Trinitas Mundus

May 22nd.

Arriving in Teito, the Rays were on a blacksmith's guild carriage to the commercial district. The aim is to gather further information and respond to Luke's Beastman Slave Squad.

He is aiming at the Plymouth branch of the Deodard Chamber of Commerce, a major trader in Aurelia, to get the story spread that Luke's Beastman Slave Unit is infiltrated first.

The commercial district was in the northern part of Plymouth, with major chambers of commerce joining houses and billboasting their own names, especially on the boulevard known as Triumph through the heart of the imperial capital. Setting up a store in a place facing this tunnel is a kind of status.

The carriage stopped near the building of the Commercial Guild Empire Branch in Triumph.

"We have arrived at the Deodard Chamber of Commerce," blacksmith guild clerk Alan Mold calls out.

When the Rays got off the carriage, it was in front of a three-story splendid building with no buildings around it and no faint colors.

"That's amazing. I heard that this place is just a first-rate chamber of commerce," Ray asks Luna.

"That's right. I've heard that opening a shop in this tunnel is a top notch. But that's just great. I've been hearing about Aurelia's trade deals, but I can't believe it's so close to the guild..."

Close to the commercial guild are many chambers of commerce headquartered in Teito, many of which are well-established companies with fingerprints that produce Teito Branch Chiefs. Luna was surprised that there was a branch of a start-up based in Aurelia in such a place.

"I can't help it if I'm here," Ashley said, and Ray nodded at it.

"Well, let's go"

That's what I'm going into the store.

The store seemed to be a major trader, lined with properties from various lands, and many traders were discussing it in a business space.

As the Rays went inside, a young man seemed to be in charge of the reception approached him immediately.

"Welcome. What can I do for you today?

Rays' arrival today meant going to the commercial district, which was not the usual mercenary style.

The citizens of the Imperial Capital are dressed in the kind of snug civilian clothes they wear, but there is Ione who apparently refrains behind them as Ryan or an escort, and no male employee could tell what status the young Rays were in.

"My name is Ray Arklight. I am associated with Loris Deodard, the previous president of the Chamber of Commerce, who made me one of the heirs."

Hearing the name Loris Deoddard, the employee bows his head greatly, saying "I'm sorry for your loss".

For those who work at the Deodard Chamber of Commerce, Loris, who built a huge Chamber of Commerce in a generation, was a legendary figure and showed the utmost respect when he heard of his heirs.

"I'll show you to the reception room. This way," he says, guiding him to the back.

The male employee was guiding but still wondering if Ray was Loris' edger.

He is most likely a grandson at his age, but also knows that he did not have a Deodard surname and that Loris did not have a daughter.

However, the clothes he is wearing are of a relatively fine quality, and because Ray's waist is soft, he considered the possibility of being a distant edger, and for the time being he wanted to turn to the branch manager for judgment.

He leads me to the reception room, sits and waits, and the door knocks in about five minutes. The person who came in looked like he was in his mid-forties, a gentleman with a calm atmosphere of grey eyes on his silver hair.

"I am entrusted with this branch, my name is Theodore Forrester"

So Ray introduces himself again, and the Ashleys imitate it.

Theodore's expression moved pickly at Ashley's and Luna's, but he was bowing his head without saying anything in particular.

Theodore cut out the story at the end of his introduction.

"I'm talking about one of your great husband's heirs, what can I do for you at this Chamber of Commerce?

Though her waist was soft, she was under the impression that she was staring closely into Ray's eyes and declaring that she could spot any lies.

Ray showed the inheritance documents he received from Loris,

"I'm one of the heirs, but I have no blood ties to Mr. Deodard. It's a little long story, can you listen to me?"

Theodore nodded small and urged "Let me know".

"As a mercenary, I undertook the task of escorting Mr. Deoddard with Ashley Markat here. The location is Morton, the border town of the Kingdom of Lax. The destination was Aurelia... Stella here was escorting Mr. Deoddard as a slave at the time..."

Ray breaks up from meeting Deodard, and talks about his presence at the funeral, etc.

"... you know you passed away on the journey, when I and Ashley gave up ownership of Stella here..."

After we finished talking, the reception room was dominated by Rin's air and no one opened their mouth.

"I could confirm that you are the heir and benefactor of the Great Master. Truth be told, Dunstan Morkley, general manager of the northern part of the Kingdom of Lax, had informed me about your eldest husband. And about you guys. Morkley has also told us that if you two needed our help, we should lend it to you whenever possible. I feel the same way. You have given me peace of mind..."

Ray was remembering that Morkley admired Deodard.

(Mr. Morkley, I miss you...... with that said, Mr. Deoddard's life date was yesterday. It's been another year...)

I remembered that and once again offered my condolences. Theodore turns a serious glance at Ray after responding accordingly.

"Didn't you come here today on another matter? If there's anything we can do, we can help."

So Ray finds himself obsessed with the story and forgets to do business.

"I have a favor to ask you, but I would like to speak only to Mr Theodore, if I may, so could you please pay me"

"I understand," he said to Ray's words, ordering the employee who had refrained to leave the room.

"Thank you," he said, bowing his head, "OK, let me talk to you" to correct his residence.

"Coincidentally, we noticed Luke's Beastman Slave Squad was about to infiltrate here in Plymouth,"

Theodore moved his shoulder unexpectedly to the word. But nod to prompt ahead without saying anything.

"The Empire has no stewardship whatsoever. But I find the way of light theism objectionable. The same goes for Mr. Deoddard's wife, but also for Stella. Not only that, me and Ashley were about to be killed by the Bishop of Light Divinity......"

Theodore nods small, but prompts him to talk without saying anything.

"So I want rumors to circulate. Luke's Beastman slave is about to infiltrate the Empire City. Specifically, there was a setup on the third tap bridge on the eastern walls, from which we were free to enter and exit, and he said there might still be beastly slaves lurking within the imperial capital."

Though Theodore says, "I understand your business," he begins to think in silence.

After about ten seconds of silence,

"Can you tell us why you brought the story to our Chamber of Commerce? Could the Lockhart family lady there have spread the rumor through the blacksmith's guild?"

Ray gets cramped with answers to unexpected questions.

(Sure, I could have asked Mr. Ivan or Mr. Gunter... but Luna wasn't there then. Because this is the only place I had my handover, but I don't think I want that answer...)

So stare straight at Theodore.

"There are several reasons. First and foremost, I am convinced that the Deodard Chamber of Commerce has absolutely no hand in hand with Luke."

"It is true that this branch is not currently awarded to Luke, and I, myself, have no intention of awarding it to Luke. But if it's my personal thought and for the benefit of the Chamber as a whole, it's not a shamble to join hands with the Godfundist Light Divinity."

Ray strongly denies it.

"No. Mr. Deoddard was a very honest man. Even though the Chamber of Commerce created by such a person is for business, you will never be able to unite your hands with the light divinity of today"

Theodore laughs bitterly at being assured, but says, "You're right. There is not one person in this Chamber who wants to make money until he does something that is not in keeping with his will," he says, bowing his head.

"The second reason is because I thought I had information about Lukes. We would be stopping by Lukes as a relay from Aurelia, so I thought we were sure we were getting the information we needed there."

"Yeah, you're right. That's who you call a white military master. You are well aware of the importance of information."

I'm surprised that I know my two names, but I reckon it's not unnatural given the importance I attach to information.

"Plus you'll have information on Luke's destination agency and the Chamber of Commerce in a cooperative relationship. I thought if you focused on this information there, it would reach them efficiently."

Theodore stared at Ray without saying anything,

"I see why you chose us. Very reasonable. But could you just tell me one more thing?"

"What would that be?

"Do you say the benefits of the Arklights circulating this information, and what is the purpose? I just don't like the way light gods do things, and I don't think they're going to get their hands on it."

Ray wondered how to answer.

To be honest, we have to reveal the existence of the Unos. But I also wonder if Theodore wouldn't be convinced to keep their existence hidden.

(Sounds like this guy isn't going to pointlessly jeopardize the Chamber of Commerce. So unless you ask me why I'm convinced, I should answer that I can't even if I want to cooperate emotionally......)

Theodore kept looking at Ray while he was thinking about it. Though that gaze was not harsh, it looked like he was saying he would spot a lie.

"One was a request from a blacksmith guild who got a lot of help. I was offended by the fact that Luke's secret detectives and assassins were moving freely within the Empire. I thought the same thing, so I accepted it."

Still Theodore stares at him without saying anything. Ray decided to brace his belly.

"Another reason is for our safety. We are not here with our people, but we have the Beast Man. It's also a slave's..."

Theodore's eyes were slightly opened there.

"... the people who stay with me as my escort, but it has nothing to do with Luke's troops now. If an infiltrating unit carries out an assassination of a dignitary or something, our actions will be significantly restricted. To prevent it, I thought it would be best to somehow spread the rumor that Luke's troops would pull up."

Theodore loosened his expression there.

"Thank you for being honest with me. I never talked to you before, but I had the information that there was a beastly slave under Master Arklight. Personally, I would like to cooperate with you, the benefactor of the Great Master. But if Master Arklight is being taken into the light divinity and it is in their interest for me to cooperate, I would have clearly rejected it and, conversely, passed your information on to the Imperial Government. Our anger towards light godliness is so strong by now."

Theodore, who looked warm, is distorting his face. Ray felt that he, and the Deoddard Chamber of Commerce, was trying to avenge Light Divinity.

"… but you have been honest. Having found out that if we had Luke's Beastman slave, we would be pursued for our engagement with his country..."

So Theodore stands up and takes Ray's hand.

"That's the one who was expected to be a big husband. I, and the Deodard Chamber of Commerce Plymouth Branch, will fully cooperate with Master Arklight. On top of that, could you tell us a little bit about the situation now?"

Ray thought he was hotter than he thought.

"Okay. Let me tell you what we're going to do…"

After leaving the Imperial Capital, Ray explains that he intends to go to the town of Cheslock at the southern end of the Wale Peninsula and cross from there to Gilsall.

"... I'm leaving Empire City tomorrow, so it would be helpful if you could circulate the information after tomorrow"

Theodore, who heard so much about it, did not accept it immediately.

"Will Master Arklight not be returned to Empire City beyond this?

Ray was poked in the void by the question.

"What? I haven't thought about it yet, but I'm probably going back... Ah!

That's where I realize I was making a big mistake.

"I was wondering if it would be a good idea to make it too big if we were to go back"

"Right," Luna nodded loudly, realizing too.

"It was a blind spot indeed. If we were to return on the southern streets from Gilsall, it would not be good for us to have too tight security in the Imperial City"

Ashley also realizes her mistakes.

Theodore nodded small at Ashley and said, "I have a suggestion,"

"There are several Luke's departure agencies, or traders in cooperative relationships. He wants you to buy information there, make contact, and talk about the water bridge earlier. They will tell that story to Luke's commander. Wouldn't that make you alert and unable to move?"

"Aren't you in danger then? The possibility of sending in an assassin…"

Smile to deny Ray's concerns.

"If you take the story like you heard a rumor, you should try to find out where that rumor came from. You won't be on guard at our store right now, and I'll tell the store people to keep a secret about you. If you don't know who told you, sealing my mouth doesn't make any sense. And if this level of danger clears the mind of the Grand Mistress... even if it creates danger for me, I hope so."

I am surprised once again by the fact that Deoddard was so revered.

"I don't want to die either, so I'm going to tell you that if you have a suspicious death, it will be released to a large extent. They should also know I'm cautious. If you insist on getting a little privilege in this story, you should probably try to take it in rather than try to erase me."

Ray thought Theodore's idea was reasonable.

(This guy shouldn't risk uselessness... sorry he's going to risk it for us, but this place just has to be sweet...)

"Nice to meet you," Ray said, bowing his head wide.

Theodore then asked for information about Luke's country and so on. That information immediately tells me that there is a conflict between the Light Divine Headquarters, which is called the Battalion, and the passive Holy King's Palace because it is not ready.

"Does that mean it's hard to leave immediately," Theodore nods loudly when Ray says.

"Exactly. But I was wondering if his country should be alarmed because of the sudden change of policy. As soon as the Church headquarters has tended the officials of the Holy King's Palace, they will proceed with their soldiers."

I hear other information about the western Empire, but I can be taught that it seems to be consolidating defenses and building up supplies.

"With supplies, especially food and leaves, there will be no doubt about the victory of the Empire"

"Is that because the main force of the empire is the cavalry?

"There is also that, but there is an even more powerful force: the Horse Riding Nation and the Humane Horse Race. If they rush, the Empire's victory won't waver as hundreds of thousands of soldiers attack from Luke. It's so powerful."

Luna is nodding at the words.

This other ship of Aurelia was also half-collected by the imperial government, which was taught that there were few ships to the south.