Operation Can Opening had yielded results beyond my wildest expectations.
"This is so lame".
"Sorry, Mika. Even I can't…".
"No, please. You don't have to say it, I know".
I was trying to emulate the feel of the codenames RABBIT Squad often used, but if I knew I was just going to get this kind of reaction, I should have just called it "Operation Tin Can".
Still, I had to be grateful to our dear Prefect Head for graciously allowing me to monitor the situation with Veritas….
I'll have to buy you a drink later.
In any case, once the floodgates were open, the operation proceeded smoothly.
The General Student Council's Defense Office was in chaos, with its current Director being taken in by the Valkyrie Police School for questioning on bribery charges. Using the Defense Office to coordinate with Valkyrie's Public Safety Bureau, we succeeded in recovering the cruise missiles that had been left in the now-defunct 2nd Factory.
Truthfully, I don't really know much about ramjets or scramjets.
To me, it's just 'ramjet = fast, scramjet = whoa-so-fast'.
But since it was an item that violated the General Student Council's ordinances, I figured 'why not?' and used the Defense Office to mobilize the Public Safety Bureau before Kaiser could move it elsewhere.
In the process, I also took a shot in the dark and reported the Defense Director for suspected bribery in covering it up.
Even if he claimed innocence, Himari's side had already secured the digital records, leaving him no room to escape.
Why would you throw away a promising career for a rotten lifeline? It was something I simply couldn't comprehend.
Up to this point, one might have been able to dismiss it as "Kaiser being Kaiser".
The problem was the discovery of biochemical weapons research at the 1st Factory's lab.
With irrefutable evidence brought to light, even the General Student Council President had to admit, "Ah, I was going to let most things slide, but this is just unacceptable".
At that point, the lifespan of the corporation known as Kaiser Industries was effectively over.
Strike one was last year's thermobaric warhead incident. Strike two was the attempted development of a cruise missile using a scramjet engine.
And finally, strike three was the attempt to research not only white phosphorus but also a potent toxic gas that could leave permanent disabilities even in students protected by their halos.
Kaiser Industries scrambled to erase the traces of their illegal research, but with all the data we needed already in our hands, we had no reason to care what those tin cans did.
The operation didn't stop there, continuing on to their other subsidiaries.
Construction. Security. Biotech. Energy. Heavy Industries.
As expected, not a single one was clean.
Thanks to Veritas's cooperation, we were able to scrape together information that would have been impossible to uncover otherwise, securing enough dirt to not only darken the Kaiser Group's future but to plunge it into the abyss.
And so, about thirty-nine hours after the start of Operation Can Opening… or maybe we should call it the "Kaiser Wrecking Project," a call came for me through the General Student Council.
The caller was the Kaiser President.
Sensing that the very existence of his group was at stake, the President himself sought to open a negotiation table.
A decisive move by the Kaiser President to save his company from the brink of collapse. I had no reason to respect it, but….
to miss the chance to size up a man whom even the General Student Council President had warned me about would be, in a word, foolish.
And when else would I get to meet him, if not now, when the situation was so overwhelmingly in my favor?.
Having accepted Black Suit's deal, I couldn't completely sever Kaiser's lifeline.
Even if Kaiser were to self-destruct, I could not be the one to instigate it.
I couldn't say for sure how long the PMC and Kaiser Loan would last with the group's foundation completely shattered, but as long as the President wasn't apprehended, it was best to assume they would survive in the long run.
In other words, this was a chance to get a read on a villain who was bound to get back on his feet someday.
"Let us dispense with the meaningless pleasantries, Tea Party Host".
"Hmm… right, President. We're not exactly on terms where we need to waste time with icebreakers. But for someone who requested negotiations from a losing position, aren't you holding your head a little too high?".
"…I have no memory of requesting negotiations. I simply felt the need to have a conversation with you".
"Is that so? Well, if you say so, I can't really argue. After all, I'm not the one in a hurry".
I leisurely took a sip of my tea. I wasn't as good as Nagisa at feigning composure, but as long as I didn't panic, my natural impression was one of calmness.
Just by sitting here like this, the President was bound to feel the pressure.
…Probably.
"Tea Party Host, you are young and immature. Do you not realize that by mentioning negotiations, you are all but admitting that you are the mastermind behind this incident? That is not a move a leader of an academy should make".
"Ahaha, that's funny. Are you trying to lecture me? You're right, I am the mastermind behind this. Yes. The one who planned, executed, and succeeded in the operation to strip the Kaiser Corporation bare from head to toe is this very young student standing before you! But, now that you know that, what can you do about it? Hmm? Do you, President, truly have a card up your sleeve that could trouble me in the slightest?".
"…A hot-headed student.
It seems you need to learn that what you see is not all there is".
"Ah! How truly disappointing. After just a few exchanged words, I've already concluded that you are not the figure the General Student Council President should be wary of.
I suppose even the most formidable rat, when cornered, can do nothing but squeak".
"The world an adult sees is different from that of a student. Adults have their own ways, their own moves that only adults can make".
Surely he wasn't referring to the recent terror attack on the Nereus, an act that directly targeted the lives of students, as a "move only adults can make"?.
The thought that he might target someone close to me, or Trinity, in a similar fashion filled me with disgust.
That wasn't an adult's move; it was a murderer's move.
The story was unpleasant to even consider, regardless of whether the President currently had the capacity for such an act.
"You're full of hot air, President. Your clumsy psychological warfare is wasted on me… the information I hold is on a completely different level from what you imagine. Oh, by the way, shall I tell you what happened to the last 'adult' who tried to stand against me?".
I was starting to think it was a mistake to even sit at this negotiation table. In terms of being a degenerate adult, the President was no different from Beatrice.
And when dealing with degenerate adults, seizing the initiative is key.
With Beatrice, the risk of the Color had made me hold back, but with the President, there was nothing stopping me.
"That 'adult' is now in a state where they cannot be found anywhere in Kivotos. So, President, put away your empty words and get to the point. Before my patience runs out".
Of course, I wasn't the one who sent Beatrice away. But it's not like Black Suit was going to suddenly appear and say, "I was the one who dealt with her".
A little bluff like this was within acceptable limits, right?.
"…Fine, I concede. Our company's current situation is, to use a metaphor, a checkmate. Admitting that you are the mastermind does not change the circumstances. Therefore… I propose a deal".
"I refuse☆".
"?"
In the first place, I had come here simply to see and evaluate the President with my own two eyes. Negotiations?.
When one holds an overwhelmingly advantageous position, there is no need to negotiate with a target one intends to exterminate.
"What, were you going to try and bribe me like the former Defense Director? Unfortunately for you, I have little desire for material things".
"…Wait. Can you not at least hear the details?".
"I could, but why should I?".
"…"
The biggest difference between the President the General Student Council President had described and the one before me now was that the former still had his company as a weapon, while the latter had nothing but a company on the verge of collapse.
In the end, even the President, whom the General Student Council President had been so wary of, was just an ordinary man when pushed to the brink.
"Three".
"Hmm?".
"Kaiser Loan. The PMC. And Construction. Just let these three subsidiaries live".
"Honestly, it's a bit troubling how you keep pushing for a deal I have no intention of making… So, you want to save these three cash cows and use them as a foothold for a comeback?".
"…That is correct".
To throw away dozens of subsidiaries just to protect those three. In a normal situation, I might have been a little surprised, but with the very existence of the Kaiser Corporation in jeopardy, it was understandable.
But what did I gain from letting Kaiser breathe?.
Why should I accept this deal?.
Then again, as much as I wanted to scream "Get lost!", I had my own reasons for needing to accept.
"Take Construction off the table, President. Then I'll consider the deal".
"That is—".
"Well, if you have any subsidiaries you can save on your own, feel free to try.
But I have no intention of letting the core ones survive".
The truth was, I had to let Kaiser Loan and the PMC survive, even if I wanted to destroy them.
And the President didn't know that.
In that case, couldn't I use this to strike a deal that would be pure profit for me?.
The only problem was what to ask for in return, something that wouldn't cause trouble down the line.
And in that case, the price for the deal could not be material.
That meant I couldn't ask for something like the land in the Abydos autonomous district.
That left information… but what kind of information could Kaiser provide me?.
…Ah, I just thought of something good.
"A method to solve or reverse the desertification of the Abydos autonomous district".
"…What is that".
"Give me that, and I'll let Kaiser Loan and the PMC live. Yes, I'm willing to leave them completely untouched".
If the fundamental problem of Abydos's desertification wasn't solved, that region had no future.
I didn't expect Kaiser to provide a clear solution, but it was worth a shot.
I had nothing else I wanted from them anyway.
Come to think of it, I wonder if I'll ever have a chance to act this shamelessly again in my life.
I'm betting I won't.
"…I cannot offer information that does not exist in our database as the price for a deal.
And why would you want such information?".
"Ahaha, you know why, so why ask? You instigated that retaliatory terror attack because you knew I was personally supporting Abydos. If the information doesn't exist, it's your job to find it….
and I see no obligation to tell you why, do you?".
"…The story of Abydos is news to me. And how do you expect us to find a solution that even Abydos in its prime could not devise?".
"That's not my problem. Ah, and I can't just wait indefinitely… so let's set a deadline. If you fail to bring me the information before March of next year, then I will blow away Kaiser Loan, the PMC, all of it☆".
"…Hah, I've never met such a highway robber in my life".
"President, you don't have any other options right now, do you? None, except to say yes. You do realize that even this is a mercy I'm bestowing upon you, don't you?".
"…"
In the end, the President's answer was already decided.
Hmm, but there's no way they'll actually bring back a solution to the desertification.
right?.
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