurd. Zenith wouldn’t use a teenager as an auditor—such positions are usually filled by people with years of experience. However, Yuri is a Magical Girl. Everything she sees, everything that cat sees, can be transmitted directly to Zenith.

Moreover, since Yuri was a teenager, she was honest and a good kid. She might not even realize Zenith’s true goal. If Yuri accidentally gave a bad report or a negative opinion to Zenith, we would be doomed. If Zenith thought we weren’t loyal, they might stop supporting us entirely.

The next piece of news took my breath away. Yuri proposed that I help hide a criminal whose verdict had just come out a few days ago. I almost lashed out in anger. Such blatant disregard for law and order—how could Yuri be so foolish? Moments later, I learned it wasn’t Yuri who had planned it, but Francesca, the daughter of Enra’s CEO.

I almost popped my eyes out and left my jaw on the floor when Yuri said such an action was allowed. That cat said it was okay. Familiars were widely believed to be Zenith’s direct line of communication. I didn’t know if that was true, but if that familiar said it was okay, then it might actually be okay.

That also clarified Yuri’s position. She was an observer chosen by Zenith. If Zenith were like humans, then the correct thing to do when she proposed such things would be to refuse her outright. There was a chance that this was a loyalty test—a trap for conglomerates to see where they stood. However, what if the goal wasn’t to test our loyalty, but to test our ingenuity?

After all, the main reason for the fall of Newlake and Newhill—costing over a hundred Guardian lives—was incompetence, not betrayal. If this was a test of our competency, then denying her plea would be the wrong move.

That cat said Zenith would allow the fugitive to be sheltered as long as the public didn’t find out. This might be a test—to prove our worth. As Zenith said, they didn’t care about the life of a single citizen. But the decisions made by conglomerates affect the lives of millions. We can’t let incompetent buffoons man the helm.

Now that I had regained my thoughts, I got up and reached for my magiphone on the table. Just to be safe, I decided to rope Guardian Command into this little heist. That way, Shirayuki couldn't be singled out as the villain if the plan failed. Moreover, if the plan succeeded, Yuri had agreed to let us have ten thousand points’ worth of goods. Such an offer was hard to refuse even for top-ranking conglomerates.

"General Armstrong, can I have your time?"

"Ah, Kageyama. I was just about to call you. Don’t forget to attend our monthly commercial budget meeting. We’ll talk about point allocation there. Afterward, we can have a private tea together."

"Yes. I’ll be there shortly."

The thought of this month’s budget had slipped my mind due to Yuri’s surprising news. In this meeting, UNH and Guardian Command discussed how we should use the points allocated by Zenith or donated by Guardians.

Guardian Command could accept ‘donations’ from Magical Girls and Guardians in exchange for money, services, or goods we provided. Our monthly budget was about 200,000 points. The donations we usually received ranged from ten thousand to forty thousand points—a stark reminder of just how huge the twenty thousand points my niece was about to get really was.

Donations could not be forced, unless we wanted to suffer the same fate as the Salemni Company, which abused its Guardians. Every Guardian was given a monthly stipend of credits according to their rank. This made it difficult for us to sell them additional items or services, hence the low donation rate. Moreover, Guardians were encouraged not to donate, as it was better for them to use their points to improve themselves—fighting Anathema to earn more points.

"Oh, Mr. Kageyama. Welcome. How rare for you to come directly." I nodded toward a bellboy who offered to carry my suitcase inside.

This meeting was usually uneventful unless a budget cut occurred. About 100,000 points were used to maintain Eden’s facilities, while the rest were spent on acquiring natural resources like iron, copper, magical coating, and so on. The budget fluctuated—sometimes UNH and Guardian Command decided to save points, while other times they chose to fund large-scale projects.

The discussion about how many resources were to be transferred to which company had been settled long before this meeting was even held. So, this meeting merely served to confirm and announce the results.

Nevertheless, I chose to come in person this time since I wanted to have a private conversation with General Armstrong. After the main meeting concluded, I headed toward his office.

“Greetings, Mr. Kageyama. May I help you? If you came here to petition UNH and Guardian Command to ask Zenith for a budget raise like the rest of the conglomerates, I must disappoint you. We think this is not the right time yet. Yes, we destroyed a gate, but the losses in the Frontier Project—”

“I don't care about that,” I interrupted, nursing my forehead. I held back the urge to vomit. A sudden surge of energy pulsed from my chest, and a whisper echoed inside my head—reminding me not to speak about Yuri’s secret quest.

It was the first time I had ever tried to challenge a geas, but the matter was grave. Zenith had caught Enra red-handed, defying a legal verdict. Now, they wanted to test our mettle.

“I see. Good, then I am all ears. Have a seat,” General Armstrong said as he poured tea for me.

“I need help. Can you lend me a few tight-lipped personnel to transport someone from the Darklands to my offshore oil rig?” I said bluntly.

“Oil rig?” General Armstrong tilted his head. “Why? If you're looking for men, anyone from the shelter will do. Zenith technology made extraction possible with just the press of a button. And why tight-lipped? It’s as if you're trying to hide something… or someone…”

“I can’t say. I signed a geas.” I nodded solemnly. I could feel the geas threatening to crush my heart with magical force. It eased only after I made it clear I wouldn’t reveal anything.

“I see…”

“I could offer 5,000 points for the help,” I said. I didn’t know if Yuri had the points right now, but I’d push the matter to her familiar if they asked for it.

“...How could you offer 5,000 points? Was it from Shining? Or was it from Black Lily? I must say, you shouldn’t rob them. 5,000 points is a lot. You could cripple their future if you take that much from a D or E-rank Guardian.”

“Black Lily asked for help. She promised me points in return. It would do wonders if you could help her without needing a reward. I will let them know that you do not need the points.”

“I see. Is this about those CEOs and VIPs from Enra and Newstar? The five people who were sentenced to exile?” General Armstrong asked. I widened my eyes in surprise. He knew exactly what I was about to say. I checked within myself—the geas that was supposed to restrain me had weakened its grip.

“You knew?” I nodded slowly.

“Magical Girl Freya asked me to transport and hide her father. She offered 20,000 points in exchange, paid in installments, of course—very few Guardians keep that many points lying around. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you Freya’s real identity. I’m also bound by a geas,” General Armstrong smiled. He then continued.

“Perfect. I was about to reject her plea. Why did the request come from Black Lily? Does she have connections inside Enra and Newstar?”

“Francesca asked Black Lily—and Yuri—to hide her father,” I answered. The magical force tightened. However, I reminded myself that cat had said it was okay to share this much, and the magical binding eased. “Sorry. I can’t explain further.”

“I see. She certainly went the extra mile to save her father,” Armstrong nodded. “That kind of dedication is rare.”

He smiled. “Well, that helps a lot. Of course, we’ll help you. And keep the 5,000 points. Black Lily is a promising Guardian. I heard she’ll be promoted to D-rank soon, so don’t stunt her growth. She has the potential to become an A-rank—or even an S-rank—one day.”

“You agree? Without compensation? What’s in it for you?” I held myself back from gaping like an idiot. This was some convoluted mess we were in. Damn it! Even Guardian Command was already on board with this insanity. If Yuri and her cat knew, Zenith would blow a fuse!

“Well, she promised her loyalty to Guardian Command. Since the conglomerates betrayed her, we can rope her in. She’s an A-rank Guardian. Moreover, she promised us points,” Armstrong nodded.

“Was Freya…”

“I’m not allowed to say anything about that.”

“Of course. How careless of me,” I muttered. I tried to give a hint about Zenith’s audit. “Um… do you think Zenith was pissed about the failure in Newhill and Newlake? Do you think they’ll send an investigator?”

“They’re less than pleased, that’s for sure. But they’re not going to send anyone here. They’re too busy in the other world. On that note, Pink Heart, Issen, and three other S-rank Guardians from other cities are scheduled for a two-week excursion to the other world. They’ll depart in a month or two, I guess?”

“Huh? I see. They don’t know, right?”

“Of course not. They’d blow a fuse if they knew about this corruption. They’re upstanding Guardians, after all. Your help is greatly appreciated. I can’t hide these criminals inside Guardian Command assets—many Guardians wouldn’t take kindly to us breaking the verdict. But that oil rig plan of yours is a godsend. I’ll call Freya now to discuss the details,” Armstrong nodded.

“I see. I heard this operation was approved by Zenith—as long as nobody knows.”

“Naturally. Who would be stupid enough to tell people we’re breaking the law? My job would be the least of my worries. I might end up joining them in the Darklands if word gets out.”

“...” I went silent. “Who else knows?”

“I thought only Freya and I knew. She has a looser mouth than I thought. We need to warn her if this operation is going to succeed.”

“Please have a good talk with her. I have no intention of joining those criminals in the Darklands.”

“I’ll call her immediately.”