Chapter 101: The Golden Shackles

When Claudia investigated the suspicious flow of gemstones, she discovered that the Tubris Trading Company was selling them. It was a relatively old company in the Count’s domain, but recently, it had been overshadowed by other companies.

She decided to visit the head of the company to meet him and discuss the matter, but she was turned away by a servant.

“The master is busy…” the servant replied.

Reflecting on the fact that it was impolite to suddenly demand a meeting, she asked when she could meet him instead.

“I can’t say for sure. The master is always traveling around the country,” came the vague response.

Claudia couldn’t help but feel skeptical. She introduced herself as the wife of the Count’s appointed blacksmith and mentioned her connections to the market that consumes gemstones for enchantment. The fact that the master of a declining company wouldn’t want to meet her seemed unlikely.

The high-ranking servant dismissed Claudia without even consulting the master, as if it had been decided from the beginning not to let her meet him.

“I apologize. I will come back another day,” Claudia said, retreating for now.

On her way back, Claudia organized her thoughts as she walked.

The Tubris Trading Company was indeed the one selling the suspicious gemstones. She confirmed this with the city’s enchanters. The enchanters had been warned not to reveal that they were buying gemstones from the Tubris Trading Company. However, a beautiful woman associated with the Count’s household had brought them bottled peppers as souvenirs, and that broke their silence.

She asked why they had been instructed not to disclose their purchases.

“They don’t want their competitors to know that they are selling at such low prices, to avoid trouble,” she was told.

Merchants always wanted to collude and keep prices uniform. For them, lowering prices wasn’t a result of business efforts but rather a way to gain an unfair advantage.

It made sense, to some extent, although it was far from satisfactory.

She was shown gemstones that were claimed to have been purchased from the Tubris Trading Company. Claudia didn’t have a keen eye for gemstones, but they somehow resembled the ones Lutz had brought back.

The Tubris Trading Company sold gemstones to craftsmen at low prices but made them promise not to disclose the source. And they had no intention of doing business with the Count’s household. In fact, the three craftsmen employed by the Count were unaware of the existence of these gemstones.

…Did the Tubris Trading Company know that these gemstones were something shady?

That seemed like a reasonable assumption.

If that was the case, Claudia wondered about the connection between the adventurers who were acquiring the gemstones. However, probing too much could lead to unwanted consequences.

The Tubris Trading Company would be seen as innocent victims who were unaware that the gemstones were dubious. Purchasing gemstones from adventurers was not a crime or anything of the sort.

She wanted to consolidate her thoughts a bit more as she continued walking.

While strolling toward the castle gate, Claudia passed by a woman who appeared to be an adventurer wearing worn leather armor. Suddenly, Claudia stopped in her tracks.

What caught her attention was the woman’s body odor.

First was the foul stench. It was the same smell that Lutz emitted when he returned from the labyrinth—an unpleasant blend of mold and decay. He claimed he had washed it off in the river, but it wasn’t the kind of smell that could be easily removed. Lutz had to be thoroughly washed from head to toe with soap.

The second was the scent of perfume. It wasn’t something common for ordinary people to use so casually, especially not adventurers who were referred to as parasites of society.

She seemed to have an excessive amount of money. Was that all? If she expanded her imagination further, perhaps she tried to cover up the lingering foul smell because she was going to meet an important person. And that person must be worth using perfume for.

Claudia wanted to turn around and look back, but she touched the dagger concealed in her clothing and calmed herself.

If she turned around, the woman would likely notice. Adventurers, especially, had sharper senses than ordinary people. It would be dangerous for an amateur to make judgments thinking that this much wouldn’t be a problem.

…Don’t misjudge the timing. It’s a merchant’s golden rule.

Claudia went to the market near the castle gate, made an unnecessary purchase, and then headed back home.

“…So, what did the woman say?” Tubris asked, sinking into the sofa in his spacious private room. Tubris was both the name of the trading company and the inherited name of the head of the family.

He had long forgotten his real name.

He was a man in his fifties, with an anxious face and a stubbly beard that he absentmindedly stroked.

“Just a greeting,” the servant replied in a monotone voice. He had been serving faithfully since Tubris’s father’s time, and it seemed like he hadn’t aged a day in thirty years.

A greeting between merchants wouldn’t end with a simple “hello.” They would confirm what they could offer each other and seek further business negotiations.

“What bothers me is why she chose this timing,” Tubris continued.

The servant remained silent, waiting for Tubris’s words like a teacher waiting for a student’s response. It was as if he had the face of a teacher.

“Why now, of all times?” Tubris counted on his fingers as he spoke.

First, the Tubris Trading Company’s performance was improving.

Second, there were suspicions about the source of the gemstones.

Third, it was just a coincidence.

“Is it really just a coincidence?” the servant asked, seemingly amused. Tubris wanted to shout at him to stop enjoying himself, but this man was difficult to deal with.

“In this world, coincidences do happen. It would be foolish to be paranoid and let mere coincidences control you,” Tubris replied.

“However, we shouldn’t expect it to be a coincidence from the beginning,” the servant added, his tone somewhat amused. Tubris nodded in agreement.

“And, Rouge came this evening,” the servant continued.

Tubris’s eyebrows twitched in displeasure.

“I don’t intend to meet her. Handle it among yourselves,” Tubris said firmly.

Rouge referred to the female adventurer who came to sell a large number of gemstones from the labyrinth. She claimed to be Tubris’s daughter. The child of a mistress Tubris had abandoned.

Tubris had no recollection of it. He didn’t bother remembering the details of the woman he had discarded. He had tried to recall, but there was no trace of her in his memory.

Still, Rouge insisted that she wanted to be of use to her father. She had found a magical tool in the depths of the labyrinth that could convert human lives into gemstones, and she wanted to make a fortune with it.

Honestly, relying on his unknown daughter was unsettling. It didn’t make sense to throw people into a big jar and turn their eyeballs into gemstones to create zombies, as the saying went.

But Tubris couldn’t refuse.

The Tubris Trading Company had been in the red every year. They desperately tried various new businesses, but all of them ended in failure.

The reason Tubris’s private room was unusually spacious was that he had sold off paintings and stone statues.

He couldn’t let the historic Tubris Trading Company be destroyed under his watch. That thought led him to make a deal with the devil.

Most of the gemstones were sold to enchanters. Once they were used for enchantments and shattered, there would be no evidence left. The ones that were processed into rings and necklaces were entrusted to merchants from other territories. They tried to avoid any involvement with the Zander Count’s family as much as possible.

They had proceeded with caution. However, if they continued like this, the truth would eventually come to light. If it was revealed that the gemstones were made through curses, they would face condemnation. They might even be caught by the church and burned at the stake.

Once they had accumulated enough funds and stabilized their profits through businesses other than gemstones, they would have to deal with Rouge and the magical tool.

Would Tubris be able to make the decision to cut down the tree that produced gold on his own?

He didn’t know. He feared that he would be dragged along by greed indefinitely. But if he misjudged the timing to withdraw, only ruin awaited him.

“Until we can generate stable profits through businesses other than gemstones. Until then…” Tubris trailed off without specifying a concrete target.

He hadn’t set a specific goal, and he hadn’t realized it himself. Perhaps he knew but deliberately avoided facing it.

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