“Everyone, withdraw. I need to speak with that man alone for a moment.”
Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
Very few people knew her true identity.
Apart from a handful of high-ranking officials stationed on the highest floor, almost no one knew what she truly looked like.
Yet a mysterious man who had appeared out of nowhere saw through the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company’s identity.
She had even accepted a private audience with him.
‘What is this? She is allowing a private meeting that easily?’
Naturally, it was a situation that could not help but worry Loren, her bodyguard knight.
After watching for an opening, he immediately volunteered to protect Karayan.
“Master, in case of any unforeseen situation, perhaps I should remain here......”
“No.”
But Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company, shook her head without the slightest hesitation.
“That man is correct. If he had harbored impure intentions, he would have killed us all long ago.”
“B-but......”
“It is all right. Leave now. I will handle the matter with that man myself.”
“......”
Nod—.
Loren reluctantly nodded and followed the others out.
But no matter how much his Master insisted that she was fine, as her guard, he could not help but be concerned.
‘......This will not do.’
Slip—.
Unable to endure his unease any longer, Loren decided to use his trump card.
One of his secret techniques, 【Shadow Seepage】.
It was a skill that stored his duplicate in a specific target’s shadow in preparation for unforeseen circumstances.
Loren often used this technique to guard Karayan whenever he was separated from her.
“Hah.”
But at that very moment.
The man’s mocking laugh echoed through the room.
“I clearly asked for a private audience with the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.”
“......!”
The moment he finished speaking, the man turned his gaze toward Loren.
His eyes gleamed sharply, as though he had seen through Loren’s trick at once.
‘W-what......?!’
Startled, Loren hurriedly canceled his skill.
His body stiffened like a rabbit facing a lion.
CREEEAK—.
A suffocating silence filled the air.
Even as the door to the highest floor slowly closed, the man’s eyes continued to stare directly at Loren.
Though his body was emaciated as if he had starved for days, the dignity flowing from him was anything but ordinary.
Completely overwhelmed, Loren swallowed dryly.
‘He saw through my skill in that brief moment......?’
A streak of cold sweat trickled down his spine.
As though killing Human Butcher Barba with a single blow had not been enough, the man had even seen through 【Shadow Seepage】 at once.
Just what level of mastery had he reached for something like that to be possible?
Loren could not even dare to measure the man’s martial ability.
CREEEAK, THUD—!
But that question lasted only a moment.
The door to the highest floor closed firmly, and quiet silence fell over the corridor.
The high-ranking officials who had suddenly been driven outside could only wear dazed expressions.
......Now, no one would know what the strange man and the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company discussed between themselves.
***
‘Phew.’
After confirming that the door had closed, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
‘I only tried prodding Shadow Knight Loren just in case......’
It looked as though he had truly intended to use 【Shadow Seepage】 on the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
It was fortunate that I had blocked that possibility in advance.
Otherwise, he would have hidden in the shadows and obstructed everything I did from now on at every turn.
By interfering with the conversation between the two of us through Voice Transmission Art.
‘That can never be allowed to happen.’
Anyway.
Having successfully driven out the meddlesome people, I turned my gaze back to Karayan.
Karayan was still looking at me with a half-doubtful expression, as though she was unsure whether I was truly the benefactor who had saved her life.
To ease Karayan’s suspicions, I opened my mouth.
“When a wandering girl said that she would become a major figure who ruled this world, I merely laughed it off.”
“......!”
“Who would have thought that you would truly fulfill that ambition?”
Karayan’s eyes widened.
Hearing words that had been exchanged only between herself and her benefactor, she finally cast off her doubts.
“B-benefactor, I have been waiting only for you to come......!”
THUD—.
Karayan fell flat to the floor and began bowing her head at my feet.
Her voice overflowed with an emotion that could not be described in words.
She appeared overjoyed that she had finally met the benefactor who had saved her life.
“I will not ask what business brought you to me, why you have only come now, or anything else.”
“......”
“But if it is what you desire, Benefactor...... Within the limits of what I can handle, I will truly do anything for you.”
Strictly speaking, this situation could not make logical sense from Lea de Karayan’s perspective.
Why had her benefactor been among the slaves?
Why had he killed Human Butcher Barba?
No, setting those questions aside...... What had he come here for in the first place?
Well, there were probably hundreds of other questions troubling her, too.
‘But none of that matters.’
A character who was endlessly calculating and cold-hearted under normal circumstances, but utterly weak whenever anything concerned her benefactor.
That was the setting of Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company, in the game.
As the game progressed, there came a moment when Karayan learned of her benefactor’s death.
A few days later, she lost the will to live and gave up her own life.
‘Honestly, her character setting feels a little excessive...... But it was a game setting, so what can I do?’
At the very least, for Lea de Karayan, reuniting with her benefactor was practically the purpose of her life.
‘In that sense......’
The man who had saved Karayan’s life.
No, more precisely, I—the person currently impersonating that benefactor—could ask anything of her now.
There was no need to waste time on pointless small talk. While Karayan’s judgment was clouded, I should obtain what I wanted and leave this place as quickly as possible.
From the very first moment I set foot on this highest floor, I had had one thing in mind.
“Lea de Karayan.”
“Yes.”
“I understand that almost all stolen goods on this continent eventually flow into the Ruins Merchant Company.”
“Th-that is correct.”
“Good.”
I nodded and continued.
“A few years ago, my precious beloved weapon was stolen.”
“......!”
“I believe I heard a rumor that the Ruins Merchant Company has a secret collection vault where Divine Artifacts are gathered. I would like to look around there. My sword may be among them.”
The Secret Collection Vault.
Originally, it was a place that only the Ruins Merchant Company’s highest-ranking officials could ever enter.
After all, every item stored in that vault was an immensely precious object worth tens of billions of Shillings.
Even VVIPs, known as the biggest players in the black market, did not know that this secret vault existed.
‘Normally, they would never show this vault to outsiders.’
But......
“......Yes. I will guide you to the secret vault immediately.”
As I had said earlier, Karayan could not refuse my request now.
To her, my value as a person far exceeded that of any mere equipment.
‘It is probably not just because I am her benefactor, either.’
A powerful person who had easily killed Human Butcher Barba and even seen through Shadow Knight Loren’s 【Shadow Seepage】 in an instant.
Karayan had clearly judged that there was nothing to lose by gaining the goodwill of someone like that.
Lea de Karayan had always been exceedingly skilled at this sort of “calculation.”
***
『Countless monsters. A world where all of humanity’s Great Civilizations have collapsed.』
This was the catchphrase that ran through Lost Elder’s worldbuilding.
As could be seen from that, the game’s setting was as bleak as any hardcore open-world RPG.
‘......Humanity is no longer the master of the continent.’
Unable to build great civilizations because of the monsters, humans gathered together and lived in hiding within enclosed cities.
Fewer and fewer people ventured outside those cities—into the 「Uncharted Lands」, where monsters swarmed.
As exchanges naturally grew scarce, the enclosed cities each began to develop strong individual characteristics, and their laws and rules differed wildly according to their geographical traits.
Several centuries had already passed since the world became that way.
This world was slowly racing toward its end.
‘Put simply, it is easiest to think of it as a dark fantasy apocalypse setting.’
Anyway.
The reason I was suddenly explaining all this in such detail was......
‘......Because I need to clearly decide what sort of relationship I will maintain with Karayan from now on.’
Lea de Karayan, the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company.
She was someone who reigned like a queen in the shadows of this chaotic world.
In this bleak world where every sort of crime occurred as a matter of course.
There was no need to explain the influence held by the Ruins Merchant Company beneath her command.
‘If I establish an officially friendly relationship with Karayan, I can receive enormous help from the Ruins Merchant Company.’
Financial support.
The procurement of rare items.
Even assassinating NPCs that were difficult to deal with personally.
There were also countless other ways to make use of the Ruins Merchant Company.
‘But I cannot let that convenience blind me into carelessly forming a friendly relationship with the Ruins Merchant Company.’
Where there were advantages, there were also disadvantages.
No matter what, the Ruins Merchant Company was clearly an Evil-aligned guild.
If I rashly entered into an alliance with them, there was a substantial risk that my relationships with other NPCs would become hopelessly tangled.
‘First of all, every Good-aligned faction will become my enemy......’
Middle Temple.
The Sacred Family.
The Saintess Order.
The Relic Survey Corps.
And many other factions hostile to the Ruins Merchant Company would become my enemies.
‘......More importantly, the moment I form a friendly relationship with the Ruins Merchant Company, I will be unable to leave the shadows for the rest of my life.’
In noir films, do they not often say that the only way to leave an organization is through death?
The Ruins Merchant Company was the same.
Once I formed a deep relationship with them, it would become nearly impossible to sever that connection.
Because the Mark of the Ruins Merchant Company would permanently remain on my body.
The moment that mark was engraved upon me, the areas I could travel to and the NPCs I could meet would become limited.
It was no different from having my freedom of action drastically reduced.
That would become an enormous penalty for my future.
‘Therefore, the action I must take is simple.’
I would not needlessly antagonize the Ruins Merchant Company, but I had to form an ambiguous relationship that would allow me to sever ties with them at any time.
In other words, I only needed to exploit them within the bounds of what I could handle afterward.
And the very edge of the “line” I had decided upon was here: the Ruins Merchant Company’s Secret Collection Vault.
“We have arrived.”
Following Karayan’s lead, I arrived at the secret vault and swept my gaze around.
A warehouse lit by soft magic lamps.
Behind display cases protected by anti-theft spells, dozens of types of radiant weapons were on display.
Seeing the items I had only ever seen through the monitor realized in reality, I could not hide my admiration.
‘These are Divine Artifacts.’
Divine Artifacts.
True to their name as weapons bestowed by gods, each of them possessed a special effect.
For instance, the blue spear before me, 「Tooth of the Celestial Dragon Bird」, had an incredible effect that formed lightning around the player every time it was swung.
‘But something like this is useless to me.’
After stroking the spear’s shaft, I shifted my gaze to another weapon.
‘There is only one weapon I need right now.’
I briefly recalled what had happened when I faced Human Butcher Barba.
Immediately after I used the skill, the one-handed sword had been unable to withstand the impact and cracked apart.
Before long, it had crumbled into powder.
‘......I need a durable sword capable of withstanding 【Soul of the Swordmaster 】.’
If I used an inferior sword, the weapon would break every time I used the skill.
That would cause a great deal of money to leak away.
Weapons could never be consumables.
All the more so considering Lost Elder’s setting, where only a few blacksmiths remained who knew how to forge proper weapons.
Therefore, I intended to obtain equipment of a quality that would carry me all the way to the ending.
“I do not see my sword.”
“......!”
Lea de Karayan’s eyes trembled.
“Then you may take any Divine Artifact you desire.”
“......Any of them?”
“Of course. Please consider it the reward for saving my life. No Divine Artifact could be more valuable than my life.”
Perfect.
Everything was unfolding according to the scenario I had envisioned.
Of course, some might criticize me for sucking the Head of the Ruins Merchant Company dry to the marrow......
But I was the benefactor who had saved her life.
No, at least Karayan believed that I was.
‘Well, considering that, this comes cheap.’
Thinking such shameless thoughts, I swept my gaze through the vault once more.
‘......Huh?’
At that very moment, a longsword entered my field of vision.
‘Fuck.’
The moment I saw that weapon, I could not hide my surprise.
“......Why is this weapon here?”
Muttering to myself, I approached the longsword as though possessed.
A blue blade that emitted a cold aura.
Yet the closer it came to the hilt, the more the sword took on the color of red metal.
There was no doubt.
Among the many Divine Artifacts, it was one of the weapons rated most highly by players.
「Frost Sunset」.
The fact that it had once ranked first in a survey of blade-weapon preferences among top players said it all.
“You have a keen eye.”
Karayan, standing beside me, quietly spoke.
“It is a Divine Artifact called Frost Sunset that we acquired a few days ago. It is a peerless famous sword. It is also the most expensive weapon in our collection.”
“......”
“Do you perhaps like it?”
Gulp.
At Karayan’s words, I swallowed dryly and let my gaze shift restlessly.
Frost Sunset.
Among all weapons, this Divine Artifact’s active effect was always considered top-tier.
Finding this sword alone had made coming to the Secret Collection Vault worthwhile.
‘But there is something I do not quite understand......’
......Was Frost Sunset originally the property of the Ruins Merchant Company at this point?
Strange.
If my memory was correct, this weapon should have been in another owner’s hands by now.
As I idly considered that, I slowly lifted Frost Sunset from its display case......
CLANG, CLATTER-CLANG──!
“......?”
At that very moment, Frost Sunset began producing an ear-splitting noise as it tumbled wildly across the floor.