Chapter 412 Existence Above Executives
“Do you understand the ranking of the organization’s members?”
In the dimly lit, neat, independent office, Kurokawa Iori contentedly looked at the strange photo sent by the skull avatar on the newly downloaded message on his mobile phone. He withdrew the smile on his face, put the phone aside, and looked at the black-haired girl sitting in front of him with a somewhat uncomfortable expression. His tone of voice became a bit lighter.
“Reply, Master, I understand some of it.”
Kazumi lowered her head, as if thinking about something. Hearing Kurokawa Iori speak opposite her, she quickly looked up and responded.
“Mm, because you were specially recruited, you didn’t go through the organization’s usual procedures, so it’s normal that you’re not entirely clear.”
Recalling the girl’s past since joining the organization, Kurokawa Iori found that what this girl, whom he had high hopes for, had experienced was indeed not something a new recruit should have done.
However, her successful completion of these trials also proved the terrifying extent of her potential from another perspective. She truly lived up to being Dr. Shimizu’s daughter.
“Since you’ve asked, I’ll briefly explain it to you. I won’t talk about the small organizations attached to [Shadow] for now. Basically, those who join the organization start as ordinary peripheral members. These people have no status whatsoever. In short, they are a bunch of nobodies who use the organization’s name and are treated as work achievements by the heroes.”
“Next are the group leaders who are responsible for managing the peripheral members. The girl you saw at school last time is at this level. However, because her capabilities were more useful, I called her to my side to help.”
“Newcomers with high potential like you are usually discovered by executives and brought under their direct command. Similarly, the organization’s executives also have their own forces. For instance, you should have encountered the church under Masashi Sakuraba before.”
“Executives are the main fighting force of the organization and are directly responsible to the BOSS. However, those guys rarely obey. They are bound together by benefits. Telling you these things now is useless. You’ll naturally know when your strength improves.”
After finishing the large chunk of information, Kurokawa Iori spread his hands helplessly. This kind of information should have been explained to the girl when she joined the organization. However, because she was a direct subordinate, Kurokawa Iori was not the type of person who would spend time explaining rules.
“…….”
Silently acting as a listener, Kazumi carefully recorded the content Kurokawa Iori said into her mental database. Although the girl didn’t quite understand the relationship between what he was saying now and the mission she had inquired about, this internal organization information, which she had been investigating without results, was worth her risk this time, even if it was just some superficial knowledge.
“Oh, aren’t you going to ask why I’m telling you this?”
Kurokawa Iori looked at the silent Kazumi with some curiosity, a playful smile in his eyes, and couldn’t help but ask.
“Kurokawa-sama undoubtedly has your intentions. I just need to listen.”
Hurriedly lowering her head slightly to show respect, Kazumi replied stiffly.
“You’re so smart that it’s almost uninteresting. You don’t need to be like this in front of me anymore.”
Looking at the girl’s mature and calculating demeanor, which was completely unlike her age, Kurokawa Iori showed a hint of displeasure on his face. Finally, he spoke with a tone that was almost like a command.
“Yes……”
Muttering a muffled response, Kazumi was at a loss for how to answer him at that moment. For someone who excelled at analyzing any situation, people like Kurokawa Iori were probably the most difficult to deal with. Because you might be able to predict the next move of a smart person, but for a madman, all predictions are baseless and without any guarantee. You never know if he will shake your hand or pull out a pistol and kill you in the next moment.
“You probably know a lot about my and Sakuraba’s abilities, right? With your brain, it shouldn’t be hard to see something from it.”
Ignoring the girl’s still muted reaction, Kurokawa Iori found the subtle involuntary movements betraying her inner turmoil particularly pleasing. Looking at Kazumi before him with a sense of control, Kurokawa Iori slowly uttered another piece of news that could explode in Kazumi’s mind.
*What did he discover?? Did Masashi Sakuraba tell him?*
Kazumi’s slender body trembled imperceptibly. Her face remained expressionless as she respectfully looked at Kurokawa Iori, but her mind was racing.
The girl had a habit of collecting information on everyone around her, especially personnel within the organization. As long as she could access it, she would intentionally collect and organize it, in case it could be used in the future.
But this kind of behavior was conducted in private. The only explanation was that her subconscious observation during her interactions with Masashi Sakuraba was noticed and reported to Kurokawa Iori.
Although such behavior was normal, if it was too overt and directly pointed out, it would also lower the other person’s evaluation of oneself, as no one would want a subordinate who was constantly on guard and investigating them.
Just as she was about to explain something, the girl recalled Kurokawa Iori’s words. Her thoughts involuntarily drifted in the direction he had spoken, and a somewhat crazy guess grew wildly in Kazumi’s mind, like weeds springing up, impossible to shake off.
“What, have you thought of it? Let me give you another hint: all the current executives of the organization, except for [Spike], whom you are about to meet, their abilities are probably not much different from ours.”
Seeing the unconcealable look of shock on Kazumi’s face, Kurokawa Iori raised his eyebrows excitedly, as if playing with a small pet, throwing out his new bait bit by bit.
“Kurokawa-sama, you mean……”
After taking a deep breath to suppress her almost失态 (losing composure) expression, Kazumi turned to look at Kurokawa Iori. His confident demeanor indicated that he didn’t care about her knowing such information.
However, as he said, the general ability information could be known by anyone who had been in the organization for a long enough time. Just like her previous cooperation with Masashi Sakuraba, having sufficient ability allowed one to stand in the same position and know more information.
“Yes, it’s the same as you’re thinking.”
Enjoying the peculiar pleasure of guiding the girl’s puzzle-solving, as if teaching a toddler to speak their first word, Kurokawa Iori’s delicate face was filled with a perverse pleasure. As if revealing the final act, the young boy paused for a moment, then slowly uttered the final answer that Kazumi was curious about, word by word.
“The target to be rescued this time… is a level that exists above that of the executives.”
