264 Investigating Melen Part 4

.

.

.

—-------------

/Later... At the Guild.../

"... Giant Flower-Monsters? Are you sure that was what you saw and not some other serpentine monster like a Worm Well?" 

"They may be rare but they can be seen from time to time." A man with a sharp profile replied when asked by Silver

"What I saw cannot be anything but that." Silver replied with a serious expression

"Hm… Then I haven't seen nor heard of any." He said as he shook his head

'The man began wiping his counter as he replied.'

'The way he handled this situation showed how unphased he was about Silver's question, which in normal circumstances may point at his mental fortitude and professionalism...'

'But Silver saw something.'

"We haven't heard any news regarding the discovery of a new species, much less from the Main headquarters." The man said as he checked the cleanliness of the counter

'This man wasn't just any Guild worker... This was Rubato, the Guild Branch Head for the Port city of Melen.'

'Rubato was an extremely tall man with a sharp and serious gaze akin to that of a chef as he inspected his cooks' food.'

'He didn't have a welcoming aura, on the contrary, he caused others to want to stay away from him.'

'He didn't look like the kind of man that was good at party, that was because he wasn't, Rubato never went to a party in his life.'

'And he preferred it that way.'

(Image)

'Right now, it was to no surprise, Silver was currently in the Guild Branch conducting his investigation, albeit this time, he was all alone.'

'Previously, after noticing how they were being followed, and upon relaying such information to Hermes secretively, the God decided it would be best to divide themselves.'

'This way, they could understand who the pursuer's target truly was.'

'If it remained after Silver, he would know, if not, then he could easily catch up to Hermes and the others as they made their way to the Njord Familia, or simply put, the Port.'

'The other reason for this separation was also because… Hermes decided to play the role of a lure.'

'Silver also had his own reasons for operating alone, as he did not quite trust that Hermes was being upfront about his reasons and results from his personal investigation.'

'So while they were there, Silver was tasked with performing the investigation on the Guild, so here he was.'

'There was nothing to fear as he could protect himself, and they trusted him with that, and so did him.'

'Silver's trust in the Hermes' Familia capabilities wasn't small.'

"... That I can understand, you can't just act on your own." Silver said as he crossed his arms

"But wouldn't that lead to an investigation and protective measures on the Guild's part? To prevent anyone from getting potentially attacked?"

'But Rubato did not even think about his question, immediately replying with an unenergetic and somewhat robotic tone:'

"We can leave that to the Njord Familia because even if we tried to look into it, they would just refuse us since the waterfront is their jurisdiction."

"It has always been such, this isn't the first time we would be refused." Rubato replied with a calm and simple gaze as he passed his finger through the counter, checking its cleanliness

"I can make a report and send it to the Headquarters. Nonetheless, its up to the Njord Familia on whether or not such an action will even be necessary."

"That so? Makes sense… For a half-baked excuse." Silver said with a yawn as he looked at the man

"Pardon?" Rubato asked with some confusion as he opened his eyes, somewhat surprised

'He never expected this sort of behavior coming from him, in fact, this may have been the first time anyone ever spoke like that next to him.'

'Not that he was entitled, Rubato was no Noble, it was just that his job as a Guild Official led him to interact with others who tended to mind their own words...'

'And of course, Rubato never dealt with adventurers, finding the role of advisor and anything that involved getting near them deplorable.'

'And to some degree, he was right, adventurers weren't exactly the sort someone should interact with.'

'All exceptions aside that is...'

"You heard me, everything you said, it's nothing but an excuse." Silver affirmed as he pressed his index finger on the table

"How exactly did you come to that conclusion...?" Rubato asked with a displeased frown, albeit Silver only chuckled at that reaction

"You don't really need to do anything else, we've already figured it out."

"I'm only here for formalities but… And I kind of got fed up with that as well despite being told to not act rashly." Silver said as he walked past the counter

We were planning to work with the Good and Bad cop dynamic, but I really don't have time for that.

Besides, even if the Guild wants to berate me for my actions, as long as I keep whatever happens here under wraps, then no one will care, especially if I don't harm anyone.

Ouranos may get upset and Fells will try to give me some sort of speech about why it's not good to act like this, but I won't lead to anything as long as I don't touch him... Or they don't know.

And that's really easy, what can a simple branch head do against a First Class adventurer anyway?

'Silver could even clear his mind or mind control him, but he had his boundaries regarding this.'

'There is always an easy and hard path to follow to anything, and he could choose both and beyond'.

'Normally, violence and conflict tended to be the easy ones to follow.'

'While communication itself... Took the short end of the stick.'

'But Silver knew where to draw the line, as even if this man in front of him was a villain, there were many layers to it.'

'And above all, he didn't wish to create a precedent by forcing his way through a situation in a barbaric way, especially when he planned to interact with the Guild for years to come.'

"WH… What are you doing?! That's staff only area!" Rubato exclaimed as he walked after Silver, trying to stop him, only to fail as he was much stronger than him

Grr! I can't stop him, he's like a damn boat!

'Even if he were to strap the entire Guild building to Silver, it wouldn't be able to stop him from walking forward.'

'His flimsy arms would do little, he may even end up hurting himself.'

"I'm doing some personal investigations, excuse me if you will." Silver said as he ignored the man

"Any complaints should be sent to the Main Headquarters." He said with a wide smile as he opened a closed door

"YOU! You cannot trespass into Guild private property!! Do you even know the consequences of this?!"

"Very much so, I have that entire damned guidebook with me." He said with a chuckle as he pulled a small book from underneath his shirt

"Then why?! Can't you see the repercussions of this to your Familia?!" Rubato said as he started to lose his cool

'Even now, Rubato did not know who he was dealing with, because otherwise, his way of dealing with the situation might've changed.'

'But alas...'

"Hum… I just want this to end quickly." He said as he pushed the man aside 

"Urg! Damned Adventurer Barbarians…"

"Haha... You should check your tone around us then." Silver said as he stopped walking momentarily 

"If I sneeze too strongly this place will be razzed completely." He said with a chuckle as he continued walking with his hands in his pockets 

"..."

'Rubato did not reply.'

…

'Silver inspected the back room of the Guild, but apart from the usual, he saw nothing out of the ordinary.'

'Everything he expected to see was there, books, documents, supplies to be delivered, spare uniforms and so on.'

"Humph... Happy now? All of this transgression… I'll be filing a complaint later." He said as he pulled a small mirror from his hidden chest pocket, checking his hair and making sure his appearance was in order after his slight moment of carelessness 

"Please do so, I don't really mind." Silver said as he looked around

"In fact, please, go on and add the reason why I'm here, I'm sure the Guild Headquarters would be happy to follow up with what I'm doing."

'If Ouranos receives a complaint, he will immediately get a reason to send his forces here since everything he as the head of the Guild needs is a situation where an adventurer "Attacked" Melen's Branch.'

'Wouldn't that be the perfect cover-up for his activities? He would just send the Ganesha Familia here and in no time five or maybe even more Level 5 adventurers would be knocking on his door.'

'It's important to remember, albeit it's hard due to Ganesha's way of being, but he has twelve Level 5 adventurers in his Familia.'

'He's not someone to joke around with, especially with his personality, all Gods that ever met him know he's not a bad guy... And that he's not to be trifled with.'

'He is Ganesha after all.'

...

/Scribble.../

"Hm?!"

"..."

What is it now...?

"My senses are tingling... Someone must be speaking about me!" GANESHA exclaimed as he got atop his chair

"Are you sure it's not just the cold?" A man with mak replied as he wiped the floor with a towel

"I'm... ATCHIU!! GANE- ATCHIU! - SHA!"

"... I'll bring some cold medicine..."

...

/Back to the present.../

'Regardless if he sends a complaint or not, it would all work out in the end...'

'So? How will you react now?'

"..."

'Rubato's expression tensed a little.'

'And seeing his lack of a reaction, Silver decided to push him a bit.'

"... I mean, I'm not quite versed with Guild procedures, so I'm sure someone will notice an inconsistency that I don't…" Silver said as he moved around

"Don't you think so too?" He asked as he looked at Rubato 

"... You're just making baseless accusations, what inconsistencies are there to spot?"

"I've been running this Branch for years without a single mishap, making sure all of Orario's supplies from the sea make their way to their appropriate destinations."

"Do you realize now the extent of your interruption? You're disrupting Orario's supply channel and for what?"

"... Am I now?"

"Hm... Let me ask you one thing then."

"Say, I've been wandering… Why is the Guild of Melen in a hostile relationship with the other governing forces?"

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything? No... Where did you even take that from?" Rubato asked as he raised an eyebrow

"I've already talked with Borg." Silver replied in a cold tone as he looked at Rubato 

'He had a sly smile on his face as he said that as if he knew everything.'

'Rubato had seen that smile once, but not from man...'

'Gods loved to play like that, they would always sit back and enjoy with a small smile the moment they realized what was going on.'

'They would tease and imply things beyond the understanding of those they spoke with, excited to see what reactions and actions they would derive from their words.'

"!"

Impossible, did that old head… NO!

He's trying to bluff me!

For no moment ever since our conversation started did I mention Borg at any moment, he's just bluffing by taking only his side into account!

But that old man... He can't keep tact, can he?!

'Rubato was at his wits end, because it was certainly as Silver said.'

'Right now, he knew that the only thing between himself and a broken nose was Silver's own morals, and his only guarantee that such fate wouldn't befall him was the fact Silver was acting with a purpose in mind.'

'And he needed him to cooperate for that.'

'The problem was the way Silver acted, it was as if he was trying to bait him into showing even a small sliver of a sign, as if he already knew everything that was happening.'

'He knew that regardless of what he did, he could not send a report back...'

'But how did he find out about such a thing?! Where were his suspicions coming from?!'

'It had to be a bluff... And the only way to win in this situation was too out-bluff him.'

'If he lost his tact and confirmed his powerlessness, Silver would free himself of all chains.'

'And if that came to be, the only way to win would be to force him to commit a mistake the Guild would be unable to look away from.'

'But how?'

"Is that what this is about then?..." Rubato asked as he looked away, disinterested

"What of that old dunce? Did he send you here to pester me again?" He asked with a sharp expression as his face twisted into one of disgust

"You can tell him to go to the Njord Familia for any sea-related issues, this is my final say in this, I've always said that to him..."

'But Silver interrupted the man:'

"... The Njord Familia again, why are you bringing them up again?"

"Why? I already told you why! Their territory is the sea! Please see reason!"

"Why is that? Since when?" Silver kept asking without changing his expression

"Urg!... What are these questions even for? I don't have the time for this…" Rubato said as he touched his head

"Their territory is the ocean because normal sailors cannot operate in the Lake under standard conditions due to monsters, they're the ones that protect them hence the sea is their territory by default."

"As for how long… They've been doing so before I arrived, decades... A century even."

"How is that possible?" Silver asked as he looked around the room

"You see, that's quite strange… Because as far as I'm aware, the Njord Familia used to have a high casualty rate until recently."

"They were in no position to 'claim' the sea nor to be given rights over it."

I heard this from Hermes, and it makes sense.

If the Njord Familia was contacted by Evilus and proposed a deal that could help them fish safely, then that would be coincidental with the times when Njord started to be seen as more than just a fatherly figure due to his personality but as a Hero too for giving them bountiful harvests while saving their lives in the process.

Sometime after this, albeit not long after, Njord or maybe Evilus themselves contacted both the Guild and the Mayor, and like that, all three forces were corrupted or intertwined into one web.

Njord continues to do what he always did but likely being in charge of performing the illegal smuggling under the veil of secrecy.

In exchange for this, they get safety.

That is where Magic Powder comes in, which is the one distributed by the Mayor.

But of course, the Mayor isn't the one who produces it, he's just a distributor due to his fame and the trust of the people.

The Magic Powder is nothing but fish bait ground with Magic Stones.

And there is only one organization that can legally deal with that...

That is where Rubato's role comes in, as the Guild is the one that supplies the operation with Magic stones, allowing the production of the Powder.

And given his position, messing around with the numbers a little is no problem, especially when he likely gets magic stones back for all of the monsters that are slain in the lake.

To make sure there is no suspicion from anyone, the Mayor scorns Rubato and vice versa, creating a situation where both sides are at odds with one another when in truth they're cooperating.

The Mayor and Njord have Noble reasons for their actions, and it's not like anyone is suffering... But only within Melen.

By funding Evilus, they're bringing forth the end of the world, and they're not aware of it at all, to them, they're just trying to survive by doing a simple act of doing a little bit of illegal trading.

While for Rubato... He's just a greedy man who needs some reform, someone who needed just the right incentive to bend... And Evilus is pretty good at that.

'All of these thoughts came in the blink of an eye to Silver, but even then, he lost himself a bit in Rabato's words:'

"Casualty rate? I've never been given the proper numbers as to that so I can't opine on it..."

"As for the exact method Njord employed to solve such issue... I can't quite tell you why, Njord has always been very proactive in solving the issue of the sailors, so you may have more success asking them instead of me."

"Hum… You're quite useless for the manager of a Guild Branch, to not even be aware of such important issues." Silver said as he placed his arms on his back

"Well excuse me!" Rubato said as he looked away with a 'humph'

"Say…"

"You aren't done yet?!"

"It's my last question."

"Then on with it, I've wasted too much time on this." Rubato said with a grunt 

"But of course… Tell me…" Silver said as he vanished

"Why are you lying?" 

'He reappeared right in front of Rubato, smiling silently as he pressed him against the wall.'

/Crack!/

'There was no place to run... Or better put, Silver was done speaking.'

'He wasn't speaking with the intent of cornering Rubato or exposing anything...'

'He was just buying some time so all employes of the Guild Branch fell unconscious from his Plasmids.'

"?!"

…

/Meanwhile…/

/Step... Step... Stop/

"... It's been a while hasn't it? Njord." Hermes said as he sat down on a box next to a sailor sitting down by a dock as he gazed at the lake

"Hum? Woah! You took me by surprise there pal!..." A man replied rather energetically as he turned his head around

'Njord was a tall man with brown hair that was tied to the back of his head.'

'He has a gentle yet tough look and is physically fit, with a height that is as tall as Bete's.'1

(Image)

'His appearance generally makes people think of him as a "man of the sea", someone who is free and adventurous, albeit the scope of his adventures remains to the depths of the Lolog Lake.'

'A God of will and fame… To the locals.'

'Someone who wished to spend his days with his children and help them in their hurdles as they worked hard every day.'

'Even as he sweated heavily lifting boxes and pulling ropes, Njord never complained, he only smiled, because he loved doing what he did.'

'That was why Hermes did not believe him to be their target, Njord was someone whose compassion and love for people was such even Hermes felt strange by the very thought of seeing him collude with such a deranged organization.'

'However, it did not clear him of suspicion.'

"It's been a while Hermes, last time was…"

"During the preparations for the Great Quest." Hermes interjected as he looked far into the horizon

"Yeah!... Man… To think a Decade already passed!"

"Time sure passes fast in the mortal world…So? What brings you all the way down here? I'm not really interesting so I can't help you with gossip."

"And unless you're craving some fish I'm not quite sure how I can help ya."

"What else? I needed a time off after meeting someone from afar, though I'm already done with that." Hermes lied with a chuckle as he looked at the sea also

'It wasn't a complete lie either... Maybe it was more like a distorted truth.'

"While my children play a little I decided to pay you a visit."

"Working hard as always it seems?"

"... Yeah." Njord replied as his expression grew serene

His gaze went to the lake.

"I imagine fishing life hasn't gotten any easier."

"... It never was."

"..."

At that moment, Hermes' gaze changed as he looked up at the sea.

"Say… How about we play a little game of guessing? Try to lift our spirits a little?"

"A game? All of a sudden?"

"Yeah… I call it… Fetch the Fish, in your name." He said with a smile as he got up from his seat, taking a step closer to him as he stood at the edge of the Pier, gazing into the ocean beyond

"Fetch the Fish? Alright… I just don't have much time."

"I know, neither do I, but we'll figure it out, we always do." He said with a smile as he got up from the box

"And don't worry, we won't be playing the game, at least we won't be the main players but more of uh… Preparers."

"Preparers?" He asked with some suspicion

"We prepare the game for others to play… Or better put, prepared."

"You could say we're just watching so it's much of a game... Unless you wish to bet on it."

"We'll let our children play, isn't that exciting? To see them try their best and have fun?"

"Wh… What do you mean by that?" Njord asked as he started to notice something was wrong

"The game is simple you see."

"For the past few days, I've set a few baits here and there, and now…"

/BOOOOM!/

"We fetch the fish." He said with an evil smile as his Aura changed

'A large cloud of dark smoke rose from within Melen as a wave of air blew around them, and soon enough, screams rang.'

/Chaos!/

"Let's play Njord! Can't you feel the thrill?!" Hermes asked out loud as he opened his arms wide

"HERMES! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Njord exclaimed with a distorted angry face as he got up from his seat, walking up to Hermes

"... I've prepared the stage..."

Like I always...

/SMACK!/

'But before Hermes could finish his thoughts and laugh like a Villain, he was punched in the face brutally.'

…

.

.

.

Notes