Chapter 3:
Fishing and Other Activities: Ways to Deepen a Friendship
THE SUN WAS SETTING IN THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT. The townsfolk had tired looks when the end of their workday came, but they were looking forward to the evening’s refreshments. The early birds were closing their shops, making way for the night owls to start their shift.
Zig was munching on some chicken skewers as a snack, planning to do some investigating as he browsed some shops.
He thought about Cossack’s drunken knowledge as he chewed on the chicken meat.
“Probably won’t get anything new after the luck I had yesterday. Guess I’ll have to put in some legwork. Let’s see… I think he said ‘Follow the money and pay attention to anyone and anything that’s out of the ordinary.’”
Those words weren’t hard for Zig to remember. Fortunately, Cossack was the kind of drunk who talked about the same thing every time he got inebriated. It had been so egregious that Zig got sick of it, but he consoled himself now, saying to himself that it was time well spent.
“Out of the ordinary…”
Zig wouldn’t know what ordinary was in Halian, but he knew just the one who would.
After disposing of his finished skewers, he headed to his regular blacksmith, Ernesta Armory.
Scanning the shop, he found it full of adventurers who had just finished work. He couldn’t find the person he was looking for because of the crowd, but she could easily spot him thanks to his large frame.
Sciezka walked through the customers to approach him, a professional smile on her face.
“Welcome, Zig.” She greeted him as she always did, and was among the few people who knew about Zig’s total lack of mana.
“Looks like you’ve got your hands full. I wanted to ask you some questions if you have the time.”
“Right this way.”
Before Zig could ask when would be a good time to chat, she showed him inside.
“Uhh, are you sure? You seem real busy.”
Although the other clerks were looking in her direction, pleading for help, Sciezka ignored them and kept on walking.
“It’s fine. Yes, there are many customers right now, but most of them are just here for weapon maintenance.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because adventurer equipment is expensive,” Sciezka said. “The more durable they are, the less they need replacing. Customers are free to browse, of course…”
She gave a strained smile.
Zig nodded, knowing what she was getting at.
“Right. They’re window shoppers.”
“Yes, well…the adventurers enjoy looking at equipment they can’t quite afford yet. Some customers even do a preliminary inspection of weapons they’re planning to get.”
Zig understood the sentiment. He quickly glanced at a deeper section of the store.
There, a young man stood before a pedestal where the store’s crown jewel was kept, passionately admiring the craftsmanship. The greatsword was easily recognizable as a masterpiece even from a distance. The fact that its price wasn’t on display made it a truly terrifying prospect.
Men who were probably the shop’s security glared at the young man, but he was so enchanted by the sword that he didn’t seem to notice. The guards soon stopped the venomous looks but continued watching him anyway, deciding that the young man was a lost cause.
Other adventurers like him were also present, but none matched his intensity. All were satisfied with simply adoring the weapons they desired, and only a few actually asked a clerk for help.
“Preliminary inspections. Well, at least they’re serious about their work.”
Zig could relate but couldn’t help but feel sorry for the clerks involved. The clerks couldn’t turn them away, since they might become potential customers in the future.
“They are all wonderful customers, of course. But we have no reason to ignore the ones actually paying.”
Zig was led into a room reserved for business negotiations. They were far from the ruckus now, and the distance allowed them to converse without a soundproofing magic item.
“On that point, you have a high likelihood of purchasing something every time you visit the store, Zig.”
“I do?”
“Yes. There are very few customers who need to replace their armor so often. It is only natural that we prioritize you.”
He required tough and expensive adventurer gear. Zig’s ability to break them made him a prized customer of Ernesta Armory.
He had started with a small purchase before moving up the price brackets. His latest buy was the bloodcrystal-clad dragon twinblade, which solidified his position as a valued customer.
Zig wondered if he was seeing things, noticing that Sciezka’s professional smile seemed to be shining more brightly than usual, almost like it was made of gold.
Just as Sciezka was about to pour him some tea, he refused and got right to business.
“Unfortunately, I’m not going to live up to your expectations today. I’m looking for information.”
“Meaning? To be clear, I cannot share our customers’ personal information, even with you.”
Sciezka sat down, her gaze becoming sharper as if to keep him in check.
“I’m sure of that, considering my own circumstances haven’t been leaked yet.”
The only ones who knew about Zig’s lack of mana were Vanno, the mafia executive, and Kirk, the guild’s vice president. Aside from those two and Siasha, he hadn’t told anyone other than Sciezka and Gantt. As long as his information was protected, he wasn’t going to ask Sciezka to divulge anything about her other customers.
“I want to know about market activities—whether or not large sums of money are being moved. Maybe there was a large purchase of weapons recently?”
“Market activities…?”
“A shipment of rare materials, extraordinary spending by some trade associations or wealthy individuals…stuff like that.”
Sciezka looked to the side as she gave it some thought. A few moments later, she answered him with a question of her own.
“And why are you looking for such information? I might be more inclined to tell you what I know if I knew the reason.”
“Guild work. That’s all I can say.”
“Guild work. I see…”
Officially, Zig was investigating the incident because it involved Siasha’s safety. At least, that was the way he phrased it to lead people on.
Kirk had instructed him to keep his investigation under wraps, and he really wanted to avoid telling anyone that he was working for the guild.
Even so, he needed to take some risks when gathering information.
The only thing he could do was bet on Sciezka’s discretion. She hadn’t betrayed him yet.
I don’t think it’s a bad bet.
Sciezka let out a resigned sigh.
“Very well. Given what I’ve heard about how loyal you are to your contracts, I’ll tell you what I know.”
“Thanks. What did you hear about me?” Zig asked before he could express his gratitude.
Sciezka seemed somewhat surprised by his question and smiled.
“Oh, you didn’t know? ‘There’s a crazy mercenary out there who likes taking on dangerous jobs. He’s highly capable, but things always get bloody around him. Best to steer clear.’ That’s what they’re saying about you.”
“I suppose they have a point.”
As much as he wanted to defend himself, Zig had to admit that the rumors were mostly true.
Sciezka chuckled at Zig, who looked like he was sucking on a sour plum.
“Katia said that you were an excellent contractor. ‘Didn’t try any funny business,’ she said. You have the mob’s stamp of approval.”
Zig looked conflicted. “Not sure how to feel about getting rave reviews from a criminal organization.”
Just as Sciezka was about to get into the meat of the conversation, something else came to her mind.
“Why did you come to me in the first place? Officially, I am only a simple clerk. How did you know that I would know anything?”
“Huh.” Zig folded his arms. He asked himself the same question as he looked at the air as if expecting an answer. “I guess it’s because you’ve answered all my questions so far. I just thought you’d tell me something if I came to you with this.”
In the future, he would probably be better off talking to a manager or someone else of a higher position. Asking Sciezka, a regular clerk, had not been the right play, and he had been completely oblivious to that fact until she had pointed it out. It was a rookie mistake committed by someone who barely knew how to collect information.
No wonder his old war buddies told him to look before he leaped.
“Goodness, that won’t do, Zig,” Sciezka playfully joked with him. “You’re lucky that I can answer your question…and I am quite pleased that you’re relying on me.”
“Sorry. I’ll make it up to you by buying something.”
She gave a satisfied nod when he replied in kind.
Zig paused, another matter coming to mind. “Do you mind if I ask you something else first?”
“And what would that be?”
“How do you know?”
It was a little too late to ask that question. Sciezka’s eyes widened for a moment before she put on her best professional smile. She put her index finger to her luscious lips and winked at him.
“That…is a secret.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The sun had completely set by the time Zig left the armory.
He had wanted to talk about buying equipment, but Gantt had the day off.
“Didn’t expect to come up dry so quickly, though…” Zig said to himself as he walked the dark street.
Sciezka had told him there were no suspicious market movements recently, nor were there any large purchases of weapons or food either. Such activities were bound to happen if a certain group was targeting the guild. A group that large was bound to leave a trail.
Zig had gone to the armory since they would know about weapon transactions…but apparently, his hunch had failed him.
Actually, there had been strange market movements—two to be precise.
One happened yesterday, which was the guild suddenly putting out orders for a large number of medical supplies. Many adventurers had been injured, and the guild bought up all the medical supplies in the surrounding stores without giving thought to the price differences.
Obviously, this was caused by the blade bee incident and was therefore off Zig’s list. The other one…well, it didn’t count either.
A beautiful woman with black hair was seen loading up dollies full of food and carting them to an infirmary. The amount she bought couldn’t possibly be finished by a single person, so people thought she was keeping a monstrosity in her basement. Even the military police were informed.