“What? Are you saying you can’t control your own men now? Your words mean nothing to them?”
Lynn sneered again. Of course, he knew that the boss in front of him couldn’t possibly keep all the countless gangs in the Lower City in check.
Still, there was a chance the culprit was a gang member. First, he could use this opportunity to trick the other party into helping with the investigation.
If it really was someone from the gangs, that would be an easy fix—after all, this boss could only bow and scrape before Lynn.
Second, since this was the other party’s turf anyway, shifting the blame here was perfectly reasonable.
He just had to keep pressuring the guy; even if the kidnappers weren’t from the gang, he could still gather some useful intel.
After all… the gang members knew the Lower City far better than he did.
“No, no, no… How could that be, haha! I-I’ll ask right now! If any idiot dares cause you trouble, I’ll chop off their hands on the spot! Hoo… Um, you! Come over here!”
As he spoke, Albert pointed to the subordinate who had just delivered the message, then quickly asked,
“What’s going on? Didn’t I already put a stop to these kidnappings? How many times have I said it—there are so many nobles in the Imperial Capital, you never know whose kid might come down to the Lower City to party and end up getting snatched by you lot!”
“Then all those nobles will come straight to me for answers! Tell me, is someone disobeying orders behind my back again?!”
“N-no, absolutely not!” The subordinate knew how to read the room.
Hearing Albert’s accusation, he quickly shook his head and said, “Impossible, boss! Ever since you emphasized this, no one’s dared to try it. I haven’t heard anything about any kidnappings lately, honest—”
“Useless! Then why is someone making deals on our turf? Who gave them the guts?! Was it you who didn’t warn them properly?! Quick, go call in all the group leaders for a meeting!”
“I’ll question every one of them about whether their people have been defying me! I want answers now!”
“Uh… y-yes, sir!”
Seeing the furious Albert, the subordinate dared not refuse and hurried off to carry out his orders.
Of course… having the subordinate question the others was just Albert putting on a show for Lynn.
In truth… Albert was well aware: if even his personal right-hand man knew nothing about this, then chances were it really wasn’t their doing.
“I’ve already sent someone to look into it, Lord Lynn, so please don’t worry. If any of my men are responsible, I’ll give you an explanation! However… I’ve already strictly forbidden kidnappings.”
“Maybe it really wasn’t the gangs who did this? The Lower City… isn’t entirely made up of gangs, you know, haha, don’t you think?”
“But this happened on your turf—my two students were kidnapped! With all your informants in the Lower City, how could you let this happen? Shouldn’t you be making up for it?”
Lynn ignored his attempts to pass the buck, remaining as cold as ever. Albert realized that Lynn mostly just wanted him to help investigate, so he hurriedly picked up the photos and examined them carefully.
At first, he saw nothing out of the ordinary—so much so that he began to grow anxious.
But soon, the gang boss realized something. His eyes lit up, and he quickly pointed at the photo.
“Lord Lynn, I… I recognize this place! Isn’t this the Abandoned Workshop in the Industrial Zone? That chair—I remember tossing it there myself because I didn’t like it!”
“That place used to be where we made some powders, but after a raid, we abandoned it. No, there’s no mistake! It’s definitely that room…”
“Oh? Are you sure? No doubt about it?”
Hearing Albert pinpoint the location so precisely—and since it matched his own suspicions, being close to the Factory 22 and still within the Industrial Zone—Lynn’s interest was piqued.
He sneered, then continued, “Looks like this matter has something to do with you people after all…”
“Uh, th-that… can’t be, right?”
“B-boss!”
Just as Albert was sweating buckets, the subordinate who’d gone out to question everyone came running back, giving him a way out.
“All the questioning’s done! Neither our own gang nor the small-time leaders heard anything about a kidnapping. It’s probably someone outside the gangs stirring up trouble!”
Phew—
Albert finally let out a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn’t his people, he had nothing to worry about—at least he’d covered his own hide.
Of course, he wouldn’t dare play the victim or lose his temper in front of Lynn. That’d be suicidal. After collecting himself, Albert forced a smile and turned to Lynn.
“Lord Lynn, you see, this has nothing to do with the Dick Gang—most likely some good-for-nothing from the slums has gone mad.”
“To dare pull something like this on our turf, well… it’s my fault for neglecting these abandoned places. So, what do you think we should do? Want me to take people to the Abandoned Workshop and rescue the students right away?”
“Good, you’re pretty cooperative. Nothing else needs doing—I just need you to do two things. First, give me the exact address of that Abandoned Workshop, and make sure it’s the right place. If your intel is wrong, I won’t let this go.”
“Second, have your men wait outside the Factory 22. As soon as you hear a huge explosion from the building, charge in immediately and protect a petite girl with long silver hair, about one-fifty-five tall, with a baby face and, uh, well-endowed. Understand?”
Lynn took a deep breath and gave his instructions.
Uh, though he had no idea who the girl the Lord Regent was talking about was, Albert quickly nodded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll arrange it right away and keep it all under wraps! I’ll only send the most trusted, strongest brothers from the gang.”
“As for the place—I’m certain. I paid a lot of attention to it before and remember the address perfectly. I’ll write it down for you…”
“Good!”
With that, Lynn’s side of things was settled. Meanwhile, in the teachers’ dormitory, after waiting anxiously all afternoon, the worried girl finally saw a maid arrive with the ransom money—and with Lynn’s message.
“It’s all arranged. Proceed as planned!”
Phew… in that case—
Kerti grabbed her Magic Backpack, took a deep breath, hailed a carriage, and set off for the Lower City’s Industrial Zone.
Under the moonlight, she arrived at the appointed place.