Chapter 121. Relic Expedition (1)
Count Plishr's villa had been in operation for more than twenty years.
It had staggered once when slavery was abolished, but even then it survived. Since the supply became difficult, the demand for illegal slaves had skyrocketed.
No matter how insignificant a person might be, here they were converted into a value of millions to tens of millions of Elk per head.
Naturally, the security of Count Plishr's villa was extremely strict.
Mercenaries disguised as ordinary soldiers stood guard with thorough vigilance, and from time to time wagons belonging to merchant guilds under the Union passed by.
The one responsible for managing this place was the Count's aide, Viscount Melbes.
He was in the middle of an interview with Beken, the operator of the Union, and head of the Twilight Merchant Guild.
"You still haven't taken care of that fellow Asher?"
Beken swallowed hard.
"M-my apologies, Orland says he needs more time..."
Orland had already gone over to Perne.
The Union had not realized that fact in the slightest. Such was the terror of information disruption.
"Haa..."
The viscount rubbed his brow.
"You do realize how important this time is, don't you? His Highness the Third Prince has already demanded I prepare funds, I'm about to collapse from the headache, yet why do you keep scratching at my nerves with such trivial matters?"
"I will take measures quickly..."
"What?"
The viscount kicked Beken's shin beneath the desk.
"Agh!"
"Quickly? Do you not grasp the situation properly? I'm busy enough to die with a deal with the underworld scheduled right before my eyes, and you're telling me to pay attention to this again? These days you've grown full, and your actions have become sluggish, Beken."
Beken trembled with his head lowered.
No matter how much he soared as the Union's operator, before a noble it meant nothing. After spewing out his anger, the viscount caught his breath.
"Four days. By whatever means, handle it within four days. Kill him or win him over."
"Y-yes, I will keep that in mind."
"And that information broker Perne, bring him into the Union within the near future. Catch him and throw him to starving slaves, or torture him if you must. Understood?"
Beken could only nod.
If he displeased the viscount one more time, who knew what fate awaited him. For now, getting out of this room was his priority.
"This will be the last time. Now go and sort out the slaves for sale."
Beken bowed and hurried out of the chamber.
The viscount rose from his seat, sighed, and approached the window.
'I allowed him to sit as Union's operator out of old ties, but he handles things like this...'
Tsk, perhaps it would be better to replace the operator soon.
Several merchant guilds had recently sent various gifts anyway, it would suffice to select one of them.
So thought the viscount.
At that moment, he noticed a crowd gathering at the villa's front gate. Narrowing his eyes, he observed closely.
'Knights? No, that crest, I've seen it somewhere...'
He almost remembered.
Then his eyes widened.
"N-no way...!"
Before the soldiers could even make their report, the viscount himself ran out of the mansion, to confirm with his own eyes what he had seen.
Arriving at the main gate, he was greeted from horseback by a female knight with crimson hair.
"It has been a while, Viscount Melbes."
White Steel Calia.
At this time, the worst possible person he should never have met had arrived.
'Damn it...!'
The viscount barely swallowed the curse rising to his throat, keeping his expression under control.
"A-ah, Lady of the Marquisate of Esperanza, what brings you here..."
"My apologies. I heard that bandits had appeared in Count Plishr's domain."
Bandits?
The viscount had heard no such thing.
Calia continued with composure.
"They are said to be quite vile. Committing every crime under the sun as they roam about."
"What kind of scum would they be...?"
"As you know, slavery was abolished years ago, was it not? Yet this group, without fear, deals in illegal slaves."
The viscount's expression froze for a moment.
At his reaction, Calia smiled, and at the same time an explosion erupted from the villa building.
Yes, that was the signal.
Calia drew her sword, and the White Crest Knight Order behind her drew their blades all at once.
The tips of the gleaming white blades all pointed at Viscount Melbes. A chilling voice soon constricted his breath.
"Have you anything to say, Viscount Melbes?"
White Steel Calia.
Neither persuasion nor compromise worked on her. And the fact that she revealed such hostility and pointed her blade meant she already had certainty.
Nor could he kill her to silence her. The White Crest Knight Order and Calia's skill were far beyond anything the villa's forces could handle.
There was no escape.
The viscount's vision went dark.
***
[White Steel Calia confirms multiple grave crimes, including illegal slavery, at Count Plishr's villa]
[A brutal scene of violated human rights. Bishop Dehern Mardania of the Rines Church condemns Count Plishr]
[Aide Melbern and the Twilight Merchant Guild master under the Union secured]
[It is said that not only the Union's merchant guilds, but also other nobles, are implicated────]
That morning, Perne clicked his tongue as he read the newspaper published in Asern.
"As expected, the name White Steel is not for nothing."
"Indeed."
The day after they stormed the villa, rumors had already spread throughout the nearby city.
And within a few days, they had reached as far as Asern. This meant that alongside the action, she had manipulated the press, dealing a direct blow not only to the Union but to the nobles connected to it.
'And to think, by chance, one of the Union's operators happened to be at the villa... such luck?'
Perne? Asher?
The Union had no time to worry about them anymore. By now, they would be scrambling to contain the situation. Surely racking their brains over how far they should cut their losses.
In that process, part of the Union's power would collapse.
A result beyond expectation.
Perne found it difficult to suppress his laughter.
He had never imagined the situation would turn so neatly on its head. All thanks to Verden.
From the commission, to persuading Calia, he had not failed even once.
Which meant, it was time for Perne to show results as well.
He compiled the information he had obtained recently, arranged into a neat document, and handed it to Verden.
"What is this?"
"It's the information I mentioned before, about the Relic Expedition. Since they operate in foreign lands, it was a little difficult, but I managed to obtain it."
Verden immediately opened the document.
Perne had found the name of the relic expedition group, "The Seekers."
Looking through the information about their members, interest glimmered in Verden's eyes.
"Their lineup is splendid."
"Right? The leader is a man named Raivan Crusoe, a 5th-circle Mage from one of the ten magic towers, the Helion magic tower, who majored in the enchantment magic of the Enchantry school. The second in command is a 4th-circle Mage named Hans Deikel. Overall, the expedition carries a distinctly mage-like tendency."
The 3rd and 4th circles are not that rare.
Because the range is so wide. Statistically, countless Mages end their lives within the lower ranges of the 3rd or 4th circle.
But the 5th circle is different.
They are those who have crossed the wall, so rare that even Verden, since leaving the magic tower, had only ever seen one—Perd, the ducal court Magus, also called the principality's Magus.
At that moment, Perne continued speaking.
"If you look at the background written in the documents, you'll see they've accepted commissions not just from nobles, but even royalty, imperial family members, and magic towers in other countries, and they've completed them successfully. Naturally, they're quite famous in this field. Which means their reliability is high, so betrayal is unlikely."
In principle, yes.
If they betrayed their employer and fled with the relic, that would be the end of the expedition. 5th circle or not, once lost, trust is almost impossible to recover.
So as Perne said, there might be no need to worry about betrayal.
If it were any other relic.
'The Sorcerer King, Oldarc Ruin Arkenad.'
The first and last 9th-circle transcendent, the one who left the greatest mark in magical history, past and present. As such a being, relics related to the Sorcerer King exist in the world.
Among them are ancient artifacts.
The fifth collection of the magic tower master of Bohemirn, [Second Circuit].
An artificially made artifact, created with astronomical sums of money. Now reduced to dust and gone, but its performance had been overwhelming.
Only such a stature could be compared to an ordinary ancient artifact.
Even Verden, who owned the artifact [Center of the Three Primary Colors] and the artificial artifact [Compass of the Black Hour], could not dare to compare them.
'But the Sorcerer King's relics are on a completely different level.'
Even among ancient artifacts, their performance was in another dimension.
Verden had once heard, back in the magic tower, about the Sorcerer King's staff.
[Mark of the Arcane]
It was said to be inscribed with the Sorcerer King's unique magic, and when activated, an entire metropolis would vanish without a trace. Though he had never seen it himself and only rumors abounded, it was likely true.
'To Mages, the Sorcerer King is such a being.'
Verden did not particularly worship the Sorcerer King, but he acknowledged the magical history the man had created. Who in the world would not?
At any rate, the plan was to locate that being's tomb.
Perhaps… truly perhaps, they might get their hands on a relic of the Sorcerer King. There was no reason at all to exclude the possibility that it could be an ancient artifact.
A legacy of the Sorcerer King, never before seen in the world.
Would an expedition really accept the commission without issue, once they knew the relic's true identity? Hardly.
Verden knew Mages all too well. Especially if they came from the magic tower.
The moment profit outweighed loss, they would flip their hands as if to show it off.
'Their fame means nothing to me.'
Perne had said they already knew about the relic Verden possessed.
Whether that meant it was related to the Sorcerer King or not, he had no intention of lowering his guard.
If they tried to take it, he would kill them.
With that lethal principle set in his heart, Verden asked Perne,
"When are they coming?"
"The day after tomorrow."
And so the date changed, and the relic expedition arrived in Asern.
***
Relic expeditions.
Groups that excavate ruins sleeping across the world. At first hearing, one might mistake them for mere historians, but reality was different.
They were closer to grave robbers.
Digging up ancient ruins, finding relics, and selling them was their main source of income. Especially rare magical items, artifacts, even ancient artifacts.
And by nature of their occupation, they not only traveled dangerous and harsh lands, but also had to deal with those who tried to steal the relics. Therefore their members were composed of elites—Mages from magic towers, high-rank adventurers, renowned mercenaries.
Raivan, the leader of the Seekers, entered Asern with Hans Deikel.
Looking around, Hans frowned.
"As expected of the Estiria Kingdom, the city is quite crude."
The architecture of the outer villages did not comply with international standards, and even within the city, it was messy to no end. What use was sheer size? When the citizens' economy and level of awareness were this low.
Especially the thuggish men loitering around alleys in ragged appearances—utterly repulsive.
Hans was a Mage with a strong sense of superiority, the very model of one.
"Hans, as always, I have no intention of restraining your behavior. But keep such thoughts to yourself. More importantly, it would be better to speak of the client who sought us."
"Ah, you mean that relic."
"You are certain it's something you've actually seen before?"
Hans nodded as if it were obvious.
"As I've said several times, yes. A few years ago, an acquaintance who was in another relic expedition once showed me a picture almost identical to that relic."
He remembered it clearly.
That man had bragged that he was being paid an immense fee just for finding ruins related to the relic. Back then Hans ignored him out of jealousy, but later, he heard news.
The expedition that man had belonged to had gone missing. In the Estiria Kingdom, no less.
"The kingdom's law and order may be poor, but there's no way an entire expedition would be killed for that reason alone. They must have died while searching the ruins. Which means..."
"That something tremendous lies hidden in the ruins."
In most cases—no, in every case—it was so.
The more dangerous and treacherous the terrain, the more traps there were, the greater the treasure lying within. It was common sense to guard something important with thorough measures.
With expectation in their hearts, Raivan and Hans headed to the appointed place.
They entered Perne's tavern, no longer in operation. A woman with violet hair, Perne, immediately recognized them and approached.
"Welcome, Leader of the Seekers, Raivan Crusoe, and Hans Deikel."
"Mm, you must be Perne? Thank you for recognizing us."
"Of course. Please follow me, I'll guide you to the client at once."
The two followed Perne into the tavern.
There, Verden awaited them.