Chapter 98

The Duke Cavaldi of Urdino that Ceras remembered was a pretty decent person.

He had the drawback of being a bit of a letdown when he opened his mouth, but at least his face was tolerable.

But the Cavaldi she met again in Fasa was not.

Ceras was frightened by Cavaldi's bizarrely changed appearance.

─To be precise, she was afraid she would become like that too, but she quickly shook her head.

This was a mission given directly by Pope Astro.

She would rather die than fail and retreat.

Besides, Fasa wasn't some labyrinth created by a mad wizard or a dragon's lair, was it?

‘...No, wouldn't that be better?’

A labyrinth or a lair could be broken through and escaped from, but here, she felt like she was being dragged into a swamp from which escape was impossible.

‘Get a grip, I can't back down here.’

Slap!

Ceras, whose heart was wavering, slapped her own cheek hard and steeled her resolve.

The work was harder and more plentiful than expected, to the point that she missed the Holy See, but she had to carry out her given mission anyway.

Especially today, it was an important day to meet with an informant.

That was why she had rushed to finish her overtime and come back.

“I'm going out for a bit, so you all go to bed first.”

“Are you sure you'll be alright alone? Should we accompany you?”

“No. It's safer to act alone in these matters. And, we have to go to work tomorrow too.”

“...Understood.”

It was a somehow sad reason, but everyone somehow agreed.

Humans were truly animals of adaptation.

Or perhaps their minds had become so clouded that normal judgment was no longer possible...

Ceras put on a hooded cloak to cover her face and left the lodging.

As the night deepened, the dark side of the city was revealed.

Especially in the distance, the tower, no, the mercenary headquarters, was luring people with its brilliant light.

Ceras shivered at the sight and disappeared into the darkness.

A while later, Ceras reappeared in the back alleys of Fasa's docks.

“The meeting place was somewhere around here.”

Ceras looked around in a place where the sound of waves and the smell of fish drifted in.

No matter how you looked at it, the place was full of people who seemed far from having legitimate professions.

They were probably smugglers or thieves.

One guy gave Ceras a lewd grin, but at least he didn't approach and harass her.

Ceras moved to avoid the unpleasant gaze and grumbled.

‘Just like a ruffian, he chose a place just like himself for a meeting.’

Arriving at the meeting place, Ceras approached a house and knocked on the door.

It looked like a casual knock, but it was actually a pre-arranged code.

A small shutter on the door opened slightly, and a pair of eyes appeared beyond it.

The eyes confirmed it was Ceras and opened the door without a word.

Ceras stepped inside.

A dark interior.

A musty smell wafted from inside.

There seemed to be a faint smell of blood as well.

It seemed a violent incident had occurred here.

It wasn't particularly strange.

Violence is very common in places like this.

A man was waiting inside.

He was the informant Ceras was meeting this time.

The informant spoke in a rather polite tone.

“Welcome. To the Fasa Thieves' Guild.”

***

Even before Fasa became wealthy, a Thieves' Guild naturally existed in Fasa.

Although it was poorer than other cities, it was still a city.

In other words, money circulated anyway.

Of course, given Fasa's situation, the Thieves' Guild wasn't that big, and at best, it was just a group of thugs who walked around with their shoulders squared.

The Fasa Thieves' Guild began to grow in earnest after reaching the turning point of the Black Company.

The Black Company brought immense wealth to Fasa by subjugating pirates.

And the pirate's treasure brought swindlers, smugglers, and thieves to the peaceful city.

It was a natural course of events.

Just as a crow is tempted by something shiny, so are people.

Of course, what fell to them was just crumbs compared to what the city gained, but for the Fasa Thieves' Guild, it was a huge amount.

The Thieves' Guild grew rapidly, feeding on that.

“Y-you evil bastards!”

Because of this, Leon hated the Thieves' Guild.

It was natural.

When the meat supplied to the mercenary company is spoiled, or the water loaded for a long voyage is already rotten, or you almost lose a fleet due to mass food poisoning, you can't help but hate them.

“These bastards, what should we do?”

“What do you mean what should we do? Round them all up!”

Let's skip over why Leon, a mere mercenary captain employed by the state, was giving orders instead of a legitimately elected person in the city's public domain.

Sometimes existence transcends essence.

Anyway, Leon dispatched the city guard and military police to subjugate the Thieves' Guild.

Countless criminals were sent to the gallows, and an even greater number escaped outside.

Leon was satisfied with the results when the number of times the mercenaries got stomachaches after eating their meals decreased.

Nevertheless, he could not completely block humanity's desire for wealth.

More people than had disappeared entered the city.

It was the power of the oldest profession born of civilization.

When a primitive warrior boasts with his prey, there is always a hand sneaking up from behind to steal a leg.

“Grr, just you wait.”

Leon had to retreat after learning the lesson that even a person with the highest authority cannot have everything his way in the world.

Having defeated the supreme authority and freed from oppression, the Thieves' Guild continued to grow without fear.

And so, behind the darkness of the prospering Fasa, former pirates, survivors of the fallen Corsini family, aspiring mercenaries, and various races of unknown nationality lived on like legends.

***

The informant who greeted Ceras stared at her intently and said.

“For some reason, you seem familiar to us, guest.”

“I know a thing or two.”

“At first, I thought you were in the same line of business.”

“You could see it that way.”

“Hmm. Well, let's just say that.”

Ceras answered vaguely to avoid giving any clues about her identity, but inwardly, she was startled by the informant's insight.

Ceras was indeed familiar with the Thieves' Guild.

It wasn't because Ceras was playing the role of a 'thief hiding her profession,' but because of the special nature of being an inquisitor.

When you work as an inquisitor, you meet all sorts of people.

Naturally, Ceras also came to associate with thieves and soon realized that those from the Thieves' Guild were quite useful.

Of course, just like the men who had approached Ceras, those from the Thieves' Guild were also busy running away once they found out her true identity.

But once caught, the thieves greatly shortened the time it took to gather information with their connections.

Everything in the world is about connections, local ties, and school ties.

Thanks to this, Ceras became free of prejudice regarding origin or profession.

As long as it was necessary for the mission, it didn't matter if it was a bit unethical.

Didn't God tell us to take care of the little lambs?

This was an extension of that.

Besides, in the current situation, she had no choice but to use illegal methods for various reasons.

First, if she mobilized the diocesan organization of Fasa, Ceras' existence could be revealed to the Pope's political enemies.

In a situation where it's unknown where a spy might be, it would do no good for the Pope's confidant to be known to be in Fasa.

There was also the incident where Bishop Malone, who had been in charge of the Fasa diocese, suddenly stepped down.

Considering that Leon Gryph rose to prominence around the same time, there might be some connection between the two events.

Second, what Leon had approved was employment in the mercenary company, not spying on it.

There was a fundamental difference between those two concepts.

Acquiring information while handling work was unavoidable, but openly spying was a different story.

So, the alternative Ceras chose was the naturally formed Thieves' Guild in Fasa.

It was ridiculous that thieves, with their lowly profession, called themselves a guild.

But it wasn't incomprehensible if you considered thievery as a skill in its own right.

However, Ceras couldn't help but feel dissatisfied in the process.

It was harder to find the Thieves' Guild in Fasa than in other regions.

“Why did you make it so hard to find? It's really hard to make contact.”

“You haven't heard the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

The informant waved his hand as Ceras fumbled in her pocket.

“I'll tell you that for free.”

“I like you. So what is it?”

“A red-eyed monster roams the streets at night. That's why everyone is keeping a low profile.”

Ceras immediately scoffed.

“Don't make me laugh.”

“It's true. They say a red-eyed monster patrols the streets at night and takes away criminals. Many people have seen it.”

“Drunks must have seen it wrong.”

Ceras was so dumbfounded she didn't even laugh, but the guild member was very serious.

He looked like he really believed such an urban legend existed.

If that were the case, then the seven wonders of the Holy See, such as the statue of the first Pope going for a walk every night and the statues of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith having theological debates, would also be true.

Ceras, who was familiar with urban legends as an inquisitor, sneered at her opponent.

When investigating heresy, you often discover various urban legends in the early stages.

However, if you dig a little deeper, most of them turn out to be fictions or tricks created by someone.

The purpose was mostly to deceive others for personal gain.

And so, the inquisitors had been on so many wild goose chases...

As Ceras was thinking of a mountain of arguments to refute him, she suddenly had a realization.

“Ah. You meant you want more money. You're a good businessman.”

“That's not it.”

“What do you mean, no. I'll give you extra.”

Ceras threw her entire purse at him.

The guild member looked like he had a lot to say but would hold his tongue after seeing the weight of the purse.

Anyway, the one who pays is king.

As long as he was paid properly, it didn't matter whether she believed the rumor or not.

The rumor didn't bring in money.

***

In the Black Company headquarters, there was a special lounge for the executives.

It was a place made for them to take a short break from work.

But few people actually used it.

Everyone was busy going to work.

Even among such executives, there were those who did not succumb to social pressure, those who did not need to be mindful of others.

They were Eleonor, Selvi, Rhom, and Ishmael.

Their common point was that they were the ones who had joined the company in its early days.

Of course, Rhom didn't use the lounge because he was busy avoiding Eleonor.

And few people envied their privileges.

As their competence was proven, the amount of work Leon entrusted to them also increased.

When Duke Cavaldi of Urdino was rolling around like trash, his life force sucked out of him, what would the situation of others be?

The reason Eleonor used the special lounge that day was because she had really held on until she reached her limit.

Drip.

“Ah, crap. Nosebleed again.”

“Want some coffee?”

“Are you trying to kill me? I said I have a nosebleed.”

As soon as Eleonor felt the sticky liquid flowing from her philtrum, she quickly took action.

She skillfully took out cotton from her pocket, stuffed it in, and tilted her head back.

“Oh my God, I'm really going to die.”

Selvi, who was reading a book next to her, looked at her with a pathetic expression.

He had seen such a sight so many times that his initial admiration was on the verge of disappearing.

If Leon had been next to him, he would have said she was holding on because she was a half-elf and had high disease resistance.

Unfortunately, Leon was in his office, engaged in a life-or-death battle with documents, so he did not know that fact.

After the treatment was done, Eleonor glared at Selvi.

“Hey, you're just going to ignore your senior when she has a nosebleed, you rotten brat?”

“Then what more can I do for you? You're doing a fine job on your own.”

“Forget it, forget it. It's my fault for expecting anything from you.”

At those words, Selvi made a dissatisfied expression.

It was a sign of protest that it wasn't his fault.

“Senior, no matter how much you love recording history, aren't you pushing your body too hard? You need to take care of your health too. If you work without rest like that, your body will wear out.”

“Shut up, what do you know? I'm going to become a great writer who will go down in history. For that, this much is nothing.”

Eleonor's eyes sparkled with conviction.

It was the same look that Selvi had seen and fallen for in his school days.

However, passion is not always born from pure motives.

“If I stick with Duke Gryph, I'll hit the jackpot. I have a feeling. I'm serious.”

Selvi clicked his tongue.

‘The work is so hard he's completely lost it.’

After suffering so much by Leon's side, can't he still see the future?

The bigger Leon hits the jackpot, the more work there will be...