Chapter 92

“That was only their side business. They mainly sold financial instruments.” Karan almost asked her what the heck she was talking about, but then she stopped herself. It took only a little thought to realize why they would do such business. “…Nick’s parents worked for the Dineez Adventurers Credit Union,” she surmised. “That’s correct.” Marde had been transferring herself from user to user since ancient times as she performed her moneylending business. As Karan and the rest had previously learned, Marde searched for people who were beneficial to society, invested in them, and demanded repayment with interest once they became successful. She had apparently been doing that all this time. “I was originally a magic item created for using the ancient spells Analyze and Item Box. I physically guarded and preserved wealth in preparation for unusual circumstances… But when those unusual circumstances came, they resulted in me losing my owner. That was when I discovered a job I could perform.” Analyze was a spell that appraised people, monsters, or items. It could be used to discover their strength, characteristics, value, and potential for growth. Item Box was just as the name implied—an ancient spell that accessed a subspace with infinite room for storage. “Those abilities were devised for heroes, but I guess they’re perfect for banking, too,” Diamond commented. Marde nodded in agreement. “Protecting the wealth of others requires me to avoid dealing with criminals and others who would do harm to humanity. And in order to protect financial value, I first needed to establish an economic infrastructure and grow it. That is why I invest in people.” “You have a bit of a bad reputation, though… What did you do to earn that?” Marde grimaced. “…I suppose I have been a little too aggressive in growing my wealth. That has drawn some ire. But I do nothing that is grossly immoral. I work with people when they go bankrupt, and I never forcibly withdraw credit. I did admittedly accumulate a large collection of pawned weapons and magic items, but that is all.” “Alice got Wind Whale and the Fool’s Gait from you, didn’t she? Those are kinda difficult to miss.” “Ah-ha-ha, they’re really useful,” Alice said. “Anyway, back to Richard and Robin,” Marde said, clearing her throat. “They both had an eye for profit and a chivalrous heart. Nick was also a good and bright boy, and I looked forward to him inheriting me… I had fun traveling together, just the four of us.” Those words gave Karan a mental image of Nick working as a traveling merchant. He would have been an entirely different person from who he was now, but a part of her would have liked to see that. “Is lending money really that fun?” Karan asked. “Call it investment. And yes, it is fun. Helping others achieve their dreams is rewarding work… Many investments do not work out, however,” Marde answered gloomily. “…Why did Argus kill Nick’s parents? Did they not realize who he was?” “They did, actually. And they even knew he was the Sword of Tasuki’s wielder. We could have ended this all if they had been able to win him over.” “Win him over…?” “They were headhunting Argus to get him to quit as the Sword of Tasuki’s wielder and defect to our side. Argus was shrouded in mystery, but we could tell he had a reason for working with the holy sword. I thought they might be able to get to him.” “But they failed… Or did they?” “So you noticed.” There were a number of inexplicable things about Argus’s actions. Why did he raise Nick as an adventurer? Why was Marde unharmed after trying to win him over? And why was he accepting loans from Marde? “I don’t know why he left Nick unharmed, either. Argus and Nick’s parents negotiated under the condition that their superiors would hear nothing of what they said. I was temporarily sealed away as they spoke, and I learned nothing about what happened until Alice found me. Alice and I then came to work together.” Alice nodded gravely. “By the time I raced to the scene from my station, Nick’s parents and the bandits were already dead. Argus was the only survivor, and he adopted Nick and left as soon as we questioned him. He didn’t even look through Nick’s parents’ possessions… I searched the carriage thoroughly later and found the president, who had been sealed by a talisman.” “I hired Alice as a new employee of the Dineez Adventurers Credit Union. I helped her solve Sun Knight cases, and in exchange she carried out my credit union business and monitored Combat Masters. Argus eventually realized Alice was watching him and demonstrated that he meant us no harm. I offered him a loan, and he accepted. By doing so, he communicated that he would not always be the Sword of Tasuki’s ally.” Karan had closed her eyes as she listened and now thought quietly. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and looked at Marde. “I understand. But why is the Sword of Tasuki after you?” she asked. “Because I could Analyze him to detect the number of souls he possesses and their abilities. Analyzing someone shows me the essence of their soul. It would be of particular use on the Sword of Tasuki, who collects souls.” That answer gave Karan a sliver of hope. They’d been on the defensive so far, but this was a chance to turn things around. “I do not have any attack capabilities, however. Break me, and I am finished. But we might be able to block his attacks with Samurialie’s barrier magic. At the least, that would completely prevent him from using his wielder as a relay point to perform a long-distance attack.” “…Will you fight with us?” Karan asked. “Unlike the Teran Lord’s agencies and the Sun Knights, I am nothing but a financial institution,” Marde said. “Then can we make a deal?” Karan asked. Marde smiled as if that was just what she had been waiting for. “I won’t turn down any project that will be profitable and benefit society. Truthfully, I have been investing in many people over the last ten years.” “Did you have Alice monitor them? Is that why everyone who receives a loan from you gets arrested by a holy knight—by Alice, probably—for trespassing?” “Yes. While I wanted to act in secrecy, I needed to leave circumstantial evidence. I used Samurialie’s barrier and waited for the arrival of someone the debtors could trust… And Olivia picked up on my intentions and executed them without needing any explanation from me.” Sadness crept into Marde’s voice as she said Olivia’s name. They were only here now because of the information she had left. Olivia had felt like the kind of adventurer you couldn’t kill even if you tried, and Karan missed her dearly as well. “…So are you to blame for Lemuria Monthly?” Karan asked. “Heavens, no. That was all Olivia. I was consistently baffled by the contents of that magazine,” Marde said. “Huh…,” Karan said, unsure how to react. “I kinda liked Lemuria, personally. It served its purpose while conveying the charm of the ancient civilization to modern society. I think it deserves nothing but praise,” chimed in Diamond. “I didn’t dislike it. Her writing reflected the vices and virtues of this city,” said Marde. “…What do you think of Labyrinth City? Does it serve its people well?” Marde snorted in response. “It’s a city of depravity. Public order and morals have crumbled, and it has become infested with villains. The weak are beaten, and the foolish are scammed. Worst of all, it’s the city that killed my employees and robbed me of the child I wanted to lovingly raise. I hate it.” The anger in Marde’s voice was palpable. She was seething over what had been taken from her. “I see why people called you the Credit King. You’re a harsh critic,” commented Diamond. “That said… a culture is blossoming here that is a blend of the old and the new. The city accepts those who are stuck in mud, and there’s a general energy of trying to achieve a better tomorrow. Some are fighting as hard as they can to protect the city. They do not deserve to have their lives destroyed,” Marde said, looking at Karan and the rest. “I would not have taken issue with the demon god’s revival if it was the natural course of events. However, I won’t tolerate destruction at the hands of a schemer like the Sword of Tasuki. I lost valuable employees. I cannot sit back and let him do as he wishes.” “…You’ve been really careful, though,” Karan said. “I couldn’t let resentment consume me. That would be a good way to get myself destroyed. I was also observing you carefully to make sure you could control yourself as well,” Marde said. Karan looked shocked. “You were watching me…? Is that because of my connection to Nick?” “President Marde and I have been watching Nick all along to decide if we should take him away from Argus or offer our help,” Alice explained. “Please help us. We can’t defeat Dead Man’s Balloon, Argus, and Callios…the Sword of Tasuki without you,” Karan said. “…I will not help you defeat them,” Marde said, and an uncomfortable silence descended. The others knew exactly what Marde was implying, and they didn’t think it was possible. “Are you…telling us to solve things peacefully?” Karan asked. “Precisely. You should know negotiation is the only way to fight in this case. Our opponent has absorbed the power of many heroes and has a variety of magic items and spells. Surely you can see you have little chance of obtaining the strength to beat him overnight.” “That’s a reason to look for allies, not to avoid fighting,” Karan said. “If I was looking for a warrior, I would have chosen someone else… You’re strong, Karan. You could one day become an S-rank adventurer on the level of Fifs. If you and Nick master the Sword of Bonds further, you could become the strongest warrior alive. But that is not who you are now. I know you understand that.” “…Yeah.” “You lost your strength, but you didn’t let that keep you down. You didn’t give up on the power of talking to people. That is the quality I am looking for.” Marde was giving high praise, but Karan was reluctant to accept it. “…I have given up on talking things out before,” she said. “Why?” Marde asked. “Because I thought I could settle things more cleanly another way. I tried to kill Garos in Nick’s place.” “…Yes, you did. Considering what happened, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that you did kill Garos.” Diamond objected to that. “The Sword of Tasuki disposed of Garos. And I had responsibility over the stage where the attack occurred. Karan didn’t kill him.” “You misunderstand. I am not asking her to take responsibility. I just don’t agree with her actions,” Marde said. “This might be an excuse. But Garos was a true soldier and assassin. I thought trying to befriend him instead of killing him would have been not only impossible, but an insult,” said Karan. “You chose to respect your opponent’s pride. That is virtuous, but not always ethical,” responded Marde. “You’ve never been a fan of soldierly people, President,” Alice commented. “Of course not. Those who attain great strength should work for the good of society, not to inflict pain,” Marde said emphatically. Alice shrugged from behind the mirror. Marde’s irritated tone reminded Karan of someone. “Hmm? What? Did I say something funny?” Marde asked. “You remind me of Nick. You really did spend time with him,” said Karan. “…That was a long time ago. I was unsure if I should reach out to help or not. I can hardly pretend to be his guardian when it’s been years since I’ve spoken to him.” “But you lent him money.” “I contacted Argus through Alice. Our negotiations broke down, but we did enter a ceasefire. Argus promised not to tell the Sword of Tasuki about me and swore to raise and protect Nick. I lent him money in exchange.” “…Can you really trust that Argus won’t tell the Sword of Tasuki about you?” Karan asked in an accusatory tone. She couldn’t believe Marde had negotiated with the man who’d killed her employees. “Are you questioning my integrity?” “Yeah.” “One must put their principles aside during negotiations. You won’t gain your opponent’s trust unless you’re willing to show some moderation. Go too far in that direction, however, and you’ll never achieve your goals or reach an agreement.” “But Argus ambushed Nick’s parents. Why would you trust him?” “He didn’t harm Nick. He even chose to raise him and kicked him out of his party for his own safety… I never thought Nick would have to face the truth as a holy sword wielder, though.” “…That’s why you lent Argus money? To help Nick?” “Indeed. It was also a test to see if Argus still wished to oppose me…and a way to provoke the Sword of Tasuki.” “You wanted to send the message that you were still alive despite his efforts and that you were even lending money to his wielder,” Diamond said, exasperation creeping into her voice. Marde smiled darkly. “I needed to hint at my activity and keep him in check. He had much to do to achieve his goals, so I wanted to disperse his strength by putting him on edge.” Karan was in awe of how persistently Marde had watched over Nick and the situation. Nick had spent ten years training in Combat Masters, and Marde had spent that time displaying remarkable patience. “Karan. How would you have dealt with Garos today?” Marde asked. “Hmm… I would want to trap him with my magic, but I think he would have had a way to avoid that,” replied Karan. “Likely. From what I know of what happened, he probably used Dormancy.” “What’s that?” “It’s an advanced version of Light Body that limits the body’s movement as much as possible. It adapts a person’s body temperature to their surroundings, reduces mana to the bare minimum, and slows their heart to a beat a minute. His body would have reacted sluggishly to noise in that state. It’s unlikely your current abilities would have worked on him. Dormancy does leave one highly vulnerable, however.” “Then…we could have intentionally left a hole in our security. He would’ve seen the blueprints and known we were sending a message inviting him to slip through and talk to us.” “Are you sure you could have gotten him to go for it?” “He was obsessed with Nick. We could have used that to lure him. I did lure him, actually.” “Yes. You have that ability. Then why are you choosing to fight?” Karan considered that and shook her head. “I think it’s too late for Dead Man’s Balloon and Argus.” “Why?” “They’ve already outed themselves as demon-god worshippers, and they have bounties on their heads. Some of them will probably get the death penalty. Those people have no option but to keep fighting as demon-god worshippers. I don’t think they can be reasoned with.” “I see.” “The demon-god worshippers have killed people and burned down stores and homes. Can we really just ignore their victims and forgive them? It’s far too late to talk and resolve things peacefully… I think believing otherwise would be naive.” “We don’t have to forgive anyone. We could settle things amicably, get them to cooperate, and then arrest them in the end anyway to preserve order. There are extenuating circumstances to take into account, but I’m not saying we should erase their crimes.” “Huh…?” Karan couldn’t believe what she’d heard. “To give an extreme example, would it really matter if we promised someone a reduced sentence and then broke our word? The dead can’t complain,” Marde reasoned. “Th-that’s unfair…” “You’re the one who called me naive. People will cease to believe you if you repeatedly break your promises, but you could pull it off if you simply broke them all at once… Oh, don’t worry. I’m half joking. Breaking promises should be avoided for moral reasons, of course.” “I don’t think you could get people to trust you if you spoke with that intention. You have to show that you’re willing to keep your word first.” Karan had learned the truth of that after starting to work at the Disaster Inspection Office, and it was something she had come to realize during her time with the Survivors as well. “That’s right. Establish that trust, however, and there’s room for negotiation with anyone, no matter how hopeless their situation. Don’t you agree?” “That’s…” She was going to say it was impossible, but then she realized that wasn’t exactly true. She wouldn’t be here today if Nick hadn’t convinced her to trust him, after all. “All people are fated to die and get what they deserve eventually. Knowing that, however, does not cause everyone to grow desperate and act solely in pursuit of their own desires.” “…So you’ll help if I try to negotiate with the enemy?” “At the very least, I think we should try to find the truth before resorting to violence. I cannot fight anyway, and even if I could, all that lies down that road is destruction on a citywide or perhaps even continental scale. You want to avoid that, don’t you?” “Finding common ground feels pretty far-fetched, though. Dead Man’s Balloon is assaulting my fortress as we speak. I dunno if we can just slip in there and ask for a ceasefire…,” Diamond interjected. “I am aware it will be difficult,” said Marde. Diamond grumbled that she was asking the impossible; however, Karan was thinking about something else. She looked so out of it that the others began to wonder if she was listening at all, but then she spoke up slowly. “…I just had an idea,” she said. “What is it, Karan?” asked Diamond. “What if we could convince the souls the Sword of Tasuki stole?” Marde fell silent. Neither Alice, Diamond, nor Samurialie said a word, either. Just when Karan began to wonder if what she’d said was nonsensical, Marde spoke up. “Incredible. Normally, I would say that’s not even worth considering… But possessing multiple holy swords gives us many options. There’s a small chance it could work.” “…It’s worth considering. Karan and I might be able to do it. It’ll be really hard, though,” Diamond said. “I know,” Karan responded, unbothered by how daunting a challenge it would be. She nodded calmly, not letting the pressure get to her. “Your task is to speak to those fearful souls who have abandoned all hope and trust, and convince them to lay down their arms. Karan Tsubaki. Rejoin with your fellow Survivors and save the many disillusioned adventurers who call Labyrinth City home. Doing so will save this city and, by extension, the world,” decreed Marde. Karan laughed at her overly serious tone. “I’ll do my best, just like I always do.” She smiled. Despite her words, her expression was brimming with hope and confidence. Hector’s stress reached new levels when Karan filled him in that night. Their task was so difficult—nigh impossible, in fact—that he knew they couldn’t take it on without having come to terms with the possibility of death. Even so, he felt a sliver of hope. That girl and the Survivors might just be able to pull it off. Hector then remembered his main job and sat down to write a report for his boss—Medora, the god of providence. He knew he was letting his subjectivity and wishful thinking influence his message, but he felt proud as he wrote on the parchment. Once he had finished writing, Hector performed the ritual only agents could perform to communicate with their god. He placed his report on the altar given to him by Medora, offered a prayer, and burned it. The parchment turned to ash and smoke as the words were sent to the heavens. Hector ended his report with the following: Apparently, disillusioned adventurers will save the world.