A woman working at the Flocia Trading House was in truth a collaborator of the slave traders.
Their connection began two years ago.
The woman possessed what people called a “useless skill”—a talent so weak it was deemed useless. Because of that, the nobles within the trading company had treated her poorly, dismissing her worth. Her resentment had festered for years… until a man calling himself the Shrewd Merchant approached her.
His offer had been simple—and irresistible. The cooperation would more than double her income. On top of that, she’d be allowed to use her skill for a side business of sorts. She had been hired at nineteen and had worked for over five years since then. The bitterness of being branded a failure had long since etched itself into her heart.
So when the slave traders’ payments began to flow, and her betrayal turned into a quiet form of revenge against the company that had scorned her, she felt no guilt—only satisfaction.
That was why, when an urgent report arrived in the middle of her peaceful lunch break, it took every bit of restraint she had not to click her tongue in irritation.
“They caught some bandits by the river!”
“Oh? And what’s that got to do with the company?”
“Apparently, they were carrying one of our adventurer’s tokens. Might’ve been stolen, but the guards are coming to check it out just in case.”
“I heard they were the river bandits who’ve been attacking villages upstream…”
The moment she heard that the guards were coming, the woman’s expression stiffened. It didn’t take her long to realize what had happened. The man who was supposed to receive a “message” from the company with the adventure token had been captured. Worse, it seemed he’d already talked about the company.
The bandit wouldn’t have known about her—the company’s inside contact—but the very fact that the guards were on their way to her workplace was enough to make the woman’s stomach twist. Years of petty crimes had made her quick to panic.
“I need to retrieve the magic stone.” Those were her immediate thought.
The item exchanged via the adventurer’s token is a magic stone with message magically engraved on it. And in times like this, recovering that message was part of her job.
The woman heads to the vault.
The section that stored goods meant for exchange through the adventurer’s tokens was more loosely managed than the rest. The Adventurers’ Guild frowned upon merchants and adventurers trading directly, so the system of adventurer’s tokens—something that could strengthen that connection—was kept deliberately small in scale.
Keys to the materials used for Adventure tokens are kept separate for each box. The woman borrowed a key from her superior, saying she would open another box. However, with her nimble hands, she also snatched the key to the slave trader’s box from the shelf.
Her quick work, thanks to her <Thief> skill, went unnoticed by her colleagues and superiors, who believed it to be a useless skill.
Even in her panic, she felt a flicker of smug satisfaction.
The woman opened a box in the vault and breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, she sensed a presence behind her.
“Ah!”
Several rats jumped down from above. The creatures darted straight for the box, shoving their heads inside. Then—just as the woman reached for the magic stone inside the pouch—it slipped from her grasp and fell to the floor.
One of the rats seized the pouch’s drawstring in its teeth and bolted for the exit.
“S-stop!”
She felt terrified. They usually contained an important message after all. The woman didn’t know the details, but there was no way she could get away safely after losing it.
Suddenly, she remembered a slave trader she had met only once. That hulk like man had been staring at her when she was granted the <Thief> skill. She recalled those starving eyes, the look he gave that time was like he was holding back from eating her alive and was forced to watch his food go free.
—When I’m no longer useful… he’ll devour me.
It was only a fleeting thought, yet the fear that came with it dulled her reason even further.
“Damn it!”
The rats ran out the back door, round the corner, and down an increasingly lit road. When they ran out of breath, the beasts finally stopped. The pouch containing the magic stone rolled to the ground. It was picked up by a young boy.
◆◆◆
The God of Hunting , Uru, had called this method a hunt.
The bandit who was supposed to receive the magic stone had been captured—and that information was deliberately leaked to the trading company. The collaborator, believing the goods was compromised, would likely move to retrieve the message hidden in the vault.
The key was to mention the word “token” and to make them believe the city guards were already on their way. In other words, force them to panic—make them take the magic stone out of the vault on their own.
“…It really worked.”
“Told you.”
Uru, looking quite pleased with himself, gave a sly little wink. In his small, childlike form, he waved lightly at the rats sniffing around the corner of the alley.
“Of course, it wouldn’t have worked without their help.”
Uru added with a grin.
Uru is a deity of nature—one who could ask the trees, the beasts, even the smallest creatures for aid. This time, it was the rats who had answered his call.
A sulky voice echoed in my head—Loki clearly displeased at having his moment stolen.
『Eh, whatever. We gods could’ve slipped in ourselves if we wanted to. But then again, if something like Alvis’ golem core reacted to divine energy, that’d be a real pain. Using animals as intermediaries—yeah, I’ll admit, it’s a clever, harmless trick.』
Urubrushed back his braided hair, looking quite proud of himself.
“Fufu… Rion, it’s your turn now.”
His form began to fade into the air, dissolving like mist.
“Truth be told, I was this close to granting you a new power for this little hunt. But… it seems your mindset isn’t quite there yet, hm?”
I was about to ask again. But thinking about it, that wasn’t the time. I tucked my chin in and looked straight ahead.
The woman I was facing was a woman a little over 20 years old. She was out of breath, probably from running. A group of raven warriors were blocking the exit to the back alley.
“Tch.”
The woman clicked her tongue and readied her knife.
Her eyes were wide, and she looked frightened of something.
“Surrender. I don’t think you can… beat me.”
The woman raised her eyes.
“I-I’m no ordinary woman!”
Her body glowed faintly. A skill had been activated. The knife she had thrown head straight for me.
“Tsu”
I drew my dagger and shot down the attacker’s throwing knife. The woman drew another blade and attacked me. I twisted my body to avoid the attack and grabbed her outstretched arm with my left hand. I pulled with all my might, then I swept her leg away.
“Wha…?”
The woman’s cheek hit the ground with a thud. The fight was over in an instant.
“H-Help…”
The woman looked up and groaned. She seemed afraid of something.
Mia-san’s eyes sharpened, her voice became serious.
“Rion. Stay alert.”
“Yes, but…”
She really did look frightened—not because of us, but because of something else. Of course, I would not let her go now. But I guess, pitying her was a bit naive of me….
“It’s all right. As long as you’re willing to talk… that’s enough.”
The woman’s eyes fluttered shut, as if in relief.
The raven warriors arrived, leading a carriage. We helped the woman inside, and at last, I could exhale. It might have been a rather forceful method, but—we’d secured the magic stone, and another of the slave traders’ collaborators was now in custody.
『Rion!』
“.….Y-yes!”
Urged by Solana, I held the magic stone up into the sky.
The result was just as we had predicted. The magic stone I obtained was a special one, it’s engraved with a magical message.
“The power of the sun will remove the bewilderment cast by the monsters!”
The sunlight shone on the stone. Letters began to appear on the surface of the egg-sized magic stone.
“East District, Temple Parish, April… That’s today’s date and the location.”
I gasped. Felix-san peered into the magic stone and put his hand to his chin.
“Hmm. It appears… this is the slave trader’s next transaction. I believe the slave will be handed over here.”
Mia-san grimaced at my deduction and scratched her head.
“Surely it doesn’t include the location of their headquarters?”
“Yes. However, it’s an elaborate message. There’s a high chance that it’s an important transaction or something big will come up.”
We exchanged glances.
It would provide a clue to the enemy targeting Lu. Above all, it was obviously best to stop the buying and selling of kidnapped people. It would mean that a disaster like that of Nils’ sibling could happen again somewhere.
I naturally straightened my back.
“Let’s go, Felix-san, Mia-san.”
Our next move is happening tonight.
We’ll expose the enemy’s base —and stop the slave trade.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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