Chapter 383 - The Trade That Felt Wrong
After finishing my nighttime club instruction and having a meal, I slipped out of the academy. My relationship with the members of the Anastasia Union guarding the gate was delicate. They apparently greeted my little sister cheerfully whenever they saw her, but we, as her guards, couldn't give them a positive evaluation just by looking at the surface. Moreover, spies are troublesome because they can be spies even without the intent or awareness. It's better not to show our movements as much as possible. I only show them when I have a specific intent.
Phew, it's a good night with a cool breeze. It's perfect for a walk, but I won't be able to get back in just the time it takes for a walk. I'll have to be prepared to stay up late again tonight. I'd like to go back to an early-to-bed, early-to-rise lifestyle, but I have to give up and accept that it's impossible as long as all these troubles aren't settled. Underworld work is often done in the middle of the night to avoid being seen, and the mana turbulence from the curse won't improve with rest. My daily life depends entirely on health potions to maintain my health.
"This is also a kind of drug dependency, in a way."
A lifestyle that's possible only because of magic. The fortunate thing was that I didn't find it particularly difficult, either physically or mentally. It might be because I've trained to an extraordinary level, but normally, you'd think the balance of your autonomic nerves would be disrupted and you'd feel unwell, even with health potions. I wonder if it's just healing itself. Magic is truly mysterious.
For now, I have no idea how, but I want to do something about the curse at least. I've grown used to the malaise from the mana turbulence, but having to wear an eyepatch all the time is very annoying. Though the intimidating fashion might be effective for my trade.
Now, how much time has passed since that noble offered to apologize to our Kikyou-kai and Gradena went to see them? Even though it was still early to be called late at night, it was a time when they should have finished dinner and their talk long ago. The fact that there's no contact must mean they're still in the middle of talking... I'll try calling her on my way there.
"This is Shino-ue. Gradena, do you hear me?"
"This is Gradena. I hear you loud and clear. Is it about that matter?"
Judging by the sounds I could hear, she seemed to be moving in a vehicle. Was she on her way back?
"Yeah, what happened? Dinner time is long past."
"Well, the guy said it became inconvenient for him all of a sudden and changed the time. I'm going to see him now."
"Now? Then I'll go, too. Where?"
"You'll be surprised. It's a warehouse at the port."
I wasn't surprised, but it was blatantly suspicious.
"Wasn't it a talk over a meal? Well, for a cornered noble, it's more of a fitting place than a fancy restaurant."
"I guess so. If they're going to consult us about escaping as well as apologizing, the port would be perfect. They might even be planning to go as far as boarding a ship and running away right then and there. That's if they've made perfect arrangements for a stowaway, though."
If I were to write a letter of introduction to the members in Rigaheim, they might indeed be able to escape. Given the situation, I felt like suspicious ships would be subject to inspections, though. Well, for now, the escape is just my own imagination.
"In any case, it seems the Berleeza Intelligence Department has no intention of allowing traitors to escape. If they ask for help escaping, we can't do it."
"It's a shame, though. If we had a track record of helping a noble escape, it could even be a source of income."
Counting chickens before they hatch. It's useless to think more about the escape, so I'll switch my thoughts.
"By the way, are there any spare cars at the hotel? I'm walking right now."
"Yeah, there are. I'll have them send one over to you. Jinna, you know the place?"
"This is Jinna. Understood, sis. Boss, I'll be waiting at the hotel parking lot."
"Okay, I'll be there soon."
"Ah, this is Heidi. I can't follow you to the port, but call me if anything happens."
Heidi and her team are busy investigating the movements of the Anastasia Union and the Berleeza Intelligence Department. They don't have the manpower to spare for a noble who's finished.
"Any movement on your side?"
"Actually, the Anastasia Union is making a move. Someone injured was brought in a little while ago, so they might be raiding somewhere. Their headquarters is in an uproar."
An injury among the members of the Anastasia Union, who were all strong fighters. If so, their opponent must be quite something, too. Well, for a violent organization, injuries are a daily occurrence. I don't know, but it's probably not that rare.
"Even so, I'm surprised there's an organization that would openly pick a fight with the Anastasia Union."
"There are turf wars and small skirmishes even here in Beltoria, so I think it's the work of one of those hostile organizations. The Anastasia Union is split into factions and is in a state close to internal conflict. For the organizations that have been suppressed until now, it's a golden opportunity. Those kinds of movements have been noticeable lately. Tonight's is a sudden move, so I don't know the details, but it's probably related to that."
Small conflicts happen all the time even in Exembra, which is controlled by the three major families. Even in Beltoria, where the Anastasia Union is the strongest, there are many small organizations. It's natural for conflicts to occur when multiple organizations gather, so a fight is probably normal. A raid sounds interesting, but I don't care if it has nothing to do with us. I'm not interested in the Anastasia Union's turf wars. I'll focus on what's in front of me.
Now, will the call-out from the noble end as a simple apology, or...
The vehicle, moving through the empty nighttime streets, headed for an old warehouse district near the port. The place looked familiar. It was near the warehouse where the forces from outside the continent had been stockpiling smuggled goods a little while ago. When we entered the warehouse district, Gradena and her team were there. It seemed they were waiting outside, as the person they were supposed to meet hadn't arrived yet.
"Oh, Yukari. You're early."
"What are you doing? Where's the noble?"
"The guy who's the guide said he'd go pick him up. If it's true that he wants to apologize, he should be back with him soon, right?"
"Hah? It was his idea, but he's making us wait? How ridiculous."
I didn't think he had any intention of apologizing. Was it a trap after all? I wondered if they were planning a flashy attempt to blow up the entire building once they'd lured us into the warehouse, but I couldn't sense any magic tools that looked like traps nearby.
"Yeah, he's being ridiculous. Wait a minute—this is Gradena. Emarie, how are things on your end?"
Apparently, she's having someone shadow the guide.
"This is Emarie. The guy switched vehicles midway and is now driving on the road heading out of town. No matter how you think about it, it's strange."
Judging by the report, it didn't seem like he was going to pick up his master at all. Switching vehicles was also strange, and it looked like he was just trying to escape.
"Got it. Catch him and squeeze him. Make sure you're not seen."
"Understood. I'll make him spill his master's whereabouts."
"So that's how it is. Yukari, it looks like it was a wasted trip."
A wasted trip, indeed. But the problem was being called out to an empty warehouse district. I didn't think his goal was just to make us wait. That would be too pathetic as a retaliation against us. ...Wait, no?
"Hmm, someone's approaching."
"Oh, it's not like that noble's arrived, is it?"
"Everyone approaching is armed. I don't think a noble who wants to apologize has arrived."
"Then are they assassins he prepared? Hah, let's give them a warm welcome. I figured it would be something like this."
After waiting for a while with plenty of enthusiasm, some people arrived in three vehicles. But it was strange that they didn't attack us immediately. Who were they and what were they planning?
They got out of the vehicles one after another, throwing us suspicious and evaluative looks while remaining on guard. Then, the last person to come out was a guy in flashy, nouveau-riche fashion. He stepped forward while removing his sunglasses with a theatrical gesture. The two groups stood at an exquisite distance. It was as if they were about to start some kind of trade.
"Yo, it's a good night. Not a bad one for a first meeting."
"...Who are you?"
"What a greeting. Weren't you the ones who brought the talk to us, the Labeño Family? I've heard the rumors, the Kikyou-kai from Exembra."
Looking at Gradena and her team's faces, it was clear that none of them understood the situation. It was a nonsensical situation for us. Anyway, for the other side, they were supposed to be meeting us for something, and it seemed we were the ones who'd called them.
"Anyway! It's just amazing that you're going toe-to-toe with the Anastasia Union. You've smeared mud on those beastmen's faces and you're staying cool. You guys are the best!"
He's a real chatterbox. The nonsensical situation might be somewhat clarified by his talk. For now, I'll just let him talk as he likes.
"I heard you half-killed one of them today, too?"
Eh? I thought, looking at Gradena's face, but she didn't seem to have any idea. Of course not. We don't have any idiots who act on their own and don't report important matters.
In addition to the nonsensical situation, it seemed we were also being falsely accused. But half-killing a member of the Anastasia Union... As with any organization, it's normal to move for retaliation if a member is attacked. It's fine if it's just a misunderstanding by the nouveau-riche fashion guy, but it'll be a nuisance if the Anastasia Union also believes we did it. I don't mind a fight, but I don't like starting one over a false accusation. I hope it turns out to be a groundless fear.
While I was thinking, I grew tired of the talk he was babbling, and I sensed another situation approaching. There's still some distance, but I don't think a large group of people would have business in the harbor or the warehouse district in the middle of the night. Their target must be us.
"Gradena, someone else is approaching."
"Again? What's going on?"
"I don't know. And it's a large group this time, probably about fifty people."
"Doesn't this look bad?"
While saying it looked bad, Gradena's smile deepened.
"Hey now, stop whispering in front of me. More importantly, I've brought the goods. Since it's you, I'll let you have them at a discount. I'm counting on you in the future."
It's a trade we have no memory of. I wonder what he brought. "The goods?"
"There's no point in playing dumb now! It's not like the Blue Coats are watching... Fine, fine. I'll show you the goods, so show me the money."
It seemed there was still time before the suspicious third party arrived, but this wasn't the time to be leisurely doing some nonsensical trade. To my concern, the people in front of me hadn't noticed the situation. The nouveau-riche fashion guy's subordinate opened a large bag and made it so that we, standing at a distance, could see the contents. Yeah, it's wrapped in paper, so I don't know for sure, but it looks like standard drugs.
"Hey, I have one question."
"Oh, ask anything."
"Are these all your subordinates? Is there a possibility that more of them are coming?"
"No? There are still some at the office, but I don't remember calling them..."
The guy looked at his subordinates as he spoke. Then, one of the subordinates seemed to have sensed the presence of someone approaching. Even though they're still at quite a distance, there's someone with a high sensing ability.
"Big brother, someone's approaching. And there are dozens of them. Were we tipped off?!"
"The idiots from the Blue Coats!"
The nouveau-riche fashion guys were quite panicked, while we weren't flustered at all. Perhaps because of that, they sent us looks as if they were wondering if we'd set them up. I've had enough of false accusations. I intimidated them while releasing mana.
"Wasn't it your side's doing?"
"I-It wasn't us! Didn't you guys do it?"
Perhaps because they were intimidated by my cold voice and the aura of anger, their voices of suspicion weren't very strong.
"I'll say it now, though it's a bit late. We don't know who you are, and we haven't offered any trades. We're here for another reason. I don't know who's approaching, but it seems both we and you have been set up."
"What? You've got to be kidding. ...Are you serious? Damn it, then whose doing is it!"
If the people approaching were the Blue Coats, it might be a bit of a nuisance if it wasn't Thompson's unit. Well, escaping would be easy, and it would be fine.
"Yukari, those aren't the Blue Coats. Isn't the mana too strong?"
"...Now that you mention it, you're right. You wouldn't use full physical enhancement from a stage where you can't even be seen. But at this point, their level is quite high."
"Anyway, we're getting out of here! See ya!"
The nouveau-riche fashion guys tried to make a quick departure in their vehicles. But apparently, it was too late. Immediately after they'd started, a magic like a light arrow was shot into the lead vehicle, forcing it to stop. It was a precise and powerful attack, even though it must have been from a long distance. That alone told me the opponent was strong. In any case, they were too aggressive. The Blue Coats wouldn't do something like that. And perhaps because they'd attacked once, they seemed to have decided to flaunt their strength. Our mana also naturally rose at the aura of strength they were showing.
"This is getting interesting! These are those guys, right? I figured we'd run into them eventually."
"Well, it was bound to happen. There are no reasonable people who'd be satisfied with just a talk."
Their strong mana was increasing more and more, and it was at a level that wouldn't be possible for ordinary organizations. To have such a collection of strong fighters, even an employer's knightly order or mercenary group would have few in number. And this is Beltoria. Even though it's a nighttime warehouse district with no people, it's not normal to be firing off magic like that. Only the people from the Anastasia Union could do something like that.