On the fortress battlements, Scar-faced Boss wiped the sweat from his brow. Though his face was filled with exhaustion, his mood was quite relaxed. "Thank goodness Second Boss was willing to let us come in and rest for the night. Otherwise, we'd have had to keep traveling through the night all the way back to Profound Candle Prefecture."
Just as Star Engraving Prefecture was the core of Morning Wind District, the core of East Sun District was Profound Candle Prefecture, which bordered the sea harbor. Nearly all of East Sun District's aristocratic clans and great families were concentrated there. The other towns in East Sun District basically existed to protect and supply Profound Candle Prefecture.
Standing before Scar-faced Boss was Second Boss, a tall, brooding man with twin blades at his waist. He coldly watched the "New Tea" being driven into the mine shafts in the inner fortress before asking, "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Scar-faced Boss instinctively wanted to hide the truth, but he noticed that Second Boss's gaze had already settled on the white-haired young man with his hands raised. He simply said, "Second Boss, you might know this yourself. In our line of work, 'white tea' is extremely rare and valuable merchandise, so..."
"You find plenty of valuable merchandise every year, but not enough to make you this desperate." Second Boss turned and stared at Scar-faced Boss. "What are you afraid of?"
Cold sweat immediately poured down Scar-faced Boss's back. He knew all about Second Boss's history. The Silver Blood Society of East Sun District connected the official, political, commercial, and military spheres. All the clans had formed an unbreakable alliance, favoring their own kin while remaining wary of commoners. Yet in just a few years, this Second Boss had risen from an ordinary worker