Royse opened the door to the shop and was greeted by the view of many customers who immediately recognized him.
Some commoners gushed at the group while nobles became frantic and fixed themselves before approaching the well known young businessman.
From seeing his appearance, the assistant rushes towards the backroom. Soon, a man had appeared from the backroom with the assistant following after him.
"Master Royse, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" The manager greets the group with a bow.
"There is something that I wish to discuss. Shall we take this upstairs?"
"Certainly." The manager then leads them towards a different place.
The customer's whispered as they watch the group. The siblings were famous in their own way but the other person they were with was also the topic of conversation. A person with a light attribute.
They arrived at the office upstairs and the 3 took their seats. A different assistant came into view bringing a tray to serve tea.
Serving them a cup, Royse thanked the assistant and looks at the manager.
"Sir Thomas, Secretary Mark has informed me of an issue with one of the merchants."
At the mention of the word, the manager sighed as he nods.
"Yes, well you see our tradesman in the Beast Kingdom has sent a complaint that they had not received the products."
Royse hummed and turned towards Amy. "Was there any problem regarding the transportation." He asks towards her.
Amy shook her head. "None. If there was we would have received a notice from one of their people."
"There was no problem with the permits?"
The girl shook her head. Royse looks back at the man. Just then a person entered the room.
They turn their heads and saw a familiar face.
"Andrew, good to see you." Royse greets.
"Hello master Royse. I heard downstairs that you visited. Came as quick as I could." The newcomer looks at his side and saw the ombre-haired girl.
His happy demeanour immediately disappeared, replacing it with a frown.
"Good to see you miss Amy." Andrew greets with a strained smile.
"Heh, nice to see ya too." She replies as he looks at him mockingly.
Royse ignored their rivalry and returns his attention to the manager. "Sir Thomas, when was the last time you met with the merchant that handled the conveyor?"
"2 weeks ago."
"Then that's our lead." Royse took his cup and sipped his tea. "I would like to meet with this merchant. Do you know his schedule?"
The manager furrows his brows as he placed his index finger below his chin.
"I am unsure."
Andrew then spoke. "I think he should be dealing with one of his contracts by the port at this time."
"Then our next location is settled."
"Do you need me to join you master Royse?" Andrew asks.
"No need. I'll message you for any updates regarding the issue."
Andrew resembled a neglected puppy as he became dejected from his words.
Amy pats his shoulder only causing the male to slap it off and glare at the girl.
Royse pushed Amy out of the room and bid their farewell.
The three left the shop and went somewhere secluded and drank a potion. Royse removed his blazer and hid it in his item box. He rolled his sleeves, untucked his dress shirt, and ruffled his hair.
Amy did the same and removed her necktie and untucked her shirt from her skirt. Rohesia was still the same except for her hair and eyes.
The three soon found themselves standing in the middle of the harbour. People were bustling around. Many ships were docked as people did their jobs in hoisting and carrying over pieces of luggage and crates. Kinds of people from around the world strode as they head towards their destination.
Rohesia looks around and stuck close to the two.
"It's a good thing it isn't summer yet." Amy comments as she looks at the workers. She grimaced at the idea when summer comes.
"I agree." Rohesia comments. She then turns towards Royse. "So are we searching for the merchant?" She asks.
"Yes. But before that, I would like to investigate him. We should be safe with the potion changing our hair and eyes." Royse states.
"Still, will it really be ok? I don't doubt our capabilities but I still worry."
Royse smiles. "It's fine, we're simply gathering information."
"You seem convinced that this merchant is the mastermind of this." Amy comments.
"Mark-san wrote in the letter that this merchant has a history of unpleasant business partners."
Rohesia and Amy looked at him in surprise. The ombre-haired girl frowns.
"Then why did the company agree with cooperating with that guy?" She asks as she crossed her arms.
Rohesia looks at Amy and tilted her head. "Was it not Amy-san responsible with selecting their business partners?" She asks.
Amy turns towards the other sibling and explains. "No, my division is different. I handle that yes, but the elven Kingdom is my centre."
Royse nods at her words. "Yes. With how big the company is, we needed to organize and classify them into different divisions. Though this could also count as a mistake on my part for overlooking the person." Royse admitted.
Rohesia hummed as she gazed at the two.
"Then we need evidence?"
Royse nods at his sister's words. "Yes. According to Andrew, our suspect should be by the shop over there." Royse points towards the location.
The two looks in the direction and saw a building. Squinting, they saw the sign and knew it was some sort of pub.
Royse started walking towards the building. He opens the door and saw the number of adventurers that ate and drank. The smell of liquor was around the place causing Rohesia to grunt and cover her nose. She remained close to the group and tried to hide her nervousness.
They took their seat in a corner.
"So what does this guy look like?" Amy asks as she looks around unbothered.
"The merchant is easy to notice with the way he flaunts his riches." Royse states as he waves over for a waitress.
"You're ordering?" Rohesia asks in surprise.
Her brother shrugs. "Why not. We're going undercover after all. Might as well make it convincing enough." Royse reasons.
Soon a waitress made her way and giggled at the group.
"What would be the orders of our lovely ladies?" The waitress asks.
Both Amy and Rohesia stifled a laugh as they look away.
Royse was ticked off but maintained a business smile and made his order. "One of your desserts."
"I recommend our new speciality."
"Then that please."
"As for the others?"
"I'll have what he's having."
"Me too."
The waitress nods. "Understood. Your orders will be in a bit." She walks away, sending their orders towards the kitchen.
"Ah, that never gets old." Amy comments as she smirks at Royse.
"Shut it."
"Fine fine." Amy looks around returning to their agenda in search of their target. When the door opened, they immediately found the man.
Both Amy and Rohesia grimaced at the appearance.
The merchant had a presence and flaunted all his jewellery. He walked as if he owned the place and took a seat at the counter.
He orders a drink and from the looks of it, it seems he was a regular.
"'Contracts' my ass. That dude doesn't seem to be here for business purposes." Amy hissed.
"Now now, let's just continue to spy on him." Royse states.
The waitress then came back with their orders on the tray. She served it and smiles.
"I'm surprised to find a group like you guys." She giggles.
"Really?" Royse asks.
"Yes, as you can see we mostly get customers like them." She states as she looks at the huge built men laughing out loud. "Though it helps." The waitress then peers over at the bartender.
Royse hummed as he examined her expression.
"Family business?" He asks.
The waitress nods. "Yep. This was an eatery at first but then it changed into a pub when my brother took over."
"Must be difficult."
The waitress sighed as she nods. "Yes. We're still in a tight situation but there was someone who gave us enough finance to remain open." She smiles. Before the waitress could continue her story she was called by the other customers.
"Sorry for taking your time. Enjoy your treat."
"Thanks."
She waves goodbye as she hurries back to her job.
Royse finally turns towards his order. It was a pudding and Royse knew they must've gotten the recipe from one of their chefs.
"This pudding." Rohesia murmurs recognizing it.
"You sure made changes in the culinary world here." Amy comments as she took a spoonful of the dessert. "Not that I mind. The food sucks." Amy states as he happily savoured the treat.
"Well I'm honoured." Royse replies as he also ate his order. He then glanced at the target and saw him conversing with the bartender.
Although far, Royse could clearly see that the merchant asked for something. The bartender then took something from underneath the counter and slid it over the merchant inconspicuously.
Royse squinted his eyes and registered it as a box.
The merchant held a smile as he then finished his drink and paid for it. He stands up and exits the pub.
Royse finishes his treat and left the money for their order.
Rohesia and Amy blinked in surprise.
"Huh?"
"The man left. Let's go." Royse states as he stood up and exits the building.
Both Rohesia and Amy finished their dessert in a hurry and rushes after Royse.
They find the target skillfully manoeuvring around the crowd. The 3 made sure not to be separated.
"Wait-" Rohesia states as she struggles at the wave of people.
She tries catching up but was knocked over causing her to lose her footing.
Amy grabbed Rohesia's arm and pulled her to her chest. She looks at the girl in her arms in concern.
"You ok?"
"Yeah..." Rohesia blushed at the proximity.
"Be careful. This place is bustling with people. You can easily get lost here." Amy states as she looks around and searched for Royse.
Rohesia nods as she lets Amy pull her. She gazes at their hands together and looks down as her cheeks reddened.
Rohesia shook her head at the thought that came to her mind.
They catch up with Royse who stood in front of a tent. He turns and shushes the two as he gestures them to follow him quietly.
They walked around the tent and snuck in where crates covered them. They crouched as they listened to the conversation.
There was a voice of another man.
"I take that the delivery arrived safely?" The unknown man asks.
"Yes. We managed to sneak it in with the other products. The only thing we're waiting for is the response."
"Good. Things would be terrible if we were found out. Still they're taking a while." The unknown man grunted. "What about the notice? You made sure they didn't put anything in there right? It's sent out without a problem?"
"Of course. I wouldn't make such a mistake."
"Notice?" Royse whispers as he rose a brow.
"Here's the pay." The merchant states as he hands over an item.
Royse glanced behind the crate and saw the same box like the one in the pub. He furrows his brows when he notices the insignia in the box.
The unknown man smiles. "Good."
The merchant then left, signalling that the trio's job was done. They escaped the tent, confused at the conversation they heard.
They return to the busy place and stood at an alleyway.
"This is odd." Amy comments as she crossed her arms.
"It doesn't make any sense..." Royse bit his nail as he racks up his brain.
Rohesia looks at the two in between and was concerned.
"Why?"
Royse turns towards his sister.
"The man said the delivery arrived but we received a complaint that the products weren't delivered."
"There's also the notice." Amy added.
"Is it bad?" Rohesia asks.
"Depends. Our goal was to find a piece of evidence. The conversation we heard isn't enough to count for." Amy explains.
"We need an actual item then?" Rohesia asks.
"Yeah. But this is going to be difficult. Should we file an investigation?" Amy asks as he turns towards Royse.
The male was silent for a minute before looking up.
"That's not necessary." Royse assures as he starts walking back to the pub. Both Amy and Rohesia looks at him in confusion as they follow after him.
He enters the establishment and strode towards the counter.
They all take their seat and the bartender looks at the group. "You guys seem underage. We do serve juice." The man states as he wipes the glass.
"I must say, that was a horrible packaging. Out of date right?" Royse smiles at the man as he settles his cheek over his palm.
The bartender quirked his brow.
"If it's about our takeaway, then I will have a word with our waitress."
Royse chuckles.
"Oh how funny. You know what I'm talking about. Just say the word and I'll be able to back up your situation." Royse states bluntly as he eyes the man.
The man halts his task and looks at him in anger. "Is the agreement not enough?" The man hissed as he glared at Royse.
Rohesia blinked in surprise at the progression of their conversation. She looks at the two in concern wondering whether should she stop them. Amy, on the other hand simply smiled and thought how Royse was too accustomed to interrogating.
The man's words confirmed Royse's suspicions.
"Allow me to correct you. I am not part of them." Royse states as he taps his index finger over the counter.
"That man a while ago is up to no good. Sooner or later, his deeds will be revealed. Traces of evidence will be directed to you being an accomplice." Royse points towards the man.
"And when that happens." Royse glanced at the waitress smiling as she does her job.
The bartender suddenly became wide-eyed as his hands start to tremble after realizing he was exposed.
"And what do you suggest?" He asks.
"Give me the invoice of the item." Royse orders as he looks at the man. "You have it don't you."
The man nods as he takes something from his pocket and hands it over to Royse.
"Will you really promise to save us." The man states as he looks at Royse.
He smiles genuinely and nods.
"Promise. Be sure to check the news." Royse states as he stood up from his seat and exits the pub.
They head out and start walking back into town.
"How did you find out?" Rohesia asks as she follows after her brother.
"Well the waitress was kind enough to share her information. And goodness, people sure are too laid back when sharing their stories." Royse then hides the invoice in his item box.
Amy crossed her arms. "And the notice was a huge giveaway."
Royse nods. "Yes. The notice."
"Notice? I remember Amy-san said there wasn't any notice back in the shop."
"That's because it's not addressed to us." Royse explains as he narrows his eyes. "The box held an insignia. And if I'm correct, that insignia represents a seller in the black market."
Rohesia gasped. "But how are you sure?" The black market? Rohesia couldn't believe that the merchant would be linked to it.
"Every seller in the black market are aware of their position. A notice can also be considered their contract paper. Both parties need to agree to it so they could buy or sell something. The seller has the right to add conditions in it." Royse explains.
"That's the reason why that man was worried about whatever was written in it." Amy added. "Now the question is, how come they said it arrived when it didn't. Which of the two is the truth..."
"Perhaps it actually didn't." Royse states.
"What?"
"They said they're still waiting for a response. The man sounded irritated and said it was taking a while. The last time sir Thomas saw the merchant was 2 weeks ago."
Amy got the gist of it. "It usually takes a week for our products to reach the beast kingdom. So something happened."
"And within that week, it's something that they don't have control of." Royse huffed.
"Anyway, we have the evidence. That's one of our concerns crossed out of the list." He states.
Rohesia beams. "That means we can report this to the officials right?"
"Not yet. We still need to clear out a name."
"Oh, right. The bartender."
Royse nods. "Though that will be easy. Mark-san will be handling it once I explain him everything."
Amy laughed at his words. "And here you said I'd been dumping my work to someone else. You're one to talk."
"Excuse me but I did what Mark-san told me in the letter. Job well done I believe." Royse refuted.
"Oh really now?"
"Guys, let's just hurry and return so we can tell Mark-san about this." Rohesia tried to stop the two from bickering any longer.
Rohesia smiled as the two stopped and playfully hit each other. She watches their back and saw Royse walk away.
She still couldn't believe that they actually exploited someone. Royse took the lead and was very different from before.
She remembers a memory back in the orphanage when Royse would cling to her often.
The time when he would easily cry from a small bruise.
When did that change?
Right, when they found out their attributes.
She halts and sadly smiled.
"You know Rosey, you're always heading towards danger." Rohesia clasped her hands on her back.
Royse stopped as he turns towards his sister. "Eh? Aneki what?" He was surprised at the sudden words his sister spoke.
"Yeah. You sure are a trouble magnet." Amy added as she crossed her arms over her head walking past him.
"As if you're not the same." He argued.
"You know, I'm worried that Rosey handles this kind of job." Rohesia admitted.
"I know from when we were little, you knew what you signed up on." She pursed her lips. "I only realized how heavy a burden it must be."
Royse furrows his brows, understanding where his sister was coming from.
He was about to assure her when Rohesia suddenly looks at her brother with a determined gaze.
"That's why I'll become a knight to protect you!"
Mark groaned as he placed his head over his palm.
"And young master handled it?" He asks as he examines the invoice.
Royse nods focused on his documents, over-seeing the replacements for the merchant.
"Though it's best to have the officials handle it soon. The evidence should be enough. The pub's owner should be a testimony as well." Royse states as he puts aside the documents after giving them approval. He sips his tea as if what he did earlier in the day was nothing.
Mark sighed.
Royse smiled in pity knowing the purple-haired man was stressed with the information. If he knew the chances of the merchant being related to the black market, he wouldn't have sent the letter to the young master.
His main job was to keep the young master and lady out of harm.
At least on the bright side, they gained new information that may help them in their investigation with the underground group.
"I apologize for my lack of perception." The butler/secretary bowed his head in apology.
Royse waved it off and smiled. "No worries. So long no one's in danger, everything is good. Oh, and about the pub?" He asks.
Mark smiles. "Yes, I will have it taken care of."
The redhead nods. "Then we shall wait for the result."
As the days moved forward, the investigation was held and revealed the merchant's actions and history, he was then prosecuted. His associates escaped and are currently being searched for.
As to where their products disappeared off to, apparently, there was a mistake in the shipping and was sent to the Dragon Kingdom instead. There will be an investigation regarding what items were combined with the shipping.
As for the pub's owner, the siblings were surprised to find out that the trio that visited their establishment were children of the marquess and the holder of the light attribute.
Needless to say, everything ended well.
The door opened as the bell rang, alerting them of new customers.
A hooded figure took his seat at the counter.
The bartender looks at the customer and became surprised. He smiles gratefully at the person.
"Thank you."
"No problem. Told you I promised." He states as he removes his hood revealing his red hair.
The patrons stopped and noticed the customer and wondered if that was the famous young master.
Being in a drunken state, they disregarded it and assumed the person to be just another redhead.
"Anything you'd like? On the house." The bartender offered.
Royse hummed. He lets out a huge grin at his decision.
"Then how about a drink?"
The man blinked and looked torn whether he should allow it.
"Fruit juice I mean."
The bartender became relieved as he nods.
"One fruit juice coming right up."