The Best Merchandise (5)

“It seems some news has come in. I’m not sure if it’s about the elf village that Arisa belongs to, though.”

“Is it news about the curse?”

“It’s not certain. It’s just a rumor that’s been heard, that a village somewhere quite far from here was completely wiped out for unknown reasons.”

While Renia was also using all her available contacts to vigilantly monitor the situation, I had also asked Ethan to gather any news about areas where erosion might be occurring.

Using the connections of his organization spread here and there, he actually relayed one similar piece of news. Of course, there’s a possibility it could be a false rumor caused by completely different reasons, but it was certainly news worth looking into.

“I’m going to go somewhere for a bit.”

I grinned and went to find Renia with this news. I planned to have Renia, who was investigating this matter even at this moment, confirm the facts without needing to move directly myself.

“Could it be, you’ve already heard the news?”

But when we met again at the meeting place after a few days. Renia, who had come in response to my call sent through the wind spirits, asked with an excited face if I had already heard the news.

“What, you know about it too?”

“I heard the news this morning. About an incident that occurred in a village in the Galand region, a different continent far to the west of here.”

The Galand region she mentioned was the continent called Europe in the distant past, but Renia said that thanks to the spatial jump point, the news she had warned about had already spread there.

“As I warned, those who observed the anomaly used the spatial jump point to immediately relay the news to me.”

“Is it certain that it’s related to erosion?”

“They will probably investigate it themselves. Since I informed them about erosion, they will explore carefully.”

Renia smiled faintly as if to say not to worry. She meant that since they had already been informed, they wouldn’t just fall victim while knowing about it.

I couldn’t argue with that. Both she and I had done our best for now.

“If it turns out to be true, it’s a bit dangerous, isn’t it? If something happened on the opposite side of the continent, it means the whole world is already in danger.”

“Still, I think it’s best to know in advance and be prepared.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Her words, accompanied by a swish of her tail, were correct. It’s much better to move in advance like this than to be caught unaware.

‘By the way, it’s quite fast, isn’t it? He heard the news almost as quickly as Renia, who received direct news from local authorities?’

One surprising thing I learned through this incident was that Ethan’s information network was quite substantial.

Of course, given the nature of the underworld organization that doesn’t hesitate to engage in all sorts of illegal activities, they might surpass those in the light in some aspects, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.

“It’s quite useful, isn’t it? Most of your bases were on this peninsula, weren’t they?”

“That’s true for the bases, but our collaborating organizations and informants are spread throughout the entire world. With spatial jump points, we’d fall behind if we didn’t do that.”

When I praised Ethan and his organization after returning from meeting Renia, he puffed up his chest proudly. He even boasted that it was his accomplishment that the organization actively sent informants to other regions and established connections and deals.

“I’m getting greedy.”

The more I heard such words, the more interested I became. Especially since I had thought it was quite comfortable receiving Ethan’s support until now.

“Wh-what kind of greed do you mean?”

“I want to have your organization. It’s very useful, isn’t it?”

He flinched in surprise, but I didn’t bother to hide it. Ethan’s organization was very efficient both in everyday life and in situations like now when specific information was needed.

I didn’t really care what kind of business they did or what kind of work they did. I just wanted their information network that was extensively spread under the product of mado-civilization called the spatial jump point.

“Th-that is…”

“I’m not saying I’m going to take your position. I just want people who will listen to my requests whenever I need them. For that, my colleague, you need to do a bit better, don’t you?”

“Ahem, now that Herman, my competitor, has tripped over his own feet and fallen, the possibility has increased a lot. The opposing faction will try to keep me in check, but it’s quite possible.”

Ethan, flustered by my show of support, cleared his throat and nodded. The competition among branch leaders to become the new commander to be elected by the current commanders was still ongoing behind the scenes.

If it weren’t for that competition, Herman wouldn’t have fallen from grace trying to forcibly obtain an elf slave.

“Is there a commander who dislikes you?”

“It’s inevitable when factions are divided.”

Receiving my question, he told me about the commander who doesn’t support him and the faction that follows that commander.

Other commanders were close to neutral, so if he could just keep the hostile commander and their faction in check, his promotion was already a sure thing.

“If we leave that person alone, it will take time and the result isn’t certain, so how can we remove that commander?”

I naturally wanted to get rid of that person. Just like how we made Herman’s plans go awry and brought him down. Hearing this, Ethan’s eyes widened.

“We can’t directly harm a commander. It’s different from a mere branch leader-level person being removed.”

“That might be true in general cases, but use your head. Is it really impossible even in this situation?”

I frowned at the flustered Ethan.

He was indeed an ambitious person, but he was also cautious and meticulous to that extent. His style was to follow a step-by-step, calculated process rather than making bold decisions, but sometimes boldness is necessary.

“Don’t be trapped by common sense. The situation you’re in right now was created that way in the first place.”

“They already know too much about me. Moreover, at this point when Herman, who was at the forefront of keeping me in check, has fallen like that, almost all eyes will be focused on me, so if I try to do something, the probability of them noticing immediately… Ah.”

While I was encouraging him to help his thinking, he was shaking his head and chuckling, but suddenly he let out a short sigh as if he had realized something.

“If we do it well, we might be able to bring them down from the inside. In a way they couldn’t even imagine.”

“That’s the way to think.”

I clapped my hands as I watched him tremble as if an incredible method had occurred to him. I knew he was a capable person, so I believed that if I pushed him like this, he would think of some method.

“So what method did you think of?”

“Commander Ernst. That greedy fellow is a former merchant who engaged in intermediary trade, and he’s a man obsessed with money and luxury as much as his protruding belly.”

He twitched the corners of his mouth as if it was funny, then started to look at me with a strange gaze.

“That guy, who is one of the organization’s main sources of funds, enjoys showing off the wealth he’s accumulated like that. He makes it his life’s goal and pleasure to collect treasures from around the world and taste delicacies. What would happen if we offered him a single item that others could never obtain as a bribe?”

“Wh-what? You don’t mean…”

“I think I understand how Herman felt, coveting an elf slave with such greed.”

He gulped and chuckled while looking at me sitting in the chair.

And when I realized what he was thinking, I was appalled and disgusted. I told him to break common sense, and the first thing he tried to break was me.

“Let’s say you sell me off as you suggest. If you become a commander thanks to that, what happens to me left there?”

“Could you escape on your own?”

“You’re saying you won’t help.”

Of course, there was one flaw in that plan. Whether or not I, who had been sold, could escape before experiencing harsh treatment.

I wasn’t lacking confidence in fighting given the experiences I’ve had so far, but since I would be walking into danger myself, I needed a more certain insurance.

‘If I can grasp a definite weakness.’

If I could infiltrate like that and grasp that Ernst guy’s fatal weakness, there would be no need to fight troublesomely.

Rather, we could use that to turn him into Ethan’s dog.

“…Ernst has a daughter. She’s the only child from his first wife who died long ago. It’s already widely known how much he cherishes that daughter.”

“As expected of someone from the underworld, you’re cruel. Are you trying to mercilessly take even a young child hostage?”

“That’s the way I’ve survived. It’s a trashy, despicable act. But I’ve decided to gladly become trash rather than be devoured myself.”

When I joked with a smile, he nodded cleanly without making various excuses.

“So you’re saying I can escape if I use that daughter well. Alright, let’s give it a try then.”

Still, since we had a method now, it was worth trying.

I had enough confidence, perhaps because we had already successfully carried out one operation quite well. Anyway, we’re designing everything, so it’s clearly a high-probability gamble.