A heavy atmosphere settled over the room.
Unfazed, Jun spoke the words he had prepared.
“As you all know, from now on, the Imperial family will begin preparing for war.”
“Of course. These people tried to kill a member of the imperial family in broad daylight. There’s no way the Empire would let that slide.”
“Exactly. The Heavenly Church will also begin their preparations. But they’re not the only ones we need to be wary of.”
“What do you mean, senior?”
Aiden asked, and Jun answered.
“Just what I said. Even aside from the Heavenly Church, there are others we need to keep an eye on…those who oppose the war.”
“Oppose the war…? Who would that be?”
It was Eleanor who responded to Aiden’s question.
“I think I get what he means. Like Leader said, not everyone in the Empire wants war. The nobles’ faction would be the most obvious example, right?”
War strengthens imperial authority more than anything else.
Naturally, countless members of the nobility would oppose it.
“On top of that, the Emperor is now actively pushing for war. Which likely means he’ll begin drafting powerful individuals from the various territories. Right, Leader?”
“Right. The problem is, they’re probably not too eager about the war either. If anything, they’re closer to neutral. At the very least, they won’t openly oppose us….unless the noble faction reaches out to them first.”
“Um… but why do we need to be concerned about that situation?”
Aiden’s question was a sharp one.
As he pointed out, all of that seemed like something the Emperor should worry about. Not something the White Whale Mercenaries needed to be wary of.
But if only the world worked that simply.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t likely to be the case.
“Aiden. As you know, the nobility’s greed for power is not something to be taken lightly.”
“Hmm…”
“And from their perspective, the war the Emperor is preparing for is something they must prevent at all costs. But that doesn’t mean the noble faction can openly reject the Emperor’s will.”
“Because the Emperor has the justification on his side?”
“Exactly.”
Two imperial family members were attacked in broad daylight. What better justification could there be?
“So the noble faction will look for another way…”
“You’re saying… that would be us? But that’s…”
Of all the options available, why target them?
Even if they wiped out the White Whale Mercenaries, there was no guarantee the Emperor would abandon the war.
“The world doesn’t work in such simple ways. There are two main reasons. First, we already have the trust of both imperials…too much of it, in fact.”
Blackout, by nature, is a place completely cut off from the surface.
That applies equally to both the imperials and the nobility.
“And in that situation, we ended up becoming the ones closest to both of them.”
“But there are also groups like the Blackguard Knights who serve directly under the Imperial family, aren’t there?”
“That’s a bit different. Since the Blackguard Knights bear the title of imperial knights, they can’t move completely freely.”
In contrast, the White Whale Mercenaries were different. They could travel freely anywhere, and from the nobles’ perspective, they likely appeared to be a wildcard the imperials could play at any time.
In truth, we’re just taking on requests like any other group.
But considering everything the White Whale Mercenaries had done, there’s no doubt the nobles would dismiss Jun’s explanation without a second thought.
“The second reason is that many in the noble faction are connected to the Heavenly Church.”
“What…?”
That much even Aiden hadn’t known, and his eyes widened in shock.
“I haven’t told you all yet, but Chloe’s been tracking traces of the Heavenly Church both on the surface and in Blackout for a while now. And recently, it turns out there’s more than just a few suspicious individuals.”
“Have the nobles of the Empire really fallen that far…?”
“It’s probably not to the extent you’re thinking. Most of them likely don’t even realize they’re entangled with the Heavenly Church. Still, that doesn’t mean the situation is good.”
“Ah…”
In any case, the noble faction had, knowingly or not, become deeply intertwined with the Heavenly Church and from the Sect’s point of view, the White Whale Mercenaries were more than deserving of elimination.
“So whether by their own will or someone else’s, there’s a strong chance the noble faction will target us.”
“What about asking the Imperial family for help?”
This time, it was Eleanor’s suggestion.
“They’re already aware of the situation. I’ve heard they’re keeping a close watch on the noble faction’s movements.”
“Through a group under the direct command of the Emperor?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, that’s reassuring.”
The Emperor’s personal intelligence organization.
No one outside the Emperor himself even knew who they were, and they operated with extreme secrecy.
At the very least, if the noble faction made a move, they’d likely give them a heads-up.
“Chloe will probably be in charge of information delivery.”
“Then what’s our role?”
“On the surface, nothing’s changed. We continue carrying out requests.”
“What, so really nothing’s different?”
“Exactly. Though I’m thinking of changing our area of operation.”
“Area of operation? Don’t tell me… you’re planning to take requests from the surface?”
“Yeah. Not from Blackout….this time, we’ll be accepting requests from above.”
“Like what we did for the Blackguard Knights last year?”
“Something similar.”
At that, Eleanor asked,
“Do you have a specific request in mind?”
“As it happens, one of our members was contacted by a client.”
“One of us?”
“Who?”
Both Eleanor and Aiden looked puzzled.
Naturally, their eyes turned to the last remaining member.
It was Maya who was intently chewing on meat at the table.
“…? Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Wait, you brought in a request, Maya?”
“Eleanor, that look in your eyes is seriously rude.”
“So it really was you who brought in the request?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. What do you think, Leader? Was it me who brought it in?”
Even Maya herself didn’t seem to know.
At that, Jun pulled a letter from his coat and showed it to the others.
“It was Maya, yeah. More precisely, the request came from the Altas Adventurer Party.”
“Altas Adventurer Party…? That’s the group Maya worked with recently, right?”
“Exactly. They’ve officially sent us a request.”
“What’s the request about?”
“To assist them until they find a certain item.”
“Huh? What kind of request is that? Sounds a bit weird.”
Just as Eleanor said, the request was far from ordinary.
“What exactly is this ‘certain item’?”
“They didn’t specify. All we know is that it’s somewhere on the surface.”
“And they need our help for that?”
Naturally, the Altas Adventurer Party was much larger than the White Whale Mercenaries.
For one, their number of members was nearly ten times greater, and each of them was incredibly skilled.
“It’s the same reason Maya was asked to go with them before. They said they need someone who can communicate with spirits. On top of that, magical knowledge is also required.”
“Really? Then calling for leader is just a bonus? It’s not like he’s the only mage around.”
“Probably about half of it, yeah. Still, it sounds like they’ve heard rumors about me too.”
At that, Eleanor clapped her hands and said,
“Ah, those rumors… Wait, you mean the time you stirred things up at the Mage Assembly?”
“‘Stirred things up’? That’s harsh. Anyway, for the full details of the request, we’ll have to head to the city where they’re staying.”
“A city, huh… Where is it?”
“It’s Stunheim, a city in the North.”
“Ugh. That’s pretty far.”
A trip that would require taking a ship. It was a long journey indeed.
They would probably only arrive after the new season had begun, but thankfully, that wouldn’t be necessary.
“Wait a second… isn’t that a carriage from the Laness Magic Tower?”
It was the result of Jun’s connections combined with Chloe’s financial backing.
***
The next morning, in front of the Gillen Merchant Guild building.
“You should be grateful. That thing… that’s not something even I can just wish to buy…”
Looking at Chloe, whose eyes were practically glowing with envy, Jun wore a slightly reluctant expression.
“Your grandfather gave it to you as a gift?”
“Yeah… It was in return for allowing a joint research project on mana fluid, with the Emperor’s approval.”
“Wow. The Emperor actually signed off on that?”
“What could he do? His precious son was insistent about it.”
“Oh, Javier, huh?”
“Mhmm. The Third Prince pushed hard for it. Of course, the information on mana fluid was only shared with the Tower Master.”
“I see…”
With that, Jun examined the carriage’s exterior.
It showed plenty of signs of use here and there, but it was clear that it had been meticulously maintained.
“I heard this was made by Master Shylock, too. Since you’re the patron, why not try asking him for one yourself?”
“What? Seriously? He made this?”
“Yeah. Though the version the Laness Magic Tower is using now has been somewhat upgraded since.”
“Ughhhh…”
Chloe seemed to think it over for a long while before finally shaking her head with a deeply regretful expression.
“I really, really want to… but no. Right now, Master Shylock doesn’t have the time for something like this.”
“Oh.”
Despite the longing all over her face, Chloe restrained her desire.
Maybe it was that kind of self-discipline that allowed her to surpass her older siblings and rise to her current position.
“Haah… So you’re telling me you picked up another request the moment you got back to the surface? And this time it’s all the way up in the northern part of the Empire?”
“That’s right.”
“Did you catch some kind of disease where you die if you don’t take a request?”
Chloe’s face seemed to ask, “Why are you in such a rush?” and it was clear she was genuinely worried.
“You know it too. The imperial family’s movements have started getting strange.”
“That’s true. But my grandfather has started moving in earnest now. Aren’t you pushing it a little too fast?”
“There are things in this world that money alone can’t accomplish.”
“Ugh. I want to argue with that, but I can’t.”
Chloe also knew well that there were many things in the world that money couldn’t buy.
“So that’s why the Altas Adventurer Party… Are you trying to form a connection with the Ron family?”.
The Ron family.
It was the family of Ron Kyler, the leader of the Altas Adventurer Party, and currently headed by Kyler’s older brother, Ron Camillo.
“You’re well-informed. I figured things would be easier in many ways if we had ties with the Ron family.”
“Ah, right. You asked me for information on the Kyler family before, didn’t you?”
Ever since Maya followed the Altas Adventurer Party down to the fourth level, Jun had already begun looking into Kyler and her family.
“Yeah. I was surprised at how detailed the information was.”
“They’re quite an old family. That means there’s plenty of information available publicly. Though they’ve shrunk quite a bit in recent years.”
Of course, that didn’t mean they were a family to be taken lightly.
Even if they were a count family located on the outskirts of the Central Continent, they were still a count family.
“I also heard they’ve kept up steady relations with the Western Continent. And thanks to that, their ties with the South, East, and even the North are pretty solid too.”
“That’s right. The former head of the family pulled off something quite impressive. He was the one who established trade between the Central and the outer continents…something that had always been considered impossible.”
Thanks to that achievement, the Ron family, originally a viscount house, had risen to the rank of count.
“My target is the frontier nobles.”
“…Because of the war.”
“That’s right. If I can persuade them, it’ll give more weight to the Emperor’s influence.”
“And you’re going to handle that personally?”
By now, Chloe was also somewhat entangled with the imperial family, but she still didn’t welcome Jun getting too involved.
After all, he wasn’t an imperial member and getting directly entangled with the Emperor was truly dangerous.
“We’re already tangled up in this far too deep. It’d be ridiculous to back out now. Since we’ve ended up walking the same path, the right thing to do is to support it fully.”
“Haa… You’re not wrong.”
It was a headache, but Chloe didn’t try to stop Jun anymore.
At this point, trying to hold him back would’ve been just as ridiculous.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m expecting to solve everything in one go. I’ll just go, make an opening move, and see if there’s room to get involved.”
“Alright. Just don’t move too fast. If you mess up the first step, it could end up being more trouble than it’s worth.”
Their meeting continued late into the night.
They discussed upcoming plans, the progress of the mana-fluid project, and the movements of the mercenary group’s subordinate units…none of it was unimportant.
By the time the meeting finally ended, night had long since fallen.
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