Chapter 68

There were many merchants from outside the region in the Sillemol Free Market, and many lodging establishments for them.

Gloriosus guided me to an inn.

It offered the highest level of hospitality without asking for the guest's identity in the slightest, and it was just as expensive.

Gloriosus paid for the lodging, saying he had received an entertainment expense from Kifkos.

It was a considerable amount, but compared to the jewels I had offered as payment for Horem Amrita, it was mere pocket change.

“As expected, a bed is good. It's been so long since I've had such a refreshing morning… Ah, damn it, it's a mess.”

I clicked my tongue.

It was because the oozing fluid and scabs from my wound had dirtied the bed.

The smell was terrible.

“I'll have to give the attendant a generous tip.”

The wound on my right shoulder, which I had received from Amethus, was still deep.

My arm had almost been severed.

Still, after buying and drinking a few bottles of golden medicine, it had almost healed.

It was much better than before.

It seemed it would fully heal while I was staying in Sillemol.

“Was your rest comfortable?”

“Thanks to the good lodgings.”

Gloriosus was waiting for me in the lobby.

I greeted him lightly and said,“Since we are now in a business relationship, I will treat you with a little more courtesy, Mr. Gloriosus.”

“I am grateful for that. How should I address you?”

“Pasionus.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

I used my fake name, and Gloriosus, though he knew it was a fake name, did not bother to ask further.

“You said five days, right? Let's go have a meal.”

“We will also cover the cost of the meal.”

“Is that so?”

Gloriosus looked excited.

Since the entertainment expenses he had received also included his own meal expenses, he urged me to eat rare and expensive food that he usually couldn't afford.

“Cheongran fish is in season, what do you think? Imagine. Lightly grilled Cheongran fish with Sephilica sauce… uh… that's a street stall……?”

The sideburns man called out eagerly, but I paid him no mind and walked on.

After a few strides, various food aromas assailed me.

Grilled octopus over charcoal, steamed sausages seasoned with pepper, chicken and vegetables stir-fried on an iron plate…….

As befitted street food, their appearance and aroma were almost violent.

My steps, having passed several street stalls, soon reached a shop.

It was a place I had noted since I started looking for lodgings.

Children were lined up long, and I also obediently joined the queue.

“…Is this a meal?”

“Because I like sweet things.”

It was a pastry shop.

The sweet smell of sugar and milk, and also cinnamon and mint.

I smiled lightly.

Looking at the bread, which was so doused in syrup it looked like sugar crystals, and the splendid pastries sprinkled with powder, my mouth watered.

The children in line glanced at Gloriosus and me with strange eyes.

The sideburns man covered his face in embarrassment, but I was confident.

Soon it was my turn, and my order was simple.

“From here to there. The payment is from Mr. Sideburns.”

I swept up about half of the pastry shop's offerings and left leisurely.

The children who saw their desired pastries selling out before their eyes made tearful faces, and some even cried, but I didn't care.

The embarrassment was Gloriosus's to bear.

‘Sugar-dusted pastries are good as emergency rations.’

I walked around, looking at various items.

I bought preserved food and magical tools here and there, looking at trivial things.

I was still on the run, and although my plan had progressed considerably, it was too early to relax.

I stealthily swallowed the items into Valziart, avoiding Gloriosus's eyes.

Since Valziart spanned multiple dimensions, it had an invisible space inside.

Its biggest advantage was that it didn't get caught in inspections because it wasn't a magical tool.

However, its capacity wasn't large, so I had to be careful.

‘It's been a while since I've been this relaxed. I can relax for a few days.’

I had been constantly chased from the Rubeko Valley.

The wound on my right shoulder was still throbbing.

The fatigue from sleeping on the streets and eating what I could with such a body was not something that would disappear in a single night.

I wanted to relieve as much fatigue as possible during the five days.

‘No matter how good the Special Operations Unit is, it's a different story in the south.’

Amethus was still chasing me.

He must have known that I had entered Sillemol.

However, I was at ease.

It was because I knew that Amethus and the Special Operations Unit's reach could not extend to me.

‘The Whale of Hobel Bay is not to be trifled with.’

***

Untes Ubias Uterbeum was a security knight belonging to the Imperial Security Bureau and also Vice-captain of Special Operations Unit Captain Shadi Shandor.

He was currently grumbling in dissatisfaction.

“Why on earth isn't permission being granted?”

He couldn't understand.

“To think that only three of us have crossed over to the southwest, even in the name of the Special Operations Unit. Is that even possible?”

Untes was talkative, and Shadi and Amethus were quiet.

“It's terribly beyond common sense. Who on earth is blocking not only the Special Operations Unit Captain's investigation authority but also the Special Operations Unit's travel permits? It's a clear overreach of authority!”

“Quiet down, Untes.”

Shadi Shandor's voice was mysteriously low.

She was still blind, paying the price of ‘Sand Question’.

“Captain Amethus is also keeping quiet, isn't he.”

“Tsk……”

A blatant click of the tongue.

Untes, as cheerful as he was, sometimes acted with fiery impulsiveness.

It was enough to make one wonder why he had volunteered for the Special Operations Unit, which had so many secret missions.

Leaving the two behind, Shadi asked Amethus, who was walking ahead.

“But I'm also curious. Where are we going? Judging by the sounds, it doesn't seem like a city.”

“We're here.”

The jade-eyed man gestured.

“It's visible over there.”

“But I'm blind, you know? Will you look for me, Untes Ubias Uterbeum?”

As you command.

Untes shifted his gaze, following Amethus's finger.

“Oh……”

The seaside.

A strong salty smell emanated from the salt-laden wind.

A few dilapidated shacks, no sign of people.

Looking further, there was something amidst the undulating waves.

“…I see a ruined fishing village and one fishing boat.”

“Aha.”

Shadi Shandor nodded her head.

“Is this village Trite?”

“Yes.”

“No wonder the smell of the sea was so strong.”

She chuckled and asked back.

“Captain Amethus, you've chosen quite a drastic method, haven't you?”

“Because time is of the essence. I can't miss the target when it's right in front of me.”

“But will he confront you just because you came in person?”

“Wouldn't it be much faster than sending a written request?”

Even with the words 'ruined fishing village' and 'fishing boat', Shadi Shandor seemed to have understood Amethus's thoughts.

Untes felt a strange sense of defeat, seeing her, who had proven that the name of the Imperial Security Bureau's Special Operations Unit Captain was by no means laughable.

It was because he was the Vice-captain of the Special Operations Unit, but he still had no idea what was going on.

“What does this ruined fishing village have to do with our investigation being hindered……?”

“Untes.”

Shadi Shandor touched the eye patch covering her empty eye sockets.

Her curly hair was quite beautiful, even with her eyes covered.

“Is there anyone on the fishing boat?”

“Yes. An old fisherman is pulling in his nets alone.”

Untes's eyes widened.

He was a man of excellent observation skills.

Just by concentrating, he could see the appearance of the distant fisherman.

“He's enormous for an old man… and……”

He fell silent.

It was because the old fisherman seemed to have noticed his gaze and turned his head, and also because he had heard of an old fisherman with a large build, a rich beard instead of a bald head.

“…Don't tell me, that fisherman……!”

“Yes. If you can't figure it out even with this much information, I would have seriously doubted your qualification as a subordinate.”

“…The Whale of Hobel Bay.”

Untes let out a gasp.

“Commander of the 11th Legion, Niko Nereyades!”

***

The old fisherman noticed them and turned his boat around.

After roughly tying up the boat, he began to stride towards them and the closer he got, the more his immense size became real.

He looked at least two spans taller than the Second Prince Secundus Debius.

“Do you have a hobby of disturbing private lives?”

Niko Nereyades spoke, not hiding his hostility.

“Go back.”

“I am Amethus, a security knight of the Imperial Security Bureau.”

Amethus responded to the blatant hostility with blatant disregard.

“I have come here to investigate the Hobel Bay area and need your cooperation.”

“I told you to go back.”

“I don't know the reason, but the 11th Legion is strongly refusing all kinds of cooperation, to the point of even blocking passage.”

It was closer to a clash than a conversation.

Amethus had come as a security knight, not as a confidant of the First Prince Ferbias.

Therefore, he could not borrow the authority of the Imperial Family.

Niko seemed to know that, as he did not back down from his firm stance.

“……”

“……”

The two men stared intently at each other.

Niko was so large that Amethus's eye level barely reached his chest.

Despite Amethus also being quite tall.

Niko looked down at the jade-green eyes below his chin and spoke as if crumpling his words.

“…Sillemol is an autonomous city.”

The old fisherman continued, not hiding his reluctance to explain.

“And, no matter how much you are a security knight, I cannot cooperate if you do not explain the detailed circumstances. His Majesty the Great Emperor has given me that much authority.”

“I must have sent a written request stating that it was a matter that could not be explained.”

“And I am saying that I cannot cooperate then.”

Shadi Shandor and Untes felt a slight confusion.

They didn't know whether to consider the giant, who did not back down an inch in front of the fortuneteller Amethus, to be amazing, or to admire the jade-green eyes that were unyielding against the commander of Cordis's 11th Legion.

Only bewilderment was clear.

Hmph.

Niko snorted.

When he clenched his fist, it was the size of Amethus's head.

His bare fist, the size of a large beast's, was more threatening than most blades.

…….

Amethus also moved his hand to his cherished double-edged sword.

He was no ordinary swordsman.

The two men looked at each other, and almost simultaneously, they realized that they had both reached almost the same level.

“…I apologize if I caused trouble.”

Amethus was the one who backed down first.

This fight was meaningless.

The most important thing for him was to confirm the life or death of the Fifth Prince Zionis and return with his head.

(Due to the Last Clown erasing his memories, he had even lost his certainty about Shion's life or death.)

“However, I don't know why you're being so firm.”

“Did you say you don't know, confidant of His Imperial Highness, the next Emperor?”

Niko let out a hollow laugh, pa.

“You fought and defeated Her Highness Marina, didn't you?”

“……”

“Thanks to that, His Highness Secundus did not win.”

Amethus remained silent, and Niko brushed off the salt dried on his beard.

When he contorted his face, there was an imposing aura like that of a beast.

“Considering the relationship between me and the two princes of the Debius family, isn't it not strange at all?”

The Debius family.

Most of the military's power was delegated to them.

The 11th Legion was no exception.

The military pledged loyalty to the Emperor of Cordis, but the one who connected them to the Emperor was the Grand General Deballo Debius.

Cordis was a great empire that stretched its territory across the entire continent.

Beyond the center, the influence of the Imperial Family was bound to be diluted.

Just as the North was heavily influenced by the Duchy of Volmark, it was no exaggeration to say that the southern part of the Empire belonged to the Debius family.

“Hobel Bay is Niko's territory.”

Niko Nereyades, Commander of the 11th Legion.

“I will grant you three access permits. But I will never give you investigation authority. I cannot allow you into Sillemol either. Unless you bring His Majesty's edict!”

“…I heard that your stubbornness is like a whale's gut, so you're called the Whale of Hobel Bay.”

“I also heard that the Security Bureau's fortuneteller is frustrating.”

Niko stomped his foot.

It was just that, but the tremor shook everything.

Shadi, who was blind, almost lost her balance, and Amethus quickly caught her.

“Don't you understand. I'm being quite accommodating.”

Niko looked into his jade-green eyes.

“I clearly said that if you explain the circumstances, I might cooperate. But if you just keep your mouth shut and only say you're looking for someone, how can I cooperate?”

“I cannot.”

“That's why. The conversation is over. Go back.”

The old fisherman turned around without hesitation.

Towards that sea.

Towards the blue waves that held so much he had left behind.

“I still have to pull in my nets.”

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