Chapter 222

‘As expected of Harneier’s words.’

While following Harneier here, I ended up listening to various explanations.

She said that until now, this black market had only seen light sales and formal greetings, but serious business was about to begin now.

What would be unfolding in this black market right now was none other than an auction.

They used sky-blue buttons engraved with magic as bells to input desired amounts, and if you won the final bid, you could pay for it at the auction house.

“So, that’s why you didn’t take the sky-blue button, which also serves as an entry pass.”

This made sense somehow.

However, when it comes to auctions, most people get distracted by the items or purchases, so one must not let their guard down completely.

“Hey, Ontoniji? Kukuku. I’m Dark.”

“What? How did you recognize me?”

“Even from far away, your fat belly is hard to miss, isn’t it?”

“This guy…”

Nobles formed their own networks within noble society.

Even though masks hindered recognition, there were still people who could identify them like this, so I had to be careful not to be recognized by anyone.

The button had a seat number on it, so she and I were seated apart.

I needed to be extra cautious not to raise suspicion among them.

Meanwhile, the two nobles giggling and chatting moved on to the next topic.

“The auction today will go for three rounds and end with a highlight round. Three hours total, with a 30-minute break in between. Got it?”

“Huh? Really?”

“Didn’t you read the notice? You dimwit.”

Oh, this is quite useful information.

Three rounds of one hour each, with a 30-minute break. And if the highlight round is added, that makes four rounds total. Got it.

Harneier said she wouldn’t mind if I explored the black market during her breaks…

That 30 minutes means I can search around.

“Just in case, rooms marked with three stars are restricted areas where an alarm magic goes off if you enter, so don’t mess with them, okay?”

“Ugh. I know that too!”

There were rooms marked with three stars indicating forbidden areas.

“You shouldn’t leave through the entrance. Instead, go through the underground warehouse and out the side building, and–”

You must always exit through the side building.

If you enter a room marked with two stars without turning off the sky-blue button, your location will be marked.

And you have to purchase at least one item.

I could gather a lot of information from their conversation.

I recorded everything.

I’ve been caught off guard before by missing dialogue in the game.

And then,

“Oh yeah, I heard there’s even a room we’re absolutely not supposed to enter this time.”

“Yeah, I know! The reason is that it’s a non-sale item production site or something? Anyway, they said never to go there.”

I managed to catch something suspicious.

“A non-sale item? Oh, I know where that is. It’s talking about the western annex, right?”

“Yeah, that one. But when they mentioned non-sale items, I got curious and asked what it was. Know what they said?”

“What?”

“They say you’ll find out from the results of the symposium! Why, didn’t the black market owner appoint a proxy just a few weeks ago, and wasn’t that exactly about this?”

“Hmm… The results of the symposium are already predetermined, so no need to worry?”

…Could it be?

I quickly increased the mana for auditory enhancement.

“I couldn’t help but sneak a peek nearby. Whoa, things came out I never imagined!”

“Really? What was it?!”

“Hehe. Pay 300 pesels for the info, and I’ll tell you.”

“Come on, just give me a hint. Don’t be stingy.”

“Can’t. I spent all my allowance. It’s hard enough for me because of the symposium. Can’t you help a little?”

Ontoniji, the noble, clicked his tongue and paid 300 pesels. Dark chuckled and spoke again.

“It was a bag full of fertilizer. Inside was the corpse of a monster, decomposed by magic, mixed with soil! They even used a mana dissolver!”

“What? That? So it’s just soil mixed with monster corpses?”

“That’s right. But they didn’t say where they plan to use it. All they said was they’ll throw these bags somewhere.”

“Ugh, what a waste of money. How can that affect the symposium results? Just bragging. The black market owner has been boasting a lot lately. Don’t take it seriously, kid!”

“Ah, it might be true. After all, he’s been robbed clean by Prince Florenze and is struggling with grades. He needs some hope circuit, right?”

Non-sale items and restricted areas. The connection to the symposium results.

It was starting to raise suspicions.

But his comment about deciding the symposium’s bottom-ranked participants…

‘It’s clear. This is a direct attack on Shatren.’

Everything was connected now.

Shatren’s harvest rate plummeted, and it became an extremely closed territory.

Both Shatren strawberries and grapes, once consumed by all, became premium food for nobles.

Residents of Shatren blindly relied on high-end fertilizers, which were supplied from outside.

Ferdy found the festival organizer, and together with Marf and 35 others, they were all contracted with other territories to ruin Shatren.

Even if there were issues with farming methods or soil management, or problems with pH levels or fertilizers, no significant changes occurred.

Everything stemmed from the fertilizer.

From leading crops to premium status to ruining the land, all problems pointed to fertilizer.

Could it be that the residents of Shatren misunderstood everything?

It seems more plausible that someone intentionally wanted Shatren to fail.

It’s more reasonable to think that forces pushed for the premiumization of Shatren strawberries and grapes.

Someone likely orchestrated this to deliberately ruin Shatren.

The soil contaminated by fertilizer produced by them cannot be recovered by any means.

If I hadn’t taken action, Carsein would have been the last place in the symposium, just a matter of time.

So, I need to catch the culprit.

Otherwise, I can’t clear this episode.

– Ding!

▶Gained related information!◀

▶The types of objects that can be secured as evidence have changed.◀

Now it’s not just circumstantial.

It turns out the bags contained monster corpses, and the soil treated with acid-producing fertilizer ended up in Shatren.

No matter how complex it gets, if they planned to ruin a territory, there should be clearer evidence left behind.

‘I need to look for documents related to the fertilizer instead.’

Bags of fertilizer are already stored in Shatren.

There must be a manual on how to produce them.

If there’s a record of purchasing monster corpses from places where monsters don’t appear, that’s perfect.

A stamp from employees would definitely help.

Dong-dong-

In the dark stage, lights began to flicker on one by one, followed by a dazzling spotlight and the cheers of nobles.

– Clap-clap-clap-clap!

“Welcome, ladies and gentlemen!”

Just hold on for one hour.

Then, during the 30-minute break, I’ll explore every corner.

▶Episode XI: Source of Contamination in progress.◀

▶Entered the black market. Need to find traces of the Waglew faction.◀

▶More means of proof lead to more choices.◀

***

After one hour of the first auction round, a 30-minute break arrived, giving me the chance to start searching.

First, I needed to fill in the missing information.

Thirty minutes might not seem long, but I don’t know how many threats are in this place.

Even though the danger level dropped from prohibited, it remains high, so exploring an unknown place blindly could trigger a dead flag at any moment.

Therefore, I needed to understand the structure of this black market, where safe movement points are and where the dangers lie. That was my first priority.

My initial goal was to collect evidence and investigate to gain more choices.

Another hour passed, and when the second search period came, I became more daring.

– Tap-tap.

‘Two guards.’

I hid my body.

“Did they really not find the intruder?”

“No. Couldn’t find anyone no matter how much we searched.”

“Probably just an animal wandered in. Tch.”

Fortunately, the aftermath of the guards’ earlier search calmed down. If they had continued searching here, it would have been troublesome.

After the guards left, crossing the corridor led me to the first room I intended to search.

“This security magic device.”

Red laser beams blocked the room from every angle, like something out of a movie.

“I don’t know what they’re hiding, but it’s certainly important.”

Though my mana is faint, I could probably break it, but… it seems designed like a puzzle, perfectly aligned.

If an alarm went off, causing chaos, that wouldn’t be ideal. For now, the safest approach is to move cautiously.

…But.

The amount of fluctuating mana was visible.

“Shift 5 degrees to the left from 11 o’clock. Cut from here to here…”

Whoosh!

Four red mana strands vanished instantly.

The magic lost its effect temporarily due to the lack of mana supply.

▶Emergency Mission!◀

▶If you stop the mana source temporarily and search the room, no pursuit team will be alerted.◀

▶Solve as many puzzles as possible to search safely.◀

“This is a puzzle from the emergency mission.”

Usually, such puzzles were tricky logic puzzles, not familiar ones.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

Lower difficulty means I benefit.

With the threat eliminated, I thoroughly searched the room.

“Of course. This kind of thing should exist.”

– Ding!

▶Found traces of the Waglew faction.◀

▶Found manuals given to employees.◀

▶Find more remaining evidence.◀

“Manual… This is a stamp from Count Modrich, who lost power significantly in the Waglew faction.”

In short, I found the weakest piece of evidence.

Finding this alone isn’t reassuring.

Even Count Modrich could be cut off by them.

Moreover, there must be other undiscovered evidence scattered around. To eliminate variables, I need to find more.

But then,

I noticed something peculiar.

“…Plan to annihilate the Kingdom of Wederos?”

What’s this?

– Ding!

▶Achieved one condition of the emergency mission!◀

▶Discovered traces of an ancient kingdom.◀

▶Achieve other conditions to receive additional rewards.◀

***

After finding the manual, I searched other rooms and collected clues.

Yet, I still couldn’t figure out the document’s nature.

‘The plan to annihilate the Kingdom of Wederos.’

If I could read it, maybe, but it didn’t even open.

At best, guessing from the title, since it mentions a kingdom, it must be a nation…

‘This name is neither in my memory nor on the game map.’

Kingdom of Wederos.

I’ve never heard of such a kingdom.

But, just as I opened the plan, my status window popped up.

I couldn’t help but doubt.

I wanted to dismiss it as unrelated, but since it’s part of the game’s setting…

‘Hmm?’

– Gwak!

Crossing arms seemed to make her tighten her grip on my arm.

“…Because of the auction.”

Since the second auction started, the seats were more of a hindrance, so we could meet.

Her frail arms couldn’t hurt, but seeing her determined eyes, I understood.

“Now, the highlight item is a sparkling amethyst crystal!”

She stared intently at the gem with desperate eyes.

This must be something she absolutely couldn’t miss.

Harneier came to the black market for this.

“But…”

Many nobles had their eyes on it.

Money was plentiful, but it couldn’t be used.

Though we both had sky-blue buttons, mine belonged to one noble group while hers belonged to the merchant guild.

Using too much money could expose her identity.

‘Money… can be taken out.’

Thanks to the item window.

Here, this method was perfect.

“Harneier, cancel the bid.”

“Huh?”

-Uuung.

“Oh, a new bidder appeared! Bid price is… Huh?!”

“Two hundred thousand pesels!”

“Wasn’t it one hundred thousand pesels just now?”

“Twice that amount…!”

All eyes turned to me.

***

Shortly after, the item was sold, and Carsein moved to the designated spot to receive the gem.

“Congratulations! Ha ha!”

“…”

He answered indifferently and took the item.

Just as the auction ended, Carsein showed the box to the dazed Harneier.

The box containing the gem she desperately wanted.

“Now that I see it, I’ll return it later.”

“…Thank you.”

“Not a problem. Exposing identities is troublesome for both of us.”

I see.

For a moment, I almost messed up by wanting this.

It means she watched closely.

‘Not good…’

My heart started racing again.

“Did you find everything you needed?”

“…Yes.”

Thanks to you.

“And you?”

“Hmm. Since I had information on this place, I gathered everything useful. But considering the risk, staying a bit longer might be better.”

“Alright. I’ll repay the money with interest later.”

“Thanks.”

As he smiled, Harneier’s face turned slightly pink.

“What… What is this…”

Shaking her head, she cleared her head and coughed, continuing.

“Um, Carsein. After this is over…”

—!

Suddenly, the sound of fireworks and dazzling lights filled the air.

“Today’s highlight auction! And it’s–”

– Click!

“This item!”

Spotlights converged on one spot.

“Oooh–” The audience cheered.

There, a single sword lay.

A sword. Not something Harneier would be interested in.

But Carsein’s gaze shifted towards it.

“…Hah.”

No one explained what it was.

Still, Carsein sighed lightly at the sight of the sword.

What could this be?

“This product is the Silver Dagger of the Kingdom of Wederos!”