"Empire Liberation Front?"

Murmuring to himself, Ryuto naturally started to think.

It does seem like it's a possibility.

Although Ryuto had not experienced the hostage situation at the television station because he was elsewhere at the time, he had heard about it at the Floreos Palace.

“Well, we have received intelligence that they will be holding a meeting.”

“So, the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon?”

“Yes.”

“Then, if I may ask, setting aside everything else, where did you get this information from? How reliable is it? After all… from what I can gather, you should not have been able to obtain any information about them, otherwise their plans would not have been successful multiple times, but now you suddenly have this crucial information…”

Although Ryuto did not explicitly state it, Crepes Clair understood the implications.

“Mr. Amagi's concerns are not unfounded, it's very likely that this is intentionally leaked false information provided to us by them, but as of now, the reliability of this information is very high, and we have already received some confirmation from certain sources.”

“And the provider of this information is…?”

“I'm sorry, I can't reveal that.”

As expected, a typical response. Ryuto had only casually asked and hadn't really expected an answer.

“Oh, I see, you have confidentiality obligations.”

Crepes Clair just closed her eyes and shook her head.

“No, while it's true that we have such obligations, that's not the reason I can't reveal it.”

“Oh? It's not?”

“Yes, in reality, even we don't know who provided the information.”

“What? You don't know either? How is that possible?”

“In fact, we only received this information not too long ago. The other party called directly to the Floreos Palace.”

“So, you don't know their identity.”

“That's right.”

“But why do you trust it? Wouldn't this normally be treated as a prank call?”

“Yes, typically, we wouldn't delve too deeply into this under normal circumstances, but it's an emergency situation now, and we don't want to miss any possible opportunities. This situation needs to be resolved as soon as possible.”

“But with just that reason…”

Ryuto hesitated, but Crepes Clair continued.

“Another reason, although not really a reason, is that the information provided is very specific, unlike a typical prank call, and at the location specified by the caller, members of the Imperial Liberation Front have indeed been found.”

“But those people could very well be decoys, meant to make you believe they're real.”

“While that's a possibility, we have obtained further confirmation through other means.”

“So, that's why you believe it to be highly credible?”

“Yes.”

As for the specific means, Ryuto did not inquire.

“Well, setting aside the question of whether the information is reliable for now, can you tell me the reason? The reason that is crucial to me.”

“Yes, in fact, this is simply someone's request.”

“Oh? Someone's request?”

Can that even be considered a reason? What a lousy excuse.

While criticizing silently, Ryuto further inquired.

“Could it be a request from the Holy Heir?”

“No, it's a request from Miss Delance.”

“Miss Delance? Who's that?”

Ryuto couldn't help blurting out.

Who is she? I don't think I know her at all.

No, you do know her, there's video evidence from our reporter Viper.