# Chapter 26
BANG—!
“Another disappearance?!”
Unable to contain her frustration and disbelief, Ensha slammed both fists down on the table with such force it seemed she might shatter it. Tuhis, the large man who had been reporting to her, appeared to share her sentiment as he furrowed his brow and added:
“It’s incomprehensible. Anyone else would be one thing, but Turuan…”
Tuhis thought of his brother Turuan. Born only a year apart, the two shared many physical similarities, though their personalities differed somewhat. Where Tuhis gave the impression of a calm strategist, Turuan was a man of action with quick judgment and a cool head.
Turuan was especially skilled at tracking down escaped slaves, and he had taken twenty members of their organization with him. By now, he should have not only captured the one they were chasing but also brought him back properly trained. Yet despite how long they’d waited, there was still no word.
Tuhis frowned as he realized this situation mirrored what had happened to previous pursuit teams.
Clearly, there was something special about that premium-grade boy. Something that could instantly subdue dozens of men and leave no trace of them.
‘Could he have an accomplice?’
He’d heard the premium-grade boy was nimble but possessed no combat abilities. For a mere child to be involved in the disappearance of pursuit teams not once but twice was absolutely no coincidence.
“Organize a new pursuit team, but this time—!”
Knock knock—
Interrupted by an urgent knocking, Tuhis glared at the door. Ensha, too, irritably brushed her bangs up and snapped:
“What is it?!”
The person who had knocked cautiously reported from beyond the door.
“Um, Guild Master. There’s a guest with a platinum token.”
Upon hearing this report, both Ensha and Tuhis froze momentarily.
Ensha’s face shifted from irritation to tension as she granted permission to enter.
Two men in gray robes entered through the door, and even at a glance, their gait and movements were extraordinary. Both had good builds and tall statures, suggesting they were physically well-trained individuals.
One stepped forward and showed Ensha a flat, rectangular token made of platinum. After confirming the material and the engraving inside, Ensha bowed deeply to them.
“Thank you for coming all this way. If you had contacted us, we would have sent someone to your location.”
Those who possessed platinum tokens were the most valued guests of Narkisa’s slave traders. Gold tokens were distributed to the royal families of various countries for interaction with Narkisa, but platinum tokens were specially given only to kings and their heirs.
The man who had shown Ensha the platinum token tucked it away inside his robe and spoke.
“I’ve heard you’ve been desperately searching for a premium-grade child who recently escaped due to negligent management.”
Ensha’s eye twitched.
Among slave traders, information about their high-quality merchandise was something they wouldn’t divulge even with a knife to their throats. As they also served as information brokers in the underworld, they knew that information was both money and their lifeline, so they kept their mouths shut for their own necks’ sake. In the first place, if they misspoke, Guild Master Ensha’s cruel punishment awaited.
To extract information from such slave traders…
‘How much do they know?’
If not for the platinum token, she would have cut their throats right there to stop the information leak.
Inwardly clicking her tongue in regret, Ensha responded with a smile.
“As expected, our platinum token customers seem to see through everything.”
Though she smiled, Ensha’s mind was racing to read the thoughts of the two robed men.
‘Do they also know about the premium-grade’s ability?’
If so, their interest would be understandable. The Hand of Life that could heal all wounds—naturally, it would be coveted.
“We’d like to buy that child. So we’d appreciate it if you could provide all the information you have.”
“…Pardon?”
Ensha managed to maintain her smile but slightly furrowed her brow.
“What exactly do you mean…?”
“I’ll find him myself, so let’s say I’ve purchased him from you.”
The man standing behind the one who had presented the token stepped forward. The moment Ensha heard his voice, she could tell he was the true owner of the platinum token.
“Turn over all the information you’ve gathered for tracking and take your hands off that premium-grade. Just for doing that, I’ll pay you a commensurate price. Even if we ultimately fail to find him, we won’t ask for a refund.”
It wasn’t a bad proposal. Every pursuit team they sent ended up missing, and if they kept searching this way, they would soon have several major gaps in their workforce. However, as this premium-grade could potentially fetch a record-breaking price, they couldn’t simply give up the pursuit.
“I’m sorry, but we haven’t fully assessed the premium-grade’s quality or the extent of his abilities. Because of that, determining a price is…”
“I’ll pay twice the price of your most expensive premium-grade ever sold. That should be satisfactory, shouldn’t it?”
Ensha and Tuhis swallowed in surprise. The man likely knew the price of the most expensive premium-grade ever sold, and offering twice that amount was astounding. Such a sum could buy not just a small country but an entire large territory within an empire.
Among those with platinum tokens, only about three people had the capacity to pay such an amount.
Ensha knew the formidable power these three wielded, so she couldn’t play hard to get. From the start, the man before her had probably offered “twice the price” to indicate that she shouldn’t even dream of asking for more.
“…Very well.”
After briefly weighing the various pros, cons, and safety concerns in her head, Ensha soon bowed with a bright smile.
“As you said, we’ll provide you with the information and withdraw our interest.”
Though the man might disappear while searching himself, Ensha decided not to worry about it. It was a good deal to quickly wash her hands of a troublesome matter and immediately receive a large sum.
The two men in gray robes, having met with Ensha, the guild master of the massive slave trading organization, walked confidently through the winding paths of the underworld.
“Your Majesty, wasn’t that price too steep?”
The man who had been carrying the platinum token cautiously addressed the owner of the gray robe walking ahead of him.
“Too steep?”
The man addressed as “Your Majesty” snorted.
“Do you think so too?”
“Twice the price of the most expensive premium-grade ever sold is truly an enormous sum. With that much money, you could silence the defiant Merkia Duchy, or contract with the Shankt Mercenary Nation for support from numerous mercenaries.”
The man wasn’t criticizing his master’s spending habits so much as suggesting that the money might have been better used elsewhere. But his master’s mind was made up.
“If you knew all of the boy’s abilities, even you wouldn’t say such things.”
“What… do you mean?”
He knew well enough that the boy his master sought possessed a formidable healing ability that made him special.
It was certainly tempting. To heal wounds and cure diseases just by touching—it was better than most skilled imperial physicians.
But that alone wasn’t worth the price his master had offered. Though the boy’s recovery was slower compared to how quickly he could use his ability, skilled physicians could still heal people, and except for a few incurable diseases, there were medicines that could cure most ailments.
Despite having an amazing ability, as long as there were substitutes to some degree, its value would naturally decrease.
Yet his master had set the boy’s price exorbitantly high.
“That boy’s ability isn’t simply helping wounds recover or providing immunity to fight disease.”
As they emerged from the underworld alleys, they saw the stable where they had left their horses. The man mounted his horse lightly and continued:
“He copies and pastes a time when the desired body part was healthy. With that method, he can restore anything—major injuries, terrible diseases, anything.”
The subordinate also mounted his horse and positioned himself alongside his master, ready to follow him at any moment.
“Even the dead.”
At his master’s chilling words, the man’s shoulders twitched, and a grave expression formed beneath his hood.
“The dead…”
The man, simultaneously picturing the person who had come to his subordinate’s mind, spoke in an amused voice.
“If that boy indeed inherited Former Empress Claudia’s ability as is…”
The man’s white horse stepped forward one step, then another.
“The amount we paid will be mere pocket change.”
