“Here, this is black tea brewed with the popular method from the capital these days. The refreshing taste is top-notch.”
Hmm.
“I wonder what’s inside.”
“Does it even matter?”
“Anyway, thanks to the Phoenix’s Blessing, any ordinary poison will likely have no effect on me.” I carefully lifted the teacup and took a sip. A smooth and clean aroma wafted into my nostrils.
“Seems like it’s good black tea.”
“What do you think?”
“Good tea leaves, for sure.”
“These tea leaves cost a few gold coins just for a single cup.”
Luxurious, huh.
“Well, considering I run the largest trading company in Kalon, it wouldn’t matter if I drank this like water. The speed of making gold coins is likely faster than sipping this tea.”
By the way, could this guy be the mastermind behind this strange situation?
So far, I’ve just exchanged a few words, and there’s not enough evidence to make a judgment. First impression seems a little suspicious, but who knows?
“So, what herbal medicine do you wish to show me?”
“Oh, it seems Sir Quartz is quite interested. Derrick, show him the herbs.”
The giant standing behind him placed the briefcase he was holding on the table. I leisurely watched as the giant clumsily opened the bag.
Click-click The box opened, revealing a variety of herbs neatly stored inside.
“I never expected to see mandrake.”
“Oh, you recognized it right away. I’m impressed by Sir Quartz’s knowledge.”
Come on, don’t overdo it. It’s hard to miss that oddly twisted ginseng appearance to not recognize it as mandrake. I bit my tongue, suppressing the urge to make a sarcastic remark and quietly inspected the mandrake.
Looks healthy.
These were certainly items worthy of special storage in such a bag. The other unnamed herbs nearby looked impressive too, but I had no idea what they were.
I’m not too interested in herbs.
I know a few herbs useful for first aid from experience, but I’ve hardly seen such high-end herbs before. A deserted island is definitely not the best environment for them to grow.
“You handle herbs, and it looks like you have plenty of expensive ones.”
“Haha, isn’t that the merchant’s duty? Each of these herbs is rare and valuable.”
“What’s your intention in showing this to me?”
“Haha, a gift to strengthen our relations… would that suffice? As the heir to the trading company, I’d like to build a rapport with Sir Quartz.”
“Being honest is refreshing.”
“Haha, thank you.”
Even as I openly looked down on him, there was no change in Adam’s expression. It seems I wouldn’t be getting the information I wanted with such light probing.
Should I ask directly? Or should I hold back for now?
With Rue around, figuring out lies wouldn’t be too hard… Ah, but she’s currently undergoing brainwashing, so knowing the truth is out of the question. I suppose that means I have to extract the information myself. This just got a bit tedious.
“I’ll graciously accept the gift.”
I took the present Adam offered. It was better for me to induce as much relaxation as possible. It was important to make him think I was on his side.
Everyone remains cautious of enemies, but they let their guard down around allies. Unless that guy’s some shady character.
“Haha, use it for something good.”
I confidently pocketed the bribe. He’s offering it, so there’s no reason to refuse. I’m not some noble knight, after all; my reputation’s not inflated like that.
Seeing me accept the bribe nonchalantly, Adam opened his mouth in admiration.
“As I have heard, you are quite a realistic person.”
“That would be accurate.”
“Perhaps we might get along well.”
“I’m still not sure.”
“Haha. That’s understandable. We just met today, after all.”
Adam smiled insincerely and took a sip of his tea. He must have learned to navigate tricky situations, as he hardly showed any gaps.
I thought it might be good to poke around lightly.
So, I threw a straightforward question at him.
“While chatting idly sounds like fun… Adam, I came to meet Dern while taking care of business today. Where’s your father?”
“Oh, you mean my father? Well…”
Adam trailed off, seemingly reluctant to answer. His eyes indicated he’d rather not say, but now that I’m here, he wouldn’t want to outright ignore me. Reluctantly, he began to speak.
“…My father has been unwell lately and visits the hospital frequently.”
First I’ve heard of it.
Upon my reaction, Adam lowered his voice as if revealing a secret that must not be known by anyone.
“There are many wolves around, after all. It seemed necessary to keep it a secret.”
Truth or lie?
I paused for a moment, sipping my tea, deep in thought.
If Adam’s words are true, then there seems to be quite a few who are gunning for the trading company leader position. This part likely isn’t a lie. It somewhat overlaps with the information Sif revealed.
Of course, it’s also possible Sif misheard, so I shouldn’t take any information for granted at this point.
“That’s unfortunate. Is he not well enough to handle work duties?”
“That’s right. So I’m handling his responsibilities in his stead.”
Handling work in his stead sounds like he’s earmarked as the successor. Can there be competition for the heir’s position under such circumstances?
Indeed, there’s something I’m unaware of.
But there wasn’t enough evidence to dig deeper right now.
It’s quite plausible the man in front of me might be plotting to stab Dern in the back and claim power, but there’s no reason for him to do so if he’s already positioned as the heir.
He wouldn’t want to hurt his own father when the position of leader could come to him without effort.
For now, it seems I must reluctantly pull back.
[Contractor, you’ve succeeded.]
I’ve already secured an information source to gather what I need.
“Then please convey my regards to the trading company leader in my stead.”
“Understood.”
I stood up from my seat. Clearly signaling that I was ready to leave, Adam also rose from his seat, saying,
“I’ll escort you to the main gate.”
I had no real reason to refuse, so I nodded.
———————-
After finishing dinner, everyone headed into their rooms to rest. I stared vacantly at Rue, who was left on the table.
Unlike usual, Rue was motionless with her eyes closed.
She must be gathering information using the brainwashed guard by now.
I thought to wait until Rue returned. I couldn’t fall asleep, curious about what information she’d bring back.
If possible, I hoped she’d come back with quality intel, but how much useful information could a mere guard access? It would probably just scratch the surface.
At least there was a chance she could get into Dern’s room, so depending on Rue’s skill, we might stumble upon some crucial information.
“…Whatever happens, I hope it goes well.”
After all, she’s been diligently fulfilling our contract, and considering how many things I need to keep track of, I wanted to avoid the hassle of searching for another trading company leader to contract.
By the way, when is she coming back?
…It seems it’ll take a bit more time, so I guess I should sort out the facts I’ve learned so far.
First, let’s check off the certain things one by one.
First, something has happened to the Dern trading company leader.
Both Sif’s testimony and Adam’s words suggest something has indeed occurred to the Dern trading company leader.
But why it happened and exactly what transpired is still unclear. One thing’s for sure: Adam seems to want me kept at a distance from this incident.
If not, he wouldn’t have been trying so hard to sweet-talk me with those expensive herbs.
Second, there’s competition for the next leader’s position within the trading company.
Sif’s testimony and the word “wolves” Adam used indicate that there’s credibility to that information. But… I still don’t know who the other competitors are, so I need more information.
It would be more beneficial if those who were trying to win me over started making moves, but now that I accepted Adam’s gift, they likely won’t.
In short, from here on out, I’ll need to strategize based on whatever information Rue brings back.
I just wish this girl would come back soon.
As I idly waited for Rue for an hour, the weight of my eyelids grew heavier than bricks when I finally heard Rue’s voice.
[Contractor! I’m back!]
“…Okay. Did you gather a lot of information?”
[Of course! Who do you think I am? Now listen, here’s what I heard while I was wandering around…]
I leaned in to hear Rue’s vivid testimony, which would serve as the key to unraveling this situation.
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