Artifact Trade (3)
Artifact Trade (3)
The men who blocked my path were surprisingly skilled.
In particular, the hulking brute charging at the very front looked like a fairly capable mercenary.
To anyone watching, his charge toward me—someone who hadn't fully grown up yet—must have looked like a massive semi-truck plowing into a compact car.
But my skills seemed to have grown far too refined for the likes of them to take me down.
I flipped the charging brute over with a shoulder throw and sliced through a few of his tendons with my sword, neutralizing him at once.
After casually dealing with the rest of the bastards, I grabbed the big guy by the leg and headed back toward the building I'd just left.
On the way, I ran into the woman who worked as the receptionist. She rushed over, her jaw dropping when she saw me dragging the brute along, and promptly apologized.
She offered all sorts of excuses—claiming things had gotten tangled up or that it was just a rogue personal action—but none of that changed the fact that I'd almost been mugged on my way back.
Knocking the big guy out every time he tried to regain consciousness, I made it back to the building.
Dragging the brute behind me, I stepped inside.
Fortunately, I didn't have to haul him all the way up to the third floor.
The door on the first floor, which I hadn't checked earlier, stood wide open. Inside, the man who had appraised my artifacts was waiting for me.
The first floor looked like some kind of tavern or meeting hall—something like a guild hall from a game, so to speak.
The man was in there alone. Though I sensed several presences around the perimeter, none of them seemed threatening enough to concern me.
Word must have spread quickly that I'd subdued the brute and his lackeys.
The man's face looked quite pale, though he didn't seem particularly shocked to see me hauling the giant in.
Instead, he blurted out,
"I believe there has been a misunderstanding. This was entirely a personal action by Dewey..."
It looked like he was about to repeat the exact same excuse I'd heard from the woman.
I raised a hand to cut him off.
"I don't give a damn about whatever was going on behind the scenes."
I pointed at the big guy sprawled facedown on the floor.
"And if you really have nothing to do with this, can I just kill this man right now? If not, I think we need to have a different conversation."
When I said that, the man let out a long sigh. Since he didn't immediately disavow the guy, he seemed to have a surprising degree of loyalty.
On top of that, strangely enough, he didn't seem to have any intention of trying to attack me again.
Even among the presences lurking around us, I sensed no intent to kill me.
"First, allow me to apologize. I only realized too late that you came recommended by the Firebird Hunter. Had I known earlier, such an unfortunate incident wouldn't have occurred."
Judging by his words, he seemed to know who Katrin, the Firebird Hunter, was.
Well, the man standing before me was technically connected to the nobility, and Katrin didn't go around hiding her face while working as a mercenary, so it made sense that he would know her here in the capital.
Still, hearing him say that meant they would have robbed me in broad daylight if Katrin hadn't recommended me.
Well, the outcome would've been the same either way, so I didn't care.
Still, since he was taking a humble stance, negotiating with him would be much easier.
"Not a drop of blood has spilled from his wounds... You are far more skilled than I anticipated."
The man marveled as he looked at the unconscious brute lying on the floor.
I'd cauterized the blood vessels with mana while severing his tendons, so naturally, there wasn't any blood.
Besides, the wounds weren't deep, so if he drank a proper potion, he would undoubtedly recover completely.
"Perhaps this is for the best. Had our guest been injured, things would have gotten far more complicated. Who knows how much I would have had to bribe just to smooth things over with the Firebird Hunter..."
He started complaining about how difficult it was to trade artifacts in a capital crawling with nobles, but I had no reason to listen to his sob story.
Cutting him off, I brought up what actually mattered.
"Well, since you saved yourself from paying bribes, what are you going to give me instead? Including compensation for breaking a customer's trust and attempting to harm me."
"Sigh, I am truly sorry for that. But we are businessmen. Truthfully, we're not particularly eager to part with more cash. By any chance, you seemed to be interested in a certain piece of information earlier..."
He was definitely quick-witted.
"Well... I'd prefer to take it in cold, hard cash... but since you brought it up first, let me hear this information of yours."
I wanted to play harder to get, but since he'd already caught on, it was tough to pull off a big bluff.
Still, I acted as disinterested as possible while waiting for him to speak.
"First of all, this information isn't one hundred percent confirmed."
Oddly, his very first sentence undermined the value and reliability of his own intel.
But as I listened to what followed, it made perfect sense why he'd said that.
"There is a rumor that among the retainers of Grand Prince Julian, there is a noble possessing an inherited ability capable of repairing artifacts."
Hearing his words, I couldn't help but grimace.
Of all people, the Grand Prince?
While it was a relief that the noble didn't belong to another kingdom, it had to be the Grand Prince's domain.
It was great that the person wasn't connected to the First Prince or the Second Prince, but why did it have to be the Grand Prince of all people?
The Julian Duchy, named after Grand Prince Julian, was formed when Duke Julian, the current King's younger brother, separated his domain from the Kingdom and elevated it to a duchy.
Although it gained considerable autonomy by becoming a duchy, it was still a domain nominally belonging to the Carlos Kingdom.
But from what I'd heard from the Count back at the ruins, Grand Prince Julian was even greedier than the First Prince and the Second Prince combined.
"Several damaged artifacts were funneled toward Grand Prince Julian, and some people claimed to have seen those exact artifacts completely restored."
Just as he'd said at the start, he didn't know the exact details either.
Even so, it was information too significant to ignore.
"On top of that, which retainer it is remains completely unknown. The Grand Prince is likely keeping them hidden as best as he can."
As he continued explaining, I couldn't help letting out a sigh.
To think I'd have to go to that greedy Grand Prince's domain, track down a retainer he was actively hiding, and ask them to repair my artifacts.
No matter how I looked at it, the difficulty was absurdly high.
'My life is already hardcore enough as it is. What am I supposed to do if it gets even harder?'
Making no effort to hide my frustration, I said to the man,
"Unconfirmed information... That's rather disappointing."
"I said it wasn't confirmed, but it won't be far off the mark."
Even I felt he was probably right, but now was the time to downplay the value of his intel.
"On top of that, a hidden retainer kept secret by the Grand Prince? Information like this hardly balances the scales."
"Be that as it may, this is intelligence you won't easily find anywhere else."
Though he stubbornly argued back, I could tell he agreed with my point to some extent.
"Haa, in that case, if you return next time, I will give you a VIP invitation to our auction. It grants the finest seat, along with detailed dossier information on every artifact presented at the auction. It is an invitation not handed out lightly, except to high-ranking nobles or major patrons."
Just hearing about it made it sound like a great invitation. Since I'd made a decent fortune and wanted to try buying artifacts at an auction anyway, the ticket he offered was a fair item to put on the scales.
But I hadn't squeezed him for all he was worth just yet.
"I'm someone who sold artifacts directly without bothering with an auction. A VIP ticket isn't particularly satisfying."
"Still, we have conceded a great deal. If you insist on compensation in cash, we may have to reconsider our options as well."
Huh? Was he short on funds? He seemed far more attached to money than I'd expected.
"If money is tough for you, let's go with something else then."
"If not money, we have little else to offer... Though I could contact you first whenever a good artifact comes in..."
At his words, I held up two fingers for him to see.
Then, folding one finger down,
"Though it's not entirely satisfactory, I'll take the VIP invitation."
Then, I folded the second finger down.
"You operate an intelligence broker business or something similar, right? Gather information on the capital for me. If the intel is solid, I'll become a VIP not just for your auction house, but for your information network as well."
Since he catered to high-ranking nobles and ran an artifact auction house right here in the capital, there was no way he was ignorant of the rumors circulating around the city.
Even if he wasn't running a formal intelligence agency, he was bound to get his hands on useful information.
The man stared at me intently before letting out a tired sigh.
"You're trying to strip me down to my foundation, aren't you?"
Just as I'd expected, he was indeed gathering information in the capital.
"It doesn't cost you money anyway, and as long as I'm the only one who knows, it's not like you're losing anything."
"It means missing out on the opportunity to earn more money."
I shrugged at his words. Not my problem anyway.
With our deal concluded, I stood up from my seat.
"When should I come back to collect the invitation?"
"Come back in a week."
Hearing his answer, I asked one last question before leaving.
"What should I call you the next time we meet?"
"You may call me the Auction House Owner, or... you may call me the 'Divine Sword Tracker.'"
The Divine Sword Tracker, huh?
I briefly sized up the man. He looked like an ordinary guy in his early to mid-thirties.
At first, I'd thought he was just an exchange employee. Then I'd realized he was a noble with an inherited ability, and later learned he was the boss of this organization.
And now, he'd revealed the alias 'Divine Sword Tracker' to me.
'Much like 'Firebird Hunter,' it was clearly a mercenary moniker, but it was a peculiar name indeed.'
Perhaps because of that moniker, I felt a strange sense of fate as I walked out of the building.
After his guest left, the Divine Sword Tracker let out a heavy sigh.
He couldn't fathom what had possessed him to share an alias he rarely used just then.
"I keep feeling like I'm getting dragged into his pace."
"Shall we dig into his background a bit, then?"
The woman, who had entered without him noticing, answered his murmur.
"Forget it. If we get caught, either he'll come barging in or those noble bastards will jump down our throats. It'll only blow things out of proportion."
He shook his head. His workload had already piled up immensely; there was no reason to add more trouble to it.
"Take this guy and get him treated. If there are other injured idiots, patch them up too. The atmosphere in the capital is weird enough as it is, which is why weirdos like him are running wild. Tell everyone to watch their backs."
Shouting for them to close up shop for the day, he headed toward the room where the artifacts had been moved.
Regardless of accidents or complicated affairs, inspecting artifacts always came first for him.
They weren't grand relics or divine swords wielded by heroes, but examining artifacts was a task he could never give up, both for his dream and his purpose.
Fortunately, the exchange owner kept his word after that.
A week later, I received the time and location of the auction from him, along with the VIP invitation as promised.
In addition, I received a fairly thick stack of documents.
It contained detailed notes on noble political movements and the current atmosphere within the capital.
Though a bit scattered, it was quite a useful intelligence dossier.
I spent time thoroughly reviewing the contents of the document, and passed the time waiting for the auction house to open.
More than anything, having a hefty stash of cash made going through Royal Academy classes and other chores feel downright joyful.
But an invitation that arrived a few days before the auction turned my cheerful mood sour.
The invitation delivered to me was for a party—no, a ball.