Aman and Lucas, who had left the tavern, looked around once and then quickly teleported to his lair.

"So, how far have you gotten?"

"Phew! Let me catch my breath."

Lucas was dumbfounded as Aman held his chest as if he were out of breath.

"...We teleported. Anyone would think we ran here."

"Ahem. Actually, I wanted to tell you this since last time, but I thought I needed more accurate information..."

"Why don't you just get to the point quickly?"

"...I don't want to."

It was driving him crazy. He couldn't find a single normal corner in that dragon.

He wouldn't do it just because he was a little rushed? And what was with that posture of turning his head away and crossing his arms?

"...Go on."

"No, the Lord keeps pushing me, don't you? I worked so hard alone behind the scenes to find out this information!"

"...I get it, so go on."

"Never mind. I won't do it. The Lord doesn't even know how much I've suffered!"

Lucas thought he would have no regrets if he could just give that back of the head a good smack. But he soon changed his mind and began to control himself.

'Right... he's a dragon who's 4,000 years younger than me... it doesn't make sense to argue with that young dragon... I have to endure it...'

Lucas, who nodded his head slightly, let out a long sigh.

"Hoo... right, you must have had a hard time. It's really commendable how you came up with such a praiseworthy idea. Now, can you tell me?"

"Hmph! It is a praiseworthy thing. I know that too."

"Right, right. Very praiseworthy. How could your father, Hasel, have raised you so well... I must praise Hasel someday."

Lucas, who suppressed his rising anger, smiled brightly, and Aman also relaxed his expression and uncrossed his arms.

"Yes, then... those people were a trading company that had been there since before the Rodrigo County came to Citata. Before, they were just a youth association that worked to unite the people of the territory and cultivate the territory."

"And then?"

"But around the time the Rodrigo County was permanently granted Citata, a few people moved from the capital. I don't know who they were, but the trading company helped the people who had moved to adapt well."

Just hearing this much, it was clear that the trading company was not a bad place at all.

"But at some point, the outsiders who had moved began to occupy the executive positions of the trading company one by one. From then on, the essence of the Noru Trading Company began to change little by little."

"How?"

"At first, as they occupied the executive positions, they brought quite a lot of benefits to the people of the territory. Things like mediating trade with the capital, or getting them jobs in the capital."

Even hearing this much, the new executives didn't seem bad.

"But at some point, the Noru Trading Company began to charge a commission for the jobs or trade they introduced. And it started with a small commission at first, and later, they exploited nearly 30 percent of their monthly salary."

"Monthly salary? So you're saying they took that money every month?"

"Yes."

"Then the people of the territory could just quit the jobs they introduced. Why did they keep doing such a foolish thing?"

"I thought you might think that, so I found out more."

Lucas, who was waiting for Aman's next words, realized his mistake when he saw his expression.

"Ooh, r-right. Very praiseworthy. Continue the story."

"Haha! Thank you. No, so I found out that these crazy bastards blocked them from getting jobs elsewhere if they quit their jobs. Not only that, but even if they managed to get a job elsewhere, they would spread strange rumors or say bad things to the owner to prevent them from working there."

"They're complete trash. Typical vicious bastards."

"That's what I'm saying! And at some point, these people started bringing in and selling some things, and at first, it started with small nuts from the capital or the border, and later..."

"And later?"

"They manufactured and sold illusion potions. And they even had the residents sell them to other regions or countries. It's a publicly known fact among the dark forces. The territory of Citata, which lives off the manufacture of illusion potions... that's what they say."

Illusion potions were highly addictive drugs. Originally, they were drugs made using illusion mushrooms to relieve the pain of patients with severe pain, but as they began to be misused, someone began to manufacture and sell them illegally.

"Ha..."

He was at a loss for words. To think that the people of the territory had no food and were manufacturing and selling illusion potions? Hearing this much, the intentions of the people from the capital were clearly revealed.

The outsiders who had come to the barren land that no one paid attention to had had that purpose from the beginning.

A lord with nothing, and a weak and insignificant land.

"I'm at a loss for words... the manufacture of illusion potions... and it's a publicly known fact?"

"That's not all. It seems they also have a scheme in mind for renting the empty farmland now."

"What is it?"

"It seems they're planning to become slave traders. And they seem to be planning to build a dungeon under the farmland to imprison and manage the slaves."

It was driving him crazy. It varied from country to country, but here in Arant, slavery was legally prohibited.

But to think of becoming a slave trader in Arant? This was definitely the work of someone else behind the scenes. It could be another country, or another central noble.

Otherwise, it was not something that humans who occupied a trading company in a barren land and manufactured and sold drugs would do on their own.

"What kind of slaves?"

"All races except humans."

"..."

He had nothing to say. It seemed more fitting to say that he had nothing more to say.

A human who sold all races except humans. It was a cruelty that boasted a ridiculous sense of humanity.

"Do you know who's behind it?"

"It's Lakmer."

"!?"

Aman seemed to have found out all the information.

Lakmer. A group of mages whose schemes next to the emperor were unknown. They had committed countless acts so far, but now that they had extended their hand to Citata, it was right to find them and eradicate them all right away.

"Have you still not found out who is above them?"

The mutated werewolves that had appeared in Citata a while ago were also their doing.

"Not yet. To cut them all off... it would be faster to bring Arant to ruin. But looking at what they've done, we don't know who else is behind them."

Lucas began to feel impatient. He couldn't understand at all why this group called Lakmer had such a grudge against him.

"What in the world is wrong with humans... is it really true that the world can't turn without humans? Even though they do so many dog-like things?"

"Humans are not the problem. The society that humans have created is the problem."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Literally. Humans are inherently good. Except for a very small few. But the world these humans live in is wrong. Greed ruins everything."

"I don't understand what you're saying at all..."

Aman, who had been on an excursion for a hundred years, also didn't seem to know everything about humans.

It couldn't be helped. He was just enjoying the world as a kind of excursion in a dragon's body, and he was not living among them.

"I don't know everything either. But... I know that humans are a necessary race. So don't try to repeat the mistake I made."

"...I understand."

Aman didn't understand Lucas's words, but he decided to agree for now, seeing that he was calling what he had done a mistake.

"What are you going to do from now on? They're a very low-quality group."

"Does my father... Count Cibie, also know all this?"

"Ah, it doesn't seem so. Count Cibie seemed to think that the people of the Noru Trading Company were just holding the personnel rights and would only receive some favors."

"...I see."

Lucas let out a sigh of relief at Aman's words. Even while listening to all of Aman's stories, he couldn't shake off the small suspicion that Count Cibie might have known all this and condoned it.

"Yes, well. It's certain that he owes them, so he probably thought it wouldn't be bad to let them fill their pockets a little by accepting favors. Because it's difficult to give them money directly."

A sigh came out automatically. Cibie had clearly made a very wrong choice.

Giving them personnel rights was actually a much worse idea than giving them money directly.

There are times when power is scarier than money. From the moment he gave them the personnel rights of the miners, the Noru Trading Company had gained enormous power to wield the people of the territory.

"And Count Cibie sent a person to the Noru Trading Company to intervene in the personnel affairs. The Count seemed to trust that person... but it is said that he was also a person that the Noru Trading Company had planted in the Count first."

"Ha, hahaha! Khahaha!"

Lucas finally burst out laughing at this absurd situation.

He was truly a foolish and stupidly kind human.

But what could he do? Such a person was his father, so this was also something he had to endure.

"L-Lord... are you okay?"

"Haha... ha..."

Lucas's laughter gradually subsided.

"I'm fine. Of course I'm fine. In fact, I even feel refreshed."

"...Pardon?"

Lucas's expression was rotten, no, it was mushy. But to say he was refreshed.

Aman looked at his expression again, deeply.

'Is the Lord in deep shock...? Is he sick somewhere...?'

Lucas let out a 'pssh' and a sigh, as if he knew what Aman's expression meant.

"Thinking of cleaning up the dirty things cleanly..."

One corner of his mouth curled up slyly.

"I feel very refreshed."

Goosebumps appeared on Aman's arms as he looked at Lucas's appearance.

(End of Chapter)