Before Mick and the merchants could rise to finalize the trade contract’s details, Kishiar asked where they planned to stay. The merchants replied that they would be lodging at the Shuden Merchant Company branch inside Peleta.

“Hm. That location’s a bit too cramped for a large group, isn’t it? Until the trade is concluded, how about staying in the outer castle of Peleta instead?”

Before the startled merchants could express any discomfort at the sudden suggestion—

“What? That’s unfair. Let me stay here too. Do you know how annoying it is to keep going up and down to the village every time?”

Mick complained loudly. Without even waiting for Kishiar’s reply, he suddenly pulled Yuder—who had been quietly sitting all this time—into the conversation.

“Look at him. Doesn’t Yuder also think it’s only right for me, the one overseeing the trade deal, to stay here until it’s all wrapped up?”

“......”

“Really? Is that so?”

Kishiar asked in a teasing tone. Yuder looked between the blinking merchants, Mick who appeared earnestly desperate, and Kishiar watching him silently, unsure what to say. Then he opened his mouth.

“Still, if the head of the merchant group leaves the company unattended to stay here, wouldn’t that cause a fair amount of trouble for the subordinates?”

The emotionless voice flowed from his expressionless face, and the merchants flinched at his words.

“A valid point.”

“So what I said isn’t valid?”

“Mick, of course your words are valid too. But it seems my esteemed guest’s words are more considerate of the wellbeing of many others.”

“...Still, considering that Peleta and the entire North could become dangerous at any time, I also believe ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) it’s important to take precautions for the safety of those conducting such an important deal. As long as Merchant Chief Mick doesn’t mind...”

“I don’t mind at all! Not the slightest bit!”

“Well, then let’s just say they’ll stay at the outer castle too.”

Kishiar chuckled.

“Very well. I give my permission.”

“Thank you for your grace, Your Grace.”

Mick responded boisterously with a bow. Thanks to that, the merchants missed their chance to protest or decline. Still, Gohum sighed and quickly joined the gesture with tactful awareness.

“If Merchant Chief Mick is staying with us, we’ll feel much more at ease. We accept Your Grace’s offer—our company will stay here as well.”

‘Perfect. Mick caught on quickly and helped smooth everything over, and now they’re all staying nearby, just as planned.’

If he’d ordered the merchants to stay at the castle outright, they’d have been wary. But because he set up the situation and offered the suggestion naturally, everything unfolded exactly as desired.

“Well then... we’ll take our leave for now.”

“Ah, wait. I just remembered one last thing I’d like to ask.”

As if something had just occurred to him, Kishiar spoke again.

“Among the tribes advocating the Union of the Stars and those opposing it like yourselves—how many are there that we must remember by name?”

It was a question casually tacked on at the end, but in fact, it was the most important matter. Gohum thought for a moment, then answered promptly.

“The core of the tribes advocating for union is the Ansuma Meht tribe. Their name translates to ‘Wolf’s Eye’ in the Imperial tongue. Among the tribes like us, who wish to maintain the current balance, the largest is the Anman Noon tribe—translated, it means ‘Owl’s Wing.’”

Wolf’s Eye. Owl’s Wing.

All were familiar names.

***

“I expected the Wolf’s Eye tribe to come up, of course, but the Owl’s Wing tribe... that was unexpected.”

Once the merchants had left and the two of them were alone, Yuder spoke first.

“I never imagined the ones who took Naham belonged to the faction opposing union.”

“That’s actually rather hopeful news.”

Kishiar replied lightly.

“The supposedly long-prepared Wolf’s Eye tribe turns out to have weaker control over the Southern Nation than we thought. That works in our favor on multiple levels.”

It was true. For a group that couldn’t even dominate its own interior to reach for outside influence... it was both ridiculous and dangerous.

“Aton also said the Wolf’s Eye chief was gathering the Children of the Moon. Maybe their idea was to grow their power through external forces—like the Empire—and then use that influence to persuade the rest of the South into unity.”

“How did it go in the previous game?”

“Back then...”

At that time, the Orr Empire believed it was interacting with the Southern Nation. But looking back now, it must’ve all been people connected to the Wolf’s Eye tribe.

‘Because it all started with the Southern merchant Kishiar introduced to Crown Prince Kachian, from House Ta-in.’

The Southern envoys who visited back then had claimed their leader represented “all people of the Southern Nation” and acted like they were on royal orders. Though it was known that the Southern Nation lacked a country-like system, there had never been any tangible sense of the other tribes’ presence—so they’d simply believed what they were told.

‘I just thought: “There’s no king, but maybe there’s a representative like a king.”’

“...So in the end, things probably played out mostly the way they wanted back then.”

“But that also means even then, they never truly formed a country or declared a king.”

There’s a big difference between almost achieving your goal and fully achieving it. That was the meaning in Kishiar’s gaze.

“Perhaps back then, there were still those internally resisting to the end. Even if their opposition was weak enough to go unnoticed externally... it was enough to prevent them from declaring a king as they wished.”

“......”

In his past life, Yuder had never considered that possibility. Even if Kachian had forbidden it, had he looked deeper into the Southern Nation’s internal affairs—would things have turned out differently? A tinge of regret surfaced, but Yuder shook his head and cast it away.

“So our course of action going forward is clear.”

To support those like the Cat’s Whiskers tribe—those who seek peace—so they do not fall.

And to continue gathering information connected to all of this.

Yuder nodded in agreement.

“Once we build more trust with the Cat’s Whiskers merchants, I’d like to first find out how much they know about the actions of the Wolf’s Eye tribe. And if possible... whether there’s a way to directly contact the Owl’s Wing tribe.”

It was then that a commotion broke out outside the door, followed by a knock.

“Your Grace! Urgent report!”

The ones who entered were not one but two knights. Standing side by side, they reported the news they had brought with different expressions.

“Sir Zuckerman has sent word of his return. He is accompanied by individuals believed to be the impersonators of the Shuden Merchant Company.”

‘So they finally caught them.’

Since Nathan Zuckerman had been on the case, success had been expected—but the timing couldn’t be better. With Mick Shuden already here with the Cat’s Whiskers merchants, questioning the culprits would be all the easier.

Kishiar turned his gaze to the second knight. Unlike the first, he looked noticeably more nervous and hesitated before speaking.

“There was an attempted assassination of Her Majesty the Empress in the capital.”

Kishiar’s expression changed in an instant.

“The attempt was stopped before anything happened. And the one who stopped it was... a knight of House Diarca.”

‘...Huh?’

A Diarca knight stopped an assassination attempt on the Empress?

That combination felt utterly bizarre. Like seeing two completely incompatible things stuck together. Yuder tapped his ear, confirming it wasn’t malfunctioning, then turned to ask:

“Is there another direct-line knight from House Diarca besides Kiole?”

As far as Yuder knew, there wasn’t. But surely such a large house must have more than one direct descendant knight? Maybe someone he didn’t know about?

But—

“No. Kiole is the only direct-line Diarca.”

Kishiar’s firm answer shattered that hope immediately.

‘...Then that means Kiole really stopped an assassination attempt on the Empress?’

The entire grave atmosphere that had built up until now suddenly cracked.

Emperor Keillusa had told Kishiar to stay out of the capital’s affairs and had kept him completely out of the loop. So this news hadn’t come directly from the palace—it was compiled from circulating rumors.

So there was no way to know if the story was completely true or not...

‘Still, something must’ve happened to generate that rumor.’

But Yuder knew full well—Kiole was not someone who would step up and do something like that. That, he could say with absolute certainty.

Which meant...

‘It’s probably a misunderstanding.’

Yuder turned and looked into Kishiar’s eyes. It was clear he was thinking the same thing.

“Explain in detail what happened.”

“Most of what I’m about to say is based on rumor, since the palace hasn’t provided any direct reports... but—”

The knight began to speak, his story slowly unfolding.

And as it progressed, Yuder’s expression began to subtly shift.