[Abduction] Double arm scales (3)
“The wages are here. The change is done.”
“Oh, thank you! You have a big barrel! be better! Be blessed~”
Commercial city Oldeck.
The scenery of this port city stretching along the coast at the western end of the empire reminds us of the Age of Exploration. Looking at the row of sailboats lined up along the wooden pier on the seashore, it seems that the era of the sea has arrived.
And the appearance of the large merchant head offices lined up along the golden hail land close to the seashore has a different kind of grandeur than the Imperial City or Seongdo.
If you want to make money, go all deck.
That simple and clear proposition in one sentence has never been denied since the founding of the empire.
[Ohhh, indeed… This is what humans call the center of logistics and distribution… The vibrancy is not normal, Master Ed! Just looking at this fire candle mug makes me excited! ]
“There is nothing good about being too excited. Because the goal is not to be noticed.”
[That’s right. It’s been a long time since I’ve been helping the young master like this, so it’s good because it reminds me of the time I was on Aken Island. Kyaa, I lived really hard at that time, but like now, I had to assist the young master on my own. ]
The astral Mug flapped its wings to catch up, and began to tell stories of the old days to itself.
[When I was a lower spirit, I would work all night like the workers here, but I would also go to get a new schedule in the morning. At that time, I hated the world because I was suffering so much, but looking back, it all turned into blood and flesh. As expected, it is said that even the librarians do hard work, so it seems that everyone works hard in that way to gain strength and secure a position. So, Master Ed… I am very fortunate to have Master Ed. If I had to talk about the hardships I had before serving Ed, I would have to start from when I had just risen in status in the Fluid Spirit… What was my motto at that time… ]
It’s new now, but Mug talks a lot.
What is so thrilling about it is that he sat on my shoulder and continued to talk about it, shedding tears of emotion.
I pushed my robe hat down even deeper and made my way through the crowds, crossing the streets of Oldek’s Market. Mug’s pointless explanations spilled out of one ear, and he tried to gauge the intention of the letter from Rienna.
Lienna, the chief secretary, is the best confidante who is completely loyal to Lortel Kecheln no matter what anyone says.
There was a high possibility that something had actually happened to Lortel, since she had never been out in the public eye and dared to write a letter on behalf of Lortel. This is because Lortel does most of the important work directly. He never entrusted me with a proxy, let alone sending me a letter.
Anyway, the time when I can move without any schedule pressure is too short. It was impossible to come to the site and check it if it were not now, so he grabbed the wagon himself and arrived at the old deck after running for three days.
The information power of merchants should not be viewed as water. There’s nothing good about Ed Rosteyler’s own visit to Oldeck. That’s why, for now, he moved while hiding his identity while wearing a robe.
After continuing to cross the market street that continued along the stone floor, I turned a few times and entered the alley.
After going inside for a while, leaving Mug’s chatter behind, the gloomy-looking tavern caught my eye.
A wooden mug full of beer dangled from a small signboard. Seeing that the inside was noisy, it seemed that the business was operating.
As soon as I opened the door and went in, I could see the inside of the bar full of nasty workers. All eyes focused on me for an instant, but everyone soon stopped paying attention and started talking again.
– ‘A small tavern that comes out when you turn 3 times after entering the second alley from 3-ga, Central Market Street in Oldeck. The company name is the song of the waves.’
– ‘There, please sit alone as far back as possible, order draft beer and two fistfuls of peanuts, and put on your robe hat and stay still.’
The tangential method is quite stealthy.
I went to a corner seat as instructed, ordered a draft beer and two fistfuls of peanuts, and sat still.
I sat like that for about 10 minutes, but no one talked to me. I was the only one oddly sitting alone drinking beer in a noisy pub.
After sitting like that for another 10 minutes…
“You’re cool boy, do you want to go on a date with us?”
As if trying to do business, a woman at a bar started talking to me. A red-haired woman in a fancy dress looked at me with an enchanting gaze, and then she continued.
“To see you come to a bar alone in broad daylight like this, sit in the farthest seat, order two fists of peanuts and draft beer and sit there for over 10 minutes… It looks a little bleak~.”
It’s a tone that seems to emphasize my current situation. Pointing out the tangential condition and talking about it is the signal sent by this woman.
I nodded and said.
“Okay, let’s go out together. Do the math and come.”
“Oh, you speak well. Shall we cross our arms?”
The tavern woman, who smiled skillfully, grabbed my arm in such a bewitching manner and walked out of the tavern.
It was a common sight on the floor of a corner tavern like this, so the workers inside the tavern were eager to talk about their stories without a hint of concern.
After leaving the street with the woman, I walked with my arms crossed for a while. Then your woman put her lips to my ear and whispered.
“Since there are many eyes, I will blend in with the crowd a few times. I will walk to the most crowded side as far as I can until the 2nd Market Street, and if there is no sign of being followed, I will escape to a remote place as much as possible.”
“okay.”
I had to walk along the road for about 30 minutes like that. I had time to go back and forth between Old Deck’s lively markets and roughly check the buildings above. The sight of the well-known commercial buildings stretching along the street was, indeed, quite grand.
I wandered the streets for a long time until I was so sure I wasn’t being followed, until finally a woman took my arm and pulled me into a nearby gloomy back alley.
By turning the corner a few more times like that, I was able to push into the gap between the buildings where no one passed by.
“You’ve been rude, Master Ed.”
“No, never mind. By the way, your impression has changed quite a bit…”
Ripping the tools for her disguise off her face, the red-haired woman shaved her face.
That figure… The face I often saw in the office of the acting head of the Elte Corporation’s Sylvania branch.
It was Lortel Kecheln’s chief assistant, Lienna Clemson.
“This… I’m not familiar with this… I’ll do it if necessary…”
The sly barwoman was gone, and the indecisive secretary she had seen back then had returned.
Lienna Clemson is the only confidante who sided with Lortel in the operation to steal the Elte Company led by Dune Greggs.
With that as an opportunity, he completely entered Lortel’s power, and in fact became her right-hand man.
My indecisive and timid temperament is still the same, but when I see him so deftly dragging me to a deserted place, the work itself feels refreshed.
“I was acting as a girl at a bar that didn’t suit me… I was sweating so much that my makeup almost came off…”
“So, let’s get straight to the point. Why did you send such a strange letter?”
“…”
Rienna dared to look around once more, put her hair back in a ponytail, and took out her glasses and put them on.
After that, he slowly lowered his voice and spoke.
“Lord Lortel fell under the curse spell prepared by Slog Keldrux.”
“…what?”
I spoke with my eyebrows narrowed.
“You used such violent means?”
“Whether it’s violent or not… Actually, it’s a bit ambiguous.. You have to look at it… But to be honest, yes… It’s violent…”
“I don’t think Lortel will easily fall for an act of terror that is being done openly. Like Slog, he has Lortel and the Dragon Lord, and his magic skills are better than most wizards.”
“that’s right. But… the situation is a bit special…”
“No, no matter how special the situation is… Do you really think you can usurp the position of the leader in such a reckless way…?”
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I heard that Slog Keldrux looks like a sincere and thoughtful merchant, but inside he is a sly human who raises hundreds of serpents.
This way of going crazy doesn’t fit well with the image of the human being as a slog. Rather, it looks just right for a headwind.
“If you say curse magic, what kind of curse is it? Instantaneous death magic, such as obstruction of breathing or suspension of blood flow, is not, however…”
“Yes… In the first place, Assistant Manager Hoe-ju has no problems with his health right now… However, he was incapacitated…”
“Then… is it a suppressor curse?”
“It’s… similar…”
Secretary Rienna seemed to be at a loss as to what to explain, so she blurted out her words.
“First of all, it will be quicker to understand if you meet the assistant manager of Hoeju in person…”
*
After that, I had to go on the market street for a while.
He repeatedly explained the importance of the scene he would see from now on, saying that it was the top secret of the top secret even within the Elte Firm.
It was worth it. The fact that an important person like Lortel has been incapacitated is, in and of itself, a source of confusion.
Still, Rienna added a story. At this point, I was the only one who could safely take Lortel’s deputy from the old deck without any cost and protect him well.
Apparently, Lortel always talked about me to Lienna’s secretary whenever she got the chance. I don’t know how deep he talked about it, but if he really gets into a corner and falls into a crisis, this person will definitely reach out to him without any cost…
That’s right.
I am sure that if I fall into a crisis, Lortel will definitely help me.
So, it is natural to guarantee the opposite as well.
The two-armed scales must always remain level.
There is something received, and it is only giving this and that.
“I have to turn around and enter the basement here.”
“You’re going underground again? It’s already the third.”
“It is necessary.”
After going in and out of those tangled back roads, going in and out of the sewer several times, I reached the back door of a dingy brick building.
Rienna quietly knocked a couple of times and spoke an unfamiliar foreign language to the person across the door. She seemed to be some kind of password.
After passing the password, the back door of the old brick building slowly opened. A dark counter inside. On one side sat a stout man. Judging by the pattern on her cloak, she is a merchant belonging to Elte Firm.
He bowed his head to greet Lienna’s chief secretary, then bowed politely to me.
“It is an honor to meet you.”
That much, he refrained from showing politeness and made a movement as if to guide me inside.
Lienna’s chief secretary raised an arm to block the man’s movements, tilted his head, and gave the order simply by looking backwards. He will guide you directly, so keep guarding the entrance.
The man nodded and closed the door. Rienna led me straight into the dark hallway.
“This is a place that has been secretly used after renovating an abandoned inn that used to be open. In the farthest room, there is a deputy manager Hoeju.”
“Yeah… I wonder if it’s something to hide so deeply.”
After reaching the door of the last room, Secretary Rienna turned her head again and asked me to trust her.
“It’s a duty of secrecy. If I say more, it’ll only hurt my mouth. But… that… don’t panic…”
“Embarrassment…?”
“That… No, let’s go in first.”
After saying that, Secretary Rienna opened the door.
The scenery in the room was quite bloody.
As befits an abandoned inn that is no longer in business, it is full of old and shabby wooden furniture here and there. A scene in a dark room with no lights on, a round table in the middle… A familiar red-brown haired girl was sitting with her back turned.
Lortel Kecheln. Whoever could see it was the back of the colossus. However, I feel a strange sense of incongruity…
“Agent Hoeju.”
The moment Lienna secretary called out to Lortel and entered, Lortel shook her head and looked back.
The fact that a sense of incongruity arose momentarily at that lively gesture… Does it mean that my intuition is still alive?
“Rienna!”
Lortel, who jumped off the chair with a bright expression on her face, ran to the door and was embraced by Rienna.
It’s so lively that it feels unnatural.
“…”
While I was at a loss for words, Lortel spoke tearfully.
“Like Rienna said, I didn’t go anywhere and just sat there! She was very bored, but she said that Rienna complimented her, so she put up with it! She was eagerly reading her journal and chewing her memory! Umm~, not much… didn’t come to mind…”
“Yes… Deputy Manager Hoeju… Well done…”
“huh! ruler! Can you stroke my hair?!”
Saying that, I take Lienna’s hand and put it on my head with a humming song and smile.
Something… Hasn’t your height shrunk a bit? Around the time I thought about doing it… Secretary Rienna spoke.
“Here… that… this is… Master Ed Rosteeler…”
“Ah, hee!”
Lortel was taken aback, then quickly hid behind Lienna’s secretary and poked her head out.
She looked up at me anxiously with the appearance of a shy girl, and then said with the sound of mosquitoes crawling in.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it was written in the journal… young boy… yahhh… I never thought… that I would actually see you… but suddenly…”
“Come on, Mr. Hoeju. Hiding behind me like this is not polite.”
“Oh, um, wait… yea, no…”
The shy and shy look doesn’t fit the age group no matter how you look at it.
I stared at Rienna for a moment with a stiff face.
“…”
Is this a new hidden camera? Even if I try to escape from reality… there is no meaning…
Still… I had to listen to the explanation clearly.
“…Though, height didn’t decrease much more than expected, but the really important mental age… that… as you can see…”
Rienna struggled to finish her words.
“This is… so… that’s it…”
“…”
“…….”
“…………”
I stood still for a while, then walked backwards to the center of the room, pulled out a wooden chair, and sat down.
He just rested his chin on his chin and wiped the area around his mouth with his hand. With such a troubled look… I had no choice but to sit for a while.
The reason I broke out in a cold sweat… was because I didn’t expect this situation to happen.
“Why, why is everyone silent…? Um, I’m scared…”
The figure of Lortel trembling with her head buried in Rienna’s collar, tightly gripping her.
Sadly, for a while, only the rustling of the clothes filled the room.
