The Trap (1)
"Umm."
The content of the note was very simple. There was no report, only an interesting message that said, 'If you want an initial report, then come out in front of the mansion. If not, I will continue to investigate.'
"So…"
Seems like the story was that it might not be what he was looking for, but if he wanted to hear it, come out. Something subtle and interesting.
'Let's hear it.'
Ian stood up with determination. He took the vial from the table next to him and drank the painkiller that Douglas had made.
'It is.'
If it had been a normal human, they would have thrown it away, since it was made with poison. Ian, however, had mana protection so there was nothing to worry about. The drug had a scent that spread all over and a bitter taste that he didn't like.
'Why is it this bitter?'
He had witnessed the preparation process and knew exactly what ingredients were used. Yet, it still tasted bitter. Will other people be able to swallow this potion without any doubts? Ian drank it because he knew the entire process. Unfortunately, there was no way to know the cause for this bitter taste.
'There is no suitable explanation for this kind of taste.'
No matter how much he thought about the medicinal product and its preparation process, Ian couldn't understand it at all. It seemed like something with a different taste had been mixed in. Amidst his endless thoughts, Ian finished drinking the vial and exited the mansion. It was still early morning.
"Tower lord."
Usually in these kinds of cases, they simply sent a letter or an underling. The head of Day Break, Crude, appeared in person this time. Was it because of the intensity of their first encounter? The fear was showing.
"It has been a while since I last saw you. Has it been that bad?"
"It wasn't that bad."
"What? Well……. Ah, I heard that you took a vacation, for the purpose of training. Seems like you are tired from all that."
Ian's vacation was actually work for the Tower Lord. It couldn't exactly be considered confidential, as other wizards knew about it. Although it wasn't an information trade, Crude knew all of it.
"So to say, you might still be weak, but please look into the name of the castle. Even though it isn't favourable work and you're still in the middle of your training……."
Crude stood in an empty spot, gesturing to something with his hands while speaking. Ian understood the content without any difficulty. Maybe it was an elixir.
"It is an elixir."
"It's remarkable."
"The whole world knows that if it wasn't for elixirs, the mages wouldn't be able to survive."
Surely, that wasn't the reason for the elixir. In his past life, Ian had also received a lot of those. Crude often gave bribes in the form of little gifts like elixirs. Is this an elixir that can only be tasted once every few years?
"This is a precious little thing compared to a normal, commonly found elixir. Since it can only be made once every few years, it is still hard to obtain even with lots of money. I will give this to the Tower Lord who is training."
"The, the hell, this book…….."
Looking at it, the image stayed in Parker's eyes.
Recovering from the shock of seeing the book, he asked.
"What, what is this? Where did you get this book?"
"Don't be so surprised. This is exactly……"
The merchant Roberto stopped speaking for a moment and went closer to the ear of Auburn.
"An item related to the Dragon."
This was definitely the same.
Only the statement was a little different.
Ian had to receive that elixir.
To give it to his mother.
"I’ll take it."
"Uh? Ah, yes, thank you very much!"
Without any hesitation or doubt Ian took it. Crude was a little flustered as Ian took it without even thanking him. He was especially perturbed since this was an obvious bribe and most people of high status, such as the Tower Lord, would show some kind of hesitation or pretend to be humble. Ian showed none of this.
'Is it because he is still young?'
With those thoughts, Crude handed some documents to Ian. It was the information that he had investigated until now. They were filled with very detailed stories, none of which were very useful.
"I’m very sorry for speaking like this, but I don’t have the expenditure to pursue your request anymore. This is it."
Crude's voice tapered off.
He came close to Ian's ear.
There was no one around to overhear, but it was an instinctive action.
"If you review the documents, you will know, there were a few stories related to the Dragon. That said, they are a kind of a trend."
"Trend?"
"For example, it may be a story related to a dragon, but it holds status, while the other ones don’t exist? The trend of collecting those kinds of things has been widespread among the nobles."
Things related to dragons is a trend?
Ian couldn't remember this from his past life.
Surely, this trend was far from anything.
Considering this, it was a strange story.
"It is unknown whether this is related to the requested order, as the nobles are sure to collect trendy items. For such a minor reason, there has to be something unbelievable there, right?"
"Hmm…."
There must be a reason for this trend to appear amongst the nobles.
This was obviously something that was worth investigating.
"And the distribution of the goods is also quite secretive. These goods aren't found in the market anymore. They are being auctioned to the nobles."
Crude's speech grew longer.
Yet there wasn't any stuttering or faulty vocabulary in it.
"You see, only nobles can attend the auction, and on top of that, delivery of the dragon related items is strictly confidential. I think that, there is at least six major groups that have a share in the empire's trade."
Six major groups of the empire.
This was familiar to Ian.
No, to be precise.
'I know the top five groups.'
In the past life there had been 'five' major groups in the Empire. But a sixth major group? I have been involved in the upper level work related to the Ivory Tower. It wasn't possible for him not to remember it.
"Where are each of the six major groups?"
Unlike his previous life, the upper level were reborn as the major groups.
Ian curiously asked Crude.
"If I start with the easiest name first, The Jameson Top, Morton Top, Highway Top, Mario and brothers. This one is also the name of the groups. They were originally mercenaries."
"I know. Please continue."
'If he knew, why did he ask?'
Crude's lips went stiff.
'I would've yelled if he was a good man.
No, I wouldn't have met with him in the first place.'