Chapter 595 - 796 – Tell Me Your Objective

Jabra knew that even if he stubbornly refused to speak, Arton had more than enough ability to pry the information out of him by other means.

Worse, if he angered Arton, Arton might vent that anger on Kalifa and the others.

If that happened, Jabra would become the one responsible.

Revealing information about his companions without Kalifa and the others' permission was admittedly immoral.

However, Jabra did not have much of a choice right now.

Besides, Arton had already said that as long as Jabra cooperated honestly, he would not make things too difficult for Kalifa, Rob Lucci, Kaku, and the others.

Even if Arton did punish them somewhat, it was still better than having him kill them outright.

Jabra took a deep breath. At this point, he could only choose to believe Arton would keep his word.

"Um... where should I start?"

Jabra looked awkwardly between Arton and Iceburg.

Now that he had decided to speak, he helplessly realized he could not even think of a topic.

"Just tell us about how you CP9 agents normally interact with each other."

"Of course, focus on things related to Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and Kaku."

"Right. I remember you all trained together from childhood. You can talk about that too."

Arton spoke.

Iceburg was an intelligent man. Arton believed that as long as Jabra described how CP9 agents had trained and lived in the past, Iceburg would be able to glimpse some of the truth from Jabra's expression and his stories.

Even so, both Iceburg and Jabra were somewhat surprised by Arton's words.

Neither had expected Arton to know about CP9's childhood.

Despite their surprise, neither said much.

After thinking briefly, Jabra began telling Iceburg about CP9's past.

Just as Arton had expected, the more Jabra spoke about CP9—and especially about Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and Kaku—the more Iceburg began trusting Arton.

There was no helping it. Although Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and Kaku had disguised themselves as workers in Water 7, their underlying personalities were not very different from when they acted as agents.

Jabra's clear descriptions of their personalities matched perfectly with the Kalifa and the others Iceburg knew.

Jabra also described Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and Kaku's appearances.

That forced Iceburg to seriously consider the possibility that Arton had been telling the truth.

"Um... I've pretty much said everything I can think of."

Jabra suddenly stopped and looked at Arton and Iceburg.

Iceburg rested one hand against his chin and thought for a moment before turning toward Jabra.

"Since you said Kalifa and the others were sent here by a man named Spandam to carry out a mission..."

"Can you tell me what their objective is?"

Arton had already told Iceburg that Spandam had arranged for Kalifa and the others to come here in order to obtain the blueprints for the Ancient Weapon Pluton.

Although Iceburg now somewhat believed Arton, he still wanted confirmation from Jabra if possible.

Unfortunately, faced with Iceburg's question, Jabra could only shake his head awkwardly.

"I... I don't know."

...

"We CP9 agents all know each other, and we're very familiar with one another."

"However, when it comes to missions assigned by our superiors, we don't tell each other about them."

"For one thing, there's no need. For another, doing so would violate regulations."

Jabra explained to Iceburg.

"I see..."

Iceburg nodded in sudden understanding.

Although Jabra's answer disappointed him somewhat, he had to admit that it made sense.

Even agents belonging to the same organization would not necessarily know every detail about their companions.

It was no different from Water 7's shipyards. Not every shipwright knew the blueprints of every ship being built.

In fact, very few shipwrights would know all of them.

"Well? Do you believe what I told you now?"

Seeing Iceburg fall into thought, Arton smiled and asked.

Iceburg unconsciously nodded.

After hearing all of this, continuing to deny Arton's claims would have become nearly impossible.

"Arton, you really won't do anything to Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and Kaku... will you?"

Jabra asked.

"Relax. I definitely won't actually kill them."

"At most, I'll make them suffer a little."

Arton shrugged.

"I... see."

Jabra spoke weakly.

Making Kalifa and the others suffer was certainly not something Jabra wanted to see.

However, under the current circumstances, Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and Kaku probably would end up suffering somewhat. Compared with the alternatives, that already seemed like a fairly good outcome.

"Iceburg, can you trust me now?"

"If you do, then let's talk about the ship I want you to build."

"If possible, I want it to be large, spacious, comfortable, and, of course, sturdy."

Arton withdrew his gaze from Jabra and turned toward Iceburg.

"I do trust you somewhat, but not completely."

"If possible, I'd like you to show me more direct evidence that Kalifa, Rob Lucci, and Kaku are agents."

Iceburg turned around and spoke solemnly.

"Then here's the question: do I really need to help you find even more direct evidence?"

Arton shrugged and asked.

"If you're willing to help me, I'll do everything I can to build the ship you want."

"If necessary, I can even build you a ship as large as a Marine battleship."

"Considering that you don't have many crewmates, I can design the ship so that only a handful of people are needed to operate something that large."

Iceburg spoke with complete seriousness, keeping in mind Arton's earlier requirements for the ship.

"I've been waiting for you to say that, Iceburg."

Arton happily threw an arm around Iceburg's shoulders and grinned.

If he could get a ship the size of a Marine battleship, Arton could design all sorts of recreational facilities aboard it.

A sufficiently large vessel would also make many of his more private activities far more convenient.

For example, whenever Tashigi, Hina, or the others came to him for some intimate time together, they could simply find a more secluded place.

That way, the chances of another crewmate accidentally discovering and interrupting them would be much lower.

...

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