Chapter 30: A Dangerous Proposition

“Dad, Dad, aren’t we buying it?”

Lia gazed at me, her eyes wide with surprise. I shook my head gently.

“We can’t afford it,” I explained. “The prices are utterly outrageous, truly exorbitant. Besides, I suspect there’s something amiss with this grain. If they’re selling it daily, they must have more in stock. But if they stubbornly deny it, we’ll be powerless. I need to find a way to confirm whether their warehouse truly holds additional supplies.”

Vilya nodded, then spoke. “Where are their warehouses located? We could simply enter.”

“No, no, no, Vilya. You’re not a hero right now. Even if you were, you can’t just barge into a legitimate merchant’s warehouse.”

This isn’t like the old *Sword and Fairy* games from the early 2000s, where you could take your companions into anyone’s house, raid every cabinet and chest, and the NPCs wouldn’t bat an eye. In games like *The Witcher 3*, the guards would cut you down if you took something right in front of them.

Vilya isn’t Geralt, but if she were to kick open a warehouse door and seize the grain, she wouldn’t be killed by the guards. However, the consequence would be being blacklisted by every merchant.

Merchants have an incredibly dense network. Like the little girl, merchants control what everyone in this world desires: money. If merchants lacked the power to protect themselves, they would simply be robbed.

Therefore, merchants typically form their own organizations, and news travels remarkably fast. In a world governed by money, merchants can even influence entire nations. So, under no circumstances can Vilya offend them.

Once merchants are alienated, no traders will ever come to Vilya’s territory. Without merchants, there will never be money, and Vilya’s entire domain will remain underdeveloped forever.

We absolutely cannot kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Moreover, negotiations themselves should never push the other party into a corner. A dying person never needs to negotiate; negotiations are only meaningful just before they die, when they still cling to a desire for survival.

So, I don’t need to directly open the warehouse. I only need to prove that there’s still grain inside.

But first, I need to know where the warehouse is. Asking directly right now is utterly impossible.

“Where else could there be grain?”

Lia furrowed her brows, deep in thought. Vilya looked at me.

“Is there nowhere left to buy?” she asked.

“Buying grain is most likely out of the question, as there’s none for sale in this city. Finding a merchant is also probably impossible. We’ll have to find a way to procure grain from elsewhere.”

I bit my lip, then murmured softly, “Right now, only the army in this city still possesses grain. Our only viable source is the military. Of course, I believe the Church must also have supplies, but asking the Church for grain in this ecclesiastical city would be highly problematic.”

“The Church…”

Vilya spoke softly, and I glanced at her with some surprise, but she immediately fell silent. I decided it was best not to antagonize the Church in this city. Yet, can military provisions truly be taken so casually?

Even if there were a way to acquire military provisions, would the army’s commander allow me to take them now? And if I needed to offer a bribe, would I even have enough money?

Even so, do I have any other options? If I return now, everyone in the town will starve. Or should I just buy five bags of what amounts to extortionate grain and make do? Even if I brought five bags back, the quantity wouldn’t be nearly enough.

I have no retreat. I must secure grain in this city and send it back. Therefore, my only path forward is to go to the military camp to obtain a sufficient amount of provisions.

Since the army took all the grain, they must have more than enough in stock.

I have no intelligence about the army, I don’t know the commander’s name, nor do I know what the soldiers need. But I am about to do something that could land me on the gallows: illicitly selling military provisions. For such a monumental task, I would normally plan for ages, researching their preferences, preparing the necessary gifts and money, and meticulously arranging an escape route.

But now, I have nothing in my hands. No intelligence, no information, no money, no gifts, no plan. How am I supposed to get the grain out?

“Vilya, where is the military camp?”

Vilya pointed in a direction, then said, “If it hasn’t moved, it’s still there.”

“Do you know who the commander is?”

“I know the previous one, but not the current one.”

I nodded. That was some good news, at least. The preferences of past leaders would inevitably influence current ones, and knowing the former army chief meant his old associates might still be approachable.

“What happened to the previous commander?”

“He was cut in half by a monster during the last battle and dragged his intestines for half a street before he died.”

Vilya’s face was utterly expressionless. If it weren’t Vilya, I would think she was deliberately messing with me. But to Vilya, this was simply answering my question. I sighed helplessly. I had hoped for some intelligence, but now it seemed I had none at all.

“Dad…”

Lia huddled beside me, a little frightened. Such a bloody topic was best kept from her ears. Vilya looked at me.

“Are you going to the military camp?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

Vilya nodded and started walking to the side. I nodded and followed. Normally, military camps aren’t located within city walls, but in these old-world cities, they often were, making it easier for soldiers to defend the urban area. This city had been overrun by monsters once, so it was bound to have a large military presence.

Now, with refugees crowding outside, the city looked as if it were under siege, prompting the soldiers within to be fully armed and vigilant. The further we walked in one direction, the more soldiers we encountered.

Every soldier wore uniforms identical to ours, making Vilya almost indistinguishable among them. Little Lia, however, attracted many glances. We soon arrived at the entrance of a massive courtyard. Several soldiers, armed with long spears, saw us approaching, snapped to attention, saluted, and loudly declared, “Lady Vilya!”

“Hmm.”

Vilya returned the salute, then led us into the military camp. The soldiers watched us with some curiosity, but since we were with Vilya, they said nothing. Lia, frightened by the sharp spear tips and the swords at the soldiers’ hips, pressed closer to my back. I tightly held her hand.

These soldiers existed to fight monsters, and Lia was a succubus. If she were discovered, we were in a military camp, after all. Fortunately, succubi are not easily detected; they appear almost identical to humans. The only difference is that succubi lack navels.

But I doubted anyone here would lift Lia’s clothes to check.

The entrance to the military camp seemed to be a resting station, a small building, yet it was filled with countless soldiers sitting and standing. Longswords and spears rested on weapon racks outside, and inside, the soldiers chatted, their faces relaxed with smiles. As we passed, they all stared at us in unison, their expressions astonished, which made Lia hide behind me.

Wherever Vilya went, all the soldiers stood at attention and saluted. I suddenly realized that while this was not my domain, it was Vilya’s home ground. I might know nothing here, but Vilya could navigate it with ease. I wasn’t skilled at living in this environment, but Vilya was a true leader of the military world.

“Hold on.”

I stopped Vilya just as she was about to enter an imposing building ahead. Vilya turned back, tilting her head in confusion. I shook my head.

“This is far enough, Vilya. Meeting an officer right now wouldn’t serve any purpose. It’s enough that we know the location.”

“Hmm.”

Though Vilya seemed a little perplexed, she still nodded and left the military camp with me. The air inside the camp was somewhat unsettling for Lia, who had been very tense the entire time. We stood outside the camp, and Vilya looked at me.

“Where to now?” she continued.

“Back.”

I answered simply. “Tonight, Vilya, I’ll need you to accompany me here again.”

“Hmm.”

“Why! Why! Why is Dad going out with her tonight?! Lia wants to go too! Lia wants to go out too!”

“Lia… tonight… it’s really better if you don’t come out…”

“No, no! I want to! I want to! I want to go out with Dad! I want to go out with Dad!”

Lia grabbed my arm and cried out. I sighed helplessly, crouching down to look into her eyes. “Lia, Dad isn’t worried you’ll cause trouble. It’s just that what we’re doing tonight will be very dangerous. Dad won’t have time to look after you. But Dad promises, I’ll be back shortly after midnight. So, can you please wait safely for Dad in the room? Dad will be back very soon.”

Lia looked at my face, her lips turning down in an unhappy pout. “Dad… really can’t I… really can’t I… Lia… wants to go out with Dad…”

“No, Lia, I’m very sorry, but not this time. It’s truly impossible.”

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