The largest merchant guild in the North: Miph Merchant Guild. A syndicate with a long list of dirty secrets.
“The company’s internal affairs team will likely hold you responsible, Lord Louis. What do you intend to do?”
What did I intend to do?
I let out a soft scoff, the corners of my lips curling into a smile.
Did he think I didn’t know that the pig was the Trademaster of the Miph Merchant Guild?
I knew everything and did it anyway.
The Miph Merchant Guild had long-standing ties to the Duchy of Artezia behind the scenes.
Could I really leave a company like that alone?
Perfect. I needed a gift for Lea.
Imagine the largest merchant guild in the North, securing an exclusive contract with the Duchy of Praha.
And if I became the one in charge of that contract?
My standing within the family would rise even higher.
At the very least, anything related to money would have to go through me, and that would also greatly benefit my wife-to-be, Lea.
This alone would make things much easier for her when the time came to claim the head seat of the family.
To win the family, financial power comes first.
Besides, when word got out that the Miph Merchant Guild had fallen under Praha’s control, how would Artezia react?
Oh, they’d surely grind their teeth. Maybe even faint from rage.
Shame I won’t get to see Hera’s face when she hears.
Smirking at the thought of Hera suffering, I spoke casually to the proprietor. “Consider it a necessary part of the mission.”
“...Pardon?”
“I have a way to deal with it. No need to worry.”
I patted Kai on the head as I started laying out the rest of my plan.
With Kai alone, I could fend off most future assassins.
Unless they were high-level enough to kill an Aura Master, no one below the rank of intermediate assassin could escape his senses.
And he hadn’t even received proper training yet.
Now that’s talent.
In the Eastern Continent, they called people like him “Heavenly Killing Stars.”
Not that I had a clue as to what that meant.
In any case… I could stop worrying about assassins for now. The next move was to devour the Miph Merchant Guild.
It’s been a while. I should pay them a visit.
I smiled faintly, thinking of the connections from my past life.
“Oh, and I’ll be taking this boy with me,” I added.
“I’m sorry?”
“I already spoke with Lexa. Just let her know and she’ll handle the details.”
“...Yes, sir.”
“And if you could, I’d appreciate it if you cleared the debts of all the young servants here. I trust that’s doable?”
The proprietor’s eyes darted as he quickly estimated the number of children.
Twenty. That many would cost about the same as a single white gold coin.
But could he refuse?
He’d been ordered by the branch chief to comply with anything I asked.
All he could do was bow.
“...I understand.”
“Thank you.” I gave his shoulder a friendly pat and stepped outside.
Lancelot was waiting, looking like a restless dog as he grumbled at me. “What took you so long? And what was all that noise in there?”
He hadn’t even touched the bottle of booze on the table. It was still full.
I smirked at that. “Let’s go.”
“You’re not going to answer me?”
“You wouldn’t get it even if I told you.”
“...Bloody superiors.”
“I can hear you.”
“I meant for you to hear it, sir. Seriously…” Lancelot grumbled and made a sour face. Then, eyeing Kai, he asked, “Anyway, are you all right? You’ve got blood on you. And who’s the kid?”
“Not my blood. I’m fine. As for him, he’ll be my attendant just like you. Say hello, boys.”
“What?! You picked up an attendant here? No—wait, why am I your attendant?!”
“You haven’t exactly been pulling your weight as a bodyguard.”
“You told me to wait outside!”
“Kai, don’t learn bad habits like that. Speaking informally to your master? Very improper.”
“Should I kill him?” Kai asked.
“Hm, no, don’t kill him. He might be useful someday.”
“You son of a—!”
Lancelot exploded, while Kai quietly nodded.
Such a heartwarming scene indeed.
* * *
Meanwhile, at the Assassins’ Guild, a group of assassins gathered around a request form.
--------------------
[Target: Louis Berg]
[Tier: Aura Adept]
[Special Note: Capable of attacks on the level of an Aura Expert.]
--------------------
“This makes the second time.”
The Guildmaster flicked his finger, frowning at the form.
Two assassination requests for Louis Berg… in the same week at that.
A noble target normally fell into one of two categories: either someone risked their life for revenge, or it was a calculated move to remove a political rival.
This one was clearly the latter.
“Who submitted the requests?” the Guildmaster asked.
“One came from Baron Ventra. Officially, he filed it himself, but he was obviously pressured.”
The Guildmaster nodded. “No doubt about that. No one with a brain would openly request a hit on someone from the Berg family.”
When nobles were the target, client identification was essential.
That way, if things went south, the Guild wouldn’t be left unprotected.
“Baron Ventra... didn’t this fellow have ties to Artezia?”
“He does indeed, sir.”
“So it’s true then—the daughter of Artezia got rejected by that wastrel of Berg.” The Guildmaster nodded again, muttering under his breath. “And the other request?”
“Err... It came from the Duchy of Praha.”
“Hm?” The Guildmaster blinked in confusion.
Not linked to the Duchy of Praha, but from the Duchy of Praha?
Praha had commissioned a direct kill order?
“You’re sure?”
“…Yes, sir. I checked multiple times, but it appears certain,” the Vice-Guildmaster answered.
The Guildmaster tapped the table, lips pursed.
No matter how insane someone was, no imbecile would provoke one of the Empire’s two ducal families. Selling out their name in this manner, of all things, was tantamount to an open declaration of war.
Which meant the commission itself was real.
Is this even possible though?
The Guildmaster eyed the request form with deep suspicion.
Both Ducal Houses wanted Louis Berg dead?
Such an event had never happened before in his time leading the guild.
Even if it’s real, is it worth the risk? The forces of Berg might unleash their fury on our Guild.
No, the Bergs would retaliate for certain. That spear-wielding maniac, especially...
“…I’d say it’s best to pass on this one,” the Assassin Guildmaster muttered, casually setting the form aside.
But then, the Vice-Guildmaster dropped the next bombshell.
“Both of the Ducal Houses are offering 20 white gold coins. And... if we leave no trace, they’ll accept us as vassals.”
“...Is that true?” The Guildmaster’s eyes widened.
That changed everything.
Twenty white gold coins and a path to noble vassalage?
The risks were steep, but with rewards like that, diving in felt like the only sensible choice. At least, in his eyes.
High risk. High reward. A golden opportunity lay before the Guildmaster.
“You’re absolutely sure?” he asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“Geheheheh... Such great rewards, just to kill one Aura Adept? Seems like even the highborn are scared by the Spears of Berg.”
The Guildmaster’s eyes gleamed with greed, a grin stretching across his face.
Twenty white gold coins—that was roughly the equivalent of an ordinary knight’s salary saved down to the last penny for 833 years.
And being taken in as a ducal vassal? That was the highest honor a commoner could dream of.
If I play my cards right... I might even earn a title.
“We’ll accept the request.” The Guildmaster grinned, imagining a glorious future.
“…Are you sure?”
“I am. I fear the Bergs, too… but it would be regretful to let such an opportunity slip away. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“…I understand. Then who should we assign?”
The Guildmaster paused.
To solve such a huge request, there absolutely had to be no mistake. But then, he couldn’t take the job himself—the revenge of the Bergs frightened him.
After minutes of contemplation, he finally scribbled something on the request form.
“This should do.”
Then the Guildmaster carelessly moved on to the next request.
Only his scribbled note remained.
[One high-tier assassin. Five mid-tier assassins.]
It was the biggest mistake of his life.
* * *
Meanwhile, Louis arrived in the slums with Lancelot.
As they said: strike while the iron’s hot. This sort of matter had to be handled immediately.
“Why are we here again?” Lancelot complained. “The slums in the North are no joke. Even a lot of knights avoid this place.”
“Mmm. Doesn’t look so bad,” Louis remarked.
“That’s ‘cause this is just the entrance. The knight order patrols here sometimes. But they can’t go deeper, even if they want to.”
“Why not?”
Thud.
Louis tapped a wooden board with his foot. It flipped up, releasing a wave of sewer stench. Tiny flies buzzed around their ears.
“I can see the place is in disarray,” Louis observed dryly.
Lancelot snorted incredulously. “It’s because of those Assassins’ Guild scumbags, of course. And the mess is because the locals always attack the knights when they show up.”
“Because they treat us like pests,” Kai interjected quietly. “They act all pure, like they’re a different kind. Looking down on us. Mocking us, even. Why should we trust them to run things? We’d rather take care of our own.”
“Kid, that’s because—!”
“Can you say I’m wrong?” Kai met Lancelot’s gaze head-on.
Lancelot fell silent, unable to offer a single word in response.
The slums of the North were different from those in other territories.
The North sat closest to the Demonic Realm, and the slums were the part of the North that lay closest to it.
And the North turned the slums into a kind of buffer zone.
An ugly necessity, perhaps. But to those forced to live there, it was nothing short of dehumanizing.
They even had a name for the people who lived in the slums: monster feed.
Those not from the slums would sneer and call them snacks for Darkspawn. And because of that constant mockery, the slum dwellers banded together and shut everyone else out.
Kai went on, “Don’t talk like you understand when you don’t know anything. At the very least, my siblings aren’t here because they want to be.”
Realizing he’d put his foot in his mouth, Lancelot gave his head a hard scratch and offered a quiet apology.
“...Er, I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. You just need to avoid doing it again.”
“Ugh... this kid makes me wonder who the adult is here.”
“Not you, at least. No need to wonder about that,” Louis pointed out. Then he turned to Kai. “Anyway, looks like we’re almost there. Where to next?”
“This way.” Kai pointed at a wall. A ragged cloth hung there.
He lifted it, revealing a narrow opening.
“Excuse me,” Louis said quietly, ducking through the entrance.
A rundown shanty lay beyond.
“This must be your house.”
Louis glanced around the room, tone indifferent—until something caught his eye.
His expression turned to shock.
...Why is THAT here?!