137 – Fanatic Duo
I didn’t expect such an answer, so I lost my mind for a moment.
No, I think I misunderstood something.
Strictly speaking, of course, it was not wrong. Actually, the reason I infiltrated here wasn’t because I liked the phantom thief, but because I wanted to stop Drake’s plot.
I never thought Blanca would accept my actions like that. If you keep misunderstanding like this, things might go wrong quite a bit.
“Do you really think I have no interest in phantom thieves?”
“It’s not to the extent that I’m not interested in anything. But think about what you said when you talked to Drake. Was that really related to the hero?”
Of course not. In the first place, I know better than anyone since I am the person responsible.
The phantom thief has nothing to do with such sensitive political issues. However, if you look at it that way, it is fundamentally wrong.
“I was just sympathizing with Mr. Drake.”
There’s no way she wouldn’t notice what I mean.
Before he said anything to me, Drake, the head of the organization, was the biggest problem.
I don’t mean he’s a bad person. On the contrary, from what I’ve seen so far, he clearly looked closer to a good man.
He’s just using the phantom thief for his own purposes. It’s hard to call that a mistake.
You can tell by just a little careful observation. Drake always mentions ‘friends’ or ‘better world’ in his trivial words and actions.
On the other hand, the keyword ‘hero’, or phantom thief, has a much lower weight. When he moves as a leader of an organization, in other words, the feeling of finding him only when he is needed as a means to an end was strong.
If I noticed after only a few days of watching, would Blanca, who has been eating rice for a long time, really know nothing about it? I must have felt that way a long time ago.
“·······.”
As expected, Blanca became dumb as soon as she heard me.
That meant that there was absolutely no room for refutation.
I sighed. In fact, it was possible to press more here. But doing so only makes the situation worse. Abandoning her and her pretense would jeopardize her place in the organization.
“Yeah, of course I like Raven too. If not in the first place, why did you come all the way here in the first place?”
“Hmm…”
I tried to speak as naturally as possible, but it wasn’t easy.
That’s right, shouldn’t it be easy to worship and be enthusiastic about myself like an idol? No matter how much I try to separate them, it doesn’t change the fact that Raven is me in the end.
“Looking at you being shy, it must be a lie.”
Fortunately, it seems that I felt that kind of self rather genuinely. Blanca withdrew her doubtful eyes and stroked my hair without permission. Fearing that the barely relaxed atmosphere would collapse again, I couldn’t say anything and had no choice but to calmly accept the touch.
Even more so, Blanca’s expression was slightly darker than usual. The reason was not difficult to predict.
Maybe the question I just asked hit the stomach more than I thought.
Probably Blanca, with Yulia at this underground gathering, seems to be the most fanatic towards the phantom thief.
But Drake, the leader of the organization, doesn’t seem to have much interest in the thief, so it wasn’t strange that he was disturbed.
“Haa… I can’t. Follow me for a second, both of you.”
“Yes? Now?”
“You haven’t even eaten your dinner. I’ll buy you something delicious.”
If it was simply to fill the stomach, there was no need to bother standing up. Even if you just sit here, delicious food and alcohol are served unlimitedly.
The fact that someone who should know better among the three of us would say that must be for some other reason.
It was a bit awkward that Yulia was also tied up as a group, but we followed Blanca upstairs without saying anything.
***
We arrived at a quiet restaurant.
After roughly ordering the food, Blanca started talking.
“There are too many ears to talk about there. Is it okay if we spend time together and go back?”
“But why am I…”
Yulia looks around her with her eyes saying that she doesn’t know why she is here.
“Since it’s related to you, you better hear it.”
Blanca didn’t get rid of the smile on her lips, but she gave off a very serious air.
“How was it when you guys talked to Drake?”
“Yes? If it’s Drake… Is that him?”
“Yes. You said it twice.”
Yulia, who was tilting her head, answered with a long tone.
“What can I say? Behavioral dreamer?”
“It is difficult to say. You?”
This time, the gaze is focused on me. It seems that after listening to our thoughts, we are going to start talking in earnest.
Actually, my opinion is not that different from Yulia’s. But is it the right choice to reveal it straight away?
Maybe this is deliberately testing us. What if everything you showed before was thoroughly planned acting?
After thinking about it for a while, I slowly came up with an answer.
“Mr. Drake seems to have a goal. He is the number one target that is more important than anything else.”
“Right. I think so too.”
Fortunately, I think my choice was close to the correct answer. Blanca sighed deeply and began to tell her story with complicated eyes.
“That’s not to say it’s wrong. But···. I feel like my priorities have been overturned. Aren’t we gathered as Phantom Thieves followers?”
“I know how you feel.”
“Actually, it wasn’t like this at first. At some point, it slowly changed, and now it looks like this.”
I thought about it in my head as I listened carefully to her words.
It seems that Blanca has accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction with the current situation more than she thought. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to tell all of this to us who had just met.
On the contrary, that’s probably why he opened his heart more easily. Since all the other people around her were colleagues who had been with her since the beginning, it would not have been easy for her to say such a thing.
After that, Blanca’s lamentation continued for a while.
At first, everyone genuinely liked only the phantom thief, but as the phantom thief disappeared before he knew it, the weight of other subjects gradually increased, and now it was filled with only political ideology.
It was only then that Julia understood the situation underground and put on a serious expression.
Actually, she is as much a fan of the phantom thief as Blanca.
“Did you talk to Mr. Drake yourself?”
“How can you talk like that? Even if you try, it’s over if you say it’s not you.”
“Certainly, the last time we had a conversation, I felt a sense of incongruity.
This was a great opportunity. If I use it well, it seemed that I could attract Blanca as a complete ally beyond just strengthening her position.
“It seems like a problem that we can’t just let go.”
“To be honest, I don’t know. You’re not saying Drake is wrong, are you? In fact, Hero-nim must think so too.”
No, I never said I thought so.
Of course, I think it is necessary to improve democracy and human rights. However, I have never once spoken or exposed such a sensitive issue to others.
Anyway, it must have been properly gaslighted. I feel suspicious that this situation is strange, but I don’t even think it’s wrong. It’s been like this in just a few months, and I’m worried about how bad it will get if I keep going.
“Then what would you like to do, Mr. Blanca?”
“Um… How about you guys talk about it?”
“Are we?”
We looked at each other without saying who came first. Yulia, who had no idea that I was Crow because of her perfect disguise, had a look of embarrassment in her eyes.
“Judging from the side, Drake is quite interested in you guys. He must have been the first person he could talk to so much. So you’re convincing Drake. The only thing that matters to us is the hero.”
So, to sum it up in one word, it means to change the job from a politician to a fanatic.
‘…I don’t like both?’
There is only one thing I wish for as the master.
Can’t we just get together and don’t buy and play and quietly stay at home?
I secretly let out a sigh in my heart as I organized my thoughts.
Anyway, I thought it would be better to be a fanatic than a politician. Then at least words like the abolition of the caste system won’t come out anymore.
“Yes. Let’s try something.”
I had no reason to refuse, so I readily accepted it. It feels completely different when I move alone and Blanca, the original member of the organization, leads and supports me from behind.
The problem was Yulia. In fact, she had no reason to accept this offer at all.
It is annoying, tiring, and even dangerous. There is no reason to accept the request of the other person who has only met twice and has not been able to talk properly for less than an hour.
“Good.”
“…Eh?”
“A heart for Raven. I can understand.”
The two women nodded their heads at the same time, looking at a comrade who shared their will.
Yes. I forgot.
There wasn’t just one fanatic.
Lesser of two evils