Chương 407: Chapter : 407

Ken knew there was a much faster, much lazier way to get the answers they needed. He just needed to finish his crab leg first.

Sayma walked back to the quiet corner of the ballroom. She held her tiny notebook. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. She looked incredibly stressed. Naomi and Laxmi joined her behind the large decorative plant. Ira stood perfectly still beside them. Her pale face showed zero emotion.

"This is completely useless," Sayma whispered politely. She let out a very tired sigh.

"I have listened to four different groups of local lords. They are talking in endless circles. They use overly complicated economic terms. They talk about trade tariffs and market shares. They absolutely refuse to mention the high seafood prices directly." Laxmi crossed her arms. The bright orange dress rustled softly. She looked very annoyed.

"I stood next to a wealthy merchant for twenty minutes. He just bragged about his new boat. He did not say a single useful thing. I am getting very bored. This spy operation is incredibly tedious."

"Statistically speaking," Ira stated in her flat, robotic voice.

"Corrupt politicians obscure their true motives behind layers of irrelevant dialogue ninety-five percent of the time. Eavesdropping is a highly inefficient method for gathering raw data today." Naomi rubbed her face.

"Ira is right. They are hiding their secrets too well. They know how to play the political game. We are overcomplicating everything. We need a new strategy to crack this economic syndicate." Ken Eliot stood a few feet away. He held his massive, empty white plate. He had successfully eaten the entire five-foot tower of premium shrimp and crab legs. He wiped a drop of melted butter off his chin with a napkin. He listened to the girls complain. He let out a loud, dramatic yawn.

"You guys are definitely overcomplicating everything," Ken mumbled lazily. He slouched his shoulders. He shoved his free hand deep into his pocket.

"You are trying to act like super-secret spies. Spies do way too much work. If you want an answer, you should just ask a simple question." Sayma looked at him. She frowned slightly in confusion.

"Ask a question? Ken, we cannot do that. We are undercover. If we walk up to a corrupt lord and ask him why he is stealing money, he will instantly know we are investigating him. He will call the guards. It will completely blow our covert operation."

"I did not say we should ask the corrupt lords," Ken corrected her casually. He gave them a goofy, confident smile. He pointed a lazy finger across the massive ballroom.

"The lords just sit in their fancy chairs and count money. They do not know anything real. If you want to know about fish, you ask the guy holding the fish." Ken pointed directly at the massive catering station. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. A middle-aged man stood behind the long wooden table. He wore a stained white apron over a simple shirt. He held a sharp knife. He was busy slicing fresh pieces of fish for the wealthy guests. He did not look like a rich noble.

He looked like a tired, normal, everyday worker. He was a local fish vendor catering the event. Before Naomi could stop him, Ken handed his empty plate to Laxmi. He turned around and started walking straight toward the catering station. He dragged his shoes on the marble floor. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff. He completely ignored the tense political atmosphere of the room.

"Ken! Wait!" Sayma whispered frantically. Her eyes widened in pure panic. She reached her hand out to grab his jacket, but she completely missed. Naomi gasped softly.

"Ken, come back here right now!" Ken totally ignored their warnings. He strolled casually past the snooty nobles. He walked straight up to the local fish vendor. He leaned his elbows heavily onto the catering table. He slouched his shoulders and offered the vendor a big, friendly grin. Sayma, Laxmi, and Ira absolutely panicked. Their hearts dropped entirely into their stomachs. They stood frozen behind the decorative plant. They stared at the messy boy in sheer, unfiltered horror.

They fully believed Ken's utter lack of subtlety had just completely blown their undercover operation.

"He is ruining everything!" Laxmi hissed quietly. She gripped the empty plate tightly.

"He is going to expose us! The vendor is going to alert the corrupt lords!"

"This is a total disaster," Sayma agreed. She pushed her glasses up with a shaking finger. She quickly prepared to cast a golden honeycomb barrier. She fully expected the vendor to shout for security. She fully expected the Royal unit to be violently expelled from the city in a matter of minutes. Ira stood perfectly still. Her blank eyes stared at the catering table.

"The probability of a massive confrontation has just increased to one hundred percent. We must prepare for immediate combat." At the catering table, Ken did not cast a spell. He did not use intimidation. He just started a completely normal conversation.

"Hey, buddy," Ken said cheerfully to the vendor. He pointed at a large piece of salmon.

"This food is absolutely fantastic. You guys really know how to cook a good shrimp. But I have a very serious question for you." The vendor looked up from his cutting board. He wiped his sharp knife on a clean towel. He looked at Ken's untucked shirt and messy hair. The vendor did not look angry. He just looked very tired.

"Thank you, young man," the vendor replied politely.

"Do you need another plate of crab legs?"

"No, I am completely full," Ken said lazily. He crossed his arms on the table. He casually, bluntly asked the ultimate question.

"I just want to know why the price of your fish is so ridiculously high right now. The prices in the city are totally insane. It costs a fortune just to buy a basic meal. Why is the seafood so expensive?" Behind the plant, Sayma closed her eyes. She waited for the loud alarms to ring. She waited for the guards to rush the room. But the alarms did not ring. The guards did not move. The fish vendor did not yell. The vendor did not run to alert the corrupt lords. Instead, the fish vendor simply laughed.

It was a very quiet, tired, entirely normal laugh. He shook his head slowly. He set his knife down on the table.

"You are telling me," the vendor sighed heavily. He wiped his brow with his sleeve.

"It is an absolute nightmare for my business. I have to charge these rich nobles a massive fortune just to break even on my daily costs. It is terrible." Sayma opened her eyes. She lowered her hands. She blinked in pure confusion. The vendor was just complaining like a normal citizen.

"Why do you have to charge so much?" Ken asked casually. He leaned closer. The vendor leaned forward too. He explained a basic, straightforward rule of business.

"Because we simply do not have enough fish to sell," the vendor explained honestly.

"The supply is incredibly low right now. The local fishermen are catching significantly fewer fish. They cannot go out into the deep waters anymore."