第１４４９堀：闇ギルド幹部の背景 (Part2)
"Yes, as Ratz said, they are excellent students."
"I see. That is a relief. We still don't fully grasp the scale at which the Dark Guild is operating. Considering that one of their executives was a reasonably successful merchant—even if in a small nation—I suspect there are many unwitting collaborators out there. Please, remain vigilant."
"Understood. Well, I’ll keep a subtle watch on things."
"Kirika, you do your best as well."
"Yes. I shall take my leave now."
With that, the communication from Kirika ended, and the data was transmitted. We both immediately turned our eyes to the information.
"Hmm? Wait, it says here they’re affiliated with a small nation under the Ritea Holy Kingdom, doesn't it?"
"Ah, so they were masking it as a branch office. This is the kind of thing that’s going to make Rurua and Alstaire fly into a rage again..."
We both offered wry smiles, stunned by the report.
Indeed, the public face of the man identified as an executive had initially been presented as a merchant from a small nation under a different major power. However, after Kirika’s intelligence division dug deeper, it turned out he was a merchant who had started in a small nation under Ritea before being headhunted by another country. Consequently, the organization’s true headquarters was that small nation under Ritea.
This meant that Ritea, already dealing with small nations linked to the Dark Guild, would be forced to respond, and it would inevitably become a matter of accountability. It would be stranger if they didn't get angry.
"Are they hiding it skillfully, or is it just a coincidence?"
"It’s hard to say either way. I used to travel around quite a bit myself, acting as both an adventurer and a merchant. It would feel strange to have my hometown labeled as the 'headquarters' of something like this."
"That’s true. But they haven't actually opened a shop there, have they?"
"Well, no. As for this executive, his first shop was in that small nation under Ritea, and from there he expanded his trade routes. The one that really took off was in a small nation under Roschur, so... I suppose it’s debatable whether you can call the first one the headquarters?"
"That’s up to the individual’s intent, isn't it? More importantly, how should we handle the investigation if it’s under Ritea?"
"If we inquire with the higher-ups directly, Ritea might be spurred into taking hasty action."
I understood Ratz’s point perfectly. Between the continuous string of issues with Sulus, Kinauf, and Irinau, they have been moving with surprising vigor to save face as a major nation in the International Exchange Alliance. They would likely end up crushing the place as a side effect.
We both fell silent for a moment.
"How about we try investigating it ourselves first?"
"That sounds reasonable. If we can't make any headway, we can consult with Yuki-oniisan and let him decide how to handle cooperation with Ritea."
We decided on that course of action: investigate it ourselves first.
That said, investigating a shop in a small Ritea nation from Weed is both simple and difficult. Even as I thought that, I searched the computer database. The name of the merchant association run by the Dark Guild executive appeared the moment I searched for it.
My screen was filled with a list of transaction funds. The name of the association, its location, and the countries it traded with were all there—there was no mistake. Still, that was all.
"They have transactions here. I’m surprised."
Honestly, I thought nothing might come up, but the information was there. However, this was as far as I could investigate. I could see that the association was trading within Weed, but no other information was forthcoming. The only other thing I could discern was the nature of the goods being traded.
With that thought, I turned my gaze toward Ratz.
"I’ve found something on this end, too. Their trading partners are diverse, but they primarily deal in high-end clothing."
"So they’re tailors, too... That would give them some connection to the upper crust. Still, I doubt that’s all there is to it."
"Agreed. Let’s try to probe through their trading partners."
And so, we began contacting various relevant parties to extract the information we couldn't uncover on our own. Another case that was sure to incense Ritea had come to light. And their sloppiness in leaving a trail through their trading partners was laid bare.
Then again, that is exactly how these things get exposed.