I convened a meeting to discuss the merger between the Pirate Guild and Mikoshi Trading Co.
Essentially, we were hashing out our espionage strategy.
Now, this was the kind of ninja business I recognized...
After all, their primary duty was spying.
I brought along some Pirate Guild executives for the talk.
One of them was a merchant-minded fellow who had originally handled ship sales.
His subordinates were also dressed in the merchant attire of the Taikyoku Nation.
At first, I thought they might be some of Old Man Eyens' former subordinates, but they seemed to belong to a different group entirely.
To be blunt, these were the same people who used to hawk weapons to the Ghouls and the Proone.
They were a real crack team—the very one that had given me such a hard time in the past.
Now that they were on our side... well, they were certainly dependable.
While the Pirate Guild was full of idiots at the bottom, the upper crust consisted of high-society types who had fled after losing political power struggles.
You had to be incredibly competent to survive as a pirate after falling from grace like that.
"Lord Kawagon, this department was responsible for the design, sales, and maintenance of warships. However, following the acquisition by Mikoshi Trading Co., the head of development absconded with the engineers. Their current whereabouts are unknown."
"Lepsitol’s technical capabilities are superior to those of both the Galactic Empire and Chronos. Bring in some imperial and Chronos engineers to begin an analysis."
"Understood."
We had successfully stolen their short-range warp technology, but we hadn't had time to verify or analyze it yet.
When it came to hardware, Lepsitol held the advantage.
They possessed a significant amount of technology we knew nothing about.
I had to admit that much.
That said, we weren't at a hopeless disadvantage.
We were a civilization that specialized in acquiring technology from other advanced civilizations, one after another.
In the end, we were just a bunch of barbarians who kept scoring giant-killings through sheer grit and muscle...
We had biomedical technology from Zork, missile tech from Latarnia, and powerful battleship designs from the Taikyoku Nation.
From Chronos, we had acquired general lifestyle technology.
We didn't just take from those we conquered; we gathered technical information through financial and technological exchanges, and sometimes through old-fashioned industrial espionage.
Of course, Latarnia and the Taikyoku Nation had both stolen their own tech from the Galactic Empire in the first place.
I’d provided Latarnia with candy recipes free of charge.
And research into Zork technology seemed to be booming in the Taikyoku Nation.
It was a system of mutual benefit.
Trying to stay completely clean in this business would be the weird thing.
However, when it came to software and control systems, the Galactic Empire remained the undisputed champion.
After all, we had Fairy-san.
Even in terms of sensors, the Galactic Empire seemed to be ahead.
In fact, we’d been receiving inquiries from various countries regarding the manufacturing process of Mother AIs—meaning Fairy-san.
Naturally, they were likely sending plenty of spies our way as well.
I managed to satisfy them for now by explaining that she was a "confidential byproduct of past inhumane experiments," but I wondered how long that excuse would hold...
With that in mind, I figured since we were already inside Lepsitol, we might as well try to steal some of their tech too.
After living here for about a month, I’d realized that the Galactic Empire and the Grand Duchy of Chronos were far superior in construction technology.
However, Lepsitol was the clear winner in areas like fish farming.
While we could do aquaculture, the cost of farming saltwater fish remained high for us.
The reality was that freshwater fish were simply more economical.
Personally, that was the technology I wanted most.
Thus, I ordered a search for the Mikoshi Trading Co. Fishery Department.
Our hunger for new foods was truly bottomless.
"The staff for the fishery department has been accounted for."
"Good. Expand their operations into Chronos."
"As you wish."
With that, the prospect of delicious seafood was on the horizon.
...I just hoped this wasn't some horror story about splicing in Proone genes.
That’s definitely not what’s happening, right?
"Listen... about the Proone..."
"I will investigate the matter immediately."
The guild executive’s eyebrow twitched.
He was likely thinking the exact same thing.
Please, just don't go there.
"Also, check on Zork and the Ghouls."
"I will make that investigation my top priority."
The scary part was that they were exactly the type of people who would actually do it.
The crab I ate with Rikochi... actually, let’s not think about it.
With the meeting concluded, it was time for some ninja work.
I needed to buy some squid, some booze...
I skipped the California rolls and opted for inari sushi instead.
Oh, they even had Konjac Inari!
I’ll take those too.
Then, I headed back to the ninja guardhouse.
"I brought lunch for everyone!"
"Cheers, Kawagon!"
The Ninja Squad had been shocked at first to learn I was an Auditor... but I’d won them over with food and alcohol.
"This is for the night shift. Don't go overboard with the drinking."
"Thanks!"
By now, we were practically best friends.
"...Your charisma is terrifying," Rikochi muttered.
I had shifted my strategy following the recent Armored Rikishi Incident.
I’d shelved my usual tactic of sowing chaos to paralyze the enemy's politics.
Instead, I was using the Ninja Squad to establish contact with the lower-level employees of other conglomerates.
These weren't the kind of hostile takeovers that required official reports.
I had them build a network under the guise of industry social gatherings.
No blackmail, nothing like that.
That was precisely Lepsitol's weakness.
Lepsitol was a nation where corporations oppressed the masses.
Everything moved solely for the convenience of the companies.
Social media was no different.
The Empire’s "Idiot Ogiri SNS" didn't exist here.
They only had platforms for recruitment and talent searching.
It was boring as hell.
But if I suddenly dropped Galactic Empire-style entertainment on them, it wouldn't be accepted.
The corporations would just crush it.
So, I would create fun Social Clubs disguised as industry gatherings.
For entertainment, simple sports or board games were enough.
The Galactic Empire had an infinite supply of content to draw from.
From there, I’d lead them toward gambling.
A Secret Gambling Den, hosted by the Pirate Guild.
You think that ultimately leads back to blackmail?
No, no.
You have to keep them in that sweet spot—neither thriving nor ruined.
Letting them win just a little bit was plenty.
Exactly.
The gambling den didn't even need to be profitable on its own.
I would adjust the math so that we broke even through the revenue from the food, drinks, and resort facilities attached to the clubs.
I only needed to make enough to cover the pirates' salaries.
In the short term, it was about gathering intelligence.
In the long term, it was about creating dependency.
I wanted them to feel a sense of exclusivity, as if they were members of a prestigious Gentlemen's Social Club.
The crucial factor was that while gambling was legal in Lepsitol, the only options available were the kind that stripped you down to your last cent.
There were no facilities where you could just play for fun.
As for sports, they had sumo, but it was treated as either a rigid tradition or an academic pursuit.
The people's options were incredibly narrow.
Even something as simple as darts or billiards seemed to be so much fun it turned their brains to mush.
Count One-Two-Three excelled at this kind of hospitality.
I’d have them make friends.
I wanted the Secret Club to become an addictive part of their daily lives.
When that happens—lo and behold—raw data from every industry starts flowing in for almost nothing.
In the end, it turns out that a society needs a healthy dose of slightly vulgar culture.
A world consisting of nothing but booze, women, and high-brow refinement is a weak one.
"He... hehehehe."
"Th-the Friendly Devil is playing for keeps now..."
What was that, Rikochi?
If you have something to say, say it to my face.