episode_0222

‘It’s just as Harnier said.’

As I followed Harnier to this place, I heard various explanations.

She said that until now, this black market has only been about light sales and entertainment other than formal greetings, but the real time begins now.

What will take place in this black market now is none other than an auction.

You had to use the magically engraved light blue button like a bell to enter the amount you wanted, and if you made the final bid, you could purchase it by paying money at the auction house.

‘That’s why you didn’t take this light blue button even though it serves as a pass.’

Somehow I could understand this.

However, when it comes to auctions, most people seem to be distracted by buying things, but you shouldn’t let your guard down.

“Are you Ontoniji? Tsk tsk. I’m Dalc.”

“What is it? How did you find out about the transaction?”

“It seems like that pot belly doesn’t go away even if you’re far away. ”

“This bastard.”

Nobles formed their own networks in aristocratic society.

Even if wearing a mask hinders my recognition, some people would recognize me that way, so I had to be careful to make sure no one recognized me.

There was a seat number on the button, so I was separated from her.

I had to be even more careful not to be suspicious of them.

Meanwhile, the two nobles, who were giggling and talking, moved on to the next story.

“Today’s auction is a bit long, with the highlight auction going on for the third round. 3 sessions of 1 hour each with a 30 minute break. You remember, right?”

“En? Did you do that?”

“Didn’t you hear the notice? You stupid bastard.”

oh. This is pretty good information.

3 sessions of 1 hour each with a 30 minute break. And with the final highlight auction added, there will be a total of 4. I remembered.

Harnier said he doesn’t care where he goes during break time… so that means he can search the black market for 30 minutes.

“Just in case you don’t know, rooms with 3 stars are off-limits to anyone except those in charge, so don’t touch them because an alarm spell will sound?”

“True. I know that too!”

In addition, there is a room with three stars drawn to indicate places that you should not go to.

“Do not go out through the entrance, but cross the basement warehouse and go out toward the annex, and──”

When leaving, be sure to pass through the annex.

If you enter a room with two stars without turning off the light blue button, the location will be displayed.

Even the mandatory requirement that you must do at least one purchase.

I was able to get a lot of information from these guys’ conversations.

I recorded everything.

Even in games, I’ve missed dialogue like this more than once and ended up seeing a disaster.

and.

“True. Now that I think about it, I heard there’s a room that you shouldn’t go to at all this time?”

“Uh. I know that! What was the reason? Is it because it is a place that makes products that are not for sale? Anyway, they told me never to go in or out of there.”

I was able to point out one thing that was suspicious.

“Not for sale? ah. I know where it is. Are you talking about a separate room in the west wing?”

“Uh huh. there. But, when they said it was not for sale, I was curious and asked what it was. Do you know what it says?”

“What did you say?”

“If you look at the results of this symposium, you will know the deal! Why, doesn’t what the black market owner said to his agent a few weeks ago fit perfectly with this?”

“Uh… they already decided on the results of the symposium, so they can rest assured?”

…This can’t be right.

I quickly increased the amount of mana used to strengthen my hearing.

“So I couldn’t help it and took a peek nearby. and. Something I never imagined came out?”

“Oh, what was that?!”

“Hehe. Give me 300 pesels for the information. Then I’ll let you know.”

“I. Just teach me. Don’t do that in the first place.”

“You can’t spend too much of your pocket money, dude. I too am having a hard time because of the symposium. Please help me a little.”

When the nobleman named Ontoni clicked his tongue and paid 300 pesels, Dalc chuckled and opened his mouth again.

“There’s a lot of fertilizer in that bag. The corpse of the demonic beast there was decomposed into magical energy and later mixed with the dirt! Even using magic power dissolver.”

“What is it? that is. So you’re saying it’s just dirt made with the corpse of a demon beast?”

“Yes. However, I don’t know what this is used for, but they only said that they were going to take the batteries and shoot them somewhere.”

“True. I just wasted my money. How does that affect the results of the symposium? It’s probably just a bluff. The black market owner has been bragging a lot lately. Don’t you just believe things like that, man!”

“Oh, it could be real, right? Even so, my grades are shit because I was robbed by His Majesty the Prince of Florence. I should have at least a circuit of hope!”

Not for sale, off-limits area. Correlation with symposium results.

Up to this point, my suspicions were sharp.

However, the statement that they are the ones who decide the last place in the symposium after the fertilizer bags…

‘Are you sure. ‘You blatantly shot Shatrene.’

This connected everything.

Chatelaine, which began to fail as the harvest rate plummeted, became an extremely closed territory.

Chatelaine strawberries and grapes, which everyone could eat regardless of gender or age, suddenly became premium foods for the nobility.

Chatelaine residents blindly clung to high-quality fertilizers, which were supplied from outside sources.

Starting with the person in charge of the festival that Ferdi found, as many as 35 internal enemies, including Maf, all made contracts with other territories and ruined Chatrene.

Even if there was a problem with farming methods, even if there was a problem with soil management, even if there was a problem with pH or fertilizer. In the end, there was no significant change.

It all started with fertilizer.

From what led to the premiumization of crops to the cause that ruined this land.

All the problems pointed to fertilizer.

Could it be that the residents of Chatlaine just misunderstood me?

It is more reasonable for those who intentionally wanted Shatrene to be destroyed to have taken action.

It is more reasonable to say that fertilizer and contracts were provided in order to destroy the Chatrene territory.

It is more reasonable to say that there were forces that wanted to push for the premiumization of chatelaine strawberries and chatelaine grapes.

It would be much more reasonable to believe that someone did this intentionally to ruin Chatrene.

Shatlaine’s soil, which was damaged by pouring over the fertilizer they manufactured, will not recover no matter what we do.

If I hadn’t taken action, it would have been just a matter of time before Karssein would be in last place in the symposium.

So, we need to catch the main culprit.

Otherwise, you cannot clear this episode.

-Tiring!

▶I got relevant information!◀

▶The types of objects that can be secured as evidence vary.◀

Now it’s not just the circumstances.

It was revealed that what went into the fertilizer bag was the corpse of a demon beast, and the place where the fertilizer that acidified the soil was fired and arrived at was also Chatelaine.

It’s inevitable that it will become more complicated the more you dig into it, but if you were determined to ruin a territory like this, there would be clearer evidence.

‘Instead of fertilizer bags, I should look for things like related ledgers.’

Fertilizer bags are already stored in Chatelaine.

It’s obvious that there’s some sort of manual for manufacturing this, so just look for it.

It would be perfect to have a ledger showing that the corpse of a witch beast was purchased in a place where witch beasts do not appear.

A seal stamped on employees would definitely be helpful.

Dung- Dung-

The lights turned on one by one on the dark stage, and the shouts of the nobles rang out along with the colorful spotlights.

-Clap clap clap clap!

“Nice to meet you. Ladies and gentlemen!”

Let’s hold on for just one hour from now.

And for 30 minutes, let’s wander around here and there.

▶Episode XI. The source of the contamination is ongoing.◀

▶I entered the black market. From now on, we must find traces of the Waglu faction.◀

▶The more means of proof you have, the more options you have.◀

***

The first hour of the auction has passed.

As the 30-minute break arrived, we had our first opportunity to search.

First, we had to fill in the missing information.

30 minutes may not be considered a very leisurely time, but I don’t know how many devices there are that pose a threat to me here.

Even though the risk level was initially lowered from prohibition, it remains at the risk level, so it wouldn’t be surprising if a dead flag were raised if you wandered around in a completely unknown place.

So what is the structure of this black market? Where you can move within the building and where dangerous devices are hidden. I had to get that stuck in my head first.

The first goal was to achieve this rather than to obtain options through evidence collection and investigation.

And another hour passed.

When the second search time arrived, the movements became more bold.

-Tap. Step by step.

‘Two guards?’

First, I hid myself.

“You didn’t find the intruder in the end?”

“Uh. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find it.”

“Actually, didn’t an animal come in and do it? Chet.”

Fortunately, the aftermath related to the guard earlier seems to have subsided. If the search had continued here, it would have been a lot of trouble.

After the grumbling guards passed, we crossed the hallway and arrived at the first room we wanted to search.

“This is a security magic device.”

Red lasers, like those seen in movies, were blocking passage throughout the room.

“I don’t know why you’re hiding it so tightly, but it seems like it’s quite important, right?”

The magical power is weak, so it can be destroyed right away… but this appears to be magic that was designed and put together properly like a puzzle.

If an alarm sounds like before and there is a commotion, that is not a good thing. Right now, it would be best to move around a bit.

I thought…

The amount of magical power swaying can be seen at a glance.

“At an angle of about 5 degrees from the 11 o’clock position. If we cut off from here…”

Swish!

Four red magic threads disappeared at once.

It temporarily lost its effectiveness because the magic power, the source of magic, was not supplied.

▶Emergency mission!◀

▶If you search the room after temporarily stopping the source of magical power, no tracking party will appear.◀

▶Solve as many puzzles as possible and search safely.◀

“This is the puzzle that appears in the emergency mission.”

Usually, these were not the logic we were used to, but extremely difficult riddle-type puzzles.

Well, it doesn’t matter.

If the difficulty level drops, I benefit.

After eliminating the risk factors, I searched the room in earnest.

“As expected. Something like this could have happened.”

-Tiring!

▶I found traces of the Waglu faction.◀

▶I found a manual given to employees.◀

▶Find more remaining evidence.◀

“Manual… This is the seal of Count Modric, who has lost much of his power even within the Waglu faction.”

In short, it means that the weakest piece of evidence has been found.

It would be difficult to feel relieved just because you found this one thing.

They could cut off Count Modric’s tail.

Moreover, there will inevitably be evidence left here and there that hasn’t been found yet. We need to discover at least one more variable in the options.

however.

I discovered something strange here.

“…Plan to annihilate the Kingdom of Wederos?”

What is this again?

-Tiring!

▶One of the conditions of the emergency mission has been met!◀

▶We found traces of an ancient kingdom.◀

▶You can receive additional rewards by satisfying other conditions.◀

***

After finding the manual, I searched other rooms and was able to collect things that could be seen as clues.

However, the identity of the document is still unknown.

‘It’s a plan to annihilate the Kingdom of Wederos.’

I’m not sure if the content was readable, but it wasn’t even readable at all.

If I had to guess from the title, it said it was a kingdom, so it would be a single country…

‘I’ve never seen anything like that in my memory or on the map in this game.’

The Kingdom of Wederos.

I have never heard of such a kingdom.

But, as soon as I looked at the plan, a status window popped up?

I can’t help but doubt it.

I want to ignore it and conclude that it is not related, but if it is a setting in this game…

‘hmm?’

-Kwaak.

Harnier must have realized that I had my arms crossed, and gave my arm a firm squeeze.

‘…It’s because of the auction.’

Since the second auction, we have been able to meet since the seats were said to be in the way.

It didn’t hurt even if I tried to stretch with those two slender arms, but I knew it when I saw the look in her eyes.

“Now, this time it’s a crystal that shines bright purple!”

I am looking at that jewel with desperate eyes.

It’s staring at me intently as if I can’t miss it.

That is probably why Harnier entered this black market.

‘but…’

There were more than a few nobles who had their eyes on that.

You may have enough money, but you won’t be able to spend it.

Even if it is the same light blue button, the groups are different. Mine is a noble group, and Harnier belongs to the upper group.

If she spent a lot of money, there was a risk that her identity would be revealed.

‘The money… can be taken out. Thanks to the item window.’

Here… this method is 100 times correct.

“Harnier. Please cancel your bid.”

“Yes?”

-Wow.

“Oh, there’s a new bidder! Now, the bidding price is… Huh?!”

“2, 200,000 pesels!”

“Wasn’t the bet a little while ago 100,000 pesels?”

“Twice that…!”

The nobles’ eyes turned to me at once.

***

After some time, the item was sold, and Karsein went to the designated location and received the jewel.

“Congratulations. Haha!”

“Okay.”

He answered indifferently and brought the items.

And that was when the auction ended.

Karssein gently holds up a box to Harnier, who was staring at that place blankly.

It was a box containing jewels that Harnier had so desperately wanted to buy.

“I have eyes to see now, so I will return it later.”

“…Thank you.”

“Not much to say. If your identity is revealed, you won’t be the only one in trouble.”

I see

I wanted to buy that for a moment, so I almost messed up my work.

That would mean that he was watching the scene all along.

‘I shouldn’t do this…’

– Excited. Excited.

My heart starts beating on its own again.

“Did you find everything you were looking for?”

“…Yes.”

Thanks to you though.

“What about you?”

“Hmm. Perhaps because I had information about this place, I took everything useful. However, I might be suspicious, so I think it would be better to stay a little longer.”

“Yes. The money… I’ll pay you back with interest later.”

“Thank you for that.”

As he grinned while saying thank you, Harnier’s face turned slightly red.

‘W-what…’

Shaking her head to come to her senses, she cleared her throat and spoke again.

“Over there. Karsein. Once this is over…”

────!

At that moment, colorful lights turned on with the sound of fireworks hitting your ears.

“Today’s highlight auction! That’s right!”

-Good!

“This is the item!”

Spotlights gathered in one place.

The audience erupted in cheers, saying “Oh!”

There was a sword lying there.

It’s a sword. It wasn’t an item that Harnier would be particularly interested in.

But between them, Carcein’s eyes were focused on that.

“…Ha.”

A situation where no one explained what that was.

Nevertheless, Karssein was sighing slightly as he looked at the sword.

What on earth is that?

“This product is a silver sword from the Kingdom of Wederos!”