By Zephyria Beep, beep—
Leonardo, who had paused for a moment, stopped walking, staring into the air. The lavender hanging down from the wall flickered before his widened eyes.
As the separate threads of the two situations connected into one, his mind became increasingly complicated. His wandering eyes were the same. As a result, he had no time to pay attention to the communication Magic Tool ringing in his jacket pocket.
Beep, beep—
As the man with a blank expression stood alone on the side of the road, the rookies passing by occasionally glanced at him. Even though 80% of his face was covered, he couldn’t hide the bridge of his nose hidden beneath the mask and his innate aura. The small, continuous beeping of the Magic Tool also contributed to attracting attention. Feeling the gazes, Leonardo finally became aware of his surroundings and busily moved his feet.
After crossing a few short crosswalks, he stepped onto the vast History Square. After confirming that there were no people within a 20-meter radius, he took out the communication Magic Tool that had been ringing all this time from his inner pocket and pressed the button. Perhaps it was because he had been selling other people’s names so often, but the caller was Terzio, the owner of the name.
“Oh, Terju.”
—Hey, Prince. What are you doing that you haven’t been in touch?
“I’ve been a little busy. Why?”
—Why else? You said you were going to catch a Dragon, but you haven’t been heard from for days. Dozens of people get eaten by that thing every year. Would I be worried or not?
“Hey, I’d rather freeze to death than get eaten. And what’s with all the worrying?”
—I’m always worried about our Prince, whether I’m awake or asleep. If you get kidnapped again one day, I’ll have to rush over and save you.
Terzio replied with a sly voice. He was referring to the time when he had been arrested by the Legion Commander of the Council. It had already been more than eight months since then, but Terzio often brought up that story to tease him.
Leonardo frowned and retorted.
“Cut it out with that. I’ll be back soon, so if there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up. I’ll talk to you when I get there.”
—Oh, you’re coming right away? I thought it would take longer. Did you find the guy you were looking for?
This time, he was referring to Alex Siles. Not all of Libertas’ partners knew about him, but he had mentioned the existence of the scholar to Andrew, who was in charge of the information network, and to Terzio, whom he often asked for personal favors.
Leonardo sighed heavily and slowly walked towards the history building.
“No. I deciphered that weird address, but when I went there, that bastard left another goddamn note. This time, it doesn’t even have an address, and it says to meet somewhere… I don’t know what he’s trying to do. He wasn’t there, and I almost got caught up in a dangerous space. Anyway, I can’t figure him out—”
—Dangerous space? Where?
“…You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it now. I don’t even know what it was yet.”
Inside the history building, another wave of people poured out. Leonardo, looking around, slowed down a little.
“I’m an idiot for going out to find him myself. Since we’re bound by a contract, I can pinpoint the region where he is without having to wander around. It’ll take a lot of blood, though… I don’t want to waste time solving riddles because of that bastard anymore. I need to find him and kill him quickly.”
Tsk, Leonardo clicked his tongue, expressing his regret for not dealing with the cheeky bastard when he first met the scholar. Of course, if he had, he wouldn’t have been able to find out about the secrets of the peninsula, the Etaid, or the illegal mining team.
Terzio scoffed and replied.
—You can’t even look at a blood-drawing needle without freaking out, and you’re going to use blood. Don’t waste your precious blood and leave it to me. Tell me anything you want to know. I’ll make sure they spill it.
“No. How many guys have you almost killed doing that? And this is my problem, so I’ll take care of it—”
Leonardo, who had reached the steps leading to the main gate, instinctively flinched and stopped walking. He felt a subtle current in the midst of the oncoming crowd. The black uniforms were occasionally looking back and rolling their eyes, and he wondered why, but about half a dozen Council members in white uniforms were mixed in among them, coming out of the history building.
It didn’t seem like they were targeting him or recognized him, but he had just run into His Excellency’s knights a few hours ago. Besides, he had a tail on him. Now that even the Council guys were lingering around, his body naturally turned in the opposite direction.
—Leo?
Terzio called out cautiously when the conversation suddenly cut off. However, Leonardo didn’t answer and instead headed towards the main shopping street of History Square. He headed for the terrace seating of the coffee house in front of him.
It wasn’t empty, but the seats were sparsely placed. It was a good place to sit as a background, buried among the chatter of the guests.
—Leo? What’s wrong?
“No, it’s nothing. I just sat down somewhere for a bit.”
When someone who hadn’t ordered suddenly sat down at the terrace seat, the employee who was wiping the table came over and handed him a menu. His expression was smiling, but it was clear that he would kick him out if he didn’t order anything. Leonardo ordered a Caffe Latte with a moderate amount of milk and fixed his gaze on the group in white uniforms.
They took their place in a corner of History Square. It was a place where white tents and materials had been scattered early on. They began to take out the parts of a large stall from the Artifact and assemble it.
‘What are they doing?’
Two of them picked up thick bundles of flyers and immediately scattered to the left and right. Then, after asking for the understanding of the shop owners, they posted posters in various places.
While following their actions with his eyes, Terzio, who had been waiting, opened his mouth again.
—Anyway, I’m glad you sound okay. But there’s another reason why I contacted you.
“…What is it?”
—The distribution of Etaid has been decreasing for the past few months. But this month, it’s almost at its lowest point, and it’s not even visible on the black market. I wish you’d come back soon so we could talk about it.
Terzio added that it seemed that either the Council, which controlled the trading market, or the aristocratic faction, which was the main axis of illegal mining, was controlling the distribution of Etaid. If so, it would be a disadvantageous situation for them in many ways.
—If this keeps up, we’ll have to go to the peninsula ourselves and mine Etaid. Or we could contact that aristocratic faction stooge, the 3rd Division Commander or whatever.
“Are you crazy? How is that any different from begging to be arrested? Don’t even think about contacting them. We’ll only get our weaknesses exposed, and there’s nothing to gain. Just because we used them once doesn’t mean they have the same goals as us. It’s much better to go to the peninsula and mine it ourselves, like you said.”
—I’m just saying. It just means there are no more sources of supply.
“There are alternatives even if we don’t have to sweep up Etaid… We shouldn’t get impatient. If the distribution decreases, it’s easier to get our transaction records exposed.”
—What’s the alternative? Gunpowder leaves evidence, and you were the one who said there’s nothing as clean as Etaid.
Just then, the employee who had gone inside the store opened the door and came out. In one hand, he held a saucer with a steaming Caffe Latte, and in the other, a small glass containing the bill and sugar cubes.
Leonardo nodded to the employee, covered the communication Magic Tool with his hand for a moment, and hid it under the table. When the employee placed the coffee cup in front of him, he first handed over the amount on the bill and a 15% tip so that he could leave at any time. After that, he poured all the sugar cubes in the small glass into the coffee cup. The employee seemed surprised that there was quite a lot of sugar, but he received the tip and stepped back with a kind smile.
Leonardo stirred the coffee with a teaspoon and drank the steaming liquid in one gulp. The heat wasn’t a problem. It was a stimulating sweetness, as if medicine was spreading through the cerebral blood vessels that had been causing him headaches.
He sighed softly and licked the corners of his mouth with the tip of his tongue. Then, he placed the Magic Tool back on the table and leaned forward to answer.
“That’s true. But instead of taking the risk of increasing the supply, we can achieve a similar result to increasing the supply. We can find another substance that will amplify the power.”
—Amplifiers cost astronomical amounts, and they’re hard to get in the first place. Manufacturing amplifying Magic stones is cumbersome to obtain materials for, and it takes a long time. And even if Judy is good at material combinations, she can’t be as effective as scholars who have been researching amplification their whole lives, right?
“…….”
—Even if we buy one, you’re the only big shot among us who can connect with a broker. Would they trade with us just because we give them money? If we mention the name Leonardo Blaine, they’ll probably start by verifying your identity and put you under surveillance.
Leonardo rested his chin on the backs of his hands, listening to Terzio, who was unusually spouting only correct things. As he sighed, he saw one of the Council members who had been patrolling the nearby stores peeking over here. Leonardo pulled up his mask a little more, lowered his voice, and replied.
“Then what, what do you want me to do? Do you have a solution?”
—First of all, I don’t know if it’ll work, but I’m looking into the environment in which Etaid is formed…
Meanwhile, 100 meters ahead, the Council members who had been assembling the parts completed the stall. Then, they raised the drooping tent and covered it on top of the stall. When the roof of the tent was stretched taut, the scales mark, the symbol of the Council, came into view at a glance. The Council’s temporary tent in the middle of Kastbel, which was connected to Fort, a major stronghold of the Imperial Army, was enough to attract the attention of not only the prospective recruits passing by, but also the citizens.
The strange thing was that the people who had been wandering around were gathering one by one towards that tent.
“…….”
Leonardo, who had been letting the faint voice flowing from the Magic Tool pass by, had already had his consciousness stolen by the tent, like them.
As he tilted his head and concentrated, a flyer was posted on the bulletin board in front of the coffee house. The member briefly exchanged a few words with the employee, bowed his head, and handed out flyers to the customers sitting on the terrace one by one.
Leonardo got up around that time. He didn’t want to encounter the Council member up close. Instead, he went to the bulletin board where the member had posted the flyer and stared at it, wondering what it said.
There, along with job postings, were recent newspapers and directives from administrative agencies covering Velmeyer.
Among them, the most eye-catching was the notice with the seal of the Council’s Archon.
At the very top, it was written:
[ Xenogrant League Begins ]