The Difference Is Like Between a Dog and a Cow

36 – Secretly Greatly (6)

Shakov, the head of the union, could not say that he lived a proud life even with empty words. Being a merchant is just such a job.

If you live an honest life, you often lose money.

If you look at the loss, you look down on it.

Because the moment money was involved, being looked down on was the same as death.

Shaqow has designed his life so that no one looks down on him.

It’s a light magic, but learning magic that is definitely treated as combat magic was part of that.

Of course, as soon as mana is released, it is likely to be a problem in the national system of forcible conscription, but…….

Avoiding the conscript’s eyes was easier than I thought. It was easier to buy.

Even if someone who is jealous of his talent informs and the draft officer comes to visit.

Shakov was able to wash his hands simply by giving him a thick bag of gold.

Of course, I didn’t forget to track down the informer somehow and hold them accountable.

When time passed and I looked at the age of 40, beyond 30.

It could be said that Shakoff became the head of the Merchant Guild of a trading city, and he became the real power of the city.

Of course…… Even though he was overpowered by a powerful force more powerful than him.

Guard Captain Lamour.

Lauro, the leader of the crime syndicate in Cherno City, Gavial, is his twin brother.

In addition to that, he was a person who exercised real power by mobilizing the armed forces under his command on behalf of the old and corrupt city mayor who was looking forward to retirement.

Shakov also recognized his true worth and quickly contacted him and succeeded in forming a ‘collaborative relationship’.

The result of his return was a prison sentence to frame a false accusation against the National Military Police.

‘Even though I already knew Ssaksu was a yellow guy…… It’s relentless.’

Shakov sat down on the cold prison floor and smiled bitterly.

However, Shakov is also a douchebag who has proudly won the honor of being the head of the cooperative among his merchants.

As if it were a stupid guard captain who sticks with a criminal organization, he hadn’t even grasped Shakov’s true intentions.

Because he was close to being ‘captured’.

I came to prison with the intention of preserving my life.

Shakov knew full well that Ramuro would never kill him.

As long as you are alive, won’t they at least put the blame on you when the National Gendarmerie arrives?

‘I would have thought it was the perfect crime…… Well.’

Even when he ordered his guards to set fire to the union building and burn the account books, he was embarrassed but not despaired.

Shakov is a merchant.

And the merchant always leaves the back door open.

There is no other reason why only the transport ledger was frozen among many, many ledgers.

As soon as Shakov heard that the artifacts taken from the fortress had been transferred through the Cherno Merchant’s Guild, he ordered an extensive transcription of the transport ledger.

Thus, all the ledgers left in the burnt library were copies.

The reason why the ledgers were frozen was that it was impossible to show copies other than the originals to those who requested the ledgers.

In other words, the original ledger remains intact.

‘You should have tried to roll the right money your whole life. A bastard who can’t tell the difference between a copy and an original, where are you going to attack?’

Anyway, all the merchants on the side of Shakov are in agreement.

It was only a matter of time before he watched the downfall of those who dared to stab him.

In addition to that, he also kept a list that thoroughly recorded all the corruption and embezzlement committed by Guard Captain Ramour.

In fact, it was not Lamour but the head of the association, Shakov, who had the trump card.

Now, he, too, would have had to wait for the arrival of the National Gendarmerie, just as Lamour had hoped.

“If you don’t want to be dragged to the center with a false accusation like this, just tell the truth.”

The National Gendarmerie arrived much sooner than Shakov expected.

***

“Are you the real gendarmerie?”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

I lowered my voice and threatened.

Actually, this action was an act of exceeding authority. In fact, I wasn’t even a member of the military police, and I was just a platoon leader of a cooperative dispatch platoon.

No, to be honest, it is unreasonable to talk to a ‘criminal’ who is detained by ‘infiltrating’ a detention center, even if he is actually a member of the National Military Police.

Although you can threaten the captain of the Lamour guard by showing him the gendarmerie insignia.

If you make a strong protest in the future, it will only tarnish the name of the military police.

So this is a gambler.

A stake thrown by thinking that Shakov must have a hidden hand.

I took the risk, so I have to accept the return.

“I will give you just one chance. Tell me what Lamour is hiding. If so, I’ll let you go, even tomorrow.”

“…… All right. As rumored, they are really scary people, to think they even infiltrated this secretly.”

Shakov let out a breath and answered in a quiet voice.

“Lamur was aware of the existence of the artifacts that were stolen from Belgordo Fortress this time. Even if it’s a heart attack that you told me as if you were tipping me off…… Perhaps even information leaks.”

“Wait a minute.”

I stopped Shakoff from speaking.

“Information Leakage?”

“Yes.”

The calmly speaking eyes were genuine. After all, what reason would there be for lying in a situation where lives come and go?

There’s no chance that I gave false information to solidify his innocence, but Shakov was still convinced that I belonged to the National Military Police.

Do you dare to scratch and scratch the contents that will be revealed anyway?

There’s no way a nobleman who has risen to the position of head of the Merchant Guild would sell his own grave like that.

Then this…….

‘It’s a jackpot.’

I had an unexpected major fall. If Lamour sells real information, he’s more than enough to backtrack an insider involved in the assault on the Soviet Empire’s fortress.

“Do you have any evidence other than heart attack?”

“I didn’t say anything just now, but there is evidence to put Lamour on the dragon line.”

Shakhoff got up and came to his cage. Chalkang, the shackles hanging from his ankles scrape the floor with a sharp metallic sound.

“Find Alfera, Chief Clerk of the Guild. Tell him, ‘Fishmongers don’t lie,’ and he will direct you to the secret library.”

The Secret Library.

Chief Clerk Alpera.

I definitely understand.

“Other than that.”

“Unfortunately, no. We’re not that proud either…….”

“Good. I’ll put your testimony on the safe side.”

After confirming with Shakov again, I exited the hallway leading to the ground.

Fortunately, there was no situation where we could hide in a warehouse again in the middle.

Since even the slightly remaining burnt smell has long since disappeared, covered in the damp underground air, it’s like clearing up any traces that might cause an upset stomach.

From noble mtl dot com

Now, as long as you meet the clerk in question and secure the evidence Shakov told you about…….

After returning to the unit and reporting the progress to Major Lannister, it was over.

Right now, even tomorrow, the main body of the National Military Police will be able to turn the entire city of Cherno upside down.

‘Not bad.’

I quickly got to the ground and joined Rumia, who was waiting at the entrance.

“You came earlier than expected…… ?!”

“I have to hurry that much. Let’s go back to the combination.”

“Yes? Is it a combination?”

“I heard from the head of the Shakov Guild that there is evidence to send the captain of the guard at once.”

It is slowly going down.

What the battalion commander promised was going out, so I had to return to the base by at least 9pm.

Because of the sudden fire, I felt an unsatisfied hunger…….

What can I do?

That’s just food, it’s not more valuable than the information you’ve just found out.

“The chief clerk of the Merchant Guild. We need to find someone named Alfera.”

“Chief Clerk, Alfera… ….”

Rumia chewed over my words over and over and imprinted the information firmly in her head.

“The union building is this way, Platoon Leader!”

Following Lumia’s guidance, I ran towards the Merchant Guild once more.

***

“The officer from the 3rd Battalion has already left?”

“Yes, I just discovered a fire while eating lunch and immediately took action.”

“Yes, did you do a good job locking down?”

“Of course. I even hinted that Shakov, the head of the union, had committed corruption.”

“Good job.”

Guard leader Ramuru smiled contentedly. Everything was going smoothly.

Even if it was the only trading city in the northernmost part of the Principality of Ukraine, it was just the outskirts anyway.

The protection of the walls is essential to survive in an area where all sorts of dangers lurk, such as Masuni and bandits, even if you get out of the city even for a little bit.

Even if the national military police came, there was no chance that the residents would accuse Lamour.

Instead, there is Shakope, the head of the association, who will shoulder all the burdens, but he has no reason to turn himself into an enemy.

Because humans are more selfish than you think.

“When this case is over, I will hand over my position as captain and retire. Being the head of this guard is quite a headache.”

Even though he is retiring, in reality he is living in the back alley managed by his younger brother, Lauro, living comfortably.

On the contrary, it was much more comfortable for Ramour.

Although the income he earned from the sidelines of his position as the head of the guard was good.

As long as I was confined to the frame of ‘bureaucratic’, I didn’t know when a knife would be thrust into my throat like now.

“This is what happened, the captain also dyes his hair after he retires. From what I can see, the color red suits the captain perfectly.”

“Dyeing? Why is that all of a sudden?”

“It seems to be a trend lately, isn’t it? A motive from the company next door dyed it, and the officer from the 3rd battalion who was investigated this time also dyed his hair.”

“I know it’s fashionable, but I don’t know.”

Just when Lamour, who burst out with a silly laugh, tried to ignore it, something ominous sense passed through his body.

“…… Wait for a sec. What did you just say?”

“Yes? Oh, they said dyeing is fashionable.”

“No, not that. Who dyed it again?”

The guard captain’s intuition worked.

He may not be as smart as Shakov, but he can never ignore the experience and experience he has accumulated as a guard commander.

Because he had a kind of ‘intuition’ to sense a crisis instead of an extraordinary head.

“An officer from the 3rd battalion. Wasn’t the reason why you were brought to the barracks in the first place because your hair color was different from the ID you presented?”

“Really? I haven’t received any reports What color was it originally?”

“I have blonde hair, but I dyed it black.”

As soon as I heard that.

Lamur felt the coolness running down his spine.

The 3rd Magic Battalion.

An officer with blonde hair dyed black.

It’s not just because his twin brother, Lauro, was presumed to be a wanted person.

3 When Belgordo Fortress was attacked right away, the 3rd battalion was the unit that was sent in as a support unit.

‘Did you suddenly dye your hair black? Why?’

It doesn’t make sense to say that it’s because he’s afraid of bullies. If bullies are really scary, why did they crawl into Cherno City?

‘Furthermore, I saw a fire that accidentally broke out in the union building and extinguished it…… ?’

Thinking about it again, there were not only a couple of suspicious corners.

What if that officer was a military police investigator disguised as a member of the 3rd Battalion?

It is as if the explosives have already been ignited. The fact that I caught Shakov, I was caught off guard without even realizing it.

Ramour’s teeth chattered.

“Tell all the guards immediately.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“The officer who just returned! Find it now! Set up checkpoints and block the gates!!!”

The white guard’s command fell.

Not long after, the guards of Cherno City dispersed all at once into the city.