34. The God of Investment (4)
It happened three days ago.
A report has been received at the Great Temple of Allium, the goddess of the moon and justice, located in Drunta.
The Tekas Trading Company, the largest trading company in the kingdom, has filed a complaint against one of the new trading companies, the Altas Trading Company, for being involved in social activities.
We sent someone to investigate and confirmed the facts.
The true identity of Owen Altas, who founded the company, was a follower of the Black God.
He has been working in the shadows for a long time, using his wife, Edia, to raise funds for the cult.
But that fact was revealed not long ago!
The Tekas Company, which faithfully served the Seven Goddesses, discovered the evil deeds of these wicked cultists and reported them to the Goddess Church. Fearing punishment, Edia disappeared somewhere with her husband before the priestesses could arrive.
Because they could not just leave the wicked cultists alone, the priests of Alium thoroughly searched every corner of the store.
All involved were questioned and the ledgers and documents were thoroughly searched.
In the process, an unexpected person appeared.
Baron Karnak, Lord of Zestrad, a member of the King’s Order, was involved with the Altas Company.
“That’s why this story came to me.”
Although it had nothing to do with King’s Order, Erantel explained that it was an incident involving a cult and the King’s Order was involved, so it could not be completely ignored.
Karnak was impressed.
“… … Are you saying that I am also suspected of being a cult member?”
Captain Errantel shook his head.
“That’s not it.”
The Seven Goddesses knew that Karnak had a great hatred for necromancers and was working to eradicate necromancy from the world.
That seemed likely.
Wasn’t the money invested in Altas Trading Company just earned in the process of spreading the magic exclusive to the Great Commandment to the world?
The only issue was the amount of investment.
“I heard that you have the largest stake among the investors in Altas Trading Company. That’s why I need your opinion on the disposal of the company.”
There was no other crazy investor like Karnak who would invest a thousand gold pieces in a newly-established trading company.
Erantel handed over the documents he was holding.
“It was sent from Tekas Trading Company.”
Karnak clicked his tongue after briefly looking over the documents.
“So, you’re saying we should take the royalties and hand it over?”
Currently, Altas Trading Company has lost its owner and is in a state of ruin.
But that doesn’t mean the top is ruined.
The trade routes and commercial rights are still there, but the Huizhou has disappeared.
From the perspective of the upper class of Tekas, it couldn’t have been anything but a very tempting prey.
So we contacted Karnak, our biggest investor.
“They say they’ll pay you handsomely if you hand over the rights to Altas Trading Company to them. The amount is… … .”
For a moment, Karnak’s expression became strange.
“Two thousand gold coins?”
My money doubled without me doing anything.
* * *
“… … That’s roughly what the story was like.”
Karnak’s home in Drunta.
After hearing the explanation, Baros and Serati were dumbfounded and laughed.
“Wow, what kind of investment are you? Does everything you do end in failure?”
“How can you manipulate others like that for your own gain? Even when it wasn’t your intention.”
Karnak pouted his lips as if he felt wronged.
“Hey, I guess it’s not my fault this time?”
That’s true.
This time, Karnak is clearly a victim too.
“Yes, the money doubled in ten days.”
“And if you say you’re a victim, you get cursed at?”
Even though they said that, both of them knew that this situation was not something they could be happy about.
This wasn’t something I did just to make a few more gold coins.
This was done to secure long-term connections and influence with influential companies for future moves.
If possible, it would be best to somehow resolve the situation.
Baros muttered in disbelief.
“Is Ms. Edia really that social? She doesn’t seem to have that kind of vibe at all.”
“I heard that King’s Order conducted a separate investigation anyway.”
There were some facts missing from the investigation of the Allium Church.
“According to the servants of the store, my husband Owen barged in and forcibly took Miss Edia away.”
It is said that his fighting power has grown considerably due to some tricks he used, and that he has even defeated the experienced guards of the upper ranks.
“There are many spells that temporarily increase strength, so it’s not really that surprising.”
Of course, Edia resisted, but it was no use.
-How dare you nag at what your heavenly husband tells you to do! Just follow me without complaining!
-They say they’ll teach you the truth of life, but you’re so stupid that you don’t even learn!
“They say they dragged him away while shouting at him like this.”
Serati furrowed her brow as if she felt sorry.
“It’s a surprisingly common type.”
Given the circumstances, the likelihood of Edia colluding with her husband is extremely slim.
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Rather, the most reasonable guess is that Tekas Trading Company used Owen to get rid of her.
“From the very beginning, it was obvious that the informant was Tekas Trading Company.”
Karnak asked, troubled.
“Anyway, what do we do now?”
There are two options.
Let’s just take 2,000 gold coins and settle this case neatly.
Or, rescue the kidnapped Edia and return him to the position of the head of Altas’s company.
“Let’s save Miss Edia! People’s lives are at stake, so we can’t just sit back and watch, right?”
“You said he would become one of the three great merchants later on? I can’t give up such a talented person for such a low price!”
For reference, the former was Baros’s statement, and the latter was Serati’s statement.
Karnak looked at the two with curious eyes.
“… … Didn’t the two switch places?”
Baros’ eyes sparkled.
“I see? I guess I’ve become a better person.”
Serati, on the other hand, is in a state of rapid frustration.
‘Me, when did I become like this?’
Lapiselle, who was eavesdropping while washing dishes in the kitchen, just looked puzzled.
‘What does that mean? Brother Baros is originally a good person.’
* * *
The next day, Karnak returned to King’s Order headquarters.
“therefore…….”
Captain Errantel looked at him with an embarrassed expression.
“Are you saying you’re going to rescue the former chairman of Altas Trading Company?”
“Yes. Isn’t it the duty of the King’s Order to deal with cultists?”
“That’s not wrong, but isn’t there such a thing as the importance of work?”
The King’s Order’s main mission is to deal with cult incidents involving high-ranking officials such as royalty and nobles.
It means that they don’t jump into everything just because the Black God’s cult is involved.
“Then is it okay if I move personally?”
“That’s what you want, but it’s a bit difficult right now.”
King’s Order is a busy organization. They have a mountain of work to do, beyond the minor commercial incidents.
During that time, Karnak had been working very hard and had achieved great things, so he had been given a lot of free time, but that was slowly running out.
“Even you have used up too much vacation time. I can’t allow you to miss another mission here.”
“So what the captain said is… … .”
“I knew this would happen,” Karnak smirked.
“So it’s possible if it’s a social scandal involving high-ranking people like royalty or nobles?”
He took a document out of his bosom and handed it to me.
“What is this?”
The expression on Erantel’s face became strange as he accepted it.
There was a familiar seal stamped on the end of the document.
“Prince Lloyd’s seal?”
Karnak shrugged his shoulders with an exaggerated gesture.
“Actually, Prince Lloyd was also an investor in Altas Trading Company, wasn’t he?”
I knew it would turn out like this, so I prepared in advance.
It’s a real seal. There was a golden seal that Prince Lloyd had given me a long time ago.
‘I thought I’d never use this, but I ended up using it like this.’
Erantel looked between the documents and Karnak in bewilderment.
“… …Does the prince know that you were an investor?”
“I don’t think you’d deny it if I said I’d make you money.”
“Well, it’s not like I’m doing anything particularly bad.”
Certainly, if it’s like this, it’s not lacking as a mission for King’s Order.
“No problem, right?”
“There isn’t any.”
The Erantel commander smiled bitterly as he received the documents.
“Have a nice trip.”
* * *
The permission of the Erantel commander has been granted.
The mission to rescue Edia officially became a King’s Order mission.
Now the next step is to find out her whereabouts.
Serati gave her opinion.
“Should we go to the Drunta Adventurer’s Guild? If we hire a decent bounty hunter, they might be able to tell us where Edia is.”
Baros shook his head.
“I think it’s too late.”
It’s not like they were powerful nobles, just two ordinary citizens who disappeared without a trace.
In these cases, tracking takes a very long time.
Even if it’s quick, you have to be prepared for several months.
“If we waste time like that, the remaining trade routes of Altas Trading Company will all be gone.”
This was also a race against time.
If Edia is not returned to its original place within at least a month, the right to sell it to Tekas Trading Company will not remain.
“Oh, that’s not necessary.”
Karnak smiled broadly.
“Isn’t it just a matter of finding Owen?”
Owen has kidnapped Edia, so if you find him, you’ll naturally find her.
Baros asked back, dumbfounded.
“No, I mean, you were trying to find Owen in the first place, right?”
“Why are you worrying about that? There’s someone who knows.”
“Who is it?”
“Reporter for Tekas Trading Company.”
“ah…….”
Come to think of it, that’s what happened.
Owen showed up just in time and dragged Edia away, and just in time someone from Tekas Trading Company noticed and reported it.
The fact that they framed him with such perfect timing means that they can only say that they moved Owen intentionally.
“All we have to do is find the guy who reported us and ask him about Owen’s whereabouts.”
“Are you sure he knows Owen’s whereabouts?”
It’s possible that Tekas Trading Company simply happened to obtain information about Owent and used it to their advantage.
Karnak shrugged his shoulders at Baros’s remark.
“That’s true. Of course, I can’t guarantee it. But it’s a story with a high probability, right?”
Owen escaped from Drunta too easily and disappeared, taking his burden, Edia, with him.
This is not something a small business owner can commit.
“It can only be done if someone helps in an organized manner.”
Perhaps Tekas Trading Company may also be related to the Black God Sect.
There has to be some kind of connection to get Owen, the socialite, to move along smoothly.
“Well, it’s all just speculation. There’s no real evidence.”
Still, it’s worth checking out.
“Wouldn’t you find out if you questioned him?”
Serati frowned.
“Are you going to stick a needle in your head again?”
“no.”
It was Karnak who had already heard something from her.
Stop trying to solve everything in the world by manipulating memories.
“I plan to act a little more human this time.”
Serati continued to ask questions with a look of distrust.
“If you do that, they won’t confess easily, right?”
“why?”
Karnak opened one eye as if to ask what the problem was.
“I told you, I’m going to act like a ‘human’ person.”
The evil spirit king Karnak
