Chapter 165
“Information about Joshua Sanders is worth a hundred million gold.”
One of Ulabis’ knights noticed Ulabis’ grim expression and the way he was rubbing his right arm, so the knight couldn’t help but ask, “Your complexion looks poor, Your Highness. Were your injuries more severe than you first believed?”
“Rakun.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Rakun bowed.
“Do we have a hundred million gold in our… treasury?” asked Ulabis.
“W-what?” Rakun blankly muttered. Ulabis’ question was so shocking that Rakun actually forgot his manners. Of course, he immediately reacted and bowed before saying, “My apologies.”
“It’s fine. Anyway, a hundred million gold is an absurd amount of money, even for us, right?” asked Ulabis.
“Well… does Your Highness need so much money? I’m not sure if we will be able to gather a hundred million gold even if we recalled all the money circulating throughout our principality…” Rakun trailed off nervously.
However, Rakun couldn’t really be blamed. The biggest cities on the continent generated less than a million gold annually. As an example, Reinhardt, a central transport and trade hub, rounded out at about five million annually. The capital of Thran made less than three million annually.
In other words, even if Ulabis gathered the wealth of the entire Principality of Thran, there was no way he could get even close to a quarter of a hundred million, much less gather a hundred million.
Ulabis contemplated something with a grim look before asking, “Rakun, how much did Moon Gate ask in exchange for information about Duke Altsma.”
Rakun could still remember it, so it didn’t take that long for him to respond, “They asked for eight hundred thousand gold, and the information they gave in return only had a few noteworthy points.”
Ulabis shook his head and said, ”It doesn’t matter because we profited a lot during the war with the information we received from them.”
“Oh…” Rakun’s eyes widened slightly upon realizing something. He couldn’t help but ask, “Your Highness, did you perhaps visit Moon Gate?”
“Yes. We’re already here, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to stop by their headquarters.”
“...” Rakun remained silent at Ulabis’ words. He could easily deduce that Ulabis still had something to say, and as if proving him correct, Ulabis lowered his voice before speaking, “Joshua Sanders. No one has ever left such a powerful first impression on me as that young man.”
Rakun seemed like he had an idea about what Ulabis wanted to hear, so he said, “Does Your Highness mean that he gave you an impression that is more impressive than Grand Duke Lucifer?”
“He’s barely human. Don’t bother talking about him.” Ulabis glanced at Rakun. “Muker said that when he was a vassal of the Villas, he went to Moon Gate to buy information about Joshua von Agnus.”
“Muker, you say?”
Ulabis’ charisma and history touched many people in the world, and they dedicated themselves to the Principality of Thran. However, most of them were freelance knights, and some of them were like Muker, who had gotten exiled from their home nations.
“Joshua wasn’t even ten years old back then, but according to Muker, Moon Gate asked him for a million gold in exchange for information about Joshua despite the former’s young age.”
“A-a million…!” Rakun went agape.
A million gold?
Did that mean information about a mere child was two hundred thousand gold more expensive than information about Duke Altsma?
“Now, the price is a hundred million gold."
“...” It was such an absurd sum that Rakun couldn’t even shut his mouth as he stood there like a statue with his mouth agape.
“Even so, I did learn something today.”
Ulabis continued staring at Rakun and said, “I really thought that a million gold was an outrageous price, but today, I finally realized why Moon Gate values him a lot.”
“What does Your Highness—”
“That boy, Joshua Sanders? He definitely knows the location of the item Moon Gate has been searching frantically for years now. Joshua is definitely expensive, I admit, but there is no way that they will charge such an absurd sum—unless he knows something very special.” Ulabis explained.
"Anyway,” Ulabis said, “Let’s try and find out what exactly Moon Gate is searching for during the Masters’ Battle.”
“By your will.”
“And… I don’t want to sound like an old nag, but don’t cause a ruckus. Be discreet,” said Ulabis with a sinister smile.
He had to know what was up.
Rakun clenched his fists and said, “It shall be done, Your Highness.”
“I will not lose to anyone.” Ulabis’s soft voice echoed inside the building.
***
Ulabis had just left Moon Gate’s headquarters, and Zero went straight up to the fifth floor once Ulabis was gone. Within Moon Gate, only those who had received authorization from a particular figure were allowed here.
“Master, His Highness has left.”
“Come in.”
Zero was about to open the door, but it was smoothly opened from the inside. He caught a glimpse of a figure beneath the silk drapes, and when he saw that, he hastily ducked his head and paid his respects. “I greet the Master of Moon Gate.”
He was nervous. It had been a long time since Zero settled in Reinhardt, but this was his first meeting with the Master of Moon Gate aside from conversations through a crystal ball.
It wasn’t really strange because the Master of Moon Gate had always been cautious and secretive.
“His Highness has left?”
Zero repeatedly blinked. The voice he had heard just now didn’t sound androgynous and grating to the ears, similar to a mosquito’s droning. Instead, the voice from behind the silk drapes sounded smooth and clear.
Of course, Zero quickly responded, “Yes. Master’s prediction was right, His Highness came here to buy information about Joshua Sanders. I asked him to pay a hundred million gold in exchange, but as expected, he didn’t take it well.”
Zero sounded incredulous as he spoke. It was all because everything that happened was within the calculations of the Master of the Moon Gate.
“Did he ask why you were asking for such an absurd amount?”
Zero trembled at the smooth and silky voice. He couldn’t help but wonder if it was about time for him to ask questions. Of course, he also had doubts about whether it was the right time or not, and he thought about it hard. However, he didn’t voice it out.
Zero’s attitude of asking questions whenever it was necessary and keeping his mouth shut when it was necessary was the reason he reached such a high status within Moon Gate.
In addition, Zero wasn’t immature enough to ask questions without Moon Gate’s Master taking the initiative to do so.
“We live to heed the Master’s will.”
“You’re quite an ambitious kid.” The individual behind the silk drapes chuckled. “Now that we have resolved our internal strife, we are starting to stabilize. At this point, when we needed to increase our cash flow, we turned down a business that would have potentially brought us a million gold. If I were you, I would be dying of curiosity too. I would think if I were crazy.”
“Even though we are in the middle of stabilizing, things are not exactly great.”
“...”
Zero didn’t say anything in response.
He silently accepted those words because he knew that they were the truth.
Indeed, Moon Gate had spent more than thirty percent of its revenue in the last five years, which easily amounted to tens of millions of gold to placate the members due to the ongoing internal strife that limited even the Master of the Moon Gate’s movements.
Of course, one couldn’t really say that the funds had been wasted because if it weren’t for the money, it would have been incredibly difficult for Moon Gate to maintain its operations.
Knowing that, Zero said, “Cancerous tumors have to be removed. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Even so… using tens of thousands of gold for assassination is too much.” The individual behind the silk drapes muttered before continuing, “Especially the three elders…”
“We are only enjoying the peace we have now because of their departure from this world. Please do not overthink the situation.”
“I know, and I am not overthinking at all.”
“Yes?” Zero was momentarily astonished to hear that. If that was the case, then why did the individual behind the silk drapes even mention those three? Fortunately, Zero’s question was about to be answered.
“Are you familiar with the assassin who eliminated the three elders?”
“I’ve only heard the rumors…”
“According to recent reports, the assassin is attempting to unite all of the assassin groups on the continent.”
“What?” Zero reeled in shock. Assassin groups were the most closed-off and clandestine organizations in the world, and there were lots of them in the wild. In addition, they moved regularly, so it was near impossible to bring them together. As an information broker, Zero was awfully aware of that.
“R-Really…?”
“I cannot believe it as well, but the reports say that the assassin has already gathered a large following thanks to their unparalleled abilities.”
“That's…” Zero blankly muttered.
“Their gender remains unknown, but some people call them…” the individual behind the silk drapes paused for a moment before continuing. “The Assassin King. Interestingly, such a mysterious existence apparently have a connection with Joshua Sanders.”
Zero’s eyes widened at that.“I am absolutely sure that such rumors are unfounded—”
“His name emerged straight from the Assassin King’s lips. The red coin remains absolutely essential to our organization because it is our foundation, but… now that our affairs have stabilized, we may have to adopt a more pragmatic approach.”
“...” Zero didn’t know what to say in response to the individual behind the silk drapes’ firm words.
“Make sure to keep tabs on Joshua Sanders,” said the individual behind the silk drapes before continuing, “He is indispensable to us—in more ways than one.”
“I shall obey your instructions,” Zero respectfully said.
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