novelAlta Chapter 246: The Most Despicable Bunch in the World
Chapter 246: The Most Despicable Bunch in the World
Arendt, who had completely taken away the fighting spirit of both people, opened his mouth leisurely as he always did.“Shall we start the conversation now? Anyone not quite ready to talk?”
“…Can I ask you something?”
Arendt nodded as Alec muttered in a weak voice.
“I allow it.”
“I heard that there were actually some discrepancies between the ledgers and the inventory. Is that a lie?”
That’s what the police said when they arrested the two people.
Arendt shrugged.
“No, it’s true.”
“Huh?”
“There’s nothing particularly special about it. All the ledgers for the past three days were rewritten.”
Alec and Frederick gaped.
“Did you do it yourself…?”
“Am I crazy to do that annoying thing? I made the Vice Leader do it.”
The Vice Leader who was suddenly ordered to overhaul the ledgers almost died from overwork, but that was none of Arendt’s business.
The two were completely dumbfounded.
That was because they had no idea where to start.
It was shocking that they falsified three days’ worth of sales ledgers just to do this.
In the meantime, it was absurd that he was ordering the Vice Leader around, and it was also absurd that Arcus was doing this just because his younger brother told him to.
In addition, there was the Union Leader who condoned everything, and Arthur, who was Arendt’s companion.
It was the moment when it became clear who was in control of this situation.
“Anyway… the East Merchant Group suddenly started a fight, and I’m doing something I don’t have to do right now, so I’m not in a very good mood. So you’d better answer the questions.”
“…”
A cold, seemingly indifferent voice woke them from their thoughts.
The two people who had been lost in thought for a moment swallowed dry saliva.
They have once again become aware of their current situation.
“I’ve only touched the ledger so far, but who knows? Where else will more evidence emerge that proves you guys are the culprits?”
“…”
“Remember, if you don’t answer correctly, you’ll end up in prison eating only dried bread for a while.”
It was absurd for a man who was a knight to boldly declare that he would fabricate evidence, but they didn’t have the courage to bring it up again now.
As they nodded hurriedly, Arendt opened his mouth with satisfaction.
“Okay, I guess you two aren’t the only spies. The East Merchant Group must have at least a few investigators, right? What’s the scale?”
“…It’s not quite to the level of the Neumann Merchant Group’s informants, but we have a similar number of people.”
Alec lowered his eyes and answered.
“Who among them is keeping an eye on the Khan Union?”
“It’s hard to know exactly because the people change every time, but I think there are about a dozen people.”
This time, Arendt’s brow furrowed slightly as Frederick mumbled his answer.
.
There were more people than he thought.
“Where are they? They must have been gathered together to move efficiently.”
“That’s right. There is a dedicated person stationed at a nearby branch for surveillance.”
Alec nodded obediently, as if he had now completely given up.
“We rotate on a weekly basis. It would be a problem if a certain person came and went too often and got caught.”
The East Merchant Group’s surveillance network was more systematic than expected.
Perhaps in the original novel, they opened an information centre based on that.
But this time, Neumann beat them to the punch, so it must have been quite a bitter matter for the East Merchant Group’s leader as well.
Arendt thought for a moment and then asked another question.
“Is the East Merchant Group skilled in intelligence warfare?”
“Yes. To be exact… there was a time when that was the case. But now, they’ve lost that advantage due to Neumann’s informants.”
Arendt nodded at Frederick’s answer.
“Aha, so that’s why the leader suddenly started grinding her teeth.”
The two people simply responded by not denying it.
The East Merchant Group’s leader was already dissatisfied with Neumann’s independence.
In the meantime, they suffered unexpected losses due to the Neumann Merchant Group information centres’ great success.
The information that they had been monopolizing until now was starting to appear in Neumann information centres, being traded for money.
If the real motive behind East Merchant Group’s actions was information, it was easy to guess what she would do next.
Arendt, having finished thinking, quickly changed the subject.
“I told the police informant to let you two go when it gets late. Then you can go back on your own.”
“Huh?”
They asked back, dumbfounded at the sudden remark.
Arendt shrugged and added simply:
“If you don’t want to go through this again, be more careful when looking for your next job. I’m leaving. It was awful meeting you two, and let’s never meet again.”
Arendt waved his hand and left the dungeon without any hesitation.
They just blinked for a while, dumbly listening to the sound of receding footsteps.
Frederick muttered.
“I think it should be us saying that it was awful meeting you…”
Then Alec muttered in vain.
“…Should we just change jobs?”
“Well…”
Frederick agreed quietly.
The rumor spread quickly through word of mouth among merchants who visited the Khan Union.
News soon arrived that the theft had been a misunderstanding, but that wasn’t the point.
As the news spread that spies had been sent from the East Merchant Group to the Khan Union, the reputation of the East Merchant Group began to fall to the ground.
Angela, the head of the East Merchant Group, who had heard all the news, just sat on the fancy sofa and rubbed her temples.
The secretary who had just submitted the report watched her closely, very nervous.
After a while, she opened her mouth.
“What happened to the fools who were taken away by the police?”
“They say they were released that night without any incident. And then they submitted their reports and immediately resigned…”
The secretary answered in a small voice.
Once they left the merchant group, it became impossible to punish them.
While she was extremely angry at that fact, she also wondered what on earth had happened to them that made them run away in such a panic.
After some more time had passed, Angela blurted out.
“Is that apprentice knight really out of his mind?”
The secretary, who knew full well that the question was not intended to elicit an answer, stayed silent.
Angela burst out laughing.
“I have to admit that it’s extraordinary. It’s really outrageous. I never thought they’d fight back like this.”
This was a clear provocation and declaration of war.
It was also an arrogant mockery, telling her to try something different since her petty tricks had already been seen through.
The secretary, who had been observing Angela’s expression, spoke cautiously.
“It seems certain that Arendt was deeply involved in the Union.”
“Yes.”
That alone seemed like a meaningful harvest, or at least it could be considered one.
Besides, this incident wasn’t all bad.
That little knight made a fatal mistake.
It was a common practice among merchants to send spies to hostile establishments.
Even if this thing came up to the surface, there wasn’t much to lose right away.
Even though mud was splashed on her, it was impossible to remain a good person during the long years she lived as a merchant.
Even though there were those who pointed fingers at her and called her cowardly, in the end, money and power said it all.
“…Prepare to send the letter. And connect the communication crystal with Count Eckhart.”
“Yes?”
The secretary’s eyes widened at her words.
But perhaps realizing that that action was presumptuous, the secretary’s head soon lowered.
“Yes, I will prepare it right away.”
After the secretary left the office, Angela was left alone, playing with the ring on her finger and lost in thought.
It was a shame for the kids, but since they had provoked her first, there was no need to show mercy.
Arendt, who had returned to the palace, received a message from the Khan Union.
“You’re saying that there are fewer customers?”
– Yes, that’s right. The number of people coming to enjoy tea and snacks remains the same, but the number of merchants asking for wholesale deals has decreased.
Henry’s answer came from across the communication crystal.
Although he was pretending to be calm, his impatience was evident in his faster-than-usual tone.
“Hmm, she’s being childish. And?”
Henry answered in a complicated voice as Arendt asked absentmindedly, leaning back on the sofa.
– The quality of the tea supplied by the merchants have also declined. It’s not all of them, but there are cases where inferior products were mixed in at the same price.
“What about the imported goods?”
– …It’s the same for those.
Henry paused for a moment and answered, lowering his voice slightly.
Arendt could read the implications there.
“If my guess is correct, there must have been a problem with the tea leaves coming through the merchants who are on Count Eckhart’s side. Is that correct?”
– Yes, that’s right.
The sight of Henry, with a wrinkled expression, was vividly clear.
Arcus must have also had a gloomy expression on his expressionless face.
“How is it? Is it manageable?”
– It’s not to the extent that we have to close down right away, but we’ve suffered a lot of damage.
Since they couldn’t sell the inferior products as they were, they either lowered the price significantly or disposed of them as they were.
“Don’t worry about the loss, just keep doing it. And don’t ever put anything even slightly strange on the shelf.”
– But…
“There are many other ways.”
Henry tried to argue, but Arendt quickly shut him up with a simple sentence.
“If anything, we can just extort money from the richest person in the Empire. Who do you think we are suffering for right now?”
The richest person in the Empire was the Crown Prince.
The Union Leader was speechless for a moment at the bold declaration that he would empty the Crown Prince’s pockets.
Meanwhile, Arendt started to speak again.
“Don’t worry about losses. Just think of there being a never-ending source of gold. Do you understand? Keep the goods as high-quality as possible. The tea delivery issue will be resolved somehow through Neumann’s Merchant Group. I don’t think they would even think of messing with the goods that pass through the Neumann Merchant Group.”
– Okay… okay, I understand. I will do that.
Henry, who had been trailing off nervously, eventually nodded in agreement.
“Oh, and don’t throw away the discarded tea. Stack them up somewhere. Also, keep a list of the merchants who tampered with the tea and suddenly stopped doing business with the Union. Pass it on to the Neumann Merchant Group’s Information Centre. Then, it will be delivered to Lord Neumann right away.”
– I have written down everything and I will send it to them right away.
Henry hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth again.
– However, it is true that sales have dropped significantly. Even if we can receive the support of His Highness the Crown Prince, the Union will not be able to function properly unless there are immediate visible results…
If the Union showed no signs of wavering despite the decline in guests, it would certainly be met with suspicion.
This was what worried Henry.
But Arendt was resolute.
“Union Leader, just do what you’ve been doing. It’s not time to worry about that yet.”
– What else is going to happen?
“There are still some despicable things left that a delicate young master like you could never imagine.”
– That, the same goes for Arendt, who grew up well…
“What did you say?”
– Nothing.
When Arendt raised his voice slightly, Henry immediately surrendered.
When the Union Leader fell silent, Arendt calmly added:
“Anyway, whatever happens, don’t panic too much. It’s about time they start to counterattack.”
– First of all… okay, I understand.
Henry still seemed unconvinced, but he answered anyway.
After the communication ended, Arendt stared blankly at the dimly lit communication port and blurted out a sentence.
“You’ll find out soon enough that you’re being too hasty.”
A wry smile appeared on his lips.
One of the best things about this damn play was that he could watch the audience’s reactions as they stamped their feet right next to him.
It was only the beginning of a fierce battle.
But it was clear that the other party would come up with a desperate measure within a few days.
And Arendt was able to confirm that exactly three days later, his guess was correct.
Following rumors that the East Merchant Group was spying on the Khan Union, word began to spread that the quality of the Khan Union’s tea had plummeted.