That evening when the rchant convoy with its crew reached Millfield Town, the mayor of the town sent an invitation to the inn where the owner of the convoy was staying, inviting him to dinner in his mansion.
The 'owner' accepted the invitation gladly and appeared at the mayor's mansion with his two sons.
The mayor was quite curious about this supposedly wealthy rchant and beca delighted when he saw that the rchant had accepted his invitation.
Along with his wife and his butler, the mayor led the rchant and his family to the banquet hall where a delicious feast was prepared.
The mayor's mansion was quite acceptable. It wasn't too big or small and It wasn't too luxurious nor was it modest. Basically, it suited the status of the mayor perfectly.
"Mayor Wilder, forgive us for startling you earlier." The rchant who was supposedly the founder of the large caravan said.
He was a well-built man with a healthy physique, not like the other typical wealthy rchants who were fat and feeble.
Mayor Wilder smiled and shook his head as he said, "It's not a problem. It's just that it's been a while since we saw such a large caravan visiting our small town."
"Hahaha! Well anyhow, it seems that things are rather sensitive here. We didn't receive such a welco before." The rchant said.
Mayor Wilder smiled bitterly and lanted, "What can I say, the tis are harsh these days. Until now, you were traveling in the Duke's jurisdiction. But from here onwards, the Duke's military influence lessens and that's why bandits have been wreaking havoc recently. Please forgive if I have offended you, I had to be cautious… I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all, if there is such a threat, why don't you submit a petition to the Duke?" The rchant asked curiously.
Hearing this, the mayor sighed and said, "In the previous years, the bandits weren't that active. Actually, there were petitions sent for assistance and the Duke had responded as well. But the bandits always disappear after getting the whiff of the smoke."
"Is that so…" The rchant muttered as he sneakily looked at the black-haired boy beside him and quickly averted his gaze.
"That is enough of the bandit talk, let us have dinner." The mayor's wife suddenly spoke as she gestured at the food that was leaving off hot steams.
The mayor nodded and cheered in excitent, "That is true, we can discuss more while eating. Please…"
The rchant agreed and followed the mayor to the dining table where everyone sat and began eating the local delicacies. Especially the rchant's two sons, one black-haired and one blond boy.
"Ah, that reminds … I don't know much about you. I was really surprised seeing the Duke's stamp on the proof of identity you showed."
The rchant's eyes widened with realization as he bellowed, "How rude of , I ca as a guest without properly introducing myself! Haha, I am the owner and founder of the Sigrid Trading Company. My na is Clovis Sigrid. I am not from around here. In fact, I have co to this land for the first ti. These two are my sons, Klein Sigrid, and Luke Sigrid."
The two sons, Klein and Luke also bowed and greeted politely, "Hello, thank you for hosting us for the dinner!"
Seeing this, the mayor said, "Sir, your children were quite well-spoken."
"Indeed, hahaha!" Clovis laughed in flattery.
At this mont, the mayor's wife interrupted hesitantly, "Umm… I imagine sir has co from afar… The road is rough and dangerous, I wonder why sir has brought his wonderful children on the arduous journey?"
Clovis wasn't offended at the very least hearing this, instead, he smiled in appreciation and said, "Ho~ My Lady, thank you for worrying but these two stubborn boys insisted on coming. Since you are of this kingdom, you should know about the massive festival that only happens once a decade. Knowing that I was coming here on business, they insisted on coming along."
"Ah! So that is why you have the rcenaries escorting the caravan? That makes more sense. Since you are going to the capital, it must be a long journey for you." Mayor Wilder exclaid.
"Indeed, the Ducal House of White knows of my family and so I first procured the letter of assurance from the White Family so that we would not be obstructed."
The mayor was shocked hearing this as it had verified his assumption the rchant in front of him had so sort of connection to the Duke.
The mayor's face suddenly grew stiff as he said, "Sir Clovis, you should avoid the main route while going forward. The bandits have truly gone rogue. I'm afraid they might launch an assault."
"Haha! No need to worry, we have the protection of the rcenaries! We can't take another route as that would reduce our trading options as well as take more ti to reach the capital in ti."
Now Mayor Wilder was curious as to what the rchant was actually transporting and so he asked bluntly, "May I know what you are doing business of?"
Hearing this, Clovis beca silent as his face beca solemn. After much contemplation, he leaned forward and spoke in a hushed voice, "I feel that I owe mayor Wilder for such hospitality. So I shall tell you.. We are a business of weapons with your Kingdom."
Mayor Wilder's jaw dropped hearing this as he nodded his head in a way as if he finally understood sothing.
"I see, thank you for telling this. Please… Have so more." The mayor said, gesturing at the pallets of food.
Clovis laughed heartily and the dinner continued rrily with discussions and talks ringing in the dining hall. After the dinner, the mayor extended his invitation to spend the night in his mansion and Clovis was more than happy to accept.
***
anwhile, in the place where all the Sigrid Company's goods were stored under a heavy guard of rcenaries, a shadowy figure suddenly dashed forward discreetly and quickly.
The figure cleverly avoided the detection of the rcenaries and made its way to the large crates full of unknown goods placed in the transportation carts.
It was a ti of night and the surroundings were only illuminated by the glimr of torches. On top of that, there was a two-minute blind spot between the rcenary guards patrolling which made the unknown person's task easy.
The task was difficult but not impossible. And for the person in question, it was just a matter of finesse. The snooper was very agile and they could easily maneuver in the vicinity of the storehouse without being detected. Their steps were soft like feathers and made absolutely no noise. This was truly so impressive skill of thieves.
The person covered in black robes and a hood over their head soon broke into the warehouse avoiding the eye of the guards. To them, it almost felt pretty easy.
The person then walked quickly with soft steps and opened one of the crates lying in the cart and saw what was inside, their eyes showing through the scarf brightened with delight.
As ti was running out, the person decided to leave but suddenly thinking of sothing, they abruptly halted.
Reaching their hand toward the bunch of crates, the person's eyes narrowed with suspicion, and they carefully opened another crate just to be safe.
Confirming that the other crate also had the sa contents as the first one, the suspicion in their eyes dimd sowhat but they still didn't seem completely assured.
As the person's arm extended to open another crate, suddenly, a voice rang, "Who's there?!"
Hearing this sudden scream, the person did not panic and pulled back their arm deciding to abandon the idea of checking one more. Then the person closed their eyes and muttered sothing under their breath.
Miraculously, their presence completely disappeared as if they were blanketed by the darkness around them.
Taking full advantage of this opportunity, the person's hands moved in a blur as they placed everything as it was before they had opened the crates and then suddenly moved across the storehouse in a flicker, spontaneously disappearing completely.
Then suddenly, the door of the storehouse opened and one of the rcenary guards entered. Cautiously, the man began looking around for anything alarming. He then moved closer to the carts and the crates and looked over to find out if anything seed wrong.
Finally, seemingly satisfied, sensing that nothing seed to be wrong, the man left the storehouse and closed the door behind his back.
After the guard left, the flickering silhouette of the unknown shadowy person appeared with a condescending, proud smirk on their face. Then the unknown person also disappeared and everything returned to routine as if nothing had happened in the first place.
But then just as it seed that everything was going orderly just like before and no one had noticed what had happened, the rcenary guard who had checked the storehouse before returned with a slight smile on his face as the leaves of the nearby towering tree flickered slightly.
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