Chapter 44

After seeing off the black-haired boy who had gone out to buy daily necessities, Cesare took deep breaths, trying to calm his heart that was beating at an incredible speed.

Yesterday, immediately after parting ways with the boy, he used his connections to gather some new information.

As a result, he learned that the arrest of the female mercenary was the Duke of Tria's personal decision, and that the name of the mercenary who had been paired with her was Ardis.

Moreover, this boy mercenary named Ardis was also the owner of the house where the female mercenary lived, and he had disappeared after the arrest incident.

Considering the situation, it was reasonable to assume that he was currently acting together with the female mercenary.

The boy who had been in front of him just a moment ago.

With black hair and black eyes, a violet cloth wrapped around his forehead, and a slightly short violet robe.

Everything about him matched the characteristics of the mercenary named Ardis that he had heard about.

According to the inn's register, the name 'Theoris' was listed. However, considering their situation, where they might be wanted, it was probably a pseudonym.

If the boy was indeed the mercenary Ardis, as Cesare suspected, he almost certainly knew the whereabouts of the female mercenary.

When he reached this conclusion, Cesare became greedy.

In Tria, it seemed that the arrest order and the incident were intended to be covered up before the country found out.

However, this was not because they had given up on capturing the female mercenary, but because they wanted to hide the scandal.

The Duke of Tria probably still wanted to capture the female mercenary.

The arrest order issued by the Duke of Tria was an irregular one, not approved by the Law-keeping Court.

Unlike the Duke of Tria's guards, the capital's guards had no reason to act. Capturing the female mercenary was impossible.

However, if he could find her location, he could sell the information to the Duke of Tria.

While it might be worth nothing in the capital, it was information that the Duke of Tria could not ignore.

The reward would be more than just copper or silver coins; it would be ten or even twenty gold coins.

If he could capture that boy, he could instantly make a fortune.

Cesare acted quickly.

He contacted a man who organized the thugs in the lower town, described the boy's appearance and clothing, and requested that they kidnap and imprison him.

Thugs in the lower town, who lived on two copper coins a day, would readily agree to the plan if shown even a single gold coin.

He instructed them to attack with as many people as possible, to surround the boy in a narrow place, to close in quickly, and to avoid unnecessary injuries.

No matter how skilled the boy was as a mercenary, a mage, and a fighter, he would be outnumbered.

Moreover, mages could not fully utilize their power when approached closely.

If they were hit before they could cast a spell, it would be over.

Once he had extracted the location of the female mercenary, he could keep the boy imprisoned until he received the reward from the Duke of Tria.

Lost in thoughts of the fortune he would soon acquire, Cesare sipped his fruit water dreamily when he heard a voice from behind, "Did I keep you waiting?"

He wondered if the boy had noticed his agitation at that moment.

Had his shoulders twitched?

Had his sudden inability to respond due to surprise been suspicious?

He hadn't expected the boy to return to the inn.

And not only that, but he had returned unharmed, as if nothing had happened.

Cesare managed to maintain his composure and provided the boy with the additional promised information.

He was constantly worried about whether his voice was trembling or if he was speaking too quickly while talking.

Once the boy returned to his room upstairs, Cesare, finally released from the pressure, drank the fruit water in one gulp and began to think.

Perhaps the thugs were not a match for the boy.

While reflecting on his misjudgment of the boy's abilities, he smiled to himself.

It seemed the boy had not yet realized that Cesare was the one who had incited the thugs. If so, there was still a chance.

If the thugs failed, he could hire mercenaries.

The reward would need to be more generous than what he offered the thugs, but their capabilities were incomparable.

Cesare, due to his line of work, knew many mercenaries. A strong but somewhat dim-witted one would be perfect.

Fortunately, there was someone who had said, "If you have any more good information, let me know."

Cesare remembered that the boy had said he would leave the capital in the afternoon. Time was running out.

2017/02/05 Typo correction: Tria Duke → Tria Duke

2017/11/29 Expression repetition correction: deep deep breaths → deep breaths

2018/04/18 Typo correction: tremendous speed → tremendous speed

2020/07/28 Typo correction: suppress → suppress

*Thank you for reporting the typo.