Ethan Conrad (2)

“That’s impossible. No matter how much business you run in Suan, there’s no way you could make that much money.”

“But money doesn’t lie. The fact is that guy has been handling a huge amount of money recently. Where on earth is he making such money from?”

At a gathering of several branch leaders from nearby cities in the organization. These people who often met usually, today instead of engaging in idle chatter, openly expressed their complaints as soon as they saw each other’s faces.

It was because of the recent internal affairs of the organization. Given their nature of straddling both the underworld and the legitimate world, all sorts of things happen every day, but executives at the branch leader level and above were usually quiet without much change.

“That bastard, he’s clearly twisting his body trying to climb up somehow.”

But lately, winds of change have started to blow even in the upper echelons of the organization. This is because the health of the founder and big brother of the organization, the overall commander, has deteriorated, and as the commanders below him move, new positions are about to open up.

The branch leaders who could no longer climb higher lit up their eyes to rise one step further and become one of the top-ranking members in the organization.

Not only Ethan, but also those gathered here now were the same.

“…What if that arrogant Ethan becomes our superior? Not only will we not be able to climb up, it might become even harder to accumulate wealth.”

One of them, who had been watching the female servant leave the room after bringing alcohol, spoke with a serious face. For them, who normally compete with Ethan and could be called a different faction, Ethan’s promotion was something that had to be prevented at all costs.

“You’re right, Herman. But how?”

“First, we need to find out. How exactly did he suddenly start making so much money? I’ve already planted someone to keep an eye on him. If he lets his guard down even a little, it’s bound to show.”

The one called Herman grinned. After all, they’re all rooted in the underworld, doing illegal things as if it’s nothing.

Because they do the same things themselves, they couldn’t raise it as an issue, but they could interfere.

They themselves knew all too well that what happens between them is something that public authority cannot intervene in.

“People spying on me, huh. Hmm, honestly, there are too many suspicious places.”

“I thought so.”

The problem is that their plan has already been exposed by someone who can freely control the wind.

Ethan scratched his head, saying there were too many suspicious places after hearing Isilia’s words telling him that there was someone watching this house.

* * *

“Now the organization has grown very large, with numerous branches raking in money from all over the place, but even 10 years ago, it wasn’t like this. The organization back then was just an ordinary group that was just starting to grow, and we fought and competed using any means necessary.”

“So, rival organizations? City guards?”

“Not just that, but the internal factions of the organization are also complicated. Strictly speaking, I could be considered part of Commander Luhan’s faction. Branch leaders belonging to other factions might try to keep me in check.”

Ethan shrugged, saying he couldn’t be certain.

From the blatant attempts of killers to infiltrate, to choosing an unusual path and amassing difficult-to-achieve wealth, it seemed he was living a life that was tiresome in many ways as a consequence.

“Is that organization worth risking your life for?”

For me, who had lived an ordinary life all along, it was a life that was hard to understand. I thought that even if you earn a bit less, or are a bit less successful, wouldn’t it be better to live a bit more safely and comfortably?

“If it were in the past, maybe not, but honestly, an organization that has grown as much as it has now is quite valuable. Of course, now that I’ve joined hands with you, even if I leave the organization alone, I wouldn’t have trouble making a living. But the numerous information networks and businesses that the organization has built up over time… honestly, if I could gradually take them over from the inside, it would be foolish to refuse.”

“Ah, that might be a bit of a waste.”

When Ethan mentioned the value of the organization, I had an ‘aha’ moment.

His ability to quickly gather vast amounts of information and deal with annoying tasks in one go was ultimately possible because of the power of the organization that had been nurtured over many years in various cities and forces.

He had been acting as my magic wand, granting whatever I asked for with that power, so I, who had been using him quite profitably, also needed his power more.

“I need to think about this too. It would be too inconvenient without you.”

I also pondered with a serious face, arms crossed. Despite my seriousness, Ethan’s face was slack-jawed, as if he found it absurd.

“I won’t be caught off guard enough to make you step in. I’ve entrusted the most important artifact collection and sales to the most trustworthy guys.”

Ethan showed confidence. He was saying that he had enough experience not to fall for sloppy tricks.

Since he insisted that much, it didn’t seem necessary to say anything more, so I kept my mouth shut after that.

“What…? The carriage delivering the ordered goods was attacked!?”

But the very next morning, I, eating breakfast with half-open eyes, heard Ethan’s urgent voice transmitted through the wind and chuckled.

“What happened?”

“The hotel and business that Ethan runs… come to think of it, that’s where we stayed, right? Anyway, they order goods from other regions to stock there, and it seems the merchant group delivering them was attacked.”

As Lina was curious, I told her the facts based on what I had overheard.

While there are thugs who rob passersby everywhere you go, the appearance of bandits who systematically attack merchant groups was a different story directly related to the city’s public safety.

‘Is this a conspiracy too?’

Just yesterday, I had discovered suspicious individuals watching this place, and it didn’t seem like a coincidence that out of all the people, the merchant group delivering Ethan’s goods was attacked.

“Are you going to Ethan?”

“He said he’d handle it himself, but you never know. It’s not urgent. Maybe he really can resolve it on his own.”

After finishing my meal and fully waking up during the process of washing up, I decided to go take a quick look.

There’s still a lot Ethan needs to do for me, and if he gets interrupted like this, it’s ultimately my loss too. With the power of the wind spirits I’ve newly acquired, it should be possible to provide help discreetly without being detected.

“I’m always envious of how your hair can be so soft even if you don’t wash it.”

Meanwhile, Lina, who was touching my hair, admired the flowing locks in her hand, saying she was envious.

The ability to always maintain cleanliness thanks to the characteristic of High Elves having extremely low waste excretion was certainly a very convenient ability.

“Eek!?”

“It’s all dry.”

Plus, quick drying using wind spirits. Thanks to this, I greatly shortened my washing time and went out to the backyard again.

Even if I wanted to help Ethan, he had already rushed out to take care of business. Until he returns this evening and tells me what happened, I planned to spend time training the wind spirits as I had been doing.

“As I thought, there’s no watcher today. They must be keeping an eye on Ethan for sure.”

Of course, I also checked through the spirits whether there were any enemies watching this place. As if a house without its owner wasn’t worth watching, I couldn’t sense their surveillance now that Ethan was away.

It was also evidence that they knew nothing about me.

“Instead, it seems someone else is looking for me.”

But before the morning was over, a new signal calling for me was fired.

Before parting with Renia, with whom I had discovered the erosion site, I had told her that if she really wanted to call me, she should fire a flare into the sky, and it had actually happened.

It’s really a grand and childish method, but I couldn’t help but laugh as I put on my coat, not expecting her to actually do it.

“To think that’s calling for Lady Isilia…”

“There was such a big incident just a few days ago, so I thought I should meet at least once. I’ll go alone this time.”

Renia, who was aware of the seriousness of this unprecedented situation, was probably still investigating the erosion. She must have found out something and is calling for me.

A calamity that goes beyond simply corrupting one person and tries to erode the land itself to the point where spirits scream – it couldn’t be ignored.

“Are you really going alone?”

“It’s fine now.”

Lina looked worried as she watched me put on my hood, but I’m in a much more confident state than before.

Even though others can’t properly cope with my power that manipulates nature as it is, my power has more than doubled thanks to the newly joined spirits.

Besides, the meeting place is near the city anyway. Even if I encounter some local thugs, I was confident I could blow them away easily.

‘The advantage of a world with all sorts of people.’

Although I stepped out onto the street barefoot through the secret passage I always used, the people on the street didn’t particularly pay attention to me.

It’s a world where people with animal tails and ears walk around, and magic and sorcery are ingrained in daily life. Still feeling a sense of wonder at such scenery, I thought I was quite ordinary by comparison.