Bear School Astartes

Chapter 89: 89. Rules of the city

Will I affect the female warlock’s spell casting?

As Lann looked at the two female warlocks opposite, he couldn’t help but speculate.

”I don’t know if it affects the casting, but I think if you nod, Keira Metz here will eagerly unbuckle her belt and throw you down on the chair right away.”

Mentos, still working overtime on constructing intercept algorithms, took a moment to mock.

Then he got pressed back into his overtime seat by Lann.

Compared to Keira, who was after beauty, it was actually Triss, who had really been influenced by Lann’s magic power, who appeared more rational at this moment.

Of course, that might be related to Keira Metz’s inherently bold style.

”Anyway, let’s calm down for a moment, ladies.”

Lann sat on the cashmere-covered chair and stretched comfortably. Female warlocks truly knew how to enjoy life, that was undeniable.

”I am the debt collector commissioned by Airetusa, and you two are part of Airetusa’s network.”

”Let’s get straight to the point. The sooner we settle this mess, the better.”

”Oh! Yes, business!”

Triss discreetly helped Keira cover her chest more securely, nodding repeatedly.

”The slave trade taking place in Temeria is absolutely intolerable!”

Lann thought to himself, I can’t stand it either!

Who in their right mind can tolerate the slave trade? Treating humans purely as goods, transporting and taming them like animals, who wouldn’t develop high blood pressure seeing this?

But I’m here for intelligence!

And under Lann’s enquiring gaze, the two high-ranking female casters ignored the influence of that pretty face.

They shook their heads gently with frowns.

”To be honest... we haven’t found anything.”

Keira Metz, the female warlock with a bold and seductive demeanor both in dress and behavior, said softly.

As she spoke, her expression was not only troubled by the academy’s unfulfilled commission but also filled with heavy resentment.

In the blink of an eye, Lann’s mind ran through the information on the other party.

She was dispatched to Vizima by Airetusa, among the female warlocks serving as royal advisors to the King.

Both Triss and Keira were politically enthusiastic people.

But unlike Triss, who genuinely cared about the future of the nation and worried about the political impact on the country.

Keira’s enthusiasm lay in the thrill that power could bring.

In other words, she had a very strong desire for power.

Without showing any emotions, Lann spoke calmly.

”It seems that the opponent’s preparation is more thorough than imagined... even beyond what you two could imagine.”

What kind of situation would make someone with a strong desire for power, and who already held considerable power, feel such discontent?

—She found a field that her power couldn’t touch.

This discomfort even made Keira angrily grip the armrest of the chair beside her, completely abandoning her desire for Lann’s body.

Triss’s expression also grew serious.

She leaned her body weight onto the armrest, leaning forward and speaking earnestly.

”Lann, I don’t know your educational background. Demon Hunters are very mysterious, and we previously thought you were a group of reclusive barbarians. But today, the fluency when you temporarily intervened with the Language of the Heart, indicates that even among warlocks, you are at least a very smart person.”

”Please speak.” Lann leaned back, crossing his hands in front of his stomach, adopting a listening posture.

”Although I haven’t received much education, I do understand a bit of reasoning.”

His gloved index and thumb sketched a ”little bit” gesture.

”So, I think there shouldn’t be any comprehension barrier in what I’m about to say.”

Triss spoke with pursed lips, as if carefully considering her next words to lower the understanding threshold.

”In cities and within countries, there are rules, Lann. You’ve spent years in the wilds of Velen, away from people. So there, you see people fighting each other, knife to knife, sword to sword. Straightforward and wild, fierce and ruthless.”

”But that’s only in the wild, outside the civilized world. Where there is no systematic monitoring, no complete infrastructure, no strong law enforcement.”

”People there abandon part of their civilized attributes and return to a natural state.”

As Triss spoke, one hand was held up vertically on one side. This represented the wilderness she was talking about.

She then held up her other hand towards Lann.

”But in cities, countries have complete monitoring and law enforcement. The complexities of these forces might exceed the imagination of professionals!”

”In the city, everyone is connected to each other, everyone pays someone else’s wages, everyone is receiving someone else’s wages. Temeria’s official organizations capture the information during the circulation of gold coins through their numerous accountants and finance departments.”

”Is the main business of intelligence agencies to deploy spies? No. It’s to sift through the financial and material reports accumulated during the city’s operation process to find hidden information!”

”Cities have rules, Lann.”

Triss emphasized again, considering this ”away from civilized society” Demon Hunter.

”If someone brings in goods that don’t appear on the books, it will cause financial discrepancies. If this happens frequently in a city, that city will lose the trust of merchants and become depressed.”

”This isn’t something a big shot can casually say, ’Handle it,’ with no traces left! Covering up traces requires a cost! A huge cost! Even the act of covering up costs requires massive power as a threshold.”

Lann listened quietly to this medieval-level management lesson.

The core concept in Triss’s talk was that everything done in the civilized world leaves traces.

Account books, receipts, financial trails... a variety of traces.

Anyone conducting business, illegal or legal, must have this set of things.

Because even illegal organizations doing illegal business need these things to serve as proof during account settlements, to placate people, prove the leader’s leadership, and encourage followers to continue working hard.

Without this set of things, don’t even think about expanding the business, or even the structure of the organization itself could fall apart on the spot.

And now, Triss seriously looked into Lann’s amber cat eyes, speaking word by word.

”But Keira and I found no trace at all!”

The cat-like pupils constricted slightly, letting Triss know that he understood her meaning.

”Keira and I checked all the land and sea transportation lists and financial receipts from the past fifteen days... no trace at all!”

”The list and receipt information passed through departments like dock management, city gate inspection, tax verification, bank financial interfaces, and more, with at least over three hundred individuals involved! And this is just counting the positions that need to review the materials.”

”But despite passing through, at least, three hundred ’nets,’ there are still no discrepancies in goods or money!”

”Can you understand what kind of force this is?”

Keira couldn’t care less if Lann’s mind could keep up, she coldly laughed, interjecting.

”A municipal employee taking the risk of losing their job to cook the books, the benefits we’re estimating... conservatively, a month’s salary, ten Oren. Three hundred people is out to be three thousand Oren! But more importantly...”

”At least three thousand Oren flowed through the hands of at least three hundred municipal employees, and our financial monitoring department didn’t detect a thing! Haha...”

Keira raised her glass, seemingly smiling at Lann.

”Thanks to you, handsome Demon Hunter. Otherwise, we’d still think we had already established our footing in this city.”