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As soon as Michel asked back with a puzzled expression, questions poured in from all sides, filled with disbelief.

“Are you talking about Blood Rahidolff?”

“The head of Yale is dead?”

It seemed the news hadn’t spread this far yet. It was highly likely that Cyan had secretly brought in Yale. Moreover, judging by their reactions, it seemed Blood had quite a notorious reputation around here.

With the intention of revealing the truth, I summarized the memory of that rainy day.

“He wasn’t that great. He was an idiot. That vermin Cyan brought in another idiot. And it just so happened to be a rotten idiot. He was hiding metal skewers under his skin. In the end, he blew himself up with them. But the reason I call him an idiot isn’t because he hid skewers. It’s definitely not because he had a hunched back either. He abandoned his subordinates. And in the end, he died by my hand.”

Daisy, who had been listening quietly, chimed in, imitating my tone.

“You see, my brother is the crazy mage. It wasn’t just that idiot Blood who died. All the other skewer idiots he brought also died. I counted at least twenty of them.”

It wasn’t the most pleasing explanation, but it wasn’t exactly wrong, so I didn’t correct her.

“…Ahem.”

The merchants’ eyes looking at me were tinged with fear.

Michel, finally regaining his composure, gulped and replied,

“I see. You’ve done a good deed. However, it doesn’t end with just killing Blood. Yale is a group of over fifty people. If there are any remnants left, they’ll likely elect a new leader and try to continue their activities.”

I responded in a dismissive tone,

“That’s not a big problem. So we just need to take care of Yale, right?”

“That’s correct.”

An awkward atmosphere settled in, and someone on the right raised their hand.

“That’s not necessarily true.”

“There’s more? It would be nice if you could just tell me everything at once instead of beating around the bush.”

I looked at the merchant who raised their hand. It was the vice-head of the Irieu merchant group, the one who had greeted me the last time I was here.

“If Yale is eradicated, some trade routes will likely be established. But that doesn’t guarantee that the eastern trade routes will be completely open. In fact, it’s more likely that they won’t be. As you all probably already guessed…”

The vice-head looked around and said,

“Because Urgon is still there.”

The merchants coughed awkwardly and pretended to be busy with other things. Now I understood why the atmosphere had become awkward. I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

‘They’re saying it’s because of us.’

Ultimately, it was because of Samael. It was a fact that almost every merchant group knew that Urgon didn’t view Samael favorably.

Since Samael had driven out Bayern and taken over Khaoto, Urgon wouldn’t just sit idly by. They would try to cause trouble in some way. If they weren’t careful, they could get caught in the crossfire. That’s what they wanted to say.

‘Urgon, huh.’

No matter where I went, Urgon was the problem.

I looked around and said,

“I understand what you’re saying. Once Yale is taken care of, I’ll let the merchant groups know, but only to the extent that it doesn’t burden them. There will be no tolls for Leon and Khaoto merchant groups. Protection and escort fees will be lower than usual, so the conditions won’t be bad. Discuss the details with Daisy.”

The Irieu vice-head nodded.

“I’ll discuss it with the Alliance Leader.”

“I have a few more questions, but let’s take it slow. Let’s eat first.”

As if on cue, the servants opened the door and brought in food.

Various dishes were laid out on a portable table, and Daisy and I devoured them in the blink of an eye.

After the meal, I followed Michel’s guidance and entered a reception room to rest for a while.

* * *

The reception room of the Merchant Alliance was comfortable.

I spent my day resting there, then going out for meetings that lasted late into the night, and returning to the reception room again.

However, I ended up sleeping somewhere other than the reception room.

The reason was simple.

I got goosebumps while sharing the reception room with Daisy and had to leave.

It was because, in the middle of the night, I heard a ripping sound, and the blanket I was covering myself with was torn. Daisy was pulling a dagger from her belt and dancing with it.

Looking closely, Daisy’s eyes were closed.

In other words, she was sleepwalking.

I didn’t want to die in my sleep.

Anyway, the meetings continued without any issues the next day.

I listened to information about the merchant groups and goods coming and going from Leon, and I also shared the situation in Khaoto.

I introduced the Full Khao Patrol Group and briefly explained Samael’s changed circumstances and goals.

All of this would slowly and naturally spread outside the continent through the mouths of the merchants.

As the meeting progressed, it was almost dinner time again.

“How about dining out today?”

The Irieu vice-head was acting particularly friendly.

While the other merchants still seemed uncomfortable around me, the vice-head was different.

“I know a great restaurant.”

“A great restaurant?”

“Yes, I know all the best places to eat in Leon.”

I chuckled at his easygoing tone, and the vice-head grinned in response.

He was a merchant who knew how to build connections. He saw me as a dangerous figure, yet he still approached me, showing that he trusted his instincts. It was a fundamental quality for a merchant.

“I’ll look forward to it.”

The other merchants left the meeting room first, and I followed the vice-head outside with Daisy.

It was my first time outside in a day, so the evening air felt particularly refreshing.

I asked the vice-head as I followed him,

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a place specializing in southern home-style cooking. Their chicken stew is exceptional.”

I replied naturally,

“When it comes to chicken stew, I know a place that does it really well.”

“I’m confident in my choice too.”

“Oh, it won’t be easy to beat.”

The vice-head smiled and continued walking along Leon’s main street. After walking for a while with no sign of stopping, I asked,

“How much further?”

“It’s a hidden gem. Almost no one knows about it unless they’re a local. You won’t regret it. Haha.”

The vice-head kept walking with a friendly smile.

When we reached the end of Leon’s main street, the vice-head turned right into an alley and continued weaving through the narrow streets.

The area was gradually becoming deserted.

Daisy tilted her head and asked,

“There’s a good restaurant this way? I’ve never heard of it.”

“We’re almost there.”

A moment later, the vice-head stopped in front of a shabby restaurant and puffed out his chest, saying,

“Here it is.”

The interior of the rather large restaurant was filled with a few locals who seemed to be enjoying their stew. Overall, it was a quiet restaurant.

Daisy looked around the shabby interior and pouted.

“This is really the place? I was expecting something better since the vice-head recommended it. What is this? Brother, let’s go somewhere else. I know a decent place.”

The vice-head nodded.

“Try it first before you say anything. I don’t recommend this place to just anyone. You won’t regret it.”

I nodded, and the vice-head went inside first to talk to the staff, then called us over.

“You can come up to the second floor.”

I followed the vice-head up the stairs, and Daisy trailed behind, sighing.

“…I wanted to go somewhere fancy, hmph.”

The second floor had a completely different layout from the first floor.

There was a long corridor in the middle, with many rooms crammed on both sides.

The vice-head entered one of the rooms and sat down, and Daisy and I sat in a row across from him.

The vice-head asked,

“Should we order now?”

“How long will it take?”

“About 30 minutes.”

Daisy, who was in a bad mood, glared at the vice-head.

“Do they have to catch and slaughter the chicken first? What kind of stew takes 30 minutes?”

I ignored Daisy’s comment and said to the vice-head,

“Order now, then.”

“Alright.”

As if it were the most natural thing to do, the vice-head pushed on the wall.

The wall slid open, and two men wearing white masks appeared. Daisy immediately pulled out her dagger and jumped forward.

“You sons of bitches!”

Faster than her, I grabbed Daisy’s wrist. While Daisy was flustered, the men in white masks held out two masks similar to the ones they were wearing.

The masks were identical in shape, except they were red.

I immediately put one on my face and handed the other to Daisy.

“Shh. It’s a secret, Daisy.”

“…A secret?”

Daisy’s face suddenly flushed, and she put on the mask without another word.

“Let’s go.”

I nodded at the vice-head and followed the white-masked men through the passage in the wall.

* * *

The contact Kant mentioned was the vice-head.

I had only just found out myself.

I had only been told that there was a contact in the Merchant Alliance, but I hadn’t been able to figure out exactly who it was.

The contact was supposed to give me a signal that I could recognize, and that signal turned out to be “chicken stew.”

It somehow hurt my pride, but it was a pretty clear signal.

At the end of the passage, a sight similar to what I had seen at Vanilla Sky appeared.

A stage in the center, with tiered seating surrounding it.

The white masks led me to a separate seating area, a bit away from the other seats.

It was a seat with a direct view of the stage, wider and higher than the others.

It seemed the seats were divided based on the color of the masks. The seat I was guided to was a kind of VIP seat.

Daisy, sitting next to me, whispered in my ear,

“There was a place like this here. What is it for?”

“You didn’t know? It’s a secret auction house.”

Daisy said in a somewhat excited voice,

“…Come to think of it, everyone is wearing masks.”

As Daisy and I sat side by side and looked around, about half of the seats were filled. Everyone in the regular seats was wearing gray masks.

In the dim lighting, I briefly imagined their identities.

They were all sitting with an air of importance, but none of them seemed particularly special. It was unlikely that anyone who knew Kant’s identity or anyone worth paying attention to was here.

Such people wouldn’t come all the way here to participate in an underground auction. If they needed something, they would have gone to a major city.

Even if their goal was information, they would have contacted Kant directly through the contact.

My conclusion was that they were either locals operating in this area or merchants who had picked up information on their travels.

They all probably thought they were participating in a very secretive auction, but in the end, even this was just a deception. It showed how clever Kant was.

‘Anyway, when is it going to start?’

I briefly turned my head to look to the right. Two people wearing red masks approached and took seats not far away.

‘Who are they?’

Wearing red masks and sitting in the VIP seats meant they were either wealthy or, like me, special cases.

Suddenly, with a flash in the darkness, a circular light shone on the center of the stage.

The stage lit up brightly, and a black mask slowly walked to the center.

———