"Leaving the squadron behind and coming so simply... I'm not sure if this is a safe decision."
There was a strange tension in Nathan's voice.
"Karkan is a land split by snow-capped mountains and canyons. A lawless zone where the sword is closer than the law."
Peleus answered briefly.
The hem of his black cloak flapped violently in the fierce wind blowing through the canyon.
"It is terrain where you can easily become isolated even if you bring in an army."
Looking down at the harbor, his hand gripped the reins tightly.
"The opponent probably believes I cannot leave the border. After all, we need our main force to stop Barmia."
His voice was calm.
Sacrificing valuable subordinates for useless tasks was not Peleus's way.
"As long as D'Angel remains in the borderlands, that illusion will persist."
Peleus looked up at the sky.
The pale moon that appeared in the early evening was full and round.
"Have you lost contact with all those dispatched to Karkan?"
"Yes. However, we have caught the tail of the last smuggling broker. I heard they agreed to trade freezing points on the night of the full moon."
“It’s today.”
"Yes, I will be able to return to the Imperial City soon."
However, Nathan's prediction was overly optimistic.
It was because the person who was supposed to sign the contract never showed up.
After finishing the investigation, the subordinates emerged from the darkness and knelt.
"I checked all the promised locations, but... I can't find it anywhere."
"We didn't see any smuggling ships, either. Nor could we find any traces of ice iron trading. Could it be... that they caught wind of it and fled beforehand?"
Nathan's eyebrows furrowed.
"They've been raking in the money without a hitch, so there's no way they'll get caught easily."
As the reports continued, the atmosphere among Peleus and his party grew heavy.
"Your Majesty, what shall we do?"
Nervousness seeped into Nathan's voice.
Peleus silently gazed at the intricately intertwined docks.
As if trying to read the invisible answer in the disordered darkness
A moment later, he opened his mouth in a low voice.
"There is no need to rush. If it is not our way, we can simply use the way here."
A cool and peaceful voice settled, cutting through the night air.
"Find someone who knows this place well. They must be someone who can move quietly. Someone who is not from Karkan and is most familiar with the situation at the port."
***
"Hmm. In that case, there is only one person."
The restaurant owner answered Nathan's question straightforwardly.
“Luo.”
"Lou? He doesn't have a surname either?"
"For those living hand-to-mouth at the bottom of society, a name is all that matters. Go tell those noble gentlemen over there on the iceberg to stop harping on about family names."
As displeasure flickered in the owner's eyes, Nathan quickly pretended to scratch his head vigorously.
"No, I'm sorry. I was scammed a few days ago as well, something about a black sail or something."
"Ah, you saw the jade. The black anchor. It is to be expected, considering you fell for those filthy swindlers."
With a face that had finally relaxed, he patted Nathan's shoulder.
"But you can trust Lou. No one knows the ways of this business better than him."
The owner stopped speaking triumphantly and trailed off.
"The problem is... that he's more difficult than you thought."
The owner narrowed his eyes.
"Je only pick and choose the jobs that he likes. Stacks of cash are of no use to him."
"Looks like a back alley errand boy?"
At Nathan's question, the owner took his hand off the table where he had been wiping his stomach and straightened his back.
"Ah. Don't you know? The fixer on this street?"
***
A man wearing a long robe entered an old tavern at the harbor.
As the hulking figure, tall enough to be almost the door itself, appeared, the noisy interior of the tavern fell silent for a moment.
"Please give me a glass of rum to drink here as well..."
The pungent savory taste of the owner and the fragrant aroma of stew warming the stomach filled the interior of the tavern.
"Grandpa, can't we eat that too?"
A small boy chewing on dry bread gazed enviously at where Peleus was sitting.
"Grandpa will buy you some tomorrow. Let's make do with this for today. Here. Isn't this the rye bread you like?"
The old man tried to soothe the child, but the child pouted.
The tavern, filled with smoke and shouting, was not a place a child should have come to, but the reason they made their way here was probably that they could not find a restaurant cheaper than this one.
"Phew, Grandpa doesn't know anything. I don't like rye bread because it's rough..."
"..."
Then, Peleus silently pushed his share of the bowl toward the child.
The old man was startled and declined, but because the hood was pulled down low, the other person's reaction appeared only calm.
When Peleus quietly handed the silver coin to the master as well, the master brought plenty of stew to the old man, who had not yet ordered a meal.
"Thank you, thank you. What are you doing? You should thank this gentleman."
He was dressed in a robe like a hermit, far from being a gentleman, but everyone nodded.
In these times when it is hard enough just to make ends meet, how long has it been since they last encountered such sincere kindness?
"Thank you, sir!"
It was a time when everyone present, including the grandparents and grandchildren, was enjoying the warmth they hadn't felt in a long while.
Bam~!
The heavy door of the tavern opened with a scream.
At the same time, the smell of fish and sweat rushed in, stinging my nose.
“Everyone, stop moving!”
Alas...
The moment the hulking, swaggering man was recognized, hushed sighs were heard from all around.
"Who gave you permission to do business? You bastard, have you already lost your mind, or have you lost your nerve?"
The menacing-looking man glaring at the tavern owner was Barbo, the third-in-command of the Black Anchor Organization.
"I- I paid the tribute last month, didn't I? I even borrowed money to pay it...!"
"The water has changed starting this year. So now, we've decided to receive it at the end of every month."
Barbo scoffed at the master's words.
"H-How can such a thing be! Even so, we only pay taxes to the territory twice a year, so this makes no sense!"
The tavern owner's face turned pale.
However, Barbo looked imposing with his burly subordinates standing behind him.
"I'm speaking nicely, but you still won't get it. You have to pay the estate tribute as is, and you also have to pay for the use of Urihansen Port. Don't you realize who is responsible for allowing you to conduct business so safely?"
Even a three-year-old child here knew that the Black Anchor was backed by the lord.
"It seems our Black Anchor has been too generous lately."
Glaring at the owner menacingly, Barbo kicked the table right in front of him.
With a loud crash, the table shattered, and the plates on it fell.
The tavern floor quickly became a mess with broken dishes and scattered food.
"Guys. This guy is still out of his mind. Clean up all the merchandise in the store and teach him a lesson so he never opens his mouth again."
"Yes!"
Barbo and his subordinates began smashing everything in sight.
“Aaaah!”
Among the guests at the broken table was the child to whom Peleus had given stew earlier.
"Ah. No! If you go that way~!"
A terrified child tried to run away from a big subordinate but bumped into Barbo.
"What is this again?"
Barbo grabbed the child by the collar and lifted him up. The child's feet flailed precariously in the air.
"I'm sorry! The child is still young and doesn't know anything, baby!"
“Aaaah!”
Barbo held out his hand as if he were annoyed.
The old man threw himself forward and barely managed to catch his grandson, but the startled child burst into loud crying.
"Hey, old man, make that brat shut his mouth. If I hear that crying one more time, I'll gouge out his eyes right then and there."
Barbo's black eyepatch tapped annoyingly.
His story of rising from a mere member of the organization to the third-in-command in an instant as a reward for losing his left eye while trying to protect the leader from a pirate raid was quite famous.
"You should be careful in advance if you don't want to end up like me."
"... Yes."
"Huh? Can't you hear me? I told you to be careful so you don't go blind."
"Yes, yes! I will do so."
"What? Are you saying I look ridiculous? I'm already in a bad mood; do you want me to cut off one of your limbs?"
'If I intimidated them with my name, they should have figured it out and come up with something.'
Barbo clicked his tongue inwardly as he looked down at the pale old man.
He would pocket the things he received through petty disputes instead of offering them during the dark day.
This time, in particular, it was even more necessary to do so.
This is because the leader heard that he had lost the organization's funds in a gambling game not long ago.
"Pay for it with your own money, no matter what. Then I'll let it slide this time."
"Th-th-th-th-thank you, Boss..."
The idea of changing the tribute to a monthly basis was also something he came up with to conceal the loss.
However, even if the old man had known Barbo's intentions, he would not have been able to get anything out of him.
After all, the money spent on the cheap rye bread he bought his grandson today was all the pocket money he had.
"Hey, aren't you going to answer? So you don't care if a kid loses a hand or a foot, do you?"
Barbo touched the old man, Mook.
As the trouble escalated to an innocent customer, the tavern owner had no choice but to step forward.
"Hey, hey. Don't do that, cough!"
As the tavern owner was kicked away by Barbo, the inside of the tavern froze cold.
"Anyway, there are no people who understand when I speak nicely. That is why I have no choice but to use my fists."
Barbo glared at each and every guest with a menacing look.
At least in his own territory, he was an outlaw whom no one could touch.
“Stop it.”
Only one. Except for that one damn bastard who destroys that order with a smiling face.
"Wow!"
The spoon thrown by Lou spun around in the air and flew, striking Barbo's throat.
Comments
Post a Comment