Ch.6363. Festival (2)

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to greet me?”

The officer urged the person who had come to work as a temporary guard to introduce themselves.

Seeing the awkward silence, the officer stepped in and said something, which finally prompted them to speak.

“…I’m Number 181. I’ve been assigned to guard Person 229.”

“Uh… yes. I look forward to working with you…”

I thought something seemed off, and sure enough, I heard a voice that was forcibly lowered and suppressed. But… a forced voice would obviously sound unnatural.

How should I get past this awkwardness?

I glanced at the officer’s face, and it seemed like the words “What’s wrong with this person?” were written all over it.

‘We’re thinking the same thing.’

She seemed to be trying to emphasize that she wasn’t female by forcing a male voice, but unfortunately, who would believe that voice belonged to a man? To anyone listening, it only served to highlight that she was indeed female.

…Maybe she’s just a woman who’s shy around men. Yes, let’s think of it that way.

This awkwardness won’t do anyone any good if it continues.

“I should get to work now. I’d like to establish some protocols with Number 181 regarding the guard duty.”

“Sure. You two work it out between yourselves. Just do your job well, that’s all that matters.”

I succeeded in diverting the officer’s attention.

“Um… Number 181, shall we talk?”

“…”

But why is Number 181 still so fidgety? I really can’t figure this out.

***

A merchant’s profession is fundamentally about making profit.

It involves supplying goods, providing customers with what they want, and being deeply connected to market prices.

Though sometimes derogatorily called “traders,” merchants usually hold the upper hand in transactions.

However, Rwena, the head of the Rwen Merchant Guild, was once in a subordinate position.

“You’ll give me another chance? How laughable.”

The letter in Rwena’s hand was crumpled forcefully.

“How long did you think I would continue to dance in your palm?”

What was written in that crumpled letter?

It was a threatening message saying they had her daughter and that one word from them would result in her death. It warned her to stop the guild’s movements toward the Academy this time.

A common threat she had seen for decades.

In the past, she had been deceived by such threats and committed vile, disgusting acts just to generate substantial profits.

And for decades, she had paid him. Enormous sums of money earned through dirty methods.

She had mistreated regular customers, pushed away the poor, and squeezed every last drop from their withered bodies to fill the pockets of others. The demands from the Noble Alliance were always like that.

She couldn’t deny that her actions had been callous and cruel. She regretted them. Morally and ethically, they were absolutely unacceptable.

But without doing so, her reason for living would have disappeared.

She had repeatedly engaged in the same behavior, falling for the sweet temptation that her daughter was still alive.

As time passed, she realized the enormous sins she had committed. When someone asked why she was still obsessed with a daughter who might be dead or alive, she finally came to her senses and began to atone little by little by siding with the Empire.

The sinful mother, who had been chasing a phantom daughter, was gradually breaking free from the Noble Alliance’s grip after obtaining information that her daughter was likely attending the Academy.

“If only I could see you just once…”

She couldn’t even remember when she last saw her child.

How had that lovely daughter, who used to jump into her arms calling “Mama, Mama,” grown over the past ten years?

Rwena’s lifelong wish:

To see her daughter’s face and hold her in her arms, even if just once.

-Guild Master, we’re ready.

“…Alright. Just wait a moment longer.”

After tying a ribbon around her arm like a charm—the same ribbon she used to tie in her daughter’s hair when she was little—Rwena stepped outside the building.

Today was the day of a festival that all merchant guilds would covet.

There were countless things needed for the festival, and it was time to release the goods they had stockpiled for this purpose.

“Guild Master.”

“Yes. We’re heading to Levrant Academy.”

“As you command.”

The Rwen Guild’s destination was Levrant Academy, where the festival was taking place.

As a merchant guild aligned with Ardelion Grand Duke’s faction, they were responsible for managing this festival.

She cautiously asked her officer:

“…What about the confidential inquiry I requested?”

“I apologize. There are too many people with the same name, making it difficult to identify the specific person.”

“It’s alright. Just confirm without being discovered. In the worst case… I’m prepared to accept it.”

“I’ll pay extra attention to this matter.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“Yes. I’ll head to the Academy now.”

Watching the officer leave, Rwena thumped her chest as if feeling constricted.

Then she carefully called out her daughter’s name as she wiped away her tears.

***

The same thing will happen again. And someone knows it.

If you know what’s going to happen next, and you’ve experienced it firsthand, you can easily avoid harmful situations.

However, even if you know the future, if you haven’t seen it with your own eyes or experienced it yourself, it’s difficult to predict what’s ahead.

If you’re involved in something where you only know the outcome but not the process, you can’t see one step ahead.

‘So that’s how it happened.’

A boulder was blocking the path, precisely obstructing the Rwen Guild’s route.

I didn’t bring my Blushuar Arc for fear of arousing suspicion. If I had known this would happen, I would have brought it.

“What… happened here?”

One of the guild officers urgently checked the map.

They had encountered an obstacle at a location they absolutely had to pass through to reach Levrant.

“Was there some kind of rockslide at the end of the ravine…?”

Junon had a keen eye for geography, having fought a battle here once before.

He could easily recall that this narrow ravine wasn’t blocked at that time.

‘This was deliberate.’

It seemed as if someone had blocked it knowing the Rwen Guild would pass through here.

“What should we do… Should we take a detour?”

“I suppose we must. Blocking the path for no reason, really…”

“Having to take a detour instead of the direct route. This is going to cost us.”

“Instead of complaining, let’s hurry and get there so we can rest. It’s a festival, after all.”

The merchants needed to reach Levrant Academy quickly to rest their tired bodies and unpack their goods to prepare for business.

But would those who did this just stand by and watch?

The opponents wouldn’t end with just the cute trick of blocking the path.

“Huh…? Did anyone else hear something explode over there, or is it just me?”

“No, I heard it too. But… that would mean someone else is around here…”

“W-wait!! Look at that path!!”

That’s the nature of a ravine.

A depression formed where the ground has been deeply carved out, creating a valley between areas of different elevations.

That’s why blocking this terrain would be even easier.

A ravine trapped between rocky mountains, blocked on both sides.

The Rwen Guild, firmly trapped in the ravine with both ends blocked, had never shown up at Levrant Academy before the regression.

In other words, the Rwen Guild had never set foot in Levrant Academy.

“Damn it… Shovels and hammers won’t even make a dent! How about your side?”

“The back is the same… Our guards are trying their best, but they say unless powerful mages deliberately break through, we can’t get out…”

“So we’re… trapped? What about the festival…?”

The festival prepared by the Empire. The Rwen Guild, an Empire-aligned merchant group, was called in to manage it.

With the Rwen Guild unable to arrive, the Noble Alliance would seize this opportunity and take over the festival instead.

That is, if they remain trapped here, unable to do anything.

“We’re completely trapped.”

“This is a headache. We chose this route because it was the fastest way to get there.”

After calming the guild members, the two officers put their heads together to think of a solution.

“Then we should at least send a message that people are here, shouldn’t we?”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I’m thinking of using fireworks and gunpowder. To reach Levrant, we need to create the brightest light possible.”

“That’s a good idea. Right now…”

“It won’t work. No matter how much you amplify the light, it won’t be visible in broad daylight. Even at night, the distance to Levrant is too far for it to reach.”

The number on the work clothes read 229. He was an outsider from the guild’s perspective.

“Then what do you suggest? That we just sit here and do nothing?”

“It’s unfortunate we’re trapped, but now is the time to request help. We should at least use this.”

“The ground layer here isn’t very stable, so sending signals with those might just disturb the layer and cause another collapse. Making a signal that won’t reach anyone and ending up with less space is a bad move.”

“What are you doing?”

The two officers widened their eyes as they watched Number 229 porter enter the carriage in the middle of their conversation.

“It seems there is a way to escape from here after all. It’s more certain than using fireworks and gunpowder.”

“What do you mean…?”

“I’ll need some supplies.”

I don’t think they won’t have them. The only variable is whether they’ll accept this.

***

Why was the Rwen Guild trapped here?

Why did the Rwen Guild finally set foot in the Academy only after the Noble Alliance’s festival had already taken place?

And why did the guild suffer such tremendous damage that recovery was impossible, with the guild master being criticized for not properly managing the guild?

The Noble Alliance’s scheme was truly cunning.

It all started when they isolated the Rwen Guild, which had fallen out of their favor, in this ravine.

So, it must be prevented.

“These carriages. You need to use all of them over there.”

“All of them over there? Why?”

“Because you’ll need to use everything to either open the blocked passage or send a signal to the Academy. There’s no way without using everything at once.”

“This guy is talking complete nonsense!!”

It’s understandable that the officer would shout. These carriages were filled with magic stones, representing the largest portion of this delivery.

Asking to use them all up was like telling a merchant to accept a meaningless deficit.

“I’d like to tell you to calm down, but I feel the same way. Why are you saying such nonsense?”

“If not now, it will be too late. Even if you have to use up the magic stones, even if the guild takes a loss, you must do this to avoid disaster.”

“Well…”

The elderly officer looked dumbfounded.

Beside him, the middle-aged officer who couldn’t contain his anger exploded.

“Enough! What would an outsider know! Come on, let’s do it your way and send signals with the gunpowder and fireworks!”

Even the one who had been willing to talk looked back and forth between me and the middle-aged officer, then sighed and replied:

“Why take such a loss when a little time would solve it? As merchants, we cannot accept your request.”

“I’m sorry,” he said as he too turned his back.

But looking around, it’s clear there isn’t much time left.

‘The signs are already showing.’

Having seen the symptoms of isolated people on battlefields before, I could guarantee it. The situation was not good.

They had lit fires and rationed some food, accounting for losses to fill their stomachs, but that was all.

“What do you think happens when people are trapped in a confined space for an extended period?”

“What are you going on about now? Shut your mouth before I take away your entire day’s pay! I thought you were doing a good job, but…”

“We don’t have enough time. Stop forcing your ideas on us. As you can see, this friend is quite angry, so don’t provoke him further.”

“Hmm…”

Is that really so?

Unsatisfying meals. Enclosed space. The gradually setting sun. This place will soon be engulfed in darkness.

Once that darkness arrives, everything will end.

No matter how much they eat, they won’t feel full; no matter how many fires they light, the cold will come. The dimming surroundings and the support that never arrives despite the long wait are the most fatal enemies in a confined space.

The human mind, isolated for long periods, weakly begins to lose its vigilance against crime as anxiety increases.

—How am I supposed to survive on just that piece of jerky we ate earlier?!

—Hey, calm down!

“What’s going on over there…”

Crash!

Before the officer could intervene, a glass artwork meant for display at the Academy exhibition was thrown down and shattered.

Perfect timing.

“Do you still think we have enough time after seeing that?”

“…”

“…”

Guild members rebelling, the powerful becoming looters and ruling over others.

Things that would only happen in lawless zones will unfold in this ravine.

“Will you watch as everyone—guild members, external personnel, and guards—gradually go insane? Or will you listen to a way out, even if it means taking a loss?”

In times like these, making a big deal out of small incidents can be effective.