The s.h.i.+p of the Mesther Merchant a.s.sociation, which Lovren had led us to, was small but had a rather grand appearance. The railings were carved, and there were even plants on the deck. This place might have even been regarded as the lobby of an ordinary merchant a.s.sociation already.
The entire s.h.i.+p itself seemed to belong to Mesther Merchant a.s.sociation
At first, I thought it was a rather ordinary thing, but apparently, it was difficult for a small business a.s.sociation to even own a single s.h.i.+p here, so they’d rent a corner of a large s.h.i.+p to use as their office. In other words, they were using the so-called tenant system.
With that in mind, I could tell how wealthy the Mesther Merchant Company was, as they could own an entire s.h.i.+p in this Commercial Fleet.
I wondered if they would listen to us when we suddenly visited such a merchant a.s.sociation… But to my surprise, we were able to meet with their top bra.s.s without much difficulty.
「I heard that you, one of the top Adventurers in this lake, came to visit us unexpectedly」
It seemed that it was thanks to Lovren that we didn’t have to wait long. But come to think of it, there was no way that a merchant a.s.sociation of this size did not know Lovren, a famous Adventurer around this lake.
「Could you introduce me to the young miss beside you?」
「She is Fran. Even though she looks like this, she’s still an Adventurer, you know? She’s been a great help to me」
「Nn. I’m Fran」
「I see. My name is Gregory from the Mesther Merchant a.s.sociation. I am pleased to be able to make your acquaintance」
He hadn’t realized that Fran was the Black Lightning Princess? Although he was polite, I felt like he was treating her as a companion of Lovren up till now.
「So, what can I do for you today? If there’s anything you need, I’ll do my best to get it for you」
「Thanks, I appreciate your kindness, but I’m not here to make a deal today」
「Hou?」
The conversation started with a smile. But soon enough, the other side’s face turned grim.
「Actually, I’m working on a request from the Adventurer’s Guild. I was hoping you could help me with my investigation」
「Investigation?」
「We’re investigating the anomaly in the lake」
The moment Lovren said that Gregory stiffened for a moment. It was only for a moment. His expression did not change, neither did his voice.
But for us, who had strong suspicions from the start, even that was enough of a hint. Both Lovren and Fran looked convinced that Gregory knew something.
「Hohou? Then what brings you to our merchant a.s.sociation? I don’t think there’s anything I can do to help you with your investigation about the lake, right?」
「Then, would you mind showing me the bookkeeping records and the warehouse of Mesther Merchant a.s.sociation?」
「What did you say!?」
We know that they may have prepared a forged version of their bookkeeping. But our purpose was to see how the other party would react.
And if they really did bring out fake bookkeeping records, we might be able to use it as evidence to prove their crimes. No matter how well they did their bookkeeping, it could never be perfect.
「Can you please let me check all the bookkeeping records containing the sales records of the Scarlet Waterweed potion at Mesther Merchant a.s.sociation, as well as the storage warehouse where the Scarlet Waterweed potion is stored?」
Having been convinced that the Mesther merchant a.s.sociation was hiding something, Lovren became quite bold.
「Hahaha. What are you talking about… you know that’s impossible, right? It’s our merchant a.s.sociation’s trade secret after all」
「That’s why I’m asking you to do something about it」
「Do you have any suspicions about our merchant a.s.sociation? Do you think we have something to do with this incident?」
「Well, yes」
「That’s ridiculous. Our merchant a.s.sociation has nothing to do with it」
Gregory stood up with a stern expression on his face. It was probably his way of saying that he had nothing more to say.
「Please leave now. It’s truly a shame, Lovren-dono. I thought you were a respectable man for an Adventurer. We’ll never do business with you again」
Gregory turned away and walked toward the doors.
But we couldn’t let him get away. After all, this guy had lied about a lot of things. Not only did he say that there was nothing he could do to help in the investigation of the lake, but he also lied about his claim that they had nothing to do with the lake’s anomaly.
He was really suspicious.
『Fran, this guy definitely knows a lot』
「Nn. Wait. I still have something to talk」
「But I don’t」
「Maybe you don’t, but I have」
Fran’s words made Gregory look even more p.i.s.sed. But before he could raise his voice in anger, Lovren opened his mouth.
「And also, unlike me, she’s working on a commission from a different place. We’re just working together on the investigation」
「From different place?」
「Fran-san has been entrusted with full authority by Weena Rhyn to investigate the recent anomaly」
「Weena Rhyn, you said!? A kid like her is working for her…?」
「Fufu. She is indeed a kid, but her strength is well known. She’s a B-ranked adventurer that even has her own alias, and she also happens to be a special instructor at the Academy of Magic」
「What…!? An alias!? Could it be, she’s the Black Lightning Princess…!?」
「Nn. I’m Fran, a B-ranked adventurer. Nice to meet you」
「I can vouch for her ident.i.ty」
When Lovren said so, Gregory stopped in his tracks.
He seems to be struggling with something.
But it was no surprise. I suspected that Gregory just wanted to pretend to be angry and make Lovren and Fran leave.
However, it was a different story when Weena Rhyn’s name was mentioned. To put it bluntly, she was a much more influential figure in this country than the Royal Family. There was no way that a mere merchant a.s.sociation would refuse an order from someone who claimed to be Weena Rhyn’s representative.
If he still refused to allow us to check their bookkeeping records and warehouse, it’s like he was saying that he had something to hide.
Lovren already had some clues and was suspicious of the Mesther Merchant a.s.sociation. So, if he still refused Fran’s request to conduct an investigation even after she mentioned Weena Rhyn’s name here, his suspicions would be confirmed.
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Well, Fran and Lovren were already convinced of it, but it seems Gregory thought that he could still handle this.
With Lovren’s confirmation, there was no doubt that Fran was Weena Rhyn’s representative. I suppose he could argue that it was just hard to believe, but…
Gregory froze for about ten seconds, but eventually, he nodded bitterly.
「Very well then. But since it will take some time to prepare for the bookkeeping records, let me show you our warehouse first」
Gregory called a person and told him to lead us to the warehouse. Then he said that he would prepare the bookkeeping records while we checked the warehouse and then left.
I attached a piece of string that I had created using my transformation skill to Gregory. If it was someone like Gregory, he wouldn’t even notice it. Well, if he turned around for no reason, he might see it though.
However, I managed to remain undetected. Gregory ordered his men with a yell, and they were clearly visible through the thread. No matter how thin it was, it was still a part of me.
「Oi! We’ll have to advance our plans! Hurry up and prepare to withdraw to the homeland!」
「Is something went wrong?」
「The Adventurers have noticed us!」
「Th-that is… How could a mere Adventurer notice our plan…!?」
「Idiots! Do you really believe all that propaganda about them being incompetents and incapable of doing anything was real? I’ve told you to think of them as being on par with the Red Knights, right!?」
「I-I’m sorry」
「Enough. Anyway, I’ll leave the preparations for the withdrawal to you. And also, tell the President」
「V-very well. But what about the Adventurers?」
「I’ve ordered someone to take them to our third warehouse. The rest can be left to that creepy corpse. I’m sure it’ll be happy to kill them」
「A-are you sure?」
「According to that man, those black corpses are stronger than the Red Knights. So, I’m sure it’ll be fine」
As I’d expected, there was no way he would just let us check their warehouses so easily, and it seemed like something was waiting for us there. But, corpse, he said? In other words, it was an undead? He even said that they would withdraw to their homeland, didn’t he? It seemed that these people were from another country――from the Kingdom of Raidos, I guess.
(Master, how is it?)
『It seems that an enemy is waiting for you at the warehouse. Stay alert』
(Nn. Okay)