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A report was filed at the Temple of Alium, the Goddess of the Moon and Justice, located in Drunta.

The report came from Tekas Merchant Group, the largest Merchant Group in the kingdom, accusing one of the rising companies, Altas Merchant Group, of being involved in a heretical cult.

Investigators were sent, and they confirmed the truth.

The true identity of Owent Altas, the founder of Altas Merchant Group, was that of a follower of the Dark God.

For a long time, he had been operating in the shadows, using his wife, Edia, as a front to fund the cultists.

But recently, that fact was exposed!

Tekas Merchant Group, which faithfully serves the Seven Goddesses, discovered the heinous acts of the cultists and reported it to the Church of the Goddesses. Fearing punishment, Edia and her husband fled before the priests could arrive.

Since they couldn’t let such wicked cultists go free, the priests of Alium thoroughly searched the Merchant Group, leaving no stone unturned.

They interrogated all the associates and scrutinized the ledgers and documents.

In the process, an unexpected figure emerged.

It turned out that Baron Karnak, a member of the King’s Order and lord of Jestarad, was connected to Altas Merchant Group.

“This is why this matter reached me.”

Although the matter wasn’t directly related to the King’s Order, it was still a case involving a heretic, and the person involved was a member of the King’s Order, so it couldn’t be entirely ignored, according to Erantel’s explanation.

Karnak frowned.

“…Am I also being suspected of being a heretic?”

Commander Erantel shook his head.

“That’s not the case.”

The Church of the Seven Goddesses knew well that Karnak harbored a deep hatred for necromancers and had been working to eradicate necromancy from the world.

It made sense.

Even the money Karnak had invested in Altas Merchant Group was likely earned during his efforts to spread powerful anti-necromancy magic.

However, the issue lay in the amount of his investment.

“You hold the largest stake among Altas Merchant Group’s investors. That’s why your opinion is needed regarding its fate.”

Karnak was the only one crazy enough to invest a thousand gold coins in a newly established Merchant Group.

Erantel handed him the document in his hand.

“It’s from Tekas Merchant Group.”

Karnak skimmed through the document and clicked his tongue.

“So, they’re asking me to hand over the Merchant Group for a settlement fee?”

Currently, Altas Merchant Group was in a state of limbo, having lost its owner.

But that didn’t mean the company had collapsed.

It still held trading routes and commercial rights, only the company’s head had vanished.

From Tekas Merchant Group’s perspective, it was a very tempting prize.

Thus, they contacted Karnak, the largest stakeholder.

“They’re offering to buy the rights to Altas Merchant Group, and the amount they’re offering is…”

Karnak’s expression turned peculiar.

“Two thousand gold coins?”

The money had doubled without him doing anything.

***

“…That’s the gist of it.”

At Karnak’s residence in Drunta.

After hearing the explanation, Baros and Serati muttered in disbelief.

“Wow, are you some kind of god of investment? Everything you do turns out cursed.”

“How do you manage to ruin others’ fortunes while reaping all the benefits yourself, even when you don’t mean to?”

Karnak pouted, as if feeling wronged.

“Hey, this time, it’s not my fault.”

Indeed, this time Karnak was clearly a victim as well.

“Right, your money just doubled in ten days.”

“If you call yourself a victim, people will mock you.”

Despite their words, both of them knew this situation wasn’t something to celebrate.

This wasn’t about making a few extra gold coins.

Karnak had invested for the sake of securing long-term connections and influence with powerful trading companies, something important for his future.

If possible, resolving the situation was the best course of action.

Baros murmured in disbelief.

“Is Lady Edia really a cultist? She didn’t seem that way at all.”

“I heard the King’s Order did a separate investigation.”

There were some details that the Church of Alium’s investigation had missed.

“According to the company’s servants, Owent barged in and forcibly dragged Lady Edia away.”

He had somehow increased his combat abilities, overpowering the company’s experienced guards.

“There are plenty of necromantic spells that temporarily boost strength, so it’s not all that surprising.”

Naturally, Edia resisted, but it was futile.

-How dare you nag at what your heavenly husband tells you to do! Shut up and follow me!

-I’m trying to teach you the truths of life, but you’re too stupid to learn!

“He shouted things like that while dragging her away.”

Serati furrowed her brows in disgust.

“Turns out, it’s a pretty common type of situation.”

From the looks of it, the possibility that Edia had conspired with her husband was very low.

It seemed more likely that Tekas Merchant Group used Owent to get rid of her.

“The fact that the accuser is Tekas Merchant Group makes their intentions quite clear.”

Karnak asked, deep in thought.

“So, what do we do now?”

There were two options.

One was to accept the two thousand gold coins and cleanly settle the case.

The other was to rescue Edia and reinstate her as the head of Altas Merchant Group.

“Let’s rescue Lady Edia! We can’t just stand by while someone’s life is at risk, can we?”

“And she’s supposed to become one of the top three merchants, right? We can’t let go of such a valuable person for a cheap price!”

For reference, the first suggestion was Baros’, and the second was Serati’s.

Karnak looked at the two of them with a curious expression.

“…Aren’t you two switched?”

Baros’s eyes sparkled.

“Right? I must have become a better person.”

Meanwhile, Serati was in sudden despair.

‘W-What happened to me?’

Laficel, who had been eavesdropping while washing dishes in the kitchen, was simply puzzled.

‘What are they talking about? Baros oppa has always been a good person.’

***

The next day, Karnak returned to the headquarters of the King’s Order.

“So, let me get this straight…”

Commander Erantel looked at him with a troubled expression.

“You want to rescue the former head of Altas Merchant Group?”

“Yes. Isn’t fighting cultists the very mission of the King’s Order?”

“You’re not wrong, but there’s a matter of priorities.”

The main task of the King’s Order was to handle heretic-related incidents involving royalty and high-ranking nobles.

Just because the Dark God’s cult was involved didn’t mean they could get involved in every case.

“Then there’s no issue with me acting on my own, right?”

“You can do what you like, but it’s a bit difficult right now.”

The King’s Order was already a very busy organization. There were plenty of tasks far more pressing than this minor Merchant Group incident.

Karnak had been granted ample time off due to his many accomplishments, but even that was starting to run out.

“No matter how capable you are, you’ve taken too much time off. I can’t allow you to skip another mission.”

“So, what you’re saying is…”

Karnak grinned, as if he had expected this response.

“It’s fine if this heretic-related case involves royalty or high-ranking nobles, right?”

He pulled out a document from his coat and handed it over.

“What’s this?”

Erantel’s expression turned strange as he looked at the paper.

He noticed a familiar seal at the bottom.

“Prince Lloyd’s seal?”

With exaggerated movements, Karnak shrugged.

“As it turns out, Prince Lloyd is also an investor in Altas Merchant Group.”

Anticipating this response, he had prepared ahead of time.

He still had the golden seal that Prince Lloyd had given him a while ago.

‘I never thought I’d actually have to use this.’

Erantel alternated his gaze between the document and Karnak in disbelief.

“…Does the prince know he’s an investor?”

“Well, I’m making money for him, so I don’t think he’d object.”

“True, you’re not exactly doing anything wrong.”

In this situation, it was hard to argue against making this a mission of the King’s Order.

“No issues, right?”

“None.”

Commander Erantel accepted the document with a wry smile.

“Take care out there.”

***

Commander Erantel granted permission.

The mission to rescue Edia was officially recognized as a task for the King’s Order.

The next step was to track down her whereabouts.

Serati offered a suggestion.

“Shall we visit the Drunta Adventurers’ Guild? We might find a bounty hunter who can track down Edia.”

Baros shook his head.

“That would take too long.”

They weren’t dealing with a high-ranking noble, just two ordinary citizens who had disappeared.

In such cases, it usually took a long time to trace their whereabouts.

Even in the best-case scenario, it would take several months.

“If we take that long, Altas Merchant Group’s remaining trade routes will vanish too.”

Time was of the essence.

If they couldn’t restore Edia to her position within a month, even the rights to sell Altas Merchant Group would be gone.

“There’s no need for that.”

Karnak smiled brightly.

“All we need to do is find Owent, right?”

Since Owent had kidnapped Edia, finding him would naturally lead them to her.

Baros asked in disbelief.

“Isn’t that what we’re trying to figure out in the first place?”

“Why are we overthinking it? We know someone who might know.”

“Who?”

“The one who reported it—Tekas Merchant Group.”

“Oh…”

Now that he thought about it, that made sense.

Owent had shown up to take Edia, and Tekas Merchant Group conveniently reported it.

The fact that they timed it so perfectly suggested that they had deliberately manipulated the situation.

“All we need to do is find the one who reported Owent and ask about his whereabouts.”

“How do you know they’ll know where he is?”

It was possible that Tekas Merchant Group just stumbled upon the information about Owent and took advantage of it.

Baros pointed this out, and Karnak shrugged.

“You’re right. I can’t guarantee it. But it’s quite a plausible theory, don’t you think?”

Owent had escaped Drunta too easily, even with Edia in tow.

A mere merchant wouldn’t have been able to pull that off.

“Someone had to have helped him.”

There was even a chance that Tekas Merchant Group was connected to the Dark God’s cult.

After all, they would need some sort of relationship to manipulate a cultist like Owent.

“Well, it’s all speculation for now. There’s no solid proof.”

But it was worth investigating.

“Interrogating him should give us answers.”

Serati frowned.

“Are you planning to stick a needle in his head again?”

“No.”

Karnak had already been scolded by her for relying too much on memory manipulation.

She had told him to stop trying to solve everything by messing with people’s minds.

“This time, I’m planning to act like a normal person.”

Serati’s expression was skeptical.

“If you do that, they won’t confess easily.”

“Why?”

Karnak raised an eyebrow, as if he didn’t understand the problem.

“I told you, I’ll act like a ‘normal’ person.”