Chapter 140 : Chapter 140
Chapter 140. Mystic Trading Company (2)
“A knight?”
Unless those were military boots, there was no way such heavy footsteps would be audible. Just in case, I took out my pistol, loaded it, and discreetly hid it where it could not be seen.
Soon, the sound of footsteps stopped, and a knock came.
It was a cautious but clear sound.
With the pistol in hand and hidden behind my back, I approached the door.
“Who is it?”
“If you are the Master of Metis, open the door. I am the person you have been waiting for.”
His voice was thick and grave. He seemed to be a man of some age.
The Duke’s name had not been mentioned, but it was clear he had sent him. The only one who knew I was staying here was the Duke.
Just in case, I shoved the pistol behind my back and opened the door.
It felt as though my eyes had met those of a ferocious beast.
A tall man wearing a robe over his head was standing in front of the door. Strength could be felt from his cold eyes and firm lips. Seeing the bulge around his waist, he was armed.
He looked like he could swing a sword fairly well.
“Were you sent by His Excellency?”
He looked around for a moment, then merely nodded slightly without answering.
If the Duke had sent him, there was a high possibility that he was a member of the Azure Dragon Knight Order. From his appearance alone, however, there was no evidence to show that he belonged to the Ducal House.
“Please come inside.”
I let the guest in. He turned around without removing his robe. Then, looking at me with cold eyes, he spoke as if interrogating me.
“I heard you wanted information.”
“That is correct.”
“Then prepare to go out. I will take you to the place you want.”
“Where is it?”
“There is nothing good to be gained from knowing. Just follow me quietly.”
It seemed to be a place similar to the underworld. Or perhaps an information broker. Usually, information brokers operated in the underworld, so people tended to keep such things quiet.
I equipped my sword and immediately put on a robe. When I was Dilen, I used the precious sword granted to me by Marquis Chronos, but when I was Suhyeon, I used an ordinary longsword.
Finally, I hung a pouch full of gold coins at my waist. I did not know what the market price would be, but this much should be enough.
All preparations were complete.
“Let us go.”
When I opened the door and gestured outside, the man cleared his throat and began walking ahead.
We left the inn.
There were no horses or carriages in sight. Seeing him walk straight along the road, it seemed the man intended to travel on foot.
“How well can you use a sword?”
“I have learned basic swordsmanship. But I am still a beginner.”
“In that case, do not leave my side under any circumstances. The place we are heading to is quite dangerous.”
“Would we not need more people?”
“Trust me.”
I nodded and obediently followed behind the man.
After walking for a long time, we entered a slum. So there was a place like this even in the Royal Capital. It was a place where we had to rely on moonlight to walk, without a single lamp.
“No matter who calls out to you, never look back. Follow me. If you value your life, do not needlessly look around.”
“Understood.”
We walked down dark, narrow roads. But the man pushed through the path without hesitation, as if he had come here many times before.
Human figures appeared here and there, but I took the man’s warning to heart and walked while looking only at his back.
The pressure this place gave off was truly tremendous.
It was on an entirely different level from the underworld I had experienced in the Adeline territory. If that place had been ordinary coffee, this place felt like T.O.P.
It felt as though real professionals were gathered here.
The atmosphere was so full of tension that it seemed a Concealed Dagger might fly out from somewhere the moment I made a mistake.
If I followed my heart, I wanted to wrap myself in Protective Aura with mana, but the man walking ahead might sense my power, and I did not know what sorts of experts might be hiding here, so I refrained from using mana.
I did not want to offend some hidden Mage who might be living in seclusion.
“......”
A short while later, the man suddenly stopped walking and looked around.
Had we arrived?
After checking the surroundings, he moved to one side, where there was a firmly locked iron door. Not a single light leaked out from within.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Even so, the man knocked on the door.
Then there was a clicking sound, and a gap in the iron bars, about the width of a hand, carefully opened. Two eyeballs appeared above the bright light.
I flinched in surprise, but the man stared directly at the eyeballs as if he were used to it.
Someone inside was looking outside.
Then the man took something from inside his coat and pushed it into the gap between the iron bars. It seemed to be some sort of emblem. A moment later, the iron bars shut with a CLACK, and the door opened.
Thanks to that, we were able to go inside.
The inside was a completely different space from the brutal outside. It was bright, quiet, and comfortable.
“You brought another guest with you today?”
That one sentence told me the man had come here many times before.
The owner of the eyeballs I had seen beyond the iron bars was a huge, bald man.
It was a scene I had seen often in movies. It seemed to be the kind of secret hideout where one could enter by giving a passphrase. The bald man looked strong enough to guard at least one door properly.
“It seems it has been a while since I last saw you. What information do you need this time?”
“The business is not mine, but his.”
“Hmm?”
Only then did the bald man show interest in me. I straightened my shoulders confidently and spoke.
“I would like to obtain some information.”
“Normally, turning you away at the door would be the answer, but if you are someone introduced by none other than the owner of the Azure Dragon Token, then the story changes.”
The Azure Dragon Token seemed to be a phrase symbolizing the Bahamut House. The Azure Dragon Knight Order was not called the Azure Dragon Knight Order for nothing. After all, the symbol of the Bahamut House was the Azure Dragon.
At that moment, the man who had brought me here cut in.
“The Master gave special instructions. He would like you to cooperate with this man if possible.”
“That is not for me to decide.”
“Convey it properly to the people inside.”
Only then did the man’s gaze turn toward me.
“I will be waiting here. Go inside, finish your business, and come out. There is no need to be tense. This place is neutral territory. It is safer than anywhere else.”
“Understood.”
“Follow me.”
The bald man jerked his chin inward, and I followed him inside.
When the thick blackout curtain was pulled aside, a dim space appeared. It was a room of about thirty-three square meters, and decorations with a mysterious feeling glittered and swayed on the ceiling.
The decorations were modeled after the moon, stars, and sun. On one side, there was also a huge crystal ball.
It felt like a space an astrologer would use.
“You seem to be a guest from far away...... What are you so curious about that you have come all the way here?”
An old person was sitting on one side. A black hood was pulled down deeply, so the face could not be seen clearly. Only the wrinkles around the mouth were visible.
The neutral voice added to the sense of mystery.
After greeting respectfully, I sat before the old person. Then I immediately got to the point. If both sides had clear purposes, it was better to skip the introduction.
“I want information about the Delfino Merchant Company and the Astria Count House.”
“It would be best to narrow the scope of the question. A vague question will only return a vague answer.”
I sharpened my thoughts a little more and spoke.
“Would it satisfy you if I asked why the Delfino Merchant Company and the Astria Count House have allied together to oppose House Adeline?”
Suddenly, the old person placed a hand on the crystal ball. At that moment, sparks began to crackle inside the crystal ball. It felt like static electricity touching my hand.
Could this person be a Mage?
But I could not feel any mana from them at all. Because I was a Mana User, I had the ability to sense other people’s mana.
Ah, I see.
No mana could be felt from the old person. But mana could be felt from the crystal ball. It seemed to be one of those rare Magic Items.
“......Information on the Delfino Merchant Company is expensive, even if the Astria Count House is another matter.”
Information on the Delfino Merchant Company was more expensive?
That meant the Delfino Merchant Company occupied a greater weight than the Astria House. Because of that, I could not help but ask.
“Why is information on the Delfino Merchant Company more expensive?”
“Because their power is greater. Shall I call it a difference in perspective? The Astria House is only an influential house within the kingdom, but the Delfino Merchant Company is an influential merchant company across the Continent.”
Understanding, I nodded.
“Then I will change the question. Who is the true master of the Astria Count’s Territory?”
“That is quite cheap. It can be resolved for about ten thousand gold.”
Ten thousand gold? Are you joking?
“I can see exactly what you are thinking. This is not the kind of place you are imagining. Since this is a place where all information gathers, it is only natural that the price is high. All information that comes from this place is the truth.”
At that moment, the bald man’s voice came from behind me.
“He says the owner of the Azure Dragon Token asked you to take good care of him.”
“The owner of the Azure Dragon Token?”
The old person, who had fallen silent for a moment, lost the smile around their mouth. They removed their hand from the crystal ball and spoke.
“If he was introduced by the owner of the Azure Dragon Token, then there is nothing to be done. I owe him a debt...... I will let it pass just this once.”
Yes. This was how it had to be for the contract to be established. If they had taken money, I had planned to bill the Duke for it. On top of the one hundred thousand gold I was supposed to receive as investment.
“Then shall I answer your first question? The true master of the Astria Count’s Territory is Delfino Sentetienne. The Master of the Delfino Merchant Company. Count Astria is nothing more than a puppet.”
It was a fact I had vaguely guessed. Because of that, my next question was immediately decided.
“I am curious why the Delfino Merchant Company is targeting House Adeline. Do you have information on that?”
“Did I not say earlier? This is a place where all information gathers.”
The old person began to toy with the crystal ball again. After letting the moment linger for a while, the old person began to continue, and the words that followed were truly shocking.
“The Sentetienne family was once a noble house that ruled the Astria territory long ago.”
“That cannot be. The Sentetienne family is a commoner family that can hardly even be called a house. As far as I know, the merchant company master is active without any noble title.”
“He deliberately refuses to receive a title. He even changed his family name for revenge. While waiting for the right time.”
“Pardon?”
My thought process stopped. It was so sudden and enormous that my thoughts would not continue the way I wanted. Then, a single possibility suddenly came to mind.
“In the very distant past, the Head of House Adeline drove out a nameless house and made the Astria family the master of what is now the count’s territory. And as time passed, that nameless house came to use the family name Sentetienne.”
“That is absurd......”
“In a way, it is only natural that large and small incidents have recently been occurring around House Adeline.”
Only now did I feel as though the puzzle pieces were fitting together.
I thought I understood why the Duke had sent me here. He probably meant that he did not want to get involved in a muddy fight. If many people came to know this, the situation would become complicated.
Most of all, he was likely aiming for the inherent limitation of this information’s origin: that it had not come from the Duke’s mouth, but from this suspicious place.
“And after a long time passed, people’s memories grew hazy, and the once-solid relationship between House Adeline and the Astria House barely remained through the form of a political marriage.”
“How long ago was the incident you mentioned earlier?”
“Five hundred years.”
“......Why do the people of House Adeline, no, even other people, not recognize this?”
“Humans are creatures of forgetfulness, and history belongs to the victors.”
A strange smile formed around the old person’s mouth.