Chapter 286: Scandals and Letters
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Benjamin left via the longer route to make sure that no one was following him, then turned and went straight to the mercenary association.
"Hello, I was here few days ago to issue a task, it should be completed by now." He stood at the front desk, took out the receipt and handed it over to the clerk.
The man at the front desk checked the receipt, got an envelope from a box behind him and passed it to Benjamin.
"This is the item you requested."
Benjamin nodded his head and put away the envelope, then he turned and left.
If the mages society did not convey the warning message to the government of Ferelden, there must be a reason why. Now, as for what could this reason possibly be? No doubt, the mage Vinci was in their way.
If this local tyrant was constantly spreading rumors about Benjamin among the mages, who else would it be?
Fortunately, the mercenary association was known for their confidentiality, or Benjamin would have been too afraid to even issue this task. Thinking about this made Benjamin’s heart heavy.
If this mage Vinci was really to become his enemy, then he will be hugely troublesome—— after all, he was extremely rich and famous. However, Benjamin felt that the best thing to do was not to go against him right now. He should observe the situation first, and if necessary, he will counterattack from the shadows.
As for the letter in his hand, it had become his only weapon. And just like that, he went home, shut the door, opened the envelope and carefully read it.
As people become famous, it was only natural that there will be rumors, this was an undeniable fact. And within this thick stack of letters, Benjamin saw countless scandals about Vinci.
The were a few scandals that frequently appeared, like how he was secretly suppressing the growth of other magic potion shops, stealing recipes from others, bribing to clear up his reputation... ... all sorts of business scandals. These were stuff that most businessman did, therefore Benjamin did not pay much attention to them.
However, a particular event about political secrets caught his attention:
A few years ago, when the empire was divided into two, the original Mage Guild also went through drastic changes. The guild master took many mages and magic books with him and left to seek shelter from the current Queen of Icor. It was said that the reason why the guild master could take so many things with him was because Vinci had secretly supported him.
Among all the complex scandals, this was the only one that looked like it could be useful to Benjamin.
The relationship between the mage Vinci and Icor ...
Come to think of it, during the meeting, Vinci came to talk to him. It seemed like it was not because of Benjamin's ten match winning streak, but because he had found Benjamin’s arrest warrant in Icor. That was why he told Benjamin to behave himself.
Interesting. Ferelden’s richest mage had ties with Icor?
Thinking about this, Benjamin decided to try to verify this hunch.
The mercenary association did their job thoroughly; the scandals were investigated by different mercenaries. If he were to ask the mercenary association about this letter, they would try to help him contact the mercenary who completed this task.
Of course, whether or not the mercenary was willing to show his face and speak out was another matter entirely. After all, he might offend a very powerful man. Usually, people would just provide information anonymously, as they did not want to get involved.
Benjamin took a trip to the mercenary association to try his luck. Surprisingly, the man at the front desk was not surprised, instead, he calmly handed Benjamin another envelope.
"This is... ..." Benjamin took the new envelope with a confused look.
"The mercenaries who provided the news left this message." The uncle said with a cold expression, "He’s not in Ferelden now, so he can’t meet you. He said that you would come back and ask about him, so he told us to give this letter to you. He said that after you’re done reading it, you should have a better understanding of what is happening."
"..."
Benjamin was confused. What is this? Even mercenaries were being mysterious while out on a mission?
However, he still graciously nodded and left with the letter.
After he went back to his room, Benjamin opened the envelope. Before long, Benjamin had read the whole thing, however, after seeing the contents, was not happy at all.
The message read: "Long time no see! It’s me, Miles. Do you still remember me? The mercenary who makes all mages feel powerless. Recently, you seem to be very active in Ferelden - I have heard a lot of news about you in Carretas."
"..."
It was just the beginning of the letter, but Benjamin already had the urge to tear it apart.
What was this about... ...
Why was it this guy?
"What is happening? Did you guys secretly have a PY trade without me knowing? Why does he sound like he is very close to you?" Even the System came out and prodded Benjamin with questions.
"You’re thinking too much, even I do not know what he is doing." Benjamin couldn’t help but shake his head.
The rest of the letter briefly mentioned the scandal between Vinci and lcor.
Miles claimed that ever since the empire was broken up, Vinci stayed in Ferelden but continued to maintain a close and secretive relationship with Icor. Almost no one knew about these connections, he only discovered it when he had snuck into Regina’s headquarters.
As for the identity of the contact, Miles said that he was unaware about it. However, after the coup in Regina, the connections suddenly stopped. He could only guess that Vinci was afraid that others might find out about it.
At the end of the letter, Miles mentioned that he was very sure that this information was reliable and that it did not need verifying - claiming Benjamin could safely use it.
Bu to be honest, even after reading the entire letter, it did not clear Benjamin’s doubts. It was just too weird!
If Miles was really in Carretas, then how did he know that Benjamin was the one that issued the task?
No doubt, Miles was a legendary mercenary who was very well-informed —— Miles found out that Benjamin was living in Rayleigh City, he even heard some of Benjamin's plan, but… Benjamin secretly went to the mercenary association to issue this task, how did he find out about it?
Incredible…
Who was he? The mastermind behind the Mercenary association? Or the son of the guild master?
At that moment, Benjamin once again felt a pair of eyes looking at him in the dark. Worriedly, he activated the water element sensing technique to sweep his surroundings repeatedly countless times. Only after a few minutes of this did his anxiety gradually start to fade.
No one was staring at him, at least ... no one nearby.
Then what was the matter?
Could it be... Based on the shallow information provided, did Miles really deduce a conclusion on his own?
If he was really that incredible, why didn’t he just become a fortune teller and make a fortune? Why would he become a mercenary?
After thinking about it for some time, Benjamin still could not figure out anything. So, he pushed this issue to the back of his head and tried his best not think about it anymore. Either way, he needed to deal with Vinci’s malicious intentions; if others want to play tricks on him, he should just let them be.
At the very least, he felt that the news Miles gave him was reliable.
Vinci had been secretly contacting Icor...
The relationship between Icor and Ferelden, although not hostile, was not friendly. After all, they had just broken up less than 50 years ago, and as such, their relationship was still quite tense. If this message were to leak out, would Vinci be found guilty of treason?
Hmm...
No, it still felt a little far-fetched.
At this point, Benjamin felt as though he had finally gotten himself a weapon. It was a sneaky tool, but it just was not lethal. If Benjamin relied on it to go against Vinci, it could destroy Vinci’s reputation, his business would take a hit, but there was no way that it could bring him down in one strike. Instead, it might drive him to take a brutal revenge.
Previously, Benjamin had already thought about it, and now he maintained his stance - now was not the time to go against Vinci openly.
Looking at the letters in his hand, Benjamin remained silent for a while before he eventually got an idea.
What Vinci did so far was just attack Benjamin behind his back, therefore, Benjamin would just return the favor. If Benjamin used the rumors and scandals to decrease Vinci’s credibility, then things will become much easier to settle.
By doing this, it would not wipe him out completely, but at the same time would still be very effective.
So far so good, Benjamin nodded his head with satisfaction and revealed a sly smile.
It was time for a public debate. As for how he was going to hide behind the rumors without getting involved…
It was time to let his alliance with "Crow" play its part.