Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Whale's Identity
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“Who the hell appointed that moron as a Grade 1 intelligence collector?”
“I’m sorry.”
It was you who approved it without question because he’s your fifth cousin.
…were words Vice Guildmaster Stan couldn’t say out loud, so he bowed his head to Harman, the head of the Intelligence Guild.
To be precise, the Guildmaster had only approved it, but Stan himself was the one who had proposed promoting Yens to Grade 1.
“Get out.”
“Yes.”
Yens, who had been standing there with his hands clasped, gauging the mood in front of his great-uncle, bowed his head deeply and left the room.
This incident was a major blow to Yens, who had secretly aspired to rise from chief intelligence collector to vice guildmaster and eventually guildmaster.
Stan hadn’t given him any special favors, but the mere existence of his powerful great-uncle had been a solid backing. His scolding now cut deep for that reason.
Whether Yens was affected or not, the Guildmaster—who had no interest whatsoever in the circumstances of one of his more than ten fifth cousins—gestured to Vice Guildmaster Stan.
“Sit down and talk.”
“Yes.”
The Guildmaster stared silently at Vice Guildmaster Stan, who sat across from him on the office sofa, for a long while before speaking.
“You’ve been with us about twenty years now, right?”
“Twenty-two years.”
“And you’ve been vice guildmaster for two years?”
“It’s three years by calendar, but yes, that’s correct.”
“I see. So that’s why you didn’t know.”
Didn’t know? Know what?
Suppressing the urge to ask about the Guildmaster’s mutterings, Stan quietly waited for him to continue.
“You know there are field agents called Scouts among the intelligence collectors, and that they send direct reports in code, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know the codes differ depending on the mission each Scout is assigned to?”
“Yes. I know the basics.”
“They’re all different. The terms for referring to targets differ, and so do the terms for situations.”
“…….”
“For example, in that report the idiot mentioned earlier, there was ‘Whale,’ right? In the report from the Scout operating in Nios, that referred to a large warship.”
“Yes.”
“But in the code from the Burgos Branch that the idiot mentioned—no, that was sent from the Burgos Branch—‘Whale’ refers to a person.”
“A person, you say? If I may ask, who…?”
“I’ll tell you that later.”
“……Yes.”
He couldn’t be impatient.
Even as vice guildmaster, unauthorized information existed, and pushing for it meant getting cut—both from his position and his life.
“But I can tell you this right now.”
“……?”
Vice Guildmaster Stan, who had briefly lowered his head at Guildmaster Harman’s curt refusal, looked up again.
“The Whale mentioned by the Burgos Branch is one of the most important figures in our organization. In terms of importance alone, it’s not wrong to say it’s the top.”
Greatly surprised, Vice Guildmaster Stan hurriedly asked.
“More important than the monarchs of various countries?”
“Even if one of those monarchs started a war right now, the Whale would still be more important.”
“……!”
Harman continued to Guildmaster Stan, whose mouth had unwittingly fallen open a bit.
“And changing dance partners means that person has finished their original task and is moving on to something else.”
“Th-then Dragon Palace…”
“Dragon Palace is the Whale’s hometown. In other words, the code ‘changing dance partners and returning to Dragon Palace’ means that the figure our Intelligence Guild considers most important has finished something, taken on a new task, and returned home.”
Vice Guildmaster Stan nodded.
He understood up to here. But the most crucial part remained.
He had to know who the Whale was to understand what they had done and why they were returning to their hometown for.
Without knowing the person involved, even decoding it left you clueless about who was doing what.
In short, its value as intelligence plummeted.
“I see why Scout codes differ by target.”
“If anyone could guess it, it wouldn’t be truly vital intelligence.”
“Exactly. And I think I understand why you’re telling me this.”
Guildmaster Harman grinned at Vice Guildmaster Stan’s words.
“Right. Starting this moment, you’re in charge of all reports on the Whale.”
Suppressing his pounding heart, Vice Guildmaster Stan cautiously said.
“But I thought Scouts reported directly to the Council of Eight. Is it alright for me to take that on?”
“Are you an idiot?”
“Pardon?”
“They report directly to the Council of Eight, which doesn’t even include the current Guildmaster. Don’t you get why I’d assign that to you?”
“Uh…… Huh!?”
Forgetting his age over forty, Vice Guildmaster Stan gasped and stared at Guildmaster Harman in disbelief.
“Scouts report only to the Council of Eight, and the sitting Guildmaster isn’t part of it.”
“Then I……”
“You’re a candidate for next Guildmaster.”
“……!!!”
The Intelligence Guild had five vice guildmasters, since their three-year terms could be renewed twice, but only one became Guildmaster.
And due to the guild’s nature, the Guildmaster’s appointment required member consent, but it was a mere formality for the same reason.
Once the sitting Guildmaster nominated someone without disqualifying issues, they gained the Council of Eight’s approval and became the next Guildmaster.
‘Me, as Guildmaster?’
To Vice Guildmaster Stan, trembling even in his body, Guildmaster Harman chuckled and continued.
“From now on, you’ll handle the Whale exclusively until your vice guildmaster term ends. If you don’t screw up big time, you’ll be the next Guildmaster. But if you do mess up badly?”
“If I do…….”
Somehow guessing it, Vice Guildmaster Stan swallowed dryly.
“You’re out. Position and head both.”
“…….”
His face paled at the expected answer.
“But don’t worry too much. Every past Guildmaster handled the Whale during their vice guildmaster days.”
“Ah…….”
“Of course, out of those who handled the Whale in the last thirty years or so, three became Guildmaster and two got axed.”
“…….”
Vice Guildmaster Stan’s expression, which had brightened slightly, froze solid.
“I hope you won’t be the third to get axed. Now, I’ll tell you who the Whale is.”
Didn’t you say later? Is that later right now? Can I not hear it?
No such words came out.
Having heard this far, refusing meant begging to be fired right then—position and head.
“The Whale is Duke Sion. Not the one who died recently, but the original Duke Sion, one of the Six Heroes.”
“Ah! Huh! Ack!?”
A grotesque yell, eerily similar to one someone a thousand kilometers away had let out recently, burst from Vice Guildmaster Stan’s mouth.
* * *
“That’s Alfmarin over there.”
Gazing at the distant walls, Piot muttered in a somewhat weary voice.
Born the son of a lord and raised in luxury, the past six days of travel had been a novel experience for him, but also a nonstop string of first-time hardships.
The group included Jenna and the two Intelligence Guild members she’d brought, but Sion didn’t discriminate by status when assigning tasks.
On the contrary, during camps, he personally hunted game or pitched tents, leading by example, so out of sheer awareness, Piot had to handle various chores.
Thanks to Piot’s efforts, Jenna and the guild members’ view of him had changed quite a bit.
They’d thought of him as just the naive youngest young master of Logos Territory, ignorant of the world, but seeing his clumsy yet earnest attempts had shifted their opinion.
Moreover, there was another reason Jenna had come to view Piot quite favorably.
“But weren’t we supposed to head straight to Sion Dukedom? Is there a reason to stop at Alfmarin?”
Unaware of Sion’s true identity, Piot casually asked a question Jenna could never have voiced.
And Sion’s response to that question became very useful ‘intelligence’ for Jenna.
“Alfmarin is the only royal demesne in this region. Plus, with the waterways, it’s a central hub for goods and people. That’s why they made it a demesne.”
“Oh, I see.”
“But that’s not the only reason it became a demesne. There are four territories around Alfmarin that have feuded since ancient times. They all border a vast granary plain, and the veins overlap.”
“I see. But why does that…”
“Frequent feuds mean constant need for troops. And most veins are deep in the mountains. What’s plentiful in deep mountains?”
“……Ah!”
Sion nodded to Piot, who finally caught on.
“Right. Beasts and monsters. This region always needs lots of mercenaries, and they have no choice but to gather in Alfmarin, smack in the middle of those four territories.”
“I get what you mean. But why do we need mercenaries?”
“It’s the first time in decades that a direct descendant of Sion, whose ties were inevitably severed, is returning to the homeland. Going with just five people would lack prestige—no, it’d be embarrassing.”
High-status people don’t trail entourages for nothing.
In democratic nations, it might look tacky, but this was a medieval-like class-based world.
When meeting people here for the first time, headcount was one of the best ways to display status and rank.
“Ah…….”
Piot, convinced by Sion, nodded vigorously while looking apologetic.
For that purpose, it would’ve been right to draw personnel from Logos Castle when leaving the territory.
But though Logos wasn’t badly off, it suffered chronic manpower shortages, so Sion must have been considerate.
“I’m sorry. If it’s for that, we should’ve prepared from our side in advance…….”
“It’s all settled with your father, so no need for you to apologize. And… never mind.”
Sion smiled without saying your father had apologized the same way.
Grandson or great-grandson, both had turned out fine.
Knowing shame meant they were proper humans.
“Anyway, no more questions?”
Pleased with this decently good-natured great-grandson—who was proactive enough to head to his distant father’s maternal home without hesitation—Sion showed kindness.
“Ah, one more thing. If you want mercenaries, couldn’t we hire them almost upon arriving at Sion Dukedom? Is there a reason to detour to Alfmarin specifically?”
“Their speech and temperament differ.”
“Pardon?”
“Hiring northeasterners who scream ‘northeast bumpkin’ to anyone versus hiring central or southern folk—same thing?”
“Ah!”
“Above all, hiring people means money.”
“……?”
Isn’t it obvious money’s involved in hiring?
But that thought vanished instantly for Piot and the others listening intently.
“Hiring locals near the dukedom versus hiring here and bringing them to the dukedom sends completely different messages to others, especially nobles. The former marks you as a penny-pincher skimping on cash; the latter earns recognition as a capable, big-hearted heavyweight. And you know.”
Sion drove the point home to Piot, whose mouth hung slightly open.
“I’m filthy, filthy rich.”
Of course, it wasn’t about overflowing money making him hire here specifically.
Alfmarin allowed him to hire people exactly to his taste, very conveniently.
‘It must’ve grown decently by now. If not, after all that support, they’d be the idiots.’
Yes. Alfmarin had a mercenary band that was as good as Sion’s own possession.
(To be continued in the next installment)