Chapter 64: The Art of Trading
Southern outskirts of the capital.
The Antelopes pass through a crumbling old wall and descend a worn stone staircase into a hidden place. It was exactly as the rumors on the street had described.
Tattered canvas trapped the light inside, and the air carried a foul stench mixed with the sll of rusted iron. Every person they passed along the way had their hood pulled low, or their face concealed behind a helt or cloth.
A place where gold outweighed faith, and desperate exchanges replaced goodwill.
The black market of the Holy Empire.
"Take a look at our goods, would you?"
"Where'd these strays crawl in from?"
"Watch your mouth. You planning to stay in business till today only?"
"……"
Aside from Ella, this was everyone's first visit to the Elvra Holy Empire. Even so, the veteran rcenaries subdued those around them with a single sharp glance. They knew the workings of the underworld better than anyone.
And the goods they'd brought were spoils recovered from the battlefield. Neural Accelerators from the Niboria Imperial Army, scratched and worn armor, insignia from high-ranking soldiers. Anything that could be turned into coin, they'd brought along.
That included, of course, the promissory notes received from Adrian Deconti.
"Hmm……. What's this?"
"A promissory note with authentication from the envoy delegation. Can you exchange this too? We're willing to take a reasonable loss."
"Heh heh, would you look at these fools. Without the mark of faith, it's worth absolutely nothing. Envoy delegation authentication, you say? Not a chance. Here, it's worth less than a copper penny."
"……Damn, then just look at the goods."
"Right, that's more like it. We deal in physical goods only. Coming in here with so scrap of paper…… What a waste of ti."
At the firm refusal, the dwarf Basim unslung the sack from his shoulder. Crash—the spoils spilled out.
Only then did the dealer show interest. His gaunt face and yellowed eyes were instantly clouded with greed. There were more decent goods than expected. Each and every one of them was hard to co by.
All that remained now was to drive the price down.
Grab, clatter—
He pretended to examine the armor first, then picked up the Neural Accelerator last of all. Like a centipede that had drawn its last breath, the neural connection ports hung limply downward.
"Condition's not bad."
"That's right. It wasn't carelessly removed. The recovery was done properly."
"But this is unusable. The Niboria Imperial Army's identification code is plastered all over it."
"Can't you erase it?"
The dealer snorted.
"Erasing an identification code requires specialized equipnt. You'd only find it in a professional workshop run by a magitech engineer. And it'd have to be a properly licensed one at that. If I brought that device in here, the Order's Inspection Bureau would co crashing through the door that very day."
"So are you buying or not?"
"I could lt it down and make sothing off the raw materials. The mana stones fetch a decent price regardless. I'll give you two gold and six silver. How's that?"
At this, the dwarf unleashed a torrent of furious indignation. He snorted violently, his stubby legs stomping against the ground.
"Two gold? Two gold, you say? The mana stones alone are worth that much! You damned human, your eyes must be rotting!"
"Then go sowhere else. Two gold is the best this rotting-eyed human can offer."
Curses kept flying out, but from Calix's perspective, the man wasn't entirely wrong. The distribution of Neural Accelerators was under strict state control. Even selling them in the Astria Kingdom wouldn't fetch much more than this.
Still, there was room for negotiation.
It was ti to step in himself.
Tap.
But just before he could take a step forward, Vice-captain Marik grabbed his arm and pulled him back. When their eyes t, he shook his head from side to side. A signal to stand back and watch.
At a glance, it was a hard call to understand.
If the Commander Royce or Zahira had been here, they would have handled it themselves—but the two of them had scattered to gather rumors circulating through the black market. So the task of selling the goods fell entirely to those present. Besides Basim, Volga and Gregor were here too, though it was hard to expect anything remarkable from either of them.
"……You said this was an important deal, didn't you? We couldn't exchange the promissory notes, so we need money."
"That's right. But there's no need to step in now. We have to give our comrades a chance too."
"A chance?"
A chance for whom, exactly?
Calix turned his gaze toward the other two. Gregor had already wandered off to browse a neighboring stall. He was shouting 'It's a plate paradise!' in front of a display of rusty shields. Volga's expression was at least serious, but he was soone who specialized in strength over strategy.
Whether this thought showed on his face, Vice-captain Marik added with a quiet smile.
"I know you have ability. But we're Antelopes. And Antelopes don't travel alone. It's fine to step forward, but sotis I'm asking you to yield opportunities for your comrades to grow. Whether they fail or succeed, it'll be a good experience."
Still unable to fully understand, Calix furrowed his brow but quietly took one step back. His reason yielded to his emotions—by exactly that much.
Just then, Volga leapt into the negotiation.
"Two gold and six silver, you said?"
"Why, do you have an objection?"
"What if we dismantle it ourselves—how much then?"
"……What?"
"If we dismantle it for you ourselves, you're saving the cost of labor. Shouldn't that be worth a bit more?"
Remarkably, he presented himself like soone who had handled countless negotiations. He worked his way into the spaces between words and naturally drove up the price.
Then, casually—he even peered inside the dealer's sleeve. On the dealer's wrist was a finely crafted chanical device.
"But are you giving us an accurate market rate?"
"This punk, who does he think he's dealing with! I may have no conscience, but I've got a diagnostic tool!"
"Ah, so no conscience then. Honest of you. Actually, there's also a problem with that diagnostic tool. It's an outdated model. Have you even tried asuring the mana stone grade? This ca off a veteran soldier we killed. It should be at least Grade 3, minimum. And what was it—can it asure the internal circuit condition too? We're talking about goods that were dismantled this cleanly."
"……I bought this from a magitech engineer! It's guaranteed genuine!"
"Yeah? Then go ahead and scan mine too. I'd been curious about it anyway, it hadn't been feeling quite right lately."
The odds of goods circulating in the black market—even a tool used by a magitech engineer—being genuine were nearly zero. The mont Volga reached his hand out without hesitation, the dealer flinched and stumbled backward.
Having shaken him psychologically, it was ti to press in earnest.
He shrugged his shoulders and pushed the price up once more. Only this ti, instead of a monetary figure, he frad it in percentages.
"Forty percent."
"……?"
"Since we've already thrown out the bluff—let's say we put the Neural Accelerator into circulation as a finished product, and you cut us forty percent of the net profit as upfront paynt."
"Is this guy out of his mind? Didn't you hear what I said? The Niboria Imperial Army's code is stamped right there! Who would buy this?"
As the bewildered response ca back, Volga put on his usual easy grin.
"That's exactly why it'll sell."
"What do you an……."
"Co on, think about it in reverse. The Niboria Imperial Army's code is stamped right there, isn't it. Where else would you get sothing like this? It's a product certified by a military superpower."
"Ugh……. But, the Order would—"
"Good thing you ntioned them. Let's sell it to the Order."
"……?"
In that instant, several nearby dealers sharply turned their heads. The remark seed to skirt a razor-thin line, and the air cooled with a peculiar tension.
"Now listen here. This is a product that crossed a border. Flip that around, and it ans soone could make it cross a border in the other direction. You understand what I'm getting at?"
"……Hah."
At the sa mont, the two reactions diverged. Calix exhaled a sound of admiration, marveling anew at his friend's ability—while the dealer stood there with an uncertain expression, failing to grasp the underlying aning.
Volga let out a small sigh and added in a near-whisper.
"Just imagine it. How aggressive are the Niboria Empire's people? Who knows, they might have their sights set not just on the Astria Kingdom, but on the Holy Empire as well."
"Those lot? Surely not."
He denied it with his mouth, yet his eyes narrowed to slits. He glanced around to see whether anyone was eavesdropping. Without realizing it, he was being persuaded.
"Either way, there's a possibility. Naturally the Order would be thinking about this too—and wouldn't it be better to send a proper spy rather than just sending anyone across the border?"
"……Implant a Niboria-made Neural Accelerator and send them in? That makes sense. If it's the Order……. Modifying an imperial army code would be no trouble at all."
"Now you're getting it. Making money is this exhausting."
Only then did the dealer grasp the aning and let his greed show. He kept swallowing, his eyes gleaming dangerously. At that, Volga murmured as if to himself.
"That's why this rcenary business is so hard. What's the point of killing every last Niboria soldier? We scraped our way into the Holy Empire through connections alone."
"……"
"Hm? Zahira! Are you done with your business?"
At the tail end of his words, he called out loudly to a woman passing nearby—and the rcenaries moving through the black market turned their heads as one. All Antelopes. The greed-consud face of the dealer froze in an instant, like a herbivore cornered by a predator.
Even the closing move was flawless.
***
Calix watched the scene as the deal reached its conclusion.
Clink—
"Count it."
Two gold and six silver had transford, through a handful of words, into fifteen gold and nine silver. Volga bit each coin one by one to verify its purity.
In certain respects, he was better than him.
"Exchange eight of these back."
"Hey, don't push it. That's all I have on hand. Where am I supposed to find eight gold coins on the spot?"
"Then instead of gold, let's take goods. Supplies might be worth more than tal."
The dealer shot him a glare but accepted the proposal.
"I've got dried rations, water flasks, oil, and so armor. Pick what you want."
Volga reached his hands out across the stalls without hesitation. The sack grew heavier than when they'd arrived. And so the deal concluded successfully.
'……So he had this side to him as well.'
Calix reflected quietly. He had expected Volga to kick over the display or grab the dealer by the collar. But what he saw was sothing else entirely. He'd been rough and emotional in the usual way, yet at the sa ti, remarkably practical.
Strangely, the man himself seed entirely unbothered.
"Heh heh, worked out better than I thought. But you……. Why that look in your eyes? Was there sothing you were disappointed about?"
"……No, nothing. I was just surprised at how well you handled it."
At the sincere complint, Volga shrugged his shoulders. Then for a mont, he half-closed his eyes before opening them again. He was reaching back into an old mory.
"I used to go to the market from when I was young. My family were farrs, so every autumn we'd have a war of nerves with the village administrator. I learned a lot back then."
"What kind of things?"
"How to deal with people. How to sell at the highest price, and buy at the lowest."
The tone was light with laughter, but Calix could read the weight behind those words. It made sense to him now. That each of the Antelopes had grown up in different ways. That the abilities they brought were just as varied. And that he had simply been too slow to realize that.
"So there's nothing to be surprised about. Actually, it's not nearly enough. We'll need to rake in money by the shovelful before I can get a new Neural Accelerator put in."
"You wanted to replace your Neural Accelerator?"
"Of course, why would I stay put in one place? I asked our teacher—apparently even getting through the reimplantation process will cost eighty gold. Just wait a little. It won't be long."
His friend smiled brightly once more, but Calix received it as yet another reproach. And watching from beside him, Vice-captain Marik gave a quiet nod.
The young warrior was growing at a terrifying pace. And for that very reason, there was no end to what weighed on his mind.
'One who runs with eyes only forward arrives early, but does not last long. Every now and then, you have to know how to look to the side as well. That will beco your safeguard.'
Marik murmured the thought to himself, then quietly called Calix aside.
"Let's talk for a mont."
While Basim and Volga gathered up the goods, the two of them stepped into a shadowed alley. The Vice-captain was a man of very few words, so Calix waited with curiosity for him to speak.
There would be a reason he'd pulled him aside.
"You still don't know, do you? Why we ca to the Holy Empire."
"……Isn't it because of the promissory notes?"
"That's the surface reason. You already know that, don't you?"
He was right. He'd been putting it together in the back of his mind. It couldn't be that they'd traveled this far simply to escape the war, or to slip free of Duke Saitz's reach. The promissory notes were no different—the sum itself was substantial, but it served only to reinforce the rcenaries' sense of purpose.
It was a way of filling the physical and psychological strain of a forced march with the hope of sudden fortune.
So then—what had truly brought them all the way here?
"Calix, you are sharp. In so ways, you take after the captain."
The unexpected words made Calix blink. Marik leaned his back against the wall and continued.
"But there are differences too. She is not afraid to make a choice. Even knowing the danger, she knows how to accept it."
"When you say danger……. Are you referring to Duke Saitz?"
"Yes. He is a nobleman by birth. He likely doesn't even spare a thought for our existence—but being generous about it, he'd see us as tools he could dispose of at any ti. For now, it might be fine to ignore that. But the real problem is his subordinates. With ambition and desire overflowing in them, they'll try to harm the Antelopes even without the Duke's orders."
He paused for a mont, quietly steadying his breath. What he said was not wrong. Most likely, the captain Royce thought the sa.
He stepped closer and whispered low.
"On top of that, there are rumors circulating that even Marquis Hoover—until recently the only real counterweight—has bent the knee. Apparently the cavalry forces took heavy losses in the war against the Niboria Empire. If that's true, then within the Astria Kingdom, Duke Saitz's power is now……. Without equal."
"……Could it be that's why you're seeking to form ties with an external power?"
Calix had hit exactly on it. But given the inherent gravity of the subject, there was not a trace of a smile on Marik's lips. He only gave a single nod.
That alone was enough.
"……It's Ella. She's soone who can serve as the link to the Order."
"That's right. The captain has had that possibility in mind for a long ti. Ella has agreed as well. Among the nations bordering the Astria Kingdom, this was the only place we could extend a hand to."
A silence passed between them, though not a long one.
"Either way, a eting will be happening soon. We'll be eting soone high up in the Order. Naturally, you'll be called along too. Be ready. Those are the captain's orders."
Calix gave a brief nod. Only now, belatedly, did he grasp that all of these threads were connecting into one.
The captain wasn't trying to run away.
She intended to lay out an entirely new board. Using the Elvra Holy Empire—the Central Order in particular—as a foundation, she ant to raise the standing of the rcenary group. Like mounting a galloping horse with every intention of never being thrown.
And that very night, the news they had been waiting for arrived far sooner than expected.
"Captain, soone's been asking around for the Antelopes. But it really seems like……. They're from the Order."
"……Let's go down."
A night where starlight descended without a sound, like a blanket being laid across the earth. The Antelopes moved toward the path they had chosen for themselves, and behind them, that thing called fate ca trailing close at their heels.
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