The next day, Lynn, who had not slept all night, got up early. He casually stuffed an empty but ornate box into his clothes and walked out of his room.
Outside, crisp knocking sounds rang endlessly across the spacious training ground. Lynn turned his head and saw that "his sister," Evina, had evidently been training here for quite some time.
The young girl gripped a wooden sword, her swift, fierce strikes landing precisely on the targets' vital points without the slightest hesitation. Beads of sweat slid from her temples down her neck...
She really works hard... Lynn silently marveled. Given the unpleasant events of last night, he did not greet her and simply walked away, failing to notice that Evina had stopped training behind him and was watching him with an extremely complicated expression.
Why...
Why could he remain so calm after what had happened, even when he saw her?
A confused look appeared on Evina's face, but when she recalled Pedrol's words from last night, her gaze hardened again. She swung her sword sideways once more, splitting the sturdy wooden target into pieces.
Lynn, who had already left the estate, knew nothing of what was happening there. After purchasing some necessary supplies at the market, he returned to the harbor shop he had visited yesterday.
"Welcome to Bill's... Ah, it's Lord Lott!" The elderly halfling gave his customary greeting, but the moment he recognized Lynn, he hurried over excitedly and said eagerly, "That shipment you mentioned yesterday—we can discuss it further... You won't find a more suitable partner than the Ship Gang anywhere in Harbor Town!"
Lynn did not answer immediately. He slowly looked around the shop, then said with apparent regret, "What? Is Mr. Laud still unwilling to see me?"
Bill hurriedly explained, "No, no, no! I'm sure Mr. Laud very much wants to see you! Unfortunately, he isn't in Harbor Town right now. Even using the fastest messenger pigeon, it would take several days for the message to reach him!"
"If Lord Lott is worried about safety, the Ship Gang can provide goods of equivalent value as collateral!" The old Bill thumped his chest like a drum.
Lynn pretended to hesitate for a moment before finally waving his hand. "Fine. If that is the case, then it is not entirely unacceptable..."
"Who is in charge of the Ship Gang now?"
"Of course, Labul! Please wait a moment, I'll have someone call him..." As he spoke, the halfling Bill hurried outside, called over a dockworker who was moving cargo, whispered a few instructions to him, then returned and eagerly stood on a small stool to pour Lynn some fruit wine.
Lynn accepted the cup and casually set it aside without any intention of drinking. Instead, he pointed at the iron barrels piled in the corner of the shop and asked, "What are those?"
"They're just worthless Yellow Ore. Some prospectors dug it out of a barren mountain near Harbor Town. They brought back an entire shipload of the stuff." Bill spoke with great frustration.
Normally, only herbalists would buy this stuff, but Victnil's Yellow Ore market was already saturated this year. That meant they would have to stockpile it until next year before they could sell it.
"Lord Lott, if you are interested in this Yellow Ore, I can give you the cost price. Such a large barrel only costs nineteen copper coins. I heard it works quite well for repelling insects!" Bill rubbed his hands together and eagerly pitched the goods.
"No, I have merely never seen it before and was curious." Lynn shook his head, replying without betraying any emotion.
As the two chatted, a tall, burly man entered from outside with several workers.
"It is an honor, Mr. Lott. Bill told me you had something important to discuss with me in person?" Labul pushed open the door, and a genuine smile immediately spread across his broad, fleshy face.
"That's right. I intend to rent a large ship to transport a batch of very important goods!" As Lynn spoke, he solemnly took an exquisite box from his sleeve and placed it on the table. "This is a sample. I need somewhere private to speak with you alone!"
Everyone present unconsciously fixed their eyes on the palm-sized exquisite box.
Bill silently guessed whether it contained some extremely rare gemstone, but when he remembered that Lynn needed a large ship to carry it, he quickly dismissed the thought.
Labul, on the other hand, looked very serious. Unlike Bill, he had been with the Ship Gang for more than ten years and occasionally helped noble lords deal with certain things that could not see the light of day.
For instance, Duke Nordland had been secretly selling an addictive Soul-Destroying Grass. If the church caught wind of it, small fry like them would most likely be dragged out to take the blame.
Of course, risks and rewards went hand in hand. If the goods were delivered safely, the profits from this one ship would be enough to support the entire Ship Gang for more than half a year.
"No problem! We can go to the side room and discuss it at our leisure!" Labul's thoughts raced, but the smile on his face only grew wider.
Lynn put away the box and followed Labul out of the shop. They crossed more than half the street before finally stopping at an ordinary-looking house.
Knowing full well the importance of secrecy, Labul had the workers stand guard outside while he alone led Lynn into a well-hidden basement.
The place was quite spacious, with only a few crude tables and chairs, but it had been kept very clean.
Seeing Lynn continuously examine the surroundings from the moment he entered, Labul became even more certain of his guess and smiled as he assured him.
"Please, have a seat, Mr. Lott. This place is safe and quiet. No outsiders will come to disturb us!"
"In that case, I can rest easy!" Lynn smiled as well. He pushed the box in his hand toward Labul and gestured. "You can take a look first, then we can talk!"
With a mixture of apprehension and excitement, Labul placed his hand on the box, intensely curious what sort of contraband it might contain.
Soul-Destroying Grass? Heim Stone? Surely it could not be the statue of some evil god?
He had heard that the nobles west of the Secas Empire were especially fond of that sort of wicked thing.
Yet when he opened it, Labul's expression instantly froze.
Because the box was completely empty. There was nothing inside!
Had he been played?
Labul immediately sensed something was wrong. His left hand instinctively reached for the dagger at his waist, but it was already too late!
The instant he opened the box, Lynn entered a brief state of overload. His right hand swiftly and precisely seized Labul's elbow, bending the entire arm at the most exact angle.
With a dull crack of dislocation, agonizing pain instantly flooded Labul's mind. But before he could cry out, someone seized him by the throat and slammed him heavily to the ground...
Before you continue