Chapter 9

The only items left on my errand list were carrots, onions, and seeds for planting flowers. After entering the market, I bought the carrots and onions and asked the merchants about the Merchant Guild.

At first, they tried to brush me off, but when I mentioned the incident involving the old man in the alley, they sighed deeply and clicked their tongues.

"Those heartless bastards. They started as vigilantes during the Mage War, but they changed after the war ended. They got a taste of money from membership fees and started to harass people they shouldn't. It's been tough to make a living, hasn't it?"

"There are about six leaders, and around twenty people who collect fees. This area is under their control. If you refuse to join, it turns into chaos. They're in cahoots with the police, so reporting them is useless. Now everyone pays the fees out of fear."

As expected, these thugs under the guise of the Merchant Guild were treating this area like their own territory.

'That means they have a good grasp of the city's information, too.'

Wouldn't that be useful for finding the artifact? After finishing my shopping, I hummed a tune as I returned to the mansion.

There was no need to think further.

I needed to take action starting today.

That night, close to midnight.

I changed into my regular clothes and sneaked out of the mansion without the butler noticing.

This kind of secretive and covert escape is one of the things a maid should avoid, but I didn't care.

Sometimes, there are tasks that can't be accomplished without deception. This was especially true when I had to hide my identity as a maid.

I entered the pub that the old potato seller had told me about.

Ding.

When I opened the door, the crimson lanterns inside flickered slightly.

The first thing I saw was a large frame hanging on the wall. The faded black-and-white photo inside showed the faces of my dear friends, the heroes of the Mage War, as they were publicly revealed in the newspaper.

There were one middle-aged woman, four middle-aged men, and the bartender inside the pub. As I had been told, there were six leaders.

'These guys usually gather at their base on the night a problem occurs in their territory to hold a strategy meeting.'

I didn't see any guns on their waists, which meant I only had to be careful of the bartender.

I took a seat at the bar. No one spoke, so I took the initiative.

"Serve the customer."

The bartender snorted.

"Hey, miss. You don't seem to be from around here. We're not open, so why don't you leave nicely?"

"Why not?"

"What?"

"Why not?"

The atmosphere grew tense, and a large man approached and sat next to me. His face seemed familiar.

"Hold on, hold on. Let me handle this. Miss, where are you from?"

The man grinned and leaned in.

"What's your name?"

I recognized his face.

"Why aren't you answering? Miss? The crazy maid who disfigured my brother's face."

It was the brother of the trash. Or maybe he was the trash brother?

Click.

In an instant, the bartender pulled out a shotgun from under the table and pointed it at my forehead with a cold, merciless look.

"Is this her? If you don't want to die, come with us quietly. We'll turn you into mush and send you to the slave ship."

That action shattered my last hope.

In the empire, a pub is a place for people and their hometowns. But this place wasn't.

I stood up obediently at the bartender's warning. As I walked along the bar, the gun followed me.

When I reached the entrance to the back of the bar, I suddenly crouched and swept the bartender's wrist with a half-circle kick.

Bang! The bartender, who flew into the display of glasses, fell to the floor, and shards of glass rained down on him like snowflakes.

"Grab her!"

Next, I slapped the trash brother's face and slammed him into the wall. The two at the round table were thrown onto the table, and the other two were kissed by the chairs.

"Ugh..."

Now it's quiet.

This is the kind of pub I know. A place for people, not trash.

"Any hidden guns?"

The middle-aged woman, who was standing with her hands up, trembled and looked at me.

"Do you have any?"

"In the storage room! I'll give it to you!"

"I don't need it."

I returned to the bartender.

The brave bartender who had pointed the gun at my head was rolling on the floor, one leg useless. When I sat on him, he turned pale.

"So, when are you going to answer my question?"

"Question...?"

"Why aren't you serving customers? Is the pub sign outside just for decoration?"

"We'll serve customers."

"Why did you form the Merchant Guild if you're not serving customers?"

"We'll serve customers."

"Answer the question. Why did you form the Merchant Guild?"

"To protect the interests of the merchants in the city..."

"Who agreed to it?"

"All the merchants..."

"Did they really agree? Were they coerced? Should I go around the neighborhood and ask? I'll drag you like a dog and confront each person. For every person who says they were forced to join, I'll cut 20 years off your life. Shall we do that?"

Strange.

Talking to these guys doesn't make me feel unpleasant. My voice didn't sound terrible to my ears.

It felt like I was back in Andert, and my smile came more easily.

Thanks to that, my tongue moved like a fish in water.

"I'm sorry."

One of the men sitting at the table with his hands up asked in a broken voice.

"Who, who are you, miss?"

I scanned the six terrified faces and pointed to the wall.

"Her."

A black-and-white photo, like it was cut from a newspaper, was proudly displayed in a frame.

The photo showed me from the Andert era, Raphael, and Natasha, the only princess of the empire, among the seven heroes, raising their glasses to the sky and smiling.

It wasn't a particularly significant photo.

During the Mage War, when the front lines were pushed north by the sudden attack of the Great Mage Mephisto, the pub owner took this photo to boost the morale of the allied forces.

I was curious how a photo like this could boost morale, but it must have been released through the newspaper after the victory.

"That's me."

"What...?"

"We worked hard to save the world. But it wasn't to save a world where scum like you can run rampant."

The bartender's eyes, which had been looking at me, now saw a crazy maid. I pulled a chair from the table and sat down, taking a sip of water.

"You said you were curious about who I am? Let me tell you a story. Can you listen? Even if my words sound a bit awkward, just laugh it off. I'm not good with words."

"Yes? Ah, yes."

"I have an important goal that I must achieve within three years."

"Yes."

"Anyway, to achieve this goal, the area around the mansion needs to be clean. Especially you guys. You know who I'm talking about? Thieves."

"We, we are not thieves..."

"Is this alley yours?"

I scanned the thieves. They all seemed busy trying to avoid my gaze.

"Is this alley yours? Answer me."

"No."

"If it's not yours, taking fees is theft. Because of scum like you, my dinner tonight was ruined. The potatoes were in bad condition. The reason the potatoes were in bad condition is that a merchant, afraid of the protection fee, hid in the alley to sell. In the alley, things don't sell quickly because they're not visible. So, they tend to rot, right?"

"...Yes."

"So, if there's no protection fee, the potatoes will be in better condition. Fresh ingredients enhance the taste and quality of food, but poor-quality meals can make you sick. If you get sick, what happens? You might die soon."

"Yes."

In summary, if you take protection fees, I will die."

"Yes... Yes?"

"So, I plan to kill you before I die. In other words, self-defense."

I smiled at them.

"Story's over. Who wants to die first?"

The thieves' faces turned pale, as expected.

Someone took a sharp breath.

Of course, I had no intention of killing them. Violence and murder are different levels of crime. Both are serious, but...

At that moment, the bartender, who had been lying on the floor, slowly got up. His eyes, which had been filled with fear, now exuded a bold and aggressive aura.

"We have the <Buried Let> above us."

He had some confidence.

The bartender pulled out a wobbly fang and pointed at me.

"So, you can't kill us. <Buried Let> is a place that repays twice what it receives! If our heads are all cut off, you will become the enemy of <Buried Let> and will never survive."