Fire Moth?
Durandal noted that the other side had reacted quite swiftly.
She glanced over at Hayato, who was directing the scene on-site—he must have been the one who informed them.
As for Kenji, she hadn't bothered with him after getting the information she needed.
But now, taking another look, why did he seem on the verge of death again?
Guess they really are brothers, huh?
They actually went this far!
After musing over these random thoughts, Durandal finally put the phone to her ear and began speaking with the person on the other end.
"Hello, this is Durandal, leader of the Flame-Chasers organization."
After Durandal politely introduced herself, a somewhat weary male voice responded from the other side.
"Hello, this is Eren, Chairman of the Fire Moth Council. You can call me Eren."
Eren?
As in Eren Jaeger?
Durandal instantly felt a surge of respect… yeah, right!
"Chairman Eren, I assume you're already aware of what's happened here in Nagazora City."
Durandal got straight to the point: "How do you plan to handle this matter?"
Eren's stern reply came through the phone: "Leader Durandal, rest assured, Fire Moth will take full responsibility and demonstrate our commitment."
"We will strictly deal with the personnel involved, provide substantial financial compensation to the victims of this incident, and ensure that such an event does not happen again…"
Durandal cut him off with a sarcastic tone:
"Sorry, Chairman Eren, but it's better not to make promises you can't keep."
"Otherwise, Fire Moth's reputation in my eyes might drop another few notches. Of course, I do believe you'll compensate the victims adequately—after all, money isn't something you're short on."
"You flatter me, Leader Durandal."
Eren's reply came with an awkward chuckle.
Both of them knew whether this was flattery or not, but Durandal didn't press further to embarrass him.
Instead, she shifted the topic: "So, what compensation does Fire Moth plan to offer the Flame-Chasers?"
"Our members were quite traumatized during this operation. Being pointed at by dozens of armed men with Fire Moth's standard-issue firearms nearly pushed them to a mental breakdown."
"Not to mention what we discovered underground…"
Chairman Eren quickly interjected, "Leader Durandal, we're already aware of the situation on the ground. There's no need to repeat the details."
In truth, Chairman Eren was probably cursing inwardly.
Pointed at by dozens of armed men with Fire Moth's standard-issue firearms?
Well, it was technically true, but someone had already sent him photos from the scene—the ground littered with moaning mercenaries and discarded weapons. So, who was really on the verge of a mental breakdown here?
Even if these mercenaries avoided a court-martial, they were pretty much done for—none of them would ever pick up a weapon on the battlefield again.
Durandal let out a derisive snort. "Alright, since Chairman Eren is too soft-hearted to hear such details, let's discuss something else."
Chairman Eren: "…"
Where did this girl come from?
Every word out of her mouth seemed loaded with sarcasm, deliberately hitting where it hurt.
"Go on, please," he replied, forcing himself to remain patient and maintain a polite tone, even though he was seething inside.
"First of all, if I'm not mistaken, the Flame-Chasers organization hasn't yet received official recognition from the United Nations, correct?"
Durandal laid out her first condition.
Chairman Eren thought to himself, Well, your organization never even applied for it!
But now wasn't the time to point that out.
Instead, he replied, "That's easy to resolve. I'll send you an email address—just submit the required documents according to the instructions. It should be approved within three working days at most."
Three working days?
Durandal considered it. For an organization as large as this, even the standard procedures would usually take much longer.
Three days was practically lightning speed.
Satisfied, Durandal moved on to her second request: "Also, regarding the experimental projects in your so-called research base—shouldn't you send an expert to conduct a risk assessment and manage the aftermath?"
"There aren't any top-tier experts in the field of biology here in Nagazora City. I've heard that Dr. Mobius from Fire Moth is quite exceptional."
"With her overseeing things, I'm confident we can prevent any leaks that might affect the local residents."
"However, given that experiments have been conducted here for five years, Dr. Mobius might need to stay for an extended period. I wonder if you'd be willing to lend her to us?"
Lend her?
Chairman Eren almost lost his temper.
Was this "lending"?
This was outright poaching!
But then again… if it was that Mobius, maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.
After all, she'd been getting increasingly out of hand lately—she'd even been reported for illegally dissecting the body of the first Herrscher.
Keeping her in Fire Moth any longer was just asking for more trouble.
Why not take this opportunity to pass the hot potato to the Flame-Chasers and let them deal with the headache?
The moment he considered how much trouble this could cause for the Flame-Chasers, Chairman Eren's reluctance turned into eagerness.
So he immediately agreed: "No problem. I'll have Dr. Mobius prepare right away."
"However, she still has some experiments to wrap up and may need to bring a few assistants along, so it might take some time. Would it be acceptable if she arrives in Nagazora City in half a month?"
Durandal keenly detected the urgency in Chairman Eren's tone. She shook her head inwardly, thinking, Typical Mobius—already so unpopular within Fire Moth at this point.
At the same time, she felt a pang of pity for Chairman Eren's lack of vision.
To so easily discard a talent like Mobius over a few minor issues… It showed a complete lack of foresight.
No wonder Fire Moth would later become mired in so much petty drama.
"Half a month…"
Durandal paused, as if considering.
Truthfully, she was quite satisfied with the timeframe, but she couldn't let the other side know that. She knew a thing or two about negotiation tactics.
After a deliberate silence, she finally replied, sounding somewhat reluctant: "I suppose that's acceptable. But the sooner, the better. I can wait, but Nagazora City can't."
"Who knows if some strange disease might leak out? If that happens, certain things… well, let's just say they won't stay buried for long."
Durandal didn't specify what "things" she meant, but Chairman Eren immediately caught her drift.
"Ten days!" he quickly amended. "I'll have someone else take over Mobius's experiments so she can set off as soon as possible."
"As expected, I knew you had a kind heart, Chairman Eren. You can't bear to see the people of Nagazora suffer!"
Durandal offered a compliment, though it carried a distinctly backhanded tone.
After hanging up, Durandal let out a heavy sigh and tossed the phone back to Connie.
"From now on, you handle this kind of work. One phone call is more exhausting than slaying a Herrscher!"
Still, the call had allowed her to vent quite a bit of her pent-up frustration by needling the other side.
--+--