The Liaison
Lawrence sat down across from Rose.
It was hardly dignified enough to call it a table.
There was no chance of finding anything like a waiter in a place such as this.
What she had brought was the sort of food common in the north: undercooked seal meat and beer.
It wasn’t much, by any stretch, but it was a fine meal all the same.
“Ahhh. There’s nothing better than drinking on someone else’s money!”
“……”
Was that not just a riot, badly phrased?
Remembering what had happened a moment ago, Lawrence frowned.
Rose’s rampage in the gambling den had been nothing short of outrageous. She’d shouted herself hoarse, accusing people of cheating, claiming no trick could escape her eyes, and then overturned the whole table in a fit of fury. The Watchers stationed nearby had come over to restrain her.
She’d even been warned not to come back, so Lawrence had no idea why she looked so delighted.
“I didn’t know mages were liaison officers too.”
“I’m not a liaison officer.”
Rose’s obsession with gambling was famous even among mercenaries.
There was no need to bring that up. It would only scratch at a wound that didn’t need opening.
“Huh? Then why are you in Winter Gallery?”
Winter Gallery.
So that was the name of this underground place.
“I have some business here.”
“Don’t tell me it’s a request, is it? The Watchers don’t hand requests to mercenaries. They’re the sort who won’t be satisfied unless they do everything with their own hands.”
As if she couldn’t be bothered saying any more, Rose waved a hand dismissively.
“Then why are you here?”
“What a stupid question. Where there’s gambling, I’m there. Where I am, there’s gambling. The woman who draws gambling in her wake—call me Rose.”
Buzzed by the beer, she giggled under her breath.
“I told you, didn’t I? The north is a great place for card games. Since we’ve run into each other like this, what do you say, Mage? One round?”
“This isn’t a tavern in Winterglen.”
“Men really do sweat the small stuff. For all that pretty face, you’re not cute at all when you talk.”
Lawrence let out a sigh.
He had no interest in gambling, now or ever.
“More importantly, what is a liaison officer?”
“A liaison officer? Well, as you can see, they’re people who cooperate with the Watchers.”
“Cooperate? You mean with supplies or information?”
“Both. There are mercenaries like me. There are caravan people too. Still, it isn’t easy becoming a liaison. Once you are one, though, the little perks are pretty sweet.”
She made a circle with her thumb and forefinger.
“I noticed they keep horses around here too.”
“Of course they do. This place is huge. Try imagining walking through these galleries on foot. No matter how sound of mind you are, you’d go insane before long.”
“Without horses, it would be hard to get around at all…”
“And for people who can’t ride, they’ve even got carriages.”
So that was how it worked.
Everything he’d heard at the Mistra branch had been true.
Elusive. They say whenever there’s some uproar in the north, he always shows up right where it happens.
These vast tunnels beneath the north offered no bone-chilling winds, no snow that seized your feet and dragged you down.
They moved quickly on horseback, and there were relay stations scattered throughout the galleries where they could resupply.
It was a place where one could cross the north as freely as if it were flat open ground.
And on top of that, they had liaison officers supporting them.
With information and supplies flowing in smoothly, the Watchers weren’t simply holed up behind the wall, keeping an eye on the northern people’s movements.
Seen in that light, Cedric had clearly been swept up in rumor.
Still, even if he had visited the north in person, this sort of internal arrangement was not something an outsider could have known.
“What’s inside the galleries?”
“Who knows? I don’t, that’s for sure. I’ve heard rumors about a vein that’ll make you rich overnight, or a mysterious ancient city, or even an Ice Troll nest. But that’s the kind of thing only the Watchers would know, right?”
So even she didn’t know that much.
“Don’t go getting nosy. If you catch the Watchers’ eye here, you’ll die without so much as a trace. We just take the money that falls our way and keep our mouths shut. Oh, and if you’re not drinking the beer, I’ll have it all.”
“Suit yourself.”
He had no interest in alcohol.
She cheerfully moved all the beer into her own cup.
Lawrence filled his empty glass with Water.
The cool drink settled his mind a little.
“You said you were a liaison officer?”
“Yep. That’s why I’m here.”
“Then you’ve passed my information on to the Watchers too.”
“Of course. Your information was pretty useful, you know?”
There it was.
She didn’t even bother hiding it.
“Don’t look so hurt. You got your own share of information out of me too, didn’t you?”
After taking a sip of beer, she shivered all over.
“……”
So taken aback that Lawrence gave a dry laugh.
Even if that were true, it wasn’t something Rose had any business saying.
Just as he was about to fire back, the area around them grew noisy.
The newcomers entering the relay station were a group arriving by carriage.
A black carriage, escorted by Watchers of Winter.
Their eyes were sharp somehow, very different from the scouting party Lawrence had traveled with.
“At last, the princess has arrived.”
“Princess?”
The word felt so out of place that Lawrence repeated it back before he could stop himself.
“She’s one of the few big shots among the liaisons. This relay station runs as smoothly as it does because of her.”
“You’re really calling her a princess?”
“That’s just what people say. She’s not an actual princess.”
Haha, Rose laughed.
“You’ll see. Then you’ll understand why they call her that.”
With her beer in hand, she rose to her feet.
Lawrence finished his own drink and went out to look at the carriage.
At the front of the escort was a man wearing a gat.
His neatly tied black hair spilled over a red cloak.
The foreign-looking outfit resembled formal dress more than travel clothes.
Like Lawrence, who wore a sudan with armor beneath it, the man seemed to have layered his equipment in the same way.
He looked to be in his mid-thirties, maybe older—an attractive middle-aged man, if there ever was one.
He held a traditional smoking pipe between his teeth.
What stood out most was the sword at his hip.
It was unlike any sword Lawrence had seen before.
The blade was incredibly thin and long, almost ornamental in appearance.
If used in actual combat, wouldn’t it be specialized for thrusting?
He wasn’t sure.
However he looked at it, it did not seem like a sword made for killing monsters.
The black carriage itself seemed to radiate luxury.
On the door was a rose motif stained black as ink.
“We’ve arrived, Lady.”
The woman who emerged from the carriage had black hair.
She wore an exotic dress with a faint brown tint, the sleeves so long they looked like some kind of foreign traditional garment.
The clothes clung tightly to her body, drawing out every feminine curve.
She wore glasses with black lenses over the bridge of her nose.
Compared to ordinary glasses, they were small, and rather than being for poor eyesight, they looked more like an accessory.
After stepping down from the carriage, she covered her mouth with a fan.
An artificial finger made from animal bone rested on that hand.
“See? A princess, right?”
“……”
Lawrence nodded without thinking.
Rose was right.
Not that she was an actual princess.
Her appearance, and even her air, were of a kind one seldom encountered in such a place.
“I heard there’s magic woven into those clothes. What was it called again? Something about warming the body…”
“That would be Warm magic. So it’s a kind of artifact, then?”
“Right, that was the name. You really are different, being a mage.”
Even in the tunnels, there was no such thing as absolute warmth.
Compared to the surface, yes, it was relatively mild—that was all.
Walking around in that outfit without Warm magic would have been suicide.
“Judging by the carriage’s crest, it’s the Black Rose Merchant Guild.”
“You know them?”
“I’ve worked with them on a request.”
“With the princess?”
“No. She wasn’t there.”
Oswin had said the Black Rose Merchant Guild had its eye on the north.
He’d also said they were in a hurry to build trade routes linking them to the north before anything else. But looking at this, Lawrence couldn’t help wondering whether all that effort had gone to waste. Anyone could see that the true heart of the north was Winter Gallery.
The supplies flowing into the Watchers of Winter must have been monopolized by the Black Rose Merchant Guild.
“Is that so? That princess is actually the head of the Black Rose Merchant Guild.”
“……”
The head?
Come to think of it, he had heard that the guild’s leader was young.
But he had never imagined it would be a woman.
Lawrence studied the woman who had descended from the carriage.
She was a beauty with long black hair falling to her waist.
Beyond the black lenses of her glasses, red eyes glimmered faintly.
She ignored the hand the man held out and simply went on walking.
“An old man like me just can’t keep up with young people these days.”
As if this sort of reaction were nothing new, he gave a wry smile.
People who looked like guild staff prepared a seat for her.
Once seated, she crossed her legs.
The person who approached that guild master was a man Lawrence knew well.
“Watcher Killian.”
“Thank you for your cooperation this time, Lady Agnes.”
“There’s no need for that sort of talk. Our guild and the Watchers of Winter stand on equal footing. We’re simply continuing a trade because it benefits both sides.”
Very much the words of a merchant.
It was no coincidence that Oswin came to mind.
Tea was prepared.
A refined fragrance, completely unlike cheap beer, reached even here.
Cookies were laid out alongside tableware with a foreign feel that didn’t quite belong in this rough place.
“The Commander said he would never forget the Black Rose Merchant Guild’s cooperation.”
“I see. Then may I assume you’ll be contacting the Midas Union Guild on our behalf?”
“I’ll bring you good news in the near future.”
“Understood. I do hope the good news arrives before the Sea King of Hispania makes his move.”
After exchanging a few more words with her, Killian stepped back.
His path led toward Lawrence and Rose.
“It’s time to check.”
“Check what?”
“Come with me, and you’ll see.”
“……”
That still wasn’t much of an explanation.
Lawrence looked around.
The scouting party he had traveled with was resting after unpacking their belongings.
None of them looked likely to get up anytime soon.
This time, it seemed to be only Lawrence and Killian moving together.
“It was nice meeting you.”
“Sure. Let’s play cards sometime next time, Mage.”
It was best to keep things light.
As if she had no intention of prying further, Rose waved goodbye.
Lawrence followed Killian.
He wondered where they were going, only to find that Killian was heading for the man who had escorted the carriage moments ago.
“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to borrow a little of your time.”
“This old man’s tired. Can’t it wait till next time?”
A lazy, languid voice.
The man whose face was hidden by the gat didn’t even bother standing up.
“It’s a simple matter. I’d like to ask whether you know this man.”
At Killian’s question, he lifted the brim of his gat with one finger.
“Don’t know him. I don’t remember men’s faces, old man.”
“This man is carrying property belonging to the Raynald Family. A handkerchief and a pocket watch.”
“……”
At that, the man rose to his feet.
A sigh escaped him. With the brim raised, he looked at Lawrence.
“Young friend. If what the Watcher says is true, then this old man ought to take a proper look. Would you show me?”
For all his casual tone, the atmosphere around him changed in an instant.
An unknown pressure.
The eyes visible beneath the brim of his hat reminded Lawrence of a predator’s.
“Before that, there’s something I’d like to ask.”
“Ask away. Of course, you shouldn’t expect an answer from this old man.”
Swallowing hard, Lawrence asked cautiously, “Are you a member of the Raynald Family?”
“I’m not sure that question has any meaning. People usually don’t ask for this kind of verification unless there’s some relation between them.”
He was sure of it now.
This man was a member of the Raynald Family, just like Caelo or Emily.
In that case, Lawrence needed to show proper respect.
He obediently presented Lurizisa’s handkerchief and pocket watch.
“Well, well… Let me say this in advance: this old man doesn’t know you, that much is true. But you’re not a stranger to our family.”
After checking the two items, the man scratched the back of his head.
“Then it’s true you have ties to the Raynald Family.”
“I suppose so. Why? Has this boy gotten himself into trouble? Because that’d be a pain in the ass. I’d rather young people handled that sort of thing among themselves.”
“Trouble? No, nothing like that. It’s just…”
After glancing around, Killian lowered his voice.
“We’re searching for something inside Winter Gallery. We were also asked for your cooperation.”
“……”
This was not the sort of matter that could be brushed aside lightly.
The man took a pipe from his coat and slipped it between his teeth.
“It’d be best if you gave us some room, Watcher Killian.”
“Of course. I hope you have a comfortable conversation.”
Without another word, Killian withdrew.
With a puff, a thread of smoke rose into the air.
After confirming that Killian was gone, the man spoke.
“If this old man’s memory serves, you met our dear maid, did you not?”
“If you mean Emily, I met her at the Magic Tower.”
Lawrence nodded.
“I’m late introducing myself. My name is Lawrence.”
“I see. So you’re the shadow mage people have been talking about. Our little tomboy took an interest in you, did she? Hmm… yes, you do seem to have the skill for it.”
He removed the pipe from his mouth and went on.
“You’ve given your name, so it would be only polite for me to give mine too. This old man is called Van.”
He had suspected it from the moment he saw the sword.
Van. Lawrence could not possibly have failed to know that name.
“Van the Wandering?”
One of the Four Knights of the Promise.
Van the Wandering nodded.