Episode 66
“In reality, it was not just Dietrich Hermann’s sole venture, but a large enterprise involving the entire Hermann family.”
“… … This is interesting. Is that possible? It’s not easy to finance drugs, and it’s illegal to do business with drugs?”
Aveiro, who was going through the data again, ends up laughing in vain at one point.
“Look at this? Even if Dietrich Hermann is just a face madam, it’s hard to believe that Marquis Hermann handled this alone. The distribution channels are spread all over the country. Just how far is this intertwined?”
“… … Can you tell just by looking at it?”
Aveiro’s eyes frown.
“Oh, I know when I see it. So how entangled are they?”
“… … I haven’t investigated that far.”
“… … .”
“Shall we investigate further?”
The Alaves Guild has branches all over the country, and the number of informants belonging to each branch is almost in the thousands.
But even if they investigate, will they be able to uncover the truth?
No, even if we find out, can we really believe it?
Aveiro was secretly convinced.
This drug business is definitely something that involves at least the royal family and the dukes.
Aveiro hesitates for a moment and then shakes his head.
“The investigation is complete. Did you find the bribe?”
“Half found.”
Half… … .
This makes it certain.
The assassination was a definite failure, and the Fentanyl assassination squad was annihilated.
Otherwise, there was no way I could have left these informants out there looking for money alone.
I even made the ridiculous assumption that maybe the Fentanyl Assassins were hiding, using Jack Valantier to screw Marquis Hermann and get his money back, but that was just an assumption.
‘Has a third force emerged?’
I put the thoughts in my head aside for the time being.
Bentamon is a much more meticulous man than you might think.
But the time he could hide the money was only for one day.
It seems like he’s stashed the money away, but he’s already found half of the money he owed.
It only took 5 hours.
It’s only a matter of time before we find the other half.
“First, I’ll try my best to find out. Did you properly discipline the kids?”
“Yes. But may I ask why you are hiding this from your superiors?”
Aveiro was smart.
The head is sharp and the senses are different.
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Should we say that he has the natural qualities of an informant?
Even at this moment, Aveiro hid his expression and his true feelings.
“To be exact, I’m not hiding it. I’m just trying to sort things out on my own so that the higher-ups don’t get hurt. Are the higher-ups a bit busy?”
“okay.”
“Yeah, I can’t let such a trivial matter bother me. Besides, there’s a high chance that the Duke is involved. It’s not too late to report it after everything is over.”
“As expected, you are the branch manager.”
When Aveiro, who was smirking, gestured for him to leave, Tolisso lowered his head and left.
Alone in his office, Aveiro fell into thought again.
Why are you hiding it from your superiors?
Because I can’t believe it.
The reason I’m organizing it on my own is to avoid causing trouble to the people above me?
No way.
‘Jack Valantier’s murder was definitely real.’
Aveiro felt his life was in danger.
I have no intention of denying it.
The reason for seeking out the bribe is to survive.
It is not too late to report, but you can also decide later whether you should report or not.
The safety of the guild? My own life is far more important than that.
Besides, even though Aveiro was the branch manager, he was not a man who was loyal to the guild.
That makes sense.
‘I have never seen the upper echelons of the Alaves Guild, even though I am now the branch manager. I don’t know if they are male or female, old or young. One thing is for sure, it’s not just one person.’
Loyalty is of no value to those who hide their identities and only exploit others.
Then, Aveiro’s mind becomes tangled like a thread.
Abeyrou was unconsciously tapping the table with his fingers.
‘It was strange from the start to subdue the Demon Forest.’
It’s a shame to say this to those who are currently engaged in a fierce battle in the Demon Forest, but this expedition was unnecessary in the first place.
Even the current residents do not know.
This is not a simple expedition, it is a war.
War between monsters and humans.
Even though monsters cannot come out of the forest, their nature does not change.
And, fundamentally, war brings panic and fear to society.
But the kingdom is at peace now.
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The reason why that was possible is.
‘The Alaves Guild is more powerful than you might think. They can sway public opinion and even the mood of the nation. They are even pro-royal.’
To be honest, since there is a clause that protects it under the laws of the kingdom, it is natural that the Adventurer’s Guild will inevitably become pro-royal.
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That’s what I was thinking.
Until recently.
‘The number of Mana users will decrease rapidly due to the unnecessary suppression, and of course, the King will likely lose the support of the nobles. I was curious even then, but why on earth did the Adventurer’s Guild cooperate with such a bad deal?’
Aveiro’s gaze shifts to one side.
Among the scattered documents, there is one that contains information about Dietrich.
‘Drug business… … This wouldn’t have happened if the kingdom hadn’t condoned it. So should we assume that they paid 300,000 gold as a fee for putting the scoundrel Dietrich in the forefront and putting him in the position of president? Then, how much did they make? At least millions? And the Adventurer’s Guild didn’t know that that much money was being moved? Even I didn’t know that it would come up in just one day of investigation?’
In fact, crime rates have been skyrocketing across the country recently.
And the number of mercenaries hired to catch and kill those criminals is not limited to one or two.
Drugs and crime rates skyrocket, but information is under control.
This is so obvious.
‘Inside Alaves, no. To be exact, it was intentionally covered up from the top down. That’s why I received a reply telling me to accept his request. Above all, moving so secretly… … Wait a minute. Could this be… … .’
A word flashed through my mind.
‘Slush funds? No. That’s not the type of thing. Then… … Military funds? War preparations? Whose is it? The higher-ups? Or higher up? Then what is the purpose of the money? It’s definitely not for the subjugation of the Forest of Demons. As far as I know, Count Mantis covered most of the funds back then. So then they’re hiding this money even now, why on earth? For what… … Ah.’
Lightning strikes my head.
‘It felt like someone was intentionally sabotaging the country’s power… … It wasn’t an illusion. And there it was.’
Thump- Thump
Aveiro’s fingers tap the table again.
‘Was it two years ago? There were rumors that the Tulcan Empire was conducting biological experiments on dragons. They were said to be extinct, but that was just a rumor on paper anyway. There’s a reason why rumors spread.’
Aveiro tried to investigate immediately after hearing the news, but a letter from his superiors came telling him to stop.
‘If it was just a rumor, there would be no way that an official notice telling all branches not to investigate would have been sent down at the same time. And then and now, it’s similar. It’s just a hunch, but it’s too similar.’
One assumption comes to mind.
I really don’t want to think about it, but I guess you could call it an instinct.
As I continued to think about this, I couldn’t stop.
Because a feeling of anxiety was covering my whole body.
In addition, the position of branch manager requires handling information and being one or two steps ahead of others.
Of course, the ability to write all kinds of novels with limited information is a given.
The novel that Aveiro has woven using only the information he currently has is simple.
‘The upper echelons of the Alaves Guild are either members of the Tulcan Empire or are closely related to the Tulcan Empire.’
It’s a situation I really don’t want to think about.
If you think about it based on that.
‘The Adventurer’s Guild was very cooperative in the expedition, and they control the information. Let’s think about it again. Why are we expeditioning the Forest of Demons? Information about the Forest of Demons is limited. There is a lot of superficial information, but no in-depth information. Dragon experiments… … If the rumors are true, the more samples the better for the researchers. But where will they find the dragons?’
Connected and interlocked.
‘If it’s the Forest of Demons, then there might be dragons living there. The possibility is low, but it’s not zero. What if the real goal of the punitive force is not to subdue monsters, but to hunt dragons? No, to be exact, they should be looking for traces of dragons. This is quite possible. From the perspective of the Tulcan Empire, they don’t even care about using these people since they’re not their own soldiers, and if there are results, they’ll cheer. In other words, the person who has the final command of the punitive force and commands the scene is, 100%, a member of the Tulcan Empire.’
The hand that was tapping the table stopped.
‘If this assumption is true, the Teslan Kingdom will not last long. It may have already become a colony that only maintains the form of a nation. Then what do they ultimately want? First of all, if the money raised through business is not slush funds but military funds, then war… … Damn it.’
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It feels like the intricately tangled threads in my head have been burned in an instant.
‘No matter how superficial the reasons are, there is nothing the kingdom can gain from subduing the Demon Forest. The nobles? Of course not. Then, would the nobles who lost troops in the Demon Forest just sit still? Would the king appease them? How on earth? I was thinking there would be a clever plan, but if this assumption is true, there clearly isn’t. Besides, if the king is one of Tulcan’s sons, he wouldn’t have any intention of appeasing them in the first place. If that happens, a civil war will definitely break out, and if the Tulcan Empire pushes out the ruined Teslan after the civil war… … This is the perfect puzzle that will either signal the beginning or the end of a continental war.’
A kingdom that collapses without strength.
It feels as if we are looking at a giant chessboard created by the ambitions of a great power holder who is taking a step towards achieving the grand feat of unifying the continent.
This is obviously a hypothesis and a novel, but Aveiro felt it instinctively.
This is quite possible.
‘Unification of the continent is the ultimate goal pursued by the hardliners of the Tulcan Empire. If so, the upper echelons of Alaves and the highest echelons of the kingdom are clearly people of the Tulcan Empire, and hardliners at that. So how much time is left? 5 years? 10 years? 15 years? No. It’s at most 10 years.’
The more I thought about it, the more this assumption seemed correct.
The details may be wrong, but the facts are simple.
The future of the kingdom is not bright.
And will this adventurer’s guild be able to survive?
‘Even if I survive, will there really be a place for me there?’
The position of branch manager of Ascendible allows one to form relationships with the children of many nobles.
It’s not called yolk for nothing.
But it has been a whole 3 years since he became the branch manager of such a prestigious position.
During those three years, Aveiro never met the higher-ups of this adventurer’s guild.
In other words, a relationship without mutual trust, and furthermore, a relationship without the need to build trust in the first place. Also, a relationship that does not require inclusion.
A relationship that can be used and written below.
There is a word that means this.
hound.
‘나는, 그저 개새끼였구나.’
In investigating the bribe, I made some ridiculous assumptions.
I had to do some polishing and gather some solid evidence… … but my instincts were screaming.
If you hesitate, it’ll be X.
Aveiro was determined.
To survive.
‘I need to find a new line.’
A strong rope was needed.
Aveiro reached out and picked up another bundle of papers.
The first thing that catches your eye is the table of contents.
‘The Investigative Report on Jack Valantier.’
