Is This Also a Competition for the Position?
Meanwhile, on the other side
“Should I congratulate you on your new position?” Miyano Shiho asked, looking at the person who had appeared before her.
Shuichi Akai smiled faintly. “That won’t be necessary.”
Miyano Shiho withdrew her gaze, a slight smirk playing on her lips. “Well, joining this Organization isn’t exactly something worth congratulating.”
…His girlfriend’s sister was still as sharp-tongued as ever!
Shuichi Akai had grown accustomed to her way of speaking and didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he adopted a hesitant expression, tinged with a hint of confusion, and tentatively asked, “Sherry, you’re quite familiar with Natsuki-san, right?”
Miyano Shiho recalled the phone call and the warning declaration Natsume Natsuki had made when they were together earlier. She glanced at him, her tone rather blunt. “Yeah, you’d already guessed she’s part of the Organization, hadn’t you? Now that you know, there’s no need to beat around the bush.”
“Hmm…” Shuichi Akai sounded somewhat hesitant. “Actually, it’s nothing major. It’s just that I’ve noticed whenever I mention her to other members of the Organization, their attitudes become a bit strange… And it doesn’t seem to be about her personally—it feels more like it’s directed at me…”
Miyano Shiho: “…”
Miyano Shiho understood instantly, but Miyano Shiho wasn’t going to say it.
After all… how could she possibly explain that it’s because you seem prone to getting entangled in others’ emotional disputes, you look like someone who could easily be subjected to workplace harassment by a certain person, and since you happen to know that person, everyone assumes you were brought into the Organization by her—hence the complicated expressions?
Especially when that certain person does have intentions of playing the replacement game…
However, just because Miyano Shiho didn’t say it didn’t mean Shuichi Akai hadn’t made his own guesses.
After a brief pause, he asked, “Is it because I resemble someone? And this person has a close relationship with Natsume-san?”
Although phrased as a question, his tone was certain.
It wasn’t that Shuichi Akai was overly sensitive—the others’ behavior was just too obvious.
Hearing this, Miyano Shiho paused what she was doing and looked over. “Did someone say something to you?”
“Rather than someone saying something, it’s more like I heard it from everyone,” Shuichi Akai replied with a slight smile.
His temporary partner, Scotch, was quite reserved and claimed to know nothing no matter what he asked. But his other colleagues… especially Chianti, were not only obvious in their behavior but also seemed to have a grudge against Natsume Natsuki, taking pleasure in stirring up trouble.
It was from her that he learned Natsume Natsuki’s codename was Cocoa Wine.
One could only say Cocoa Wine had good reason for clashing with Chianti every time.
And from this, Shuichi Akai also learned about another person… Gin, who ranked within the top ten in the Organization, had considerable seniority, and possessed strong personal capabilities.
If they could capture this person, not only would the Organization be severely crippled, but they would also gain a lot of the intelligence they wanted. Shuichi Akai, the FBI agent, thought to himself.
And conveniently, thanks to this inexplicable connection, the two of them were now linked. Since it was said that Gin shared similarities with him and other Organization members acknowledged it, the probability of continuing to infiltrate, climb the ranks, and eventually confront him was quite high.
In a short period of time, Shuichi Akai had already preliminarily set his ultimate goal and was working towards it.
Climbing the ranks could be achieved through his own abilities, but as for other aspects…
“Just take whatever others say with a grain of salt,” Miyano Shiho said, her hands tucked into the pockets of her white lab coat, her tone cool. “You don’t need to worry. Although her tastes are quite eclectic, she probably isn’t very interested in you.”
As her best friend and long-time confidante for venting, Miyano Shiho was well aware of the other’s emotional state.
At the same time, she also understood Cocoa Wine very well. If the person before her weren’t her sister’s boyfriend, she might have tried to exploit him in some way. But with that identity, she definitely wouldn’t have any such intentions, because she was the type who had no interest in other people’s possessions.
Hearing Miyano Shiho’s words, Shuichi Akai’s expression briefly turned complex, and he gave the tea-haired girl in front of him a subtle glance.
He agreed with what she said. After all, he wasn’t inexperienced or lacking in emotional intelligence. He could tell that Natsume Natsuki’s attitude toward him felt less like interest and more like she was eagerly waiting for a chance to punch him.
The possibility of Natsume Natsuki being interested in Miyano Shiho seemed higher than her being interested in him. At one point, he almost thought they were a couple… Wait, why did Miyano Shiho say her tastes were eclectic? What was she implying? Was there some emotional chaos in this Organization?
After saying this, Miyano Shiho didn’t offer any further explanation. Instead, she looked down at a new email she had just received from Cocoa Wine, inviting her to go shopping and complaining about having to work again during this period.
Her expression unconsciously shifted, carrying a hint of a smile, but when she saw the part about Vermouth insisting on kissing her, she couldn’t help but frown.
Observing her expression, Shuichi Akai guessed, “Is it from Miss Natsume?”
“Mm,” Miyano Shiho put away her phone and looked at him. “Is there anything else?”
Having reached this point, Shuichi Akai decided not to beat around the bush any longer and hesitantly asked, “So, exactly who is Miss Natsume to that person…”
He didn’t finish his sentence, but the implication was clear enough.
Miyano Shiho recalled her friend’s frequent complaints and confessions during her visits and replied calmly, “I’m not sure. Probably some kind of karma.”
Shuichi Akai: “…?”
Not getting much of an answer, Shuichi Akai understood that further questioning was futile and decided to stop, resolving to gather information elsewhere later.
After all, one advantage of his current identity was that no one suspected ulterior motives when he inquired about such matters. It was just that the looks of sympathy, pity, or schadenfreude he received were subtly irritating.
Besides that, he had one more thing to ask: “By the way, Sherry, my recent tasks have suddenly become much more numerous and dangerous compared to before. I probed others, and they avoided the topic, but the underlying message seemed to be because of Miss Natsume… Did I offend her somehow?”
He was genuinely puzzled. Could it really be because of that handshake during their first meeting that felt like a high-five?
Miyano Shiho remained equally nonchalant about it: “I don’t know, perhaps it’s your karma.”
Shuichi Akai: “…???”
Was this girl’s sharp tongue attribute a bit too high? Shuichi Akai thought to himself, yet still remembered the main task and added one final sentence: “Then should I try to win her over? Or is there any area where she needs assistance?”
Miyano Shiho initially wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but then recalled someone’s substitute plan. After thoughtful consideration, she replied: “Wait a moment, I can ask for you.”
It seemed Bourbon wasn’t just curious – he had even taken action.
Truly the intelligence division, always more proactive than other groups.
I certainly don’t think he’s hitting on me because he’s interested in me. Even from our first meeting, I could make a preliminary judgment about what kind of person he is based on Bourbon’s profile and background.
I just wonder which aspect has piqued Bourbon’s curiosity… He must have gotten my contact information from Vermouth, right? I’m somewhat curious about what he said to Vermouth that made her agree to share my contact details.
The reason I didn’t explain the full situation to Gin besides finding it troublesome is that I do have my own little scheme – after all, I’m still talking about finding a substitute! Of course, I should consider all potential candidates and see which one can get closer to and prove capable enough to reach Gin.
Naturally, I definitely won’t let Bourbon help with the matters Vermouth entrusted to me.
Aside from stakeholders, I won’t let anyone else know about my “Masuyama Nana” identity.
Currently, besides Boss who gave the order, only Pisco and Ireland who need to cooperate, as well as Gin and Vodka, know about this identity of mine. Even Vermouth only knows I have an external operational identity without knowing the specific details… Though if we met face to face, Vermouth would probably recognize me.
Thinking this, I took out my phone again and sent Vermouth an email: “What’s going on with Bourbon?”
Vermouth replied quite quickly.
“He seems quite interested in you, and he has more connections with Rum’s side – which should interest you too, right?”
Hmm… that’s true.
I know Rum’s faction subtly opposes Gin’s, and since Rum is Boss’s right-hand man, whether I want to help Gin change careers or rise to power, Rum remains a significant obstacle. Additionally, he primarily handles intelligence and practices mysticism, keeping his identity well hidden. Almost no one in the Organization besides Boss knows what he actually looks like. Even I, who received special training from him for a period, never saw his true face during that time – he communicated with me remotely using processed electronic voice modulation.
Among the Organization members I know, those who value their lives enough to hide themselves so thoroughly are limited to Boss and Rum. Therefore, I’ve always quietly wanted to gather information about him. Vermouth knows this and occasionally leaks some information to me.
With these thoughts, I replied to Vermouth: “You could say that. Thanks.”
But before I could decide how to respond to Bourbon, Sherry’s email arrived.
“Your Substitute Candidate No. 1 wants to please you, so he asked me to find out if there’s anything you need help with? Feel free to order him around.”
I froze for a moment, staring at this message as I fell into deep thought.
What’s going on? Is someone suddenly competing for the position now?
Whatever, regardless of what schemes those two are plotting, as long as the situation benefits me.
Thinking this, I couldn’t help but turn to look at Boss Gin who was driving, feeling restless. What would happen if I smiled brightly and told him I’ve already found substitute candidates—two of them, in fact?