Chapter 274 – Business Negotiations!?
After taking the fortress, we returned to Lushika.
Half of the soldiers remained at the fortress, while the others escorted the prisoners to the Lushika prisons. As for Perido, he was kept in a separate room, and was not allowed to be interrogated by anyone else.
All of this was very puzzling for Rish. Both she and the soldiers were astonished at the amount of supplies that had been found in the fortress.
Who would be capable of sending so much through the tunnels… That was the question on their minds.
We knew that it was Alva of the Arubal Company. And that it was done through a teleportation device, not the tunnel.
The existence of such a device was not public knowledge. If I told Rish about it, she would realize how dangerous the enemy was. And she would likely ask me to stop this investigation.
And so I wanted to keep it a secret…
But when I returned to the office in Lushika headquarters, she questioned me relentlessly.
“Did Perido talk about any motives?”
“No, he was just following orders.
“Whose orders?”
“I cannot say at this point…”
“You’re lying. You already know, don’t you?”
Her face could look rather scary.
I knew that I was bad at acting and lying. On top of that, I had not allowed her to interrogate Perido. So it was no wonder she had suspicions.
The Leodor lands had suffered due to the bandits for a long time. There were likely mourning families of soldiers who were killed. They would all want to know the truth.
“Indeed… Perido did tell me the name of the person who was sending the supplies. And their purpose.”
“I knew it.”
“However, I cannot reveal it now.”
“Because they are dangerous? So you want to keep the investigation a secret? I can understand that.”
Rish said.
“I know that you are doing it for my sake. But…I want to know. I won’t tell my father or anyone else. As I told you before, this really is just my problem.”
“Rish…”
It wasn’t that I wanted to treat her like a child. And as she said, this was centered around her.
Even if I kept silent, she might just question Perido anyway. Or perhaps Perido would talk to her on his own.
…It might be best to tell her after all.
“I’m sorry, Rish… According to Perido, the person is Alva of the Arubal Company.”
“H-him?”
“Yes. The man who tried to lend money to Count Leodor, and who came to meet us. He made the bandits appear, then sold weapons and supplies here. And on top of that, he was going to lend money with high interest rates…”
Rish scowled.
“To smile like that in front of us and then…”
“Yes, it’s unforgivable. However, as you said. This is someone who is dangerous. And so we need to act carefully.”
“I know. The Arubal Company is big… They have more money than we do.”
“And we still don’t know if Alva was acting on his own, or the entire company is in on it. In fact, I think there is someone else who is behind them…”
“House Besel.”
I nodded.
“And so I want to continue the investigation behind the scenes as much as possible. I want to expose them quickly, just as much as you do. However, there is no guarantee that the lizard won’t cut its tail and run.”
“I suppose just arresting and questioning Alva is not enough.”
“Exactly. I wanted to keep Berido’s confession a secret so Berido would not run away… Still, I am sorry for not telling you.”
Rish shook her head.
“…No, I am the one who is sorry. I knew that you had your reasons, but I pressed you anyway… But it was because I got you involved in my own troubles…”
“It’s fine, Rish. Besides, I’m not able to ignore these kinds of crimes. I’ve always been like that, haven’t I?”
Rish smiled weakly.
“Even when I didn’t ask…you would help me.”
Rish nodded and then looked serious again.
“I’ll leave it all to you then. Even the secrets…you can just tell me when everything is finished. But…if there is anything that I can do…please tell me.”
Rish had detected that I was still hiding something. But she trusted me enough to leave it to me.
“Thank you. I will protect you, Rish.”
Rish turned red and looked away.
The words had come out as part of the natural flow of conversation, but now that I thought back on it…it was rather embarrassing…
As we stood there awkwardly, Fule grinned and opened her mouth.
“We will also do what we can to help. Won’t we, Rienna?”
“Yes. It is our duty to help Lord Heal.”
Rienna answered with a serious expression.
“Thank you…”
Rish bowed her head with an apologetic expression.
I then stood up.
“In-in any case, let us continue the investigation… I am going to go and make contact with Alva.”
Rish went from bashful to surprised.
“Al-Alva!? Already?”
“I have to talk to him before he escapes. I want to make a deal.”
“A deal?”
“Alva will want to save his own skin. He is a merchant, and will consider profit and loss most carefully.”
“So if there is someone else behind all of this, he might tell you.”
Currently, it was just speculation. But if it came to it, we could just capture and interrogate him like Berido.
“I know. Rish, I want you to take some soldiers and wait in a spot close to the company building. Close enough to see you from the windows. That might help with the negotiation.”
“I understand.”
“Rienna and Fule. You’ll be my guards.”
They nodded in reply.
Mappa would also accompany us, and be the one to tie up Alva if necessary.
And so we headed to the Arubal Company.
It was still just past midday. But the doors were closed, and an employee was standing in front.
When we approached, he bowed his head.
“I’m terribly sorry, sir. But the store is closed for cleaning.”
“I see. Is Alva here?”
“He is…currently absent. I could take a message if you like?”
He answered while looking away.
“I see. In that case, tell him this when he returns. …Prince Heal would like to negotiate with him.”
“Pri-Prince Heal!? Who defeated the bandits at Nosor Mountain this morning!? I-I apologize for the insolence!”
He frantically lowered his head.
“Your Highness! You are the hero of Lushika! Thanks to you, the bandits are finally gone!”
He said with shining eyes. He was so excited that it did not sound like ordinary flattery. Could someone really be so happy if they knew they were sending supplies to the bandits?
Perhaps Alva really hadn’t told them anything. After all, there was no documented evidence.
Just then, the doors opened and Alva stepped out.
“Ah, a customer.”
“Oh. Alva. I heard that you were absent today.”
“Forgive me. We had a very special guest today… But for you, Prince Heal, I can make time.”
Alva gestured for us to come in.
While he was talking cheerfully, there was something strange in his voice. At the very least, he was not actually pleased to see me.
Besides, I haven’t introduced myself last time. So he must have been listening from the other side of the door.
Perhaps he realized that we knew about his connection with the bandits.
The important thing now, was that he didn’t die, similar to Perido. We needed to extract information from him.
And so I said,
“Can you prepare a room? I’d like to negotiate.”
“As you wish. I will have some tea and sweets prepared.”
Alva said, and then he guided us to the drawing room on the first floor.
Bonus chapter courtesy of OdinSon. Thank you so much!
Thanks for the chapter! Awesome translation as always! May God bless you!