Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Chapter 21. The Kania Merchant Group's Gift (1)
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1.
Ebob!
“Hey, is what you just said true?”
Everyone was shocked by the death of him, the owner of the Kania Merchant Group.
“Murdered?”
And understandably so, since it wasn’t just any death—it was murder.
The owner of one of the top ten merchant groups in the port city of Rees, a man who commanded countless adventurers under him.
“Does that even make sense? He must have had an army of bodyguards.”
It was only natural for them to be repeatedly stunned.
Even Cheryl, who had brought the news herself, felt the same.
She had no intention of showing her face otherwise, but she came in person for this incident.
It was news of that magnitude.
“This is serious.”
“Yes? Well, it is serious, but…”
However, El Pam, upon hearing the news, didn’t seem particularly shocked despite his words.
For one thing, El Pam knew.
‘He’s run away.’
That contrary to the rumors, the chances of Ebob truly being dead were slim.
Of course, running away meant he could never return, which was a massive problem for Ebob himself.
‘They’ve cut off the tail.’
But to the followers of the Black Mage that El Pam knew of, it was a trivial matter.
Like plucking a bit of dead skin from a fingertip.
It stung for a moment, but after a few minutes, you wouldn’t even remember the scratch.
Of course, it wasn’t something that didn’t bother them at all.
That’s why they usually didn’t cut off tails like that.
In other words, there had to be a reason they had no choice but to do it.
‘The Goldrich Merchant Group must have dug in deep.’
And the reason was obvious.
‘Not a bad thing for me.’
In any case, from El Pam’s perspective, this was good news.
With the announcement that Ebob had been murdered, the Kania Merchant Group could no longer actively operate externally.
Not until someone stepped up to fill Ebob’s role, at least—external activities were impossible for now.
‘The Kania Merchant Group won’t move. Not with the Goldrich Merchant Group in the picture.’
Even if they did engage externally, it would only be to the extent that it didn’t provoke the Goldrich Merchant Group.
‘No major threats for the time being.’
It meant the Kania Merchant Group couldn’t target El Pam or engage in trolling other adventurers anytime soon.
From El Pam’s standpoint, he wouldn’t have to worry much about threats from the Kania Merchant Group for a while.
‘Threats will come in other forms, though.’
Of course, El Pam had no illusions that the Kania Merchant Group—or the Black Mage’s followers—had given up on him.
They would go to any lengths to eliminate him.
It was just that they no longer had the luxury to focus on him while dealing with the massive, even greater enemy that was the Goldrich Merchant Group.
In any case, it meant El Pam didn’t have to pay much attention to the Kania Merchant Group for a while.
With that, El Pam looked at Cheryl.
“I’ve brought the survivor.”
And made his demand.
“As you requested.”
Payment.
Cheryl responded without hesitation.
“Thank you.”
With those words, she handed El Pam a coin engraved with a cross emblem.
“It’s a Cross Coin.”
It was the exclusive currency given by the Cross Hunters to those who earned merits or completed missions.
Currency that could buy items available within the Cross Hunters.
And there were plenty of valuable items in the Cross Hunters, starting from Unique grade and up.
Of course, the more valuable the item, the more Cross Coins it required.
“Except for Black Coins.”
There was one exception: the Black Coin.
“You can buy any item you need with it.”
That was why.
“If you need any favors, just let me know.”
El Pam accepted the payment without hesitation.
That concluded his conversation with Cheryl, and El Pam paid her no further attention.
He turned his head and looked at Pir.
Pir met El Pam’s gaze and spoke.
“I keep my promises. I’ll send it over soon.”
“Boss, ask him about that too.”
At that moment, Ralph cut in.
“About the money. When’s it coming?”
“…I’ll send that too.”
Pir’s response to Ralph marked the end of their talk.
With all conversations finished, El Pam’s gaze settled on one place.
“Then we head back to Rees now.”
2.
Port city of Rees.
The place that was always bustling for all sorts of reasons was shrouded today in a silence thicker than ever.
Everywhere people gathered.
Conversations were sparse, and even those few were barely above whispers, utterly hushed.
“Ebob murdered?”
The death of the Kania Merchant Group’s owner was that shocking.
It wasn’t just the death of an important figure that stunned them.
“An assassination, right?”
If he was murdered rather than dying suddenly, then there had to be someone who sent the assassin.
“Who could it be?”
That was why everyone fell silent about Ebob’s death.
“Who stands to gain if Ebob dies? Obviously the top ten merc…”
“Hey, don’t say careless things like that.”
It was clear that in the port city of Rees, there were those who would profit from Ebob’s death.
“We can’t even talk about it?”
No, it was more than just existing.
“Either way, everyone’s going to divvy up the shares the Kania Merchant Group holds, right?”
The other nine merchant groups, excluding Kania, were bound to gain something, big or small, one way or another.
Of course, all nine wanted more.
“But who gets the bigger share? That’s the question.”
In this situation, they all aimed for greater profits.
It was enough to complicate everyone’s thoughts in many ways.
“Boss, what happens now?”
Dibo was among them.
“Will the Kania Merchant Group keep trying to kill us?”
Understandably so, since El Pam’s party was currently under mortal threat from the Kania Merchant Group.
And now, in that situation, their leader Ebob was dead?
It was only natural to think this way.
“With all the chaos, they might not have time for it. The atmosphere right now must be insane.”
That they might give up on El Pam’s party.
No, given the current situation, it seemed more likely the Kania Merchant Group had forgotten about El Pam’s party altogether.
And if so, it would mean the removal of a major headache for El Pam’s party.
Good news upon good news.
Of course, El Pam knew.
‘Not a chance.’
That all this was just a ploy by the Black Mage’s followers.
They would come charging to kill El Pam’s party.
‘They’ll come eventually.’
It just wouldn’t be right away.
“It’s not the Kania Merchant Group that decides our path.”
“Huh?”
“It’s the Gapor Merchant Group.”
That was why El Pam focused on the Gapor Merchant Group rather than Kania at this moment.
In truth, the group with the most complicated thoughts right now was none other than the Gapor Merchant Group.
‘They invested a fortune in us as bait to topple the Kania Merchant Group, and now Kania’s collapsing on its own.’
A situation requiring a complete overhaul of their plans.
Of course, El Pam knew.
“The Gapor Merchant Group is at the bottom of the top ten. An opportunity like this to climb higher won’t be ignored.”
That the Gapor Merchant Group would act more aggressively than any other.
“They’ll do anything to make their presence known. Even if it means adventurers get massacred.”
And the ones sacrificed in that aggressive push would ultimately be the adventurers they hired.
“Yellow rank will be the fiercest.”
Moreover, when evaluating a merchant group’s capabilities, prowess in conquering Yellow-rank Mystic Gates was the most crucial.
For starters, the lowest Red rank was seen as a stage for beginners.
No matter how well you cleared Red rank, it didn’t mark you as a promising talent or beyond.
The next Orange rank drew some interest, but it was still a stage for 3rd Circle adventurers, so attention was limited.
But Yellow rank and up were different.
Fundamentally stages for 3rd and 4th Circle adventurers, the level of attention was on another plane.
Of course, Green rank, the stage for 5th Circle, drew even more, but competition didn’t apply there.
“You can’t aggressively compete over Green-rank Mystic Gates.”
Since 5th Circle adventurers were core assets to each merchant group, they couldn’t be handled recklessly.
In short, Yellow rank was the frontline for aggressive maneuvers.
“The next adventure won’t be easy in any sense.”
To sum up, the next adventure would be entirely different from any they’d experienced before.
‘No idea where it’ll be.’
Even for El Pam, it wasn’t easy.
Especially since El Pam knew.
‘Wherever it is, we’ll face interference.’
His party was no longer unknown adventurers; they were famous as the ones who claimed Jack Rich’s legacy.
“Bro!”
“What?”
They were eating at Dibo’s house instead of a restaurant for that reason.
The surrounding gazes were sharp.
That was why.
“Go buy some food ingredients.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Why? We’re out of food at home!”
“We’ve got stuff right here?”
“With your comrades here, you think this’ll do? Go buy proper stuff!”
“Hey, we can just eat whatever! We grilled monsters in the Mystic Gate!”
“Tch!”
That’s how Dibo ended up running errands for food ingredients.
“Ugh, fine. I’m going!”
Dibo stepped out, but returned home in less than ten minutes.
“Boss!”
He spoke with a shocked expression.
“The Kania Merchant Group has relinquished their rights to a Yellow-rank Mystic Gate they owned.”
No one was surprised by those words.
“What’s the big deal?”
“They had to give it up. Why hold on when it was going to be taken anyway?”
“Is there a bounty on it?”
At this point, claiming ownership of a Mystic Gate would be the reckless move for Kania.
“Gold! It’s gold-colored!”
But the moment they heard what followed, everyone had to be stunned.
Everyone except one.
‘The next stage is set.’
3.
“The next stage is set.”
Rakan delivered the news personally.
“You’ve probably heard the rumors already. The Kania Merchant Group gave up rights to a Yellow-rank Mystic Gate. And one of them is gold-colored.”
“A 300-man Gate? You want us to enter that?”
El Pam was being asked to tackle a 300-man Mystic Gate, the highest difficulty in Yellow rank.
It was an absurd proposal.
“We’ve only just reached 4th Circle. My comrades are still merely 3rd Circle.”
As El Pam said, his party were total rookies who had just stepped into Yellow rank.
And now they were to join a highest-difficulty Yellow-rank Mystic Gate adventure?
Absurd.
So El Pam said.
“What will you offer?”
What price they were willing to pay for this absurdity.
It was madness by any standard.
But El Pam knew.
‘Refusal isn’t an option anyway.’
The Gapor Merchant Group was one of the top ten, and among them, one of the most ruthless, in the top three fingers.
They could crush a party like El Pam’s without breaking a sweat.
Naturally, if El Pam bared his teeth or showed defiance, they’d punish him without mercy.
That was why.
“Payment?”
If refusal wasn’t possible anyway, better to extract more.
‘It’s something we have to tackle eventually.’
Moreover, El Pam had no intention of passing on this opportunity.
‘A 300-man Gate guarantees a Unique.’
It was a Mystic Gate unknown in El Pam’s memories, but it surely held tremendous items.
“If you promise the payment, I’ll return alive somehow.”
There was no reason to refuse in any way.
“Under the Gapor Merchant Group’s name.”
Rakan nodded at El Pam’s words.
A satisfactory answer.
“I’ll give you a Unique item. 4th Circle grade.”
And the response was satisfactory for El Pam as well.
“I’ll let you know once the exact schedule is set. And a warning.”
Of course, Rakan made it clear here.
“No going in alone. I won’t tolerate that nonsense.”
Don’t repeat the last mistake.
“Yes, I want to come back alive too.”
El Pam had no such plans this time either.
Above all, El Pam knew.
‘It won’t be easy at all.’
Despite accepting the offer, this Mystic Gate adventure would be harder than any before.
‘I’ll prepare as best I can.’
But El Pam didn’t despair at the fact.
‘As always.’
For him, the worst situations were just the usual ones he faced easily.
All he had to do was prepare step by step against such worst-case scenarios.
“Then I’ll be off.”
El Pam left the Gapor Merchant Group’s headquarters.
Something he’d been waiting for arrived then.
“From the Cross Hunters. The promised item.”
Hero Tracker Pir—he had sent Fried’s ring.
‘I didn’t expect this.’
The Fried’s ring he received looked utterly ordinary.
If he hadn’t known it was Fried’s ring, he wouldn’t buy it even for money.
‘More valuable than any Unique I have.’
Yet its worth was inexpressible.
‘Useless to me, though.’
The pity was that El Pam couldn’t do anything with Fried’s ring right now.
Literally.
This ring could only be used by one recognized by Fried, the great hero.
It was pie in the sky for El Pam.
Still, the reason El Pam demanded this ring was simple.
‘It’ll be useful in negotiations with Pir later.’
Someone existed who would buy this pie in the sky for the highest price.
That was El Pam’s sole expectation for the ring.
Or so it had been.
Bzzz!
‘…What?’
Until the moment Fried’s ring in El Pam’s palm began to tremble.