Chapter 86 – Laying the Groundwork
The carriage passed through the city gates and rolled out onto the vast expanse of land beyond.
From inside, I watched as the distant silhouette of Beneta’s castle gradually shrank from view. Sitting by the window, Fenry scanned the surroundings several tis before making a strange expression and asking Dorneth a question.
“Where are we going, exactly?”
“Why are you asking when you already know?”
“There’s sowhere we need to stop before heading to the abandoned mine, isn’t there?”
“You an the Blacksmiths’ Garden?”
“Of course. What good is a golden plaque if you die before you can use it? It’s better to put it to use before the mission.”
…Die?
This elf really has no filter, huh.
But instead of snapping at her, I simply waited. Her tone may have been grating, but Dorneth’s response—absently picking at his nose—made curious about his intentions.
“We’re headed there now.”
“What? We’re already leaving the territory, though.”
“The Blacksmiths’ Garden isn’t inside the castle.”
Fenry froze, her face quickly shifting to one of incredulity.
The Blacksmiths’ Garden was commonly believed to be a hidden, secret space located sowhere within the castle grounds.
Even Fenry, a mber of the Black Rose, had assud that much. But the treasure trove wasn’t in the castle—it was located outside the territory?
“You’ve been misleading people this whole ti?”
“Do you have any idea how many pests try to sneak into the castle every year just to steal treasures?”
“Well, of course they’d swarm like flies when there’s a big ol’ treasure vault lying around.”
“That’s why we prepared for it. Even you didn’t figure it out.”
“I didn’t figure it out because I didn’t care. Want to clean the place out for you?”
“Careful, cat lady, or I’ll crack your head open.”
As the two bickered, I intervened, having noticed sothing suspicious trailing behind us.
“We’re being followed.”
“Followed?”
“Yes, by quite a number of them, actually.”
They had done a decent job of tailing us unnoticed while we were still in the city. But out here, on the open plains, there was nowhere for them to hide.
The two of them turned to look in the direction I indicated. Both of them smirked at the sight.
More and more figures erged. At first, they hesitated and tried to remain hidden, but once a few of them gave up, the rest followed suit, stepping fully into view as they trailed behind us.
“What’s with that lot?”
“They’re all human. And their skills? Utter garbage.”
“They look like mbers of information guilds. Judging by their outfits, they’re from multiple groups, not just one.”
“They’re not from Beneta. Must be outsiders. Who’s their target? Not , obviously. And it’s not you, either.”
Both Fenry and I turned to stare at Dorneth. He blinked in confusion and pointed at himself.
“?”
“Who else? This guy’s a nobody, and I’m untouchable.”
…A nobody?
I didn’t particularly want to argue that point, so I kept my mouth shut.
“I agree. It’s probably Dorneth they’re after.”
“And what could they be after?”
“Probably sothing to do with Beneta. Soone must have their own sches in play.”
“Sches?”
“Hasn’t there been an increase in incidents like this lately?”
At my question, Dorneth stroked his beard thoughtfully before nodding.
“Yes. We’ve had a massive influx of pests recently. I even hired the cat lady here to investigate.”
“Oh? They even hired you?”
“Do you know who’s behind it?”
“We’re tracing them. We’ll figure it out soon enough. Whoever it is, they’re throwing money around like there’s no tomorrow.”
Dorneth spoke in a serious tone, his hand running through his thick beard.
“But how did they know we’d be heading to the abandoned mine? I thought we were moving in secret. Don’t tell … there’s a spy among us…”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you seriously think no one would notice that shiny suit of armor of yours? You’re practically walking around with a flashing sign that says, ‘Hi, I’m Dorneth!’”
“Shut up!”
After a brief spat, the two of them stopped paying attention to the ones trailing us, sinking back into their seats.
None of our pursuers seed particularly threatening, and Dorneth dismissed them, saying they’d likely back off once we entered the mine.
But I couldn’t shake the unease.
Sothing about them was bothering .
‘I think I know who sent them.’
If this many eyes were on Dorneth alone, there were bound to be far more infiltrating Beneta itself.
And there was only one person I could think of who would spend this much money gathering intel in Beneta at this particular ti.
The Butcher, Kal.
It had to be him.
‘What’s he scheming this ti?’
By now, Kal would have realized that his grand plans were crumbling to dust.
‘Arena Huaton is dead.’
The hundred hearts, the mutually assured destruction of Beneta and Arena Huaton—all of it had been undone with her death.
So now, his current actions must be part of a new plan, a shift in strategy.
Kal wasn’t the kind of man to give up on Beneta just because his initial plan failed.
For now, Kal was keeping his presence completely hidden, but it felt like the right ti to finally ntion him to Fenry and Dorneth.
“The one funding this is probably the Lord of Blyer.”
“The Blyer Lord? That kid who just took the position recently?”
“It’s not the kid.”
“Why do you think that?”
I glanced at Fenry, who shrugged and replied casually.
“Three months ago, during the Chira campaign in Etor, Blyer lost thousands of elite troops. There’s no way their strained budget could afford to throw astronomical sums into Beneta right now.”
Ah, I’d heard about that.
One of the reasons Dorneth and the knight order had been able to rush to Dominic’s lab was because the Etor-Blyer coalition had managed to hold off the Chira horde.
So Kal had supposedly lost thousands of elite troops in that battle?
‘Kal, you lying bastard. Nice try.’
He could fool others, but not .
That false narrative was clearly ant to lull nearby forces into complacency.
If even Fenry believed it, it ant Kal had sacrificed thousands of his own n as bait. Ruthless and terrifying, but also effective.
‘These two don’t yet understand Kal’s true danger.’
They hadn’t encountered him directly, so their ignorance was understandable.
This wasn’t the ti to try to convince them of Kal’s threat. That could wait until after the blood pact was finalized.
For now…
‘I need to lay the groundwork.’
If events played out the way I predicted, my credibility would grow, which was crucial to my plans.
After all, Fenry and Dorneth were leaders of powerful factions—they wouldn’t act without solid evidence.
“The truth will co out soon enough. Then you’ll see whether I was right or not. Oh, and you ntioned that the Black Market’s Astrologer Arcane has been active. Soone must be behind that as well.”
“Yeah, we’ve set a trap for them. We’ll find out soon enough.”
“Well, I hate to say it, but that bait might go to waste. I’d bet that the mastermind is also the Blyer Lord.”
“……”
Fenry narrowed her eyes at , clearly weighing my words.
After a mont of contemplation, she shrugged as if giving up and asked, “What makes you so sure?”
“Seiren.”
“Seiren? Isn’t that on the Blyer bounty list? The 100,000-gold one?”
Of course, Fenry picked up on the money first. This elf had a sixth sense when it ca to wealth.
“And you’re the 50,000-gold one, huh? The infamous C-rank rcenary Al.”
“My na is Alex.”
“Yeah, right. Be thankful I didn’t bother with such small change.”
“…Truly, I’m grateful.”
“Enough nonsense. What does Seiren have to do with Arcane?”
Kal’s bounty list included three nas.
One was mine—C-rank rcenary Al with a 50,000-gold price on his head.
Another was linked to “Seiren,” offering 100,000 gold for any relevant information.
“Why would he offer a bounty for information instead of directly hunting them down?”
“That is odd.”
“Seiren is tied to the Divine Na list. Only soone like Arcane would have access to that information.”
Fenry’s expression darkened.
“Seiren is part of the Divine Na list? How do you know that?”
I stayed silent, and her eyes grew wide as realization struck.
“You… You knew? Do you know your Divine Na list?”
“I don’t. I’d love to find out myself.”
“If you keep spouting bullshit, I’ll rip your tongue out.”
“All I know is this: the word ‘Seiren’ is related to my Divine Na list.”
When I first read Nella’s dossier, I’d nearly jumped out of my skin.
The na Seiren imdiately brought to mind Dominic’s Divine Na, The Siren’s Scream.
Which ant Kal’s true target was —the one who had beco a Divine Na holder.
“Arcane might know about the Divine Na ‘Hunter.’ And if Kal is sharing parts of that list, it’s clear his goal is either to flush out or prevent from acting recklessly.”
Kal would move soon.
Etor’s conquest was next on his list.
Whoever controlled Etor would dominate 70% of Tobaron’s territory.
Before setting his grand plan into motion, Kal was sending a warning to :
Don’t interfere.
“And if Arcane knows my Divine Na, particularly my ‘na,’ then we’ll know whether Kal’s actions are ant as a threat or as a precaution.”
“Ugh. It’s been a while since my head hurt this much.”
Fenry looked deep in thought, while Dorneth had simply closed his eyes—clearly not the type to enjoy ntal gymnastics.
Still, Dorneth asked a casual question that lingered in my mind.
“Does the Blyer Lord really have that much money? Enough to mobilize so many information guilds across Tobaron?”
“They have a gold mine.”
“…That’s news to . Are you sure? It sounds far-fetched.”
What I had told Fenry and Dorneth was baseless speculation, supported only by my knowledge of the future.
If anyone else had said it, they’d have been laughed out of the room.
“There’s a witness. We need to bring him to Beneta.”
“A witness? Soone who can prove the Blyer gold mine exists?”
“Yes. And if we’re lucky, he might also provide evidence linking Blyer to Arcane.”
“Who is it?”
At her question, I thought of the last na on Kal’s bounty list.
The man worth a million-gold reward.
Blyer’s forr Knight Commander.
“Lochter Felice. We need his help.”
***
Heading north from Beneta, our carriage soon entered a dense forest.
The sound of hoofbeats from those tailing us grew louder once we were under the cover of trees.
“Are we far from the abandoned mine?”
“We’re almost there. Just ahead.”
When Dorneth pointed out the window, the forest suddenly gave way. The lush greenery abruptly ended, revealing a vast expanse of rocky terrain.
And there, looming ahead, was a massive cave entrance.
Even from a distance, its sheer size was intimidating—wide enough to fit a dozen carriages side by side.
Was this the abandoned mine?
For a place called “abandoned,” the entrance was wide open.
“We’re going in there?”
“Of course. This is the largest ore vein in all of Tobaron. Even as a dwarf, I don’t know the full extent of its reach.”
Without hesitation, the carriage rolled straight into the cave. Torches mounted on the carriage flickered to life, illuminating the interior. Dorneth peered out the window and asked,
“Anyone familiar among the ones following us?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
“Just in case we hear any regrets later.”
“Regrets?”
“Do you know why we moved the Blacksmiths’ Garden to the abandoned mine?”
“The Garden is here?”
At Fenry’s question, Dorneth nodded.
As the humans trailing us hesitated at the cave entrance, Dorneth clicked his tongue and leaned back into his seat.
“Unlike the castle, we don’t need to worry about cleaning up bodies here.”
The mont those words left his mouth—
Screeech!
A horrifying scream echoed from behind us.
Clang. Clang.
The sound of grinding tal filled the air.
The unmistakable creaking of gears turning—traps had been activated.
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