Chapter 95: Acquiring Weapons - 11
Chapter 95: Acquiring Weapons - 11
Jiha quietly tipped off Uben beside him.
"Uben, block her."
Uben's face stiffened the moment he spotted Leticia. He'd already clocked that Jiha was lying low among the Commons at the far end of the table so the newly arrived Asira and Kamain wouldn't catch on. If Leticia addressed Jiha now, the whole scheme would shatter. The catch was, Jiha stepping in himself meant Asira would notice.
Grasping the situation, Uben rose swiftly and approached Leticia.
Leticia, who'd been bearing down on Jiha with a stormy expression, frowned the instant she saw Uben. Even though Jiha had tamed her, she still looked down on other species—and she loathed beastmen most of all.
Already seething, Leticia snapped.
"A furball is blocking my way right now? Are you insane?"
"...I'm not sure what this is about, but let's step outside and talk, Lady Leticia."
"I didn't come here to talk to the likes of you. Move. Now."
Uben racked his brain. He had to get Leticia out of the banquet hall with as little commotion as possible, before Asira caught wind of it. But Leticia was a Unique—not someone a Common like Uben could physically stop. And if it turned into a scene, Asira would find out anyway.
As Uben floundered, Leticia's voice rose even higher.
"If you don't move this instant...!"
"The Chief will come and find you himself if you wait outside."
Leticia faltered the moment Uben invoked Jiha's name. Uben knew, for all her prickliness, Leticia didn't dare treat Jiha carelessly—she actually deferred to him.
"A drinking party with this many people isn't fit for a serious conversation. And if voices get raised, the Chief will get angry. I'll take responsibility and arrange a proper spot, so could you please wait outside for just a moment?"
Uben scrambled to keep talking.
"The Chief is drunk right now as well, and he'd like to sober up a bit before seeing you, Lady Leticia. He doesn't want to receive you while he's disheveled."
"...Is that so? That's what he said?"
Leticia's furious expression softened a fraction. She spoke primly.
"I'll be spending time with that half, so tell him to come as fast as possible. I won't wait long."
"Yes, I'll relay it at once."
Leticia shot Jiha one last glare past Uben, then spun around and strode out.
Finally catching his breath, Uben trudged back over to Jiha.
"Did that work?"
"Well enough."
Uben glanced toward the head of the table; Asira and Kamain were surrounded by a wall of Commons. Jiha had used Uben to block Leticia, and at the same time made sure a wall of Commons encircled Asira and Kamain so they'd never learn she'd shown up. A superb response to a sudden intrusion.
Inwardly impressed, Uben reported what had passed between him and Leticia.
"I'll handle things here, so you should go, Chief. I don't know the reason, but she seemed truly furious... and it'd be a problem if things go sideways, wouldn't it?"
Jiha nodded, getting to his feet. He didn't know what had gotten Leticia so worked up, but he couldn't leave it alone.
Leticia was on the barracks promenade with Lijin. Lijin was making conversation under the dim Mana lamps, and Leticia had her lips pressed tightly together, her face sulky. When Jiha approached, Lijin bowed her head and then tactfully withdrew.
Leticia turned to face him.
"You...!"
"Haa."
Jiha cut off whatever she was about to say with a sigh. Leticia, ready to explode, flinched and hesitated under that cold stare.
"Do you even know what kind of gathering this is, showing up here?"
With the whole thing nearly derailed, Jiha was thoroughly irritated.
"...Did I walk into somewhere forbidden? I've come here before—so what's the problem? And I came without telling anyone else, so there's no issue."
"......."
"Wha—what. Why are you so angry? I'm the one who should be angry right now, you know?"
Leticia aimed for sharpness, but the force bled right out of her voice. She'd charged over in a fury, but now that Jiha was glaring back at her, she found herself shrinking.
Jiha silenced Leticia with a look alone, then nodded.
"First, talk to me. Why did you come?"
"...I looked into that woman you mentioned."
A report on Iroha, then.
Leticia added,
"Of course, I hid my identity and only investigated. I thought it over and realized things might blow up."
"That was well done."
Meaning she'd conducted the investigation while concealing the fact that Iroha is a Gray Elf, a creature out of legend.
Leticia's face lit up at Jiha's praise, and she spoke rapidly.
"They call her Deadheart. She's been around longer than any merchant in Waris. Nobody knows when she first appeared in the city. But she holds enormous funds, and it seems she's been subtly meddling in several historical events in Waris, too. She almost never takes direct action herself—she apparently uses money and people to handle it instead... but the merchants of Waris are definitely cowed by her."
"If she's that prominent, why hasn't that information reached me?"
"She's rarely appeared before people in person over hundreds of years, and she only operates within Waris—she's never expanded her influence outward. Normally, for a merchant to thrive, getting involved in trade, logistics, and distribution with other cities is an essential step, right? But that woman, by trade..."
"Brothels deal in people. There's no real need to expand their influence to other cities. And Waris is a border city, so people flock here on their own anyway."
"...Right."
Leticia continued her report with a slightly uncomfortable look.
"If she'd put her mind to it, she probably could've swallowed up other industries too, but she simply drew the line, saying she'd only run this kind of business. So the merchants of Waris count themselves lucky she doesn't expand."
"I see..."
In truth, Iroha was the real power among Waris's merchants—the grand elder, essentially. He'd already had a rough grasp of that, but detailed intel like this was meaningful.
"And even if her name isn't known, her surname is probably fake. Elves don't name themselves that way."
Jiha nodded. The reason Iroha holed up inside Waris, refusing to expand her business and only running brothels, was because there was good cause for it. A brothel is an excellent place for her to hide away, and it means she never has to worry about distribution or other complications.
Leticia said,
"...This is only a possibility, but Blue Seal likely doesn't know that woman exists. If they did, there's no way Cheonho would stay put."
Cheonho the Legend. One of the two rulers of Blue Seal.
"Because if Cheonho had known about a Gray Elf's existence, she would inevitably have made a move. They even exterminated every last incubus—she might try to stuff and mount a Gray Elf."
"Is it reliable information that they killed all the incubi?"
"Ah, though Blue Seal itself doesn't know these facts properly—"
A strange air of superiority flickered across Leticia's face. Happy that she could preen in front of Jiha, she puffed out her chest and spoke proudly.
"After the Thousand-Year War ended, Cheonho secretly slaughtered the incubi who'd barely survived. The elves were extensively gathering intelligence back then, so that information is definite."
"Why? Were the incubi that threatening as a species?"
"Not particularly. The powerful incubi were almost all killed during the Thousand-Year War. The ones who survived were weak, but she still exterminated them completely."
Which meant a Legend Grade being who jointly ruled Blue Seal had carried out a secret purge, even though they posed no real threat.
'So Kamain survived that slaughter and climbed all the way to Super Rare. And Cheonho knew a Unique from her own faction was doing this and tolerated it?'
The situation looked more complicated than expected, but it was something to confirm later.
Jiha nodded.
"Good. You did well."
Information about Iroha, and the fact that a Blue Seal ruler had massacred the incubi—both would be useful.
At Jiha's praise, Leticia smiled bashfully before quickly hardening her expression again.
"That's that, but... why did you break your promise to me?"
"What promise?"
Now that he thought about it, they still hadn't gotten to why Leticia had charged in so furious.
"You promised me! That in return for me looking into things, you wouldn't go to those filthy places!"
"......."
Apparently, word about Jiha fighting gnolls in the red-light district had reached Leticia's ears. Leticia fumed while glaring at Jiha.
"I, I..."
"I went there, but I didn't do anything with the girls there."
"......."
He went into a room salon and didn't even lay a finger on the girls, just drank? Leticia bit her lip and fixed Jiha with a glare. Don't lie to me, that look said.
"I only exchanged information with Iroha and then came back."
Though he had done it with Enril then. But Enril had been his female from the very start, a woman he could take anytime he pleased anyway. There'd been none of the misunderstanding Leticia was imagining on her own.
"Really?"
"Does it seem like a lie?"
"...Urgh, that's..."
Leticia wore a conflicted look. Because of what had happened with Pamin, the mere thought of a man entering a sleazy place triggered her. Let alone when it was Jiha, who'd taken her first time—she'd been furious enough to fly off the handle.
"Leticia."
Jiha called her name as he pulled her into an embrace. When Leticia reflexively tried to push him away, he caught her wrist and tugged her in.
Jiha murmured into the ear of the blonde elf in his arms.
"Think I'd lie to you?"
"Tha—that's..."
This human man could be frightening and cruel, but he'd never once lied to her.
Squeeze.
Jiha gripped Leticia's backside, and she jolted in surprise, trembling.
"Wha—what are you doing. No. Stop..."
"I asked if you think I'm lying."
"......."
Leticia's lips clamped shut at Jiha's low murmur. She'd rushed here, furious enough to demand answers from the top of her head... but now that Jiha had turned this serious, she didn't know how to handle it. It was starting to feel like she'd thrown a baseless tantrum born of groundless suspicion.
"...Th—that Gray Elf was pretty, too."
"So you're thinking I traded my body too, not just information? Is that what you believe?"
"So you didn't?"
Leticia forced a sharp tone, but her voice was trembling. Partly because she was scared of how Jiha would react if he really got serious and angry. And partly because, now that he'd turned it back on her in a wounded tone, she felt as if she'd upset him over a pointless misunderstanding.
'What if he actually did it...'
She'd have to get angry, tell him never to do that again. But Leticia had no confidence that Jiha would actually listen if she did. She was freshly reminded of her position. Whatever Jiha does, Leticia was in no place to do anything but follow.
But then Jiha whispered into her ear.
"I've been holding myself back so much I could die from wanting it, actually."
A crisis is an opportunity.
When a woman's angry, make her fall deeper.