164 – Reverse Use
After the three of them made a plan, they returned to the basement.
As I said, I’m going to pretend to be dissatisfied with Drake and infiltrate the opposing faction.
In order to do that, it was necessary to induce the other side to approach first.
What should I do? Actually, the method was simple.
If you openly show him colliding with Drake, you’ll be fooled by him too.
“Are you really okay?”
“All right. If you explain the situation later, you will understand.”
I asked Drake not to talk about it with the excuse that it was for realistic production.
Actually, this wasn’t just acting. It was because he intended to use this opportunity to scrape through what kind of ulterior motives Drake had.
Since the other people have to watch our confrontation, I openly strode towards the table where Drake is sitting.
Drake greets me when he sees me approaching.
Looks like he didn’t know at all that I was the one who broke into Lappano’s mansion last time.
“Doyle! It’s hard to see your face! How are you?”
“Yes. I’ve been busy these days, so it’s hard to find time. But since that happened yesterday, I thought I should definitely come today.”
“hahahaha. Of course it should. Isn’t it the anniversary of the return of a hero after a month?”
Without rejecting his touch, I sat down next to him and slowly sprinkled his rice.
“But for a happy day, you look a bit dark. Is something going on?”
“Huh? You mean my expression? It can’t be that on such a happy day. I guess the lighting is a bit weak today.”
“I’m glad if that’s the case. After all, it had nothing to do with what I heard.”
As I deliberately skipped over the words, Drake tapped me on the shoulder with a curious expression.
“Hmm? What did you hear about? You’re not going to make people curious and just move on, aren’t you?”
“No, it’s not particularly good, so I don’t even need to talk about it…”
“It’s okay, so tell me. Hurry.”
Looking at the reaction, it seems that he is more nervous than he thought. It was to the point where I could clearly feel that I was worried that I might be seduced by the opposing faction.
Then you should do as you wish.
“Someone said that Mr. Drake does not like the Phantom Thief Raven, but uses it as a means of use for his own purposes…”
“Who? Who said that?”
I am.
“Okay. I don’t know the name because I haven’t heard it.”
“You must have seen the face! Tell me how you look!”
At some point, Drake raised his voice enough to glance at the table next to him and shout.
The more I did, the more I swallowed the laughter in my heart and continued acting calmly and weakly.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t gotten used to people’s faces yet…”
“Haa… Okay. This can be happen.”
He seems to have finally regained his sanity, letting out a deep sigh while calming the tension.
I’m sorry, but we still don’t have enough aggro to end it like this.
From now on, it was Drake’s turn to pretend he didn’t know anything and pretend to be innocent, scratching Drake’s stomach.
“That… Isn’t it?”
“Doyle. I’m really sorry about this. You know better than anyone what my sincerity is like. Have you already forgotten the conversation the three of us had last time?”
“Of course I believe not. So I don’t think you need to take it too sensitively. The more it does, the more suspicious it looks.”
Drake stares at me with his eyes slightly narrowed. As the atmosphere calmed down a bit, Alfred, who was sitting next to him, intervened.
“hahahaha! It’s been a while since we met. What are you talking about? Come on, everyone, let’s have a drink and talk about pleasant things!”
One notice is a hundred steps. If left as it is, Drake would explode, so he immediately intervened.
It would be a way to take a step back from here and aim for the next opportunity, but for now, I decided to go all the way, even if it’s a little overbearing. In a situation where you don’t even know the enemy’s identity, just putting it off forever won’t solve the fundamental problem.
“I can guess just by looking at it. Are there divisions going on inside? The person who spoke to me must have been dissatisfied with Mr. Drake.”
“What if?”
“We have to solve it. Do you think it will disappear on its own if you leave it alone? Rather, it will gradually increase in size and disintegrate the organization itself. Before that, we have to root it out.”
Irritating the opponent with the most extreme argument. Anyway, Drake can’t move recklessly according to my words. As Blanca said, the moment the person in the center mentions the current situation, the division within the phantom thief followers is officially confirmed.
In other words, it was like teasing an opponent who couldn’t move and saying, “Catch me.”
“Now is the chance, as the hero will return and people will be excited. After praising the phantom thief, I speak confidently. Recently, there seems to be someone who is trying to cause a division among friends, but such a shallow ulterior motive doesn’t work. I am warning you that if you don’t surrender right away, we will find out and banish you thoroughly.”
If you do as I say, you are taking a direct course to destruction.
The opposing faction has a plausible justification. If Drake, the leader, really doesn’t like the Phantom Thief Raven and uses it only as a means, then he, as a Phantom Thief follower, has to complain.
But what if you recklessly downgrade the opposing faction into power-crazy bastards and spit out a declaration of war?
At that moment, the organization called the phantom thief followers will never be able to unite as one again.
Drake can’t be unaware of this either. If you are a leader who leads an organization, you will realize that it is dangerous with intuition alone even without special knowledge at this level.
Then, of course, you can guess that I’m openly provoking you with ridiculous suggestions.
Isn’t Alfred right next to me staring at me with a stiff expression?
“Newbie. The conversation just crossed the line a little too hard. That’s Drake’s business.”
“Uh, is that so…? Sorry. I just suggested an idea that popped into my head because it looked good…”
How are you? Are you so mean that you think you’re going to die? Let’s hit it openly somewhere.
You should brag about how hot-tempered you are in front of people.
Drake looked down at me without any change in expression, and then started shaking his head.
“Not a bad suggestion.”
“… Huh?”
The interjection was not me, but Alfred’s.
But it was clear that the situation was so unexpected that I felt the same way.
You put up with this? According to the personality of the guy I’ve seen so far, I thought he would run into it like a mad bull.
Did I underestimate Drake too much?
“Yes. You can do that. You really are a genius!”
…Or am I more stupid than I imagined?
Couldn’t you have accepted my offer in a really good way?
If it’s true, it’s good for me, but if Drake acts according to my words, then the organization will collapse without me needing to do anything.
In the midst of confusion, not knowing what Drake was thinking, he talked to me in a friendly manner, even putting his arm around my shoulder.
“I need to start right away.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Could you do it yourself instead?”
Wait a minute. What is this sound?
“hahahaha. Wouldn’t it be hard to believe even if I insisted on my innocence? The other workers have been with me too long, so I’m sure the other workers will doubt my sincerity.”
Only then did I realize what Drake’s intentions were.
“On the other hand, since you’ve only been here for a while, you can speak from a neutral standpoint, and since you’ve come up with a proposal yourself, you’ll be able to persuade your friends much more eloquently.”
“No, that’s…”
Now this guy, he’s thinking of putting a dump on me.
“Couldn’t it be that the person himself said that and then said it twice with one mouth? Didn’t you just say that we must now step forward for the unity of the Phantom Thieves?”
“Of course I said that, but who will listen if I go out and talk…? Or if you’re just talking as Mr. Drake’s agent…”
Anyway, now, rather than who is speaking, whose meaning is more important than who is speaking.
In other words, even if I go out in front and draw aggro, I can expect a similar effect if I return the arrow saying that everything was what Drake wanted.
“No. Then what will your other friends think? I don’t have the courage to come forward and talk about it, so I’m sure someone else will laugh at me for hiding like a coward.”
That’s right. It’s this kid You’re saying you’re going to leave it all to me and live on your own.
This should be rejected. Even if the relationship with Drake goes to the worst, there is no way to get it back if it is used for dumping here.
The moment I came to that conclusion and tried to shake off his hand.
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head to use this situation in reverse.
I was lost in thought for a while.
“Okay. I will do it.”
I quickly accepted Drake’s offer.