episode_0165

“Cat Kit Store, welcome to my city.”

The middle-aged man named the Marquis of Butte was a ridiculous being.

Because he was really exercising his authority as if he were a noble.

‘Do they think they can do anything?’

In the world, Hardron is praised as a monstrous force, but compared to the ‘Forgotten Ones’ who have been harassing the Holy Kingdom throughout the continent and the ‘Free Independents’ who can divide the front with the Empire, Hardron is nothing more than a mole that lives by digging a tunnel.

Objectively speaking, Hadron was nothing more than an entity that the Empire could eliminate at any time if it wanted to.

However, due to the nature of the underground city, the time and capital required to deal with them were too high compared to the investment, so they were not hastily organized.

From the perspective of the emperor, who had to worry about an out-of-the-ordinary being called a monster, Hadron was not an urgent matter.

‘Maybe this is why they are so successful.

There is no other organization that fits the saying, “a frog in a well” so well as Hardron.

“Why did you call us apart?”

He asked the Marquis of Bute a question in a feeble voice, weak in the face of authority.

The Marquis of Bute, who was looking down at us from the upper chamber, spoke while greedily eating the meat and liquor that could not be obtained in the underground city.

“Well, well, because I’m interested in the stuff you were delivering.”

“Nyaaaa—Are you talking about the crops from the South?”

“That’s right. How did you get that precious item?”

“That’s… ”

He looked into my bleeding eyes.

It seems like he’s too nervous to answer rashly.

I took the lead in her stead.

“Let me explain it for you.”

“Who are you? You don’t look like Suin.”

“My name is Gregory, an adventurer who has signed a contract with Cat Kit Company.”

When Gregor showed me the adventuring badge he used as an adventurer, the Marquis of Bute began to take interest in me.

“Hmm… S-class.”

I don’t know exactly how high the status of an S-class adventurer is, but it seems that it is not at a level that can be ignored even in Hardron.

“You’re not a merchant, you want to explain?”

“Because this crop was there when I got it.”

“Huh? Can you explain in more detail?”

“A carriage was found coming from the south. Judging from the route, it was heading north, not towards the Asahad Duchy, so the Cat Kit Shop took the people and plundered them. ”

“How bold. This could easily give the southern forces an excuse to advance west.”

“They are just like pigs anyway. Lazy southerners would never dare to come to the West where monsters are rampant. They would be scared by the power of Hadron, the strong man of the West.”

“Haha, that’s right. Compared to us who are born with true royal blood, those southern guys are just pigs who only know money!”

The Marquis of Bute began to like my flattery and laughed heartily.

I could tell just by looking at that sight.

‘Interest is not real.’

If you want to manage an underground city, you need to be a good manager. If you think about the collective madness that is excessively obsessed with past glory, it is impossible for real pigs that are greedy for food right in front of them.

‘This guy is probably a secret agent.’

They were nothing more than puppets set up by claiming various bloodlines and justifications, and were merely an effective means to control their own people.

‘Then, who is the real power?’

There was no need to look around for it.

Just follow the gaze of the spy, Gloria.

‘Are you the author?’

Let’s follow her gaze.

A blond man with a gloomy aura appeared, wearing a dark robe turned inside out.

He was observing this side carefully, then he was whispering to someone.

I listened intently with my divinely enhanced hearing.

[It is said that there is actually a large landowner who came from the South to the West.]

[So, is what the author said true?]

[We cannot tell whether it is true or false in the current situation. As you know, that side is beyond our reach.]

[Is that the hero of the fallen god?]

[That’s right.]

From what I overheard, they didn’t have the ability to detect my lies.

However, the strange thing was that no one noticed Gloria even though she was right in front of them.

‘It’s different from what I expected.’

There are two possibilities why they don’t notice Gloria.

Hadron is either an organization that thoroughly hides information from its spies, or it’s such a mess that you can’t even tell if your spies are right in front of you.

‘By the way, by the way.’

Hadron is a force that continues the legacy of a kingdom that was destroyed by the empire a thousand years ago.

If he was royalty, I thought the blond man over there might be an important figure within Hardron.

‘Should I kill him?’

There were no strongmen like Sir Andrew around, and it was not difficult to sort them out if you put your mind to it.

“The quality is so good that it’s a shame for the southern guys to monopolize it. Our great kingdom needs to show the empire an example as soon as possible.”

While he was thinking about it for a moment, the Marquis of Bute approached the carriage and started saying something that wasn’t even funny.

“Sell me this item cheaply.”

“What does cheap mean?”

“As you all know, our city is currently short on food. I apologize to you, but for the sake of my people, I ask that you make concessions this time.”

‘There really is no such thing as a piglet.’

Looking at their actions, I thought they might be orcs.

‘It’s not food for the people, it’s bread for himself.’

Even though they received a lot of food as a gift from Dennis, one of the major landowners in the South, it was not enough to feed all the city people.

He only thought about filling his stomach with delicious food.

‘The guy who said ‘Hadron’s Deterioration’ is just sitting there.’

The real power holder seemed to want to maintain his position as the mastermind until the end, so he didn’t really try to come forward.

‘then…’

I made a quick decision and opened my mouth.

“Okay, I understand. If that’s what the Marquis thinks, then there’s nothing I can do.”

“Thank you. I’ll tell the chairman. ”

“It’s okay. This little guy is harder than we at Cat Kit Store thought. What can we do?”

“What?”

He openly criticized me in front of everyone.

“They claim to be true nobles, but this is… We have visited a den of beggars. We will sell it to you with a heart of service. ”

…

The Hadron and Suin tribes formed a close relationship.

The reason why Duke Insahard, one of the losers of the West, could not easily advance into Lugardrian was because of the joint attack of the two forces.

Even without training, Suin’s physical abilities were far stronger than those of elite soldiers, and it did not seem easy to win against the Hadron guerrillas who had dug tunnels all over the west.

That’s why the western front was in shambles.

But as time passed, Hadron and the Suin tribe became disadvantaged.

The reason is that the two did not have a good relationship with each other.

The Suin tribe joined Hadron because they were angry at the deep-rooted discrimination against Suin in the Empire, but Hadron, like the Empire, viewed Suin as beasts.

From the beginning, Hadron had intended to absorb the Suin tribe’s forces.

However, it was ruined when Sir Andrew, the swordsman of Hadron, was captured by the Empire.

The Water Race, which was originally supposed to obey, had no reason to obey the Hadrons who had lost their main force, and on the other hand, the Hadrons, who were now lacking in military power, began to watch the Water Race’s mood.

If Sir Andrew had not died, if the Suin tribe had obeyed the Drones, the Drones would now have completed the foundation of their grand plan to devour the West.

‘By now, the cardinal of the fanatics and the chieftain of this race should have joined us.’

Chiron, one of the royal family of Hadron, was depressed about the current situation.

Nothing was going well, and now an adventurer who ignored Hadron with the power of the Cat Kit Shop appeared.

“You bastard! You call a great nobleman of Hadron a beggar?! Cut off his head right now!”

“Why are you angry, Marquis of Beauty? Why is it insulting to see a beggar and say there are no beggars? Oh, if it is defamation of character, I apologize.”

This was evidence that Hadron, one of the evil forces that had terrified the empire, had fallen to this extent.

“But to be called a true noble, Marquis Beaut lacks both dignity and generosity. A noble may not have money, so how can he be so angry? All true nobles should have some leeway.”

“Kuaaah! How dare an adventurer teach me, the Marquis! What are you doing?! Kill the author!”

The Cat Kitts’ adventurers openly insulted Hadron, but Hadron’s soldiers could not easily attack the league.

This is because there is an imperial order from the King, who is higher than the city lord, to not have friction with the Suin tribe.

“Why are you guys just sitting there!”

“Your Majesty… ”

Because of the soldiers watching him, the Marquis started to run wild, snatched the soldier’s sword himself, and started aiming it at the adventurer’s neck.

“I will kill you myself and restore the honor of Hadron… ”

“Marquis Beaut, stop it!”

“Ke, Keiron decline?!”

Unable to watch any longer, the royal family member, Keiron, stepped forward himself.

‘That stupid thing. I put it there because of its bloodline, but it’s more incurable than I imagined.’

Cat Kit Trading Company was the only trading company among the Suin tribe that was comprised of the Miao tribe, which operated on reason rather than instinct.

That is why the Miao people had a strong voice even among the Injishu people.

It was also thanks to their help that Hadron was able to capture Lugardrian.

Naturally, Hardron had no choice but to keep an eye on Catkit Trading Company, and Chiron stepped forward to personally handle the situation in order to avoid unnecessary friction.