Chapter 311
Chapter 311. The Root of the Problem
The innkeeper of “Sacred Stag” Inn woke up at dawn and quickly began preparing breakfast.
Since there weren’t many guests today, the preparations were easy. While waiting for the soup in the stove to warm up, I thought I’d do a little cleaning with a cloth, so I went out to the dining room.
“Good morning!”
One of the guests, a brown-haired young man, had already woken up. He was a rugged man, tanned by the sun, with a holy sword hanging from his belt.
“Good morning. Did you sleep well?”
“…… Yeah, very well.”
What was that awkward pause about?
“By the way, I made a bit of a mess in my room, so I’d like to clean it up…”
The young man began to speak with an apologetic expression.
He had brought along a cute silver-haired girl. I couldn’t help but think, “Was last night enjoyable?” for a split second, but of course, I kept that thought to myself.
“You don’t need to clean up at all; it’s fine as it is.”
Since I’ve received the lodging fee, it’s service if it’s just that much.
“No… I don’t want to be seen as a rude guest. Could I borrow a dustpan and broom?”
“Hmph, if you insist that much.”
I thought he was a peculiar guy, but I lent them out, as he requested. Still, a dustpan and broom? I thought he’d need towels or rags instead.
While I was wiping down the dining table, the young man returned with a dustpan full of ashes.
“Uh, customer… what’s that?”
“It’s just some leftover stuff from a little magic ritual. Don’t worry, I didn’t use any fire. Where should I throw it?”
“Is that just ash? Or does it have any harmful effects?”
“No, it’s totally harmless.”
With an unusually refreshing smile, the young man replied.
“In that case, let’s toss it in our stove.”
“That would be helpful. Thanks.”
I took the dustpan from the young man and returned to the kitchen.
“Hmm…”
From any angle, it just looked like plain ash. There was no strange color or odd smell.
He said it was from a magic ritual, but…
“Well, whatever.”
I tossed it right into the stove’s ash.
The ashes from cooking would be picked up later by the workers.
Surely, it would become fertilizer for the fields later on…
†††
Anyway, this is Hero Alexander.
I extracted quite a bit of information from that guy Ixel.
Not only was he relaying information from the trading company branch in Tritus Principality, but during the Defteros Kingdom war, he was also involved in sabotage of the supply lines.
For now, I forced him to cough up all the confidential information he had—their bases, hideouts, agents’ locations, and their public titles and names. With this, I could systematically wipe them out.
The problem is deciding where to prioritize the attacks next. And what to do about the documents and disguises hidden in Ixel’s home—
“Let’s leave Ixel’s home alone for now,” said Antendeixis.
“If the information leaks to the lords or the Holy Church, that could trigger an investigation. The agents sensing an anomaly would scatter, and that would be the end.”
That’s true. If I provoke the espionage network carelessly, I can’t predict what kind of movement it might trigger.
If I make it seem like Ixel just vanished without doing anything, the agents he was in contact with might be suspicious but wouldn’t immediately go underground. They’d probably watch things for a bit.
But if the Holy Church decides to move in for an investigation, they would vanish in no time, rendering the information I’ve gathered useless.
“But it’s not realistic for just Alex to take them all down. Maybe we should get the Holy Church involved? If we send an anonymous letter, they might investigate considering Ixel’s disappearance. As long as we have accurate information, I think the Holy Church would do their job.”
Now Barbara pointed this out.
She’s right; I can’t handle everything by myself.
Which of the contacts Ixel was relaying information to—was it the Northern branch of the Tritus Principality trading company or the Southern one? I wish I could split up right now and take them down simultaneously.
Well then, what should we do…
“—…—”
In the meantime, Leila had been silently listening. She seemed eager to learn from our conversation.
By the way, since I was touching the leather strap around Leila’s neck—【Kizuna】—everyone, including Leila, Antendeixis, and Barbara, could converse without making a sound. It’s super convenient, especially because we can’t always have a soundproof barrier up.
“Hmm…”
Listening to Antendeixis and Barbara’s discussion, I reached my conclusion.
—we’ll leave the information at Ixel’s home for now and first go after the Cortera Trading Company branch in the Tritus Principality.
Since it’s adjacent to the former territory of the Defteros Kingdom, it will act as the nerve center of the espionage network for the Eastern front. If we take this down, the flow of information for the Eastern espionage network will be cut off, rendering it paralyzed.
At the same time, there’s a risk that the agents sensing the disturbance could go underground one after another, so as soon as the cleanup in Tritus Principality is done, we’ll head East with all our force through Leila.
“Aha! I get it, we’ll snuff them out before the anomaly reaches them.”
Barbara chuckled. That’s exactly right. Right now, there’s no means faster than a dragon’s wings for the Night Elves to relay information.
“I’ll do my best!”
It’s not too late to report about the information at Ixel’s home after we wrap up our business in the Tritus Principality.
“That’s right. By that timing, those who Ixel was relaying info to will probably start to stir, and if the Holy Church moves, the impact will be minimal.”
However, among the Night Elves Ixel was in contact with, those who engaged in sabotaging the supply lines during the Defteros Kingdom war seem to be hiding disguised as human hunters. They apparently live in a small forest hideout with no Forest Elf patrols. We should take care of them before heading to the Tritus Principality.
Among the agents, they appear to be a practical unit skilled in destruction, so it would be troublesome to leave them unchecked.
For now, the rest can wait. With Ixel gone, they’ll be dysfunctional anyway.
If Ixel has disappeared, they might cast suspicious glances at me, who will have been the last to contact him, but by then I’ll have already slipped into another country, so it won’t be a problem—
And so…
“Let’s get out of this Skugusarl City quickly.”
—And while heading to the Tritus Principality, we’ll crush the hideout of the practical unit.
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