The counterfeit bill factory was built in an underground facility between the Royal capital and the lawless city.In fact, I recommended this facility to Yukime; It was the very same place where everyone hunted for bandits when my older sister was kidnapped by them in the past. I thought it was perfect as a secret facility.
It seems that the strategy to obscure the origin of the counterfeit money is to send it to the outlaw"s city first, then have it distributed in the Royal capital from there.
The interiors of the facilities which had once been invaded by a small Alpha & Co. have been transformed into a counterfeit bill factory by Yukime"s subordinates.
While being guided to the depths of the factory by Natsu, I kept glancing back at the restlessly busy employees.
When I opened the beautifully refurbished doors, inside was a s.p.a.ce like the office of a big president.
"You"ve come, John-han." [TLN: Yukime speaks in the Kansai dialect]
I sit across from Yukime on the sofa set in the room.
"It seems complete."
"Please do confirm it yourself."
Yukime gave a coquettish smile and opened a package on the table.
Two rolls of bills were visible inside.
Both rolls contain notes of 10,000 Zeni, likely a 100 of them in each.
"Can you guess which one is real?"
Confidence can be heard in Yukime"s tone.
I pick up the two rolls and compare them.
"c.r.a.p, I"ve got nada."
However, a super elite agent would confidently detect and point out a slight difference here.
Finally, my super-reinforced eyesight discovered slight differences. Changes in paper quality, ink and printing, each very minute, but are different nonetheless.
But, however...I haven"t memorized the original bill in the first place!
In other words, even if I see slight differences, I do not know which is real.
What to do...what to do, super elite agent?...!
The one with inferior precision feels like a fake, but...
I pointlessly flip through the rolls of paper bills with a profound smile while nodding to put out an air of understanding.
And then...
"There is no point in answering..."
"What do you mean by that?"
Yukime"s expression was dubious.
"When comparing the two, the paper quality here is slightly coa.r.s.er."
I held up the roll with coa.r.s.er paper bills.
Yukime"s visage was coloured by astonishment.
"There is also a difference in the imbibition of the ink. This one is more blurred."
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"-Tsu!"
Yukime"s eyes widened in shock.
"Finally, the printing also has slight distortion. Over here."
"Wh!?"
Yukime finally picked up the roll of bills to compare with her own eyes.
"Th-there is indeed a distortion... Even though we"d checked it multiple times..."
"Is it necessary to say the answer?"
"I don"t need to hear it, the one with the poor precision here is the real one..."
"I-it was like that?"
"You overdid it trying to make a good paper bill."
"...Do we have to start over?"
"That is not necessary. There is no one else who can see through it, besides me."
A rough but, ready-made method is better than an elaborate and slow process that has yet to be devised. I don"t care about the trivial details, let"s scatter the thorned roses.
"Time will not be an issue, in that case. There will be no enemy as intensive as you, John-han."
Yukime laughs as she conceded.
"Well, I"m going to start distribution from tomorrow, I guess. I plan to increase the quant.i.ty little by little, gradually, from the beginning."
"Ah.
"As the volume in circulation increases, the source of the counterfeit notes will be sought out. John-han, please take care of it. However..."
Yukime stopped words that seemed too hard to say there.
"...What is the matter?"
"Allow me just one request, please."
"Well?"
"If you discover someone called Gettan....Please make sure not to kill him."
"...Why?"
"The reason is..."
Yukime cast her eyes down and carefully chose her words. And then slowly started speaking.
"That is a story from when my tail was still one. I was living alone with my mother, just the two of us. It was a small village of the Fox tribe..."
Yukime, who kept her eyes down, looked a little nostalgic in some way.
"In the peaceful village, far from any sort of disputes, my three-tailed mother used her strength to hunt for a living. I helped my mother in handling the prey she killed, and while we were never rich, those days were happy. But those days did not last forever. One day, when my mother went hunting, our village..."
Stopping her words yet again, Yukime raised her eyes.
"Today let"s stop here. Let us continue this after we"ve become more intimate..."
And then laughed mischievously.
"You don"t intend to speak –?"
"You want to have an intimate relations.h.i.+p with me?"
Yukime smiled and giggled.
"That was a joke. I was robbed of everything by that man. This time, it is my turn to take everything from him. To kill Gettan with my own hands, after seizing everything from him..."
Yukime spoke with an unchanging voice while putting on a mischievous smile on her face.
"Vengence, huh, very well..."
That"s right. Display overwhelming might and overtake him, making him burn for revenge over being belittled, and then kill the would-be-avenger when he attacks again; That"s how we should play it.
"Gettan is a blind beastman with a scar across both eyes."
"Understood."
I stand up and turn my back.
"As for the revenge, do as you like. But don"t get caught up in your hatred and lose your way..."