The Red Trade
p>When the case finally ends, it feels like a desperate arrest.
p>Right as it happens, the exhaustion crashes over me like a tidal wave.
p>Inside the blood-soaked scene, the scene is a wreck.
p>The knight suppressing the villain is sprawled there.
p>To some it’s a revolting sight.
p>To me it’s like a still from a black-and-white movie that soothes the soul.
p>Until moments ago the battle had been fierce.
p>Everywhere you see the soot left by Emily’s black mist.
p>The shards of Noris littering the spot where she fell.
p>This unreal scene makes me feel like I’m watching a boring classic film.
p>But the arrival of support staff turns it into the fun commercial I never knew I needed.
p>“This guy, he took down the whole lot by himself again.”
p>As Noris’s ward dissolved, the aerial combat magic agents finally poured in through the windows.
p>“If that’s the case, why was I gathering clouds so desperately?”
p>“Clouds? Weren’t you told not to make them noticeable?”
p>“What? You’re collecting spider webs like some spider guy?”
p>The moment they stepped inside, chaos erupted.
p>I’d called for support before we breached the Jacob Department Store.
p>These are the cream of the crop, elite aerial combat magic agents.
p>On the surface they look like street urchins, but their skills are something else.
p>They gather clouds and hurl them, collect spider webs and bind people.
p>It sounds absurd, but it’s actually overwhelming in its own way.
p>“Master, please hold position until I give the signal!”
p>“What if you’re having all the fun by yourself?”
p>“Chief, what should I write in the report?”
p>Among the muttering agents, a mage examining the black magic traces on the floor sighed in admiration.
p>“Hey, if we’d arrived a moment later we’d have only had to lick our fingers.”
p>“But this makes sense? Using pure magic in a space packed with black magic?”
p>A rookie knight with his back straight looked up at me.
p>The other aerial combat mages chimed in together.
p>“Zeo, the inspector, is an exception.”
p>This is getting interesting.
p>The heavy scene feels lighter now.
p>“From outside it looks like he’s creating lightning art.”
p>“He’s the one who steals our special duty pay, isn’t he?”
p>“If the window had been smashed and we’d come in and cleaned up, we’d get even more life insurance.”
p>It’s like breathing in the invigorating spring air deep into your lungs.
p>“Hah… look at that, senior.”
p>Marian glared at me.
p>She wants to know why I hid the existence of the spirit I summoned.
p>Do I really need to say it out loud? Actually, Marian, you’re the one begging the spirits too.
p>The muttering aerial combat magic agents all had the corners of their mouths slightly raised.
p>Intuitively sensing an opponent’s superior combat magic is always a thrilling thing for any combat mage.
p>“Haha… so much, that far….”
p>I almost slapped my thigh to hide a yawn.
p>Slightly humble is perfect.
p>The sleepiness is leaving me.
p>“Master, I found the ledger.”
p>The moment Piaje the clerk arrived at the scene he started searching for the ledger.
p>A Capital Defense Force investigation unit badge dangled from his back.
p>“These guys are complete villains. They drew the stock price graph and traded right on cue. Classic price manipulation rings.”
p>Piaje the clerk had found the ledger hidden in the secret vault.
p>“The plan was incredibly ambitious. They even planned for the stock price two years from now.”
p>A con artist with a future plan.
p>Criminals are secretly diligent.
p>“Besides that, there should be a lot of blood for the blood-selling stock trades. We need to collect it all.”
p>The worst part of the Jacob gang is that they trick people into selling their blood.
p>So they must be storing vast amounts of blood somewhere.
p>I looked at Emily—or rather the mage whose real name I don’t know yet—and said.
p>“You know the location, don’t you?”
p>She was already bound tightly by aura after being captured by the Empire’s knights.
p>Aura alone could neutralize her black magic instantly, but she had completely given up resisting.
p>She slowly spoke.
p>“Nora.”
p>Only now does she reveal her real name.
p>She wore a gloomy smile, but showed no intention of resisting.
p>“Knight, please unbind this person for a moment.”
p>The knight looked at me with a puzzled face.
p>This doesn’t match the manual.
p>“I’ll take responsibility.”
p>“Master, that still violates procedure.”
p>“What can I do?”
p>I asked again, but the knight only wore a troubled expression.
p>From behind me came a crisp voice.
p>“The 1st Grade Inspector of the Capital Defense Force takes responsibility!”
p>It was Frida, the headquarters chief.
p>Wearing her trademark red suit she glared at me with arms crossed.
p>“Ah… yes… then….”
p>The knight, recognizing Frida immediately, finally began to loosen the arrest aura.
p>“You made quite a mess. Mr. Blood, don’t you think you should do things more cleanly?”
p>Frida, headquarters chief, was already irritated the moment she appeared.
p>Her red heels tapped the marble floor.
p>“There are a lot of related parties down there. You’re not even checking who’s a participant and who’s a victim?”
p>The tapping sound of the heels made the tense air even more tense.
p>Tap. Tap. Tap.
p>“If you let the criminal slip in such an important scene, will Mr. Blood take responsibility?”
p>Frida’s heel movements became more nervous.
p>Every time the heel struck the floor, the knights flinched.
p>‘It seems like there’s something on her mind.’
p>I looked at the hysterical Frida headquarters chief.
p>Yelling everywhere without thinking is like poking a cheap chicken’s neck until it makes a squealing sound.
p>“Everyone, what are you doing? Go down and clean up the scene!”
p>She shouted and the people disappeared like the wind.
p>The aerial combat agents had been gone a long time.
p>That’s why no one likes her.
p>But I know.
p>She has some other agenda.
p>Frida, headquarters chief, strode across the empty space where everyone had left.
p>And on her cold face she put an awkward smile.
p>“Nora, it’s been a while.”
p>She opened her arms wide and hugged Nora.
p>* * *
p>“Mr. Blood, or rather Zeo, the inspector, asked me to recommend the children’s school.”
p>Frida, headquarters chief, and Nora already knew each other.
p>“Frida, your personality is the same as ever.”
p>Nora and Frida, headquarters chief, hugged lightly.
p>I was left awkwardly standing in between.
p>Because Marian and Piaje the clerk had sneaked away after Frida’s words.
p>“Mr. Blood isn’t a person I can ask for favors. When I looked into it, it turned out to be you, Nora Marte.”
p>“The story is a bit long.”
p>Marte?
p>The Marte family?
p>The greatest noble magic family in the Gilorian Empire.
p>But a black mage coming out of a noble magic family?
p>Even if she could, why? Why choose the path of black magic? The path where society points fingers at black mages?
p>“Is Adel’s illness still the same?”
p>There seems to be some story behind it.
p>I sat on the chair where Noris had been sitting and started listening to their conversation.
p>“Actually, Adel is gone. I don’t know where he is now.”
p>“What? That guy… no, did Adel run away?”
p>Frida, headquarters chief, has her own way of thinking.
p>“No, Noris, he seems to have had his soul stolen. I still can’t find his whereabouts. That’s why I was hiding here disguised as well.”
p>Listening, I learned a few things.
p>Nora’s husband Adel has an incurable disease.
p>She chose the path of black mage that steals life force to treat her husband’s illness and left the magic family.
p>There she touched a forbidden power unique to the Marte family that I can’t know.
p>“Hmmm… If Adel had his soul stolen, the opponent’s power must be enormous….”
p>Frida, headquarters chief, tapped her heel on the floor again and fell into thought.
p>“More than that, Frida, can I contact my children? I heard the inspector was contacting the children earlier.”
p>“Ah… yes. That’s right.”
p>Frida, headquarters chief, looked up at me sitting deep on the sofa.
p>I saw the gesture and contacted the children.
p>- Uncle!
p>“Evan?”
p>- No. Brother went out with Uncle James to give the cows some food. I’m Eric. The youngest.
p>Still the cute classification.
p>Still, James, you’re not selling your own child into slavery, but you’re making them do too dangerous a job.
p>“Is Uncle James doing well? He’s not asking them to do weird things, is he?”
p>- No. Please take good care of them. The problem is Emily. She keeps breaking things. Yesterday…
p>The atmosphere seemed like it might continue.
p>I felt Nora’s hot gaze from beside me, cheeks flushed.
p>“Eric, wait a moment. Uncle will change the number.”
p>I handed the magic transmitter to Nora.
p>Her chest swelled greatly.
p>“Eric, it’s Mom.”
p>A lively young voice flowed through the magic transmitter.
p>There’s no child who doesn’t get excited at a long-awaited call from Mom.
p>Nora cried in the corner for a long time during the call.
p>Only when the sun was setting outside the window did Nora hand the magic transmitter to me with a red nose.
p>“Master, thank you so much. I will definitely repay this favor with the name of the Marte family. But… the inspector fixed Emily’s magic circuit….”
p>“Yes, it was a bit difficult.”
p>Honesty was better than modesty this time.
p>It really had been difficult.
p>But,
p>“I blocked Emily’s magic circuit on purpose because I saw her black mage talent, but the inspector pierced it.”
p>This is unexpected.
p>* * *
p>The individual’s hidden narrative ends here.
p>Now I need to clean up the scene.
p>Especially find the massive blood hidden for blood-selling trades.
p>Nora, as if she knew, guided us somewhere.
p>At the end of the corridor, in a dimly lit corner.
p>Marian and Piaje the clerk, who had roughly handled the situation, joined us.
p>“Noris had this place sealed off so no one could approach.”
p>Nora placed her palm on the wall and concentrated deeply as if probing something.
p>The moment her hand touched a specific point, black energy spread and the secret passage opened.
p>“This seems to be Noris’s secret storage.”
p>As we entered the passage, a cold energy wrapped around my whole body.
p>It was lowered by magic, clearly.
p>“I didn’t expect this much.”
p>Marian breathed in sharply.
p>Hundreds of glass tubes lined both sides of the passage.
p>Filled with blue liquid, they moved subtly as if alive.
p>“It’s not a hospital at all… it’s all blood.”
p>Each glass tube had a label.
p>[A-127: Elf woman, 123 years old, purity 97%]
p>[B-391: Elf woman, 219 years old, purity 95%]
p>“These artifacts maintain freshness.”
p>Nora, holding an oddly shaped artifact, continued to explain.
p>“Noris used this blood to manipulate thousands of accounts. Every night she draws blood from here….”
p>As she was about to continue, she suddenly stopped.
p>In front of the innermost special storage.
p>“What is this?”
p>Inside the storage was a large glass tube. Inside it floated a bead emitting a mysterious light, not blood.
p>It looked like the light particles emitted when a spirit returns to the forest.
p>Nora’s hand trembled as she looked at it.
p>Around the glass tube were complex magic circles, and between them small glass bottles were densely packed.
p>Nora reached out without hesitation and neutralized the ward.
p>The magic circle emitting the mysterious light slowly dimmed and faded.
p>And when she placed the bead in her hand, a bright light radiated and the light cluster disappeared somewhere.
p>It’s a soul.
p>“Is it my husband’s soul?”
p>“No. Adel is not here.”
p>“Can you distinguish?”
p>“Like parent and child. Even if I don’t see them for a hundred years, I can recognize them at a glance.”
p>Nora said with a bitter smile.
p>“But it’s strange.”
p>Frida, headquarters chief, took a step closer.
p>“What?”
p>She paused for a long time as if the right word didn’t come to mind, then uttered.
p>“These souls… they are not citizens of the Gilorian Empire. They seem to come from another world.”