The four, Kent and his companions, returned to Kent’s house, and decided to gather around the living room table to listen to the recording from the IC recorder. Marie and Catherine were also at the house, watching with curiosity.
“All right, I’ll play it now.”
Since the recording was done after transporting the IC recorder by drone, the beginning was filled with noise such as wind noise, motor drive sound, and the sound of it being placed by the window. However, the audio after the setup was clearly audible.
“….Goya. How did things go?”
“Yes, everything is perfect. We set fire to the Flour Union’s warehouse, incinerating the flour, and bakeries that ran out of stock have had to close one after another.”
“I see, I see. That’s good. All that’s left is to sell the flour at a high price.”
“We’ve already shipped flour to two bakeries through merchants under our wing. We also hired thugs to destroy one bakery that had its own procurement route.”
Although the conversation was only partially recorded, it seemed enough information to understand what they needed. Kent was grateful that the voices of Kroiser and the person who seemed to be a shopkeeper were loud. He thought that if they had spoken in whispers, the recording would have failed.
“So, what happened to the most troublesome existence, that bakery?”
“It seemed to have more ingredients than expected, so it took a little longer, but as we intended, it ran out of ingredients and began to close yesterday.”
“I see, I see. They must be in a panic. How amusing! Hahaha! But, didn’t you have a bread at your place that used ingredients from that bakery? If it’s closed, how will you get them?”
“We’ve got that covered. Tonight, we’ll send bandits to that cursed Marie’s Bakery. We’ll steal all the ingredients.”
“Hahaha, Etsigoya, you’re quite the scoundrel.”
“No, no, not as much as you, Baron.”
“Hahaha”
The conversation between Kroiser and Etsigoya seemed to end with unpleasant laughter.
To summarize, it appeared that they had set fire to the Flour Union’s warehouse to sell a large quantity of secretly produced flour at a high price in the Baron’s territory. They also attacked bakeries that had other procurement routes for flour, preventing them from operating physically. Furthermore, they provided flour at exorbitant prices to other bakeries struggling to obtain it through merchants influenced by this bakery.
The plan also included stealing jam and margarine, ingredients for sweet bread, from Marie’s Bakery. Everyone looked surprised by this.
“That shop, Etsigoya’s Bakery, you know, they used their influence in the union to forcibly change our business days, and they’ve always been disliked in the union for harassing other shops if they didn’t like something. I never imagined they would even think about stealing our products…”
Marie said with a stunned expression.
“Kent, what will we do?”
“Judging from the conversation, the execution date seems to be today, so we don’t have much time.”
Josette asked Kent, but Kent was struggling to find a solution.
“Actually, we provide the ingredients for sweet bread as needed, so we don’t have much stock. So, even if they’re stolen, it won’t hurt much, but we can’t overlook the damage to the store.”
“If you wish, shall I send some soldiers who are guarding my house?”
“Really?”
“It’s fine. This is a shop involved with the Duke’s family, so we will deal with it as a challenge to the Duke’s family.”
Josette, now motivated, informed the guards waiting outside.
“Older brother, I’m going out for a bit.”
“Well then, I’ll make some tea.”
Rachel left the house and went somewhere. Caro, along with Catherine, headed for the kitchen to prepare tea.
A little while later, Rachel returned.
“Welcome back, Akane. Where have you been?”
“Um… to my ex-boyfriend’s place?”
Rachel replied with a question. Kent felt a little lonely upon learning about her ex-boyfriend, even though it was in the past.
“Well then, let’s have a strategy meeting…”
Just as Kent was about to say this, they sensed the presence of many people from outside.
“Could they have already arrived?”
Thinking it might be the bandits, Kent blurted out.
“It’s all right.”
With that, Josette opened the house door and called out to the people outside.
“Thank you all for your hard work. I believe you’ve heard the story, but I’ll ask for your cooperation.”
“Yes!”
These were the guards from Josette’s household. Following them, a group of people arrived in formation.
“Is this it? Ah, Lady Josette. I never expected to meet you in a place like this. It’s been a while.”
“Oh, members of the Knight order. What brings you here today?”
Judging by Josette’s tone, this group appeared to be from the Knight order.
“We received orders from the Commander to guard the bakery here tonight, and we’ve come as instructed.”
“I see. Thank you for your trouble. I suppose you’ll be working with our guards, so I’ll ask for your cooperation.”
“Yes, we understand.”
The Duke’s family’s guards and the Knight order waited in Kent’s backyard until the strategy meeting was over. Caro and Catherine went back into the kitchen to prepare hot tea for the soldiers.
“Now, let’s begin our strategy meeting…”
Thus, future countermeasures were devised, and they faced a long night.
As the night deepened and everyone was asleep, multiple people were heading towards Marie’s Bakery. They pressed themselves against the entrance door and attempted to insert a wire to unlock it. The door looked old, but it was actually an antique-style door made of metal, with a complex double-lock system, making it almost impossible to unlock with a wire. Giving up on unlocking it, the bandits broke the window and entered the store. This scene was being monitored on a monitor at Kent’s house through security cameras installed in various locations.
“This is amazing. Even though it should be pitch black inside the store, we can see everything clearly.”
“As expected of cameras with infrared night vision. I wonder when Older brother installed them?”
Josette, watching the monitor, exclaimed in surprise. Rachel, who was aware of security cameras, was not surprised, but it seemed she had only just learned about the security cameras at the shop this time. Caro, Marie, and Catherine also watched the scene inside the store nervously through the monitor. Emily, unable to leave the store, was asked to wait in her room.
The bandits had apparently already scouted the place, and without hesitation, they began packing containers of jam, margarine, and other items from the shelves into bags. Kent had anticipated this and had placed extra items on the shelves to buy time. In the meantime, the Knight order, waiting outside, were given their positions.
“That’s far enough!”
Once Kent confirmed that the positions were set, he shouted and turned on all the lights in the store with a remote. The bandits, surprised by the sudden brightness, were attacked by the security guards waiting in the kitchen. In the darkness, there might have been casualties on their side as well, but in a well-lit area, the Duke’s family’s elite security guards had no chance of losing. Several bandits were apprehended, and those who were farther from the security guards panicked and jumped out of the broken window. However, the moment they exited the store, numerous lights were shone on them, illuminating the surroundings. The surprised bandits realized they were already surrounded. The area around the store was encircled by fully armed knights. Unable to resist, all the bandits were apprehended.
Curious about the commotion, nearby residents began to emerge and observe the situation. While being watched by these people, the apprehended bandits were taken away by the Knight order. Some of Josette’s guards also returned to the Duke’s family, leaving a few behind.
The residents who had come to watch also returned to their homes after seeing that the disturbance had subsided. The vicinity was now eerily silent, a stark contrast to the earlier commotion.
Kent and his companions entered the store and began cleaning up the mess.
“Thank you, Kent. Thanks to you, the damage was kept to a minimum.”
Marie said to Kent with a relieved expression.
“No, I should be thanking Josette for lending us the guards, and Akane for calling the Knight order.”
“Wha- I only did what was natural.”
“Older brother, you knew?”
It was Rachel who had called the Knight order. Kent easily imagined that she had actually spoken through Marc, the son of the Knight Commander. Since he had been estranged from Marc lately, Kent prayed that this wouldn’t lead to any romantic developments.
“Well then… if they attacked us, we have to retaliate. A double payback.”
Kent said, full of anger.
“I won’t be satisfied unless it’s quadruple. Older brother.”
Rachel was also angry.
“We won’t forgive anyone who harms our shop.”
“I’ll absolutely crush that damn Baron.”
Caro’s fierce demeanor from her days of being a follower seemed to have returned. And Josette was also angry.
“Older brother, Older sister, you guys are scary…”
Catherine seemed more frightened of Kent and the others than of the bandits.
Thus, the long night continued to deepen.
