In the brightly lit room, several people stood beneath the chandelier with grim faces.
According to Jiro and Fukai, other ghouls had attacked them a few days earlier and taken Banjō away.
Notably, the ghouls who had abducted Banjō had specifically demanded that Ice Mask come to ransom him.
"..." After listening to their account, Louis remained silent for a long while before slowly raising his head. "There's no saving him... we're already two days past the deadline..."
Only Banjō had accompanied him to Viper's territory. Jiro and Fukai did not know Louis's exact location, and with no reception underground, Louis had not received Jiro's call in time.
"..." Their faces fell at his words. They had already considered that possibility and had even asked Gourmet for help, but they had found no sign of the abductors at the agreed meeting place.
"My guess is that they didn't show up because the person they wanted never appeared. From that perspective, they also seem very worried about exposing their whereabouts. Of course, something unexpected might have happened."
Tsukiyama rubbed his chin. Although he had never encountered the ghouls who had attacked Banjō, he could still infer a few things from the pair's account.
"Of everyone here, only Banjō, who was abducted, knew where Ice Mask had gone. That means they should know you went underground in Ward 24, where you're difficult to reach."
"But during the days leading up to the agreed meeting, they made no further demands of Jiro or Fukai, nor did any news of Banjō's death surface. So I'm more inclined to think something unexpected happened to them. In other words, Mr. Banjō might still be alive."
"Of course, they might also have decided Mr. Banjō was worthless and killed him." Tsukiyama shrugged, giving Banjō's two underlings a