50
Chapter 50
"Baronet Bio, please stop... Count Raymon is a member of the Kreis Duchy."
The manager stepped in, likely fearing the fallout would reach them.
"That's right, you brat! How dare a mere Baronet... Aaaagh!"
Since he didn't seem to get the hint, I twisted his arm further, and Raymon let out a scream of agony.
"Just because he's from the Kreis Duchy, does that mean he can run wild in another lord's territory?"
"Of course not, but..."
"Then bring me the key before we waste any more time."
The manager brought the key, and I released his arm.
"You bastard! That was cowardly!"
"Cowardly? I don't think that's a word someone who tried to grab me by the collar the moment we met should use."
His face turned red and blue, looking as if he might lunge at me again.
'Why didn't I just handle this quietly instead of making a scene?'
'A Mad Dog needs to be beaten in front of everyone. If you call them aside and reason with them, they just bark again.'
'That's true, but how are you going to deal with the aftermath?'
"Do you really think you'll get away with this?"
"You really do bark a lot. What if I don't get away with it? Are you going to run to your father and cry, 'A Baronet hit me, please punish him'?"
Many people around us snickered or covered their mouths to stifle their laughter.
At the same time, Raymon's face turned a deep shade of crimson, on the verge of exploding.
"H... how dare you insult my father..."
"When did I insult Duke Marshall? I was criticizing you, not the Duke."
Unable to take it, he tried to lunge again, but I twisted his arm just like before and kicked his shin, forcing him onto his knees to completely subdue him.
"Aaaagh!"
I whispered into the ear of the screaming man, keeping my voice low so others couldn't hear.
"I'm not the only one using the room. Someone who ensured a piece of trash like you didn't get kicked out of your position as a Count of the Empire will be staying there."
"What do you mean...?"
"If you don't know, ask your father."
Although the reservation was in my name, the one who actually booked it was Old Man Daph.
He was likely the one who paid for it, too.
Above all, while I would use it alone for five days, the old man would be using the room eventually, so it wasn't a lie.
After I let him go following the warning, his face remained red, but he no longer looked like he would attack.
The Duke probably wouldn't tell his son that he had begged the Director of Intelligence after being advised to turn himself in, but he seemed shaken by his own guilt.
I took the key from the manager and pushed through the crowd to board the Magic Elevator.
'Is it really okay to do this?'
'The old man will clean it up.'
'Then shouldn't you contact him immediately?'
'Why bother?'
The eyes of the Intelligence Agency are everywhere, after all.
* * *
"Wolf? When on earth is Zero arriving?"
"He'll come when it's time. Stop nagging."
A burly, rugged man called Wolf sighed and waved his hand.
"I wouldn't have come if you hadn't told me Zero was coming."
"Then get lost. You said you came to help, but you're more of a hindrance than a help..."
The woman, who had been complaining out of boredom, narrowed her eyes.
"What's with that attitude after I came all this way to help? You want to go a round?"
"Fine, I'll rip your wings off once and for all today."
As they both surged their magic power, the mana in the room began to fluctuate violently.
Screeeech—
Along with the sound of the door opening, the atmospheric magic power that seemed ready to explode vanished in an instant, as if it had never been there.
"Sorry, am I a bit late?"
The moment Eagle, who had been facing off with Wolf, saw the man in black greeting them with a grin, she rushed toward him.
"Zero! It's been so long."
She lunged at him as if to tackle him, but the man caught her in a light hug, as if he were used to it.
"Lion told me Eagle was coming this time. You're early."
"That's only because I wanted to see you as soon as possible, Zero."
She spoke shyly, blushing in his arms—a complete contrast to how she had treated Wolf moments ago.
"I also heard from Lion that Eagle would be helping with this operation. It's very reassuring."
He spoke while naturally stroking her hair, a gesture that seemed very familiar.
"Am I invisible?"
The man released the hug.
"Oh, Wolf, since you're a Werewolf, are you a transparent Werewolf... No? Not funny?"
Wolf shook his head and let out a sigh.
"Your personality hasn't changed a bit."
"I don't know about Werewolves, but for humans, changing means you're dead."
The man stepped away and offered his hand to Wolf.
"This hasn't changed either."
"A handshake is a symbol of trust."
Immediately after the handshake, the meeting began.
"Wolf, how is the progress?"
"I've found all the potential mine sites, but the lord is being so lukewarm that progress is slow."
"What's the reason?"
"What else could it be? Wolf is just incompetent."
"This Sparrow really has a big mouth..."
"S... Sparrow? You want to die!"
The atmosphere felt as if another fight was about to break out, but Zero stepped in.
"Eagle, Wolf is not incompetent."
"Hmph, he can't even manipulate a tiny territory like this; that is the definition of incompetence. If I had been in charge from the start, we wouldn't have needed to request support."
Wolf's face turned red, and fur instantly sprouted on his arms.
"Eagle, you're acting out just because you trust Zero..."
"Both of you, that's enough."
Zero stopped them, but Wolf still hadn't reverted from his transformation.
"Eagle, Wolf couldn't give it his all because he had to work covertly. Furthermore, Creta Island is the most famous tourist spot in the Beluga Empire. Eagle, apologize right now, or I'll remove you from this operation."
"...O... Okay. I'm sorry."
"Wolf, you went too far as well. Calling a colleague a bitch."
"...My apologies."
Wolf also reverted to his human form.
"Let me guess the reason. I suspect it's because Viscount Lapierre is wealthy. Am I right?"
As Zero suggested, Lapierre's title was merely a Viscount, but since he was the lord of the empire's most famous tourist destination, his income was astronomical.
"Correct. He's so rich that he's indifferent to developing an iron mine."
"Then why not just tell him it's a gold mine?"
Eagle offered her opinion, but Wolf—and even Zero for a moment—looked at her with pity.
"Why?"
"Typical bird-brain... actually thinking for once..."
"Wolf! I believe I told you to watch your tongue."
When Zero glared at Wolf, he jumped in surprise.
"M... My apologies."
"Eagle, no lord of any country would hand over the development and mining rights of a gold mine."
From a lord's perspective, developing and mining a gold mine personally is the most profitable option.
"Is that so? Then instead of a gold mine, we can just say we found a silver mine."
"Silver mines are similar to gold mines."
"What?"
"The profit is slightly lower, but unless it's an iron mine, it's common sense that lords own and manage them directly!"
"But since you can make weapons with the iron from an iron mine, shouldn't those be managed even more strictly?"
"Of course, high-quality iron mines of significant size are managed separately. However, there are over a thousand iron mines in the Beluga Empire."
"I see. I've learned something new."
Wolf shook his head at Eagle, looking exasperated.
"You said you came to help, yet here you are, learning the basics."
"It's not my area of expertise, so it's natural I wouldn't know."
"Enough, both of you. Wolf, what's the plan?"
"There is no plan. Ordinary bribes aren't working."
"Maybe you're not offering enough? No noble hates money."
Wolf shook his head once more.
"I told you to think before you speak, didn't I?"
"Eagle, if we spend too much, they'll think it's suspicious, wondering why someone would pay that much for a mere iron mine."
"Ah! You're right. Then what do we do?"
"It's simple."
Both Wolf and Eagle turned their gaze toward Zero.
"If they're too rich to consider selling the mine, then we simply make them so poor they can't afford not to sell it."
* * *
What on earth is this place?
'I don't think magic is even necessary here.'
Ark was right.
Magic really wasn't needed.
Having checked in, I thought about heading to the beach to enjoy some sunbathing, but Ark scolded me, saying it wasn't right for me to just play around without working.
I planned to rest for a couple of days before moving, but since practical training starts on Monday, I headed to the forest to avoid being spotted by the trainees while searching for ruins.
It would be troublesome if I were seen during the training period and received requests like, 'Instructor, could you come along with us?'
I plan to meet the trainees on Friday when their practicals end.
Since the return ship leaves at 5:00 and training ends at 10:00 AM, they'll be exhausted; they'd probably love it if I rented a dining hall and bought them a meal.
As I'd heard, I encountered quite a few Kobolds and Goblins, but they lacked proper equipment.
With no powerful entities like Shamans or Knights, I dealt with them easily.
The disappointing part was that no ruins were discovered.
I haven't searched everywhere yet, but as Ark said, it's more likely they're on an island other than Creta.
Still, I wasn't disappointed.
Though there were no ruins, there was an incredible amount of wild ginseng.
I found three colonies where more than ten roots were gathered together.
No, including the one I just found, that makes four.
It's slightly disappointing that the oldest is only 150 years old and only three roots are over a century old, but the quantity is overwhelming.
A total of forty-four roots.
This was the haul even after I left the young roots under twenty years old untouched.
Perhaps it's because no Elves live here to trample them, thinking they're poisonous weeds?
At any rate, I no longer have to worry about the ginseng for Imperial Princess Helena.
Old Man Roy mentioned that the Princess learns quickly, so she'll likely run low on magic power again by summer.
Since he said she could easily become a 6th Circle Master if her magic power held up, I just need to feed it to her at the right time.
Of course, I don't intend to give her all the ginseng I found today.
'Ark, how much should the Princess eat to reach the 6th Circle?'
'How should I know? Just give her one of the century-old ones first, then feed her the others from youngest to oldest.'
I'm a bit bummed because I wanted to eat all the century-old roots myself.
To be fair, Ark told me I already have enough magic power, so it wouldn't have a huge effect, but that means it still has some effect.
As the sun began to set and it seemed there were no more ginseng colonies, I prepared to head back, but I sensed someone nearby.
At first, I thought they were monsters, but it was definitely a human presence.
I had heard that since the by-products of Kobolds and Goblins are worth very little, there are no professional monster hunters on Creta Island.
Ah! Could it be an instructor or someone from the Southern Legion on a preliminary survey before the training?
Thinking it would be better not to cross paths, I tried to pass by, but the moment I saw a woman through the bushes, I had to stop in my tracks.
Doubting my eyes, I suppressed my presence and closed the distance.
From the silver hair peeking out from the robe's hood to her height and build—and even the bump around her waist, though hidden by the robe.
No doubt about it.
'What's wrong? Do you know her?'
Of course I do. How could I ever forget?
She was the woman who had been with that man, Zero, on the day I lost my arm.
* * *
Four years ago, on the border between the Eastern and Western Continents.
It took thirty minutes to deal with the Perot Kingdom's forces while carrying the Princess of Quasar on my back.
The Commander of the 3rd Knight Order was incredibly persistent, proving that the assessment of him becoming a Sword Master in ten years wasn't a lie.
Fortunately, perhaps because I had just finished off some Dark Elves, there seemed to be no pursuers yet.
Unlike my initial fears, I hadn't lost an arm or a leg, but I'd been stabbed in the arm, and a stray arrow had grazed my shoulder.
Given the circumstances, I was running while using magic power to suppress the bleeding, but I couldn't keep this up for long.
"We'll take a short break."
I set the Princess of Quasar down in the shade of a tree and opened my subspace to pull out bandages and medicinal herbs.
"A... Are you alright?"
The Princess asked with a worried expression, but I didn't have the luxury to reply.
Ignoring her, I chewed the herbs, applied them to the wound, and wrapped it in a bandage.
Seeing red blood instead of black, it seemed the weapon hadn't been poisoned.
"Let me finish the wrapping for you."
I tried to ignore her, knowing that a loose wrap wouldn't stop the bleeding, but she stepped forward and bound it tightly.
"It's surprising that your Highness knows how to do this."
"My mother was a Healer. The wound looks quite deep; if it's not treated properly..."
A Healer? That was unexpected, but I understood soon enough.
Had she been born into a high noble family, she wouldn't have been married off to an enemy nation like this.
"As long as it doesn't get severed, I can treat it somehow."
I'd suffered far worse injuries than this in the past.
"Still..."
"People don't die that easily."
About five minutes after we resumed our journey, I felt a sudden prickling sensation and rolled to the side while still carrying the Princess.
"W... Why did you do that?"
"Enemies."
At first, I thought it was just my injury, but it wasn't just a prickle; a thick, suffocating feeling enveloped me, and the hair on my neck stood up.
This was bloodlust.
Sure enough, six flying daggers flew through the air and embedded themselves where I had just been standing.
"Great instincts. As expected of the finest Black Agent of this era."
A man wearing a white lion mask appeared.
He wore typical black clothes and held a red dagger in his left hand.
Even without the dagger, the aura he emanated told me that this man was the same kind of person as I was.
"Who sent you?"
I'd already dealt with Perot's forces, so was it Sachsen? Or Yalta?
"I told you we should just go together, Zero."
A woman with dark brown wings flew down and landed beside the man.
"Ah, sorry. This fellow is so capable that I thought he might ruin the plan."
She wore an eagle mask, and judging by her wings, she seemed to be an Avian.
Was it the Sumatra Kingdom?
"I heard the King of Sumatra supported the peace between the two empires. Was I wrong?"
"Hm? Ah! You must be mistaken because of Eagle. Eagle is indeed an Avian, but we aren't from Sumatra. I'm a human, just like you."
...Then were they an assassin guild?
"We're the top agents of the Intelligence Agency; you don't know us?"
"That's because we haven't officially begun operating in Beluga yet. Let me introduce myself properly. I am Zero of Vicious Exile."
"Zero?"
"It's a codename, like 'Blue Mist.' Enough introductions. Hand over the Princess of Quasar, and for the sake of old times, I'll let you live."