Necros’s worries continued.
He tapped the desk lightly with his bony fingers, thinking.
How to safely send the captured adventurers to the Sail Kingdom?
Every time Necros’s fingers moved, the three adventurers leaning against the wall flinched.
Baldwyn, Lyra, and Sienna.
Skeletons were still attached to their backs.
They wanted to resist Necros at any moment, but they remained quiet, knowing that Necros was actually an Arch Lich, not just a Lich.
In the first place, since the skeletons attached to their backs could explode at any time, there was nothing they could do but stay still.
Necros was still looking at the map.
“Tap tap tap.”
(This route is too dangerous.)
To get from the Orbis Empire to the Sail Kingdom, one must pass through the Free City Alliance or cross the Yenarian Lake.
However, the White Church was intensifying its activities in the Free City Alliance. Border checks had become stricter under the guise of rooting out warlocks.
It wouldn’t be strange if Crusaders were mobilized immediately to control the Free City Alliance.
Of course, the Sail Kingdom was also gathering troops towards the Free City Alliance under the pretext of eradicating warlocks, but the Sail Kingdom didn’t care.
Who was Queen Irena?
Wasn’t she just a chess piece that followed Celia’s words well?
“Tap…”
There was only one answer.
Crossing Yenarian Lake, not the Free City Alliance.
However, this place was the southernmost part of the Orbis Empire. To get to Yenarian Lake, one had to pass through the territories of the Orbis Empire.
But with Necros’s power alone, it was impossible to secretly take the kidnapped adventurers to the Sail Kingdom.
He could use overwhelming force, but that would be too noisy.
His master would not want that either.
To execute the plan secretly, a ‘helper’ was needed.
Helper.
Necros opened a thick notebook to find a helper to assist him. Then, he wrote something with a fountain pen and showed it to Baldwyn.
– Tell me everything you know about the surrounding territories. Then, I will praise you.
* * *
The southern border region was the most unremarkable territory in the Orbis Empire.
Baron Cronil Slithis irritably pushed away the debt collection notices piled on his desk and looked out the window at the desolate landscape.
Crothis City.
It was the central city where the Baron resided.
Most of the territory consisted of mountains, making it extremely barren.
This was also the reason he had earned the mocking nickname ‘Shabby Count’ among the imperial nobles.
“Damn it, my ancestors who left me this useless land are all dead and at peace.”
He poured expensive wine into a gold-plated goblet and muttered nervously.
It was a day to resent his father who had bequeathed him such barren land.
After emptying the goblet, he opened the accounting ledger on the table again.
The tax revenue was not even enough to cover the cost of the wine he was drinking.
The population of the territory was decreasing year by year, and the number of miners working in the mines was also decreasing, so his income was dwindling daily.
Agriculture was also difficult to develop as most of the land was mountainous.
On the other hand, due to his extravagant lifestyle and the mansion he had expanded last year, he was heavily in debt.
“I’ve been notified of my absence from this social party too.”
He picked up a letter on his desk and crumpled it in anger. More and more, he was no longer invited to balls and banquets held in the capital.
He was already being thoroughly ostracized in the world of nobles.
“If this continues…”
He gritted his teeth, looking out the window.
“Forget advancing to the center, I won’t even be able to protect this mansion.”
A ferocity flashed in his eyes. Cronil had sold his wife’s jewelry to a merchant, sold half of his hunting grounds at a low price to a neighboring lord, and now he was even delaying the servants’ salaries.
He glared at the family crest hanging on the wall. It was once the symbol of the glorious Slithis Family, but now its honor had hit rock bottom.
“Whatever it takes… I must overcome this situation.”
Just then, the butler knocked on the door, interrupting his thoughts.
“Your Excellency, a guest has arrived.”
“…A guest?”
Cronil raised an eyebrow.
“Who would come to such a remote place?”
“He introduced himself as a merchant from the Sail Kingdom. He claims to have a very… special offer.”
Cronil’s eyes lit up at the butler’s words.
The Sail Kingdom.
Although its territory and reputation were smaller than the Orbis Empire, it was the nation that was currently rising in prominence.
Furthermore, the queen who ruled the kingdom had the full support of the White Church.
Cronil thought that a merchant from the Sail Kingdom might have something beneficial for him.
He quickly straightened his posture and sat up straight in his chair.
“Let them in.”
“Yes, Your Excellency. Oh, and… he is accompanied by a party. Three… individuals who appear to be escorts.”
“It’s fine. Let them all in.”
Normally, this would not be the arrangement, but his situation was not good enough to follow noble etiquette.
Moreover, he was practically penniless, so he had nothing to lose.
He swept the accounting ledger into a drawer and refilled his wine goblet.
A few minutes after the butler withdrew, the door opened again, and a strange entourage entered.
The figure leading the way was covered from head to toe in a blue robe, and his face was hidden by a white mask.
He also wore gloves, meticulously hiding his bare skin.
“Hmm.”
The three following him were clearly adventurers.
Cronil’s gaze fell upon the man on the far left.
He was a man wearing heavy armor, with a strange ornament attached to his back.
‘…A skeleton?’
The ornament, shaped like a skull, was incredibly intricate.
If it had been separate from the man, he might have mistaken it for a real skeleton.
The person next to him possessed ears like an elf.
‘A half-breed?’
Elves were rare. Or rather, they rarely left the forest and built their own worlds.
This elf was likely a half-breed, not a pureblood.
However, this woman also wore a skeleton-shaped ornament on her back.
Her movements were unnatural, as if she were bound by something.
“…”
And so was the last woman.
A skeleton ornament hung behind her red cloak, and one thing could be read from their eyes.
It was fear and anger.
Cronil felt a strange intuition.
He soon realized that they were not ordinary escorts.
Their posture and eyes hinted at something like being prisoners.
‘They’re prisoners!’
But Cronil said nothing and smiled.
“Welcome to Crothis City. I am Cronil Slithis, the lord of this place. Let’s get straight to the point. I would like to hear your business proposal.”
The masked figure slowly bowed his head. Instead of speaking, he took out a thick notebook and began to write.
– Please forgive me, I cannot speak.
Necros, being an undead, could not make bone sounds in front of humans, so he decided to communicate through writing.
Cronil responded with a smile, “As you wish.”
– Your Excellency. I operate a special business in the Sail Kingdom.
“Oh.”
– However, I am having trouble traveling back and forth between the Orbis Empire and the Sail Kingdom, and I am seeking assistance.
Cronil leaned back in his chair with an interested expression.
Although the other party did not reveal their name or specific business details, Cronil smiled at them instead of pressing them.
He instinctively felt that the more secrets a person held, the more benefits he would gain.
‘Business.’
He didn’t know what kind of business it was.
There was a high probability that they wouldn’t tell him even if he asked.
He could only guess that it might be related to slaves.
If it were normal business, would they have come to him?
‘No.’
Cronil smirked.
However, he had no intention of playing hardball here.
His gaze turned to the adventurers standing behind the masked figure.
Judging by their equipment and demeanor, they appeared to be at least Silver Rank or Gold Rank.
‘To be able to treat adventurers of that caliber as slaves means they are quite influential.’
This also meant that the unidentified person in the robe possessed overwhelming power.
Cronil didn’t want to ruin the good atmosphere.
He just reminded himself that a golden rope had just extended to him.
He didn’t want to cut it with his own hands, not knowing what would come down from that golden rope.
“Now, what can I do for you? Please speak comfortably.”
Cronil said, spreading his arms wide.
* * *
Cronil leaned back deeply into the armchair by the window.
The sun was setting outside the window.
A calm silence filled the office after the transaction.
He closed his eyes for a moment and replayed what had just happened.
“100 gold coins… And that’s just a down payment.”
He opened a secret safe with a small key attached to his belt and carefully placed the bag handed over by the masked guest inside.
Looking at the sparkling gold coins, he smiled again.
The transaction was simple.
They wanted him to create a new route for traveling between the Orbis Empire and the Sail Kingdom.
In other words, they wanted to borrow the power of the Cronil Family, nobles of the Empire.
In return, he would be paid a considerable monthly sum.
‘But it’s for transporting slaves.’
On the surface, it seemed a little dangerous, but as a Baron, he could easily conceal it.
‘This is an opportunity.’
Not only would he pay off all his debts, but he also had a chance to regain his honor.
As he was organizing his thoughts, there was a light knock on the door.
“Come in.”
The person who entered the office was not the butler. It was a thin man in black attire, his most trusted informant, who handled his secret affairs.
“Your Excellency, I have a report.”
Cronil gestured for him to close the door.
“Speak, Luin.”
Luin quietly closed the door and approached Cronil, speaking in a low voice.
“It’s information about the guest who visited just now.”
Cronil’s eyebrows shot up.
Even if it was a profitable transaction, he needed to be sure about the other party’s information.
“Who is he?”
“I couldn’t confirm his exact identity…”
Luin glanced around briefly and lowered his voice even further.
“Does Your Excellency know about the rumors from the underworld of the Sail Kingdom?”
“Rumors?”
“There are rumors that a figure hidden in disguise, wearing a masked blue robe, has completely taken over the underworld of the Sail Kingdom. Upon investigation, people call him the ‘Shadow Lord’.”
Cronil felt as if his breath had been stolen. Was the person he had just transacted with not just a mere merchant, but the power behind the Sail Kingdom’s underworld?
“Is that confirmed?”
“The descriptions match too perfectly. The way he communicates in writing without speaking, and…”
As Luin’s words continued, Cronil’s face turned pale.
“…Such a powerful figure.”
“Yes, Your Excellency. And according to other information, he also operates a monster coliseum.”
Monster Coliseum.
It had become so popular that no noble was unaware of it.
There were rumors that the White Church was targeting it, but since they were letting it be, it seemed they couldn’t find any concrete evidence to interfere.
Hearing up to that point, Cronil leaped up from his armchair.
He thought of the three adventurers standing behind the masked figure.
Everything began to make sense.
The route the masked guest wanted was not simply for transporting slaves.
It was a route to secretly send adventurers to the coliseum.
In other words, it was human trafficking.
His thoughts didn’t stop there.
“Luin, start preparations immediately. What he wants is to prepare slaves to send to the coliseum!”
Cronil, blinded by money, began to outdo Necros.
