Chapter 193 : Kidnapping (1)
Chapter 193: Kidnapping (1)
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If one had to name the place most sensitive to trends and fads, it would be the noble social circles.
However, in reality, it was the business world—composed of merchant groups and trading houses—that had the sharpest senses.
After all, revolutionary business strategies that could rake in massive profits were rare.
In that regard, the business world of the Imperial Capital, Polfoardel, was currently suffering from a major headache.
“What about contact with the Madeira Trading House?”
“…Even with our connections, it seems impossible for the time being. Let alone making contact, securing even a small amount of Mana Beads is proving extremely difficult.”
“We have to get in touch somehow! Only then can we copy the technology or steal it and at least produce a knockoff!”
Crash!
Kashen of the Kashen Merchant Group swept everything off his desk with a flushed face.
The cause of the recent upheaval in the Imperial Capital was none other than the Mana Beads released by the Madeira Trading House.
A peerless treasure that granted a massive amount of mana just by being bitten and eaten.
Even the Imperial Magic Tower had verified it to be free of side effects, leaving no room for doubt about its efficacy.
“The Imperial Family, the high-nosed nobles of the social circles, even the knights and the army! They’re all desperate to get their hands on Mana Beads! And yet the merchant group members are dragging their feet like this…!”
It hadn’t even been that long since its release, and already half a year’s worth of preorders had piled up.
Preordering itself required using connection after connection just to get in, which made the Mana Beads’ popularity easy to imagine.
“If they possess that level of technological capability, they must have some backing. At the very least, we should have identified the developer…!”
You couldn’t even attempt anything without knowing your opponent.
In this frustrating situation, all Kashen could do was slam his fist on the desk.
“Boss!”
Just then, a member of the merchant group burst into the office, out of breath.
Panting heavily, he looked at Kashen and urgently said,
“W-We found it! The name of the mage who developed the Mana Beads is Cloaren! Apparently affiliated with the Madeira Trading House!”
“Cloaren!”
Now that they knew the profession and name, figuring out the background was only a matter of time.
Especially since creating something like the Mana Beads clearly meant they were no ordinary individual.
“And it’s said that they’ll be attending the merchants’ guild banquet this quarter.”
“Even the banquet? Looks like Madeira intends to take control of the capital’s direction.”
Kashen clenched his fist tightly.
The business world of Polfoardel swarmed with monsters.
The Mana Beads might indeed be a peerless invention, but with the long-standing history of the industry, did they really think they could devour it whole?
“Send our attendance confirmation to the guild. It’s been a long time since everyone’s seen each other.”
The banquets held by the Merchants’ Guild were fairly frequent.
Not for pleasure or luxury, but for sharing information, building friendships, and networking.
Normally it would have been a routine event with the same familiar faces, but today, due to the unusually high turnout, the organizers were sweating and had to change the venue.
“You are truly amazing. How did you ever think to create such a treasure?”
“Like your graceful beauty, you appeared like a comet and shook Polfoardel. The Empire’s future looks bright. Ah, but more than that, please, let’s form a business partnership…”
Major merchants from across the capital, each of whom could scoff from their high positions, had gathered in one place, all wearing friendly smiles.
At the center of it all stood Galak Madeira, the third successor of the Madeira Trading House, and the mage said to have developed the Mana Beads, Cloaren.
Everyone admired the couple—engaged to each other—while simultaneously scheming to win a stake in the Mana Beads business.
Galak and Cloaren greeted everyone with smiling faces, evaluating business opportunities while considering profit and advantage.
Of course, what they were really thinking was quite different.
‘Why do I have to be in this ridiculous situation…’
Cloaren of the Madeira Trading House—or rather, Yuria—forced herself to keep smiling while deflecting the flood of attention.
She had wondered why Carl had so easily agreed to let her accompany him—turns out he had brought her here to use her like this.
Back when he had shown her the NOX base, she had thought Carl was finally opening up to her and was slightly touched… but that sentiment had long since vanished.
“…Hahaha.”
She felt like breaking out in hives from all the people kissing the back of her hand in the name of affection.
Part of her even wanted to peel off her skin and scrub it clean.
“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to accept it.”
“I didn’t have to?!”
“That’s why I made it known we were engaged. So they wouldn’t approach you so casually.”
“You could have told me earlier.”
Yuria muttered in a restrained voice and jabbed Carl in the side with her elbow.
Only after vigorously scrubbing the back of her hand with a provided wet towel and disinfecting it with a Clear spell did she finally calm down.
“Hmph.”
Her reflection in the glittering dish felt strangely unfamiliar.
With her appearance and hair altered by an artifact, no one would recognize her as Yuria Euclid, the successor of the Gray Magic Tower.
It had been a while since she’d had black hair and black eyes—familiar yet strangely foreign.
“But are you sure this is okay?”
“There’s no issue. Mage Cloaren and Galak of Madeira will soon become real people.”
“That’s not what I meant…”
Yuria started to argue but quickly gave up and shut her mouth.
After all, for people who could create something as revolutionary as Mana Beads, forging a few identities was nothing.
“Phew.”
The overwhelming attention finally began to subside after the banquet reached its midpoint.
Now free, Yuria grabbed a glass of wine and downed it.
‘But still, why an engagement of all things…’
She sneaked a glance at Carl.
His characteristic red hair and eyes from Leipzig were nowhere to be seen, replaced by light brown hair and the slightly sickly appearance of a handsome young man.
Had she not known beforehand that he was in disguise, she wouldn’t have noticed at all—it was that perfect.
After a brief moment of respite, Yuria finally calmed down and asked Carl,
“So, what do I do next?”
“We wait. Cloaren, the developer of the Mana Beads, has appeared. Those greedy bastards will stop at nothing to get their hands on you.”
“I’m the bait?”
“Exactly. A very delicious piece of bait. I’ve already dangled you from the fishing rod, so now we wait for a fat fish to bite.”
“…The way you say it, it sounds like I’m in danger.”
“Are you not confident?”
“Of course I am.”
Yuria scoffed at Carl’s taunting tone.
There was no way she’d let herself fall prey to a bunch of merchants.
““I’ll be stepping out for a moment.””
““I’ll go with you.””
““No, it’s fine.””
Yuria frowned.
Even though she had signaled that she needed to use the restroom, he insisted on following her, which felt like overprotection to her.
Carl gave a wry smile and raised both hands slightly at Yuria’s sharp look.
Alone in the restroom, Yuria used magic to lightly scan for any presence around her.
Of course, she detected nothing.
“……Being too thorough can be a problem.””
She thought it unlikely anyone at such a public, attention-filled banquet would make a move on her.
If someone here did, it would reveal that they were part of this side.
While touching up her makeup in front of the mirror, Yuria blinked.
“Eh?””
The mirror warped.
It seemed to drip as if melting…….
Thud.
Yuria collapsed to the floor.
What had melted was not the mirror but her consciousness.
‘This, run…….’
She struggled desperately to maintain her mind and tried to cast a spell.
Someone must have tampered with the wine she drank to quench her thirst.
It was already too late to detox, so she decided to make a loud noise to alert Carl.
“Oh dear, that won’t do.””
A man dressed as a waiter appeared with a light laugh and lightly struck the back of Yuria’s neck.
He glanced around and, after checking the surroundings, hoisted her body over his shoulder and ran quickly toward the back door.
Click.
A prepared carriage awaited at the opened door.
Inside were masked assailants, and the waiter handed over Yuria’s form to them.
“Are you sure?””
“Sure. We marked her from the start. By the way, the skill seemed pretty good; they used a potent drug strong enough to subdue a beast and yet she resisted.””
“Don’t worry about that. No matter how excellent a mage is, this one device will render them helpless.””
Snap.
One of the assailants fastened a restraint collar around Yuria’s neck.
At the same time, it emitted a bright red light, cutting off all her mana and turning her from a mage into an ordinary person in an instant.
“Here’s the promised money.””
“……Oh.””
The waiter grinned broadly as he received a heavy pouch.
The assailants immediately set the carriage in motion, and disguised as a guild supply wagon, it easily left the city.
“…….”
The jolting shocks on the floor roused Yuria to consciousness.
A gag had been forced into her mouth and her hands and feet were tightly bound.
Fortunately, she had not been blindfolded, so she could see her surroundings.
‘Damn.’
Seeing that mana would not gather, she realized a mana restraint collar had been fitted.
It looked deliberate and seemed to be a rather high-grade artifact.
Having been kidnapped before she could alert Carl, Yuria bit her lip.
“Oh? You woke up. We haven’t even reached our destination yet; that was quicker than expected.””
A masked man snorted and helped Yuria to her feet, seating her against a wall.
“You know what we want, right?””
“…….”
“Ah, you had a gag on.””
Thunk.
The man sneered and removed the gag from Yuria.
“We only want the manufacturing method for the Mana Beads. Tell us that and we’ll release you at once.””
“…….”
Yuria glared at the man with wide, fierce eyes.
Even if she wanted to tell them, she would need to know something to say.
She did not even know how to make ordinary beads, let alone Mana Beads.
‘If it were Carl…….’
He would notice her disappearance and come after them somehow.
So what she needed was time.
“……It’s too complicated to explain orally; first untie my hands and feet, and I need paper to write down the formula.””
“Good, you’re reasonable.””
The man nodded with a satisfied expression.
Soon the carriage stopped, and Yuria was dragged by the men into a small hut.
Not even being blindfolded during the transfer made Yuria realize that they had no intention of keeping her alive.
‘Of course they wouldn’t.’
The important thing was the Mana Beads.
To avoid creating a new rival, it would be cleanest to kill the developer and silence her.
However, since Yuria intended to buy time, she planned to scribble some plausible formula, even if it were a rough approximation.
Thud.
A desk, parchment, and a pen were set out.
As Yuria sat before them and took up the pen, the man smiled faintly and looked up.
“The person here is called the industry’s top expert in manufacturing sciences. Don’t try to fool us with some sloppy trick.””
Bang.
A bluish blade was embedded beside the desk.
“If you think of pulling any stunt, we’ll cut off your fingers one by one; we’ll leave the right hand intact, so you have fifteen opportunities—five fingers on the hand and ten toes.””
“…….”
Yuria bit her lip hard.
From now on she had to stay fully alert.
Whether he truly was the top expert in manufacturing or not, they had an eye for talent.
She would summon all the knowledge she had and produce a believable manufacturing method…….
-Write down exactly as I dictate.
At that moment, a single line of voice brushed her ear and made Yuria flinch.