Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 51
>Chapter Title: Dragon Horn Tea
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The place Dibei headed to was Sector B-31.
The tea house on the first floor of Building 17.
Dibei sat in the brightly open space, looking around with a dazed expression.
‘Hmm…….’
It was quite different from what he’d imagined.
Leaking the academy’s exam papers was a top-secret operation.
Naturally, he’d pictured a secretive, dimly lit spot for such a conspiracy, but here he was in an utterly ordinary tea house.
He double-checked the note’s directions several times, wondering if he’d come to the wrong place……
No mistake.
Especially since—
“What would you like to order?”
“A hot dragon horn tea, frozen, please.”
“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”
The server headed straight to the kitchen without a word after hearing the absurd passphrase from the note.
Seeing that confirmed it—this was the place Evelyn had told him about.
“You seem quite flustered.”
“Ah, uh…….”
Dibei let out a slight groan upon seeing the middle-aged man sitting across from him.
The circumstances pointed to this man responding to the passphrase, but Dibei couldn’t be entirely sure.
Perhaps sensing his doubt—
“No need to be so tense. I’m the master of this tea house, after all.”
“Oh, I see.”
Dibei nodded stiffly at the master’s introduction.
It was right then that the server approached and set down the teacup.
Plain black tea.
The master sipped his tea, savoring the aroma, before his mouth opened again.
“People are always surprised. They think of dark merchants as operating in secret, shadowy places. But as you can see…….”
Dibei followed the master’s gaze.
The door stood wide open.
The citizens of the city Hazen bustled along the streets, full of energy matching the bright weather.
Vibrant flowers bloomed in the florist across the way, and the owner, out tending them, caught the master’s eye and waved.
The master waved back with a grin.
“Who would ever suspect a place like this is a dark merchant front?”
“Hmm.”
It was true.
By not hiding, it became even more secretive.
‘Dark merchants…… I’d only heard rumors, but it’s on another level.’
They were said to be everywhere and nowhere at once.
Now he understood.
One question lingered, though……
‘Fine when there are no customers now, but what about when there are?’
Dibei swallowed his small doubt and sipped his tea, soon realizing it was pointless worry.
“Ugh.”
How could black tea be brewed this badly?
It was waste in tea form.
How the master savored it so deliciously was a mystery……
Anyway.
That was the end of his impressions.
“But how did a young customer like you find your way here?”
Dibei snapped out of his thoughts at the master’s voice.
‘How I found my way here…….’
The purpose was to carry out Evelyn’s orders.
And though it was just a guess, this master likely knew that much.
‘I figured they’d send some underling, not introduce me to a dark merchant directly.’
Well, this part was unexpected, but the task remained much the same.
“I’ve come to acquire the exam papers for the academy’s basic class first-years.”
“……Hmm, academy exam papers. We do have a seller expressing interest. Any particular department you’re after?”
Dibei hadn’t thought about the department.
But his response came smoothly.
“The department of the seller who’s offering?”
“It’s the magic department…….”
“Then magic department it is.”
The master nodded at the seamless exchange.
‘Quick on the uptake—nice.’
Leaking the academy exams had been meticulously planned months in advance.
Ever since Evelyn’s enrollment was set.
They’d done enough prep work for things to proceed smoothly.
But sending an academy student as the face had raised concerns.
No matter how clever academy kids were, they were still just kids.
Dibei, however, seemed bold enough.
‘From the way he talks, he gets the situation. And he knows his place.’
If this went well, he could serve as a front for various jobs.
‘Alright then…….’
“Hmm, let’s see.”
The master pretended to flip through a notebook, then cautiously eyed Dibei.
“We’ve arranged to meet the seller next weekend. Care to tag along?”
“Together…… you mean?”
Dibei tilted his head.
Dark merchants just marked up goods and passed them on—why facilitate contact?
It wasn’t normal.
But.
‘Hmm.’
Dibei quickly grasped the intent.
‘He wants to lock me in completely.’
By exposing him to the seller, they’d cement his involvement.
“Well, if it’s a problem, pretend I never said it…….”
“No, I’ll go.”
“Hm, you sure?”
“Yes. Isn’t checking the seller and inspecting the goods basic merchant practice?”
It was like slapping a collar on him, undeniable.
‘Nowhere left to back out anyway.’
The master grinned.
“Good. Then I’ll tell you the place and time. Memorize it here—don’t write it down anywhere.”
“Understood.”
“The place is…….”
Dibei burned the details into his mind with a resolute expression.
The farcical play between the two actors, without an audience, drew to a close.
Or not quite without an audience.
The tea house window facing the deserted alley.
Peek.
A head peeked out.
Aster, who’d watched the whole show, peeked inside with just his head and smirked.
‘What bullshit…….’
He’d collapsed in laughter.
He’d followed 310 Gold here and witnessed the unexpected scene.
But what?
‘Daring to steal exam papers?’
Who hadn’t thought of that?
But he was a righteous Troubleshooter. He wouldn’t tolerate cheating on the sacred exams.
Not because Damian wasn’t sly enough to cheat, but because he revered justice.
He couldn’t just let this slide.
Especially since—
‘There are too many suspicious bits.’
Academy exam papers weren’t roadside pebbles.
Conveniently, a seller appears, and right then a buyer shows up?
And above all……
‘No one mentioned the price.’
Definitely not normal.
But.
No more agonizing.
‘I’ll check it out myself.’
Aster’s eyes flicked between 310 Gold and the dark merchant.
‘First…….’
310 Gold exited the tea house with a strangely relieved look. The dark merchant tidied the table like any ordinary tea house owner.
Which to shake down first.
He didn’t deliberate long.
‘The rich one first.’
The dark merchant was just doing his job, but oh well.
Justice followed capital, and the dark merchant had more than 310 Gold.
“……Let’s see. It was around here somewhere.”
Aster rummaged through Karahen’s subspatial pocket.
Perfect timing for a certain outfit.
One that hid identity and snapped even money-mad dark merchants back to sanity—excellent garb!
‘Found it.’
Aster pulled out a robe and draped it over himself.
A jet-black robe emblazoned with the Decullan crest, huge as a door.
Bright daylight, but the alley was deserted, his presence concealed—no one saw.
‘Looks good.’
Aster nodded in satisfaction.
But if anyone had seen, they’d disagree entirely.
He’d folded the sleeves a couple times to manage, but the robe dragged on the floor it was so long.
Still, Aster strode right into the tea house.
* * *
After Dibei left, the master resumed his ordinary tea house owner routine, manning the counter.
Not that customers came.
He’d deliberately served them waste-tier tea, so no one around here visited anymore.
‘Boring. Once this job’s done, time to leave Hazen.’
It’d been a year since arriving in Hazen.
Frankly, it wasn’t prime dark merchant territory.
He’d only set up here at the urging of his dark merchant guild’s VIP, Evelyn.
Practically her personal dark merchant.
But VIP treatment had limits.
‘Having siphoned the academy exams, staying in Hazen is too risky. Where to next.’
Of course, he’d been careful not to get caught.
He’d been grooming a poor academy assistant for a year, and post-job, that assistant would quit rich and vanish.
But risks came suddenly.
The master planned to leave Hazen too.
‘This is plenty.’
The guild would accept it without complaint and send another.
He was drifting through a lazy afternoon when—
“No customers today?”
“……?!”
The master startled and turned.
Empty tea house.
A man sat at the farthest table.
Man? Hard to tell. Hooded robe hid his face, and his voice—distorted by alteration magic?—was muffled.
‘Wh-when……?’
He prided himself on sharp ether senses.
Yet he’d detected nothing.
Panic passed quickly.
“Sorry, must’ve dozed off. What tea would you like?”
Seasoned dark merchant response, weathered by the underworld.
But that composure didn’t last.
Approaching with the menu, feigning normalcy, he spotted the emblem on the robe’s chest.
‘De-Decullan……!’
Not some mid-tier mage unit.
Below the Decullan crest, an embroidered crimson orb, lustrous and red.
Emblem of Crimson Jade, one of Decullan’s elite mage squads!
‘Cr-Crimson Jade, why…….’
The master’s mind raced.
Come to think of it, hadn’t Crimson Jade’s vice-captain recently attacked an academy professor and died?
Publicly blamed on the vice-captain’s error, tail-cutting.
Amid swirling thoughts, the mage’s low voice rumbled.
“Your brain’s churning loud enough to hear.”
“Th-that’s…….”
“No more shitty acting. Skip the dragon horn tea nonsense.”
“…….”
The master sensed the mage knew his identity and had come for him.
He lowered his gaze meekly.
‘Damn, bad luck.’
Dark merchants were money-mad, but some lines weren’t crossed.
Decullan mages were one.
Their infamy spread wider in shadows than light.
Even dark merchants fearless of noble houses made exceptions for Decullan.
“Wh-what would you like to know…….”
The master asked politely.
“Looking for something. A subspatial pouch.”
“A subspatial pouch…….”
A memory surfaced.
‘No way, still searching?’
After Karahen’s death spread.
Mysterious figures had ransacked Hazen’s dark merchants.
The rumor then:
- Karahen’s subspatial’s gone. Couldn’t find it even with Professor Parun.
- They tore up Hazen searching for it.
He’d thought they’d moved on.
Realizing, sweat beaded as he groaned.
“W-we’ve never seen such a thing.”
“Hm, is that so. But what was that chat with the boy earlier? Looked suspicious.”
“Th-that was…….”
The master floundered.
Revealing client info was a dark merchant taboo.
Especially since the kid didn’t matter, but VIP Evelyn was involved.
“You’re hiding something. Spit it out.”
Now the dark merchant’s head spun.
‘Wh-what to do?’
Scrambling for an out.
But then—
Zzzzz……!
The tea house filled with terrifying killing intent.
“Your brain’s too damn loud.”
Even a shadow-hardened dark merchant like him hadn’t felt this before.
‘This guy…… no ordinary mage.’
Crimson Jade elites were top-tier, but this killing intent marked something extraordinary.
That’s why he surrendered everything.
“I-I’ll tell you everything about that boy, straight up. It’s not even Decullan-related.”
“I’ll judge after hearing. No holding back. If anything’s fishy…….”
Whoosh.
A section of the table turned neatly to ash.
Exactly palm-sized.
Terrifying mana control.
“G-got it. So what happened was…….”
The master stammered on. Or tried.
“We’ll talk on the way to the warehouse.”
“……Pardon? Why.”
“Gotta check the warehouse myself. Talk while we go.”
The master eyed the mage with teary eyes.
“What’s wrong? Hiding something?”
“N-no, but…….”
The mage smirked.
“If you’re clean, nothing happens. I swear on Decullan’s name. What you reveal, unrelated to Decullan, stays sealed forever.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah.”
The master brightened instantly.
A Decullan mage swearing on the name.
Weightier than any promise.
“Th-then I’ll guide you. Hey, open the basement.”
“……Yes.”
A voice from the kitchen depths.
“So what happened was…….”
The master led the mage with eased mind.
Nothing to hide, light steps.
Evelyn weighed a bit, but he’d sworn on Decullan.
Even if unbelievable……
‘Swearing the family name means death if broken.’
No choice.
……Hours later.
The master sat at the table, dazed, muttering.
“Fucking bastard, motherfucking shit. Fucking asshole.”
Swore on his name? Said nothing would happen?
No harm done, sure.
VIP request? Just “Hm, I see,” and moved on. Warehouse clean, nodded approval.
But.
- Looks fine to me, but…… the family needs to verify.
- ……Pardon?
- Prep two subspatials. Pack suspicious items, bring ’em.
Not an idiot, the master.
Knew what that meant.
He hemmed and hawed, then this bullshit.
- I swear on Decullan. If clean, returned safe.
- Th-that’s……
- Hm, you saying great Decullan’s kids are X scum, goblin-worse trash? That it?
Never said that.
But refusing felt like admitting it.
So the Decullan mage left with two packed subspatials.
Lifetime dark merchant savings, hard-won goods. Should’ve stashed some before coming to Hazen. Brought everything!
“Fuck. Fuck. Hey! Go sprinkle salt outside!”
The dark merchant’s furious shout echoed.
Soon, thick salt piled before the tea house.