I'm an Inquisitor, You're a Heretic
Just as dawn was beginning to break, a shop in a corner of Balifield was bustling with preparations to open.
"Whew—it's exceptionally chilly this morning, isn't it?"
"It's about that time of year. Once we finish tidying this up, I'll light a fire in the stove."
Following the devastating flood that wiped out the Undercity Family, significant changes swept through Balifield. The boundary between the citizens of the surface city and the residents of the subterranean Undercity grew blurrier than ever before.
Of course, even before the deluge, it was common for Balifield residents to work on the surface by day and lounge in the taverns of the Undercity by night. But after the disaster, the number of underground residents migrating to the surface surged dramatically, and some even became official registered citizens of Balifield. Henry and Charles were among them.
"Looking at the sales records from the past week, I think it would be best to move these items further inside the shop. Since most of our customers buy them anyway, extending their walking path would..."
"My, you really are something else. At this rate, people will think you're the shopkeeper and I'm the employee."
"Ehehe."
Charles offered a bashful laugh at Henry's praise.
"Strictly speaking, it's thanks to you that we managed to move up to the surface like this."
"I only offered my opinion, though. In the end, you were the one who made the decision, Mister."
Henry chuckled softly and looked around. The shop, currently being prepped for opening, was packed with goods sourced from various channels. Charles checked the inventory and condition of the merchandise daily. During business hours, he ran around tirelessly, greeting and assisting customers. Finding an employee of his caliber was practically impossible. It was no exaggeration to say that their ability to expand the business to this extent was entirely due to Charles. He was a magnificent gift left behind by Yohan—that peculiar fellow who traveled with the pointy-eared elf.
Before long, the preparations were complete. Henry stuffed firewood into the stove and lit it.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen that fellow Yohan since then."
"He's probably very busy. He travels all over the place."
"Well, yes. He'll drop by at least once before I die. We did sign a contract, even if it was mostly verbal."
Finishing his thought, Henry stood up, walked over to Charles, and patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"Well, we still have a bit of time before we open. Let's have a relaxing cup of coffee."
"Yes, sir."
Henry headed up the stairs to the kitchen on the upper floor. Left alone on the ground floor, Charles walked over to a table in the corner of the shop and unfolded the newspaper that had arrived just this morning. To be honest, calling it a newspaper was a stretch; compared to the ones he used to read back in Burgund, the content was sparse and the print quality was crude. The articles were all written by administrators from the lord's castle, making it more of a periodic public newsletter than an actual newspaper.
Still, Charles didn't mind. He hummed a tune as he scanned the pages. Balifield was hardly a place with a massive, highly developed economic system like his homeland, the Corporate State, so he had to be grateful that anything resembling a newspaper existed here at all.
Indeed. I was originally destined to die at the hands of bandits in a foreign land. He had to be thankful just to be alive, working and earning a living in such a wonderful shop. Charles pictured the faces of Yohan, Falco, and the Goddess in his mind.
After Yohan and Falco left Charles in his care, Henry made a bold decision. He resolved to leave the Undercity behind and become an honorable, law-abiding citizen of Balifield. There were two main reasons for this. First, Henry himself had secretly harbored a desire to escape the criminal underworld. Second, moving to the surface was far safer for Charles.
Following the collapse of the Undercity Family, Balifield's underworld had descended into utter chaos. With the Big Boss—the undisputed ruler of the underworld—vanishing without a trace and his syndicate dismantled, the petty thugs who had long bowed their heads to the Family began to run wild.
Of course, relocating to the surface was no simple feat. To be recognized as official residents of Balifield, they had to pay a hefty sum to the Lord of Balifield. This would have been impossible if Henry hadn't amassed a significant fortune from his years of trading in the Undercity.
Yet, taking that leap of faith had paid off. The collapse of the syndicate brought massive shifts in real estate ownership, and Henry and Charles reaped the benefits. The Undercity Family had previously extended its reach to the surface, owning several properties there. Upon their downfall, those buildings naturally reverted to the Lord of Balifield.
To fill the financial deficit caused by the flood recovery efforts, the lord put those properties on the market. Henry pooled his remaining savings with Charles's funds to purchase one of them. Though they were left virtually penniless, they had successfully elevated their status from lifelong denizens of the subterranean slums to proud, legitimate citizens of Balifield.
On top of that, the duo began salvaging, restoring, and selling stolen goods left behind in the flooded ruins. In this endeavor, Charles's extraordinary eye for value proved to be an absolute godsend. There were other avenues for acquiring merchandise as well—or rather, the primary route Henry had always relied on: external channels outside the city, including Junk Town. As far as Charles knew, Yohan and Falco had also come to Balifield from that very place.
To the average citizen of Balifield, the Undercity and Junk Town were like ticking time bombs, liable to explode at any moment. With sinister rumors about Junk Town circulating daily, not only the common folk but even the Lord of Balifield, who ruled the surrounding territory, viewed the lawless settlement as a massive eyesore.
Nevertheless, the people of Balifield didn't merely fear Junk Town. For merchants like Henry, the illicit goods flowing from it were a vital source of income. Furthermore, while Junk Town was undoubtedly a perilous haven for outlaws and scoundrels, that very nature made it a hub for information that surface dwellers would otherwise never hear. For instance...
...rumors of a group of lunatics calling themselves a "knightly order" who went around hunting down and obliterating local bandit clans and highwaymen.
The rumors surrounding this "knightly order" were truly formidable. They were powerful combatants who hunted down every wanted criminal in the vicinity, yet for some reason, they never brought the criminals' heads to Balifield to claim the bounties. From the perspective of the Lord of Balifield, this meant saving a fortune in bounty payouts. Instead, they reportedly swept the outlaws' hideouts clean of anything valuable. This was highly likely the reason behind the recent surge in illicit goods flowing into Balifield.
Meanwhile, the Lord of Balifield was aware of the order's existence but chose not to interfere. He probably figures it's best to leave them be since they're voluntarily cleaning up the troublesome outlaws in the region, Charles surmised.
However, the lord wouldn't leave them unchecked forever. Once the chaos following the Undercity Family's collapse settled down, he would undoubtedly move to suppress them. Alternatively, the "knightly order" might be aiming to become the new rulers of Balifield's underworld. In the power vacuum left behind, criminal factions that had once cowered under the Family's shadow were now openly warring for dominance. It wasn't entirely impossible that this order was making its move to claim that throne. Either scenario was highly plausible, making it difficult to predict their true intentions.
"Here we go, coffee as ordered."
"Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
As Charles leisurely browsed the paper, Henry returned with two steaming mugs.
"Whew..."
"Ah, perfect."
The two savored their morning coffee in peace. Once the shop opened, they wouldn't have the luxury of such leisure, so they had to enjoy it while they could. A moment later, Charles suddenly sensed a presence outside the front door.
Knock, knock, knock.
A soft rapping sounded on the door. The two exchanged silent glances. It wasn't opening time yet, and few people would bother knocking on a closed shop.
"..."
Henry nodded silently and stood up. Walking toward the entrance, he casually picked up a wooden club resting beneath the counter.
"Who is it? We aren't open yet," Henry called out through the closed door.
"What? Did they really move the shop?"
"Yeah. Maybe they took over a building left vacant by the flood."
Hearing the muffled voices of a young man and woman whispering outside, Charles's eyes widened.
"It's me. Yohan."
Henry's tense expression instantly melted away. He quickly unlocked all three deadbolts on the door and threw it wide open. At the same moment, Charles bolted from his seat and ran toward the entrance.
"Yohan!"
"Hey there. Have you been eating well?"
Standing past the threshold was a very familiar face.
"We were just talking about you. I can't believe you showed up at the perfect moment."
"Nothing too crazy happened while we were gone, right? Looking at our kid here, it seems you've been doing fine."
Yohan, Falco, Billy, and Agnes—four people in total—had entered Henry's shop.
"As you can see, nothing much has changed other than moving the shop. You've gathered quite a few new companions yourself."
"We didn't just move, either. We've officially become registered citizens of Balifield!"
Hearing this, Yohan and Falco looked genuinely surprised. In this godforsaken fantasy world, the requirements for a wasteland dweller to become a registered citizen of a territory were incredibly strict. To put it simply, it required money. One had to prove they possessed the financial means to pay taxes while living under the lord's protection.
"Wow, I'm jealous. None of us have identification papers or anything, except for one person. Heck, this pointy-eared elf is even a wanted fugitive back in her homeland."
Yohan joked, glancing back at his companions.
"Identification papers?"
"Ah, don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm glad you took such good care of our kid, Mister."
Now, it was time to get down to business. Yohan signaled Billy, who was carrying a massive backpack. Billy nodded and set the heavy pack down on the table.
Thud!
"That bag weighs a ton. Orcs certainly have incredible strength," Henry remarked, looking up at Billy.
Yohan and Falco burst into chuckles.
"This guy is actually a quarter-troll. He's usually gentle, but if you call him an Orc, he loses his mind and smashes everything, so watch out."
"Excuse me, when did I ever smash things?!"
"Oh? Then who was it that pulverized my dining table?"
Billy protested in dismay at Yohan's mischievous teasing, but he quickly hung his head in defeat at the follow-up question.
"It's nothing major, just some stuff we picked up while traveling around lately."
Yohan unzipped the backpack to show Henry the contents. It was packed with items of mysterious origin. Roughly seventy percent consisted of bladed weapons, including swords, while the rest was a mix of silver bars and various jewelry.
"We liquidated whatever we could on our end, but as we were sorting through the rest, I remembered our contract, Mister. I also wanted to drop by and see how little Charles was doing."
"..."
Henry and Charles silently exchanged glances. After a brief pause, Charles turned a curious gaze toward Yohan.
"Yohan."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"Have you by any chance heard of a group called the 'knightly order'? Lately, they've been hunting down and wiping out bandit gangs and highwaymen all over the area."
Flinch.
The moment the words "knightly order" left Charles's mouth, Yohan's eyes widened. He licked his lips, casting a wary glance at the boy.
"Sounds like they're talking about us."
Agnes, who had remained silent since entering the shop, finally spoke up for the first time.