Chapter 110: Act 43 – Bruglas’s Underground Transactions (Part 1)
In July, the air in Bruglas seemed to be filled with a kind of restlessness that made one eager to move.
Beneath the calm surface, undercurrents were stirring, and it was evident that the nobility of all ranks had been overwhelmed over the past two weeks. Within their circles, signs of the war’s end were becoming increasingly apparent—while the lives of the common citizens remained unchanged, those looking to profit from the situation were growing increasingly restless.
The citizens often saw messengers’ horses entering the city one after another; those unaware might think it was due to the pressing war, but these letters were merely carrying updates on negotiations within the Winterbloom Castle.
As a result, the common folk were anxious all day, just as the nobles were.
However, none of this concerned Brendel. The young man was steadily following his own schedule—he had spent three days building connections to obtain a registration certificate for the Pioneer Knights. That certificate detailed the loyalty and responsibilities expected between the knight and the lord, and it was a document stamped with a seal.
This thin piece of parchment had once been worth its weight in gold, but as Erluin gradually declined, the knightly class had fallen into a rigid local power, and adventurers had turned to illegal businesses. Consequently, no one was keen on expanding the old kingdom, and the title of “Pioneer Knight” had begun to fade into obscurity.
Since the ascension of the current king, the nobles who had previously made their fortunes through the title of Pioneer Knight gradually started to assign a market value to it, and since then, the paper had become increasingly worthless.
To obtain this status, Brendel did no more than arrange for Balthom to buy a beautiful gown for the wife of a minor city official, just as he had done in the game previously.
By the eleventh day, when he received the document, Lohn brought him another piece of good news—the long-awaited underground trading fair had finally come.
Like some regions that regularly held markets, Bruglas’s gray zones held underground transactions semi-monthly. However, the goods sold at this fair mostly consisted of stolen goods not fit for the light of day, contraband, and even human trafficking. This should come as no surprise, as among the participants—besides mercenaries, adventurers, and illegal traders—were also the creators of Bruglas’s laws.
That is, the nobles.
Unquestionably, the local underground forces controlled this black market from behind the scenes, though it was inevitable that certain nobles were involved, a fact that was common knowledge.
It sufficed that the lower-tier citizens, who desired a facade of peace and stability, were kept in the dark.
The underground trading fair in Bruglas was regularly held at Maria Market in the Hood District or the Shepherd’s Market in the Eastern District. The organizers deliberately chose densely populated areas to better obscure the activities. However, attentive observers often noticed a great number of unfamiliar faces gathering at these locations at those times, engaging in inquiries and conversations, then hastily leaving again the next morning.
Notably, these two markets also had small auction houses for rent—which, of course, was just a facade. In reality, besides occasional use, these auction houses were nearly built specifically for this recurring assembly.
If one were to investigate their owners, they would only find the name of an uninspiring merchant from the vicinity. But if one were to delve deeper, they would discover that both buildings were actually funded by the local noble council.
Of course, these were all digressions.
When Balthom led Brendel down from the coach, the Bruglas sunset looked as though it had come right out of a painting of the same name, an orange-red ball hanging on the horizon, coloring the surrounding clouds with vibrant hues.
Against this fiery glow, the young man wore a knight’s uniform, impeccably pressed, and the wizard apprentice Charles stood beside him, allowing both to masquerade as he had indicated in his invitation—a highland knight from Karasu and his apprentice squire.
Of course, there was also Brendel’s sister, elegantly dressed as Antinna, and his fiancée Miss Romaine, whom he brought down from the coach afterward.
As soon as Antinna stepped down, she discreetly withdrew her hand from Brendel’s. Dressed in a black gown with a black veil, her eyes were coldly observing the people coming and going outside the small auction house.
The young girl bit her lip, her demeanor had drastically changed from a few days ago. If her first impression towards Brendel was one of tender vulnerability, now she exuded a distant and unapproachable air.
At this moment, even Test’s spies would hesitate to acknowledge her if ‘Owl’ Jon were to step forward.
Moreover, at such a tense juncture, a trivial matter like someone’s disappearance in a large city would hardly attract attention. The cemetery area already inspired fear, to the point that municipal personnel only became aware of their oversight days later, from the actions of their colleagues—
Typically, cases of missing persons should be handled by the municipal guards, but prior to that, the security cavalry had already conducted an extensive search. They had nearly roused the local noble council of Bruglas.
However, it appeared that Viscount Test did not wish for this matter to fall into the ears of others as leverage, thus the investigation was quietly shelved, and the entire incident was ultimately attributed to the “cemetery assault incident” that occurred nearly six months prior, becoming an unsolved mystery.
It was for this reason that Antinna could appear confidently in public now.
Standing next to her, just slightly taller, was Romaine, the Merchant Miss was currently focused intently on a row of crystal orbs on a nearby table, her small brows knitted as if she was about to exude scholarly diligence—trying to figure out what those things actually were.
However, Brendel found it somewhat amusing that the crystal orbs bore not a single inscription, and regardless of how long one stared at them, they wouldn’t sprout any flowers.
He knew that she was merely trying to attract Antinna’s attention.
Over the past several days, Little Romain and Antinna had developed a complimentary rapport; she had a natural sharpness that could scent out opportunities within ordinary phenomena—but Antinna possessed precisely the knowledge of the outside world that she lacked, along with some essential information.
For instance, if no one had informed this future merchant girl that the Anzek region had always been responsible for supplying Bruglas with alcohol and food, this rural girl borne in Buche likely wouldn’t have perceived the underlying business opportunities.
But now, Antinna filled this role, and although all of her knowledge derived from books, it was still better than Miss Romaine who derived her knowledge solely from imagination, wasn’t it?
“What is that thing, Ant?” Romaine finally couldn’t hold back.
Antinna’s attention was also on the row of thumb-sized crystal orbs, whose owner was a man dressed in a black robe: in Erluin, not everyone was entitled to wear such attire; he was a monk.
The girl unconsciously shifted her gaze to Brendel, but the young man appeared indifferent. She paused briefly, frowning slightly.
“That is ‘Fire Seed,'” Antinna replied softly as she turned her head slightly.
“What is Fire Seed?”
“Fire Seed is a sacred object through which people spread civilization in the wilderness; it’s unexpected to see such a thing at an auction here,” Antinna explained.
“I didn’t quite understand,” the Merchant Miss replied straightforwardly.
Antinna couldn’t help but sigh; after days of interacting, Brendel had not disappointed her. She had never imagined that the person she hired would genuinely be a noble knight, and a legendary highland knight at that. Moreover, Brendel was mostly polite in his demeanor and handled matters calmly, aligning well with her imagined image of a lord—
But her fiancée had become a bit of a headache; it wasn’t that Romaine was difficult to get along with; on the contrary, the Merchant Miss’s personality was generally likable. However, what troubled the girl was that the other party seemed to genuinely treat her as a moving encyclopedia, constantly asking questions with an inquisitive expression.
But she couldn’t refuse and could only answer, “How much do you know about our world?”
“Not much.”
“……”
The girl coughed a couple of times and replied, “Then I’ll try to explain it in simpler terms. In the epic of the Crusian people, their god ‘Eshiru’ (Martha) created a world from chaos, constructing the boundaries with the six elements of fire, wind, earth, water, life, and darkness. After the agreement of the four elf kings was reached, the world’s boundaries took shape—”
“This boundary continually extracts the power of magic from the chaos, forming a land that infinitely extends in four directions, and that is the world we live in—thus the shape of the world should be round like the heavens, square like the earth, and infinitely extending in all directions.”
“But this world is constantly leaning towards chaos; therefore, Lady Martha constrains it with laws, fixing order on the lands walked by mortals. In these areas, the sun, moon, and stars operate normally, allowing mortals to reproduce and civilization to continue—”
“Yet, beyond the lands guarded by Lady Martha lies the battleground of elements and chaos, with vast transitional zones in between, which we refer to as the ‘wilderness.’ However, there is a possibility of conversion between the ordered land and the wilderness; this is where the Pioneer Knights and the ‘magic tide’ come from.”
“And Fire Seed is the key to planting laws onto the land. A territory built upon the wilderness must have a Fire Seed.”
While coughing, Antinna finished her explanation and asked, “Did you understand?”
Romaine nodded, then shook her head, obediently replying, “I only understood the first sentence—ah! Ouch, Brendel, let go of me—” It turned out that before she could finish her sentence, Brendel had pulled her closer, holding her in his embrace.
“Little Romain, it seems you are destined not to have the talent to become a wizard, so there’s no need to concern yourself with these things. Better to worry about how much we can profit from the auction,” Brendel said to her while casting an apologetic glance toward Antinna.
The girl smiled slightly.
She hurried over and asked, “Don’t you care about those Fire Seeds, Mister Brendel?” As his aide, she certainly knew that Brendel had acquired a certificate for the Pioneer Knights.
Brendel glanced at those crystal orbs; indeed, the appearance of so many Fire Seeds piqued his interest. Still, there were likely others who cared about these things as much as he did. He assumed he could only try his luck later. Moreover, there was a slumbering Fire Seed at the place he was heading, so he wasn’t in a hurry for such things.
Thus, he replied, “I understand; I will see if I can try later.”
Antinna looked at him for a moment, thought for a bit, and then nodded, though not without some worry. In her view, Brendel was a young knight seeking to carve out his path away from home, and whether he could achieve success depended entirely on his ability to secure territory—or achieve merits in war.
And the girl understood well how long her own road was, entirely reliant on his success. After all, at this moment, only Brendel appreciated her abilities.
Therefore, every move Brendel made evoked her anxiety.
Brendel noticed the girl’s concern and wanted to say something, but he suddenly saw Lohn hiding in the shadows, signaling him that the trading fair was about to begin, urging him to hurry up with the others. The young man froze slightly, looked up, and indeed found that the crowd gathering around had already begun to enter the venue.
(PS. I’m feeling a bit unwell today, so just one chapter.
Also, I sincerely ask for monthly votes and subscriptions. After a week in the hospital, I noticed a sharp drop in subscriptions.) (To be continued. To find out what happens next, please log in for more chapters and support the author for legit reading!)
