novelraw Chapter 60 : Chapter 60
Chapter 60 : Chapter 60
Chapter 60
How many minutes until the Waker-Bon boss returns?
Occupying the headquarters, I gripped the parchment with Kiriki’s telepathy Magic Array.
Then, I sent a telepathic message to Kiriki at the farm.
God, the fire’s spreading faster than they can put it out. It’ll take longer.
Good.
Did the Fire Team escape safely?
Yeah, they’re circling back to the Waker-Bon building now.
Great. Looks like no one left in the building called the boss for help.
Even if they did, they’re too busy to answer.
I recalled the Milpain boss I briefly locked eyes with.
What’s the Milpain Family doing?
Helping put out the farm fire! One of their members is a low-level water mage, barely keeping the fire’s size in check.
Yay!
We had time.
It was my first real fight, so I was nervous, but since the opponent was a small-time group with no experience being hit, they had no defenses. We won easily.
We took Waker-Bon members hostage, but since a hostage situation might not work, I decided to secure the boss’s assets too.
I asked Luca and Apple to manage the captives and went to the second floor.
Beep, beep.
In the boss’s office, I scanned the walls and floor with a metal detector.
It’s gotta be hidden somewhere.
Beep, beep-beep.
The detector beeped at a wall.
“Here.”
I nodded, and Bilha swung a sledgehammer with both hands.
The same one that hurt my foot.
Boom!!
The wall crumbled with a thud.
Inside was a hollow space with a safe.
“Classic.”
Waker-Bon had few enemies, so their security was simple.
People think alike. I was nervous about empire mafia, but it worked out.
I checked the safe’s manufacturer—Wiven, a company making standard safes.
Old dial safes were easy to crack.
Whistling, I pulled out a stack of documents from the safe.
Deeds, building certificates, IOUs, gold bars, etc.
“Lots here that’d make someone cry if burned.”
“Robber.”
“Haha, I won’t deny it in this situation.”
I pulled out a lockpick and opened a locked drawer under the desk.
Where’s the contract the Milpain boss signed?
I had another goal in this operation:
Cutting off Ebenkera’s rotten branch.
I couldn’t stand by while the family’s hard-earned money was misused.
I could’ve just reported them to Ebenkera’s execution team, but I needed evidence of the deal’s details to make it easier for them.
So, I deliberately acted after the contract was signed.
What’s this?
I tilted my head.
I rummaged through the drawer’s files repeatedly.
It’s not here.
All contracts should be here, so the newly signed one should be too.
They each keep a copy.
Did he take it?
No, Sonya Waker-Bon left empty-handed.
I didn’t check where the contract went, hiding after locking eyes with Metae.
No wonder it felt too easy.
Crackle, crackle.
The radio buzzed.
Sonya’s roughly contained the fire and is heading back to the building.
“Are the Milpain Family following?”
They have to, to change the contract terms and date. Sonya’s got the Milpain boss in the same car.
I didn’t find what I wanted, but it was good they were coming back.
“What did you find in the boss’s drawer, senior?”
Huh? What?
“A document about co-managing the night market.”
My darling!!!!
Kiriki’s ecstatic voice echoed through the radio.
✦ ✦ ✦
Emergency.
Sonya was sweating profusely.
“Metae, plants grow back even after burning. This fire might’ve made the land more fertile, so we can grow better crops next time.”
Her once-polished face was smudged from fighting the fire.
Worried the partner might back out, she explained the situation in the car.
“Too many things feel off.”
“Next time, I’ll stock up on fire-prevention magic tools.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Metae glared at Sonya irritably.
“This all feels too staged. Don’t you think?”
“Hmm, I suspect someone with a grudge against me set the farm on fire. If this deal goes through, I’ll turn Haret upside down. We’ll find the culprit by poking around.”
Sonya, sweating, looked at him.
“I’ll take out potential and actual arsonists, so don’t worry about the supply chain.”
“…”
[“Hey, uncle. A fire this size wouldn’t need evacuation for people far away. Why’s everyone making such a fuss?”]
Metae frowned, recalling a black-haired boy watching the fire.
“Isn’t it odd? The farm’s quite far from the building, yet I heard about the fire while inside.”
“This town’s people are prone to exaggeration.”
“If not for that loud voice, you would’ve kept the fire hidden from me.”
“…What are you getting at?”
“Just a bad case of paranoia.”
If Ebenkera was behind this, what were they trying to do by luring him out of the building?
Metae opened his bag and pulled out both copies of the contract signed with Sonya.
“Huh? When did you take mine?”
Click, flick.
He lit a lighter and set the contracts on fire.
The flames illuminated Metae’s face, deepening the shadows where the light didn’t reach.
“W-What are you doing? Want to renegotiate?”
“Let’s pretend the contract never existed.”
“What? That’s not what we agreed on!!”
“Feeling wronged?”
“You call that a question?!”
Click.
Metae calmly drew a pistol from his pocket.
Bang!!!
The car’s clear window turned red.
The bloodied glass cracked like a spiderweb and shattered.
Whoosh…
Cold wind rushed through the broken window, pushing Metae’s bangs back.
“Now you don’t feel wronged, do you?”
Metae coldly stared at the unresponsive Sonya.
He had a bad feeling.
The green eyes he saw through the window lingered in his mind.
Waker-Bon’s boss had a loose tongue.
She’d cause trouble eventually, if not now.
There were plenty of other potential suppliers besides Waker-Bon, so it wasn’t a big deal.
“You, you just did what to our boss?!”
The Waker-Bon driver turned back in shock.
Click.
“I killed your boss, so you’re with the Milpain Family now, right?”
“…”
“Turn the car around. We’re getting out of here.”