Chapter: 20
“That’s your standard. Here, it’s all about headcount. Knights or old men—doesn’t matter.”
The dark magician agreed to my negotiation with a triumphant air.
I narrowed my eyes and pressed on.
“But there was no prior notice, right? One sack of wheat for every four people is too much. It doesn’t even match the number of people we brought.”
“Then seven people for two sacks. No more.”
When the dark magician spoke firmly, Baron Harwin nodded.
“Fine. Let’s do it that way.”
I glared at him in disbelief. How could he be satisfied so easily? And he had never even cultivated a single grain of wheat…
“Now, the wheat sacks… my knights brought them too… Let’s finish this quickly. Ugh, I just want to get out of here.”
“Wait.”
I stopped Baron Harwin and glared at the dark magician.
“Show the wheat first. Who trades without checking the goods properly?”
“Hmph.”
The dark magician scoffed. Then he looked toward Baron Harwin.
“Is this young lady your daughter? She’s quite bold.”
Before Baron Harwin could jump up and deny it, I preempted him.
“I’m Dalia Harwin.”
Revealing my identity here wouldn’t benefit me, which was why I was cloaked in a robe.
Fortunately, Baron Harwin hastily nodded.
“Y-Yes.”
He was worried that if I was recognized as part of the Liente Kingdom’s bloodline, the deal with Sebon would be ruined.
“She’s my daughter. Clever from a young age.”
Even with the robe carefully wrapped, my eye color was visible.
Whether lucky or unlucky, we both had light sky-blue eyes.
Baron Harwin boasted.
“Our daughter is smart and meticulous.”
“But she seems a bit arrogant.”
“That’s true. She’s under discipline, but it’s hard to correct.”
The dark magician muttered in Sebon’s language.
“Acete Kibana Ayultacum… (That’s a case of poor discipline…)”
I snorted, then replied in Sebon’s language.
“Setene Kibanata Atom. Asiyaki Ataban. (I think so too. This man can’t raise a child well.)”
The dark magician’s eyes widened.
He muttered, stunned.
“So… she really is clever…”
“Quickly, show the wheat. What if they filled the sacks with spoiled grain?”
The dark magician glanced around for a moment.
“Suspicion…”
He gestured to someone behind him, who immediately went to fetch the wheat sacks from the warehouse.
‘So the wheat is in that warehouse.’
I had gained an important piece of information.
Warps were activating all over the harbor.
Besides us, local lords were coming in real-time to sell people, and many small ships were already ready at sea.
‘The entire harbor is under control.’
I scanned the surroundings, thinking.
Delphoven Harbor was small and remote.
‘They’ve probably been letting outsiders in gradually while driving the locals out one by one.’
They had been preparing step by step, and once isolated by the monster wave, taking full control would have been easy.
‘Looks like there are no Western locals.’
People gathered here and there, but not a single trace of the Western accent could be heard.
Perhaps thinking similarly, Baron Forman’s expression was very grim. After all, this was happening in his territory.
Meanwhile, a dark magician struggled and carried a sack of wheat on his shoulder.
“Here. Check it.”
I opened the sack and examined the wheat myself.
‘Harvested last fall. The variety is…’
Then, suddenly:
“AAAAAH!”
“Attack! It’s an attack!”
“The Nozen Knights!”
I slowly lifted my head.
The scent of Baron Forman must have reached the closest knight squad.
‘Now!’
I quickly signaled Wendy.
Tied up with the intruders, Wendy quickly freed her wrists and loosened her gag.
She pulled a dagger from her clothes and instantly took down the dark magicians watching them.
“AAAH!”
Having cleared the surrounding enemies in an instant, Wendy untied the intruders and shouted:
“Now, capture Baron Harwin and his crew!”
After taking down the dark magicians, Wendy struck Baron Harwin on the head.
He collapsed unconscious.
“Here!”
Naturally, the intruders followed Wendy and all charged at Baron Harwin’s knights.
They couldn’t reach me; my knights were too strong, and they were swept up in Wendy’s command.
Besides, it was Harwin himself who had made the ‘decision’ to sell them.
Of course, there was a reason we neutralized Harwin and his knights first.
‘In unexpected situations, internal enemies are always the trickiest.’
Better to disable them first than risk getting blindsided.
Wendy tied up the unconscious Baron Harwin and his defeated knights.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Now… now…”
Her voice trembled with emotion.
“Now I can finally eat potatoes…”
A few days ago, Wendy had begged me to let her eat potatoes as a reward for her mistakes.
“You trained alone while others were planting potatoes.”
I said coldly:
“At least earn your keep during training before I lift the potato ban.”
So I had used Wendy as bait.
Being with the hostages made it easier to take out the watchers and escape them.
Baron Forman was also released and was hiding flusteredly behind Wendy.
“Argh!”
Meanwhile, the dark magician facing me was panicking. The sudden Western army incursion had completely thrown him off.
“What the… damn it. We need to retreat.”
He spoke to his comrades, fumbled in his pocket, and handed me a note.
“Since the baron has fallen, deliver this to your daughter instead.”
I took the note in surprise.
He whispered quietly:
“Bring Brisa Sears.”
My eyes widened.
“The price is fifty sacks of wheat. Understood? Here’s the warp address.”
Earlier, I had been shocked when I said two people per sack of wheat.
‘In the original story, Brisa and the maid were fifty sacks.’
So I thought that was the market price, but now it turned out that less than half a sack per person was standard.
And whether old men or knights, they counted strictly by headcount.
The price difference was far too large to be just about nobility. There had to be another reason.
‘They wanted me taken at any cost, even at that price.’
I hid my confusion and calmly asked:
“Why Brisa?”
“Nothing for you to know.”
“She’s innocent.”
“Perhaps.”
“You’re not planning anything bad with that child, are you?”
“That’s exactly what we always do… ugh!”
The hushed conversation ended there. Philip, who hadn’t realized I was talking to the dark magician, struck him on the head and knocked him out.
No other dark magician could help; the Western knights had started eliminating the masked ones first.
Soon, the Western knights began slaughtering the dark magicians, and the harbor was in chaos.
Amid it all, I held the note tightly, feeling surreal.
‘They want me brought here? For fifty sacks of wheat?’
