“Are you looking me for something?”
The man who resembled a rodent looked at me and sniffled. Though he came whenever I called for him in winter, he now showed a look of irritation whenever I called for him. It seemed that he had work to attend to. He most probably had his own land to plant crops in, and was therefore unhappy that I called for him now.
I thought his main occupation was a record keeper… It appeared that he was just one erudite among the townsfolk …
“Something very important.”
I looked at the man in front of me. One glance and you’d feel that he strongly resembled a rodent. One glance and you’d feel that he was perfectly suited to being active at night. Now, though, he was the talent that I need. I need somebody to perform a stakeout and watch over the tavern. I now had some ideas, but I didn’t have solid proof yet. Everything and everyone had gathered there, which meant that they had to be planning something. The thing is that I needed evidence.
“What is it? Do you need me to do something? Can we delay it? I do not have much time to work for you from now all the way until summer. I have to plant crops, too; therefore, I am unlikely to have time to work for you this spring.”
“I know. I won’t take up too much of your time, either. I don’t mind what you want to do during the day, but I need you to be awake at night for me. Of course, I don’t need you to help me find anything. You can arrange for somebody else to take over, but you must keep watch on the tavern for me. Nobody in the town now approaches the tavern, which means that anybody who approaches it is definitely connected to the chapel. You just need to tell me if there’s anybody who approaches the tavern every night.”
“Why would they approach it in the middle of the night? Also, the people going in and out of the tavern at night these days are all people from the chapel. The chapel’s soldiers will go in and out of the chapel. They appear to be on patrol, so if you are asking, then there is, indeed, people going in and out. May I ask who it is that you want to know? None of us like those people, which is why we, too, want to catch their dirty deeds. We notice people coming and going at night, but we cannot spot any problems.”
I lingered.
‘That’s surprising. I never thought that they already took that into consideration. There are people going in and out every night, and the chapel’s people are dressed all the same, so it’s impossible to notice any differences, not to mention the fact that it’s at night. If they’ve all got the chapel’s hood pulled over, you won’t be able to differentiate individuals.’
‘So the chapel does have something in mind as I thought, and they’ve begun to take action. To avoid letting people know that there are people coming and going at night, they have the soldiers go in and out. By doing that, nobody can tell who’s coming out or going in, which means that nobody will know who they’re speaking and about what.’
‘On second thought, however, why must they come to the chapel dressed in the exact same clothes as the chapel? If it was somebody I don’t recognise or somebody without a special trait, there’d be no need to go in dressed the same way. Even if they didn’t wear a cloak, they wouldn’t be noticed if they were a stranger. They need to hide their face, as they’re somebody we recognise, or they’re someone with a special trait that can be used to identify them.’
‘The question is, therefore, who in this town fits either of those two traits?’
‘First, that man, in other words, Achilles. Lots of townsfolk now recognise Achilles. Additionally, he and Angelina can work or order the chapel around, which proves that he has a very good relationship with the chapel. If that’s the case, it may very well be him who comes here to speak to the chapel at night; the question is what it’s about. It must be for the so-called gold. But in my opinion, a merchant has nothing to gain by trading gold with the chapel, because their profits would be substantially reduced, unless these merchants must rely on the church to be able to do business this time.’
‘The second possibility is very likely to be Lucia. She’s the only one with a unique trait. She has a distinct unique trait. If she doesn’t wear a cloak, she’d be recognisable from her long ears. The question is why the elves would be in contact with the chapel. Nevertheless, the chapel has the elven flavouring in their food every day. Does the chapel always bring it with them? Are they that rich? Or is the chapel trading with Lucia?’
‘Angelina’s suspicion definitely has to do with the flavourings. Someone with an abundance of flavouring wouldn’t mind losing some flavouring. Alternatively, they could be testing the goods to ensure it’s of premium quality.’
‘Is Lucia trading with the chapel for the elves? Why are the elves trading with the chapel? Are they short on funds? If they were, why do they need Lucia to conduct the trade? In addition, elves could just trade with Queen Sisi. There’s no need for them to trade with the chapel, since Queen Sisi is richer than the chapel.’
‘The biggest question here is, “What exactly are they trying to do?”’
‘It could be either Achilles or Lucia. They’re both equally likely to be part of it, and they’re both fatal problems. In saying that, if the two went to the chapel, I think everything can be explained. The elves might need money, which is why Lucia is exporting flavouring now, trading flavouring for money. But nonetheless, the chapel lacks the ability to trade; hence, they need a merchant. A food merchant would definitely want this flavouring stuff. Profits for trading flavouring to the Imperial Capital would be enormous. Once the deal is done, they can just split it with the chapel.’
‘One party lacks the pathway. One party lacks the pathway to acquire the goods. One party lacks the pathway to purchase the goods. However, if the three parties were to get together, they’d make the perfect team.’
‘The problem is that I currently lack evidence.’
“Understood.”
I nodded. The man in front of me let out a breath of relief and as though he was released, repeated, “I shall head back, then. I had too much work recently, so I can finally go home and focus on planting crops now.”
“Live your life well. I don’t need your help with this any longer. I need to find a break through on my own now.”
I took in a deep breath.
‘I basically have an understanding of the truth behind this. It was just a grain of flavouring, but I’ve got a rough idea of what the chapel is after now. I get it now; what the chapel is after isn’t preaching or whatnot. They’re meeting with the elves here where the conditions to conduct this deal are favourable. The church isn’t after any preaching rights, but money.’
‘Since three parties have gathered, it’s excusable for there to be a fourth party, right?’
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