Beep, beep—
Leonardo, who had momentarily paused, stopped walking while staring into space. The lavender drooping below the wall flickered before his widely opened eyes.
As the threads of two separate situations connected into one, his mind became notably complicated. His wandering eyes were the same. Because of this, he had no time to pay attention to the communication magic tool ringing in the inner pocket of his jacket.
Beep, beep—
As the man with a dazed expression stood alone at the side of the path, the passing greenhorns occasionally gave him glances. Even with 80% of his face covered, he couldn't hide the bridge of his nose hidden under the face mask and his innate aura. The signal sound of the magic tool, small but continuous, also contributed to drawing attention. Leonardo, sensing the gazes, finally became aware of his surroundings and moved his steps busily.
After crossing several short crossings, he stepped into the vast station square. Confirming that there was no one within a 20m radius, he took out the still-ringing communication magic tool from his inner pocket and pressed the button. Perhaps because he had been using someone else's name, the caller was Tergio, the owner of the name.
"Oh, Teo."
—Hey, prince. What have you been doing with no contact?
"I was a bit busy. Why?"
—Why? You said you were going to hunt a dragon, but there's been no news for days. They say dozens of people are eaten by it every year. Wouldn't I be worried?
"Hey, even if I died, I'd freeze to death, not get eaten by it. And what's with the disgusting worry?"
—I worry about our prince day and night. If you get kidnapped again someday, I'll have to rush over and save you.
Tergio answered in a glib voice. He was referring to the time when Leonardo had been apprehended by the Commander of the Council. That was already more than 8 months ago, but Tergio often teased people by bringing up that story.
Leonardo frowned and retorted:
"Knock it off with that. I'll be coming back soon, so hang up if there's nothing else. We'll talk when I get there."
—Oh, you're coming right away? I thought it would take longer, I guess you found the guy you were looking for?
This time, he was talking about Alec Siles. Not all of their partners in Libertas knew about the guy, but he had mentioned the scholar's existence to Andrew, who was in charge of the information network, and Tergio, whom he occasionally asked for personal favors.
Leonardo sighed heavily and slowly walked toward the station building.
"No. I decoded that strange address-like thing, but when I went there, that shitty guy just left another shitty note again. This time he didn't even write an address, he says he wants to meet somewhere... I don't know what he's trying to do. He wasn't at the scene, and I almost got caught up in a dangerous space for nothing. Anyway, I can't figure him out—."
—Dangerous space? Where?
"...Explaining it now wouldn't do any good. I don't even understand what that place was yet."
Another wave of people poured out from inside the station building. Leonardo, who had been scanning his surroundings while walking, slightly slowed his pace.
"I'm the idiot for personally going looking for him. We're bound by a contract anyway, so I could pinpoint the region where he is without necessarily running around. It would require using quite a bit of blood, but... I'm tired of wasting time solving riddles because of that guy. I should just find him quickly and kill him or something."
Clicking his tongue, Leonardo expressed regret about not disposing of the guy when he first met the scholar and he was being cocky. Of course, if he had done that, he wouldn't have been able to find out about the secrets of the peninsula, etaide, or information about the illegal mining team.
Tergio snorted and retorted:
—You flip your eyes just looking at a blood collection needle, and you're talking about using blood? Don't waste your precious blood and leave it to me. Just tell me what you want to find out. I'll make sure to beat it out of him.
"No thanks. How many people have you almost killed unnecessarily? Besides, this is my problem, so I'll handle it myself..."
Leonardo, who had reached the stairs leading to the main entrance, instinctively flinched and stopped walking. This was because he felt a subtle current among the incoming crowd. Black uniforms occasionally looked back and rolled their eyes, making him wonder why they were acting that way, but six or seven Council members in white uniforms were mixed among them, coming out of the station building.
Though they didn't seem to be targeting or even recognizing him, he had just encountered His Grace's knights a few hours ago. Moreover, he had been told he was being followed. Now with these Council guys flickering about, his body naturally turned in the opposite direction.
—Leo?
Tergio tentatively called as the conversation suddenly cut off. However, Leonardo didn't answer and moved his feet toward the main shopping area of the station square. He headed for the terrace seats of a coffee house visible in front.
Though it wasn't devoid of people, the seats were sparsely placed. It was an appropriate place to sit like a background amidst the chatter of customers.
—Leo? Did something happen?
"No, it's nothing. I just sat down somewhere for a moment."
As a person who hadn't ordered suddenly took a seat on the terrace, a waiter who had been wiping the table came over and thrust a menu at him. Though his expression was smiling, the atmosphere suggested he would chase him away if he didn't order anything. Leonardo, who ordered a cup of cappuccino with a moderate amount of milk, fixed his gaze on the group in white uniforms.
They had taken a position in the corner of the station square. It was a place where white tents and subsidiary materials had already been spread out. They began to assemble components of a large stand, taking them out of their artifacts with prompt movements.
'What are they doing?'
Two of them picked up bundles of thick leaflets and immediately scattered left and right. Then they sought permission from shop owners and posted notices in various places.
While his eyes were following their actions, Tergio, who had been waiting, opened his mouth again.
—Anyway, I'm glad you sound fine after hearing your voice. But the reason I contacted you is separate.
"...What is it?"
—The distribution of etaide has been decreasing for the past few months. But this month is almost at the lowest, it's not even visible in the black market. I'd like you to come back quickly so we can discuss it together.
Tergio added that whether it was the Council controlling the trade market, or the nobility faction that was the mainstay of illegal mining, some major force seemed to be controlling the distribution of etaide. If that was the case, it was disadvantageous for them in many ways.
—At this rate, we'll have to go directly to the peninsula to mine etaide ourselves. Or make contact with that 3rd Battalion Commander or whoever, the nobility faction's puppet.
"Are you crazy? How is that different from begging to be arrested? Don't even think about making contact. We'll only get our weaknesses exposed with no benefits for us. Don't assume they share our goals just because we used them once. It would be much better to go to the peninsula and mine it ourselves, as you said."
—I'm just saying. That's how much there are no more supply sources.
"Even if we don't hoard eta..., that stuff, there are alternatives. We shouldn't get impatient. If the distribution decreases, it becomes easier to detect transaction records."
—What alternatives? You were the one who said explosives leave evidence, and there's nothing as clean in the aftermath as etaide.
Just then, the waiter who had gone inside the store opened the door and came out. In one hand was a saucer with steaming cappuccino on it, and in the other was a bill and a small cup containing sugar cubes.
Leonardo, who greeted the waiter with a slight nod, momentarily covered the communication magic tool with his hand and hid it under the table. As the waiter placed the coffee cup in front of him, he handed over the amount on the bill and a 15% tip so he could leave at any time. He then poured all the sugar cubes from the small cup into the coffee cup. Since the amount of sugar brought was quite large, the waiter seemed surprised, but having received the tip, he withdrew with a friendly smile.
Leonardo, who was stirring the coffee with a teaspoon, drank the steaming liquid in one gulp. The heat wasn't an issue. It was a stimulating sweetness that felt like medicine spreading through the cerebral blood vessels that had been troubling him.
He let out a small sigh and ran the tip of his tongue over the corner of his mouth. Eventually, he placed the magic tool back on the table, leaned his upper body forward, and answered:
"That's right. But rather than taking risks to increase the supply, we can achieve similar results to increasing the supply, right? Like finding other substances that amplify the power."
—Amplifiers are astronomically priced, and to begin with, they're difficult to obtain. Manufacturing amplification magic stones is cumbersome in terms of material supply and takes a long time. And although Judy has a knack for material combinations, she won't be as effective as scholars who have studied amplification their entire lives, right?
"...."
—Even if we were to purchase it, the only one among us who could meet with brokers is you, a big shot. Do you think a transaction would happen just by offering money? If you mention the name Leonardo Blaine, nine times out of ten, surveillance would be attached, saying they need to verify the person first.
Leonardo supported his chin with the backs of both hands at Tergio's words, which were unusually all correct. As he was sighing, he saw one of the Council members who had been circling nearby stores peering in his direction. Leonardo, who pulled up his face mask a bit more, lowered his voice and retorted:
"Then what do you want to do? Do you have a method?"
—For now, I'm not sure if it will work or not, but I'm looking into the environment where etaide is formed...
Meanwhile, at about 100m ahead, the Council members who had been assembling components completed the stand. Next, they raised the tent that had been spread out and covered it over the stand. As the roof of the tent spread out stiffly, the Council's symbol, the scale mark, was immediately visible. The temporary tent of the Council appearing in the middle of Castbell, which connected to the Port, a major stronghold of the Imperial Army, was enough to draw the attention of not only the passing enlistment candidates but also citizens.
The curious point was that the people wandering around were gathering toward that tent one by one.
"...."
Leonardo, who had been letting the faint voice flowing from the magic tool pass by, had his consciousness taken by the tent just like them by now.
As he was tilting his head and focusing, he saw that a leaflet had already been posted on the bulletin board in front of the coffee house. The member briefly exchanged conversation with the waiter, bowed his head politely, and then distributed leaflets to the customers sitting on the terrace.
Leonardo stood up from his seat around that time. This was because he didn't want to encounter a Council member up close. Instead, he went to the bulletin board where the member had posted the leaflet and quietly examined what the content was.
There were job advertisements, recent newspapers, and directive documents sent to administrative agencies covering Bellmayer sticking densely on it.
Among them, the most eye-catching was the announcement with the seal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Council.
At the very top, it was written:
[ Xenogrant League Begins ]