Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Chenarus (2)

“Boss, I’ve accepted the contract. We’re set to meet in front of the merchant group at 6 AM, three days from now.”

“Good work.”

“It was nothing, really.”

We accepted the request. The payment wasn’t that large. We didn’t have much of a reputation to begin with anyway.

And the merchant group wasn’t setting out on any grand venture either.

They said they’d be transporting fabric from Chenarus to Requiza, and bringing back fruit to sell. Something similar to watermelon.

There wasn’t anything strange about it. It was a job perfectly suited for a small merchant group and novice mercenaries.

Departing in three days. It takes about a week to reach Requiza. It would be a two-week round trip mission.

Of course, we needed to prepare too. But before that, we had to select the personnel.

‘They requested four people from our side.’

Our group had eight members.

First, Mary and Osten are excluded. They’re not combat personnel. And we need someone to protect them too.

Either Denif or I should stay behind.

In fact, it makes sense to send Denif. With the coming-of-age ceremony approaching, it’s better for me to stay in the capital.

‘I’ve roughly checked Erendil’s side, now I need to keep an eye on the princes’ side too.’

But I couldn’t decide right away.

I was planning to investigate the Blancheot merchant group tonight. It seemed better to decide after that.

If the Blancheot merchant group was involved in something seriously problematic, it would be best for me to move.

It’s not that I don’t trust Denif, but objectively speaking, I’m superior when it comes to handling situations.

“For now, Aron, Jofor, and Namir will move together.”

“Yes!”

Aron and Jofor cheered. They probably expected it, but hearing it directly must be different.

Their eyes sparkled brightly, having been bored for so long.

The other members didn’t show much emotion.

Namir was calm, while Rina, Mary, and Osten looked like they expected as much.

Denif was just looking at me. Even if it might be a shady job, he didn’t seem very interested.

Anyway, this was an obvious choice when thinking about the future.

Aron and Jofor will continue doing mercenary work in the future, so it’s right for them to learn by working with Namir.

Rina doesn’t like dealing with people, and I had other plans for her anyway.

“Either Denif or I will take the remaining spot. The one who stays behind will protect the group here. I’ll decide after investigating the merchant group.” 𝐫�

“Alright.”

Denif nodded.

“Then, get your preparations ready in advance.”

I said this, but there wasn’t much to prepare. We’ve been ready to flee at any moment since setting up our base.

There was pre-packed luggage next to everyone’s bed, ready to grab and run at a moment’s notice.

We just needed to add a few more things to that. Aron, who came with a bag, asked me.

“Big brother, how much emergency food should we pack?”

Hmm. The merchant group agreed to prepare meals. But we had to consider the possibility of problems.

For instance, if they poisoned the food.

If they were planning to use us as disposable pawns, it was entirely possible.

“Pack enough for five days.”

“Got it. Then I’ll add two days’ worth.”

We’ll only be taking in minimal calories with dry food anyway, so the weight won’t be too heavy.

We already had three days’ worth of emergency food in our pre-packed luggage.

I had instructed them to replace it before it went bad. We just needed to add two more days’ worth of extra provisions.

“For the next three days, we’ll increase the proportion of sparring. Denif, keep an eye on the kids.”

“Sure.”

Denif grinned.

“Namir, teach the kids about mercenary work. So they don’t look too green.”

Although we’ve been posing as mercenaries until now, this is our first real job, so preparation was essential.

Namir nodded vigorously.

“Yes, boss.”

Now that the job was approaching, I felt truly fortunate to have brought Namir and Denif along.

I knew everything, but it would have been quite a chore to explain every little detail.

And also, thanks to Denif, I don’t have to worry about the group’s safety when I’m not around.

“Rina.”

“Yeah?”

“We have something to do together at dawn today.”

“Going to check out the merchant group, right?”

I nodded. After practicing on the way to Chenarus, I had come to one conclusion.

When it came to thievery, Rina was a step above me.

Of course, I was significantly better at finding hidden spaces or infiltrating.

But when we were in the same space, Rina was better at quickly finding valuable items.

Honestly, there were parts I didn’t understand. She finds the more important ones among identical documents.

According to Rina, it’s intuition… I couldn’t understand it in the realm of reason. A Great Thief is truly a Great Thief.

After relaying instructions to the group, I left the lodgings. I had something to take care of before nightfall.

That was sending a letter to the elf Archmage Shahri.

I’ve waited a long time. I don’t know how the situation might have changed. Shahri might have met with the devil worshippers.

But I think the possibility is low.

It’s time to set some kind of trap now. I can also gauge Shahri’s state through communication.

I was thinking of setting the timing for after the coming-of-age ceremony. I could probably rope in Phiri around that time too.

***

3:40 AM. I was passing through the dawn of Chenarus with Rina. It was a cloudy night with a dim moon.

Even in the deep dawn, I could sense quite a few presences with my Winds.

They were imperial agents. I recalled the information from Haisen that Denif had passed on right after we left the desert.

Surveillance had weakened as time passed after the empress assassination incident, but it had been strengthened again as the coming-of-age ceremony approached.

One person per area.

But they were positioned close enough to see each other with just a turn of the head. It was quite a well-constructed surveillance network.

‘Once spotted, it would be hard to escape.’

Of course, that’s by normal human standards, so it doesn’t apply to me.

Also, it’s ultimately a surveillance network made and operated by humans. Perfection is nearly impossible.

-Move.

As I gave the hand signal, we traversed the alleys, hidden in the darkness of the cloudy night.

Rina stuck close behind me without making even a footstep sound.

-Stop.

An imperial agent’s gaze turned towards the path we were heading. Even though we were almost touching, I couldn’t feel even a breath.

I made a firm conclusion. Rina could move around the capital alone even without me.

Of course, there would be risks.

She can’t sense the position and direction of enemies with Winds like I can.

But this level is enough. It might take a bit more time, but.

It seemed I could entrust information gathering missions to Rina even when I’m not around.

If necessary, Denif could help too.

Two minutes. The gaze of the surveillance personnel looking this way turns to the side. They’re checking on their colleague in another area.

-Move.

I quickly crossed over one building. Ahead was a small road about 4 meters wide. Now, with no gazes on us, was the perfect time.

I crossed the road in three steps and entered an alley. We weren’t caught by the surveillance.

Fifteen minutes like this.

Moving stealthily in the darkness, we were able to arrive in front of the Blancheot merchant group’s building without incident.

‘A small merchant group. Just as we heard.’

This was the first time seeing the building in person. The door of the three-story building was closed.

Checking with Winds, there were 5 people staying inside. The total number was 10. The other 5 seemed to be elsewhere.

The two on the first floor appeared to be guards hired by the merchant group. They were guarding the warehouse.

Their level of vigilance wasn’t very high. There was a high chance they were unremarkable individuals.

‘Is it really a newly starting merchant group?’

The remaining one was sleeping in front of the corridor on the second floor. Judging by the sword next to him, he was another guard.

They seemed to be sleeping in shifts.

The other two were sleeping on the third floor. It wasn’t Blancheot, the head of the merchant group. I had confirmed his residence was elsewhere.

They must be employees. I was planning to search this place first, and if nothing turned up, to search Blancheot’s place.

There was no need to bother with the guards on the first and second floors. It would be unnecessary.

This mission requires entering quietly and leaving quietly.

If anything strange happens after we’ve contracted with them, they’ll naturally suspect us.

‘Two imperial agents nearby.’

However, the density of surveillance isn’t high. It seemed to be because we were quite far from the center of Chenarus.

If it were in the merchant district, the density would probably have been higher. That area is busy even at dawn.

However, the Blancheot merchant group wasn’t at the level to be in that area yet. Well, neither were we.

This was good for me.

“Rina, we’ll enter directly to the third floor.”

“Okay.”

Another three minutes of waiting. In the moment the surveillance personnel turned their heads, we immediately headed to the side of the building.

Swish- The sound of stepping on the ground dirt was all, but even that was blocked by Winds.

We climbed the wall slowly, hidden in the shadows of the alley. With Winds supporting our bodies, it wasn’t a difficult task.

I opened the window without making a sound. We didn’t head straight for the room. There might be magical traps.

The corridor was quiet. Only a small magic bulb was glowing faintly with a reddish light.

The office was right in front of the window.

‘No reaction.’

No one had detected our intrusion. I stood in front of the office door and carefully examined the surroundings.

There was no magical processing.

But there was a single hair stuck in the gap of the door. It had been deliberately placed there.

Hmm. A hair… Is the person cautious by nature, or are they hiding something?

Seeing this, my suspicions deepened.

I memorized the position of the hair before carefully turning the doorknob.

Creak- The sound of the old door opening is absorbed by Winds. The hair falls silently. I picked it up with my hand and stored it.

-Let’s look around.

I quietly closed the door and signaled to Rina. We rummaged through the office in the darkness.

Bookshelf, table, documents on the desk.

There weren’t many things to see as no hidden spaces were felt. It wasn’t a large space to begin with.

‘Was I mistaken?’

After checking all the documents, no particular problems were visible. There was nothing strange in the correspondence either.

The letter agreeing with the merchant in Requiza was exactly as they had told us.

Bringing fabric from the empire and receiving fruit from there. My suspicions lessened slightly.

There’s a possibility I might have been wrong. They really could be a small-scale merchant group just starting out.

“Carlyn.”

At that moment, Rina, who was examining under the desk, raised her head. A small whispering voice.

Rina pointed under the desk with her finger.

“Look at this.”

I immediately went behind the desk. I knelt down, but it wasn’t something I could see with my eyes.

Rina shook her head and took my hand, making me touch under the desk.

I felt something. An engraving. It was a trace of carving into the desk. It wasn’t a space or anything.

And it wasn’t something made from the beginning.

It was difficult to discern what it was by touch alone. I took out a magic flashlight from my pocket.

After covering my body with the dark cloth I brought to prevent light from leaking out, I shone it under the desk.

‘…Well, look at these guys?’

When I checked with the light, I realized that what was engraved under the desk was quite familiar.

It was the same shape as the tattoo I had seen several times in the Reverse Seven-Star Formation, the symbol of the devil worshippers.

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