NIS Agents Tearing Up the Japanese Empire - Chapter 75



Only Krnovel

Paperman (4)

The corners of Manager Miwa’s mouth turned up as she picked up each piece of charcoal that had turned black.

“Is this His Excellency Marquis Noda Heijiro?”

“… …Unfortunately, yes.”

“They all burned down in a holla-dang.”

Miwa put the ashes, presumed to be those of Marquis Noda Heijiro, back in their place.

Then, like small puzzle pieces falling into place in a large puzzle, the black ashes began to gather together, one by one, to form a human figure.

However, what was unusual was that this corpse did not have anything that a person should have.

“You don’t have a head?”

“… … We searched the scene thoroughly, but we couldn’t find it.”

“Really? So, are you saying that your head completely evaporated?”

“That’s not it… … .”

The investigator trailed off.

At the same time, something mixed with anxiety and fear appeared on his face.

“Why do you stop talking?”

Of course, it had nothing to do with Miwa’s feelings as a subordinate.

“… … There are stories that guards on duty around the mansion at the time or employees working at the mansion heard an explosion late at night.”

“belch?”

The word explosion caught Miwa’s attention.

“Yes, it seems that the Ghost of Gyeongseong used a bomb to destroy Marquis Noda’s body.”

“You mutilated the body? How do you prove that?”

“The explosion was so loud that many people heard it.”

“That is only evidence that explains the disappearance of Marquis Noda’s head, not evidence that the ghost of Gyeongseong desecrated Marquis Noda’s body.”

“… …Is that important?”

“then.”

In the first place, blowing off the head of an opponent while they were alive and blowing off the head after they were dead were completely different issues.

“When Marquis Noda was alive, the ghost of Gyeongseong blew his head off with a bomb?”

“It’s murder.”

“Yes, the fact that he resorted to such unnecessary cruelty, unlike his usual behavior, means that he wanted to make this incident known to the people.”

Miwa continued talking while looking around the headless body (presumed) of Marquis Noda.

“But damaging a body that has already died and fallen down is interpreted with a completely different intention.”

“What is that?”

Miwa found a sparkling gold ring near Marquis Noda’s finger.

“Murder out of spite.”

“Hmm… … . So you’re saying that among the people who might hold a grudge against His Excellency Marquis Noda, there’s the Ghost of Gyeongseong… … !”

“Or maybe someone killed Marquis Noda and disguised himself as the Ghost of Gyeongseong.”

The investigator tilted his head at Miwa’s words.

“But on the day that Marquis Noda died, there was no one in the mansion with a motive or grudge to kill the Marquis?”

Miwa, who was looking around at the gold ring, carefully put the ring in the evidence envelope and looked up at the investigator.

“You’ll know that if you investigate from now on.”

“Oh, yes… … .”

Although she said that, Miwa was actually convinced that the culprit of this incident was the Ghost of Gyeongseong.

‘A Joseon nobleman died in the middle of Gyeongseong while being guarded by soldiers. Is this murder due to resentment? That makes even more sense.’

Of course, that possibility wasn’t completely impossible.

There were more than a few people in Joseon’s eight provinces who would immediately start dancing with a sword if they saw Marquis Noda in person, and Marquis Noda, who was the victim, was steadily accumulating new karma by doing things that would incur resentment in one way or another.

But ordinary people don’t kill people just because they have a grudge.

In civilized areas, it was extremely difficult for one person to kill another, both morally and socially.

It is especially difficult when the person in question is someone of such high status that it is difficult to approach.

But now, Marquis Noda is dead.

In a way that no one would ever guess was suicide or an accident.

And if there is someone who holds a grudge against Lord Noda while meeting all of these conditions… … . As far as he knows, there is only one person.

The Ghost of Gyeongseong!

It’s that guy’s doing it again.

‘The Ghost of Gyeongseong… … Are you going to start coming out in earnest now?’

Miwa took out her notebook.

The notebook was filled with information about ghosts that Miwa had collected over the years.

And among them, at the very back of the notebook were the names of people who were presumed to be ghosts, and at the top there was a familiar name.

[Kuroda Kyuichi – real name Na Ji-hwan, a person who recently appeared in Gyeongseong, is recorded as having been born in Naju in the records of the Governor-General, but his activities in Naju cannot be found.

It is necessary to keep an eye on future activities.]

Of course, it wasn’t because Miwa was watching Kuroda with particular interest.

This was just a minor coincidence, as the names he had written down earlier were crossed out as suspects during the investigation.

‘Kuroda Kyuichi… … Are you that reporter from back then?’

He wasn’t a particularly memorable person.

He was one of those people who wanted to abandon his Korean roots and become Japanese, and he was unique among them as a Korean with a job as a journalist.

Anyway, Miwa, who had recorded the information she had gathered today in her notebook, put the notebook back in her pocket and looked back at Marquis Noda (who was).

“How is this handled?”

“For now, we will complete a simple examination and return it to the bereaved family.”

“Then when you return it, are you going to return it like this?”

“Probably so.”

Miwa’s brow furrowed at her subordinate’s words, and a tongue-clicking sound came out of her mouth.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… … No matter how proper the procedure is, this is not the right treatment for a patriot who devoted himself to the Empire of Japan.”

“yes?”

“Imagine if those lying here were your family, how would you feel?”

“ah…….”

“I’ll put on some makeup and hand it over to you.”

“All right.”

After saying that, Manager Miwa took out the evidence envelope containing the gold ring he had just taken from Marquis Noda from his pants pocket.

“And while we’re on the subject, don’t forget to mention that the gold ring that Marquis Noda was wearing was classified as evidence on our side.”

“yes.”

The investigator didn’t know why the gold ring was evidence, but since he was a subordinate and couldn’t dare ask such a brave question to his superior, he figured it must be so.

* * *

Rumors began to spread that the Song Byeong-jun family would sell the Chosun Ilbo.

Thanks to this, the best and brightest men in Gyeongseong flocked to Song Byeong-jun’s mansion to catch the huge whale called Chosun Ilbo.

“Sell it to me!”

“Sell it to me, not that guy! I’ll pay you a good price!”

“Three times! I will pay three times what those guys are talking about, no matter what! Sell it to me!”

What kind of place is the Chosun Ilbo?

Along with the Dong-A Ilbo, it was one of the most famous newspapers in Joseon.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that it was a famous newspaper company that was the most recognized in Joseon.

Of course, the newspaper was currently going through a management crisis due to the extravagant management of the company by former president Noda and frequent suspensions of publication due to censorship by the Governor-General, but the potential of this newspaper was still limitless.

As a newspaper company that boasts of being the best newspaper in Joseon, the money they earn from advertising every year is not small.

The business card title of president of the best newspaper in Joseon was enough to make one walk around Gyeongseong with one’s shoulders held high.

So, it is only natural that all kinds of rascals and rich people in Gyeongseong would take interest in this.

“Sell it to me.”

“Who are you… …?”

“We’re not close enough to even exchange names.”

“But I need to know who you are to start a conversation.”

“Tsk… … . How annoying… … . This guy is Kyuichi Kuroda. He is currently the president of the Greater East Asia Publications Daily Shinbo.”

“… … It’s the first time I’m hearing that name.”

“You’ll be hearing this a lot from now on.”

However, neither all sorts of dirty tricks nor the rich people who made a name for themselves in Gyeongseong could get their hands on the Chosun Ilbo.

“I won’t make much of a fuss. Do you need money?”

“Umm… … .”

“I’ll give you 80,000 won. Sell it to me.”

“80, 80 thousand won?!”

Lord Noda’s only son was startled by the offer of 80,000 won.

That couldn’t be helped, since the price of a decent luxury home in Gyeongseong was currently fluctuating between 1,000 and 1,200 won.

So, if we roughly calculate 80,000 won in modern value, it can be seen as an amount that can buy dozens of apartments in the Seoul area at once.

“Oh, no, 80,000 won each… … .”

The other party’s reaction was also indifferent to the huge amount of money.

“I really hate complicated things, so if you’re going to sell to me, bring me your seal and contract right away.”

“Even if you suddenly say that… … .”

Song Jong-heon clutched his surprised chest and looked at me with a suspicious gaze.

“I’m sorry, but you don’t look like a rich person with that much money… … .”

“Do you have the ability to know someone’s financial situation just by looking at their appearance?”

“That’s not true, but… … . If you suddenly tell me to sell the company when there is no trust between us… … .”

“Oh, that’s right.”

In short, Song Jong-heon was asking for something that could give him confidence.

To put it simply, it is a cry to come up with a means to convince oneself.

Finally, I had the master key that would open Song Jong-heon’s locked heart in my arms.

“Um… … . Is this okay?”

I handed Song Jong-heon the envelope of money I had received from Governor-General Saito the other day.

Song Jong-heon snatched the envelope faster than a hawk swooping down on its prey and examined its contents.

‘He’s like the son of Lord Noda, even revealing money.’

There was a check inside the envelope.

And on it was stamped the amount of 50,000 won along with the signature of Governor-General Saito.

“50,000 won!!!”

Song Jong-heon was surprised at the sight of me handing out such a large sum of money and looked back at me.

But it’s too early to be surprised by this.

“And this.”

He took out another blank check from his wallet, signed it on the spot, and handed it to Song Jong-heon.

Naturally, the amount field was left blank.

“Write as much as you want here, from 10,000 to 50,000 won.”

“Uh, uh uh uh… … !”

The most important thing in trading is money, and the next thing is information that helps you plan the trade.

According to the information I have, Song Jong-heon had financial problems with the Joseon Garrison Command due to the last incident, and he needed a huge amount of money to resolve it.

However, the property his father left behind was not yet his due to complicated legal procedures, and even if he inherited it, it would not be enough to make up for all the losses suffered by the Korean Garrison Command.

That’s why I even put out the Chosun Ilbo to try to make up for it somehow… …. The amount that was just missing was about 80,000 won.

Of course, this was accurate information because I counted the money myself at home after stealing it from Song Byeong-jun’s house.

‘If I do this one thing well, I’ll be able to pay off all my debts and make ends meet with the wealth that Lord Noda left me.’

Of course, that won’t happen.

In the first place, why would I have broken into Lord Noda’s house and taken the money hidden in the safe?

It was all to raid Lord Noda’s safe to raise funds for the independence movement.

Just the amount of money that went into the provisional government in Shanghai and the independence army in Manchuria was enough to buy the Chosun Ilbo twice over.

The provisional government in Shanghai had already been established, and full-scale diplomatic activities were all handled by Syngman Rhee in the United States, so there was not much room for spending money, and since there were separate sources of income, it did not cost that much.

But the Manchurian independence army was a different story.

According to the news I heard last time, Comrade Kim Dong-sam, whom I met in Shanghai last time, gathered together the independence army groups that were operating indiscriminately in Manchuria and re-formed the Korean Independence Army.

It’s literally creating a new army.

Needless to say, the military was a group focused on consumption rather than fish; the uniforms they wore, the guns and ammunition they used in battle, and even their daily bread… … everything that breathed and moved was money.

As they saved up money like this, little by little, the amount of money they received each month was not just a small amount.

Of course, I didn’t think they would just squander that money.

I know the other side’s sorrow of not having money, so everyone will try to save a little, but it still cost a lot of money.

‘But you want me to give the money back because I’m crazy?’

Of course not.

“Okay. Then I will proceed with this deal with Mr. Kuroda.”

“It’s nice and cool.”

“First, we will receive 50,000 won as a deposit and sign a preliminary contract. Later, we will review the contract formally and pay the balance to proceed with the transaction.”

“great.”

Once the Chosun Ilbo comes into my hands, I will take money out of Song Jong-heon’s safe again.

“Thanks to you, I feel relieved.”

Song Jong-heon bowed his head and thanked me.

“No problem.”

I had no reason to receive Song Jong-heon’s thanks since I was going to receive it back anyway.

But it seemed like the other person felt that I was being humble, and he just smiled broadly.

“Haha, this is not how you should treat such a polite person! Come on, let’s go inside. I’ll tell the men below to hurry up and prepare a meal.”

“If that’s the case.”

They said they would show me the inside of the mansion, so I welcomed it.

NIS Agent Tears the Japanese Empire Episode 76