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Chapter 80 – Worshippers of the Abomination (1)

“What kind of place is this Haibolka family?”

“As I mentioned before, it’s a family that has rapidly gained power over the past year.”

The Haibolka family.

At first, no one paid attention to them.

It wasn’t easy to succeed as a merchant.

Finding efficient routes to procure goods and finding buyers were both challenging tasks.

That wasn’t all.

Those in power tend to trample on newcomers trying to rise.

Established families would preemptively seize most routes and crush any rising competitors.

Thus, most merchants failed to gain the recognition needed to establish a family and would go bankrupt before disappearing.

When the Haibolka family first appeared, everyone thought they would face the same fate and didn’t pay much attention.

But the Haibolka family grew rapidly.

In just one year, they grew to a size just below the Akasha family.

Ketal looked surprised.

“Just in one year? That’s impressive.”

Considering that it took the Akasha family several years to reach their current position despite their extensive history in trading across the White Snowfield, the Haibolka family’s rapid growth was indeed remarkable.

Milena nodded.

“Yes. It must have been very difficult. Unlike us, they had no history.”

The Akasha family, despite being on the brink of collapse, was a venerable family.

Therefore, they didn’t face much opposition while establishing themselves.

She only faced resistance when her family began to grow explosively afterward.

But the Haibolka family had no such history.

Other merchant families must have plotted against them from the start, considering them mere impurities.

That meant they overcame all obstacles to reach their current position.

Thus, she thought highly of the Haibolka family and felt a sense of kinship.

They grew under even harsher conditions than she did.

“I approached them and talked a lot during a merchant family gathering. They seemed like good people. We had good conversations. I never thought they would stab me in the back.”

Who would have thought the family that hired the wizard to torment her was the Haibolka family?

Her mouth felt bitter.

She began to doubt her judgment of people.

Ketal’s face showed a peculiar change while listening to the story.

“That’s an interesting story.”

“Interesting?”

“The family’s growth might have been possible because they crushed their competitors themselves.”

“What?”

Milena was taken aback.

“…Are you saying the Haibolka family might have attacked others the way they attacked us?”

“They hired a wizard to attack your family. It’s unlikely this was the first time.”

“…That’s…”

Come to think of it, that made sense.

Those who used poison once wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.

If they had already used it, it meant they had no qualms about using it.

Once someone has used it, any aversion disappears.

It was likely the Haibolka family had attacked others this way even before hiring the wizard.

“Could your family’s operations or resistance be carried out in such a manner?”

“No, we only use legitimate means.”

Stealing routes, preempting contracts – those were typical merchant tactics.

Hiring a wizard to burn down a warehouse would prompt governmental intervention.

“In other words, the family might have grown using such tactics while evading your notice.”

“……”

Milena’s face grew serious.

She stood up.

“I’ll check on this.”

Ketal nodded with a pleased expression.

* * *

Milena and Ketal had small talks almost every night before bed.

Milena requested it, despite her shyness, because talking with Ketal calmed her mind.

Ketal, having owed her, readily agreed.

That night, Milena visited Ketal’s room again.

“I found out.”

“About the Haibolka family? What did you find?”

“I looked into the history of the Haibolka family’s growth. It did seem strange.”

The Haibolka family initially established themselves by opening a goods store in the heart of the capital.

Milena knew this fact.

“But there was another store at that location before theirs.”

It was a bakery Milena was familiar with.

She used to buy snacks there as a child.

The Haibolka family took over that spot.

Up to that point, it wasn’t an issue.

Store locations could change hands through transactions.

But the problem was, the bakery owners went missing afterward.

“They said they sold the store and retired to their hometown. But they lost contact afterward.”

“Couldn’t that be a possibility?”

“That part could be. But there were more cases like that.”

Whenever the Haibolka family needed a foothold to grow or faced competition, competitors often disappeared mysteriously, or a family that preempted their goods met with accidents.

There were many such cases.

Suspiciously many.

Ketal stroked his chin.

“So, your family is next in line?”

“…It’s possible.”

Milena grimaced.

The Haibolka family had grown to be right below hers.

Their next target would likely be her.

It made sense.

“But how exactly?”

Her pupils quivered.

Even though she had found information pointing to clear irregularities, she had not noticed anything before.

This meant that the Haibolka family had moved without leaving any traces.

So subtly that even the kingdom hadn’t noticed.

Could an ordinary merchant family really do such a thing?

Ketal’s lips curled up as he listened to the story.

“That’s an interesting tale.”

* * *

Moonlight streamed into the dark room through the window.

The room was extremely luxurious.

The floor was made of marble, and the walls were high-quality wood.

Just looking at this single room, it was evident that an enormous amount of money had been spent on the construction of the building.

However, there were no decorations inside the room.

Except for the minimal furniture necessary for living, the room was empty.

It was as if the building was merely a facade to show others, nothing more, nothing less.

In that desolate room were two figures.

“The hunting dog has been captured.”

The man who had been prostrating himself spoke.

The man sitting in the chair was looking up at the ceiling with a languid expression.

“Really?”

“When he was captured, it seems he talked about us. We can feel the gaze of the Akasha family.”

“Is that so?”

The man sitting in the chair, the head of the Haibolka family, frowned.

“As expected, you can’t trust a wizard.”

“Shall we kill him?”

The man spoke calmly.

Dragosar was a wizard from the Deep Rooted Tree School.

Touching him would mean antagonizing the entire school.

That’s why Milena could only send Dragosar back to the Magic Tower.

But the man spoke as if that was no problem at all.

The family head had a similar expression.

“Wizards can be killed anytime. When the world changes and He descends, capture him and tear him limb from limb.”

“As you command, Chief.”

The man prostrated himself again.

The family head mumbled as if this was annoying.

“But the Akasha family’s gaze…”

“Shall we assassinate them?”

The man spoke calmly once more.

The family head shook his head.

“It’s an appealing idea, but we shouldn’t do that. The reason we hired that worthless wizard was to establish ourselves.”

They had entered the Denian Kingdom unnoticed by anyone.

They settled here and slowly expanded their influence.

If they moved openly now, all their efforts would go to waste.

The family head spoke in a tone that emphasized the importance of remembering this.

“We are here to establish ourselves in the Denian Kingdom and consume everything. We must not forget that.”

“Yes.”

The man nodded.

The family head murmured softly.

“But… they are indeed an obstacle.”

Their goal was to devour the Denian Kingdom.

However, if the Akasha family was watching them, it would impose various restrictions on their actions.

This would hinder their goal.

“We still need to grow more. This is not good.”

“What do you plan to do?”

The family head closed his mouth, contemplating for a moment.

After a brief silence, he spoke again.

“Thinking back, the problem was using hunting dogs because of the risk. Outsiders do not serve the Great One, so using them was foolish. I was foolish.”

“If that’s the case…”

The man’s eyes glinted.

The family head spoke.

“From now on, we’ll handle things directly.”

The family head opened his mouth again.

“We will approach the head of the Akasha family and threaten her.”

“She is called the Iron Maiden. I don’t think threatening her will work, even if we abduct her.”

“Then what about taking hostages? How about kidnapping her family?”

“Her family is far from here. Moreover, she is currently estranged from them. Hostages wouldn’t hold any value.”

“Her family is impossible. What about others?”

“…She is not close to anyone.”

The man, after a moment of contemplation, spoke.

“There is a Barbarian.”

“A Barbarian?”

The family head frowned.

“What Barbarian are you suddenly talking about?”

“It’s true. The Akasha family has a Barbarian. Although it’s not certain, he seems to have a close relationship with the head of the Akasha family.”

Information about Ketal wasn’t well known in the capital.

He typically went to meet Arkamis early in the morning and returned late at night.

However, there were a few people who knew about Ketal and Milena, as they didn’t particularly try to hide his presence.

The Akasha family has a Barbarian.

Since they had been attacking the Akasha family for some time, they had naturally been gathering information, which included details about Ketal.

The family head’s face showed interest.

“Tell me what you know about this Barbarian.”

“……”

The man couldn’t respond.

The family head frowned.

Under the pressure of the family head’s silent urging, the man finally spoke.

“We have nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“We don’t know where he came from. It’s confirmed that he’s a Barbarian based on his appearance, but there is no other information. It’s as if he fell from the sky.”

“Hm.”

The family head stroked his chin.

The man, speaking defensively, continued.

“It’s likely nothing to worry about. Before the Akasha family’s rise, Milena Akasha had personally conducted some trade expeditions. He might have been an acquaintance from that time.”

“A Barbarian, huh. The Iron Maiden has peculiar tastes.”

The family head mumbled and then asked.

“According to you, we don’t need to worry about him. After all, he’s just a Barbarian. But does he have any value?”

“I believe so.”

“That’s good enough. Capture the Barbarian. It doesn’t matter if you cut off his limbs.”

“However, the strength of the Barbarian is unknown. We need to confirm that…”

“It doesn’t matter. Barbarians are no real threat. Who is currently available?”

“The strongest available is Rockbird.”

“Rockbird, huh. Summon him and have him bring the Barbarian.”

“Yes.”

The man nodded.

The family head chuckled.

“If the Iron Maiden talks to him every day, she won’t be able to act recklessly. After that, we can use him as a puppet.”

The family head murmured in a calm voice.

“All is as the Great Abomination wills.”

His voice echoed through the empty room.