Chapter 70 – Espionage 

Then Aile quickly picked up the young master and threw him at the guards. Forcing them to stop and catch him while Aile ran away.

The guards did not follow Aile. They checked on the heir to the Roth family. After all, what if there is someone else with a wicked plan.

They knew in times of crisis their priority should be the protection of the Roth clan member.

Only a few guests chased after him, finding the enemy of a noble clan came with a lot of perks. Not to mention that they would have an opportunity to forge ties with the Roth family if they caught Aile. However, Aile had already planned for this, and after a few turns and deceptions, he got away.

***

Back at the tavern, the guards asked if their young master knew what the assassin was talking about.

Of course, he replied that he did not.

They did not doubt him, and it was not like they could. They just asked if he was ok and checked to make sure. If he was hurt in any way, they would be killed for their dereliction of duty.

The tavern owner went to his bed and tried to get it tidy. Once he lifted the bed sheet, he noticed a book.

He was not too bright, so he tried to sound out the words and said, "Ingredient... Concealing Runes." By now, the guards and the other guest already saw this. They knew that the book was what the assassin was here for.

The guest quickly scrambled, they knew too much, and they knew all too well that they would be killed to prevent such news from getting out. By the time the guards realized what happened, it was too late to prevent it. They knew that a rumour would have already started.

The only thing that surprised them was the stupidity of their young master if he knew the book was here, why did he let the tavern owner near his bed.

***

Aile had successfully sown discord between the White Clan and Roth Clan. He knew that whoever finds the book a rumour will start.

If it was the guards or the people from the tavern or even the heir to the Roth clan once they see the book, they would be surprised.

If this happens in front of everyone that would be the best case to germinate the rumours.

If anyone apart from the heir of Roth clan's picks it up, they will definitely sell the information out. After all, there is a lot of people that want information about the book. Not to mention, the alchemy union has promised a lot of enticing offers.

Even if the heir of the Roth clan finds it, due to his rivalry with Duke White's son, he can brag, threaten, or gloat about it. This will definitely sour any possible relationship.

Even if nothing happens, the rumour of an assassin questioning the heir of the Roth clan about a book will spread and people will connect the dots without evidence. By now everyone knew that Duke White's son had lost one of the books of Alchemy Union.

Aile then went back and changed back to his original mask and robe becoming, "Shadow." His next goal was to find a trading partner. He had already known that the trading and merchant guilds were at the eastern part of the town.

He then uncovered the gift of the princess from the garbage heap. It was a bit disgusting, and he cleaned it the best he could and carried it with him. After all the garbage heaps were the safest location to hide things. People tend to stray away from them, making them ideal for concealing things.

To reach the eastern part of the town he had to pass through Siren's Song and the other tavern where he kept his luggage. Since he was there already, he took the grinder with him up to the room and picked a few other things that he will need.

He soon reached the eastern part of the town, it was much more crowded here. People, carriages full of herbs, items, weapons were moving around. The number of guards was much higher here. This place had people dressed in high-end clothing all the way to scraps of clothing. This place seemed more real and made Aile realize that something was wrong in the area surrounding Siren's Song. Because there, only a few nobles and well-dressed people were walking around.

While he was walking, he saw a big sign "Oxe Merchant Headquarters."

Aile smiled when he saw this and decided to go inside.

He reached the entrance when two guards blocked him. This was not their merchant hall but rather an office area. Thus not anyone could enter.

"State your business?"

"I am called Shadow, I had previous dealing with Jack Oxe, and he recommended me to come here. Please inform your higher-ups that I am here to form a partnership."

The guard immediately became more considerate in his tone and asked, "May I ask where you met Master Jack?"

"Port Kiar."

"Please wait a while, sir, as I will inform our master!"

Aile chose the Oxe merchant guild for two reasons. One to keep in close contact with his enemy, keep friends close and enemies closer. Two he can use the information he already has to his advantage and form a partnership. This way, if they investigate the murder of Jack, they would not look at him too much if he was their trading partner.

A few minutes passed when a middle-aged fat person arrived. He extended his hand for a handshake and asked, "How may I address you?"

"You can call me Shadow."

"To what do we owe this honour, Mr Shadow?"

"I had bought some of the stuff from Jack Oxe, I am pleased with the purchase, and I would like to form a partnership based on his recommendation."

"Oh, Mr Jack Oxe, we have not heard of him in a while, I was wondering if you could give us more detail about how you met."

"He was looking for a buyer of some properties, stocks and his estate. I was interested, and he sold them to me. Now I want to start my business in Port Kiar. Since I already had a good deal with your merchant hall, I want to form a trade route to here."

"Oh, I am afraid that we cannot do that. Our merchant hall was initially interested in that town. However, due to the pirate and bandit problems, it is facing, transporting good to town will no longer be profitable considering our losses in the hands of those outlaws."

"I understand your concern, but if the location of the trade was not in the town. But a small outpost between here and Port Kiar."

His fat face had a brief smile and surprise expression. By now they had arrived in front of a meeting room. Aile entered and saw two comfortable chairs placed between them was a bowl of fruits. The fat merchant made a welcoming gesture as they both sat down.

"Do you have a deal with the outlaws?" as he looked at him greedily.

"No, those outlaws are unreasonable, but I think I can make the trips profitable."

"Oh..." He sighed as he lost his previous enthusiasm.

"How would you like to trade?" He then said after a few seconds.

Aile replied, "The good from Port Kiar along with this."

Aile then passed a healing cream bottle that he had picked form his luggage on the way. Of course, he had added the Ingredient Concealing Rune into it so that it could not be reverse-engineered.

"What is this?"

"Something with a lot of demand and only available in Port Kiar. A special healing cream only manufactured there."

"Do you mind if we test it?" said the merchant.

"Suit yourself."

The merchant regained the gleam in his eye and rang a bell. Then a maid came, and he asked for a master alchemist.

"So how much are you willing to sell this for?"

"It depends on how the deal goes and if your offer is acceptable for our other trade."

The merchant then asked, "How often do you want to restock?"

Aile replied, "Once a month. It will increase over time."

Taking out the number of days it would take to travel, once a month was the most logical time frame. Especially since the travel on a caravan could take 10 days for a return trip.

"How many bottles of these creams can you provide?"

Aile knew that Fiona can produce as much as 100 bottles a day if she has the ingredients. However, he had no plans to overcrowd the market with the healing cream making it lose its appeal.

"500 a month, if we can sort out the routes and trading schedules over time, of course, we will try to increase the production capacity."

"Smart! You have a good business sense, now let's test if the product is any good."