How To Live As A Third Son Of A Failure [EN]: Chapter 92

Early morning.

After finishing our respective business, Ruth and I left the inner castle and returned straight to our lodgings. Sleepiness washed over me from staying up all night, but I forced it away with cold water. Then, we gathered again in one room.

“Let’s get the summarizing done before we rest. Memories fade after you sleep and wake up.”

“Understood.”

“Ruth, you go first.”

At my words, Ruth rummaged through her bag and placed the extracted data on the table.

“This is what you were looking for.”

“How is it? Was my guess correct?”

Ruth let out a hollow laugh at my question.

“I was hesitant at first, but as I searched, I became more and more certain.”

Rubbing her eyes, Ruth sorted the records into two large piles.

“These records are investigation reports of smugglers caught in the past. The process is similar to this case. They confidently passed through the gates, but there was an inspection, and the merchants caught with smuggled goods all claimed innocence. And there were more than just a few.”

She then pointed to the pile on the right.

“These records contain information about those merchant guilds at the time.”

“Give me the gist.”

“Yes.”

Ruth picked up a piece of paper and began to read through the contents.

The content was not much different from what I had expected. Rather, it was so accurate that I felt absurd.

After a few hours,

We were finally able to organize what we had each gathered and reach a conclusion.

“Let’s summarize.”

“Yes.”

“First, most of the members of the smugglers caught so far were born and raised in Lindayer County.”

“Yes. Strictly speaking, those who committed smuggling on a merchant guild scale were all from Lindayer County. Ah! The ones I met in prison would be the same, right?”

“Right. All five of them were from the county without exception.”

So far, all the smugglers caught in Leydin on a merchant guild scale were from the county without exception.

It would be easy to dismiss it as a mere coincidence, but the content that followed was even more absurd.

“Second, the size of the caught merchant guilds is so small that the suspects apprehended at the time were all of them, and they were established not long ago.”

“…Leydin itself concluded that they created ghost merchant guilds [fake merchant guilds] for smuggling.”

“Well, it’s not bad to judge that way. It’s a plausible story.”

“If there wasn’t more to the story.”

“Right.”

Ruth picked up another piece of paper on the table.

“The statements of those caught so far had something in common. They all claimed that they were only in charge of transportation and did not directly purchase the goods.”

Ruth paused and looked at me.

“Young Master, what about those who are caught now?”

“Same. They didn’t directly purchase the goods either, and they said they only received transportation requests to gain simple experience. In short, they only knew the goods they were transporting on paper. They didn’t actually open them up to check.”

“So they used newbies. Veterans would check if they were even slightly suspicious.”

“Right. If you look at each one individually, it could be a coincidence, but it’s not easy for such coincidences to come together. And the most important thing is that there’s still one more thing left.”

“The most important thing…”

“Then, who are the ones who commissioned those caught so far to deliver the goods?”

At my question, Ruth pursed her lips tightly.

It was an attitude of not being able to speak even though she knew. But that silence didn’t last long either. It was a fact that had to be accepted in the end.

“The Sein Merchant Guild.”

The Sein Merchant Guild.

The merchant guild that my brother, the second young master of Lindayer County, Sein Lindayer, directly created and operated, rising to the top of the north in name and reality.

As soon as that name came out, Ruth’s expression noticeably stiffened.

“Why are you so stiff? It’s not like you didn’t expect it.”

“Still, it’s a bit of a shock to see it directly.”

Ruth sighed deeply and lowered her head.

“Let’s put the feelings aside and summarize it for now.”

First. The members of the merchant guilds that transported the seized smuggled goods are all from Lindayer County.

Second. And those merchant guilds are all made up of novice merchants who have not been established for long.

Third. Finally, the requests that the merchants took on were to transport simple trade goods, and the employers who requested them were all the Sein Merchant Guild.

“The outline is taking shape.”

Ruth rubbed her temples and stared intently at the paper.

I nodded as well.

“In the end, the guys we’ve been catching as smugglers were just tools for simple transportation. And they didn’t even know they were committing crimes.”

“If this is how many have been caught, how much opium have they been carrying all this time?”

“It must be an unimaginable amount. Once it’s brought into the direct territory, it’s easy to spread it to all parts of the continent.”

“It would be easier to exert influence since it’s a direct territory, not the territory of another high-ranking noble.”

“Right.”

“Anyway, judging by the method, the supplier seems to be fixed. Then, what about the point of sale?”

“The guys who take over are probably all in cahoots [colluding].”

“Then it seems difficult to catch them.”

“Why?”

“If they’re all in cahoots, it’s easy to coordinate their stories. Even if we bring this data and pressure them, what can we do if they say they only commissioned the work and the caught guys changed the goods into drugs on their own? It’s the Sein Merchant Guild that dominates the north. Such a large merchant guild often subcontracts small things to small merchant guilds. There’s not enough evidence.”

“Right. You’re right. It’s true that we need a bigger hit.”

“What could it be?”

“We need to find A.”

“A?”

“Right. Sein probably didn’t directly oversee it. He doesn’t seem that stupid. Then, in the end, there’s a middleman in charge, so let’s think of that person as A.”

“In the end, we need to find out who that A is.”

“Clearly, that A will be in charge of everything from the supplier to the purchaser who ultimately receives the transported drugs. Since the goods are what they are, it’s a business where as few people as possible should know.”

“If we can somehow catch that guy, we can make a big hit.”

“Right. We can catch everyone involved in this. Baron Gorde, of course…”

Perhaps even my brother, Sein.

I swallowed the words that had risen to my throat, and Ruth didn’t bother to ask further.

Tap, tap.

After that, I tapped the table with my finger for a while and fell into thought.

So, to catch this A, where should I start looking with the clues I have now?

The answer was not difficult.

“We should look into the mercenary groups.”

“Mercenary groups?”

“Is there any investigated data?”

At my question, Ruth rummaged through the data and soon found one.

“The mercenaries who escorted the merchant guilds caught at the time were all released without charge. The reason is that the mercenaries were only in charge of escorting and could not know the information about the protected goods.”

“That’s also true.”

“Besides, the mercenary groups that escorted the merchant guilds caught so far all had different affiliations, so it wasn’t easy to pinpoint them.”

“They were all different?”

“Yes. Unless they’re stupid, they wouldn’t have kept using only one mercenary group.”

“No. Still, they’re not at the level of running it haphazardly, so there must be someone hiding behind the merchant guilds and taking on the role of transporter.”

At my words, Ruth tilted her head.

“A transporter? Their affiliations are all different?”

“Even if they just bring in any mercenary, there will be someone who leads and controls them. It’s not uncommon for a mercenary to turn into a robber during the escort.”

“That’s true.”

“Besides, I heard that the mercenaries who escorted those caught this time were so numerous that it seemed excessive, which is also important.”

“Looking at it that way, the number of mercenaries who escorted them at the time was somewhat excessive. They brought twenty or thirty people for one cargo wagon…”

“If they were to meet bandits and have their goods stolen, it wouldn’t end as a simple accident, so they probably did that. It’s welcome news for us because it’s become a clue to pinpoint them.”

The important thing was that the number of mercenaries who escorted the numerous smugglers caught so far was excessively large.

“In other words, the mercenaries who escorted the merchant guilds caught so far have the characteristic of being excessively numerous, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, conversely, the guys who weren’t caught would have used mercenaries in the same way.”

“That’s right… Ah!”

Ruth clapped her hands belatedly.

“There must be merchant guilds that safely passed through with smuggled goods, and to find them, we need to find the mercenaries who escorted them at the time.”

“Right. The start is from the mercenaries who escorted them.”

“Shall we start right away?”

I glanced out the window.

The sun had already risen, and light was seeping in through the window. It was time to start moving in earnest, but now both Ruth and I were forcing ourselves to endure sleepiness.

“Let’s adjust our condition [rest].”

“Yes.”

“Let’s just sleep for four hours and wake up to move.”

“Understood.”

As if it was the most welcome sound she had heard, Ruth collapsed on the bed, and I threw myself next to her as well.

* * *

Four hours passed in an instant.

At noon, Ruth and I, forcing ourselves to endure sleepiness, got up groggily and summoned Meir, taking the time to finish our meal.

“Time is of the essence. We need to get it done before they know we’re moving.”

“Understood.”

We finished our meal without knowing whether it was going into our mouths or our noses, and we went to the Leydin Mercenary Guild office with Meir.

Unless it’s a very large mercenary group, one office usually records and manages the requests of all mercenary groups.

That’s probably because it’s much cheaper and easier to manage, and small mercenary groups can make a living.

“Yes. This is the Leydin Guild Office.”

The woman, who didn’t even look at us as we entered, spat out a soulless greeting while buried in documents, not even looking at us.

“Are you taking on a request, or are you placing one?”

At her words, which abbreviated whether we were taking on a request or coming to place one, Meir stepped forward.

“I’m from the Leydin Guard.”

Only then did the woman raise her head and look at us.

“What’s going on?”

“I’d like to see the request record book.”

“With what authority?”

At the woman’s bold words, Meir showed the seal that Galanto had given her.

“This is the seal of the Leydin Garrison Commander.”

“There are many books. How much do you want to see?”

“Up to the last half year.”

At that, the woman reluctantly got up and brought a thick stack of dusty papers.

“Find it yourself.”

As Meir flipped through the book, the contents, which were not standardized and were punctuated with all sorts of jargon that only mercenaries could understand, were revealed.

“Hey. How am I supposed to read such a messy book? You need to come and help me…”

I pulled Meir’s shoulder back as she was about to get angry.

“Oh, oh, why are you doing this…”

Ignoring Meir’s question, I gestured to Ruth. Then, Ruth nodded, wrapped her arm around Meir’s shoulder, and headed out of the office.

Left alone, I stepped forward and leaned against the reception table.

“I’d like to place a request.”

“Fill out the application form according to the procedure and come. You can check the list of waiting mercenaries on the bulletin board over there.”

“Well, I don’t think your name is on the bulletin board.”

“What?”

The woman raised her head and sent a look as if asking what I meant.

I shrugged and took out a gold coin from my pocket and showed it.

“The conditions are simple. The size is about one cargo wagon. But the escort force is at least twenty or thirty people or more. The destination is from the north to Leydin. The business is simple trade goods transportation. Please compile all the corresponding requests.”

The woman, who was staring blankly at the gold coin emitting light, bit her lip, and then pushed the documents piled in front of her to the side.

“Come back tomorrow morning. I’ll have it all done.”

“No.”

“…Then late evening?”

“By dinner.”

“There’s no way I can do that even if I die. It’s not like I have nothing else to do.”

As I listened to her words in silence, I took out another gold coin from my pocket, and the woman squeezed her eyes shut.

“Damn it.”

The woman spat out a short curse, then sighed and snatched the two gold coins.

“Okay. By dinner.”