Chapter 16: Peddler hunted by assassins, Part 2

There were two kidnapping specialists in Amadeus.

Not kidnappers, but kidnappees. Perhaps “abduction experts” would be more accurate.

One was Estelle, the stoic yet surprisingly clumsy swordswoman. And the other…

“P-please… don’t kill me…”

…was the Third Princess, Lena, currently cowering before me.

With her vibrant blonde hair similar to our protagonist’s, her regal attire, and the wand she confidently wore at her hip as a recognized apprentice mage, there was no mistaking her.

An ordinary person might think, “How can a princess be kidnapped?!”

I used to wonder the same thing.

Princesses had personal guards and rarely ventured into dangerous situations, so why were they always being kidnapped? Amadeus’ developers had given her a curse.

Our Third Princess was said to be cursed by the stars at birth.

A curse that turned everything into misfortune.

While it sounded dramatic, it was essentially a bad luck curse.

Dropping a freshly bought snack was a minor inconvenience.

More common occurrences included her guards being momentarily distracted, allowing passing thugs to recognize and kidnap her.

This must have been a similar situation.

Because of this curse, Lena, along with Estelle, frequently appeared as damsels in distress in event and side stories.

After this setting was revealed, it was Estelle, not Lena, who was reevaluated.

People wondered how Estelle managed to get kidnapped or lost so often without a curse.

Well, that was beside the point.

The immediate problem was resolving the current situation.

“So… it was you…!”

Most Moonshadow agents prioritized their duties over personal feelings, giving them a stoic demeanor.

However, the agent chasing me seemed emotionally charged, perhaps due to exhaustion. Her voice was filled with excitement.

And she was a woman.

One particular character came to mind, but since the agent wore a mask and had common black hair, I couldn’t be certain.

There could be other female Moonshadow agents with a short temper and black hair.

Or perhaps her usual stoicism was broken because this involved a royal, and they were notoriously loyal.

Anyway, smile. People always liked a smiling face.

“Hngh… Surrender… quietly…!”

But my smile seemed ineffective. The agent drew her sword and pointed it at me.

This was… how many times had someone pointed a sword at me now?

I’d been fine when I was just a regular merchant, but after infiltrating organizations and exploiting their weaknesses for favorable deals, I’d encountered quite a few blades.

Did they think my secrets would disappear if they killed me?

Why couldn’t they grasp that if I had information on them, others might as well?

Were they too blinded by rage?

Anyway, the number of times I’d faced a sword had increased significantly.

Of course, I’d never actually been hit.

With this frail body, even with potions, a few sword strikes would be fatal. So, I took precautions.

Wearing chainmail under my clothes, stationing subordinates nearby…

Sometimes, I even hired highly skilled bodyguards who could withstand even armor-piercing attacks.

And I always had an escape plan or a method to counterattack.

After escaping those tense negotiations, they would often contact me and beg,

“Please… please do business with us…!”

Grown adults, groveling and crying…

It was quite entertaining, but I wasn’t that heartless, so I usually agreed to the deals.

Should I try that tactic now? I wondered.

But first, I’d attempt conversation. It probably wouldn’t work, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The words of the wise were… usually correct.

“If I told you I didn’t kidnap the princess, would you believe me?”

“Do you think I’d believe such an obvious lie?! Hand over the princess…!”

As expected, it didn’t work.

It only heightened her vigilance, as her sword began to glow with mana or something.

“If I return the princess, can I leave safely?”

“Do you think the Moonshadow would forgive someone who kidnapped a royal?!”

The agent raised her sword.

The slight tremor in her hand suggested she was a rookie, still hesitant to take a life.

Or perhaps she was overestimating me, assuming I was capable of kidnapping a princess.

Regardless, this hotheaded girl would eventually attack. I had to be ready.

I reached into my bag for my notebook, intending to use my usual tactic—

“Don’t move…!”

Whoosh!

Without giving me time, the girl charged, sword raised.

“Under the Lamp” shouldn’t have just been issued a warrant now; they should have been wanted a long time ago.

Rare minerals and monster materials had been flooding the kingdom’s markets.

Masterfully crafted weapons and armor, far beyond the capabilities of ordinary artisans, had also appeared.

These items lacked the Blacksmith Guild’s seal, despite their quality suggesting they were made by someone of high rank within the guild.

Even rare minerals, the Solarite Kingdom’s main export, started appearing in large quantities.

While the impact was currently limited to the kingdom’s internal markets, if these goods reached international markets, their value would plummet, and the kingdom’s treasury would be depleted.

Thus, the kingdom tasked the Knights and Moonshadow with investigating.

But their efforts yielded little results.

While they had more information than the Magic Tower, which had been searching for a suspicious girl for the past two years, it was mostly useless.

The merchants refused to divulge their suppliers’ information, citing customer confidentiality.

Even threats and sanctions failed to loosen their lips.

They seemed to fear something even more than the dreaded Moonshadow.

Finally, they resorted to breaking a taboo established after the nationwide civil war to obtain information.

Even then, the information was vague and unreliable.

The merchants, subjected to forbidden magic, spoke in unison, their minds clouded.

“I saw something… something terrible.”

Some even collapsed in terror despite the strong mental manipulation.

And Iris, a low-ranking Moonshadow agent, felt a strong premonition.

If she let Kayleen take something out of that bag, both she and the princess would see that “terrible something.”

So, she charged at Kayleen, sword in hand.

Her body screamed in protest from the exertion of casting two powerful spells, but Iris pushed forward.

She swung her sword at Kayleen’s hand as it reached into the bag.

Intending to sever the hand and bag together.

But something inexplicable happened.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing against metal echoed as her sword struck the bag, despite the bag’s leather exterior.

The impact sent vibrations up her arm, shaking her sword.

And Kayleen pulled something out of the bag.

A small piece of paper with a star drawn on it. But the ink forming the star was a viscous, blood-like substance that seemed to ooze across the paper.

“I suggest you take a good look.”

Rip.

Kayleen tore the paper in half.

A dark red liquid seeped from the tear, filling the space between the halves.

As if the paper itself were alive and bleeding.

“And… it might be best not to tell anyone about this.”

Iris felt fear. Pure, unadulterated terror.

Mana was invisible. That was a universal truth.

Unless one possessed magical sight, humans couldn’t see mana. Only ancient dragons or transcendent beings possessed such an ability.

However, there were historical records of ordinary people seeing mana.

Long ago, during the mythical age, when gods still walked the earth, and demons broke the sacred laws…

Records spoke of a viscous, dark mana that blanketed the land.

And what Iris saw was exactly as described in those records.

A glimpse into the essence of a demon.

“Come forth, Envy—”

A small form materialized within the confines of the secret passage, emerging from the deepening darkness.

But the presence it exuded as it grew felt vast enough to fill the sky.

“—Leviathan.”

Something… something was there.
Why did you summon me again, Kay—

“Ahem. You mustn’t say my name. I’m in disguise, you know.”
You’re really working me hard.

Iris faced… something.

A primal fear rose from her core, spreading through her body.

The sensation of being dead while still alive.

“Ugh…”

Overwhelmed by the unending terror… the terror… the terror…

She retched.