Aha. I turned my head toward the pub door and asked a question. "That's what they say." It was in a direction where no one was standing.
Shortly after the bartender questioned his eyes, the silent pub door opened, revealing a person who had not yet appeared. He entered silently like a shadow, dressed in a long robe from head to toe.
"What is Berithlet?"
It was the butler-assassin, the assassin who had turned over a new leaf. It seemed the robe he was wearing was one he had made himself from unused blackout curtains. Considering the user's experience, it was a very plausible assumption. The butler-assassin kindly answered my question.
"It is an information guild that grew rapidly after the magic war. They are large, dangerous, and frankly cruel to get what they want."
The unwavering voice contained not an inch of dishonesty. I nodded. This was exactly the role I expected and demanded of him. Before coming to the pub, I visited the butler-assassin.
As a former assassin, he immediately recognized my presence, so he went out the back door and asked me what I was doing.
"Today is not the day we agreed upon. What happened?"
"You told me you were going to find a new way of life."
"And?"
"Let's work together."
The butler-assassin looked at the simple but slightly aggressive turn with suspicious eyes. "Why should I do that?"
"Because I have to look for it, just like you."
"What?"
"A way to live."
First you had to show your cards to get the other party's cooperation. "I need to collect information to find what I need." And I briefly told him my future plans. He remained expressionless at all times, until he was tempted by the word "information."
It was natural. Being pursued by an assassin's guild, it was important to keep Midwinterre in the palm of his hand to get rid of his protectionist pursuers. Slowly taking control of the city, starting with the merchant association that dominates this neighborhood, would benefit us both.
"It's not a bad offer... it's fine. But regarding some of the merchants you mentioned, we'd better make some changes to the plan."
"Why?"
"From what I've heard, their speed of expansion and systematic progression are unnecessarily good to be simply neighborhood thugs. In these cases, there is usually a sponsor. If you move recklessly, they can take you down."
The butler-assassin asked to make our move after inspecting the sponsor. The decision was based on the fact that, depending on the background, it might be prudent not to touch the subject. But my thoughts were a bit different. The reason was simple: if the current merchant association continued, the old potato seller would have to disappear from the alley.
"It's good that we promised to withdraw if the sponsor was unusual." But I didn't know there was a large guild connected. "'Berithlet'? I've never heard of them before."
"Because it's a secret drug-trafficking guild. Common people don't know it."
"Common people?" Ah, that was correct. I was a normal person now. But what the butler-assassin said sounded terribly wrong anyway. I furrowed my brows at the thought.
"Of course, there are times when it's not like that. Berithlet has connections spread across the thirteen countries of the Magic Alliance, focusing on the Penrotta Empire. Guild masters are people whose names, let alone their faces, are not known to the public. They do everything possible to avoid being caught."
The butler-assassin, who was explaining, looked at the bartender with suspicious eyes. "But why would they join these evil bastards?"
The bartender hurriedly rummaged through the cupboard drawer. Soon a round gold coin emerged from his hands. "No! We are a federation protected by Berithlet! Here, check out this guild coin."
A guild coin was a guarantee that demonstrated cooperation and affiliation with a specific guild. The butler-assassin, who inspected the coin's shape and appearance, tilted his head with a serious expression. "It's real."
"That's right! You've made many mistakes here. Look, this man knows the horrors of Berithlet very well..."
I snatched the gold coin from the hand of the bartender, who seemed to be getting increasingly proud. "Really? Then this is mine from now on."
The bartender clenched his teeth. "Are you brave or just crazy?! Didn't you hear me?! If the fact that we were attacked reaches Berithlet..."
"That's why you shouldn't wag your tongue lightly." I tapped the bartender's lips with the guild coin and warned him. "Be smart, bartender. Don't you know the saying: 'A cousin is further away than a neighbor'? Don't you know it? Well, what about 'the law is far, but the fist is near'? The reaches of Berithlet's law are far, but I, your neighbor's fist, am very close. Remember that your lives depend on the mood of the corner of my heart."
The interior of the pub fell silent, as if cold water had been poured over its occupants. Meanwhile, the assassin-butler, who had been working his head hard, raised his lips with his characteristic serious face.
"It's too dangerous if the opponent is Berithlet; it's no exaggeration to say they struck back with double the force. Information guilds basically expand through trust and money. Even a small and unsightly place like this is a branch, so it's better not to touch it."
He sounded as if he were going to withdraw from today's work. Considering the other party was a large secret drug-trafficking guild, it was an understandable attitude. Is it more dangerous than your master? But I needed the butler-assassin. This was because he was the right person to lead the new merchant association, considering he previously worked in a similar institution. In the first place, intelligence and assassination were inseparable. The missions assassins performed were on equal footing or at the next level of theft or information acquisition.
"Those two are different. The Master is an individual and Berithlet is like a small country."
"We don't have to get caught. We just have to make our move without them knowing." I threw him a small glass bottle from inside my pocket.
"This is..."
"It's the 'Mercy's Bite' I took from you. It's the most dangerous pill in the world; it sends you to the grave with a single dose."
"I didn't know you kept it."
"It's a hard thing to get. I couldn't just throw it away. And of course, the most important thing is..." I tapped my earlobes and said, "it's a magic tool that links an oath."
The butler-assassin still had a magic device for making an oath that he didn't use on me. We could use that thing to force them to shut their mouths. The butler-assassin's expression, reading my intentions, became even more serious. Meanwhile, I made eye contact with each and every member of the merchant association.
"Kill anyone who gets in your way with 'Mercy's Bite.' If no one listens, just kill them all. Just as these thieves wish, Berithlet might notice. Even if they noticed, they'd just have corpses to clean up. If you're going to inform your superiors, let me know. If they find out, I'll kill them too. Without a trace."
The complexion of the bartender, who had been revitalized by the comfort of Berithlet's protection, suddenly darkened as if he had read my will immediately.
"Did you really know how to talk for so long?"
"I also found out for the first time today."
I waited quietly for the butler-assassin's decision. Fortunately, his thoughts didn't disturb him for long.
"Well, I'll take care of this from now on. Instead, I have some conditions."
"Go ahead."
"This side will move my way. I accept your meddling only to the extent that I'm convinced of your necessity. Do you agree?"
It was quite good. It got rid of the hassle. Instead of answering, I threw him Berithlet's guild coin.
"Let's carry out our first mission to commemorate the formation of the new merchant association."
"Mission...? Ah, that thing you needed."
I replied with a nod. "We need to find Diancecht's legacy that is currently hidden in Midwinterre."
"...Diancecht's legacy, the one passed down in urban legends... you mean the eyes?"
"That's right."
For a moment, the butler-assassin's eyes changed. If I wasn't mistaken, it seemed as if he were suffering a brief agony. I thought he knew something, so I approached him and whispered softly to him. "Why?"
He, who was looking at the ground, soon responded, making eye contact with me. "I think it's just a coincidence. If my guess is correct, I think my master is also looking for the object."