Ch.143Report on the Downfall of Diligence (8)

The day of the promise. The City Hall office.

Kain wore fine clothes he had specially selected for the occasion. He was in stark contrast to Maria, who was dressed in an ordinary nun’s habit with a pale complexion. She had been eating only half her usual portions for days, claiming she needed to look frail. Thanks to this, she could use the excuse of “not wanting to be rude by appearing before a noble with an unhealthy complexion” to apply makeup that made her look even more sickly.

Guided by a city hall official, the two stood before the office. The official knocked lightly and then said, “Please enter,” stepping aside. As expected of an imperial official’s office, it featured a spacious room with brightly patterned furniture, flags, emblems, and gleaming armor and sword displays.

It was easy to tell who “the Diligence Hans” was. He must be the fat man sitting behind that lacquered ebony desk that looked wider and more solid than a fortress.

He was so obese that his cheeks looked swollen as if stung by bees, his lips protruded as if pushed out by fat, and he had at least three chins. His head was unusually large compared to others, and if not for his broad, sturdy frame, he would have looked like a big-headed clown.

Brother Theodore sat at the corner of the long table in front of Hans. He was a skeletal man so thin it was almost embarrassing to describe him as such. Yet, far from appearing weak or pitiful, he gave off a sharp and dangerous impression like a sword drawn from its scabbard.

His hair, which fell past his shoulders, seemed to have been carefully combed, but the texture itself was so straw-like and dry that it stood out wildly. The face revealed beneath his black hair showed bones prominently, with skin that seemed merely stretched over them, wrinkled and without any elasticity.

And those eyes.

Those angular stone-like eyes, like rocks revealed when a lightning-filled storm washes away rotten mud, flashed dangerously and intensely.

Though the rain had stopped, his eyes still held the memory of the storm. Neither his elongated jaw reminiscent of a horse, nor his lips that trembled while making strange coughing sounds—”krrrng, purrng”—could diminish the strangeness of those eyes.

Yes, that was Theodore. He was as thin as Maria, but the atmosphere was completely different. If Maria contained the fire of justice wrapped in apparent flexibility, Theodore seemed like a man whose madness-like heat was burning his body like firewood.

“Pleased to meet you,” Kain greeted the Diligence Hans first, then Theodore with respect. Introductions followed, along with the same brazen lie he had told Grace.

The story about how the current system of the Emperor approving every building was too inefficient, and rumors of creating special districts instead.

When Kain finished his explanation, Theodore and Hans looked at each other. To Kain, it seemed like they were passing a ball back and forth with their eyes, as if saying “you speak first.” Finally, Theodore sighed and cracked his neck with an audible sound.

“Verneith, was it? You came from the capital, you say. You’ve come a long way. A long way indeed.”

There was no need to mumble about coming from far away like a cow chewing fodder, Kain thought as he nodded.

“When following a gold vein, even a thousand miles becomes a short distance.”

“And the sister beside you, if I may ask, how did she manage such a journey so well?”

Theodore’s glistening eyes turned toward Maria. She smiled frailly.

“It seems I still have work to do in this world, Brother. Since I’ve been fortunate enough to join this good meeting, isn’t this divine providence rather than coincidence?”

“You use the word ‘providence’ so easily. Is that common among young clergy?”

Theodore himself didn’t look particularly old either. At most, he might be in his early to mid-forties. Of course, judging by his face alone, he might seem well over sixty, but unlike his clear, somewhat oily voice.

“When I was a novice, just uttering the first syllable of ‘providence’ would have earned me an immediate whipping. Such words weren’t to be spoken carelessly.

People in the old days knew fear. They knew how to revere and fear God, and that’s why they worshipped Him. That was before those high-and-mighty imperial powers started using crusaders like mercenaries.”

“Well, that’s quite an exaggeration, heh, heh.” Kain was more impressed by Hans’s three-layered neck fat that trembled majestically than by his high-pitched voice.

Hans’s eyes were just as buried in fat as his lips, but unfortunately, the grease on his eyelids was so thick that they looked like pearls embedded in a pig’s backside.

“Faith binds people together, doesn’t it? Just like the church does. But the world can’t run on faith alone. You need a big switch too. That’s what the Empire is. The Empire. Yes. When you swing that big switch—whoosh!—everyone jumps in place not knowing what to do. It’s like group jump rope, like during festivals!”

Judging by his grinning, this seemed to be Hans’s idea of a joke. Though it still seemed rather dim-witted. Regardless of people’s stiff expressions, Hans continued his frivolous talk.

“But this merchant from the capital doesn’t seem to be here to sell switches! Right?”

Fortunately, this was a question Kain could answer. He nodded slowly.

“I’m not buying or selling anything yet. Not yet. As I mentioned, I’m here to scout locations in case Lombardt City is designated as such a special district. We’d need warehouse sites and places for quarantine procedures.”

“That’s precisely what I find curious,” Theodore almost squawked. Maria frowned in displeasure.

“What exactly would our city gain in this process? You must know about our city’s peculiar position, but you’d better abandon any notion that everything will be run according to the capital’s wishes. Yes.”

“Of course, the quarantine process itself offers no benefit. But consider this: if the Emperor’s wishes are fulfilled, it would be good for everyone. More goods would flow than if each item required the Emperor’s individual approval, and with more goods comes more people.

Where people go, money follows. This means the entire city could become wealthier than it is now. Who knows? This place might even be called the second capital, like Magdeburg.”

“I’ve been to Magdeburg!” Hans’s deeply buried eyes sparkled. “It was truly a beautiful and enormous city. My goodness, such wealth! The gold and goods! Despite being an imperial city, it didn’t feel like one. There’s nowhere else like it in the world!”

“Of course not. The Pope favors Magdeburg,” Theodore replied indifferently, looking at Kain.

“Let me ask you this then. If the imperial court wants to do something, what profit would you—what was your name again…Verneith? Yes, what profit would Manager Verneith stand to gain?”

“Business opportunities are endless. I can’t buy or lease land, but I could efficiently coordinate transportation or connect reliable merchants with each other. As you know, trustworthy carriers are always in short supply. I can introduce highly credible transporters from the capital. As this city grows, more people like me…”

“Brokers?”

“No, not brokers, but people who want to help this city will flock here. Let me tell you this: I’ll offer lower prices than they will. As long as you guarantee the minimum volume of goods to ensure profit. I’ve come here first to make my face known.”

Both Hans and Theodore seemed to accept Kain’s words reasonably well. But Theodore remained skeptical.

“That’s if Lombardt City is designated as a special district.”

“If you wait until after the designation to act, it’s already too late. Wealth is like a river—what has flowed away doesn’t return.”

“If only your actions flowed as smoothly as your words.” The brother shook his head. He looked like a lion trying to shake off a dirty mane.

“But I’m curious about something. If the Emperor wants to increase trade volume, does that mean he’s willing to improve relations with the Eastern Union? As you know, trade and diplomatic issues can’t be considered separately.”

“The Eastern Union’s attitude has changed significantly. First, the Dandolo family, the Doge of Venelucia, collapsed pathetically, and political chaos in the Union still hasn’t settled.

But it’s not chaos to the point of civil war. It’s a power struggle within the ruling class. What does that mean? It means each guild and ruler needs political slush funds. Therefore, I expect everyone will take a progressive attitude toward trade.”

Fortunately, Beatrice’s ghost didn’t glare at Kain from the corner of the room. Kain calmly and composedly laid out his story. Theodore frowned and looked at the Diligence Hans again.

What was strange was Hans’s attitude. Kain had seen many people fatter than Hans, and many people sharper and more astute than average folks. In other words, there’s little correlation between physical size and mental acuity, intelligence, and focus. But Hans sat there blankly, as if he had eaten his wits along with everything else.

“Ahem.”

Only after Theodore cleared his throat did Hans finally snap to attention.

“The Eastern Union. I have a friend there. A very good friend.”

“I think I know who,” Kain searched his memory. “Leonardo, the Charity, one of the Seven Heroes.”

“That friend and I have much in common. Very much. Both of us have dishonest pasts, became heroes thanks to completing great deeds, and now we’ve reformed and work diligently. Leonardo would be pleased to hear this story.”

Why was the Charity suddenly being mentioned? Kain blinked. Maria carefully began, “Um.”

“Is the Charity Leonardo also involved in trade?”

“Oh, yes. Yes. He’s doing very important work. Of course, he doesn’t trade directly. As you know, his virtue is fighting. But that makes him an excellent bodyguard. Since he once made his living stealing other people’s cargo, he knows exactly what to guard and how, heh heh heh!”

The memory of St. Georgios Monastery flashed through Kain’s mind. The priest who had joined the Children’s Crusade and then became a member of the Black Phoenix Faith. That priest who called the Diligence Hans his master.

When they reached what seemed like a seashore, he spoke of “villains” who arrived by ship. How those “villains” indiscriminately captured boys and girls and took them somewhere. And how he himself had worked at what seemed like a dock, being beaten.

Then who brought the ships those villains arrived on…

“Leonardo must be familiar with this river.”

“Oh. It’s a famous story. Don’t you know? He brought his galley up the river against the current. Without him, it would have been difficult to transport mercenaries and supplies from the Eastern Union. The story of him going right up to the Demon King’s doorstep came after his fighting prowess became known.”

Kain organized his thoughts.

Records about Leonardo were similar everywhere. Leonardo, who had survived by piracy, or more precisely privateering, contributed everything he had to join the crusade after the Demon King’s rise. This was also how he earned the name “the Charity.”

As fighters became scarce, Leonardo and his pirates also left their ships and joined the crusade. But among them, the privateers from the Eastern Union, only Leonardo reached the final Demon King.

From the Empire’s perspective, Leonardo was a foreigner and thus outside many people’s interest. Only the story that he had given up privateering remained.

But the suggestion that he was still engaged in some kind of partnership with the Diligence Hans took on an entirely different meaning for Kain.

The fact that the Children’s Crusade was sold off by adults means that the Diligence Hans and the Charity Leonardo were deeply involved, and their relationship continues to this day.

‘There’s something more.’

The Temperance Arius was attacked off the coast of Venelucia. The Charity Leonardo is from the Eastern Union. He’s still involved in shipping and appears to be in a partnership-like relationship with the Diligence Hans. They are deeply involved in the terrible outcome of the Children’s Crusade and the Black Phoenix Faith.

The Black Phoenix Faith spread throughout the Empire. The Kindness Roberta was actually a witch, and to the Samaritans surrounding the Humility Arianne, the Black Phoenix Faith was a religion of salvation.

And Hans himself is called “master” by the Black Phoenix priests.

Then the conclusion is clear. Arius. Leonardo. Hans. Roberta. These four were either heretics or profited through heretics. Whether it was power or something else.

The Humility Arianne was an outcast and couldn’t join their group.

William. The Chastity William. He was an irredeemable prodigal, but didn’t he lament to Professor Osrant, the Southern Academy literature professor? That they had done terrible things to the boys and girls. That they had blindfolded them, forcibly placed them at the front of the formation, and urged them to go to the Demon King. Because only they could penetrate the shadow.

‘If William, unable to bear his guilty conscience, escaped into debauchery. If Arianne lived in seclusion because she didn’t want to remember what she had experienced and seen.’

Then what about the rest? Besides sealing the Demon King in an innocent girl’s body and burying her alive, what else did they do? And what are they doing now?

Kain swallowed his excitement. He needed to approach this carefully, very carefully.