“The bastard took the bait.”
At Cesare’s report, I nodded.
With both the wasteland and the mine getting wrecked simultaneously, Kurt Karabin would need to recover his losses in a hurry.
There was no way he could afford to refuse the deal I had arranged to look so appetizing.
That said, he wouldn’t fall for it like some fool.
A shallow ploy like this would only work on someone like Timershi, who was born to be an idiot.
“When do we meet?”
“He said to meet tomorrow at the Tirhan Distillery. Here.”
Following Cesare’s finger, I looked over the map. It was an inland region not far from the western sea.
“Is there anything special about the place?”
“Do you want the official answer or the unofficial one?”
“I’ll take both.”
Cesare looked to the subordinate standing nearby, who quickly handed over a few documents.
“Officially, it’s just a distillery. Also the second-largest producer of spirits in the Federation. Details are, well, in those papers.”
“Hmm. And unofficially?”
“It’s a storage facility for the Borgia Liquor Guild. It’s connected to the western ports, but as you can see, the location isn’t great, so it’s not heavily used.”
Indeed, it wasn’t close to any of the western ports, and the road was winding. Not a convenient spot—clearly chosen for secrecy.
“This alone doesn’t tell us where he operates.”
“Well, we could just trace the buyers, couldn’t we?”
“Our opponent isn’t stupid. There’s no way he’d fall for that.”
“Didn’t you make this deal just to locate him?”
Cesare tilted his head.
Seemed like he thought I’d throw out bait and track him back once he took it.
“If he didn’t record the final destination in the ledger, it means he’s cautious. He won’t walk into a simple trap like that.”
“Then what do you plan to do?”
I answered Cesare’s question with a faint smile.
I was planning to use a method Valheit had once used in the original.
“He’s probably thinking about how to collect the goods while shaking off pursuit.”
“To recover losses, he has no choice.”
“No need to step into a battlefield the enemy has already prepared.”
If he’s already set up a plan to grab the goods while staying hidden, I had no reason to meet him head-on.
“He has to walk into the trap already caught—before he realizes it.”
***
“They’ve accepted the deal.”
Still with a splint and bandages on his wrist, Thule spoke, and the ornately dressed man sitting across from him frowned.
“And the goods?”
“Fifteen, all Demon Tribe. I confirmed them departing from Novosibir myself and put surveillance on them. We’re scheduled to meet tomorrow at the Tirhan Distillery.”
Lok Karabin furrowed his brow slightly.
Things were going too smoothly—suspiciously so.
After the Novosibir incident, it was well-known that Cesare had started tearing through every smuggler group using the Borgia Liquor Guild.
Whether he got his hands on the ledger or not, the focus of his investigation was clearly the western region of the Federation.
While Lok’s organization had taken precautions and wasn’t in trouble yet, he couldn’t stay in hiding forever.
‘Clients in Dix don’t have much patience.’
The Dix Autonomous District constantly needed fresh slaves.
Lok had pushed out his competitors and became the only supplier, but if he stopped delivering goods, he’d be ousted in no time.
To keep the finicky clients entertained, he had to keep sending product.
Especially the Demon Tribe—usually used for entertainment or education purposes—made the clients even pickier.
In that situation, fifteen Demon Tribe was a tempting enough offer to be worth the risk.
“Is everything ready at the Tirhan Distillery?”
“We’ve stationed mercenaries on the outside, and placed our men inside as well. They’re just grunts who don’t know about your presence, so even if they get caught, it won’t be a problem.”
“You’d better handle this transaction properly. Screw up like in Novosibir, and there won’t be another chance.”
“Understood.”
Thule nodded and quickly left.
After a deep breath, Lok stood up and opened the window.
The scent of the sea washed in, revealing a wide and calm harbor.
It was thanks to Lok that this once unimpressive western port had grown so large.
A shabby fishing village had turned into a hub full of trading posts and companies.
After building his business to this point, there was no way he was giving up.
‘The only variable is the mercenary mage the Demon Tribe supposedly hired.’
Even without Cesare’s involvement, it was likely the Demon Tribe had moved to rescue their own.
‘They wouldn’t act directly—so that mage is probably doing it for them.’
The odds weren’t high, but it was the last loose end.
If he could just minimize the chance of being detected by magic...
“E-excuse me, Lord Lok.”
“What is it? I thought our conversation was finished.”
Annoyance boiled up in Lok at Thule’s trembling voice.
Sensing the anger, Thule lowered his voice even more.
“There’s intel that a human mage is asking about Kurt Karabin at Yurman Port…”
At this point, there could only be one mage looking for him.
If they were already sniffing around the largest western port, then this one would be the next.
He had to stop them before that.
“Wh-what should we do?”
Thule asked cautiously.
If he was acting alone, then striking first would be better.
“I’ll take care of that side myself. You go to the Tirhan Distillery immediately and prepare the deal.”
“Yes, sir.”
A mercenary mage working alone, after all.
If he just eliminated that one, there’d be no more problems.
***
I let out a long yawn as I looked at the sunset over Yurman Port.
Just going around asking about Kurt Karabin was already wearing me out.
“Not a single guy claimed to know anything, though.”
Well, even if they did know him, no one would talk about something so shady.
Yurman Port, called the flower of the west, was the second-largest harbor in the Northern Federation, bustling with trade and smuggling alike.
If you wanted to keep doing business in the Federation, you stayed far away from the slavers.
“Hope the rumors spread well.”
An outsider going around looking for someone—obviously that would get attention.
And of course, it would reach the ears of the slave traders, who were sensitive to information.
I never expected him to be here to begin with. Yurman’s too big for a covert operation.
Still, I came to Yurman for one reason—to drag that well-hidden rat into the open.
Dong. Dong.
The large bell signaling the time echoed through the air. Once it faded, silence followed.
The rowdy noise from just ten minutes earlier had disappeared. So they’d come.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the bench I’d just been sitting on splintered apart.
Brushing off the bits of wood from my clothes, I stood up.
“Quite the aggressive welcome. Is this standard?”
“My apologies if we startled you.”
A man in a black suit descended the stairs, smiling.
With gold embroidery on his clothes and a brooch adorned with several jewels, he clearly wasn’t some random passerby.
“I’d like to speak with Mr. Kurt Karabin. Could you guide me to him?”
“What a coincidence. I’m that Karabin.”
Huh… I didn’t expect him to show up in person.
I thought he’d push the job off to his underlings.
“You must be the one who broke our poor chief’s wrist. He had nothing but praise for you—said you were quite the mage.”
I gave a slight nod in thanks.
Not that I’d done anything special.
“So, why are you looking for me? Actually, let me rephrase—who do you work for? Baron Gangdo? The Demon Tribe? Cesare? Or… the Empire?”
“Unfortunately, you’re wrong on all counts. I work for an organization called the Eight Council.”
“The Eight Council?”
Kurt Karabin frowned, seemingly digging through his memory to place the name.
“Never heard of it.”
“Understandable. We don’t like to operate in the spotlight.”
“Then why would such a group come after a mere merchant like me?”
“There are many reasons, Mr. Lok Karabin.”
His face twisted. It was a delightful sight.
“How do you know that name…”
“It doesn’t take much to find out if you look into the prestigious Karabin family. You’re the classic wastrel who ended up in the Northern Federation peddling slaves, far from the family head.”
I batted away the blue mana spear flying toward me with Mana Grasp.
Its deflected trajectory pierced a wall and tore apart a house.
“Bit hot-headed, aren’t you?”
“…Since you know the Karabins, you must also know this.”
With a graceful wave of his hand, a mana spear formed behind Lok.
It was larger and more charged than the last one.
“The Karabin family is known for their magic.”
“Ha! Is there any noble family in the Empire not known for magic?”
Final shot.
“If they were that great at magic, wouldn’t they be living in the Imperial Capital, not the Dix Autonomous District?”
Mana spears came flying in waves.
Every place I dodged left a crater behind.
“What’s your name?”
“Please call me Falsh.”
“I was going to offer you a recruitment deal… but it looks like you’re in a hurry to die, Falsh.”
Being able to control 6th-tier mana spears so freely meant he was a fairly skilled mage.
For someone like me who hadn’t faced a professional mage before, he made a good benchmark.
The combat spells I could use right now were 8th-tier Mana Grasp, 7th-tier Discharge, and various 9th-tier spells.
I planned to find out just how far I could go with them.
“Trying to fight one-on-one?”
“!”
I barely dodged the mana spear flying from behind.
‘Right… no way he came alone.’
Using Valheit’s senses, I checked—excluding the furious Lok, four others were targeting me.
“Sorry, but I’ve got something to take care of. Looks like I need to kill you quickly.”
Ignoring Lok’s sneer, I assessed the situation. Judging by their mana flow, all four were mages.
I guess I should be glad I have more sparring partners now.
“Then I’ll gladly take you all on.”
Gathering mana in my palm, it compressed and twisted, releasing a crackling sound and a faint burning smell.
Seeing that, the arrogant smile on Lok’s face faltered slightly.
Seemed he realized how much mana I’d gathered wasn’t normal.
I gave a small grin and threw the gathered mana into the air.
The mana floated briefly—then exploded, turning into a light that engulfed all of Yurman Port.
“Well then, shall we begin?”