Chapter 73: Free Addition (4)
After Henry handed Munke over to Count Eisen, he returned to Vivaldi.
“Dad!”
“My princess, have you been listening to your mom?”
As soon as they entered the mansion, none other than Nia greeted them. Hagler lifted her up with a large smile.
Ten showed up half a beat later and said, “How come it’s just the two of you? Where is Sir Von?”
“What do you mean?”
“When he heard that you had left for Salgaera, Sir Von quickly left for Salgaera as well… Did you not see him?”
Henry realized that they had somehow missed each other. ‘If he went to Salgaera, he’ll probably hear the full story from Vhant. Well, I was going to tell him eventually, so I guess hearing it there is not so bad either.’
Although it was inefficient, what was done was done, so Henry decided to wait for Von in Vivaldi.
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”
“Yes, it’s just the usual. Anyway, it seems like it took longer than you said it would?”
“I had to deal with something. Ah, also, I’m thinking of handling the supplies to Salgaera through the Million Gold battle stadium.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The Painted Merchants were embezzling the goods, so we’ve decided to replace them.”
“What? What will happen to them? We can take the job, but shouldn’t you report them to the imperial institution first…?”
“No need for that. They’re already dead.”
“What?”
“We ran into bandits, and both the merchants and mercenaries are dead.”
“Only the two of you survived?”
“Yes, but don’t worry. I delivered the supplies.”
After giving it some thought, Ten asked, “By the way, Sir Henry, that request… The imperial institution entrusted it to a specific merchant. Is it possible to change the provider like this?”
“Of course not. I'm thinking of setting up a merchant group first and asking for permission.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“There’s no need to complicate things since I was going to set up a merchant group anyway.”
“A merchant group…?”
“Yes, that doesn’t mean we need to hire staff separately or purchase a carriage since Hagler will take care of the Salgaera requests.”
“What? I am?” Hagler’s eyes widened at the unexpected task.
“I will get you a Subspace Pouch, so just think of it as getting some riding practice every once in a while; plus there’s no one other than you.”
‘You don’t have anyone else to entrust with the task?’
Although the task was unexpected, Hagler only focused on the last phrase. He nodded vigorously and accepted. “Of course! Please leave it up to me!”
“Perfect. Then make sure to get plenty of rest today since you must be tired from the long trip.”
“Should I go to the Mercenary Guild?”
“No, I’ll go there myself. You can go to the Merchant Association and register the Million Merchants under the Million Gold Organization.”
They couldn’t proceed with anything else until Von returned anyway. In the meantime, Henry decided to register the Million Merchants as part of the Million Gold Organization and purchase other necessities like the Subspace Pouch. Before dealing with anything else, Henry decided to stop by the Mercenary Guild first.
“Rest for a while, I’ll be back soon.”
* * *
As soon as Henry arrived at the Mercenary Guild, he went straight to the branch manager’s office without stopping at the reception desk.
Knock, knock.
“Come in.” The branch manager was leisurely reading a novel during business hours. “Who are you?” He spoke without taking his eyes off the novel. Henry kicked a nearby chair, which flew at the manager’s desk.
Crash!
The chair shattered upon impact and only then did the manager finally look up with wide eyes.
“W-who are you?” Although he was the manager of the Mercenary Guild, he was not a real mercenary, but a civil servant who had used an abacus all his life. However, Henry ignored the manager’s question. He held up a chair and threw it at the manager’s head.
Crash!
“A-argh!”
Henry did not hide his murderous aura; in fact, he purposely released it to suffocate the manager with fear. Henry walked towards the manager. The manager’s face went pale with fear. Henry looked at him and said, “You knew, right?”
“K-knew what? B-but before that, w-who are you?”
“The Painted Merchant delivered supplies to Salgaera.”
“P-painted Merchants? A-ah! Are you the…?”
“There’s no need for you to know who I am, but did you know about it or not?”
“W-what are you talking about?”
The manager mumbled in an evasive manner, and Henry held up the chair once more.
“W-wait! I’ll tell you everything! Please put the chair down and we can talk.”
At the manager’s desperate pleas, Henry put the chair down. He sat on its edge and looked the manager straight in the eye. “Two out of three times that the merchant group set out to deliver the supplies, the mercenaries escorting them didn’t come back alive. However, the merchant group always returned safely and continued to request escorts for over a year.”
Henry’s murderous aura was almost at its peak. Even a wild beast would run away if they came close to it. He said, “I’m going to ask one last time: you knew about all of this, right?”
“I-I apologize! No one else wanted to deal with it, so I assumed everything was okay…!” The manager finally knelt on the ground. He lowered his head and started to beg for his life.
‘How could a civil servant do such a thing…!’?Henry looked down at the fat manager with disgust. Even if it had only happened a couple of times, the manager’s suspicions should have been raised and he should have conducted an investigation of the Painted Merchants. However, he had been too lazy to do his job properly.
‘If his superiors had pressured him, he would have made an excuse saying that he was only doing as he was told. This had to be solely his fault.’
When people were caught red-handed, they usually tried their best to put the blame on others, especially people like the manager. Since he hadn’t done so was proof of his guilt.
“Branch manager,” said Henry in a low tone.
“Y-yes!”
“If something like this happens again, I will report it to your superiors myself and cut off your head. Remember that.”
“O-of course! I will make sure of it!”
“And.”
“Y-yes!”
“The Painted Merchants are not available anymore. The supplies were delivered successfully, but the Painted Merchants and the Hound Corps did not make it, so a new merchant must take this job. Therefore, the Million Merchants from the Million Gold Organization will take this job.”
“W-what? B-but… we’re not the ones who assign the merchants, it’s the Merchant Association that does that…”
“So? You can’t do it?”
“N-no! I happen to be acquainted with the head of the Merchant Association, I’ll make sure to take care of it!”
“Get the documents ready and send them to my mansion by today.”
“A-alright!”
Threats were more efficient than doing things by the book. Henry made his way toward the city square to purchase a Subspace Pouch.
* * *
Hiram made his way towards the Magical Spire as Salmora suggested. The Magical Spire was located right next to the imperial palace, but this was Hiram’s first time to visit since he had spent most of his life in the imperial army.
‘Gulp.’
He had seen wizards a couple of times before, but it was his first time seeing so many wizards at once, and he was slightly nervous due to the unfamiliar environment.
‘I heard that most wizards are weirdos…’
.
Wizards had a reputation for being intellectuals, but there were also rumors saying that many became insane or turned into weirdos from gaining so much knowledge.
However, this wasn’t reason to be fearful. He was a proud commander of the fifth unit of the Viper Knights and chosen by his leader, Salmora. Soon after passing the long wall, Hiram reached the guard post of the Magical Spire. However, the gate was tightly closed and there was no sign of anyone.
It was strange. After looking around, Hiram found a short stone pillar in the center of the gate with a book on top.
‘Book?’?Although he was an imperial knight, Hiram knew how to read.
He looked at the title of the book.
- Please write down the name of the person you are visiting on the book.
It was a simple request. There was a pen next to the book, so Hiram began to write down the name he had heard from Salmora.
- Dracan Rotique.
Although Hiram knew how to read and write, he preferred a sword to a pen, which meant that his handwriting was so terrible that it was embarrassing to show anyone.
However, the visitor's log recognized Hiram’s handwriting and began to do its job.
Boom!
The book was called Collist. It was a privacy protection artifact developed by the Magical Spire to hide things. The Collist soon began to contact the person whose name had been written down. A small portal appeared on the wall next to the guard post.
“Wow…”
Hiram was impressed that the process involved a single book and no guards.
Soon, a tall, pale man with long black hair appeared from the portal. He looked very cold-hearted. It was Dracan Rotique, the trump card that Salmora spoke about.
He looked at Hiram for some time and asked in a calm voice, “Who are you?”
His voice felt somewhat empty, as if a doll with its stuffing removed was talking. For some reason, the sound created a dreary atmosphere; however, Hiram politely replied, “Nice to meet you. My name is Hiram, the commander of the fifth unit of the Viper Knights.”
Hiram held out his left arm for a handshake. Dracan stared at Hiram’s hand and held it for a moment before quickly releasing it.
Hiram felt like the situation was quite strange, but he explained the reason for his visit without lingering on the feeling. “My leader told me that you, Sir Dracan, might be able to restore my missing arm.”
“Salmora said that?”
“Yes. It seems that you have a close relationship with my leader?”
“That’s right.”
“...I see. Anyway, I apologize for making a request right away when it’s only our first time to meet, but what do you think, Sir Dracan? Do you think my arm can be restored?”
Dracan smiled as if the corners of his mouth were about to touch his ears. “Of course.”
The smile seemed very creepy, but Hiram was relieved at Dracan’s confident reply.
“I will take a look at your arm. Please follow me,” said Dracan, leading the way as Hiram followed.
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