Chapter 48 - Seaport Landium 1 (2/2)

As the mercenary from Kaliss’ faction stood above him with a smile.

“That’s enough.”

Someone interfered.

“Who do you think you are!?”

Kaliss’ mercenary shouted angrily, his face red-hot.

The new opponent that interfered was a handsome young man, but it was all an illusion.

In fact it was Woohyuk, but he was wearing his Jester's Mask, which he had put on before even stepping into the tavern.

It was his reward from the Twilight Tower’s 99th floor.

Although it didn’t actually change his appearance, those around him would see him as a completely different person.

“I won’t repeat myself, get out and don’t make a scene.”

Woohyuk said confidently as he grabbed the mercenary by the collar.

His eyes glaring fiercely through the mask.

Kaliss’ mercenary was stunned as he swallowed down hard.

“Huhuk”

His drunkenness disappeared in a flash, as he felt an instinctive pressure coming from this young man. It had something inhuman about it.

He decided to run away, tripping over himself as he fled in fear.

“Are you okay?”

Woohyuk helped the groaning mercenary that worked for Erica to his feet.

“Who... who are you…”

“Let’s talk outside.”

He might have caught a break into what was going on in Erica’s faction. After leaving another silver coin with the bartender, Woohyuk made his way outside.

* * *

Ryan, a third rate mercenary.

That was his name. Born to a low class family, he had only learned some basic swordsmanship and had lived quite a hard life. The kind that you didn’t know when a dagger might find itself buried in your back, or whether you’d wake up to see the next day.

Somehow he had managed to join a large faction like Erica’s, but his situation hadn’t improved much.

As a third rate mercenary, he was the lowest of the low. Not to mention that he had to buy his own weapons and armor.

He’d been working there for two years now, and was hoping to climb up the ladder.

He had survived many dangerous crises, but this time he wasn’t so sure he’d make it. It was because recently Erica’s faction had run into trouble.

“Are you losing customers?”

“Yes, due to Kaliss’ interference, other than our longtime loyal clients, many are trying to avoid doing business with us.”

Because his main function was that of a caravan escort, Ryan was well aware of the difficulties that Erica’s faction was facing.

An economic system in which craftsmen in the city would produce goods, and they then rely on merchants to sell their wares abroad on their behalf.

Naturally being able to acquire and hold on to customers was a top priority.

“It’s because you are a new merchant group, your foundation is still weak.”

“Although it appears that we are losing to Kaliss’ faction, if we were to compete fairly they wouldn’t even be our match.”

Erica, the eldest daughter of a prominent long distance merchant, used her excellent business acumen and merged many small stores to create her faction.

Feeling threatened by this, the merchant Kaliss decided to play a bit dirty. There was no doubt that he had a hand in the recent bandit attacks.

“Did you take any countermeasures?”

“I’m not entirely sure because I’m far from the inner circle , but Erica probably won’t continue to take blows like this. She must be planning her revenge.”

It is said however that they won’t be able to solve this alone, and that external help would be required.

As Woohyuk walked along the back alley with Ryan, he pondered on what he had just learned.

‘Could Edward Teach be working together with Erica?’

He is a calculating man, so he wouldn’t bet on the losing horse. If it wasn’t the pirates, then who did Erica reach out to for help?

Where everyone's interests were aligned was quite complicated to unravel, and it was difficult to make an educated guess based solely on the information he currently had.

Just as he was about to ask Ryan another question.

Tahak!

“Sorry.”

A street urchin dressed in filthy rags that was running collided with Ryan.

Ryan however didn’t give it much thought and just shrugged it off.

“Give it back.”

His actions couldn’t escape Woohyuk’s sharp eyes. It was a common technique used by pickpockets and thieves. Pretending to run into your mark, while stealing their belongings.

The boy was quite nimble with his hands, so Ryan had never noticed. As the young thief tried to run off, Woohyuk acted quickly, grabbing on to his neck.

“Don’t you know what happens to thieves?”

“I’m sorry, please forgive me this once.”

He had acted because there was nothing for him to eat. Children abandoned by their parents, wandering around the city’s alleys, struggling to survive.

Although it was still true that what he did was wrong, he couldn’t bear to cut his hands off as punishment.

“Do you want to be given a chance?”

No doubt anything would be desirable when the alternative was to lose a limb, so the boy nodded back with a petrified look on his face.

“How well do you know this city?”

“Well… the merchant’s district is on the east side, the workshops on the west…”

Orphans like him would have to travel across the city, looking for any opportunity in order to survive. If put to good use, he might be a rather efficient means of obtaining information.

“If you do as I tell you, I’ll give you something to eat.”

He needed them to keep an eye out and try to identify any suspicious looking characters.

Even if there weren’t any results, he would still guarantee them some food. If they did find something, there would be a bonus. This applied to any orphans, not just the boys.

“Alright, I get it.”

The boy disappeared into the back alley with a baguette in his mouth.

Ryan scratched his head with an awkward expression.

“I’m in your debt once more.”

“Not to worry, I know how you can repay me.”

“What can I do for you…”

“Please get me a meeting with Erica.”

The quickest way to learn what he needed to know was to have a face to face meeting.

He also had the Jester’s Mask which hid his real face, so he had nothing to worry about.

“I don’t have that kind of pull.”

“You can simply pass along my message to her then.”

Since she was in a tough spot, she was more likely to grant an audience to one that offered an olive branch.

His next steps would be crucial. He needed to find out if he could obtain one of the materials for the Seven Colored Rainbow Ring by helping Erica.

He still didn’t know for certain where it was that Isaac had obtained it in the past. Since he no longer had much time, he had to make a judgement call.