Chapter 292 – Representative of the World Tree Union
“Yaaawn.”
I let out a long yawn and stretched my body lazily.
The interior of the Ship Gridnt, now sailing, barely shook at all.
If Karl saw this, he’d foam at the mouth in envy—it was that comfortable a journey.
“…But this isn’t sothing I’d want to do again.”
Clicking my tongue, I chewed on the bread I had in hand.
Before I realized it, three days had passed inside the cargo hold.
Not a long ti, really, but staying awake the whole ti made it feel like I’d been locked in there for over a week.
“We’ve already arrived?! It’s been three days? When?!”
Of course, not everyone could empathize with my boredom.
Lily, who had spent the entire three days sleeping, rubbed her eyes and started eating the food I’d brought her.
About half a day before we arrived at Aintrier, Lily woke from her deep slumber and began moving.
“I want to explore the ship!”
“Is the bread okay?”
“Yeah, it’s tasty. Do you have more?”
“I’ll give you the rest. Just stay here.”
“What about the ship tour?”
“I’ll show you around once the ship stops.”
“Okay!”
If she started wandering around in her robe, the peacefulness I’d maintained for three days would surely be shattered, so I did my best to keep her put.
Whenever she tried to sneak out from boredom, I pacified her with pieces of bread.
Then, from the back, a familiar voice reached my ears.
At this point, I could tell who it was just by voice.
The Cleaners.
“So, we’re arriving soon? Found the target yet?”
“We deployed all our contacts. If he’s in Aintrier, they’d have found him.”
“The problem’s capturing him, right? What’s the sub-leader thinking? Isn’t the target soone who manipulates space?”
“They wouldn’t have accepted the request if they couldn’t catch him.”
From their conversation, I could glean several things.
Especially the identity of the one leading the Cleaners.
The sub-leader is essentially the second-highest rank in the Cleaners—
Above that is only the leader, the de facto master.
If a sub-leader was moving personally, the commission fee must have been enormous.
I looked at the whispering Cleaners and smiled in satisfaction.
I was tired after staying up three nights straight, but thanks to them, I’d gathered plenty of useful intel.
First, the reason the Cleaners were heading to Aintrier:
The capture of Samuel Barber.
As long as he was alive, they were instructed to drag him to Demtor—even if they had to cut off his limbs.
It seed the highest-ranked Cleaner had taken the job, and though I didn’t know who he was, I had a hunch who had sent him.
Soone hostile to Modin’s faction, and interested in Samuel.
Gram Seraphim. Looks like things were urgent for her.
The commission likely ca from Gram, of the Black Tower.
The goal of capturing Samuel was surely tied to his unique abilities.
“She’s always had her eye on Samuel’s spatial ability.”
Indeed, the power of space could flip a situation depending on how it was used.
But if she had to hire a sub-leader for the job, Gram must have been in serious trouble within Demtor.
“Her position must’ve shrunk significantly.”
Through the apprentice mages’ conversations, I could roughly guess the state of things in Demtor.
As planned, Modin, having been freed from the World Tree, was opposing Gram and causing a split among the Towers.
“It sounds like Gram’s research on the Black Butterfly has been leaked in Demtor.”
For three days, the apprentice mages had been debating the Black Butterfly in great detail.
It seed the Stars had forced part of Gram’s research to be disclosed.
The problem was that the impact of the release was much greater than expected.
Human experintation wasn’t banned in Demtor, but what drew ire was that even those with special abilities—mages, Divine Hosts, and such—had been included.
For now, the results were so sensational that all eyes were on Gram,
But depending on how things unfolded, she was at serious political risk.
“What’s Grand Duke Clarke doing?”
As her shield, he should be able to block this backlash.
Yet, surprisingly, no news about Clarke had surfaced.
The internal dynamics of Demtor’s Stars seed to have changed, and with only limited information here, it was hard to predict their next moves.
“But still, I got useful intel.”
I looked over at the Cleaners again.
I’d been worrying about how to track down Samuel, who was hiding in Aintrier,
But now it seed I could just follow them and save myself the trouble.
BWWOOOO! BWOoooo~!
“Aaahh!!”
Lily, who hadn’t even flinched while sleeping earlier, now clutched her ears in pain.
Two loud horns—
It looked like we were finally arriving at the docks in Aintrier.
I started recalling what I had to do after arrival.
I’d ntally organized my to-dos during the past three days.
“First, I should secure a spot.”
I picked up the backpack Keros had used as a pillow for the past three days.
He’d grown attached to it because of its pleasant scent—understandably so.
Peeking inside, I confird everything was still intact.
I took out one item from the pile inside and fiddled with it.
A small blue leaf.
Even after ti had passed, the leaf hadn’t wilted.
“The leaves of the World Tree may not have special abilities, but the fragrance is divine.”
Maybe I should use them in perfu production—could be a goldmine.
I needed to think about how to market World Tree leaves to make rich folks go crazy for them.
“First, I need to check the market.”
Just as I finished muttering to myself, the tightly sealed cargo door opened with a heavy grrrrk sound.
The official who had led us inside earlier now flung the door wide open.
“Welco to Aintrier.”
He led us out.
Everyone who had stayed inside the cargo hold began stretching and slowly moving out.
Those who’d stayed below deck now appeared one by one on the ship.
On the wide deck, most squinted at the sudden brightness.
As our vision adjusted, we saw hundreds of people already lined up, ready to disembark.
Lily pointed beyond the ship with sparkling eyes.
“Wow! Look over there!”
From where she pointed, small boats were approaching the Ship Gridnt in droves.
Behind them lood a vast wall of stone, shrouded in fog.
It was similar to the wooden barrier we’d seen downstream, but much sturdier and taller—A high stone wall built from solid rock.
And behind it stretched a massive city.
The city was nestled beside a towering waterfall.
KWAHHHHHH—!!
Thanks to the roaring waterfall, thick mist blanketed the river around the Ship Gridnt.
Through the fog, dozens of small boats were lining up beneath the ship.
“I want to go there now!”
“Woof woof woof!”
Lily and Keros tugged at my sleeve in excitent.
Just a mont ago, they were begging to tour the ship—
Now they’d forgotten all about it, captivated by the city beyond the wall.
“We’ll be going soon, so wait.”
As we waited for our turn to disembark, the door at the bow opened, and the VIP passengers began to erge.
As they stepped out, those of us in the cargo hold began to stir.
The apprentice mages bowed and lined up behind the senior mages.
The Cleaners passed them and stopped before one man.
“Sir!”
With their greeting, they bowed their heads simultaneously.
“Huh?”
Seeing the hefty man they were greeting, I furrowed my brows.
A body so fat it made pigs look slim.
A massive battle axe strapped to his back caught the eye.
When he turned his head, even the other Cleaners shrank back in tension.
Even fellow Cleaners were intimidated.
The mont I saw him, one na ca to mind.
The Gluttonous Butcher.
Disgusting bastard.
He didn’t have much prominence in the novel, but among the Cleaners, he was fairly well-known.
A monster that devoured anything living.
He especially enjoyed eating people, which left a strong impression when I read the novel.
“Ugh, I really don’t want to deal with that pig.”
Even just looking at him made my skin crawl.
His sagging flesh, hulking size, and rotting grin—He was downright repulsive.
Even the Ivory Tower mages instinctively stepped back from him.
“Oh? He’s a Divine Na Holder.”
Lily blinked at the gluttonous beast.
Zarakan, the Gluttonous Butcher.
So, the Cleaner targeting Samuel had been identified.
I scanned the mages gathered on deck.
“Doesn’t look like the Tower Master is here.”
Besides Zarakan, no one else of note stood out.
I was curious why Modin had sent elite mages here, but I hadn’t been able to find out.
The apprentice mages had been so focused on Gram’s research that they didn’t spare a word for anything I needed.
“Damn mages—always like this.”
Clicking my tongue, I looked below deck, where the VIP guests were boarding small boats to be ferried to the dock.
A short while later, we boarded a small boat and began moving as well.
As we pierced through the mist created by the massive waterfall, the towering stone wall of Aintrier gradually ca into view.
Beneath it stretched a vast dock.
The dock was located outside the city walls.
More than the scenery, the first thing out of my mouth was a curse.
“Damn it, they’re gonna charge us a gate toll again, aren’t they?”
After disembarking, we began heading toward the city gates.
The dock area was incredibly chaotic.
With the massive volu of goods unloaded from the Ship Gridnt, crowds had surged in from every direction.
It looked like a bustling marketplace.
Once cargo was confird by sailors, auctions were held on the spot.
Shouts and yells rang out from every direction.
“Ugh. So noisy.”
Lily plugged her ears.
I chuckled.
“You need a loud voice to win here.”
“Should I try? I think I can win.”
She probably could.
People would be coughing up blood.
I pointed at one spot.
“Once we go inside the city, there’s an incredible restaurant.”
“Really?!”
We passed through the dock, watching the rchants scream auction prices.
Because we arrived on the Ship Gridnt,
The mages and Cleaners ford into separate groups as they approached the massive city gate.
Their presence drew the attention of the crowd.
A mont later—
Creeeeaaaak—
The enormous gate, firmly shut until now, slowly opened.
Empty carriages appeared from within, and coachn politely picked up the waiting mages and Cleaners, whisking them away.
As the groups moved in different directions, the crowd scowled.
“Damn nobles. Always the privileged ones.”
“I’ve been waiting since morning. When’s our turn?”
The small gate was for commoners.
The massive gate was for VIPs.
Even the entrance was discriminatory.
I gave a bitter chuckle, then casually approached the slowly closing VIP gate.
Suddenly, I had a thought—Wait a sec?
I walked right up to the closing gate.
The VIP gate halted.
“Please identify yourself.”
“If you cannot prove your eligibility…”
“World Tree Union.”
“…?”
I looked up at the gatekeeper.
He seed to think over my words.
Clicking my tongue, I added—
“Representative of the World Tree Union, Alex Marcia.”
It seed this was the proper place to begin.
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