A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 183 : Beastkin Faction (10)

Tap-tap-

Jerry opened his eyes at the sudden sound of tapping on the window.

Swoosh-

Judging by the sunlight seeping through the thick blackout curtains, it wasn’t time to get up yet.

But the sound from outside the window didn’t seem to be merely the window pane rattling in the wind.

Tap-tap.

The sound came again.

It had perfectly even intervals, giving it an artificial feel.

Jerry threw off his blanket and got out of bed, rubbed his eyes for a moment, then slightly lifted the blackout curtain.

The sunlight that poured in as if on cue was quite uncomfortable for Jerry, but he frowned deeply and pulled the curtain further back, opening the window.

Creak-

The reason was simple.

Coo?

A white pigeon sat on the window ledge outside, tilting its head.

The one who had woken him from his sleep by tapping on the window was none other than this white pigeon.

The background unfurling behind it and the white pigeon were a combination that could hardly be called fitting, making it seem somewhat odd.

Ironically, however, there was no surprise on Jerry’s face.

Rather.

“…So it really came.”

He muttered in a low voice, as if he had expected this situation.

The reason was simple.

U-jin had foreseen this situation and given him a heads-up.

『A white pigeon with a paper tied to its leg will probably fly to you.』

『……?』

『There are only a few species that wouldn't seem out of place anywhere on the continent, and even fewer among them that could fly all the way here.』

That was right.

This pigeon was not just a pigeon with a white exterior.

It was a homing pigeon belonging to a specific group, trained to exchange specific information.

『For today, let’s stop here. Once you receive that, we’ll discuss it in more detail.』

As if to prove U-jin’s words, a small note was tied to the pigeon’s leg.

Rustle-

Jerry naturally untied the paper from its leg, unfolded it, and let out a low hum.

“…Hmm.”

In fact.

He had been unsure until just before unfolding the paper.

U-jin had spoken as if he had simply placed an order, but pinpointing the location of slave prisons was no easy task.

However, the paper indeed contained several coordinates, as if specifying the storage prisons of the slave market.

Furthermore, when estimated based on the locations of various black markets on the continent, which he could almost visualize from frequent experience, they were regions that showed quite uniform distances.

So much so that even simply plotting the points would reveal their correlation.

Moreover, although their individual geographical characteristics differed slightly—such as desert or mountainous terrain—they all shared the commonality of being located amidst rugged terrain difficult for ordinary people to access, without exception.

Jerry thought that the contents written on this paper were undoubtedly specifying the prisons U-jin had mentioned that needed to be found for the liberation of the Beastkin slaves.

“……?”

With a certain degree of certainty, Jerry immediately folded the paper and was about to go to U-jin’s room, but then, the writing at the bottom of the coordinate list caught his eye.

『PS. 3 weeks later, Aberdeen Delta.』

A short phrase specifying a place and time.

And as soon as Jerry finished reading it.

Whoosh-

The paper spontaneously burst into flames.

“…….”

* * *

The scale of the black market is usually smaller than people imagine.

Human imagination always tends to inflate what cannot be seen, and since black markets must avoid people’s eyes,

The time and effort required to expand the market size were more than double compared to markets operating in the open.

A logical conclusion that seemed somewhat natural given its characteristics.

But conversely.

The power of the ruling class that dominated the black market was far greater than people generally imagined.

The reason for this was also simple.

Unlike markets in the open, which had institutional arrangements to ensure a certain degree of conflict and balance, preventing excessive power from being given to one group, the black market strictly adhered to the law of survival of the fittest.

While even conventional markets often had massive entities with monopolistic positions,

The black market’s dominance was not merely in the sense of cornering a particular commodity; it was a monopoly in the truest sense of the word.

A single entity would typically dominate the market, allowing no other distribution whatsoever.

So much so that a black market-specific metaphor, 'Market Maker,' was coined to reflect this immense power.

This, too, was possible due to the unique characteristics of the black market.

As a lawless land without any restrictions or laws, there might have been various groups or factions forming the black market in its early stages, but just as nature forms a single massive lump through gravity, markets too tend to coalesce into a single entity over time.

The black market was merged using methods that ordinary people would call 'illegal' as its fundamental logic, and by the time the market had grown sufficiently, a single Market Maker had already emerged, wielding such powerful dominance that the market's logic was dictated by one person.

In other words.

It was highly likely that the ruler of a market as mature as the Beastkin slave market was a single entity known as a 'Market Maker.'

Because of their strong control encompassing production, distribution, and sales, they would be able to maintain such a thorough system and secrecy that even Jerry couldn't uncover it.

…And that was why.

“…How is something like this possible, Partner?”

I could be sure.

That UMC already knew the Market Maker of the Beastkin slave market.

“Well, you could say we just got a new backer.”

“…That’s an oversimplification.”

“It’s not that important.”

“…It seems important even in terms of information reliability, or is it just my imagination?”

“It’s your imagination.”

“…….”

The Order fundamentally kept a close watch on immense powers.

And it did not discriminate between the shadows and the light.

While the Demon King’s Army had caught up in many other areas, the one field where The Order still held overwhelming superiority was information gathering.

Based on the vast data and expertise accumulated from ancient times to the present, The Order’s systematic information power was, in the literal sense of the phrase, unrivaled.

Even a slave trader in the black market could not escape its gaze.

There’s a joke that everything that exists in this world is subject to The Order’s observation, so there was no way The Order wouldn’t have detected such a powerful entity, even if it was in the black market.

While I couldn't be certain without seeing it directly, it was probably not just knowing the location of slave prisons; The Order was such that, perhaps exaggerating a bit, it would record even the color of the Market Maker’s underwear on this day last year.

Of course, The Order had always valued information so highly because it understood the power that information held.

And therefore, accessing The Order’s recorded information was also no easy task.

Just as the black market strictly guarded the location of slave prisons, The Order also prioritized information, creating a structure where only those with access permissions could interact with it, preventing just anyone from accessing it.

However, UMC was a direct agency of The Order.

Moreover, it was a secret agency directly connected to the upper echelons of The Order’s headquarters.

In other words, among The Order, excluding high-ranking priests, UMC was the organization allowed access to the most information.

While information about the slave market wouldn’t be light, I thought UMC would have no trouble accessing that level of information.

“…Anyway, there were a total of four coordinates written down. It seems they operate four prisons, covering the east, west, south, and north of the continent.”

“…….”

“When viewed geographically, the distances to each black market for slaves are similar, so it doesn’t seem like unreliable information.”

Tom let out a snort at Jerry’s additional remark.

He seemed to be thinking of the Beastkin likely imprisoned there.

Perhaps because Valencia was beside him, outward signs of anger weren’t clearly visible, but I suspected he felt similar emotions.

Swoosh-

He turned his head and asked me.

“…So, are we going to look for them right away?”

“Well… actually, given how secretly they operate, the security probably isn’t easy, and I think we should make some preparations before we go. But…”

Shrug-

“…We probably don’t need to, right?”

Before I could finish my question, Tom nodded.

“…Of course not.”

“…….”

“Shouldn’t we just break them out as quickly as possible and bring the Beastkin here?”

“That’s true.”

It was an important matter, and it would be better to make thorough plans to avoid complications or mistakes if not handled quickly, but.

It was Tom Hardist, of all people.

It might even be more troublesome to assign him escorts or mercenaries.

He would already be accustomed to moving alone.

And in terms of time, there wasn’t enough leeway to spend on elaborate planning.

‘…It’s about time to prepare for that as well.’

If Isaac’s mention in Darkest Dungeon was indeed about the ‘Saintess,’ there was no longer enough time to delay.

Furthermore.

“Then, without bothering to pack anything else, Jerry will roughly plan the closest route suitable for Tom, and Tom will go directly.”

Swoosh-

“You said Aberdeen Delta, right, Jerry?”

“…The postscript clearly stated that.”

“…Are you sure?”

“…I’m sure. There was no other mention, only that.”

I had something else to worry about.

‘…Aberdeen, three weeks later.’

UMC’s contact itself was somewhat within the scope of my expectations.

To be frank, it was almost like I had requested it myself, and I thought Ludwig would probably act that way.

There were things I needed to know beforehand and cooperation I needed to request when we met.

However, what caught my eye was not the fact that they had contacted me, but the specific location.

‘…Aberdeen.’

Aberdeen, an artificial city divided into four sectors—Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta—leading the current Order’s new technology, Magitek.

The place name UMC sent, proposing a meeting three weeks later, was quite familiar to me as well.

The reason was simple.

Aberdeen’s Delta.

If my memory served me correctly.

That was the place where the Magitek genius girl, ‘Emily,’ resided.

“…I’m going out for a bit.”