I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

Chapter 107:

The Poroz Integrated Administrative Office, located at the end of the Poroz market, was a building smaller than a local community center, despite its grand name.

If it weren't for the large sign, I would have passed by thinking it was a shop.

Honestly, even after seeing the sign, I hesitated for a long time, wondering if this was the right place.

As I opened the creaking iron door, the gazes of the few people inside focused on me.

Only one person was at his post, and the rest were sitting around a table playing a card game.

“What brings you here?”

The young man sitting at the counter asked in a deflated voice.

It was a tone that transparently conveyed the intention of ‘get your business done and go.’

“I would like to view the data related to Ruhindorf.”

“Uh you'll have to wait a bit.”

The young man answered awkwardly, glancing at his colleagues who were engrossed in their card game again.

“How long do I have to wait?”

“I don't know either. Since the person in charge is over there like that.”

I didn't know who among the people surrounding the table was in charge, but it didn't seem like they would handle my request anytime soon.

“There's no need to disturb the person in charge. I'll look around myself.”

“Huh? No, that's against the regulations….”

I stuffed money into the hand of the young man who was waving his hands with surprised eyes.

I grinned as I watched him check what had been put into his hand.

“Have a drink with your colleagues after work.”

The young man, who was looking back and forth between my face and the money, finally took out a key with a sharp cough.

“You can go down to the basement.”

“Thank you.”

This was better, as there would be no one watching over my shoulder.

It would take some time to find what I was looking for, but that was a minor drawback compared to the advantage of being able to search for the desired data to my heart's content.

‘Do these people not organize anything.’

Still, I couldn't stop that thought from popping into my head as soon as I saw the basement.

A sigh escaped me first as I saw the documents piled up with a ‘I'll organize it later’ kind of feeling.

“Let's see. This is Ruhindorf data, this is from another town. And this is Ruhindorf data again.”

As I sorted through the chaotic documents, a rough outline began to form.

Most of the documents piled up near the entrance were from Ruhindorf.

I also got a rough idea of why the officials upstairs had given up.

It was an amount that couldn't be handled at the community center level, so they had just postponed it.

Fortunately, I didn't need to follow the frustrating administrative procedures, so I just had to look at what I needed.

“Smuggler trends, nothing special. Request for support from the Ruhindorf furniture workshop, ordinary. The population has changed almost none.”

I quickly went through the everyday content and sorted out things that might be related to something useful.

After I finished the rough sorting, the thickness of that many documents had been considerably reduced.

The amount was still large, but there was a clear trend.

The documents that took up the largest portion were related to construction permits and support.

It was as if they were planning to overhaul the entire village with civil engineering and construction.

There were appropriate requests like warehouse and road maintenance, but there were also excessive documents like for a school or a commercial district.

Considering that the officials hadn't even touched them and had left them unattended, I could be sure that no project had received proper support.

Then what was the purpose of these meaninglessly numerous documents?

Since there were no actual projects carried out, it couldn't be for embezzlement.

‘A smokescreen?’

If the goal was to pour out so many documents that the unmotivated officials wouldn't even dare to look into them, then they had achieved that goal splendidly.

Then that means they hid the really important content in between.

Could there be a document here that had to be submitted but they didn't want to get caught?

I pulled back the unimportant documents that I had pushed aside.

I had to check not only Ruhindorf but other regions as well.

I pulled a chair from the corner.

It seemed like this would take longer than I thought.

***

By the time I came out after dealing with the officials who were whining about having to go home, the sun was already setting.

It was a relief that I was able to come out with a file of documents under my arm.

It was annoying that they were blatantly asking for more money, but I was able to solve it with petty cash.

“You're late, Mr. Brauder.”

“The people working there were so uncooperative.”

“Haha! Those people are more than capable of that. I've had my fair share of experience with their work process.”

Falsh, who had brought the horse, greeted me with a cheerful laugh.

It was still an unsettling laugh, contrary to how it looked.

No, no, that wasn't what was important right now.

“Mr. Falsh, do you know this area well?”

“I know it as well as any merchant. I've come and gone a few times and done some business. Can I help you?”

The way he immediately asked to help was more suspicious than reassuring, but I wasn't in a position to be picky now without clear evidence.

“How long do you plan to stay at the junction?”

“I have a few things to trade, so I'll be here for a few more days. Feel free to ask!”

It's more uncomfortable when you say it like that.

“Do you know the areas written in this document?”

“Hmm… they're all around here. Is there something going on here?”

“Among these, is there any town where something suspicious has been happening recently.”

“Hmm.”

Falsh rolled his eyes with a sly smile.

He's a merchant, so he probably has no intention of doing it for free.

“The money….”

“I don't need it!”

“…Pardon?”

“You've indulged my whim, so please think of this as a bonus.”

If you were going to say okay this easily, what was with that shady eye-rolling just now?

As I frowned slightly, Falsh made a tearful face as if he were being unfairly accused.

“No, isn't that too harsh a reaction when a merchant says he'll help at his own loss?!”

“As far as I know, merchants never take a loss.”

“That's true too! If you do business honestly, you should never say you'll do it for free or that you'll only break even.”

Isn't saying you'll take a loss similar to that?

He wagged his finger as if he had read my mind.

“I clearly said I would do it as a bonus, didn't I. It's different from the empty promises that merchants commonly spout. It will be a proposal that will make those narrow eyes of yours open wide.”

“Yes, well….”

“As I talked to you, it seems our Mr. Brauder is no ordinary person. I have a troublesome problem these days, and if you solve that one thing for me, I will help you with all my heart and sincerity.”

The count shadow corps is too conspicuous to move freely, so having Falsh's help would certainly be convenient.

The problem is that I have no idea what kind of favor he will ask for.

“What kind of problem are you worried about?”

“Some guy from Leitche is trying to steal my business. I'd like you to help me when I deal with that guy later.”

Is it a fight between companies?

In novels, getting involved in such things never seems to end well, but I had no other clear alternative.

“You're not asking me to help illegally, are you.”

“Oh my, how could I ask for such a favor. I'm just asking you to lend a little hand, hehe.”

“…I will do my best.”

“I'd like it if you'd say you'll help for sure but well, Mr. Brauder must have his own circumstances. You can come find me here later.”

Falsh took out a business card from his pocket.

I didn't really want to take it, but I had no choice but to extend my hand.

“Now, then, it's a promise.”

“Shouldn't you keep your promise first.”

“Oh, of course. Should I go around to all the places written here?”

“There's no need for that. You just have to look at one place.”

If I made too many debts, it would be tiring to pay them back later, so I decided to ask for only the most suspicious place.

“Most of the furniture made in the Ruhindorf workshop gathers here, in a place called Sarme.”

“That's natural since the wholesalers are gathered there. It's also the largest village after Poroz in this area.”

“If you look at this document, someone has been intensively buying up Ruhindorf furniture recently.”

“So this guy is suspicious. Understood. I'll strip him down from head to toe and let you know. Ah, come to think of it, how should I contact you.”

“I will visit the junction in two days.”

Falsh, who nodded, grinned from ear to ear and held out his hand.

I shook it reluctantly.

Now that I had entrusted the most difficult part to investigate, it was time to shake down the easier side to deal with.

The bandits, the punching bags who appear whenever someone is bored in a fantasy.

***

“Keoheok!”

The bandit leader, who was kicked in the stomach, gasped for breath and rolled on the ground.

At that sight, the other bandits who had dropped their weapons turned their eyes away.

“See, you should have answered when I was asking nicely.”

“Wh-what are you curious about, I'll tell you everything!”

“It would have been great if you had said that about 10 minutes ago. My shoes wouldn't have gotten dirty either.”

“S-sorry, keok!!”

The leader's chin was jerked back, and he trembled without being able to even scream.

When he found a rich guy walking alone on the forest path, he had thought his luck was good today.

Even when they surrounded him and revealed themselves, and the blind rich guy said he had something to ask, he thought he had hit the jackpot.

That delusion did not last long.

He thought he was just a crazy guy wearing expensive clothes and walking around with his eyes closed, but he was a good fighter.

No, he wasn't just good, he was like a demon.

“This should be enough for the price of your sin of suddenly thrusting a knife at me and telling me to hand over everything I have.”

“Cough, cough!”

“I'd like to hear at least a thank you.”

“Th-thank you!”

As he barely spat out his thanks, the narrow-eyed man smiled creepily as if satisfied.

The narrow-eyed man approached, elegantly waving the staff he had been brandishing like a club just moments ago.

“If you don't answer the questions I ask from now on quickly, your sins will be added. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

The leader, who was stuck flat on the ground, nodded his head repeatedly.

The narrow-eyed man leisurely began to circle around the leader.

“First, there have been reports that you've been coming out of the forest and wandering around recently, what is the reason?”

“Th-that's because we received a job!”

Kwajik!

“Aaaaaargh!”

“If you answer like that, I'll have to ask again what kind of job you received. Answer smartly so that I don't have to ask twice.”

“Ugh… it was a job to steal something, but we didn't know what the contents were. We were just told there would be no resistance, so we should steal it and move it somewhere, and that's what we did.”

“Since when did you start getting such jobs, and how many times have you done it?”

He remembered the client's request not to tell others, but what was the use of that when he was about to die.

“6 times since 2 months ago! P-perhaps, did you suffer a loss because of that job….”

“Only I ask the questions.”

The leader immediately shut his mouth.

“Second, who was the client?”

“I really don't know! They hid their identity so well that I couldn't even see their face!”

“Then I'll change the question slightly. By any chance, did those guys not deliver the instructions by raven.”

“Uh they did that about 2 times, but how did you….”

The narrow-eyed man grinned and pointed his finger somewhere.

As the leader turned his head, a raven was looking down at them from a tree above.

“Since you've told me something good, I'll give you a piece of advice. Run away as far as possible, to a place where there are no people.”