After hearing Ms. Ishmael's words, Ms. Faust gave a brief explanation of who they were.
"These are the people we'll be conducting a joint operation with this time. They're from Limbus Company's Clear Department, LCC."
"Add the before-team too. Ah, I'm Sword, and this one is Epi."
"Well, are we supposed to clap or something—"
Mr. Heathcliff seemed displeased with the woman who introduced herself as Sword, and was about to sneer at them, but...
"Wow! Nice to meet you!"
Mr. Hong Lu cut him off with a genuinely delighted greeting, welcoming them before he could finish.
He seemed to look favorably on the woman named Sword and the man named Epi, but the rest of the Sinners only stared at them with cold, wary eyes.
"Then let's begin the operation briefing."
Starting with Ms. Faust's words, Ms. Sword began explaining the operation in detail.
"So... for this operation, we'll spoon-feed it to you, so all you have to do is open your mouths and chew evenly."
"Check the documents in this envelope, and do exactly, exactly what they say."
As she spoke, the Sinners took the envelopes she held out and voiced their complaints.
"What is this? You call it a joint operation, but you have no intention of working with us at all. You're just telling us to trail behind you."
"How insulting. Who do they think they're calling idiots?"
"Manager, if we just let this go—"
"Let it go—"
Ms. Ishmael's voice, while she was lowering the operation documents, slowly dragged out.
"...would be fine, I guess?"
What is it, what is it?
Let me see too.
"
"...The documents they gave us. They're perfect."
Then Ms. Ishmael held up the papers and began explaining them one by one.
Let's see...
"Look at this, even the routes are all laid out. It's been a long time since I've seen a document this clean and systematic."
...It really is?
"Mm, indeed. It does look like the work of someone who's actually written a proper operation plan."
After Ms. Otis and Ms. Ishmael's explanation, I was tempted enough to pull out the envelope and inspect it myself, and the plan did look perfect.
Everything from the routes each person would take to the concept and manner of speech for the person they were to impersonate.
It was so well put together that, barring any variables caused by the various complexes each Sinner carried, it could almost be called flawless.
While we were staring blankly at the documents, Ms. Otis seemed to remember something and added one more thing.
"Ah, of course, it doesn't even come close to the Manager's planning ability."
How long was that bottomless deification going to keep going?
Anyway, once I gathered my thoughts and looked over the papers a little more carefully, I could understand several things.
First of all, the goal of this operation seemed to be reaching the top floor of the casino.
No, to be precise, should I say winning the gamble that takes place on the top floor?
Apparently, the winner of that gamble at the top of the casino would be granted a path to the Golden Bough.
In any case, this gamble wasn't open to just anyone either.
It seemed we were to disguise ourselves as the boss of the Kongkongi Gang, one of the four organizations that had jointly bid for ownership of the Golden Bough.
...But isn't the name Kongkongi Gang a little too cheap?
"The Kongkongi Gang?"
Mr. Dante seemed to have had a similar thought to mine, and said as much while looking over the documents.
"A name doesn't define an organization's nature. It's merely a shallow prejudice."
"It is not ideal to deliberately put on the colored glasses of prejudice."
Our genius duo seemed to have rather open minds.
It's true that judging a group by its name is prejudice, but even so, Kongkongi Gang is a bit...
"...Right."
Mr. Dante didn't look convinced in the slightest, but perhaps he thought it was impossible to beat the two of them in an argument, because he yielded to their logic.
...I should just keep reading the documents too.
So our ultimate goal is to win as the Kongkongi Gang boss and reach the underground where the Golden Bough is located.
Until then, we're supposed to use items from the pawnshop to disguise ourselves, infiltrate the casino, and, depending on the identities assigned to us, pose as VIP guests or dealers while waiting for news of success from the top floor.
That was the rough outline of the plan, but there was one serious problem.
This plan is written on the assumption that we win the gamble on the top floor.
In other words, if we lose there, everything goes up in smoke.
Perhaps sensing our uneasy feelings, Ms. Sword spoke to the Sinners about something completely unrelated to the top-floor gamble.
"Just in case, we've even prepared forged IDs. The casino might conduct surprise identity checks."
In the end, unable to bear the frustration any longer, Mr. Gregor took the lead and asked her.
"Fine, all good and well... but how exactly are you planning to win the gamble on the top floor?"
The answer came not from Ms. Sword, but from the long-haired man, Mr. Epi.
"Can't you tell from our outfits?"
Outfits? Come to think of it, they were dressed in rather unusual clothes.
Somewhere I'd seen before. Yes, like casino dealers...
Ah.
Just then, Mr. Epi said something that confirmed my realization.
"We practiced for months so we could blend in naturally as casino dealers."
"We'll hand over the good cards ourselves. If you've got eyes that work, you don't need to worry about winning."
"If you've got eyes that work..."
As he said that, he gave us a strangely sidelong glance.
...At least trust us that much.
"And how are you planning to disguise yourselves as the Kongkongi Gang boss?"
"We'll mix sleeping pills into the meals provided by the casino. We've already worked things out with the chef."
"Sleeping pills..."
Mr. Yi Sang reacted oddly to the mention of sleeping pills.
Was there something bothering him?
In any case, Sword and Epi exchanged glances and winked at each other.
They really do work well together.
And once their silent conversation was over, Ms. Sword got to work.
"Boss~ I'll be looking over the items from this display case to that one~"
"Huh?! Ah! Y-yes, of course. Please, take your time and look around."
The shop owner, unlike when he dealt with us, was bowing so low it looked like his spine might drill into the floor.
Seeing that, Ms. Sword said in a relaxed tone,
"Then everyone, pick out the right item from the display case."
We began searching the display cases for what we needed.
Then Mr. Hong Lu seemed to spot something and said in a slightly brighter voice,
"Wow! This is a brooch made by designer Gupsha, isn't it?"
"Oh ho~ I never thought there'd be someone who'd recognize it. You're the backbone of our pawnshop, you are. Only ten were made, so the price is probably whatever you name—"
"It was a collar ornament my family dog wore every time we went for walks. It's so nice to see it again!"
"....."
...That was a bit much, wasn't it?
"I'm tempted by these gloves made of cowhide. The person who bought these probably had a very distinctive sense of fashion~"
"Take only what's written in the envelope. Everyone has their assigned role."
At Ms. Sword's warning, Ms. Rodion set the gloves down with a regretful look.
Should I buy her one? From what I remember, I probably have quite a bit of money.
After reading his envelope, Don Quixote seemed to have taken issue with something and said to Ms. Sword with a sulky expression,
"Pardon me, but my envelope says I'm a janitor, and I believe there may be some mistake!"
As expected, she was ignored.
And once again, in the same pattern and with the same tone, Mr. Gregor pointed out a small flaw in the operation.
"Fine, all good and well... but how exactly are you planning to pay for this?"
"Why are you worrying about the budget and lowering the tone? There's nothing this 'Black Card' can't pay for."
As he said that, Mr. Epi held up a gleaming black card.
Seeing it, Ms. Rodion seemed to remember something from not long ago and bristled.
"Dante! What's the meaning of this? You said we couldn't eat the premium beef because the budget was too tight!"
"So the rumor that departments showing performance above a certain standard are given unlimited cards by the company was true."
Ms. Faust confirmed the Sinners' suspicions.
It was an astonishing fact, but it didn't stir much in me.
I'd never been short on money to begin with, and I wasn't especially greedy for it either.
At most, I thought, "If I'd had something like that, maybe I should've worked a little harder."
Of course, the Sinners, who were extremely interested in company dinners and welfare, reacted quite differently.
"What?! That kind of thing exists?!"
"Fau! Isn't that going too far?"
While the Sinners were seething over the existence of the Black Card...
Bang bang!!
A loud noise came from outside.
Who is it?
I, no, we all turned our heads toward the entrance, curious about the sudden intruder.
There, standing at the entrance, was an unwelcome guest who didn't fit the atmosphere of the shop at all.