Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Bear-san, Captures The Evil Merchant
“Now then, untie him.” (Mylene)

When Mylene-san said so, Jade-san untied the man’s rope.

The man stood up, rubbing his arms.

“If only things went well, I would have been entrusted with the management of a store as a merchant.” (Man)

The man who betrayed Redent complained.

“What are you talking about? How could he entrust the store to someone who could be caught red-handed so sloppily? Did you really think this would go on forever? If the banditry continues, both the Adventurers’ Guild and the Commercial Guild will make their moves. Just think about it for a minute, and you will understand.” (Mylene)

Hearing Mylene-san’s words, the man looked around. He looked at the ten adventurers who came out for them, plus three bears.

“And above all, you should’ve realized that the moment when you are not issued a guild card. Without a guild card, citizen card, or other proof of identity, the adventurers might have accidentally killed you for thinking you’re one of the bad guys.” (Mylene)

The man hangs his head at Mylene-san’s words.

“Don’t be depressed. Can you tell me your name first?” (Mylene)

“It’s Miguel.” (Miguel)

“So, Miguel. How did you manage to hand over the stolen goods? Without your guild card, you wouldn’t be able to enter the city, would you?” (Mylene)

“The handover happens outside of Sheleen.” (Miguel)

“Where’s the exact location? And when is the next handover?” (Mylene)

“In the forest. The next handover is tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon.” (Miguel)

Tomorrow. Well, there’s no point in keeping the stolen goods forever.

“Who will come to take it?” (Mylene)

“Redent-sama, the person himself. Because only Redent-sama and I know about this.” (Miguel)

“I see. Thank you. And one more thing. Is there any chance that the ones who escaped might have come into contact with Redent?” (Mylene)

“No, I don’t think so.” (Miguel)

“Are there no people trying to make money by selling information about what happened here?” (Mylene)

“Even if there were, they can’t meet Redent-sama easily. Redent-sama is a cautious person. That’s why I’m the only one who knows about this.” (Miguel)

“For now, I might as well stake a lookout at Redent’s shop, just in case. Well, no one would be stupid enough to go to Redent to report this incident unless they are fools.” (Mylene)

I thought that if there were such idiots, I think one or two would have stayed back in the hut.

“But if you’re supposed to meet tomorrow, we’d better hurry.” (Mylene)

Then we discussed how to apprehend the merchant called Redent. But mostly, we just followed Mylene-san’s plan.

We split into four groups.

>The first group would be Mylene-san and me riding on Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, heading into the city.

>The second group would be Blitz’s party, who will come into the city shortly to overwatch the store.

>The third group, Jade-san’s party, would go to the forest where Miguel and Redent are supposed to meet.

>The fourth group, Lurina-san, and Gil, would take the watchman to Crimonia.

We were divided into groups, and our roles were explained.

The three who had ridden Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear when we came here would have to travel by horse and carriage, which the bandits had hidden. The three who could no longer ride Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear were visibly disappointed.

It can’t be helped.

“But if you just want to catch him, you don’t have to go that far, do you? If we wait for him, he will come to us eventually, won’t he?” (Yuna)

He usually comes to pick up the stolen goods. I think if we hold the place down, that’s the end of it.

“I agree. There are many reasons. If Rendent had no choice but to let his employees do it for a living, there are some extenuating circumstances. The bandits didn’t kill anyone. If they did, I would let the lord decide on their punishment. And if he did it for personal gain, I intend to make him pay more than the current charges. But if the merchant named Redent had even the slightest bit of a good heart, he would order the bandits to disperse and tell them to run away. And he will try to put Miguel in charge of the store.” (Mylene)

Certainly, as Mylene-san said, some people in this world have no choice but to commit crimes. I don’t think that is right. But I do think they could be saved a little.

“But if not, If he’s not worth saving. Let’s hunt him down.” (Mylene)

Mylene-san smiled. That smile was scary. Jade-san and the others’ faces were also twitching. As one might expect, she’s the guildmaster of the commercial guild. Even though she looks like your everyday-receptionist-neesan.

“You really can’t judge a person by their looks.” (Yuna)

“I don’t want to hear that from you, Yuna-chan.” (Mylene)

Everyone nodded at Mylene-san’s words.

=====

-Evil Merchant’s POV-

There were two lords in this city. One was a lord who did bad things to increase his power. The other was a lord who seemed to be a good guy. The good man was exploited by the evil man and would soon disappear.

But the one who disappeared was the lord, who was doing bad things that I supported.

I don’t know all the details, but I heard that he was exposed for his wickedness and was caught. And the lord, who was supposed to be decaying, became the lord of this city.

The lord of this city has been replaced, and the power relations have changed. The guildmaster of the commercial guilds was also replaced, and all kinds of previous connections were no longer available to me. As a result, I no longer had a monopoly on goods, and sales plummeted. The money I had given to the lord and the guildmaster had gone to waste, and the situation was worse than ever. Without money, I can’t do anything new.

Some of the employees have quit, and the store is struggling.

If I don’t do something, I will run out of money soon.

Then I thought of stealing. If you don’t have money, steal things and re-sell them. The profit is huge. It’s never been this easy.

I instructed one of my men and ordered him to gather those who, like me, were parasites on their lord and in need of money.

The man was reluctant, but when I told him that if he succeeded in this job, I would let him have the store, he accepted without knowing it was a lie.

Stealing was going well. For the amount of goods that would come in for the little money I paid the bandits, I couldn’t stop laughing. I should have done this from the beginning. No other job could bring in so much money so easily.

The only drawback is that you can’t specify what they are stealing. We don’t know what cargo the merchants are carrying, and I can’t give them detailed instructions when I’m in town.

But that Miguel guy is doing well. He steals things that are worth a good amount of money. Maybe he is a surprisingly talented thief.

But it’s time for this business practice to end.

Earlier, the Adventurer’s Guild and the Commercial Guild contacted us about bandit subjugation.

“It’s time to move on.” (Redent)

It was sooner than I thought it would be, but I decided to do one last job.

Only a few people know about this. The more people who know, the greater the chance of leakage. Therefore, I had to do the final cleanup myself. I had decided to do this from the beginning, but it was a hassle.

The next day, I left town by myself.

I was supposed to pick up the goods today. The place to pick up the package was in the forest near the town. There was a large rock at the edge of the forest, and I was supposed to pick it up in front of the rock.

When I arrived at the appointed place, Miguel was there as promised.

“Redent-sama, I’ve been waiting for you.” (Miguel)

“So, what is it this time?” (Redent)

There are large bags around Miguel.

“It is a high-quality cotton. I think it will sell well to the aristocrats as cushions and comforters.” (Miguel)

I checked the big bag near Miguel. It indeed contains cotton. When I touched it, it was extremely soft, and I knew immediately that it was high-quality cotton.

“Well done.” (Redent)

“Thank you.” (Miguel)

I put the bags of cotton in the item bag.

“And what about the money to pay the bandits?” (Miguel)

“That won’t be necessary.” (Redent)

“What do you mean by that?” (Miguel)

“The Adventurers’ Guild and the Commercial Guild have made their move. The guilds will subjugate them soon.” (Redent)

“Then I guess my part is done.” (Miguel)

Oh yes, it’s over.

“So now you will let me have the store as promised, right?” (Miguel)

“That’s right. I will have you do your best at the store.” (Redent)

I tapped Miguel’s shoulder with my left hand. Miguel looked happy. I reached into my pocket with my right hand and grabbed my hidden knife.

If I kill Miguel, no one will know who I am. Even if the bandits knew about me, there would be no proof.

It would be best if the adventurers would kill them all.

The moment I took a knife out of my pocket and tried to stab Miguel, somebody grabbed my arm.

“What the…!” (Redent)

A man I didn’t know was grabbing my arm.

Is he one of the bandits?

“Redent-sama, you tried to kill me.” (Miguel)

“Miguel, what’s going on? Did you betray me?” (Redent)

“No, he didn’t. He made a deal with me.” (Mylene)

A woman in a commercial guild uniform appears from behind a large rock.

“What is a commercial guild employee doing here?” (Redent)

“I heard everything you said and the deeds you’ve done on-site.” (Mylene)

“What’s the meaning of this? Miguel!” (Redent)

“I made a deal with her and told her where the handover would take place.” (Miguel)

“Miguel!” (Redent)

I tried to attack Miguel, but the man holding my arm twisted it.

“Ow ow ow, let go of me!” (Redent)

No matter how hard I try, it doesn’t budge.

“Jade, please tie him up.” (Mylene)

“Roger that. Toya, help me out.” (Jade)

I was forcibly held down by the newly emerged man, unable to resist, and tied up.

“You betrayed me.” (Redent)

“It was you, Redent-sama, who betrayed me. If Redent-sama had instructed me to let the bandits go and told me to take charge of the store, you would have been given some leniency.” (Miguel)

Miguel looked at the fallen knife.

Damn it, Miguel must have set me up.

I can’t get caught like this.

“What are you talking about? All of you, think about it. Do you believe the words of a man who used to be a bandit?” (Redent)

“Of course, I believe him. After all, I am aware of your reputation and your current situation.” (Mylene)

“What are you talking about, guild employee girl?” (Redent)

“Ara, I haven’t introduced myself, have I? I am Mylene, Guildmaster of the Commercial Guild of Crimonia.” (Mylene)

“Guildmaster of Crimonia? Stop lying!” (Redent)

“I guarantee that.”

A handsome man in his 30s appears. I know this guy. He is the new Guildmaster of Sheleen.

“Gi, guildmaster?” (Redent)

“I’m surprised that you know who I am. I thought you didn’t know me because I’m the new guildmaster. We shall conduct a thorough investigation under my authority in your store and house.”

With those words from Guildmaster, everything ended.

=====

Author’s Note:

He naturally became an evil merchant, because of bad business.

Well, I wanted to get Jade-san, Blitz, and Lurina-san out, so I didn’t think it was necessary to write a long story. Also, I wanted to write a little about the situation in the city of Sheleen after Gran-san quit.

I think I will finish the story about the bandits in the next chapter…… maybe.

※ Posting will take 5 days. The bookwork is not progressing well… Please understand that I may not be able to reply.

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