Chapter 123. Relic Exploration Party (3)
Verden's demands amounted to three in total.
The first was to completely erase the clause regarding the transfer of relic authority.
The reason was, of course, a matter of trust.
Hans, who felt he had been slighted, clenched his fist, his hand trembling, but unlike before he could not throw a fit.
Not only because of the sudden shock just now, but also because the face of Raivan, the leader of the Seekers, was grave beyond measure.
After some deliberation, Raivan gave a heavy nod.
"Very well, I'll make an exception this time. But I'd like this fact to remain secret. If word spreads that I allowed an exception to the contract, it'll cause no small trouble."
That was an easy matter.
He had no intention of speaking of it anyway, and there was no one else to tell.
"Understood."
"My thanks. And what else?"
Verden pointed at the last clause in the contract.
"An adjustment to the compensation ratio."
The Seekers of the Relic Expedition usually received not only the commission fee, but also twenty percent of the relics or treasures found at the site.
But to Verden, that was a distasteful condition.
He had no desire to give up the relic of the Demon King. In truth, he would rather have erased that clause entirely, but Raivan would never agree. With the first condition already conceded, Verden did not want the contract to collapse here.
So he had no choice but to reduce the ratio as much as possible.
Raivan spoke.
"In that case, the cash portion will increase, is that acceptable? Four hundred million Elk as an advance payment, thirty million Elk each month as operating expenses, and an additional seven hundred million Elk upon completion of the commission…"
"That is acceptable."
If he emptied out his assets, he could manage the payment.
There was the underworld auction house, and when he found Oesu he would need to commission a staff as well, but… there was no other option.
'The legacy of the Demon King will be worth everything I own, and more.'
Besides, there was still time.
Whatever funds he lacked, he could scrape together through relentless effort.
At Verden's answer, Raivan promptly accepted the condition.
It was not often that relics of great value were discovered. More often than not, expeditions returned empty-handed. From Raivan's perspective, the revised conditions, in terms of stability, were actually to his advantage.
Now only one final demand remained.
"This time, rather than a modification, I'd like to add a new condition to the contract."
"A new condition?"
"I wish to directly participate in the relic exploration."
Raivan's face showed no particular surprise.
In fact, he had received such requests many times before.
Especially from the young heirs of noble families, curious or eager for the prestige of having taken part in a successful relic expedition.
'But this case is different.'
Not a foolish noble, but accompanied by a Mage.
After gathering his thoughts for a moment, Raivan replied.
"That will not be difficult, but we will only allow you to join after our advance party secures the area. No matter how renowned a Mage you may be, if you're not a professional, one misstep could cost you your life. And if that happens, it could endanger us as well."
"Of course."
Verden nodded.
What Raivan said was only natural.
Once all the revised demands were reflected, Raivan personally amended the contract on the spot.
Verden carefully confirmed the revised document, then signed it in a flowing hand. Raivan, as leader of the Seekers, wrote his name beside it.
Two copies were made, rolled up, and each man kept one.
"Now that the contract is sealed, I ask again, where was that Relic Expedition last seen?"
Raivan turned to Hans.
Hans opened his mouth, then finally let out the information.
"…They were last seen here, in the Kingdom of Estiria. That was several years ago. They weren't weak enough to die like vagrants on the road, so they must have deciphered a relic and perished while pursuing a site."
And the Seekers had succeeded in tracing their last steps.
"However, the precise location of their disappearance was never known. They divided into teams to search for ruins, then gathered in secret to conduct the excavation once a site was found. What we do know are the regions they explored."
The Arregon Mountains.
The Teinche Hills.
The Eastern Marshlands.
"It must be one of those three, so we plan to begin by searching along the Teinche Hills, then cross over into the Arregon Mountains. The Eastern Marshlands, one of Estiria Kingdom's two forbidden zones, are too vast and perilous, so they'll be our last resort."
"And roughly how long will that take?"
This time Raivan answered.
"If they're in the Teinche Hills, about two months. If we must go into the Arregon Mountains, up to five. And if even then we don't find them… including the marshlands, nearly a year."
The range was wide.
But even so, it was a remarkably swift pace. Unless their luck was truly abysmal, they would find the site within the time the Listener had spoken of.
Though the discussion had been lengthy, for Verden the contract was better than he could have hoped for.
"Understood. I'll have the money transferred to your account at once."
"Then we will begin the expedition today. And as agreed, we will prepare a written record and, every fifteen days, deliver a progress report to you. I'd appreciate it if you could send the operating expenses then as well."
"So it shall be."
Raivan and Verden shook hands.
It was the day the search for the Demon King's Tomb began.
***
After the Relic Expedition had departed, peace returned to Perne's tavern.
How long it would last was uncertain, but for now, things flowed smoothly. For the first time in a while, Perne slept late without worries, enjoying a rare leisure.
Then, the spirit Blue shimmered.
It meant new information had arrived.
"Yaaawn."
Stretching her arms, Perne rose.
This time, instead of hot chocolate, she shook off her drowsiness with coffee brimming with sugar. She broke the seal, and drew out the contents within.
"Ah, newspapers from other countries."
Perne, while rebuilding her information network, had extended her gaze overseas.
Keeping watch on international affairs periodically was important. Perhaps not for other information brokers, but for Perne it certainly was.
Since the Union's pressure had come down on her, she hadn't had the luxury to even glance at them for a while, but now was different.
With Verden's and the Marquisate of Esperanza's help, she had nearly succeeded in rebuilding her information trade.
Leisurely, Perne leafed through the paper.
But from the very first page, the phrasing was strange.
[City-states of Kailiens and the Midros Autonomous Territory sever diplomatic relations]
News from the northern part of the Eastern Continent.
She wondered if war had broken out, but upon closer reading, it said that suddenly, demi-humans had swarmed the land between the Territory and Kailiens, making exchange impossible.
Even now, the frontlines were said to be filled with demi-human blood and corpses, with the Adventurer's Guild leading the subjugation, yet prospects for recovery looked grim.
Perne shook her head.
Sudden outbreaks of demi-humans, what nonsense.
"Ugh, the world really is going to ruin, ruin. Isn't that right, Blue?"
Blue flickered.
Perne folded the paper, and checked another one.
Not as severe as the last report, but still no less grim.
[Conflict spreads in southern Eastern Continent, unresolved strife between beastkin and humans]
[Growing demon worshippers, Holy Knights of the Church of Luas on the move]
Nothing but bad news.
Even Perne, a broker of information, felt a heaviness of gloom.
Of course, many good things must be happening in the world too, but newspapers focused only on these dark, negative stories.
That was what made headlines, what sold copies.
Not that delivering facts was wrong.
But since they dealt in information, she wished they would think more about the ripples it caused. Scanning through the entire paper, it was clear they had no such intention.
'At this rate, they're no different from malicious information peddlers.'
Perne picked up the last paper.
It was from the neighboring Duchy of Riviant, and in Estiria Kingdom it was banned. Being caught with one meant immediate prison, the sentence severe. Even Perne, without her own independent network, would've had great difficulty acquiring it, the censorship was that strict.
The reason was the restriction of information exchange since the old war.
The Duchy of Riviant had been founded through rebellion, so in the eyes of Estiria's royal family, its ideology could corrupt the kingdom.
'The irony is, they still trade with them.'
The reason was simple.
Because money must be made.
The state oversaw the trade directly, and naturally, an immense amount of money changed hands under the table. Trade was opened not for the country's sake, but so the royal family and the nobles could fatten their own coffers.
At a scale other nations would hardly imagine.
Their rot and selfish greed knew no end. The Kingdom of Estiria was in shambles because of its present royal house and nobles.
'For it to return to normal, the head must change.'
Of course, that would never happen.
Unless someone staged a rebellion and brought the royal house to ruin, it was impossible. Standing against the shadows of the crown was no different from suicide.
With such thoughts, Perne turned the first page of the paper.
It had been a long time since she'd seen a newspaper from the duchy.
And as expected, the stories were the same.
[Abnormal species rivaling special-class entities, Soul Tree emerges]
[The dark shadow of the Marquisate of Gardran]
"Wow, they've gone mad too."
From the looks of it, it had happened last year.
She hadn't expected such a major incident to have broken out in the meantime. The Marquisate of Gardran was one of the houses that had led the duchy's founding, and yet they had wrought this.
But reading closely, it seemed the matter had been resolved with little harm.
At that moment, the door opened.
Verden had come to receive his commission.
"Please wait just a moment, Sir Asher! Let me finish reading this!"
Verden nodded and took a seat.
Perne returned her gaze to the newspaper.
She wondered how they had managed such jaw-dropping events.
Blood Sword Leira, who subjugated the Soul Tree.
The Marquisate of Ravishrun, which exposed the corruption of the Marquisate of Gardran.
'Ah, with these people, it makes sense.'
Perne knew both their names and reputations.
Surely, with them, it was possible to respond to such incidents almost perfectly.
"…Hm?"
But next to their names, she saw a familiar one.
Perne's eyes darted furiously.
Thinking she must have misread, she folded the paper, reopened it, and scrutinized each phrase as if decoding it. Naturally, the contents were unchanged.
Even after wiping her eyes and reading again, it remained the same.
"Wh… wha…"
Perne's eyes widened slowly, blood rushed through her veins, her breath turned uneven.
By the time she had read through the article three times with rigid focus, cold sweat traced down her stiffened face.
Her fingertips trembled violently.
"Wh-what is this…"
The subjugator of the Soul Tree, the victor of the tournament organized by the duchy.
and the Mage who aided the Marquisate of Ravishrun in bringing down the Marquisate of Gardran.
Asher.
The very same Mage who was now seated in her tavern.