43 – Thorns

Despite my somewhat forceful tone, he hesitated, as though facing an impending conflict.

Doubtless, he understood the considerable trouble a misstep could bring.

After a brief wait, I worried he might simply refuse, left to his own devices.

Deciding it best to press my advantage, I rose from my seat with a click of the tongue.

“Fine. If you are unwilling to sell, so be it.”

At that, he hastily calmed me, saying,

“Ah, no, that is not the case. I was merely considering… How many, precisely, do you require? We can provide as many as you desire.”

“As many as you desire,” he said, and I saw the countless vagrants crowding beyond the window.

Clearly, supply had far outstripped demand, and he was eager to be rid of them.

Thus, he yielded to my pressure more readily than I anticipated, laying out his terms.

‘Then, I shall use this to extract as much relevant information as possible.’

I thought it best to approach the deeper matters step by step, and was about to speak, when,

A near-screaming cry echoed from below.

“Pl-Please, give my brother back!”

Wordlessly, I looked to him, and he offered an awkward smile.

“It is nothing. Occasionally, vermin like that forget their place and cause a disturbance. If you would be so kind as to wait a moment? I shall deal with it at once.”

Giving a slight nod, he hurried out and descended the stairs.

I instructed Liana to search the branch manager’s office, then drew the hammer from inside my coat, and slipped out of the office.

*

Following him down, I saw a woman in a pitiable state, wailing and causing a scene.

The sight strangely reminded me of Damian’s sister, Lilia Carsaril, and as I felt a peculiar sense of melancholy rising.

Below, a throng of people glared at her, exchanging signals I could easily discern.

‘Looks like they’re plotting something, trying to handle this quietly.’

Since they operated under the guise of a charitable facility, acting too rough would raise eyebrows, I figured.

So, I watched, thinking they’d likely try to calm her down as much as possible, then kill her or sell her off in a secluded spot.

The branch manager, his face contorted, rushed downstairs and ground out,

“You moronic b*stards, couldn’t handle one woman without the commotion echoing all the way upstairs? You all got a death wish?”

“Sorry…”

“Sorry ain’t gonna cut it! Drag that b*tch out here now!”

With his words, those nearest to her approached, gesturing as if to guide her inside.

It seemed they were going to deal with her inside, so I was about to step in when a bizarre sense of *déjà vu* washed over me, and I frowned.

‘Come to think of it, how did that woman even get in here?’

Soldiers were supposed to be guarding the entrance, yet a woman who looked utterly defenseless somehow broke through. That seemed more than a little strange.

The moment that thought flitted through my mind, I realized the whole situation was a trap, and a grin tugged at the corner of my mouth.

‘How very Black Mage of them.’

I knew something was off.

The branch manager’s office was supposed to be for confidential discussions, but the soundproofing was suspiciously poor.

A branch manager as high up as he was, giving in to threats so easily.

A VIP arrives, and the branch manager himself is handling the problem.

And a supposedly charitable organization that cares about external perception, yet they brazenly plaster the place with thugs, seemingly baiting ‘champions of justice’ into a confrontation. I chuckled softly.

‘This entire building is a trap from the start.’

Or, more precisely, not so much a trap as a screening point, weeding out the fake clients.

Turning that over in my head, I considered my options and decided to play dumb, pretending not to notice anything in order to enter the ‘core’ area.

*

When I returned without taking any action, Liana seemed surprised, murmuring,

“Huh? I thought you’d smash everything to pieces, but you came back without doing anything?”

“It was a trap.”

Knowing the walls weren’t soundproof, I spoke in the lowest voice possible.

“Yes, it is. Or rather, closer to a screening process, but… you figured it out.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not so much that I didn’t tell you, as that I didn’t know. I was sure this was the entrance, but I wasn’t sure exactly how to get in.”

“So, you’ve decided it’s best we go along with this, for now?”

Taking that as a cue, I nodded, thinking I understood. Riana pointed toward the floor below and continued.

“The investigation suggests there’s a staircase leading down, right in the center of the main floor. Given the presence of that basement, it’s highly likely it’s connected to the black mage.”

Nodding again, Riana presented me with two options.

“So, what will it be? Do we smash our way in, all guns blazing? Or do we keep up the charade of being guests and sneak our way inside?”

Blowing the whole place up wasn’t entirely off the table.

But if we went in guns blazing, only to find escape routes and significant depth, it could easily backfire.

I figured sneaking in was the better approach, so I chose the latter.

“Unexpected, but alright. Let’s proceed that way, then.”

Riana smiled with satisfaction at my sensible choice and said to me,

“In that case, it’s probably best we fully commit to the act. I’ll take the lead from here.”

My silver tongue isn’t the best tool for this job, so it was best to leave it to Riana. I nodded in agreement and said,

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Understood.”

Just as we were finalizing our plan, the branch manager rushed in, offering profuse apologies.

“I am truly sorry… as a gesture of atonement, perhaps we could relocate you to the VIP room?”

Judging by his offer to move us, it seemed we’d passed whatever test they’d set.

I adopted a look of weary annoyance and replied curtly,

“This is growing tiresome. Let’s proceed as quickly as possible.”

Apparently, we had passed their little trial. He nodded deeply, as respectfully as he could manage, and gestured for us to follow.

“Then, please come this way.”

*

As we descended, it was clear that even though we had passed some test, their guard was still up. I could feel suspicious eyes scrutinizing us from all directions.

They probably weren’t entirely certain about our identities yet, hence the lingering suspicion.

Ignoring their stares, I subtly scanned our surroundings.

‘The wailing woman has vanished.’

She had quieted down at some point and now she was gone completely.

Soldiers were stationed outside the main entry point, as a form of extra guarding.

Still, there was a chance I could be misjudging the situation, so I sought advice from Siren.

Siren, lost in a lingering gaze around us, mulled it over for a moment, then whispered to me.

“Judging by the undisturbed stillness of the mana around us, it seems the deception worked.”

Magic being a realm beyond my ken, I couldn’t grasp what ‘undisturbed’ truly implied.

Contextually though, a notion flickered – a lack of emotional or physical alteration, perhaps?

I nodded at her words as I descended below.

The Branch Manager, surveying the area, slid the central desk aside, addressing us.

“This way, please.”

A somewhat cramped entrance.

The very sight of it reeked of a clandestine passage, a fact I acknowledged with a nod as he offered a kindly smile.

“It’s a tight squeeze within, so please, exercise caution.”

Heeding his words, I stepped inside, revealing a narrow corridor barely accommodating three abreast.

‘They’ve constricted the entrance and hallway, a setup for an ambush should things turn sour?’

The thought planted itself firmly, and I mentally rehearsed possible combat scenarios, when he, continuing forward, spoke calmly.

“Might you perhaps reveal where the Lady Elysia heard of this place?”

Liana, trailing behind, retorted with a chilling tone.

“Are you suggesting we disclose the Grand Duchess’s intel to you?”

“Ah, no. That isn’t my intention.”

Judging by his response, it appeared the Branch Manager had indeed caught a whiff of something amiss.

That realization hitting me, I promptly drew forth my hammer and cracked it against the poor fool’s skull.

At that instant, Siren extended a hand, conjuring a sound-dampening spell, silencing the surroundings.

A sheepish grin spread across my face at her action, as if she had anticipated my move.

Siren, wearing an expression of subtle pride, told me.

“I knew you’d do something like that, Damian.”

Taken aback by her certainty, I was still recovering when Liana chuckled, arms crossed.

“To probe so directly, he must have almost pieced it together. Well done.”

Wiping the blood from my hammer onto the manager’s clothing, I said.

“Then let us expedite this as much as possible.”

At my words, they both nodded, preparing to support me in their respective ways.

I glanced down at the fallen man, vowing to never again utter the words ‘infiltration,’ and turned away.

* * * * *

A darkened alleyway.

Elisia, dodging the paladins that darted about, caught her breath, hidden in the shadows.

The artifact kept her concealed, for now.

But the search intensified, and discovery felt inevitable, a knot tightening in her chest.

‘…Ah.’

How had things come to this? The thought flickered, unleashing a torrent of what-ifs.

If she’d known, she would have played a longer game, feigned acceptance of Damian’s favor, maybe not as the head of the house, but in a position close enough.

The regret of not stopping Dale from being hailed as the hero, solving everything herself…

Now, these were just regrets she couldn’t walk back.

They surged, a crushing weight on her chest, yet she was powerless to change anything.

Forcing down the lingering what-could-have-beens, she stared at the letter.

[If you agree to my proposition, come to the clock tower at the center.]

The note from the man who offered her a way to create an artificial sun.

It was all she had left, so she headed towards the clock tower, though the path was far from clear.

Maybe she should just give up, let them catch her?

But then they’d pin everything on her, throw her in a cell, and all would be for naught.

She had to fight her way there, no matter what.

‘…’

So, she would struggle, claw, and fight her way forward, she decided, hurrying her pace.