Alois learned that the central government agency of the “National Union” had begun investigating the Alois-Victor Network just as the network was fully up and running, and 60 kilograms of Snow Pearl had turned into 120 kilograms.Victor pays close attention even to the low-level dealers.　From the start, Victor had taken measures to ensure that no matter how thoroughly he vetted the street dealers, they would never discover the organization’s true existence. He changed the transaction locations every time. He always made sure there were no tailing agents or bugs. And above all, he never allowed Broken Skull members to meet the street dealers.The transactions were complex and convoluted, passing through numerous intermediaries. Some of those people didn’t even know they were handling Snow Pearl.　It was time-consuming and expensive. But it virtually guaranteed that law enforcement would never get their hands on them.Amidst all this, he heard the news that a low-level dealer had been

　That day, too, Maverick had barged into Alois’s room.　Alois himself found talking to Maverick more soothing than hanging out with other women, so he hadn’t seen Elke much lately. Despite having shown such intense obsession with her, once he actually had her, he no longer cared.“You’ve changed a bit, haven’t you?”“Have I?”“You’ve become a bit more manly. You look like you’ve been through a real ordeal.”“Hmm. An ordeal, huh.”He was probably referring to the deal with Broken Skull.　The Alois-Victor Network is still operational. To keep it running, Alois has even crossed borders himself to meet with Victor in person. Perhaps because of that, Victor places a great deal of trust in Alois.But that’s all in the past.I haven’t run into any real “battlegrounds” lately.No, wait—I have.　The Drug Enforcement Administration has made its appearance.The DEA’s arrival instantly brought back memories from ten years ago for Alois. Namely, the memory of Alois being killed by Felix Faust.Alo

Alois is busy writing his thesis right now.But the drug trade isn’t lenient enough to take that into consideration.Victor called him several times.He said that even with corrupt cops on their side, they couldn’t get a clear picture of the joint investigation between the state police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.Even so, Alois told him to be prepared.　That man, Felix, would likely press on with the investigation even without the state police’s cooperation. Alois believed he possessed the grit and tenacity to do so.The situation took a turn in the winter.After tailing him using corrupt cops and dealers, they reportedly witnessed Felix meeting with Inspector Gilbert Galway, the head of the state police’s Narcotics Division.“You were right. Those bastards at the Narcotics Bureau are secretly in cahoots with the State Police. The commotion at the police station was just a charade. What do you think their objective is?”“There’s no doubt they’ve set their sights on Reni.

　Felix got out of the taxi.　Today’s efforts had been fruitful. If he could gather information on at least eight gangs, he would eventually hit upon the one he was looking for. He would have Gilbert continue investigating the gangs and, somehow, use his connections to cross-reference the data with that of the Leni City Police.Leni is a paradise for Magitech-related venture companies, but it is also a paradise for organized criminals. The Leni City Police are weak when it comes to organized crime. While they demonstrate competence with crimes occurring within Leni, they show weaknesses in terms of information sharing when it comes to crimes connected to outside entities.Gilbert’s connections were his only hope. If he could use Gilbert’s connections to obtain more specific information about the gangs in Leni, he might be able to deal a major blow to the drug trade across the entire western region. That was what Felix was thinking.　Felix slowly climbed the stairs in front of the hotel

Felix also attended the Goilways’ funeral.　His brother and his college freshman son were present at the funeral.　The college student was studying political science at a university in the capital, Errihill. He intended to work for a central government agency in the future and was an ambitious young man who hoped to eventually rise to the Presidential Palace—the seat of the most concentrated power in the capital, Ellihill—once he had gained enough experience.His political views were conservative, and he held moderate anti-communist sentiments. It was unclear what the political landscape would look like by the time he graduated, but the current administration would likely have welcomed him.However, such dreams offered no comfort now.He had lost his beloved parents.　The funeral was conducted according to the Old Church rites followed by the Goilways. The bodies were not cremated; instead, the bereaved family placed mementos into the coffins, and the bodies were buried in the cemeter