Rohaiden, the City of Prosperity, wasn't part of the Empire.
Rather, it was a trade city that had grown in size by conducting commerce with the many kingdoms scattered across the continent instead of the Empire.
‘Three days by carriage. It would've taken a bit longer if I'd walked.’
Finding a carriage bound for Rohaiden hadn't been difficult.
That was how many goods constantly flowed in and out of the city.
Thanks to that, not long after leaving the family estate, Wirn had managed to catch a carriage headed for Rohaiden.
‘So this is how Began's money gets used.’
Of course, the ride wasn't free.
To get a seat in the carriage, he had to hand the coachman a reasonable fee for his trouble.
But he didn't begrudge the expense.
After all, all of it was being paid for with Began's money.
More precisely, it would be accurate to call it the small amount of operating funds he had wrung out of him.
“You cannot enter without identification.”
After traveling by carriage, Wirn eventually reached the checkpoint.
Swish.
“A Grade 1 Mercenary?”
He presented the forged identification the Chief Elder had given him.
His current identity was that of a mercenary.
Moreover, he was a Grade 1 Mercenary, the lowest class among mercenaries.
In practice, he was little more than an errand boy who mainly took odd jobs.
“Are you alone?”
“Yes. I came to see if there was any work available. The area where I usually operate is rather quiet at the moment.”
“Hmm.”
The knight conducting the inspection rubbed his chin at Wirn's answer.
Then he looked him up and down.
Worn armor and a single sword dangling from his waist.
Anyone would see a poor mercenary who wandered from place to place.
“If that's the case, you've made a fairly smart choice. This city has work even for young fellows like you. But you'd better be careful about which requests you accept. Sometimes you're asked to deliver something, only to find out that the package itself is dangerous.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. You look young. Wouldn't want to end up in prison already, would you? You need a clean record if you want to become a trusted mercenary later.”
The guard smirked at Wirn's response.
Usually, mercenaries would snap back the moment someone spoke to them like this.
But Wirn merely nodded and listened.
“It has been a while since I've seen a polite mercenary. Inspections would be much easier if every mercenary were like you.”
It was only natural that the guard took a liking to him.
“You pass. Go on inside. I hope you've got a bright future ahead of you.”
And that even affected the inspection.
Normally, Wirn would have had to go through bothersome procedures, including a background check and a search of his belongings.
But the guard was satisfied by Wirn's polite attitude.
The feeling that he could finally be the ‘superior’ one over someone had made him careless.
“Thank you.”
Of course, Wirn didn't point out the guard's carelessness.
Instead, he smiled and walked into the city.
‘That guard will probably be dead soon too.’
Before long, a disturbance would erupt in this city.
And the guard who had just inspected him would likely lose his head for it.
Someone had to take responsibility.
That was why Wirn had bowed to him.
It was a small courtesy offered to a man approaching his death.
***
The city was prosperous, and the streets overflowed with entertainment and sights to see.
True to its reputation as a city of trade, people from many different cultures mingled together and enjoyed the festivities.
‘They're having fun.’
But Wirn didn't spare any attention for them.
Instead, he walked straight toward the alley where the inns were clustered.
“Cheap rooms for you, sir!”
“Only one gold today!”
Innkeepers called out from all directions.
Perhaps because the competition was so fierce, the conditions they offered were far better than those of inns in other regions.
‘The Red Rose Inn.’
Yet Wirn didn't even glance at the inns they operated.
‘They're all gathered there.’
His destination had already been decided.
An inn with barely any customers and poor facilities that almost no one visited.
The place known as the Red Rose Inn was Wirn's destination.
‘Now that they've all gathered, this is the best time.’
The key figures of the Black Market that the Empire was targeting were gathered there.
Moreover, the merchandise was also being stored in the basement warehouse of the Red Rose Inn.
There would be no better opportunity.
‘Originally, the mission was to raid the Black Market itself, but if I do that, I'll run straight into the Empire.’
In his previous life, he hadn't stayed at the Red Rose Inn.
Back then, on the very day the Black Market opened, he had stormed the place where the market was being held.
But if he acted exactly the same way this time, accomplishing his goal would be impossible.
The Empire almost never operated with only a small number of people.
‘It was the same back when I was a hound.’
He knew that with certainty because he had experienced it himself.
The Empire's loyal hound.
That had been Wirn's nickname.
Naturally, no one knew the Empire better than he did.
‘Never thought sneaking looks at those reports whenever I got the chance would help me like this.’
In truth, he had only learned about the existence of the Red Rose Inn after the mission was already over.
More precisely, he had learned of it while separately gathering information on the Empire.
But by then, the information had already become useless.
When the Empire annihilated the Black Market, the Red Rose Inn had been destroyed as well.
‘This is only the beginning.’
The information he had examined in his previous life had now become a sharpened blade capable of stabbing the Empire in the back.
An advantage in information.
Through that advantage, Regression and Reincarnation had given him an opportunity for revenge that he could never have imagined in his previous life.
‘They created a situation even a dragon couldn't achieve.’
There was no way anyone else could know this.
Even Wirn himself had never dreamed such a thing would be possible.
Clench.
The absurd dream that had once seemed as intangible as clouds—
His goal— could actually be achieved.
At that realization, Wirn clenched his fist tightly.
Tap!
And he quickened his pace.
Right now, he had to move one step ahead of the Empire.
It didn't matter even if the process became considerably violent.
‘The Chief Elder will deal with it.’
Hadn't one of the highest-ranking figures in the Daylin Family promised to keep Wirn out of whatever disturbance occurred?
That was enough for him.
***
Officially, Rohaiden didn't acknowledge the existence of the Black Market.
Black Markets were illegal no matter where they appeared.
On top of that, they often had a negative impact on the cities where they operated.
“Three merchant companies have agreed to participate in tomorrow's Black Market.”
However, that didn't mean Black Markets could simply cease to exist.
Goods that couldn't be legally bought or sold, slaves prohibited by the city, and other merchandise that still couldn't emerge into the light circulated through the Black Market.
“The merchandise?”
“All of it is first-rate. Perhaps because it has been a while since the last Black Market, every item is in excellent condition.”
In that sense, Gern, who operated the Black Market, was in a good mood.
“At last, the time has come to drown in sweet gold.”
His wallet, which had been cracked dry like land in a drought, was sure to become full again.
“Do not neglect security. We never know when the city guards might come charging in.”
That was why he had hired even more people for the Black Market this time.
“You needn't worry. This time, we even hired someone highly skilled with the sword.”
Hereken, Gern's second-in-command, smiled as he answered.
Then he turned his gaze toward the woman standing to his right.
A taciturn woman wearing a brown hood.
She was the person Hereken had been referring to as highly skilled with the sword.
“Her identity is reliable, I assume.”
“She has quite a reputation in the assassination business, so her credentials are trustworthy. Those who work lightly and discreetly tend to keep their mouths shut.”
“She must've cost quite a bit.”
“Doesn't safety depend on the weight of the gold spent on it?”
Gern nodded at Hereken's response.
This Black Market was more than worth that much expense.
Especially since the value of that ‘item’ being stored underground was higher than anything else.
“It does not matter. Once the Black Market opens successfully, we will earn several times that amount.”
It didn't matter how much money they spent.
They had even gone so far as to remodel the Red Rose Inn into a temporary base.
Creak.
At that moment, Wirn opened the door to the Red Rose Inn and stepped inside.
The eyes of both men immediately turned toward the entrance.
“Ah. A guest?”
As though nothing had happened, Hereken's face transformed into that of an affable middle-aged innkeeper.
The sinister aura he had been emitting disappeared completely.
“My apologies, but at the moment...... Are you looking for a room?”
He had been about to say they had no vacancies but changed his words midway.
It wasn't even peak season.
Moreover, the Red Rose Inn stood in an out-of-the-way area with few visitors.
Claiming that there were no rooms would only make them look suspicious.
If they made a mistake and attracted the city guards, things would become troublesome.
“How much?”
Wirn asked calmly at Hereken's words.
“Hmm....”
Hereken swallowed.
‘A mercenary?’
Then he examined Wirn's appearance.
Worn armor and shabby equipment.
He didn't look like a particularly successful mercenary.
His face was youthful, but his body had developed about as much as that of an average young man.
‘He does look like a mercenary.’
Judging from his appearance, it seemed plausible.
‘But what if this is a trap....’
Still, Hereken didn't lower his guard so easily.
Instead, he examined Wirn even more carefully.
He wanted to determine whether the boy truly was a mercenary.
“Hmm?”
Then, by coincidence, his gaze fell on Wirn's right hand, and his eyes blinked.
A long scar ran across it.
“I was injured while working.”
Noticing Hereken's gaze, Wirn casually held his hand forward.
“Is there some problem?”
“Ah. No.”
Hereken shook his head.
He had no desire to touch the scar.
‘Unpleasant.’
Moreover, for reasons he couldn't explain, merely looking at the scar dampened the excitement he had been feeling.
So Hereken decided it would be better to give this unpleasant mercenary a room quickly.
He didn't want to keep looking at him.
“Which floor would you prefer?”
“The third floor would be good. Somewhere in a corner, if possible.”
“Understood. Then we will show you there.”
Hereken smiled at Wirn's answer.
Nod.
Then he sent Gern, who stood behind him, a look saying there was nothing suspicious.
“Follow me.”
Once Gern confirmed it, he approached Wirn.
His large frame contrasted noticeably with Wirn's.
“Yes.”
There was something slightly odd about him for someone supposedly working at an inn, but Wirn didn't point it out.
He simply followed Gern up to the third floor in silence.
Then, once night fell—
Ssss...... Sssssss.
Darkness began swallowing the Red Rose Inn.