Shakov, the guildmaster, couldn’t exactly claim he had lived an honest life, even if it was just empty words. That’s the nature of being a merchant.
Living honestly only led to constant losses.
And as losses piled up, one began to be looked down upon.
Once money came into play, being looked down upon was akin to a d*ath sentence.
Thus, Shakov had carefully crafted his life so that no one would dare look down on him.
This included learning some light magic tricks, which were nonetheless classified as combat spells.
Of course, there was the issue of being forcibly conscripted once mana was manifested under the national system, but…
Avoiding the eyes of recruiters turned out to be easier than expected. Bribing them was even simpler.
Even if someone jealous of his talents reported him and recruiters showed up…
Shakov could easily resolve the matter by offering a hefty pouch of gold.
Naturally, he didn’t forget to track down whoever reported him and make them pay for their betrayal.
As time passed and he entered his thirties, nearing forty, Shakov became the guildmaster of a bustling trade city and effectively one of its most powerful figures.
Of course… he had been overshadowed by an even more powerful authority.
Captain Ramur.
The leader of the enforcement team for the Chernov City criminal organization ‘Gavial’ and twin brother of Lauru.
He also wielded real power by commanding armed forces, acting in place of the corrupt and aging mayor nearing retirement.
Though Shakov quickly made contact with him, recognizing his potential, and established a “cooperative relationship”…
The result was an arrest warrant aimed at framing him against the national military police.
‘That guy has always seemed suspicious… but he’s ruthless.’
Sitting on the cold prison floor, Shakov gave a bitter smile.
Still, Shakov was a cutthroat who had earned the honorable title of guildmaster amidst fierce competition among merchants.
The foolish captain of the guard underestimated him, failing to grasp Shakov’s true intentions.
After all, he had only allowed himself to be arrested.
When they suddenly pointed a g*n at him, he decided to enter the jail to preserve his life.
Shakov knew Ramur wouldn’t k*ll him.
After all, he needed to be alive when the national military police arrived to pin the crime on him.
‘They probably thought this was the perfect crime… but let’s see about that.’
Even when his men set fire to the guildmaster’s office and burned the account books, Shakov wasn’t panicked, though he was surprised.
Shakov was a merchant.
And merchants always keep a back door open.
That’s why he had only frozen the transport ledger among many records.
The moment he heard about artifacts stolen from the fortress being moved through the Chernov Merchants’ Guild, he ordered a thorough transcription of the transport ledger.
Therefore, the books that remained in the storage room and were burned were all copies.
The originals were deliberately kept unfrozen because showing copies instead of originals to those who requested them would have been problematic.
In other words, the original account books were still intact.
‘If only you had ever handled legitimate money properly. You can’t expect to stab someone in the back when you can’t even tell the difference between a copy and an original.’
Besides, all the merchants aligned with Shakov had already coordinated their stories.
Watching the downfall of those who dared betray him was now only a matter of time.
What’s more, he also possessed a meticulously recorded list of all the corruption and embezzlement conducted by Captain Ramur.
In fact, the one holding the trump card wasn’t Ramur but Guildmaster Shakov.
Now all he had to do was wait for the national military police to arrive as Ramur hoped.
“If you don’t want to be dragged off to central headquarters with a false charge, speak only the truth.”
Much sooner than Shakov expected, the national military police had arrived.
“Are you really from the military police?”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
I lowered my voice threateningly.
In reality, what I was doing now was completely unauthorized. I wasn’t actually part of the military police; I was merely the platoon leader of a simple cooperative dispatch squad.
No, even if I were truly part of the national military police, arbitrarily “infiltrating” a detention center to talk to a detained “criminal” would be quite unreasonable.
While I could threaten the captain of the guard by showing him the military police insignia…
If he strongly protested afterward, it would only tarnish the name of the military police.
So this was a gamble.
A bet I made, believing Shakov definitely had a hidden card.
I took the risk, so I needed to get a return.
“I’ll give you just one chance. Tell me what Ramur is hiding. If you do, I’ll release you tomorrow.”
“…Understood. You are truly fearsome, as the rumors say, infiltrating so secretly.”
Shakov exhaled and quietly replied.
“Ramur knew about the existence of the artifacts stolen from Belgorod Fortress. Although it was just a hint he gave me… it might even involve information leaks.”
“Hold on.”
I interrupted Shakov’s words.
“Information leaks?”
“Yes.”
The calmness in his eyes was genuine. After all, with his life on the line, what reason would he have to lie?
While there was a possibility he might fabricate false information to firmly establish his innocence, Shakov fully believed I was genuinely from the military police.
Why scratch and create trouble when everything would come to light during the investigation anyway?
A man who had risen to the position of guildmaster wouldn’t dig his own grave like that.
Then this means…
‘Jackpot.’
An unexpected major breakthrough fell into our lap. If Ramur really sold information, we could trace back to the insider involved in the Soviet Empire’s fortress raid.
“Do you have any concrete evidence besides suspicions?”
“There isn’t solid evidence yet, but there is enough to put Ramur under suspicion.”
Shakov stood up and approached the iron bars. The shackles around his ankles scraped the floor with a sharp metallic sound.
“Find the chief clerk of the guild, Alphera. If you tell him ‘Fishermen never lie,’ he will guide you to the secret archive.”
Secret archive.
Chief clerk, Alphera.
I understood clearly.
“Anything else?”
“Unfortunately, no. We aren’t entirely clean ourselves…”
“Good. I’ll make sure your testimony is noted.”
After confirming again with Shakov, I headed toward the corridor leading back upstairs.
Fortunately, there were no more situations where I had to hide in a warehouse.
The faint smell of gunpowder had long since disappeared, covered by the damp underground air, neatly clearing any traces that could cause trouble later.
Now, all I had to do after meeting the secretary and securing the evidence Shakov mentioned…
Was to return to the unit and report the progress to Colonel Lannister.
The main military police force could turn Chernov City upside down as early as tomorrow.
“Not bad.”
Quickly returning to the surface, I met up with Lumina who was waiting near the entrance.
“You’re back earlier than expected…”
“We need to hurry. Let’s go back to the guild.”
“The guild?”
“I heard the guildmaster Shakov has evidence that could take down the captain of the guard.”
The sun was slowly setting.
Since the battalion commander had only granted us leave, we had to return to the base by 9 p.m. at the latest.
Despite the sudden fire incident, I could feel the hunger I hadn’t satisfied yet…
But what could be done?
That trivial meal wasn’t worth as much as the information we uncovered now.
“We need to find the chief clerk of the Merchant Guild. A person named Alphera.”
“Chief clerk, Alphera…”
Lumina repeated my words, firmly imprinting the information in her mind.
“The guild building is this way, Platoon Leader!”
Following Lumina’s guidance, I ran toward the Merchant Guild once again.
*
“Did you say the officer from the Third Battalion is already gone?”
“Yes, they noticed a fire while having lunch and immediately took action.”
“Good. Did you ensure everyone keeps quiet?”
“Of course. I subtly hinted that Guildmaster Shakov was involved in corruption.”
“Well done.”
Captain Ramur smiled contentedly. Everything was going according to plan.
Even though it was the sole trading city at the northernmost point of the Okhraine Duchy, it was still on the outskirts.
To survive in a region full of bandits and dangers beyond the city walls, protection from the city walls was essential.
If the national military police came, there was no way the citizens would report him.
With Guildmaster Shakov conveniently available to take all the blame, there was no reason for them to make him an enemy.
Humans are, after all, surprisingly selfish creatures.
“I should hand over the captaincy and retire after wrapping up this case. This job gives me too many headaches.”
Though called retirement, he would simply live comfortably in the back alleys managed by his younger brother Lauru.
In fact, it would be much more relaxing for Ramur.
The additional income he gained using his position as captain was substantial, but…
As long as he was confined within the “official” framework, there was always the risk of a kn*fe being held to his throat.
“This trend of dyeing hair, you should try it after retiring. I think red suits you perfectly.”
“Dyeing? Why suddenly?”
“It seems to be a recent trend. One of my comrades from the battalion dyed their hair, and the officer we investigated recently did too.”
“Fashion trends are strange things.”
Just as Ramur chuckled and tried to dismiss it casually, an ominous feeling swept over him.
“…Hold on. What did you just say?”
“Uh? I said dyeing is trending.”
“No, before that. Who else dyed their hair?”
The instincts of the captain kicked in.
Not as intelligent as Shakov, but the experience and intuition he built as captain weren’t something to ignore.
He had a special kind of “intuition” for sensing danger.
“The officer from the Third Battalion. Actually, we brought him to the barracks because the ID and his hair color didn’t match, right?”
“Is that so? I didn’t hear any report. What was his original hair color?”
“Blonde, but dyed black.”
At that moment,
Ramur felt a chill run down his spine.
The Third Magic Battalion.
An officer with blonde hair dyed black.
It wasn’t just because he matched the description of the person wanted by his twin brother Lauru.
Because when Belgorod Fortress was attacked, the battalion deployed as support was the Third Battalion.
‘Suddenly dyed his hair black? Why?’
It didn’t make sense if it was out of fear of delinquents. If he was afraid of delinquents, why come to Chernov City in the first place?
‘Plus, coincidentally noticing and suppressing the fire at the guild building…?’
Upon reconsidering, there were far too many suspicious aspects.
What if that officer was actually an undercover investigator from the military police posing as someone from the Third Battalion?
It would be like lighting a fuse on explosives. He had unknowingly let his guard down after capturing Shakov.
Ramur’s teeth chattered.
“Spread the word to all the guards immediately.”
“What? What should we say?”
“That officer who just left! Find him now! Set up checkpoints everywhere and seal off the city gates!!!”
The pale order from the captain of the guard rang out.
Soon after, the guards of Chernov City scattered throughout the city.
