Chapter 14
“A little while ago, Arden told me about the Temeren Guild,” I said. “Listen.”
“The Temeren Guild is an association of poor sailors. Their main product is tea leaves imported from foreign lands. The ruler of the Eastern Empire—who trades tea—was once indebted to a former captain of the Temeren Guild, so he sells the finest tea leaves only to them.”
“You know how much Imperials love tea, right?” I continued. “The shop on the third floor of the atelier—it’s not a coffeehouse, it’s a teahouse.”
“Even though Temeren’s tea leaves are insanely expensive, people fight to buy them. They never stay in stock.”
“They’re still paying off the loan they used to buy their ship, but at this rate they’re basically guaranteed to become rich. They make money like water.”
“And now, look at the Ingrid Trading Company,” I said, pointing. “It’s a massive merchant group with aristocratic ties. However, Temeren doesn’t actually need anything from Ingrid. At best, they might occasionally buy some of Ingrid’s gunpowder.”
“But Ingrid absolutely must get Temeren’s tea leaves. Otherwise, they can’t serve the finest tea to customers who visit their luxury stores.”
“So we have this absurd situation: a colossal merchant group bowing their heads before a mere sailors’ guild.”
“Do you get it?”
“Not at all,” Dubeh said.
“Isn’t it humiliating? They’re a huge trading company, yet they have to grovel. And on top of that—” I smirked.
“Temeren sells expensive tea leaves, while Ingrid sells cheap explosives. So every trade ends in the red for Ingrid.”
“Now, imagine you’re an Imperial,” I said, leaning closer. “Your merchant group is so famous that even a five-year-old knows its name. But every time you deal with some commoners’ guild, you have to bend over backwards, and you’re still losing money.”
“What do terrible people do when they’re cornered like that?”
“I know! They pee on pillows!” Dubeh barked triumphantly.
“That would be an option, but Ingrid chose something else.”
“No way…” His ears perked.
I nodded grimly.
“Ingrid decided to get the Temeren sailors addicted to a drug.”
“They gave them cookies laced with narcotics. Then they threatened them. If the sailors didn’t obey, they wouldn’t get their fix.”
“Drug abuse is strictly forbidden in the Empire. Once hooked, the sailors became accomplices and had no choice but to keep quiet. They had to pay whatever price Ingrid demanded. And if they tried getting drugs elsewhere? Ingrid would report them instantly.”
“Ingrid reduced the price of tea. The power dynamic flipped. Ingrid became the master.”
“This method even has historical precedent.”
“How do you know they were forced into addiction?” Dubeh asked.
“Pepper said her dad saved some cookies so her mom could eat them. If he’d known what was in them, he never would’ve shared them. Addicts don’t share drugs.”
“So it really was on purpose…”
“Of course.”
“If we check Ingrid’s ledgers from when Pepper’s dad started acting strange, we’ll find evidence immediately.”
“How can humans be like that?!”
“You’d be shocked what people will do for money.”
I stood up on the neighboring rooftop and stretched.
“Now that we know who’s behind everything, we can leave. We’ll return in a week after scouting the mansion’s structure, guards, and shift changes. Then we break in—”
“Serafina! Look!”
“Woof!”
“What?”
Dubeh pointed with his paw.
In the quiet, upscale neighborhood, a man was dragging a huge dog.
“Colley?!”
Pepper’s golden retriever.
What the—?!
“Woof! Woof!”
“Shut up!”
Colley struggled desperately, refusing to go near the Ingrid mansion. The man punched and kicked him, dragging him toward the gates.
“What’s going on?!”
A guard at the main entrance stepped in front of the man.
“You little bastard!”
“Whine!”
The man kicked Colley again before bowing deeply to the guard. His eyes were bloodshot, his face sallow, and his hand holding the leash trembled uncontrollably. He was clearly in terrible shape.
“S-sorry for coming so late…”
“Who are you?”
“I’m… a sailor from the Temeren Guild…”
“The Temeren Guild? What’re those nobodies doing here?”
“Well, uh…”
Spit flew from the man’s mouth as he stammered incoherently.
“I-I made an important deal today with the vice master of the Ingrid Company… b-but this damned dog chewed up my medicine—my goods! They’re ruined! And as you know, once it’s broken, it’s useless…”
“So?”
“I-I came to ask for more…”
He rubbed his palms together with a pathetic grin. The guard snorted.
“You came here at this hour for that? And why’d you bring the dog?!”
“I already spent my entire salary paying for the goods… b-but this dog has a good pedigree. Please take him as payment…”
“What the hell am I supposed to do with a dog? Go home. Come back tomorrow—with money.”
“N-no! I need it right now!”
“I said go home!”
“What’s going on out there?” a voice called from inside the mansion.
“T-the vice master!”
A hooded man appeared—the same one who had gone inside earlier. He held a lantern covered with a paper shade and frowned at the commotion.
“Why the noise?”
“Vice master!” Pepper’s dad rushed forward. “You remember me! I’m the helmsman of the Temeren Guild!”
The vice master eyed the frantic sailor and the trembling golden retriever.
Pepper’s dad spat out his words.
“Your master likes collecting taxidermied animals, doesn’t he?! A well-fed golden dog like this—glossy fur and all—you won’t find another like it!”
“…He did mention wanting a yellow-furred one.”
“Yes! Exactly! That’s why I brought him! Look! His fur is golden and shiny!”
“Bring them in.”
The vice master signaled. The guard opened the gate.
“Whine! Whiiine!”
Colley screamed, resisting with all his strength.
“Serafina?! What do we do?!”
“…Yeah.”
What do we do?
I studied the mansion walls. Ancient protective magic symbols glowed faintly on the windows—wards that triggered alarms if someone entered uninvited.
If we wanted to break in… our only chance was now, while the gate was open.
But we weren’t prepared. The original plan was to return in a week with supplies and intel. If we go in now and get caught, we’re done.
But if we don’t go in…
The dog dies.
Preparation… dog… preparation… dog…
Ugh!!!
“Thank you! Thank you!”
“Whine!”
“Shut up!”
Pepper’s father kicked Colley again and hurried after the vice master.
The guard bowed slightly.
That was my opening.
I jumped from the neighboring roof, rolled across the garden grass, and landed just as the gate shut behind me.
“Huh?”
The guard frowned at the sound but saw nothing. I pressed myself flat against the wall.
“Huff… huff…”
Dubeh, clinging to my chest, shook violently.
“W-what do we do now?! What now?!”
“Well, first…”
The vice master, Pepper’s dad, and Colley were already heading toward a single-story building behind the main house—probably a storage shed.
“First?!” Dubeh whined.
“We follow them.”
“And then?!”
“I dunno. Shoot everyone?”
“Shoot us?!”
“…”
He wailed. I ignored him and prepared to dash forward—
“Oh. Right.”
“What now?!”
“I forgot to transform.”
“…”
Dubeh stopped trembling and slowly turned his head toward me, eyes full of silent profanity.
I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“Uh… can I transform quietly? Without all the glowing light effects?”
