As suspected, outside the wall was the basement of a tavern.

The smell of old wooden barrels and a haphazard pile of groceries pricked their noses. After the three of them had all emerged, the wall closed again. Looking at it from the outside, one could never have guessed that there was a hidden door.

They took advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention and entered the first floor. The place was packed, and the crowded tables gave no indication that someone had just emerged from the basement.

“I think I know where we are,” Nathan Zuckerman muttered quietly, looking around.

“We've been investigating the entertainment district, and this is one of the places we've looked into. It's a mid-point hub.”

“Are you new guests?”

At that moment, someone mistook them for customers and spoke up. Kishiar, his face disguised, calmly turned his head and replied.

“Yes. But it seems there are no seats available.”

“Seats can be made. Hey, squeeze over there!”

The man pushed the drinkers seated in the corner, and soon enough, space for three was created. As soon as Kishiar sat down, he casually asked for menu recommendations, even ordering three glasses of a local fruit liquor known to be quite potent. While the waiter was gone to fetch the food, Yuder quietly observed the surroundings.

The first thing that reached his ears were the loud voices of the drinkers next to them.

“Hey! The city gates are finally open, so we can drink, but it's so crowded we can't even breathe.”

“It's because of all the newcomers from outside Tainu.”

“Oh, because of that auction thing?”

“Yes. There were people who just came from afar to stay at the second-floor inn. So, don't pick a fight with those who look like mercenaries. It's dangerous.”

The drinkers, glancing at the tall, large Kishiar and Nathan, became a bit intimidated and quieted down.

“They must think we're mercenaries here for the auction. It's surprising that rumors have spread this far already,” Kishiar also murmured, chuckling quietly.

“I didn't know that people from the consortium were already coming in.”

“Neither did I. I was not aware of any reports about those who entered Tainu claiming to be from the consortium. Right, Nathan?”

“...Yes. I'll check again on what's going on.”

It was Ever and Nathan's responsibility to track those coming into Tainu for the auction or party. Nathan Zuckerman, his face hidden beneath his cloak's hood, looked sharply more focused.

“How will you return?”

“We can't go back the way we came, so we'll have to start from here. We haven't received any contact yet from those waiting on the consortium's side......”

“...Are those guys the people from the consortium?”

“Yes. Look at their hands. They are definitely southerners.”

Yuder, while listening to the voices of Nathan Zuckerman and Kishiar and idly looking at the food and drink in front of him, turned his head toward the mumbling voices of the drinkers beside them. Three people were descending from the second-floor lodging. Their faces were hidden by thick clothing as if it were midwinter, but their hands, peeking out from the sleeves, were all red.

‘These who came from afar and are affiliated with the consortium... Are they southerners?'

This place was a tavern and inn with a hidden door leading to Tainu's secret warehouse. If the merchants who came to stay here were southerners, there could be only one guess. Turning his head, he saw that Kishiar and Nathan Zuckerman were also looking in the same direction.

“…Commander.”

“Let’s watch for now.”

The merchants from the southern lands were standing by the counter, as if waiting for someone. Shortly after, an elderly man emerged from the kitchen and began speaking to the person standing at the front of the group. Even as he engaged in conversation, he was giving directions to the food servers, indicating that he must be the owner of the tavern.

'I can hardly hear what they're saying because of the noise.'

He was contemplating whether to use the power of the wind and leaning his head in when suddenly one of the southern merchants turned his head sharply. His gaze was directed precisely towards the corner where Yuder was.

'He's more observant than most.'

A chill ran down his back, but Yuder casually raised his hand, pretending to call the server to take his order. The southern merchant's gaze, which had been scanning in Yuder's direction, was obscured by the approaching staff and soon disappeared.

“Would you like to order anything else?”

It was a different person than the one who took his order earlier. In the weary voice, a fleeting wariness towards strangers was discernible. Yuder, while peering over the server's shoulder at the southern merchants heading towards the basement with the old man, casually replied:

“Another glass of this liquor.”

“You hardly touched what's already in front of you, and you're asking for more?”

Yuder lifted the glass in front of him, downed it in one gulp, and slammed it back down.

“Now it's empty.”

The strong alcohol spread a potent scent down his throat, but it would have no effect on him anyway. The man looked at the glass Yuder had put down, blinked, and with a frown turned away, grumbling.

“I've seen plenty of braggarts who think they can drink, but this is the first madman to down that in one gulp...”

Whatever he said didn't matter; Yuder had achieved his aim of avoiding the southern merchants' eyes. Yuder ignored his grumbling, hastily wiping his wet lips and looking over at Kishiar.

“…Commander, shall we follow them?”

“I was thinking of doing so... Is it alright to drink so suddenly?”

Kishiar asked with a face trying to suppress laughter. What had made him so amused was a mystery.

“I don't get drunk on such things, so it's fine.”

“That's something I'd like to ask in detail, but... Wait. They're back.”

Of course, that didn't mean the server who took their order had returned. The southern merchants and the old owner had somehow returned from the basement. Judging by their leisurely pace and demeanor, it seemed that no one had noticed any intruders.

They exchanged a few more words and then dispersed. The owner headed back to his kitchen, and the southern merchants went to the inn on the second floor. Kishiar's eyes, camouflaged in ordinary brown, didn't miss their retreating figures.

“…It was wise to order Prince Pruelle to investigate. Keep a close watch on their movements as well, Nathan.”

“Yes.”

“Now, let’s get up.”

Kishiar stood up and pulled a coin from his pocket, placing it on the table. It was more than the cost of the meal.

“Isn't that too much to leave?”

“I don’t skimp on the price of a good spectacle.”

If drinking a strong liquor in one gulp was a good spectacle, then shouldn’t that money go to Yuder? However, since Kishiar was the one paying, Yuder didn't say anything more.

They left the tavern and looked around the area. Nathan Zuckerman took the lead, saying that the Red Deer Consortium headquarters building was not far from there, and began to walk. When they soon arrived back in front of the headquarters building, the Peletta Knights guarding the entrance were startled, their eyes wide open, as if they had seen a ghost.

"My, my lord? What has happened? It's been almost 2 hours, so I was about to contact you..."

"So it has. Everything went well, so don't worry. Where did we leave the carriage?"

They returned to the mansion of Baron Willhem just as they had arrived, by carriage. Nathan Zuckerman, dressed as a coachman, politely saluted and disappeared first, and Yuder headed for the lodging with Kishiar.

During their walk in the darkness of the night, Kishiar remained silent. Yuder, too, was lost in thought about the southern merchants who had already revealed themselves and the secret warehouse, and did not speak first.

'I said we would come back tomorrow. I'm sure Kishiar has something planned in advance... but what is he trying to do?'

The fact that the southern merchants had already come here and located the warehouse was evidence of Duke Tain's impatience. Pruelle had said they were just ordinary merchants, but the southern merchants they had met did not seem so simple.

'Southern merchants... People I have never seen in my previous life...'

In his previous life, when Emperor Katchian was working hard to revitalize the west through trade, the Orr Empire had quite a bit of interaction with the South. The impression of the South among the countries north of the desert was traditionally not good, so it was very surprising. The South was a strange and mysterious place, divided into numerous tribes, with languages and social systems completely different from those of the countries north of the desert. Just as the countries north of the desert had disliked them since the old White Sand Wars, they had also long been distrustful and closed their doors to the northern nations.

Although Emperor Katchian's policy had ended in failure, the South had begun to use that event as a stepping stone to slowly restore diplomatic relations with the countries north of the desert. In that sense, they might have been very grateful to Emperor Katchian.

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