Chapter 537: Someone Behind Them

The death of Roderick Halbrecht brought an abrupt end to the confrontation that had troubled the Adventurer Guild for months.

The commander of the Black Banner Mercenary Company had been killed by Leon Drakar after marching through the Royal Capital with armed mercenaries and refusing repeated demands to surrender.

His surviving followers had been disarmed, and the authorities were investigating their involvement in the disturbance.

With Roderick gone, Black Banner’s remaining officers found themselves facing an uncertain future.

Their company had already lost important contracts, several experienced members had departed, and its reputation had suffered considerably from the investigation into the attack upon the Guild’s supply caravan.

Now, without its commander, the organization had little chance of recovering its former influence.

Meanwhile, Gideon Marholt’s Iron Fang Mercenary Company had already collapsed completely.

Edmund Krail, the merchant financier who had helped sustain the campaign against the Guild, remained missing.

Three men who had once believed themselves capable of restricting the Guild’s expansion had suffered three different fates.

And throughout the Royal Capital, people were beginning to understand what their defeat represented.

---

At the Adventurer Guild Headquarters, business continued without interruption.

Merchants gathered around the mission counters, Warriors discussed their next assignments, and newly registered Adventurers examined the enormous boards displaying available work.

The Grand Adventurer Hotel remained busy, while the Dining Quarter attracted customers from across the surrounding districts.

At Greyfen, expeditions continued entering the S-Rank Dungeon, and construction crews resumed work on the expanding facilities.

The Guild had survived.

More importantly, its reputation had emerged stronger.

Several merchants who had previously hesitated to conduct business with the organization now approached its representatives directly.

The attack upon the supply caravan had demonstrated that the Guild possessed enemies willing to resort to violence.

Its response had demonstrated something equally important.

Those enemies had failed.

Inside the Grand Guild Hall, Garran Holt reviewed another collection of mission requests before turning toward one of his clerks. "Make certain the escort assignments are distributed according to the applicants’ qualifications. We’ve received more requests than usual, and I don’t want anyone accepting work beyond their abilities."

The clerk nodded and hurried away.

Garran glanced toward the crowded hall.

For an organization that had recently endured a coordinated campaign against its existence, the Guild appeared remarkably healthy.

---

Sage received the latest reports inside his office.

Boren stood beside the desk, reviewing documents concerning the aftermath of Roderick’s confrontation with Leon.

"The city authorities have completed their preliminary examination of the incident," Boren reported. "Witness statements confirm that Halbrecht initiated the confrontation and refused several opportunities to surrender."

Sage nodded. "And Leon?"

"Recovering comfortably," Boren answered. "He apparently complained that the healers were preventing him from accepting another mission."

Sage stared at him.

Boren’s expression remained perfectly serious.

After several moments, Sage sighed. "Of course he did. I suppose becoming the first Platinum Adventurer wasn’t enough to satisfy him."

Boren allowed himself a small smile. "Apparently not, Guildmaster."

Sage returned his attention to the documents.

Leon had intervened before Roderick’s armed demonstration could turn into a massacre. Although several buildings had suffered damage, the civilians had been evacuated, and the confrontation had ended without further deaths.

For that, Sage was grateful.

---

The financial consequences of the conflict were equally significant.

Irene reported that the Guild’s commercial arrangements had stabilized following the attack.

Alternative suppliers were fulfilling contracts, replacement shipments had reached Greyfen, and the injured caravan workers continued receiving treatment at the Medical Center.

Tobias Merrow had also completed a review of transport security, introducing additional precautions for valuable shipments traveling between Guild facilities.

During the afternoon meeting, Sage examined the reports before addressing his department heads. "We’ve recovered from the immediate disruption, but I don’t want anyone assuming this means we can return to careless arrangements. Continue reviewing security, contracts, and transport procedures."

Tobias nodded. "The revised schedules are already in effect, Guildmaster. Sensitive shipment information is being shared only with personnel who require it."

Irene added, "And the medical expenses for the injured workers remain fully covered. Several have already begun recovering sufficiently to return home."

Sage’s expression softened. "Good. Make certain nobody is pressured to resume work before they’re ready."

The meeting continued with ordinary administrative matters.

Yet beneath the routine reports, Sage remained conscious of one unresolved question.

---

The three visible enemies had been defeated, but the investigation had never established who had protected them.

Pax Riven had previously uncovered financial guarantees and correspondence suggesting that someone influential had supported their operations.

At the time, the evidence had been insufficient to identify the source.

Sage had therefore instructed Pax to continue investigating quietly.

Several days after Roderick’s death, Pax requested a private meeting.

He arrived at Headquarters shortly after sunset, accompanied by Fenric Vale.

Boren admitted them into Sage’s office before closing the door.

Sage looked up from his documents. "You wouldn’t have requested this meeting unless you’d discovered something important."

Pax placed a leather folder upon the desk.

"I believe we’ve found the connection we’ve been looking for, Guildmaster," he replied.

Sage set aside his work.

"Show me."

---

Pax began with the financial records.

During the investigation into Edmund Krail’s commercial network, his informants had uncovered several payments passing through intermediaries associated with wealthy estates in the Royal Capital.

Initially, those transactions appeared unrelated.

Some were recorded as commercial guarantees.

Others concerned legal representation, transportation privileges, and payments to individuals who maintained relationships with influential officials.

However, Fenric had discovered that several transactions followed a consistent pattern.

Whenever Gideon Marholt or Roderick Halbrecht encountered difficulties requiring official intervention, money moved through the same collection of intermediaries.

Pax opened the folder and arranged several documents before Sage.

"These payments occurred shortly before certain complaints against Iron Fang and Black Banner were dismissed or delayed," he explained. "The timing alone wouldn’t prove anything, but we’ve found correspondence connecting the intermediaries to the officials involved."

Sage examined the documents carefully.

"How many incidents?"

"At least seven that we can establish with reasonable confidence," Pax answered. "There may be others."

---

Fenric produced another collection of records.

"Guildmaster, several merchants previously attempted to challenge restrictive arrangements imposed by the mercenary companies," he explained. "Their complaints were repeatedly delayed, and some were withdrawn after officials advised them that pursuing the matter would be unwise."

Sage frowned. "Were those officials acting under direct orders?"

"We haven’t established that," Fenric admitted. "But one former administrative clerk confirmed that certain complaints received unusual instructions from higher offices."

Pax placed a separate document upon the desk.

"The clerk retained a copy of one such instruction. It doesn’t name the person who issued the original request, but it refers to intervention from an influential household."

Sage read the document.

The language was carefully chosen.

Nothing openly demanded unlawful action.

Instead, it instructed the receiving office to reconsider the matter in light of unspecified concerns involving important interests.

Sage understood the implication immediately.

Someone had been using political influence to interfere with ordinary administrative procedures.

---

The next discovery was more troubling.

Pax had traced several introductions that allowed Edmund Krail to secure commercial privileges ordinarily reserved for merchants with considerably stronger political connections.

Certain warehouses had been made available to his representatives.

Transport arrangements had received unusually favorable treatment.

And several officials who initially opposed those privileges had abruptly changed their positions.

"Someone was opening doors for Krail," Pax explained. "Doors he shouldn’t have been able to open through his own influence."

Sage examined the correspondence.

"Could he have purchased those privileges independently?"

"Some, perhaps," Pax acknowledged. "But not all of them. Several required approval from offices that ordinary merchants cannot approach directly."

Fenric added, "And the same intermediaries appear repeatedly. Whoever arranged these privileges was also connected to the protection extended to the mercenary companies."

Sage leaned back.

The pattern was becoming difficult to dismiss.

Gideon, Roderick, and Edmund had possessed different resources and ambitions.

Yet all three had benefited from the same hidden network.

---

Pax then produced the final document.

It was a copy of a private authorization recovered through one of his informants.

The parchment bore the familiar seal depicting a tower surrounded by decorative branches.

Sage recognized it from the earlier investigation.

"We’ve encountered this before," he observed.

Pax nodded. "Yes, Guildmaster. This time, however, we’ve traced the authorization to an intermediary who regularly conducts business on behalf of a major noble household."

Sage’s expression sharpened.

"Which household?"

"That’s what we’re still trying to establish," Pax replied. "The intermediary serves several wealthy clients, and the documents deliberately conceal the identity of the person issuing the instructions."

Sage examined the seal again.

"Then what makes you certain the source is a powerful noble?"

Pax placed another document beside it.

"Because the intermediary’s instructions were honored by officials from multiple administrative offices. The level of cooperation involved would be extremely difficult for an ordinary merchant or minor noble to obtain."

---

Silence settled over the office.

Sage studied the evidence while Pax and Fenric waited.

The financial arrangements, administrative interference, and unusual commercial privileges pointed toward someone with considerable influence in the Royal Capital.

Not a minor noble struggling to maintain a modest estate.

Someone whose connections extended through several important offices.

Someone capable of protecting mercenary commanders and wealthy merchants while remaining comfortably removed from their activities.

Yet the evidence still stopped short of identifying the individual.

Sage eventually looked toward Pax. "Can we prove that this person ordered the caravan attack?"

Pax shook his head. "Not yet. We can establish that the three antagonists benefited from the same political network, but we cannot prove the noble patron personally authorized the violence."

Sage nodded slowly.

"Then we don’t make that accusation."

Fenric appeared relieved.

A careless allegation against a powerful noble could create consequences far more dangerous than anything the Guild had recently experienced.

---

Sage gathered the documents into a neat pile.

"Continue investigating," he instructed. "But I want every source protected. Whoever this person is, they’ve managed to remain hidden while three organizations operated beneath their protection."

Pax nodded. "I’ve already begun limiting how much information our contacts possess. None of them has the complete picture."

"Good," Sage replied. "And don’t approach the noble household directly until we know exactly who we’re dealing with."

Fenric bowed slightly. "Understood, Guildmaster."

After the two men departed, Boren remained beside the desk.

For several moments, neither spoke.

Then Boren examined the sealed folder and asked, "Do you think this noble will retaliate now that the others have fallen?"

Sage considered the question.

"I don’t know," he admitted. "But someone with that much influence doesn’t support three troublesome organizations without expecting something in return."

---

Outside, the Royal Capital continued its evening activities.

Carriages traveled through illuminated avenues, merchants closed their establishments, and noble residences prepared for another night of banquets and private gatherings.

Somewhere within that enormous city, a powerful individual remained concealed behind layers of intermediaries and carefully arranged favors.

The destruction of Iron Fang, the death of Roderick Halbrecht, and Edmund Krail’s disappearance had brought the immediate conflict to an end.

The Adventurer Guild had survived every attempt to undermine it.

Its influence was growing.

Its reputation had strengthened.

And its members continued pursuing opportunities that would once have been impossible for independent Warriors.

Yet Sage now understood that the men who had opposed him were only part of a much larger arrangement.

He looked toward the documents resting upon his desk.

For months, he had been fighting mercenary commanders and merchants who believed the Guild threatened their interests.

Now the evidence pointed toward someone whose influence reached into the political foundations of the Royal Capital itself.

Sage closed the folder and secured it inside his desk.

The Guild had won its first serious struggle against established powers.

But the next conflict would not necessarily be fought against men who openly carried swords or displayed their wealth.

Some enemies preferred to remain behind closed doors, allowing others to act in their place.

And somewhere in the Royal Capital, one such enemy was still watching.

Sage extinguished the lamp upon his desk.

He would find out who it was.