Listening to Aaron's plan, Kiana nodded slightly.
"Mm... you've already arranged everything. I'll follow your lead. But before that, this lady has a question."
"According to you, Aaron, the former minister's movements are important intel, right? And the intel about Esdeath's Three Beasts returning is also important?"
"Where did you get such important information? Didn't we spend ages looking for Jouri before, only to come up empty-handed?"
"Oh, it's simple."
Taking out a coin, Aaron asked Kiana in return:
"Kiana, do you get it?"
"Get what? Huh? Wait a sec..."
Thinking of a certain possibility, Kiana almost choked.
She grabbed a soda and chugged some, catching her breath before she stated the unbelievable answer to Aaron:
"You got all this intel... with money?"
"To be precise, with lots and lots of money. As for why I was able to get it, the answer is also simple."
Putting the coin away, Aaron said calmly:
"Me hating that bunch of idiots in the Revolutionary Army is one thing, but they were right about one thing."
"The Empire really is rotten to the core. And it's because it's so rotten that I was able to get this intel."
"The news of Esdeath's army returning is known throughout the city, so that's nothing special. But the fact that someone could get intel on Jouri... I can only say this..."
"Jouri is the head of the civil officials under Great General Budo's protection. If he makes a strong return to the Imperial Capital this time, Honest's faction will inevitably be suppressed."
"But not everyone in Budo's camp wants to see Jouri return. After all, if Jouri wants to suppress Honest, he's definitely going to use a legitimate reason like 'arresting corrupt officials' to strike at Honest's power."
"But... what if someone on Budo's side is also pretty corrupt?"
"You mean, Budo's faction, which is supposed to be protecting Jouri, has a mole???"
Listening to Aaron's analysis, Kiana only had to think for a moment to understand the connections.
Normally, intel on Jouri would be a top-class secret—after all, Honest really wants the influential former minister dead.
But now, even Aaron can get intel on Jouri. That means someone *else* desperately wants Jouri dead, so they leaked the information.
"And at the same time, the fact that he's spreading this intel shows he's not one of Honest's people. Honest has already sent the Three Beasts to assassinate him; he wouldn't do something redundant like this. So... that official on Budo's side is leaking the info to 'kill with a borrowed knife,' while also making some money on the side."
Seeing Kiana's expression grow extremely complicated, Aaron patted her shoulder gently.
"Try not to let it get to you. This kind of thing is common in the Imperial Capital. If you react like this every time, you'll just make yourself sick."
"Easy for you to say, but..."
When she thought about the things she'd heard while wandering through the villages, Kiana felt upset.
Half a month ago, when she and Aaron were riding their motorcycle between villages, they hadn't met Jouri, but they had heard other villagers' opinions of him.
And the villagers' evaluation of the former minister Jouri, of course, contained no criticism—after all, their basis for comparison was Honest.
In Kiana's heart, Jouri was without a doubt an old minister who treated the people extremely well.
But now, someone was choosing to have Jouri killed for their own selfish, dirty profit.
Even knowing the Empire was rotten, Kiana was still disgusted by this scheme.
"Aaron, I sometimes wonder... is the Revolutionary Army really that bad?"
"The Empire is completely rotten. So what's wrong with them choosing to overthrow it?"
"The idea is fine, but their methods are wrong. And when the methods are wrong, the results they create often have huge problems, too."
With a long sigh, Aaron continued:
"That's not the scariest part. The scariest part is, the leaders of the Revolutionary Army aren't idiots. They definitely know better than I do what price must be paid to win over the foreign tribes."
"But they still chose to ally with them. That, to me, is the worst-case scenario. In order to defeat the evil dragon, the boy who tried to become a hero was corrupted, body and mind, by the dragon's blood before he could even slay it."
"Maybe they think that after becoming a dragon and defeating the dragon, they'll still have a chance to change back. But that idea... hah. How do you turn milk tea back into milk and tea?"
"What a weird analogy... but it's true. Once you make huge changes, it's hard to go back..."
"That's why I will never join forces with the Revolutionary Army. In my eyes, they're gradually turning into devils, just like Honest."
"But in the end, while our goal is to seize Teigu... after we take their Teigu, saving Jouri won't be that hard either."
"If Budo is willing to stop being a loyal dog and chooses to side with Jouri... this country..."
"...at least it might rot a little more slowly, right?"
...............