The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 97
After parting ways with Olaf, I handed over the purchased gift to Yumir, sending her back to the lodging, and decided to walk around alone.
Perhaps due to the recent events, Yumir strongly opposed me wandering alone, as if she had developed some sort of obsessive thought, but I managed to persuade her somehow.
“Arandal, huh…”
As this city served as a hub connecting the northwest and northeast of the continent, commerce was highly developed.
It wasn’t for nothing that slaves were being sold on the streets.
Along with that, metal casting technology was highly advanced, thanks to the abundant minerals buried in the Lest Mountain to the west of Arandal.
It was in the same context that the Beckavia army used tunnels to recapture the Bian Mountain.
Those tunnels were actually mine shafts.
I decided to inquire about blacksmiths who dealt with metal type. I needed to acquire related knowledge to make a printing press in the future.
However, there wasn’t much gain. The blacksmiths of Arandal mainly focused on things like weapons, carriage wheels, and jewelry crafting rather than such items.
So I was about to return to the lodging when suddenly a familiar face caught my eye.
“If you’re not going to buy, get lost!”
“Ow! Mister, you’ve got a nasty temper! I was really going to buy it, but now you’ve ruined my mood! Now I don’t want to buy from you!”
“As if you had the money to buy anyway! Get out of here right now!”
“Tch! We’ll see how well your business does!”
It was Aggert, having an argument with the owner of a weapons shop.
“Oh my… What are you doing?”
“Ah! The pretty Captain!”
Aggert approaches with a bright face.
“Did you come to buy weapons too, Captain? I guess you lost your spear and sword back then, right?” Aggert makes exaggerated gestures as if imitating Chester, then scratches the back of his head vigorously while laughing.
“It’s the same for me. I lost my sword, you see.”
“Rather than lose, I used it. I left it stuck in that monster’s heart.”
“Haha! If that was its end, even that cheap sword would have been satisfied. But Captain, if you don’t mind, shall we look around together? You need to buy a weapon too, right?”
“Not really, I get good ones issued from the military. Even if that weren’t the case, my close associates would take care of it for me.”
“Gasp. I guess that’s how it is when you’re a captain of a unit.”
“Well, I’ll still hang out with you.”
It seemed like it would be a good way to kill time.
I looked around the weapons shop with Aggert.
Aggert examined the items very meticulously. Although the shop owner showed signs of discomfort due to Aggert’s poor appearance, he didn’t try to chase him out since I was with him.
It seems he thought of us as a noble and his slave.
“Hmm, hmmmm!” Aggert finally groans as if he’s found something he likes.
Even to me, the item looked quite good.
The blade, reaching 1m in length, had a lustrous shine, and the edge was so sharp it seemed like it would cut with just a light touch.
Above all, it looked sturdy. That seemed to be the part Aggert liked.
“Captain, how about this?”
“If I were to use it, it would be a bit…”
The sword was too long and thick for me to use.
“It would suit you though.”
“Right? Actually, this was the first thing I found when I came here. But, ah…”
The reason for his deep sigh was simple.
“I don’t have enough money.”
The price was 200,000 . For this price without even having jewels embedded, it certainly meant it was a high-quality item.
Aggert checks his money pouch and slumps his shoulders. From the corner of my eye, I could see he barely had 10,000 .
“I guess I’ll buy this next time. For now, I’ll have to use the cheap swords Uncle Dilas gives me.”
“I’ll buy it for you.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that why you brought it up?”
“Ah, no!” Aggert waves his hands. “That wasn’t my intention, Captain!”
“Whether it was your intention or not. I’ll buy it for you.”
“…”
Aggert presses his lips together as if holding something back. “I can’t. A sword… I decided to only receive it from the person I’ve chosen to serve. I can’t accept it from anyone else.”
“The person you’ve chosen to serve? You had a lord?”
“We’re not in that kind of relationship yet… But I owe them a debt of gratitude.”
“I didn’t know you had such admirable thoughts. Did they save your life or something?”
“No, it was some uncles I’m close to. Uncles with pregnant wives. When they were captured and about to be sold as slaves, that person saved them.”
“There sure are some meddlesome people out there. Who is this person?”
“Wade.”
“…Huh?”
“Don’t you know Wade? Wade! He’s super famous!”
“Uh… I do know him.”
Did I do such a meddlesome thing? I don’t really remember.
It might have been done by people impersonating me.
“So you decided to serve this Wade as your lord?”
“I’m not sure about him being my lord, but I have to repay the debt! Hmm, I think if I become an excellent general and help him a few times, that should do it. I’m not sure what happens after that. Hehe!”
“Huh…”
“So you don’t need to buy this for me! Oh, it’s already this late. Uncle Dilas will be angry. I’ll go ahead then, pretty Captain!”
Aggert runs off in a hurry.
I watched him for a moment, then said to the shop owner. “I’ll buy this. Give me a scabbard.”
I had originally planned to reward Aggert for his merits in that battle.
Although he said he wouldn’t accept it, if he wouldn’t take a gift from the pretty Captain, then I could just give it as Wade.
After resting for about a day, I felt like my body was getting a bit better. Maybe that terrible health food Yumir gave me helped.
On the second and last day of my vacation, I decided to head to the hidden side of Arandal.
If yesterday I explored the sunny side of Arandal, now it was time to see the shady side.
This time, given the nature of my purpose, I tried to go alone, but for some reason Eo looked shocked.
“Weren’t you going to take me with you today…?”
Eo blinked her eyes like an abandoned puppy.
It seems she thought I was taking them in turns, like handing out snacks one by one, after seeing that I only took Yumir yesterday.
It felt awkward to say that wasn’t the case, so I decided to take Eo along.
I put on a hood to hide my face and entered the back streets of Arandal.
‘As expected, there are a lot of military spies around.’
Given the situation, there were many secret agents roaming about.
After wandering the streets for a while, I was finally able to make contact with my target.
It was a man wearing traditional Beckavian clothes. At first glance he looked like a native Beckavian, but upon closer inspection you could tell he was intentionally wearing his hat backwards.
Above all, the attire of the men loitering around guarding him was very exotic.
“I want to buy information.”
At my words, the man raised both corners of his mouth eerily.
“What kind of information are you referring to?”
“Information about the West. That’s what you came here to sell, right?”
People. They’ll do anything that makes money.
This man is probably one of the information merchants operating in the West.
Where he’s from or what his homeland is doesn’t matter to him. He just came all the way from the West to Arandal because this money-making opportunity is efficient.
“Ho ho ho. I like how straightforward you are. What would you like to ask?”
“First, about Fischer Partin.”
“500,000 sillan.”
“…”
It was a large sum, but I decided to pay it.
The man answers fluently. “One of Hanneman’s Five Dragons. The Golden Dragon Fischer Partin. A master of the spear belonging to the Garland-style Spear Technique Grade 1. His position in the military is the 9th General.”
“The ninth general? He’s quite low in rank.”
“If you pay an additional 500,000 silan, I can tell you more about that part, but?”
“Tch. You money-grubber.”
After I handed over the money, the man looked around and said, “The Thousand Guest Hanneman Noiers. It’s said he has hundreds of vassals under him. There are rumors that each of those vassals’ skills are comparable to a general’s. So their hierarchy is extremely complex. The 9th General Fischer Partin is still one of the top ten figures, so he can be considered an outstanding individual.”
“Hanneman Noiers…”
In the game, he was a spy who infiltrated Bülang. I was curious about him too.
The man, seeming to notice my interest, continues speaking.
“You must be curious about Hanneman. I’ll give you this as a service. Hanneman is the heir to the former Erebonian Kingdom.”
“The Erebonian Kingdom?”
“That’s right. A northern kingdom that was destroyed after struggling for hegemony with the Fensillon Empire. Hanneman is a descendant of the Erebonian royal family exiled to the West.”
“Surely the land that was the base of the Erebonian Kingdom was…!”
“That’s right. It’s this very place. Old Ellenia.”
It was the former name of Arandal. Ellenia, the capital of the Erebonian Kingdom.
“So it’s not a coincidence. That Hanneman became the supreme commander of this expedition.”
“Ho ho ho, only the leaders of the West would know that for sure.”
The leaders of the West. The information merchant threw me bait. This must be why he gave me the service earlier.
“If you’re curious about the other leaders, I can explain for just 1 million sillan, but…”
It was information I wanted to hear, but I didn’t need it now.
“I’ll ask something else.”
Such information would have been gathered by Crossing anyway. My purpose was elsewhere.
“Do you know anything about Ilya Anfei?”
“…!”
The man’s eyes widened, as if it was an unexpected question.
“Why about ‘her’…?”
“You referred to her as her, so you must know something. Speak.”
Master Ilya, who had a connection with Fischer Partin.
I couldn’t help but be suspicious. Where was my master from?
‘She was completely off my radar.’
Until now, I had thoroughly verified those I took in as vassals.
Rutger is from Alvard and has a sickly daughter.
Anton is from Crossing and lost his father due to complicated circumstances, which led him to swear loyalty to me.
Yumir was born a slave in the arena, and I know all about her subsequent history.
Olaf is from Europe and is an eccentric focused on protecting the rights of demi-humans.
Eonia is from the Kuravel Holy Kingdom’s royal guard, but in reality, she’s a pampered princess-like immature girl.
As for Gaspar, I know little about his origins or history, but he’s Yumir’s father.
On the other hand, what about Master Ilya?
I don’t know her place of origin or her history before she was with me.
I thought I could trust her even without knowing such things.
But if the master is from the West, it’s a slightly different story.
‘If master is a puppet of the West…’
I’m not sure about now, but it would explain her actions in the game.
The seven vassals who followed Ars.
Thinking about it now, master’s motive was the weakest among them.
It’s only mentioned that she couldn’t accept Ars’ decision and came to help, leading mercenaries. There was almost no connection with Ars before that.
‘Master as a Western spy? But…’
If so, it’s strange that Fischer Partin carelessly mentioned master’s name.
‘If he was confident he could kill me on the spot to silence me, it would make sense, but…’
As if answering my doubts, the man speaks in a hushed voice. “1 million sillan. Give it to me.”
“Here it is.”
After receiving the money, the man nods heavily and says, “Ilya Anfei. A warrior belonging to the Chester-style Grade 1, and…”
His next words only add to my doubts. “She’s the top disciple of the Three Great General, Guderian Chester.”
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