Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - Finding What I Need (3)

"I-I have committed a capital offense!"

Federal Empire.

The head of the general manager, who heard that name, was already being slammed against the floor.

"A capital offense?"

"T-That is correct!"

"Oho."

I uncrossed my legs and looked at that sight with interest.

But in the general manager's eyes, even that appearance probably looked like nothing but an executioner just before dropping the guillotine.

That was to be expected.

"Behind Asus was 'that person' of the Federal Empire. You bastards probably did not fail to know that fact. If you were the ones who usually clung to Asus's power and received various conveniences."

"Yes, how could we forget that fact! Your words are absolutely correct!"

Actually, there was no way a fellow who was able to take profits thanks to that did not know.

Just who Asus's true backer was.

Also, what it meant for mere black-market merchants to disappoint "them."

At that moment, small presence was felt outside the door.

-General Manager?

-What is going on!

They were the guards.

Then the general manager shouted with all his might.

"S-Shut up and retreat! Do you bastards dare to interfere with a conversation with a distinguished guest?!"

-Yes...... Yes! I am sorry!

"Damn it......."

PANT PANT.

Then he began to pant for breath in the same posture as he was slamming his head.

I looked down at that sight and wore a small sneer that was invisible to the eye.

Well, for now, it is successful.

The image of him who seemed as if he would give even his liver and gallbladders right away after being deceived by mere acting.

It is not a bad reaction.

No, it was a truly joyful reaction.

To the point that it was regrettable that I could not kill him in this place because he had a use.

......But it was still not enough.

Now that I have certainly imprinted on the fellow that I am a person sent by the Federal Empire, I had to present something more decisive.

Something that would make him vow to give up even his heart and bones.

I suppressed the laugh that was about to escape my lips and spoke.

"Did you think that just because someone like Asus died, he would take his eyes off Esteban?"

"It is not like that......."

"But why did you touch something he did not even permit?"

"T-That was, by chance......."

"Hmm. It was not intended, and you dare not guess that he would take his hands off?"

"......That is correct."

The fellow bowed his head even deeper as if to say those words were not a lie.

Conversely, my smile looking at the fellow began to gradually thicken.

As if mocking prey. Slowly.

At that moment.

"If not, it seems you thought he was foolish enough to not even recognize such a trick."

"It is absolutely not like that! I merely......."

"Did you think you could just flee to the branch you started building in the south if things went wrong?"

"......!"

The general manager looked up in shock.

"H-How did you know that!"

The guild's southern branch, which they started building secretly just recently. He was so surprised he was speechless at the fact that I knew of its existence.

However, at the following words, he had no choice but to slam his head on the floor again.

"Before whom do you lift your head?"

"I-I am sorry!"

Now the general manager's body was trembling with fear.

It was a reaction exactly as intended.

Just as expected.

Now it was certain that not even a handful of doubt remained in the fellow's heart.

Rather, he probably realized that his life would not remain if he pulled a half-baked trick beyond this.

Then it was time to harvest the spoils of war.

I spoke coldly to the general manager, who was lying flat on the floor.

"I did not participate in the auction to see your face. I merely followed the command to recover the items."

"......."

"To think I have to attend the auction personally and recover items, where would there be a more troublesome task?"

It was merely closer to an intonation of blaming rather than a question.

But the fellow, in his fear, used his brain by force and brought out the correct answer.

"I will give you the auction items you successfully bid on for free!"

"That is a given."

"......."

I gave a smirk and continued speaking.

"I do not think those are all the items Asus entrusted. Where are the rest?"

"I-I will give them all to you! I will tell the subordinates right now to organize them together with the auction items!"

"I see."

It was something I said as a probe because the items that appeared in the auction were a bit different from the lists I found out before the regression, but since he readily gave them, it seemed there were some left as expected.

Spiteful.

"Well, fine. That should be enough. This time especially, he will also let it pass."

"If so......."

Momentarily, the fellow's expression relaxed.

When the story went around relatively peacefully and smoothly, he had hope that he could pass over it reasonably.

Of course, I had no intention of ending it like this.

"Until now, it was a command from above. But, is there not still a debt remaining between us?"

"......Yes?"

"What do you think would have happened to you if I had not participated in the auction?"

It was a statement as if grasping at clouds.

But suddenly, something brushed through the fellow's mind.

"T-Thank you for being considerate so that I could recover the items without problem! If it were not for you, I would have committed a rudeness to him without even knowing my place!"

"Right. If it were not for me, Asus's items would have been scattered throughout the country. It would have been as if recovery was out of the question."

"Of course!"

Of course, there was also a way to stop the auction so that it did not pass into the hands of others.

But if that had happened, the possibility that the black-market merchant guild, which was operated based on trust, would have taken a hit was high.

And from the moment he realized that fact.

To the fellow, the existence of me had already become something close to a savior of his life.

"I happen to have something I need."

"Yes! Please just say the word, I will surely find it."

A good posture. Give and take. Is that the virtue of a black-market merchant?

My lips curved long.

Soon, I lowered my head and whispered very quietly so only the fellow could hear.

"The fruit blooming from the Elleira flower."

"......!"

"You know what that is if I say it that way, right?"

"T-That is......."

The general manager stammered in bewilderment.

It was a natural thing.

The raw material for a narcotic hallucinogen.

Not only was it expensive and difficult to obtain, but it was something that did not exist and should not exist in Esteban in the first place.

"But that is something that is only occasionally found in the southern continent, so obtaining it right now...... and besides, these days the border security is tight, so......."

"Your tongue is long for someone who owes their life."

"H-How could that be? If you do not mind if it takes a bit of time, I will somehow obtain it."

"Until when?"

"Please give me exactly two weeks of time."

"Fine."

I nodded in satisfaction and threw something toward the fellow's head, which was slammed against the floor.

What fell with a thud was a note with something written on it.

"Read it."

Then the general manager hurriedly picked up the note.

"This is......."

"The place written there is the most remote part of the commoner district in the capital of Esteban. Besides guards, even people are scarce."

"Ah."

"The deadline is exactly two weeks later. Place the Elleira flower fruit there. A collector will personally go and recover it."

And I did not forget the final warning.

"Do not forget the fact that this is the last chance he is giving you."

"I w-will keep that in mind."

GULP.

The fellow's Adam's apple bobbed greatly.

I looked down at that sight and then slowly moved my steps.

Just like when I first came, it was an exit without any notification.

"......."

THUD. THUD.

-Ah! The guest at number 21 has bid 1,100,000 gold for the Elixir of Life!

When I arrived at the auction house again that way, the auction was almost at its end.

Occasional gazes expressed vigilance, but I did not care and only moved my steps.

At that time, I found the Baron, who was frozen, and gave a smirk.

"......I believe I told you to take every single item without exception."

Seeing that frozen appearance, it seemed he had only kept his seat, far from bidding.

Would a person with that frugal personality have moved even a single finger?

I should have at least explained that the money would not go out before I came out.

Well, even so, it seems he would not have participated anyway.

I approached the Baron and tapped his shoulder.

Then, leaving the Baron behind, who looked at me in shock, I spoke while wearing a satisfied smile.

"All business is finished, so let us leave now. We will return as soon as the items are prepared."

"F-Finally...... yes, I understand!"

What remained now was only waiting for the time.

***

"......Damn it."

The eventful auction ended.

The general manager was so exhausted by that fact alone that he could not move even a step from the seat where he sat.

Receiving a threat to one's life was something that consumed that much mental power.

"A threat to my life?"

The general manager, who suddenly muttered that, gave a hollow laugh.

Could such a thing be compared to a mere threat to one's life?

Those who talked like that were those who did not know about that person...... the 4th Prince, or even if they knew, they were those who had not noticed the ego hidden inside.

But he knows.

The laughter of a madman hidden beneath a polite mask.

The true appearance of a tyrant who was mad with blood.

That was not a threat to one's life, but something close to the judgment of a devil that even subordinates the soul.

"......Damn it, to think a bastard I thought was an uninvited guest would save me."

"General Manager."

"Sigh, what is it now?"

The subordinate who entered inside before I knew it approached while scowling.

That grim-looking 2-meter giant was riddled with suspicion.

"I confirmed that those bastards left in a carriage. Should I have the subordinates follow them?"

"......Follow them?"

"Yes, their behavior is suspicious no matter how you look at it. If you think about it, it is true."

The burly subordinate began to chatter excitedly.

Without even noticing the general manager's expression crumpling.

"A representative of Asus appearing at this timing? That itself is strange. If there truly were a representative, as soon as that fellow died, the wealth......."

"......Shut up."

"Would have come looking for...... yes?"

"I said shut up, you bastard!"

THUD!

"Ack!"

The general manager kicked the subordinate's shin with the tip of his shoe.

The expression of the subordinate who was suddenly struck was full of bewilderment.

"A-Ah, just why......."

"This bastard is already distressed, and yet you are talking nonsense and acting like a jerk!"

"T-That is......."

The appearance of the 2-meter giant shrinking back could have felt pitiful, but the general manager's rage did not end.

"If you do not know anything, do not step forward! Shut up and just do as I tell you!"

"I-I am sorry!"

"......Sigh. Right, what crime do you have."

The general manager, who clutched his head that way, shook his head.

Soon, he wiped his face with his hands.

What is the point of taking out my anger on a fellow who knows nothing.

The subordinate does not know the relationship between the Federal Empire and Asus.

He only knows those bastards as representatives who came to find Asus's wealth. So it must not have sat well with him from the beginning to hand over auction items without receiving a single cent.

Yes, I can understand that much.

But, even so, a thing like moving arbitrarily at his discretion and provoking the aforementioned man must absolutely never happen.

Even if it meant stopping him by getting angry, he must not dare to do so.

"You must never follow or monitor them. It is the same after delivering the fruit. That is the only way for us to survive now."

"Yes? A-Ah, I understand."

"......Enough, so you may leave now."

"Yes."

CLICK.

"......Whew."

As the subordinate went outside that way, the general manager stood up from his seat while organizing his mind, which had fallen into self-loathing.

There was no time for this.

"I should look for a fellow who knows the whereabouts of the Elleira flower even now."

The last chance.

If he lost even that, truly, not even a single way for his own body to survive would remain.