Chapter 858: The Compromise of Justice
"I'm not blaming you," Lin Wuming said, shaking his head when he saw Koura's fearful expression. "Look, aren't I still preparing to help you with something?"
"Wuming-senpai," Shirai Kuroko sighed, "Gao Ping-sensei means that if Anti-Skill or the Board of Directors pursues accountability, he hopes you can protect him."
"Exactly, exactly." Koura nodded repeatedly, no longer caring about losing face in front of this young girl.
As long as he didn't lose his job, or even his life, it was fine!
"You..." Lin Wuming showed a complex expression. "Why go around in such a big circle?"
If he ignored Orsola Aquinas's matter, he wouldn't need to make this request, right? In the end, he spent so much effort and so much money, only to end up back where he started...
"Uh..." Koura also gave a bitter smile. "I didn't expect it either..."
Lin Wuming understood the other party's predicament, so he said, "Besides this, tell me what you originally intended to ask me to do."
"Huh?" Koura showed a surprised and delighted expression. "This..."
"Less talk, I won't wait if you're too slow," Shirai urged from the side.
"Oh, oh." Koura nodded repeatedly. "Actually, it's nothing special. I just wanted to meet Lin Wuming-sama, and it would be great if I could get your private contact information..."
What he wanted was to build a relationship with Lin Wuming from scratch. As for what exactly to do... everything would be easy to discuss once the relationship was maintained.
"That's it?" Lin Wuming frowned slightly.
He could understand Koura's intention, but precisely because of that, he found it troublesome.
The reason Lin Wuming had asked Koura to state his original wish earlier was to conclude this karma and then distance himself from him, to avoid being dragged into any more trouble in the future.
As it turned out, this guy was very realistic in choosing to play the long game and catch a big fish.
Koura had been observing Lin Wuming's expression and knew that the other party was not very willing to agree to his request, so he very consciously adjusted the content of his request.
"Please rest assured, Lin Wuming-sama! I won't trouble you," Koura raised his hand as if swearing, "I will absolutely not disturb you unless it's absolutely necessary!"
"When it's absolutely necessary..."
"Ah, what is an absolute dead end for me is just a trivial matter for Lin Wuming-sama," Koura added.
Seeing both Lin Wuming and Shirai Kuroko looking suspicious, Koura sighed helplessly and finally confessed, "Actually... I'm involved in some smuggling incidents and might be investigated, so..."
He didn't quite dare to look into Shirai Kuroko's eyes—Judgment also assists Anti-Skill in investigating smuggling cases.
"But I only exported some ordinary daily necessities, and it doesn't involve any secrets!" Koura defended. "Those items are also on Academy City's official export list; it's just that the export volume is limited, and my prices are slightly cheaper, so they are very popular in the market..."
"You fellow," Shirai Kuroko said with a stern face, "You're being evasive, only willing to confess now. Who knows if what you're saying is true, or if you're hiding anything else?"
Koura could only smile bitterly. If it weren't for this Judgment member being present... if Lin Wuming hadn't clearly expressed support for Judgment's stance earlier... why would he have been so evasive until now?
But then again, flattery ultimately failed—who knew that this nun was not Lin Wuming's confidante, but rather came seeking "political asylum"!
This made it even harder for Koura to speak.
"Everything this man said is true." Someone suddenly interjected from the side.
"Mi Yi Aiyu-san," Shirai Kuroko subconsciously frowned when she saw the newcomer, "You... why are you here?"
"Well, I'm also here to help, at someone's request." Mi Yi Aiyu walked gracefully. "Good afternoon, Wuming-senpai."
Behind her, an unmanned truck rumbled up and then stopped steadily in front of the group.
Mi Yi Aiyu turned and waved at the truck: "Come down quickly, don't worry, they're all people you know."
After a while, a figure suddenly emerged from the shadows behind the truck's cab.
Using the cover of the shadows, the girl jumped down from the truck.
"Yumizuru Hyouka." Lin Wuming recognized the other party.
"W-Wuming-senpai, hello." Yumizuru Hyouka lowered her head and gave a small wave.
"What are you doing here?" Shirai Kuroko asked.
"I told you, I'm here to help." Mi Yi Aiyu shrugged. "Well, you can also say I'm here to watch the show—I wanted to see why Shirai, who always upholds justice, suddenly changed her principles... so it's for Wuming-senpai, no wonder~"
"I haven't changed my principles," Shirai Kuroko said.
"I know, I know~" Mi Yi Aiyu said with a smile, "But undeniably, this time you chose Wuming-senpai first, over your principles, didn't you?"
"You're distorting the concept," Shirai Kuroko frowned. "I only agreed to help relay the message. Before that, I didn't know about Gao Ping-sensei's problem."
"But you know now," Mi Yi Aiyu smiled, "So, aren't you going to do something to uphold justice, Shirai Kuroko-san?"
"You!" Shirai Kuroko's eyebrows shot up, but then she fell silent, unable to retort—because she truly hadn't thought of opposing Wuming-senpai's decision.
Even if Wuming-senpai's decision wasn't entirely in line with "justice."
"Calm down, Shirai." Lin Wuming patted the girl's shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't violate the basic principles, but above that, let's be a little flexible."
Shirai Kuroko pouted and said nothing.
Then, Lin Wuming looked at Mi Yi Aiyu—"Psychological system" Espers truly were troublesome.
"Wuming-senpai, Shokuhou-san would be very sad if you did that," Mi Yi Aiyu said with a smile, looking over.
Lin Wuming's heart tightened. He looked closely—Mi Yi Aiyu's phone was just held in her hand, casually swinging, with no sign of the camera being turned on and pointed at him.
"Don't be nervous, Wuming-senpai." Mi Yi Aiyu said, shaking her phone. "I haven't activated my esper ability. But looking at your expression, I guessed correctly, didn't I?"
"Guess?"
"Just observing expressions, it's nothing particularly amazing," Mi Yi Aiyu explained. "After all, my ability is far inferior to Shokuhou's, so I can only compensate from areas outside of esper ability... just like Yun Chuan-senpai."
Saying that, Mi Yi Aiyu pulled Hunter-chan over and placed her in front of her: "And I truly wasn't lying. This time, I really am helping Hunter-chan complete a task."
