42: Follow-up on the incident – Part 2

"Regarding the incident at the Guide Colony, have we figured out where the knife came from?"

"It seems so. That said, I'll explain everything in order."

Mekoshi's story continues.

Next is the follow-up on the incident at the Guide Colony.

"The suspect has been identified. As expected, he was a human adult without a valid certification, originating from the Guide Colony. He's 25 years old, which makes him a complete outcast. It's also clear he personally used the drugs that were authorized for use."

"Yeah, I figured as much."

"He was clearly acting abnormally."

Honestly, there's no room for leniency when it comes to this street criminal.

The guardians themselves also failed to fulfill their duty of supervision, so in some cases, they might even be held criminally liable.

That said, regarding this matter, the perpetrator himself isn't really that important.

The real issue lies with the knife used to disable the shield mod.

"Still, this drug seems to have significantly increased aggression and ferocity compared to the one typically used by the random attacker."

"……"

Wait—should we also be concerned about the drug's supplier?

Or perhaps this is...

"The man who handed the knife to the random attacker was the drug dealer. Also, there were signs of hacking on the surveillance cameras around the scene."

"So, the test subject... that's what this is."

"A truly repulsive story."

"Yes, the police have reached the same conclusion."

They must have tried to disable the Shield mod.

I can sense their lack of composure, as if they're utterly indifferent to maintaining order, and even more so, their inability to conduct experiments in secret.

I also sense their sheer stupidity.

"Therefore, thanks to reverse detection, they've managed to apprehend the drug dealer and his accomplices within the guide colony, as well as the local officials. Beyond that, the records we have no longer hold any relevance, and it will likely take even more time to uncover what lies ahead."

Hmm, it seems the issue with the drug is more or less resolved.

That's good to hear.

"As for the origin of the knife in question, it appears to have been taken from a research project conducted on a corporate colony within the Grogrobeta system, then modified afterward. Though details are still under investigation, it seems the blade was created as a variant during the development of a special plant designed to extract specific metallic elements from the ground and refine them into the shape of leaves or fruit."

"So, part of that company or some of the researchers are involved with a drug trafficking organization, right?"

"Another strange thing... Well, I guess it has some use."

And here, the knife in question.

I see, so that knife was created as a result of processing a peculiar plant.

"We're still investigating who released this plant and metal, and to what extent they're involved. But even from what we currently know, it's confirmed that around tens of kilograms of metal have leaked."

"This is a major issue."

"A major issue indeed..."

And the amount of metal that originally caused this is clearly far more than what a single knife could account for.

If that much has leaked, the plant itself must have leaked too.

"Is that plant grown outside the Grogrobeta system?"

"Unknown. It seems the company and the colony in question are currently in chaos, making investigation extremely difficult."

"Come on now..."

Memokshi replied with a stunned expression to Virijanila's words, and I grimaced slightly.

There's the issue of how quickly it'll grow—whether it even develops outside the Grogrobeta system. If we fail to contain it, it'll become a major scandal.

"Therefore, we'll have to wait for further updates on this matter. But given how serious it's become, trying to handle it quietly or cover it up is no longer possible. It's probably best to just wait for it to hit the news."

Well, yeah, there's no doubt we've already gone beyond what we can handle on our own.

That's certain.

"Then, continuing. The case of the illegal intruder on Planet Grogloveeta 1."

"Ah, right, that's true."

The intruder was captured by Keerabi, sent out a distress signal, and then apprehended by the peacekeeping forces.

"The suspects apparently chartered a sightseeing spacecraft to circle the planet, approaching Planet Grogloveeta 1 via official routes. They seem to have descended onto the planet during the sightseeing flight, though no further details were disclosed regarding their method."

"Hmm, I see. And?"

"We've identified their method. But what was their purpose?"

"They're demanding the liberation of farmers working on Planet Grogloveeta 1."

"???"

Confusion clearly showed on both my face and Vilijanira's.

Memoqsi looked utterly stunned.

"Liberation of farmers? Not the nobles?"

"Yes, the farmers' liberation."

"Um, what kind of reasoning is behind this?"

"Although we've compiled the materials for you... Memo has judged they're not worth reading."

Though told they weren't worth reading, both I and Vilijanira still took a look at their argument, just in case.

Passable... ah, yes, I admit it has no value.

It's the kind of statement made by someone trapped in typical delusions, clearly intoxicated with themselves.

Still, if I were to bother reading it carefully and respond...

"Let's be honest—farmers on Planet Glorgrobeta 1 are essentially an elite class, well-paid, and can take time off just by submitting a request."

"Yes. Agriculture is the primary industry in the Glorgrobeta system, and wherever you look, it requires knowledge and skill—so farmers are fairly compensated and granted proper vacation time."

They claimed farmers were treated like slaves.

But there's no truth to that at all.

Even farmers working in underground or underwater farms, who rarely appear in public, are no different.

"Would nobles really have the luxury of oppressing farmers?"

"I don't think it's physically possible. The Grogrobeta system has far more frequent human traffic than nearby systems, and there are numerous corporate colonies as well."

They claimed nobles were whipping farmers.

But in reality, it's the nobles who are more likely to be the ones being whipped and forced into labor.

As far as I’ve observed, the administrative body of the First Prime Colony is literally operating nonstop 24 hours a day, and the officials in charge are mostly so overwhelmed with work that they barely have time to eat or sleep—so exhausted they’re practically living at their desks. If that isn’t being worked to the bone, then what could possibly be considered hard labor?

"Money... it's still here, right?"

"There's a need to verify the calculations carefully, but at the very least, I believe the funds managed by the government are clean."

They claimed the budget was being used to line the pockets of nobles.

Yet money is clearly quantifiable, and the mechanical intelligences overseeing it are deliberately designed to be inflexible.

There shouldn't be even a single vanilla pound, let alone a single vanilla ring, unaccounted for.

It's up to each individual how they spend their own money, so long as it doesn't involve criminal activity, others shouldn't interfere or make a fuss.

"'Imperial People's Liberation Front'... I can't imagine there's any country as free for ordinary people as the Empire... "

"I don't know how to put it... how should I even describe it?"

There were, of course, various other opinions written down as well...

In sum, the comments were so baffling that one couldn't help but wonder where exactly you all came from.

It was just... giving me a headache.

"By the way, regarding the trespassers, aside from what appears to be the responsible individual who skillfully vanished, all others are humans without adult certification, hailing from various star systems. It's likely there's some shadowy figure somewhere exploiting their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs and manipulating them to serve their own ends."

"This side of things is turning into another deeply rooted issue..."

"I can't forgive that shadowy figure."

Ah, yeah, in short, this seems to be some kind of harassment directed at the bustling Glorgobeta star system from someone in an organization governing another star system somewhere else.

Of course, other possibilities exist, but this seems the most likely scenario.

"Therefore, the memo team can't get involved any further with this matter. But we can't just leave it alone either, so the intelligence unit will have to step in and investigate properly."

"I see. Hmm, this conversation feels anything but relaxing."

"Truly..."

After finishing our floral tea, both Vilijanira and I sat in silence, the headache from the conversation lingering for a while.

It's true—there are certainly troublesome people in this world.