Chapter 36
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Secretly and Greatly (6)
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Shakov, the guild master, could not honestly say he had lived an upright life, not even with empty words. Being a merchant is that kind of profession.
You often suffer losses by living honestly.
And when you suffer losses, you get looked down upon.
The moment money is involved, being looked down upon is no different from death.
Shakov designed his life so that he would never be looked down upon by anyone.
Learning magic, even if it was just light magic, but still treated as combat magic, was part of that plan.
Of course, there was a high chance of problems because of the national system that forcibly conscripted anyone who manifested mana...
Avoiding the conscription officers was easier than expected. Bribing them was even easier.
Even if someone, jealous of his talent, reported him and the conscription officers came looking.
Shakov could wash his hands of the matter simply by offering a thick gold pouch.
He naturally did not forget to track down whoever reported him and make them pay the price.
As time passed and he entered his thirties, looking toward forty.
Shakov had become a proper guild master of a trading city and could be said to be the city's true power.
Of course... he had been suppressed by an even more powerful figure.
Captain Ramur.
The twin brother of Lauro, the action team leader of the 'Gavial' criminal organization in Cherno City.
Furthermore, he was a man who exercised real power by mobilizing his forces in place of the old, corrupt city mayor who was looking to retire.
Shakov had recognized his true value and quickly contacted him, succeeding in forming a 'cooperative relationship'.
However, the result he got was a detention sentence intended to frame him for the National military police.
'I knew from the start he was a guy with bad intentions... but he's ruthless.'
Shakov sat on the cold prison floor and let out a bitter laugh.
But Shakov was also a tenacious man who had earned the honor of guild master among merchants.
Ramur, a stupid captain who only stuck with criminal organizations, had not yet grasped Shakov's true intentions.
After all, he had essentially just 'allowed himself to be caught'.
He had been threatened with a gun, so he entered prison thinking he'd at least save his own life first.
Shakov knew very well that Ramur would never kill him.
He had to stay alive at least until the National military police arrived, so he could pin the crime on them.
'He probably thinks it's the perfect crime... but I doubt it.'
Even when he had his subordinates set fire to the guild master's office and burn the ledgers, he was flustered but not in despair.
Shakov is a merchant.
And merchants always keep a back door open.
The reason he froze only the transport ledger among the many ledgers was for no other reason.
As soon as he heard that the artifacts stolen from the fortress had been moved through the Cherno Merchant Guild, Shakov ordered a massive transcription of the transport ledger.
Therefore, the ledgers remaining in the burned archive were all copies.
The reason he had deliberately frozen the ledger was that he couldn't show a copy to anyone demanding the ledger.
Meaning, the original ledger was safely preserved.
'He should have handled real money at least once in his life. A guy who can't even tell a copy from an original, trying to stab me in the back?'
In any case, he had already coordinated his stories with the merchants who had sided with him.
It was now only a matter of time before he watched the downfall of the bastards who dared to stick a dagger in his back.
On top of that, he had kept a list meticulously recording all the corruption and embezzlement Captain Ramur had committed to date.
In fact, the one holding the trump card was not Ramur, but Guild Master Shakov.
Now, he should have just waited for the National military police to arrive, just as Ramur hoped.
"If you don't want to be framed with a wrongful charge and dragged to the center, tell me only the truth."
The National military police had arrived much faster than Shakov had anticipated.
"Are you really the military police?"
"Don't make me say it twice."
I threatened him in a low voice.
Frankly, this action was undeniably an abuse of authority. In reality, I wasn't even part of the military police; I was just the platoon leader of a cooperating detachment.
No, even if I were actually part of the National military police, it was frankly pushing it to 'sneak' into a detention cell and talk to a 'criminal'.
I could threaten him by showing the military police badge to Captain Ramur.
But if he lodged a strong protest later, it would only tarnish the military police's name.
So this was a gamble.
I threw in the pot, thinking Shakov definitely held a hidden card.
I took the risk, so I had to get a return on investment.
"I'll give you exactly one chance. Tell me what Ramur is hiding. If you do, I'll release you immediately, even tomorrow."
"...I understand. You really are as scary as the rumors say, sneaking in so secretly."
Shakov exhaled and answered in a quiet voice.
"Ramur knew about the artifact stolen from the Belgorod Fortress this time. It was just a hunch he hinted at to me... but he probably leaked the information."
"Wait a minute."
I stopped Shakov.
"Information leak?"
"Yes."
The look in his eyes as he spoke calmly was real. Well, why would he lie when his life was on the line?
There was a slight chance he was giving false information to firmly establish his innocence, but Shakov was convinced that I was a member of the National military police.
Why would he dig his own grave when everything would be revealed if I investigated?
A man who had risen to the position of guild master wouldn't dig his own grave like that.
Then this was...
'A jackpot.'
An unexpected merit had fallen right into my lap. If Ramur really sold the information, I could trace back the insider involved in the Sovye Empire's fortress raid.
"Do you have any evidence to prove it, other than just a hunch?"
"I don't have any for that statement, but there is evidence to put Ramur on the suspect list."
Shakov stood up and walked to the iron bars. Clank, the shackles on his ankles scratched the floor with a sharp metallic sound.
"Find the guild's chief clerk, Alphera. If you tell him, 'The fish merchant does not lie,' he will guide you to the secret archive."
Secret archive.
Chief Clerk Alphera.
I understood clearly.
"Anything else?"
"Unfortunately, no. We aren't exactly clean either..."
"Good. I'll take your testimony as confirmed."
I confirmed with Shakov once more and headed out into the corridor leading to the surface.
Luckily, there were no further situations where I had to hide in a warehouse on the way.
The faint smell of gunpowder had long been covered by the damp underground air, so I had effectively cleaned up any traces that could cause trouble.
Now, after meeting the clerk in question and securing the evidence Shakov told me about...
All I had to do was return to the unit and report the progress to Major Lanister.
The main force of the National military police could turn Cherno City upside down as early as tomorrow.
'Not bad.'
I quickly reached the surface and joined Lumia, who was waiting at the entrance.
"You're back sooner than I expected...?!"
"That means we have to hurry. Let's go back to the guild."
"Huh? The guild?"
"I heard from Guild Master Shakov that he has evidence to take down the captain in one shot."
The sun was slowly setting.
The battalion commander had promised me an outing, so I had to return to the unit by 9 PM at the latest.
I felt hunger I hadn't filled yet because of the sudden fire...
But what could I do?
That food isn't more valuable than the information I just found out.
"The guild's chief clerk. We need to find a man named Alphera."
"Chief Clerk, Alphera..."
Lumia chewed on my words, engraving the information firmly in her mind.
"The guild building is this way, Platoon Leader!"
I followed Lumia's guidance and ran toward the merchant guild once again.
"The officer from the 3rd Battalion has already left?"
"Yes. He supposedly took action immediately upon discovering the fire while eating lunch."
"I see. Did you keep his mouth shut?"
"Of course. I hinted that Guild Master Shakov committed corruption."
"Good work."
Captain Ramur laughed contentedly. Everything was proceeding smoothly.
Even if it was the only trading city in the northernmost part of the Ukran Duchy, it was still a backwater in the end.
To survive in a region teeming with all sorts of dangers, like monsters and bandits, as soon as you leave the city, the protection of the walls is essential.
Even if the National military police came, the residents would not report Ramur.
After all, Guild Master Shakov was right there, ready to take all the blame, so there was no reason to turn against him.
Humans are more selfish than you think.
"Once this incident is over, I should retire and hand over the captain position. This captain position is quite a headache."
Even if he retired, he would just live well off in the underworld managed by his brother, Lauro.
Frankly, that was much more comforting for Ramur.
Although the extra income he got by using his position as captain was quite lucrative...
As long as he was trapped in the frame of being a 'bureaucrat,' he never knew when a knife might be held to his throat, just like now.
"Since it's come to this, why don't you dye your hair after you retire, Captain? I think red would suit you perfectly."
"Dye my hair? Why suddenly?"
"It seems to be the latest trend? A friend in the next company did it, and the officer from the 3rd Battalion who was investigated also dyed his hair."
"Trends are something you can never understand."
Ramur let out a hollow laugh and was about to brush it off when a ominous sensation swept over his body.
"...Wait. What did you just say?"
"Huh? Ah, I said dyeing hair is trendy."
"No, not that. Who else dyed their hair?"
The captain's intuition kicked in.
He wasn't as smart as Shakov, but the authority and experience he had built as a captain was not to be ignored.
He didn't have a sharp mind, but he had a kind of 'intuition' for detecting crises.
"The officer from the 3rd Battalion. The reason I brought him to the barracks in the first place was that his ID and hair color didn't match, wasn't it?"
"Is that so? I didn't hear that report. What color was it originally?"
"He was a blonde, but he dyed it black."
The moment he heard that.
Ramur felt a chill run down his spine.
The 3rd Magic Battalion.
An officer with blonde hair dyed black.
It wasn't just because he was the suspect wanted by his twin brother, Lauro.
The unit deployed as support when the Belgorod Fortress was raided was the 3rd Battalion.
'He suddenly dyed his hair black? Why?'
It didn't make sense if he was just afraid of gangsters. If he was really scared of gangsters, why did he sneak into Cherno City in the first place?
'And he just happened to discover and extinguish the fire at the guild building...?'
Thinking about it again, there were more than a few suspicious points.
What if that officer was a military police investigator disguised as a member of the 3rd Battalion?
It was like a bomb had already been lit. He had let his guard down without realizing it because he was so focused on capturing Shakov.
Ramur's teeth chattered.
"Spread the word to all sentries immediately."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"The officer who just left! Find him right now! Set up checkpoints everywhere and block the city gates!!!"
The captain's orders, his face deathly pale, rang out.
Not long after, the sentries of Cherno City scattered throughout the city.