"You want me to accept a commission from your young lady?"
Hoshino's smile turned slightly amused.
She had originally wanted to invite Schwarz into the volcano activity observation station, but to her surprise, the scholars there were extremely hostile toward Schwarz.
Some even bluntly called Schwarz "Cronin's dog." That mayoral secretary had vouched over the radio, in his capacity as a Catastrophe Messenger, that there would absolutely be no danger. He had even altered the volcanic observation data several times.
As a rebel, Miss Schwarz had not only fallen into a cold war with Miss Ceylon, but had also received plenty of cold stares. The intellectuals did not dare resist outright, but they certainly had the nerve to curse her a few times and glare at her—and plenty of it.
"Want to talk outside?"
Hoshino did not mind. She walked out with Schwarz. "Tell me the truth first, then I'll decide."
"Cronin intends to secretly sell obsidian. While the master is away, he is preparing to make a huge score. I infiltrated his ranks as an informant. Following the master's instructions, I was to preserve evidence of his crimes while giving the young lady a lesson in reality. But the cold wave four days ago changed everything."
Hoshino nodded.
Rita, the woman who had changed Siesta.
The mayor was cutting away all nonessential political affairs, but he still needed a week to return to Siesta. Meanwhile, Cronin was planning the festival while destroying evidence. Using the massive crowds drawn by the festival, he intended to sell off all the secretly mined obsidian.
Obsidian had once been Siesta's signature industry, but the damage it inflicted on the volcanic terrain was too severe, and all mining operations had been halted.
"So that's why he's been heavily promoting obsidian on the radio, even