Chapter 32: Don’t Rob Fish Stores (1)

Swinler Top.

It’s no exaggeration to say that they are the most prominent merchant group on the continent.

They pay their taxes diligently and are known for their generous donations, earning them a stellar reputation.

In other words, on the surface, there’s no more exemplary merchant group than this.

But in this world, while there may be model citizens, there’s no such thing as a model corporation.

Naturally, these guys had their own dirty secrets.

They were one of the major financial backers of the shadowy organization.

A significant portion of their profits was funneled into funding the shadow organization’s plans.

Whether they were like this from the beginning or became corrupted over time, I’m not sure…

My goal is to deal with the shadow organization before the evil dragon is resurrected.

Of course, it’s no easy task.

These guys have been planning for centuries, amassing wealth and power to prepare.

Ideally, the best solution would be to expose their tails to the world as quickly as possible, but that’s impossible right now.

You can’t just dismantle a plan that’s been secretly built up over centuries in an instant.

Even if I were to use every trick and grind to make Orca strong enough to one-shot the evil dragon, it still took a long time to uncover the truth about the merchant group.

Cornering someone physically and cornering them socially are entirely different matters.

So, for now, this matter is on hold until I can build up my own strength.

Especially since I haven’t even managed to properly recruit the “golden kids” yet.

…Speaking of which, what should I do about the golden kids?

They’re a problem too.

Since they’re not the main characters, I have to figure out how to keep them around.

But it’s not like I can spoon-feed them everything.

While Monster Park and Madison don’t need much care, Alice and Orca are a different story.

I’ve managed to establish some minimal connections, but…

Ah, whatever, I’ll think about that later.

Right now, it’s more important to finish what I can do immediately.

“Ryen, can you change my fur color?”

“Fur color?”

“It’s a bit hard to infiltrate like this.”

White stands out.

A lot.

As a tiger, it’s a blessed color, but for infiltration, there’s no more disadvantageous color.

If I hadn’t known the way to the magic department, I wouldn’t have even made it here.

So, for this mission, I planned to disguise myself as a black cat with the help of the blond kid who’s known as a great mage.

Ideally, I’d like to change my species too for the perfect crime, but that’s probably impossible, right?

If I could change my species, it’d be no different from the polymorph spells you see in those fantasy novels.

Even in the original work, there was never such a scene.

“Hmm~ I’ll give it a try!”

Ryen’s hand reached out toward me.

A strange energy emanated from her palm, which stopped just short of touching me, and at the same time, Ryen’s short incantation echoed.

“Turn nigrum!”

Did I just hear something incredibly racist?

“…Wow.”

It actually turned black.

As if dye was seeping into my entire body, I naturally turned black. I shook my head from side to side, admiring my new black fur.

“Even Jelly turned black.”

“Hehe, it’s my first time casting it on a cat!”

Well, that makes sense.

When would you ever need to cast magic on a cat?

“Black is a bit ominous, but it’s prettier than I thought!”

Ominous?

What?

This half-elf believes in superstitions.

“Marina, when is Kazein coming?”

“She should be here soon. Given who she’s negotiating with…”

“Professor, I’m here!”

Speak of the devil.

With a loud bang, the door opened, and I turned my head to look at Kazein.

“…Makeup is cheating.”

With just a bit of makeup, she went from a scruffy graduate student to a pristine older sister.

How did she get rid of those dark circles?

Can magic even remove dark circles?

That’s amazing.

“Senior, you look much better with makeup.”

“R-really? I had to look presentable for the sponsor…”

The impact is different.

Even though she usually hides her figure with a shirt-vest-lab coat combo, her presence is still intimidating.

But now, with thinner clothing, her figure is more pronounced.

“Yeah! Pretty!”

“Professor, really…”

Kazein twisted her body as if embarrassed.

Because of that, the fatty areas that Marina and Ryen lacked started to jiggle and change shape.

Watching this, she looked like a slime.

“Senior, can I hit you just once?”

“Out of nowhere?!”

“Something about this is making me angry.”

So, she does care.

But now’s not the time for this.

“Kazein, how long did you say it takes to get to the branch?”

“About an hour and a half.”

“We have about two hours left, so it’s tight. Ryen, how long does this last?”

“About two days?”

“Then we don’t need to worry about time.”

I almost had a headache thinking the magic would wear off like Cinderella’s.

“Let’s go over the plan one last time. Our goal today is to find the rainbow scale while Kazein talks to the branch head. If we can’t find it, we’ll look for other clues.”

Just having the rainbow scale wouldn’t be enough to punish the Swinler Top.

If they claimed, “We didn’t know it was there, someone must have framed us!” public opinion would side with them.

But if they have more scales… the academy could secretly start an investigation.

The Swinler Top is such a large merchant group that even the Pelisec Academy can’t easily touch them.

The Pelisec Academy holds immense authority, but that doesn’t mean they can act recklessly.

If they push too hard, they could end up being the ones destroyed.

In the original work, even investigating this merchant group took up most of the mid-story.

So, to thoroughly dismantle the merchant group, a lot of groundwork is needed.

More secretive than even the shadow organization.

In that sense, my existence, though I hate to say it myself, is a significant variable.

Where else would you find a cat that can talk and is as smart as me?

Thinking about it, I might have an idea why I was reincarnated as a cat.

Of course, it’s just speculation… but anyway, I plan to find the connection to the shadow organization.

Once I find that connection, I can figure out how to catch the shadow organization’s tail.

With the fatal flaw of there being no designated protagonist, I can’t just sit back and let the shadow organization’s plan succeed like in the original.

If the evil dragon pops out and there’s no one to take it down, it’s game over.

There’s also the possibility that I might die of natural causes before the evil dragon appears, but that’s a problem for later.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“I’ll be back, Professor. I’ll be back, Marina.”

“Senior, come back safely. And bring back some gifts.”

“How about a set of Amaretti’s pastries?”

“Senior, you’re the best! How did you know I wanted that!”

Rubbing her hands together, she’s clearly practiced at flattery.

I glanced at Marina’s pitiful expression before flicking Ryen’s cheek with my tail as she buried her face in my back.

“We need to go now, so stop rubbing.”

“S-s-s…”

“Stop it, it’s creepy.”

“But it’s so soft and fluffy~”

For a master of magic, she’s quite cheap, but still creepy.

I wriggled out of Ryen’s arms and jumped down under the desk.

A small sigh came from behind, but what do I care?

I’ve got a life-threatening infiltration mission to carry out.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

I leaped up and landed in Kazein’s arms.

Kazein adjusted her hold on me to a more comfortable position and left the office.

————-

As soon as we got off the carriage, what caught my eye was a building that stood out starkly from its surroundings.

While the other buildings were barely two stories tall, this one was three.

They really went all out.

The walls were adorned with lavish murals.

The sheer size of the building was overwhelming.

People in extravagant outfits were coming and going.

They said it was the top merchant group on the continent, and they weren’t wrong.

The merchant groups I knew were full of scruffy people.

Of course, the port I lived in was a shabby place, but still…

“Let’s split up here. We each have our own tasks.”

“Okay…”

Kazein reluctantly set me down on the ground.

After being held for over an hour, I’ve done my part.

Her ample chest made for a good cushion, but it’s uncomfortable to stay in her arms for too long.

“…Be careful.”

“Don’t worry. My life is tough.”

I left Kazein behind and quietly slipped into the shadows of the building.