# Chapter 42
Girama, the capital city of Narkisa Kingdom.
On the outskirts of the city is a winding, maze-like alley where sunlight doesn’t reach. It’s easy to hit a dead end after just one wrong turn, so uninformed outsiders who wander in frequently get lost.
If that were all, it wouldn’t be so bad, but there are many stories of people who fell asleep in the alleys without any means to contact others, only to wake up in a filthy cage with countless others. If they couldn’t pay their own ransom, they would be sold off to distant places by slave traders.
For this reason, those who lacked confidence avoided the maze entirely, and those who did enter had to pay extra money to a guide who knew the internal paths well.
Ordinarily, even an emperor bearing a platinum token would need a guide, but Tis stepped into the maze without even considering it.
Ion, who followed Tis to visit the headquarters of the slave traders and their leader Ensha, frowned as he looked at the excessively high walls that towered above him. These walls narrowed his field of vision, making it impossible to see beyond them—perfect for losing one’s sense of distance and direction.
He couldn’t help but worry seeing Tis stride into such a place without any caution.
From under the hood that covered half his face, Ion carefully asked Tis:
“Your Majesty, have you memorized the entire route? If not, it would be better to find a guide.”
“Why hire one when I already have one?”
“Pardon?”
Tis gestured with his chin toward the man walking in front of him. It was Kayan, the knight who never left Tis’s side. He was carrying a large bag filled with gifts for the guild leader, yet he walked briskly as if it weighed nothing at all.
“Kayan is from here.”
“…?”
Considerably surprised by this unexpected fact, Ion looked with interest at Kayan’s back as he walked without hesitation, as if he truly knew every path.
Being “from here” could mean two things:
Either he was once a slave, or he was someone who dealt in slaves.
Ion could easily tell that Kayan was the latter. If he had been merely a slave, he couldn’t have known the maze so thoroughly.
‘I heard he was appointed as a knight-guard about 20 years ago.’
This made Ion more curious. What made Tis appoint Kayan, a former slave trader, as his personal knight-guard, and how had he managed to keep him by his side all these years without any issues? Given that he was from the foreign nation of Narkisa and a former slave trader, he wouldn’t have simply cooperated with the Delos imperial family for such a long time, no matter how prestigious they were.
‘Well, I’m sure he handled it well.’
Though he was curious about the relationship between Tis and Kayan, that was the extent of it. His curiosity about them vanished completely when an iron door with a snake pattern appeared at the far end. As they approached the door, Ion’s heart pounded faster, as if urging him forward.
In front of the iron door engraved with the massive snake pattern stood two doorkeepers. The two men, with their fierce appearances and bulging muscles, seemed difficult to approach casually, but they immediately bowed at a 90-degree angle when Kayan showed them a platinum token. Then the two of them together opened the enormous iron door, which seemed too heavy for ordinary people to push.
Passing by them and entering, they immediately felt various gazes on them in the lobby, which resembled a massive tavern. Most were born of curiosity and interest, but none of the people filling the lobby dared approach. This was because Tuhis, who had been standing by the door as if waiting, greeted them respectfully and volunteered to guide them.
“We have been waiting, as you sent word ahead. Please follow me.”
The large man Tuhis, who had spoken with such courtesy, led the way. He guided them through corridors that twisted like a maze and past numerous doors, finally stopping in front of one room.
Knock, knock—
“It’s Tuhis. I’ve brought guests with platinum tokens.”
“Bring them in.”
The woman’s voice that came from inside was quite energetic. It seemed she had high expectations, as guests with platinum tokens were known for their extravagance.
“I’ve been waiting for you, honored customers.”
The guild leader Ensha, who bowed deeply, looked so young that one would never guess she had just entered her fifties. Appearing to be in her late thirties at most, she gazed at the three with expectant eyes.
“I heard you had an urgent request. I’m looking forward to hearing what it is and what compensation you’ll offer.”
As befitting the leader of a guild where profit was the top priority, she had already brought up the word “compensation” for these valuable platinum token customers who had visited after a long time.
Tis, saying it was just as well that they didn’t need to exchange meaningless pleasantries, removed his stifling hood to reveal his face.
“First, take this.”
Tis nodded toward the bag Kayan was carrying. Tuhis, who had been waiting by the door, took it and placed it on Ensha’s table. When the quite large bag was opened wide, the room quickly filled with the unique pungent yet sharp scent of tobacco leaves.
Inside the bag were sacks filled with tobacco leaves and rare wines wrapped in cloth. Ensha smiled brightly, her eyes gleaming as she confirmed the items. But she deliberately put on an unimpressed expression.
“This seems less than I expected.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself. This is merely a visitation gift.”
Tis took something out from his breast pocket and casually tossed it onto the bag filled with tobacco leaves and wine. It was a long rectangular token with thin golden strings threaded through it. Ensha’s eyes widened as she recognized the elaborate patterns and decorations engraved on it.
“This is a token granting exclusive trading rights with my empire. No guild has this token yet.”
Ensha, who had ambitions nearly as great as Tis, who dreamed of continental unification, momentarily suspected that her information had been leaked somewhere.
Ensha, though nominally in the capital, had no intention of only dealing in slaves forever in this underground cave-like place in Girama. She wanted to control not just the shadows but also seize the light, specifically wishing to extend her reach to direct trade between nations and even continental commerce.
She couldn’t be entirely pleased with this reward that seemed to penetrate her heart so transparently.
Ensha, trying not to show her emotions outwardly, calmly asked:
“What kind of extraordinary slave do you need that you would go to such lengths?”
“I don’t particularly need a slave. I need information.”
Ensha, who had been puzzled, quickly understood and made a troubled face.
“Unfortunately, we are slave traders. How could mere slave traders serve as information brokers…”
“That’s entirely up to you.”
Tis smiled briefly before sending a cold gaze.
“Slave merchants spread throughout the continent and the slaves they manage in various regions have countless eyes and ears. With your control over all of them, wouldn’t gathering mere information be trivial?”
Tis’s fingertip touched the golden-stringed token he had placed before Ensha.
“This isn’t just ordinary trading rights, but exclusive trading rights. The content can be anything you want. Whether it’s the tobacco leaves or wine you’re dying for, or even the shade-loving flowers growing in your front yard. I’ll open trade routes for whatever you desire.”
“…”
Ensha looked down at Tis and the trade token with wavering eyes.
Exclusive trading rights.
She had heard that no guild had ever secured exclusive trading rights with the Delos Empire before. Any ordinary guild would have prostrated themselves immediately upon seeing the token, their hands trembling, but Ensha couldn’t do even that because she wasn’t sure if she could provide what he wanted.
“…Even if I were to do this, there could be errors since we’re starting so suddenly.”
“Bring all information within the margin of error. We will do the sorting.”
“It may take a long time before you receive satisfactory results.”
“Minimizing that time is the best way for you to prove your competence.”
Ensha contemplated as she looked at the arrogant emperor.
‘If I do this half-heartedly, I might lose this rare reward.’
Just his mention of competence showed that this task needed to be done quickly and accurately.
The reward was exclusive trade with the empire, which would bring enormous profits.
If the reward were to be reduced or invalidated, she would never receive such terms again.
There was nothing more to consider.
“What would you like me to find out?”
Ensha waited for Tis’s words, tense about how grand his request might be. What information could he possibly want that would make him tantalize her with such an unimaginably huge reward?
Instead of answering, Tis turned to look at Ion. Ensha, who immediately recognized who he was once he removed his hood, was overwhelmed by a strange emotion.
The premium goods that had been sold off before even passing through her hands, suddenly becoming the Grand Duke Verdit of the Delos Empire and revered as a “saint.”
Though it was her first time seeing him in person, Ensha couldn’t help but recognize who he was, and she shuddered involuntarily at the thrill that ran through her body.
How had she not noticed such a powerful aura?
Just meeting those murderous eyes made her feel a terror that her throat might be torn out entirely.
‘He could kill several people with just his gaze. Not surprising.’
The saint before her had gone through a harsh past because of them, and even lost his mother. Meeting his enemies, it would not be strange for him to fill this room with intense murderous intent.
Nevertheless, the saint seemed to have no intention of unleashing his boiling anger, instead suppressing his fierce energy while his bloodshot eyes trembled. For Ensha, it was fascinating and interesting to see Ion restraining his emotions to such an extent.
Ion was busy containing the anger that was about to burst forth toward Ensha.
He could never forget his mother’s death and the atrocities of the slave traders who had targeted him. But what angered him even more was that they had taken Levi from his hands.
‘I want to kill her. Right now… I want to tear her to pieces and kill her.’
Ion, who had repeatedly imagined killing Ensha and this slave-trading group countless times in his mind, gritted his teeth and cooled his head.
For now, he needed their help. Though they were certainly the ones who had caused Levi’s death, in the current situation, he had no choice but to join hands with them.
After organizing his emotions, Ion exhaled a long, silent breath and opened his mouth.
“I want to find someone.”
