The secret ledger of Noru Trading. Among the numerous families and the regions listed next to them, there was one region that was puzzling.

Veneta, located at the northernmost tip. Why was that place involved?

There were no rare races there to be sold as slaves, and even if there were, it was a region where transportation itself was difficult.

If it were goods, the situation would be a little better, but it was very difficult to transport living creatures from Veneta, which had no decent means of transportation.

But what was the reason they were listed in that ledger?

'The Winter Fox Tribe...'

He hadn't thought of it then. No, he hadn't even thought of it.

No matter how cruel humans were, he had never thought that they would even touch the fox tribe, which was called the guardian of winter.

But no matter how much he thought about it, there was no connection between Veneta and Noru Trading.

Veneta's source of income was mostly the export of strong mercenaries who had grown up on the barren land and the fur of monsters, and the rest was self-sufficiency.

In addition, since it was a place that thoroughly excluded outsiders, it was difficult for new trading companies or merchants to enter and establish themselves.

Therefore, the trading companies that came and went only when the port melted would come and go a few times, and trade was mostly done in the form of bartering with goods from other continents.

But the fact that there was a connection with Noru Trading, which had been doing dirty things behind the scenes, meant that it was definitely not a matter of exporting mercenaries.

'I'll have to follow them.'

He had planned to be away for only a few days, but that plan seemed to have gone awry long ago.

'Aman will take care of it.'

***

As morning dawned, the three men finished their preparations to leave and were saying goodbye to Count Cibie.

"You are always welcome to visit."

"I will be sure to convey the Count's intentions to the head of the family. He will surely be pleased."

"That would be great."

"Yes. Then we will be on our way."

As the men turned around, Cibie quickly stopped them.

"Please take this."

"You don't have to do this."

The pouch that Cibie handed over was clearly full of gold coins.

"No. It's a long way to go. It's just a small token of my sincerity."

"This is really..."

The man took the pouch as if he had no choice and smiled awkwardly.

"Please be sure to go back and convey my intentions. I also want to see them."

Cibie, who held the man's hand tightly, smiled gently.

"Yes. Thank you. No one has forgotten the kindness we received from the Count. And we will not forget this either."

As the man left, Cibie did not leave his spot until the carriage they were in had disappeared.

***

Lucas also decided to follow them, so there was no need to delay.

'I'll know the details if I follow them.'

At first, he had thought of going to Aman as usual. But he wanted to see this matter through with his own hands.

With the contract with Aman, his mana was close to infinite, so even if it wasn't as much as in his past life, he would be able to display the skills of a decent great mage.

For a mage, the circle was a measure that was proportional to the amount of mana. In addition, the understanding and proficiency of magic determined the mage's skill.

So Lucas was very confident now, and he was even looking forward to it.

'I'd like to see what I can do with this body.'

He had been bound by a human body and had been tied to a circle that did not increase, living every day in frustration.

But now that the amount of mana had increased to near infinity, it was natural to want to test it.

The carriage was running its horses and moving west.

'Are they going to the Raskan Kingdom?'

Looking at the direction of the carriage, they seemed to be crossing the border and entering the Raskan Kingdom.

How much time had passed? The carriage of those who had crossed the border of the Raskan Kingdom began to slow down.

'It's Rita.'

Lucas, who had left a mark and had been tracking them by teleporting from time to time, also entered the city of Rita, which was adjacent to the border, following their carriage.

The place the carriage entered was an inn that looked luxurious at a glance.

-Rita Central Inn-

The city of Rita, located on the way to a large port and the Arant Empire, had been a fairly large city even before Vamaras had become a trade hub.

"Haha. I don't know how long it's been since I've slept in a place like this!"

"That's what I'm saying. That Cibie must be doing well. To give us such a full pouch!"

The men who got out of the carriage were laughing and talking, as if they were in a good mood.

"Now, let's go in! Serano-nim, please come in quickly."

"...Please don't call my name so loudly!"

The man named Serano lowered his voice and pulled his hood down.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot for a moment."

The man named Serano was a mage whose wanted posters were posted all over the empire. The charge was murder.

Although wanted posters were posted, saying that he was a serious criminal who had murdered many with magic, it was not an easy task to catch him, who was hard to find when he was determined to hide, and who was also a mage, so he was still running away well.

As they opened the door of the inn and went in, Lucas also went to a quiet place, released his transparency magic, and followed them.

-Jingle!

As a cheerful bell rang, an employee in a luxurious uniform, unlike in other inns, approached.

"Welcome. Welcome to the Central Inn."

Lucas, who was following the men's movements with his eyes, nodded his head slightly.

"I'd like to stay for a day."

Since he had heard that they were staying here, Lucas also planned to stay here for a day.

"Yes. This way, please."

As he followed the employee to the front desk, a sign with the room types and accommodation fees came into view.

"I'll have the basics."

"Yes. Is it one night's stay in the basic type?"

As Lucas nodded, the employee handed him the room key.

"The room is the innermost room on the left on the second floor. The accommodation fee is 8 gold per day."

"Here you are."

Lucas, who had paid the fee, took a seat in the first-floor restaurant.

Since he had confirmed that the men had also paid the fee and had gone up to their rooms, he planned to wait for them here for a while.

As he was sipping the basic tea, the men appeared after a while.

"Let's drink and die today!"

"Khaha! Let's do it. How long has it been since we've had a drink without a care in the world? Right!"

They, who had come down from their rooms, sat behind Lucas and ordered drinks and snacks.

"No, so where was I last time? Yes, that's right. When I stopped by Morain."

As the man's story began, Lucas also listened intently.

"Khaha! So do you know how much I won in that game?"

But there was nothing useful in the conversation they were having.

It was mostly trivial life stories, such as how much they had won or lost in a gambling game, and how great a life they had lived in the past.

'I should get up today.'

Lucas, who had been sitting and listening to the story for a long time, felt tired and got up from his seat.

'It's been a while since I've been here, so should I take a look around?'

Since he had cast a tracking magic on them anyway, he would be able to easily know if they moved.

Therefore, Lucas planned to look around Rita, tracing his old memories.

***

Lucas, who had left the inn, planned to stop by the antique shop he had visited before.

'I wonder if it's still there.'

It had been over fifty years since he had last come to the village of Rita, so the shop he had visited before might have disappeared.

'It's still there.'

But the shop was there, with its old sign creaking.

Lucas had enjoyed visiting human antique shops even in his past life.

Because sometimes, hidden gem-like artifacts would fall into the hands of humans who didn't know their value and were sold for a cheap price.

-Jingle!

As he opened the shop door, the smell of old dust wafted in.

"Hmm."

Lucas quite liked this musty smell. This old smell that old things gave off gave a strange sense of stability.

"Welcome."

The shop owner, who looked to be in his mid-forties, greeted Lucas.

"Yes. I came to take a look."

The shop owner adjusted his glasses and his eyes lit up at the sight of the young and neat Lucas.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Why don't you bring out something that the owner is proud of."

Lucas's eyes, who was looking around the shop, stopped at one place.

The thing that was peeking out from between the old cupboards looked familiar, as if it were something Lucas knew.

"Hoho, everything here is something to be proud of."

"Is that so? Then can you show me the thing on top?"

As Lucas's hand reached the high cupboard, the shop owner tilted his head and asked back.

"Are you talking about the one on the shelf just below the top?"

Because the thing Lucas was pointing at was a very ordinary small wooden box with no patterns or fancy gems.

"Yes."

"Hmm. I understand."

The owner, as if he couldn't understand, climbed up the ladder, pushed aside the hazy dust, and took out the box.

"Hmm..."

Lucas, who had received the box, opened the box very easily when he unlatched the small clasp on the box.

"Do you know what this is?"

"Actually, I don't. I bought an old house a while ago and disposed of the old furniture and antiques in it, and I brought this because it was kept safe there, but I couldn't find any function, so I just put it away and had forgotten about it."

The shop owner answered Lucas's question very honestly.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Well... hoho."

As the shop owner smiled awkwardly, Lucas rejoiced inwardly.

'What a windfall.'

To have come to look around with a light heart, but to have such a windfall!

"Well, then please include it if I buy something else. I like small boxes like this."

"Oh, of course. It's something I had forgotten about anyway."

Lucas, who had put the box on the table as if he were not interested, began to look around carefully again, just in case.

But was it because he had found something so good right away? No matter how hard he looked, it was difficult to find anything better than this.

"Is there anything that would be helpful to a spirit master?"

In the end, Lucas decided to buy something for Nella, one of the children who was most on his mind.

"Oh, of course."

The owner's face lit up at Lucas's question, and he quickly went into a room somewhere. After a while, the owner came out with a leaf-shaped pendant in his hand.

"If I may say so, this was made by an elf chief and a dwarf three hundred years ago. It's something that any spirit master on the continent would covet. It's something that increases one's affinity with nature."

Lucas examined the pendant carefully at the owner's words.

"How much is it?"

"I'll give it to you for the low price of 300 gold."

It was an absurd price. An elf three hundred years ago? The pendant in front of him was just a beautifully crafted leaf-shaped pendant.

Lucas was lost in thought for a moment at the price.

'Hmm... since I got the box, should I just let him rip me off?'

As the owner saw Lucas's expression, he quickly polished the pendant and showed it to him again.

"Look. This brilliant appearance! If you ask me where I got this..."

"That's enough. How much is this?"

As if he couldn't buy a leaf-shaped pendant for 300 gold, Lucas pointed to the rusty key displayed right in front of him.

"Ooh... you have a good eye. If I may say so about this..."

"Yes. How much is it."

"50 gold."

Lucas's brow furrowed for a moment at the price.

'He's really trying to rip me off.'

But he soon nodded and paid the price.

"Thank you! Here, take it with the box."

The owner, who smiled with satisfaction, kindly handed him the item along with the box.

'What a windfall.'

Lucas smiled brightly as he received the box with the key.

(End of Chapter)