Chapter 109. The Union’s Informant (1)
The uproar in Mildruen caused by the Blue Cloud Merchant Guild was none of Verden’s concern.
After obtaining the auction house invitation and other incidental profits, he walked to a nearby village, procured a horse, and set out for Asern.
‘As expected, not being able to use Flight is inconvenient.’
He could move through the clouds, but he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t be noticed.
The Robe of the Wanderer did contain Invisibility, but since it had a usage limit, he had to save it. He never knew when it might be needed.
To freely use Invisibility, one had to reach the upper 5th tier.
For now, that was still a far-off matter. Until the Kingdom’s flight ban was lifted, he had no choice but to rely on horseback.
Still, gazing at the scenery from horseback wasn’t all that bad.
Each step followed his will.
In that, Verden felt freedom.
Before long, Verden arrived in Asern, and immediately headed to Perne.
As soon as Verden entered the tavern, Perne rushed toward him and let out a shriek.
“What on earth did you do in Mildruen!”
Hmm, that would take a while to explain.
***
The Blue Cloud Merchant Guild, the Union, and the black mages.
Verden explained what had transpired in Mildruen. From the matter of Medin, to how the caster of the Marionette spell disappeared, causing the guild master of the Blue Cloud Merchant Guild’s corpse to collapse.
Perne’s mouth hung open at a story that defied all expectations.
“A black mage was controlling the guild master?”
“Yeah.”
“No, but, what were they doing in the Union?”
“How would I know.”
Perne started to say something, then closed her mouth.
While she steadied her breathing, Verden continued.
“I tried to extract information, but they wouldn’t tell me.”
“..........Excuse me? Information? From who?”
Who else.
Of course, from the black mages.
Perne sprang to her feet in alarm.
“Y-you killed the black mages?”
“To get the auction invitation, I had no choice.”
That had been the condition of his deal with Medin.
And it hadn’t been particularly difficult. If it were back when he subjugated the Wailing Knight, it might have been questionable, but now Verden was on a whole different level.
Perne pressed him with more questions.
What tier those black mages had been, and what kind of people they were. Verden kindly answered in full.
Upon hearing that, Perne’s mind went blank.
‘Upper 4th tier black mages? Wait, isn’t Sir Asher also a 4th tier mage?’
And yet, he dealt with them that easily?
Something was off.
It didn’t align with the common sense she knew. Just what had this man been doing in the principality, that he could act so unrestrained?
“...... By any chance, have you ever shown your face to a Union contact?”
“Not that I recall.”
In Mildruen, Verden had kept his robe pulled low.
The only ones who knew his face were Medin and the black mages. And since the latter were all dead and buried, only Medin remained.
Perne rubbed her forehead.
“Well, that’s at least fortunate... alright. I understand everything now. You had every reason to deal with the black mages, and it’s clear the Union is scheming something. But that doesn’t change the situation.”
He had clashed with the Union. That was the critical point.
Even if Verden hadn’t yet been identified as the culprit who disrupted their plan, it was only a matter of time. The Union had numerous informants, their network several times broader than anyone else’s.
Even without showing his face, the risk of being tracked could not be dismissed.
“Shaking them off will be extremely difficult. If they doggedly dig like hounds, it won’t be long before they uncover your identity, and then they’ll learn I’m connected to you as well. This is why I said we mustn’t cross the Union... if only we had money...”
Money?
Thud.
Verden pulled out the items Medin had given him from his spatial bag. The dazzling gleam of ingots reflected off Perne’s face.
Her fingertips quivered faintly at the sight of the mithril ingots.
“W-where did you get this?”
“They were in the guild master’s vault. And this, too.”
Verden produced a bearer bond.
Perne instantly snatched it and read the amount. One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million... with each digit climbing, her eyes widened.
Her voice was chillingly cold.
“... How do you plan to divide it?”
“I’ll keep the mithril ingots, you can dispose of the rest.”
“And the bond?”
“Take it. In return, consider the ingot commission cleared.”
Bonds were inconvenient to use.
Even though they were bearer bonds, since they were national bonds of the Estiria Kingdom, they required a complex verification process before being used. The money was guaranteed, but they weren’t of particular interest to Verden.
It was better to use them as an investment in Perne.
Hearing his answer, Perne carefully set the bond down.
Then she met Verden’s eyes. Her violet gaze had calmed, unlike before.
She smiled faintly.
“Then let’s find ourselves some backing.”
***
The Union was expanding by the day.
With greedy nobles as patrons, no one dared keep them in check. Those who drew their attention were either absorbed, or withered away like Perne.
But even the Union dared not touch one family.
The Marquisate of Esperanza.
They ruled the eastern frontier, and since they bordered the kingdom’s edge, they possessed far greater military strength than other territories. The centuries-old prestige of the Marquisate was such that even the royal family could not help but be cautious. Nobles, of course, were no different.
And above all, the unique point was the Esperanza family’s house motto, “the Righteous Path.”
“Especially the current marquis is said to be incredibly strict. Break the law outright, and you’re thrown in a cell, go too far, and it’s execution. Criminals can’t even raise their heads there. People even joke they’re the ‘Light of the Kingdom.’ If the principality and their lands were closer, they’d have risen in rebellion together.”
“So, you’re saying we should ally with the marquisate? To go against the Union?”
“Not just the Union.”
The nobles who were the true powers behind the Union.
And among those nobles, one led them.
“Prince Zennel Gain de Estiria, the 3rd prince of the Estiria royal family. He used to be the weakest among the crown contenders, but when the Union suddenly emerged, his faction’s power skyrocketed. With no clear reason. But thanks to you, now I know why.”
“The black mages, huh?”
Perne nodded.
“The 3rd prince must have drawn the black mages in to build his base. Assuming that, it all lines up... but if they can move so secretly without a whisper of rumor spreading, they aren’t an ordinary force.”
A lack of information.
This was not something to take lightly.
“Still, fortunately, I think we can bury the events in Mildruen. Information distortion is one of my specialties. With enough money, it’s a simple matter.”
If Perne exercised her abilities properly, she could even conceal the fact that Verden had been in Mildruen. Then the Union would never be able to pinpoint who had eliminated the black mages.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean the potential danger vanishes. The fact remains that you’re linked to the Union. Taking everything into account—their scale, wealth, and reach—there’s nothing we can handle on our own.”
Thus, they had to draw the Marquisate of Esperanza in.
They would become both sharp sword and solid shield. If the marquisate restrained the Union and weakened its strength, and if Perne seized the opportunity to fill that gap...
She might find herself entering a second golden age, as an informant.
At that moment, Verden thought.
‘Not bad.’
Verden’s purpose for coming to the Kingdom consisted of three goals.
To attend the underworld auction, to commission Oesu for the creation of a staff, and to locate the Tomb of the Demon King.
Of those, finding Oesu’s whereabouts and securing an expert capable of deciphering the Demon King’s relics was Perne’s responsibility.
‘But that alone isn’t enough.’
A competent informant was indispensable.
Not only could she arrange expensive commissions, but she could also spare him the time and effort needed to obtain rare materials and magical items.
And in Verden’s case, all he had to do was pay her fee. Because Perne had already promised to become his informant.
‘Naturally, I’ll make full use of her.’
The more she grew as an informant, the more benefit Verden would reap.
Verden decided to follow Perne’s plan.
However, separate from that, there were two questions in his mind.
“Why hasn’t the Union killed or kidnapped you by now? That would’ve been the simplest thing.”
“The Union wanted my abilities. But I refused, flatly. So they isolated me, let me wither away. They were waiting until my spirit broke.”
Perne brushed her arm with her hand.
“Honestly, if you’d come a little later, I wouldn’t even be here. I might’ve become an illegal slave because of my debts, handed straight into the Union’s hands. And if that had happened, who knows what kind of fate... ugh, I don’t even want to imagine. Well, fortunately, it didn’t come to that.”
She shrugged her shoulders, then asked casually.
“And the other question?”
“How exactly are we supposed to bring the Marquisate of Esperanza in?”
The marquis’ authority was beyond comparison to other nobles. All the more so as a frontier marquis.
No great noble like that would simply accept someone barging in and asking for an alliance. If one was lucky, the worst that would happen was imprisonment.
“Of course, I don’t plan to approach the marquis himself. Our target is the marquis’ only daughter, ‘Calia de Esperanza’.”
Calia de Esperanza.
She was a noblewoman who faithfully upheld her family’s motto, and her sense of honor was exceedingly high. The number of criminals punished by her hand alone exceeded the triple digits.
“I know where the information she wants lies. So, I’m going to search for it now. That means, I’ll need your protection, won’t I?”
***
Bartol, the moneylender.
He was one of Asern’s powerholders, though his origins were the lowest of the low.
He had grown up nearly starving, without a single helping hand extended to him. And during his teenage years, war broke out between the Kingdom and the Republic, making it even worse.
Yet in the midst of that chaos, Bartol climbed. Step by step, little by little.
Seizing the moment, he killed the gang leader of the alleys with nothing but a dagger, claimed the backstreets, and slowly gathered money until he controlled an entire block.
Of course, there were many times his life hung by a thread, but in the end, it was Bartol who stood above the rest.
That was why he despised the Union.
They were fools swaggering about under the nobles’ patronage. Someone like Bartol, born out of the muck, could never get along with them.
Even so, the Union was a considerable threat to him as well, so he never showed his hostility outright.
If the benefits of submitting to the Union ever outweighed his resentment, he was prepared to join them at once.
Letting personal feelings drag his business into ruin would be the height of stupidity.
Yet the factions opposed to the Union were no pushovers either.
Bartol had no desire to end up as a disposable shield by making the wrong alliance.
So he kept his distance, watching, calculating which side to take.
But then.
Crunch, crunch.
Bartol gnawed on short ribs.
They were grilled nicely, the seasoning good, but his face was twisted in irritation. Because of the two people who had suddenly shown up at dinnertime.
“So, you’re telling me I should side with you instead of the Union, Perne?”
“Exactly.”
Perne popped a cube steak into her mouth.
Her demeanor was starkly different from before, stiff-backed and unyielding. Because opposite her sat Verden.
Verden, arms crossed and eyes closed, yet more reassuring than anyone else.
Bartol cast him a glance and snorted.
“Look at you. All proud now that you dragged some mage along. Feels like just yesterday you were begging me for a loan.”
“If you hadn’t had any ties to the Union, I wouldn’t have come.”
Perne asked quietly.
“So, your answer?”
“My answer? Do I look like an idiot to you?”
Clatter!
The cleanly picked bones dropped into the bucket.
“Union or not, why should I help you? Whether you die or end up as an illegal slave means nothing to me. In fact, standing against the Union halfheartedly would be worse than just handing you over to them right now, wouldn’t it…”
“Before you finish talking, take a look at this.”
Perne produced a document.
It contained information on the Union, specifically concerning business rights in the Asern area.
“Did you know the Union’s been eyeing your enterprises?”
“What?”
Bartol snatched the papers.
He flipped through them quickly, skimming. Written there were the Union’s concrete plans to absorb his businesses.
Veins bulged on Bartol’s forehead.
“Those Union bastards...”
“They’re aiming to stab you in the back, and what are you going to do about it? Care to repeat your answer?”
If information was a weapon, then Perne was a strong one.
Her carefully chosen informants, her grasp of variety and truth, and her intuition were undeniable strengths.
She had been working as an informant since her youth in Gray, the Kingdom. Though she showed weakness before Verden, she was by no means an easy mark.
At that moment, a third party cut in.
Standing at the entrance, listening, Bartol’s right-hand man Oldi drew a hand axe.
“How dare you try to threaten him? I’ll shut that mouth right now...!”
Veins bulged on Oldi’s hand.
Raising his arm, he looked ready to hurl the axe at Perne at any moment.
But he couldn’t.
For sharp cutlery had already risen into the air, and gray-bladed daggers hovered, aimed squarely at both Oldi and Bartol.
Verden had opened his eyes, fixing them on Oldi.
“Lower your arm.”
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