Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Master of the Trading Company (1)
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Kael was one of the Twin Souls. It wasn't a full sharing of all senses, but he had been born with a younger brother destined to live and die alongside him.
This was common knowledge even within the guild. They didn't get along poorly—in fact, because they trusted each other so deeply and their lives were intertwined, they pushed harder to grow stronger, tackling requests with relentless drive.
And just recently, his younger brother had died. The special-grade magic beast, Black Dragon Caladrak. When the emperor issued his edict and the dragon awakened in its nest, he'd gone out to scout and never returned alive.
It had probably been a miscalculation. A mere scouting mission—he must have believed his skills would let him slip away unscathed. Kael grieved his brother's death, but something else mattered more. Even though he sensed his distant brother had died, Kael himself remained perfectly fine.
The black dragon's flames and overwhelming magic had twisted the starlight of their Twin Souls connection. The guild's upper echelons hadn't missed this and reported it straight to the owner of the merchant house that employed them: Alhena, the eldest daughter of the Goldline countess family.
A few months later, a commission came from her.
Kill the countess's second daughter in a place still steeped in the black dragon's energy. Hoping at least to recover his brother's body, Kael accepted the request.
He felt a pang of sympathy for Meb, who was in a similar predicament, but he was a professional. He knew full well that if he didn't take the job, someone else would fill the vacancy.
"Do you know the forest's location?"
Kael had been a fairly impartial leader, guiding his party with fairness. He was also an adventurer who'd made a name for himself in the capital. He wanted to avoid unnecessary fights with the Raggedfoot Brothers, whom he'd grown close to through mutual aid. The forest where the black dragon had been slain wasn't their tribe's territory like the canyon was, anyway. There was no reason to clash.
In the tense atmosphere, the younger brother holding the axe spoke up. He released the mysteriously patterned bird perched on his shoulder into the sky and nodded.
"I know it."
"For real?"
"Yeah. Follow me. It'll take a bit."
Without hesitation, he headed west, and the party followed in formation. No one spoke along the way.
They arrived at a forested area on the western edge of the great plains. With the sun now set, the darkening woods loomed ahead as he turned to Kael.
"You going in? The black dragon fell inside a cave."
"......Guide us."
Once they entered the forest, the magic was palpable. Dark, unpleasant, damp—and something trying to ignite a primal fear deep within, like sparks going tap, tap!. Chills ran down their spines, a gooseflesh-inducing illusion.
The deeper they went, the stronger it grew. Everyone felt it. The black dragon's corpse was right here.
"Ugh......!"
"Lily!"
With every step, the intensifying magic made Lily collapse amid the mounting pressure. Her instincts screamed refusal. Don't go further if you don't want to die. The party halted as one.
"I-I'm fine. More importantly, the young lady......"
"I'm okay. Use this."
"No, I can't take something like that."
"It's just one; no one will notice. My sister won't mind either. Here."
"......Thank you."
Protected by all sorts of magic tools, Meb was faring better than the party members. Even knowing she was moments from death, she seemed calm—almost resigned.
Kael thought to himself: If one of those great warriors from the steppe tribes they'd met in the canyon had been there, Meb might have survived. A possibility, at least. If she'd begged for her life—no, bargained— she might have turned the tables, slaughtering them all and escaping.
Even Kael, no merchant, knew Meb held that much value. But it was too late to run now.
"Here."
They reached the cave entrance. From there, the magic pouring out was so thick it choked the air.
He exchanged glances with his party members. The decision: enter. To sever the Twin Souls bond completely, they had to kill Meb where the magic was strongest. A half-hearted attempt that failed would leave their employer—her sister—with permanent damage, no doubt.
After a brief, restless breather, they plunged into the cave's depths. Nothing was visible, but the black dragon's energy grew ever stronger.
Suddenly, Kael recalled their Raggedfoot guide, the younger brother. He hadn't shown a hint of fatigue the whole way.
Kael knew he was strong—he'd sensed it from their first meeting. But the fact that he got thrashed by a girl half his age who tamed magic beasts, or that he showed no special interest in Meb, the countess's daughter... Kael had chalked it up to coincidence.
He figured he was just a local from the nearby Bailish Tribe.
But was a warrior of that caliber really supposed to be this nonchalant?
Leading them to a place that had housed a special-grade magic beast until recently, without a drop of sweat. Without even asking permission from the Stonegar Tribe or that great warrior they supposedly had.
Without even glaring at them with disdain?
"Hold up!"
"What? We're almost there. Light a fire; you'll see it soon."
"Give me a moment to focus. Just a second."
Kael drew out his precious mana slowly. He searched for the source leaking the black dragon's energy: cave walls, ceiling, floor, the recent fork they'd passed, even the faintly glowing luminescent stones overhead. Nowhere.
Only one place.
From the barbarian who'd been leading them until moments ago, right in front of him. The aura of death emanated from that man.
Faintly from the forest onward. So subtly he hadn't noticed. Or maybe from the canyon itself. He'd lured them here.
"I keep my promises, right? Whether it's the dragon's corpse or a meeting with the great warrior."
Thud, thud.
Letting the blood-dripping axe hang loose, the man strode toward the jade throne at the cave's end. No one could so much as twitch as they stared up at him.
At the black dragon rune etched on his back.
"Brother, do you need me?"
"Guard the entrance, Harald. I sent word via Horori; the warriors will arrive soon."
"Got it."
The barbarian called Harald gave a curt nod and turned away without lingering. Their party knew well that steppe tribesmen bowing their heads to anyone was unimaginable.
"Oh, right—I forgot the introductions."
That settled who the man before them was.
"I am Ivar, the great warrior who felled the Night Lord."
Death.
Their story unfolded more or less as I'd expected. A way to neutralize Twin Souls, huh. In the original tale, where the black dragon subjugation failed, this method never appeared. Clever workaround.
I could see why Meb wanted the black dragon's corpse. If she'd found and hidden it somehow—sealed its magic in that subspace—there might have been hope.
But I'd already devoured it, so that was impossible. At least she'd dodged immediate death by Kael's party. Should she be grateful for that?
For now, terror seemed dominant. Once they realized who I was, my casual words alone made them quake.
The shock of being utterly ensnared by the scheme from the start played a big part. With seven silver- and gold-rank adventurers, I'd anticipated a fight. But their quick surrender left me a bit disappointed—too anticlimactic.
"Not content with stirring up the steppes, you tried to kill someone right in my presence."
"We were just fulfilling a commission from the empire......"
"Displeasing."
"Ugh......!"
Displeasing. That one word sufficed.
First, I handed Kael's party over to the warriors who'd arrived via Horori's message. Since they were sent by Lady Alhena, the Goldline eldest, she could shoulder the blame too.
That left Meb and me alone. Though calling it a nation was a stretch, she greeted the steppe tribes' great warrior with familiar etiquette.
"Thank you for saving me."
"Enough. I was merely keeping the promise made in my name."
"You saved my life with just revealing your name. I must pay the due price."
Meb emptied every subspace she had, prostrating herself flat.
Probably her entire fortune. The merchant house and accompanying adventurers all belonged to her sister anyway.
I didn't need it much, so I refused. She trailed off hesitantly.
"If you won't take it, I'm in trouble...... I have nothing left but this body of mine."
"One thing I want to ask."
"Ah, yes! Go ahead! Anything—billing later."
"Why is Alhena trying to kill you? Just because she hates having your life as collateral?"
"To seize the power that would come to me."
The reason she'd resolved to kill her sister? Power, plain and simple.
"One year from now, I'll receive the treasurer position my father, the finance minister, negotiated from the imperial court."
"Treasurer?"
"The role managing the imperial treasury."
It might sound like a mere warehouse keeper, but it was enormous. Grasping the flow of the court's money and treasures yielded invaluable information. Some could even be personally managed—with conditions, of course.
She'd be watching the empire's noblest decisions up close. Cautiously, Meb added her guess.
"This is just my thought, but my sister was probably checking the Prince Consort Candidate too."
"Me?"
"Yes. If a noble family's daughter gets murdered on the steppes, word spreads that approaching is dangerous. Who'd come then?"
Keep what you can't have from anyone else. Greedy thinking, but natural for those clutching power.
"Coveting an uncertain imperial in-law position years away is less important than killing me outright to secure the next finance minister seat."
"Hmm......"
A regrettable choice. For both of them.
If the Goldline family had formally proposed trade through their merchant house, it would've been good for me too. Staying here instead of following Serath would've paid off.
But killing Meb now was out of the question—not after grasping Alhena's intentions.
What she'd overlooked: from watching nearby, her sister's talents exceeded expectations. Enough to more than fill the steppe tribes' gaps, in my view.
I shifted on the jade throne the Night Lord had left behind. It gave a nice intimidating vibe and seemed diplomatically effective. Should I keep using it?
The adventurers' reactions earlier... I might end up treated like a dungeon boss by visitors.
Whatever—later. I made one proposal to Meb, who was eyeing the pouches, debating whether to reclaim one.
"Meb."
"Yes?"
"Want to become master of the merchant house?"