Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

97

After parting ways with Olaf, I handed the purchased gift to Yumir, sent her back to the lodging, and decided to wander alone.

Perhaps due to recent events, Yumir vehemently opposed my solo wandering, but I managed to convince her somehow.

“Is this Arandal?”

The city served as a hub connecting the northwest and northeast of the continent, thus commerce was highly developed.

They weren’t just selling slaves on the streets for no reason.

Along with that, metal casting technology was well advanced, thanks to the abundant minerals buried in the Arandal’s western Rest Mountains.

The fact that the Bekabia army used underground tunnels to reclaim the Bian Mountains was also in the same context.

Those tunnels were nothing but mine shafts.

I decided to investigate blacksmiths dealing with metal typesetting. To make a printing press in the future, I needed to acquire relevant knowledge.

However, there wasn’t much profit. The blacksmiths of Arandal primarily focused on weapons, carriage wheels, and gem cutting, rather than such items.

So, I was about to return to the lodging, but suddenly, a familiar face caught my eye.

“You’re not going to buy it anyway! Get lost already!”

“Argh! You’re a nasty old man! I really wanted to buy it, but you ruined my mood! I’m not buying from your shop anymore!”

“You don’t even have money to buy it! Get out right now!”

“Tsk! Let’s see if your business thrives!”

It was Agate, quarreling with the owner of a weapon shop.

“What… What are you doing?”

“Ah! Honorable sir!”

Agate approached with a bright face.

“Are you here to buy weapons too, sir? You lost your spear and sword back then, right?”

Agate mimicked a Chesterian, exaggeratedly scratching the back of his head and laughing.

“I didn’t lose them, I used them. I thrust them into the heart of that monster.”

“hahahaha! If that’s the case, even that cheap sword would have sufficed. But sir, if you’re okay, how about looking around together? You need to buy weapons too, right?”

“Not really, I receive good gear from the military. Even if not, my aides will take care of it.”

“Oh. I guess that’s how it is when you’re a leader in the army.”

“Still, I’ll accompany you.”

It seemed like a good way to kill time.

I browsed the weapon shop with Agate.

Agate meticulously inspected the items. Despite the shop owner feeling uncomfortable due to his appearance, he didn’t try to drive us away as long as I was there.

It seems like Agathe regards nobles and their slaves as equals.

“Hmm, hmm!”

Agathe moaned as if she had finally found something she liked.

The item looked decent even to my eyes.

The shining black sword, reaching a meter long, gleamed, and the blade felt like it could cut with just a slight touch.

Above all, it seemed sturdy. Agathe seemed to prefer that part.

“Captain, how about this?”

“It’s a bit much for me to use.”

The sword was too long and thick for me to wield.

“It suits you.”

“Does it? Actually, this was the first thing I found when I came here. But… sigh.”

The reason for his exasperated sigh was simple.

“I’m short on money.”

The price was 200,000 silans. Even though it wasn’t studded with jewels, at that price, it definitely indicated a high-quality item.

Agathe checked his money pouch and shrugged his shoulders. A quick glance suggested he barely had 10,000 silans.

“I’ll buy it next time. For now, I’ll have to make do with the cheap sword Mr. Delas provides.”

“I’ll buy it.”

“What?”

“Wasn’t that the idea you brought up?”

“Oh, no!”

Agathe clapped his hands.

“I didn’t mean that, Captain!”

“Whether there was intent or not, I’ll buy it.”

“…”

Agathe bit his lip as if holding something back.

“No. I’ve decided to only accept a sword from the person I serve. I can’t take it from anyone else.”

“The person you serve? Do you have a master?”

“We don’t have that kind of relationship yet… It’s about gratitude.”

“I didn’t know you had such noble thoughts. Did they save your life?”

“No, they were my close friends. Married men with pregnant wives. They were about to be captured and sold as slaves when that person saved them.”

“Some people have big hearts. Who was it?”

“Wade.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you know Wade? He’s really famous!”

“Uh… I think I’ve heard of him.”

Was I the one who did that noble deed? I didn’t recall it at all.

It could have been the work of those impersonating me.

“So you decided to serve that Wade as your master?”

“I don’t know about serving as a master, but gratitude needs to be repaid! Hmm, maybe if I become a great general and help him a few times, that should suffice. After that, I don’t know. hehehe!”

“Sigh…”

“So you don’t have to buy this! Oh, time has flown by so quickly. Mr. Dilas must be furious. I’ll go see him first, honorable commander!”

Agatha dashed off in a hurry.

I watched her for a moment before turning to the shopkeeper and saying, “I’ll take this. Please give me the sword.”

I had always intended to reward Agatha for her contribution to the previous battle. Even though she refused to accept it, if I didn’t receive the gift from the honorable commander, it would be the end of it as Wade.

***

After a day of rest, I started to feel slightly better. I’m not sure if Yumir’s harsh health regimen had actually helped.

On the second day of my vacation, which was also the last day, I decided to head towards the other side of Arandale.

If yesterday was about exploring Arandale’s bright side, today was about seeing the dark side.

Since my purpose this time was personal, I had intended to go alone, but for some reason, Eo seemed shocked.

“Weren’t you supposed to take me today…?”

Eo blinked her eyes like an abandoned puppy.

It seemed like she thought I would take her along one by one, like how I shared snacks after taking Yumir yesterday.

Without bothering to explain, I decided to take Eo with me.

I concealed my face under the hood and entered the backstreets of Arandale.

“There are indeed a lot of spies from the military.”

Given the circumstances, there were many intelligence agents lurking around.

After wandering the streets for a while, I finally managed to encounter the person I was looking for.

He was a man dressed in traditional Beccabian attire. At first glance, he seemed like a native of Beccabia, but a closer look revealed that he intentionally wore his hat backward.

Most of all, the attire of the men guarding him was quite exotic.

“I want to buy information.”

At my words, the man raised the corners of his mouth menacingly.

“What kind of information are you talking about?”

“Information about the Westerner. That’s why you came here to sell it, right?”

People. They’ll do anything for money.

This man was probably one of the information traders active in the West.

His place of origin and homeland didn’t matter. He had come all the way from the West to Arandale simply because this line of work was lucrative here.

“Ha ha ha. I like your directness. What do you want to ask?”

“First, about Fisher Partin.”

“That’ll be 500,000 silans.”

“…”

It was a hefty sum, but I decided to pay.

The man answered smoothly, “One of the Four Orbs. Yellow Dragon, Fisher Partin. A master of spear techniques belonging to the 1st rank of the Garandryu School. His position in the military is the 9th General.”

“The ninth general? Quite low.”

“For an additional 500,000 silans, I can provide more details on that part.”

“Ugh, you money grubber.”

After handing over the money, the man looked around before speaking.

“Cheon-gaek Haneman Noiers. It’s said that he commands hundreds of spirits under him. Rumor has it that each of those spirits is on par with a general. The system is very complex. The 9th General Fisher Partin is still considered a prominent figure among them.”

“Hanneman Noiers….”

A spy who had infiltrated Buryang in the game. I was curious about him as well.

The man seemed to have caught on to my thoughts as he continued speaking.

“You must be curious about Hanneman. Allow me to provide some service from here on. Hanneman is the successor connecting to the former Errevonia Kingdom.”

“Errevonia Kingdom?”

“That’s correct. A northern kingdom that perished in the power struggle with the Epsilon Empire. Hanneman is the descendant of the exiled Errevonia royal family to the west.”

“The place that was once the foundation of Errevonia Kingdom…!”

“Exactly. Right here. Former Elenia.”

It was the former name of Arandal. The capital of the Errevonia Kingdom, Elenia.

“It’s no coincidence. Hanneman becoming the commander of this expedition.”

“hahahaha, only the western leaders would know about that.”

The western leaders. They seemed to have baited me with information. That must have been the reason for providing this service.

“If you happen to be curious about other leaders, I can explain for a million Silan, but that’s unnecessary for now.”

“I have another question.”

This kind of information would likely have been already grasped by Crossing. My intentions lay elsewhere.

“Do you happen to know anything about Ilya Anfei?”

“…!”

The man widened his eyes in surprise at the unexpected question.

“You seem to be familiar with her by your mention. Please, go ahead and speak.”

Ilya, who had connections with Fisher Partin.

I couldn’t help but be suspicious. Where was her mentor from?

“Completely off the radar.”

I had thoroughly verified those who had passed before.

Rutger, with a weak daughter from Albard.

Anton, who lost his father under complicated circumstances from Crossing and pledged loyalty to me.

Yumir, a former slave born in the arena, whose subsequent actions I knew well.

Olaf, a quirky advocate for the rights of supernaturals from Europe.

Eonia, the commander of the Kurabel Kingdom’s guard, but in reality, she was raised like a princess, sheltered and naive.

Gaspar, with almost no information on his background or deeds, but still Yumir’s father.

On the other hand, Ilya’s mentor?

No knowledge of his background or actions before being with me.

Even without knowing such details, I believed I could trust him.

But if the mentor was from the west, the story would change a bit.

“If the mentor is from the west….”

I don’t know what it means now, but his actions in the game would explain.

The seven gods who followed Alz.

Looking back, the one with the weakest justification seemed to be the mentor.

He was simply mentioned as leading mercenaries to assist, not having accepted Alz’s decision and with little prior contact with Alz.

‘The teacher as the lover of the husband? But…’

If that’s the case, then it’s strange for Fisher Partin to casually mention the teacher’s name.

‘It would make sense if he was confident enough to kill me and keep silent…’

As if answering my question, the man speaks in a low voice.

“A million silans. Please give it to me.”

“Here you go.”

Taking the money, the man nods heavily and says,

“Ilya Anfay. A member of the 1st class of the Chester Ryu and…”

With his continued words, my doubts deepen even more.

“The disciple of Sangunjang Guderian Chester.”