Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

When they finally made their way out of the woods, the sun hung precariously at the edge of the western sky. The coachman saw Allen walking out of the woods and hurried out from behind a boulder.

“Sir Allen!”

“Let’s get back to the city.”

“You mean…”

The coachman’s eyes quickly turned towards the forest from which Allen came.

“The witch is dead.”

“Th-then the curse is…”

Allen smiled. Now that the witch was dead, there was no way that the curse could continue raging on as it had.

“The curse won’t spread any further.”

“That's Sir Allen for you!”

All of the people who’d been cursed should get well quickly, thanks to Allen's ‘goodwill’, so long as they took good care of themselves.

‘That’s the end of that.’

Now he’d just have to stay a day in Bergen and then leave.

“Let's get going. It's been far too long since I've been to the city.”

* * *

The carriage arrived at the city three days later.

The indigo sky passed as if to commemorate his victory, allowing the appearance of the bright sunlight. Countless people noisily flocked to the city with it.

As soon as Allen returned, he was able to meet with Soned. Karik greeted him upon his arrival and listened to the conversation in silence, appearing lost in thought.

“First of all, congratulations on safely dealing with the witch, sir.”

“I simply did what I had to.”

Soned replied with a big smile at Allen’s modest response.

“There are many who don’t. Can't you hear the people’s praise for you outside?”

Soned smiled and turned his head to the window, from where the voices praising Allen leaked in.

“Long live Sir Allen!”

“Hooray! The curse is gone!”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Who are you hearing all of this from? All I’ve done is supply them with potions and herbs.”

Soned carefully examined Allen’s expression, as if making an assumption, but Allen smiled quietly, feigning ignorance.

Like he’d found their praise secretly pleasing.

‘Inellia did well.’

He hoped that everything regarding Julius had gone just as well.

As soon as he realized that he wouldn’t be able to find any cracks in his façade, Soned immediately shrugged off Allen’s expression and spoke like he’d just remembered something.

* * *

* * * 

“I forgot to ask you this before, sir, but why did you take interest in our group?”

He skillfully crafted his facial expression. It appeared natural, as if generated from genuine curiosity, such that anyone would be fooled—except, he was talking to Allen.

‘Why is he doubting me now?’

Yes, this was the true face of a merchant. When they’d first met, he must’ve been too preoccupied by the issue with his son, but he’d clearly grown suspicious in the days following.

Wasn’t it quite the coincidence?

Wasn’t the timing of Allen’s visit a little too convenient?

Seeing how he was able to cure the curse plaguing his son and then go straight into business confirmed his suspicions. 

“Oh, that?”

Allen replied like nothing was amiss.

“My father used to drink tea brewed from elf-grown leaves, so I came to you all to see if you could locate some for me.” 

“Tea… leaves…?”

Allen gave a light nod in agreement.

“Yes, it’s well-known that you have a history of trade with the elves, no?”

“That's true, but…”

Soned blurted out his words as if he was caught.

“As you know, my family… We aren't exactly on good terms with the elves.”

They truly weren’t. If one of them were to even accidentally step into elven territory, war would break out right away.

‘That's why I couldn't visit the Heavenly Forest sooner.’

For the sake of their overall racial relations, they decided to leave their relationship alone, despite its awful state. The downfall of his family had much to do with it.

“That is true, yes.”

Soned quickly accepted Allen’s answer, having investigated the situation in advance.

“So, I wanted to meet with a merchant group to acquire tea leaves. Why, did it seem like I had another reason?”

It didn't matter whether Allen was being truthful or not. The important thing was that Soned had no choice but to accept his answer.

Soned shook off any further doubts and smiled kindly.

“Haha, how could I doubt you, sir? I was just wondering why you were looking for me. I’ll make sure that I get the tea leaves for you.”

“Thank you.”

Allen gave a rarely seen deep smile.

It was nearly an excuse, coming to get tea leaves, but he truly hadn’t forgotten the flavor of the tea he’d tasted, when he’d had tea time with his father.

“So…”

Allen turned to Karik with a faint smile.

“Mr. Karik, is your silence indicative of some sort of personal concern?”

“What?”

Karik’s eyes momentarily turned to Soned, though only for a brief moment. Allen’s gaze was inescapable.

‘That's why the two of them are here together… It’s nice to have your expectations be proven correct.’

Originally, he only wanted Soned—but seeing Karik, Allen seemed to be able to rope him in, too. From Allen’s point of view, it was safer to form a relationship with two merchants rather than one.

Because, even though Soned had a reliable personality, leaving all the trade work to one person could lead to becoming economically dependent on them. 

“I…”

Karik recalled what he’d heard from Soned after Allen had left—what he’d said carefully in a low tone.

‘…I didn’t know Eliza was from the Lupinus family.’

The family that produced eight of the continent’s previous generation’s greatest warriors—the leaders of the eastern ravine area and a rare breed, extremely tight-knit with blood relatives. 

Soned himself had told Karik of what was told to him by an elf that he knew, and forbade Karik from speaking about it carelessly.

‘I didn’t know I’d be forced to choose like this.’

Originally, he wanted to maintain a connection with Allen. 

But going completely under him was a different story.

‘…I was just avoiding the topic when it felt weird.’

Karik regretted not leaving right away the second Soned had begun to speak. 

He’d never heard anything about Eliza’s origin while traveling through the county,  which meant she was hiding the fact that she was from the Lupinus family. This secret he couldn't handle served as shackles that bound him, rather than helping him foster a bond.

‘What the hell was he thinking?’

From Soned's point of view, it’d be more useful to him to align with Allen by himself.

Karik didn’t understand what Soned was trying to achieve, telling him secrets he didn’t need to know.

No matter how much of a good rapport he had with Sir Allen, it wouldn’t be a good enough reason to act while denying his identity as a merchant.

‘Would my father have known what to do?’

Karik shook his head.

The time to make his choice had come, and there was no backing out now. Karik collected himself and slowly opened his mouth.

“Sir…”

“Yes.”

Allen answered leisurely.

“I did a lot of thinking after you went away to hunt down the witch.”

Soned’s eyes gleamed as they stared at Allen.

“I saw your character in the way you saved Eric without hesitation, and I was moved by the way you supported the cursed without delay.”

Allen did not cut off his long-winded praise like before.

“And I saw your valor in your actions at the Thanksgiving festival, as well as the might with which you defeated a witch. So…”

Karik explained to Allen the conclusion which he’d agonized over, nonstop, for days:

“I’d like to continue a relationship with you.”

“‘Relationship’?”

“Yes.”

Allen looked at him with a thin smile.

“Our group is not big, but our influence is increasing as well as our relevance with various items.”

“And so…?”

“So…”

Karik opened his mouth with a determined face.

“We would like to face the future with you on our side, sir.”

“The same would go for us, sir.”

Soned inclined his head, tagging on to Karik’s declaration.

‘This is helpful, too.’

He couldn’t be sure that Karik didn’t have any other motivations for staying with him, but it was clear that the basis for Soned’s behavior was his favor toward Allen. If there were two merchants under Allen rather than one, they’d inevitably have to compete, making for a more favorable situation for him.

‘Your addition can stop a monopoly.’

Soned’s character was such that even the elves, who weren’t friendly to humans, could make a deal after forming a relationship. 

“Thanks to you, we were able to increase our reputation as a merchant group, and thus, we were able to make a lot of profit. Therefore, I would like to continue onward with you, sir.”

Allen nodded with a satisfied smile. He didn’t think he could get true loyalty from a merchant.

“Yes, it must have been a tough decision to make to continue business with me. I promise to live up to your expectations.”

It was the same as declaring to be virtually subordinate under his command.

Allen’s words were cleverly crafted, but Soned didn’t argue—he could endure that much—and gently smiled.

“Yes, I look forward to your kind cooperation.”

“It’ll be an honor to work with you.”

Acanders, Soned, and Karik.

‘Finally, I got them all.’

All the essential elements of his future plan had been gathered.

* * *

Allen delivered to them the orders he’d thought up in advance. 

“Soned, continue searching for that book I asked for.”

“The magic book?”

Allen nodded.

He’d found out through Inellia that there wasn’t any book in the area that touched up on demon contracting.

“The contract-magic book with a red cover.”

“A red book about contractual magic… I see.”

Soned wondered at Allen’s relatively detailed conditions, but didn’t return any questions. He just assumed that Allen was testing his abilities.

“And in the future, if you spot any merchant groups that you haven’t seen in the territory before, report to me."

“Any merchant groups that I haven’t seen in the territory before?”

Allen answered firmly to Karik’s questioning face.

“Yes.”

This was a question that he’d been poondering since having tea with his father.

‘Where does the family’s money go?’

He’d just buried the question in the past because he didn’t have enough people or power to do anything about it. Despite rumors of decline, it was hard to find any instance in which funds were scarce.

Luxury wasn’t out of the question, either. His father bought luxurious tea leaves, and the weekly salaries of workers were paid without any delay.

Allen intended to trace the source of any abnormal transactions.

‘If they do well, they may be able to find out about the connection between the people surrounding Acanders’s father.’

It was related to his father, so Acanders’d be sure to cooperate smoothly.

“Recently, we’ve noticed that there was a black market operating illegally in the territory. It’s not easy to deal with using soldiers, but it’d be different for you.”

However, he didn’t intend to proceed with this issue in much of a hurry.

The black markets were never discovered in his previous life, so he didn’t think it’d be easy to get it done.

“You all hold connections with most of the merchants here, right? So, if you stumble upon a new merchant group for the first time or a large-scale operation anywhere in the territory, report it.”

Their looks said they understood Allen’s words.

“And finally…”

Allen looked out the window for a moment. As autumn came to an end, a chill passed through the branches of the bare trees.

‘There’s not much time left until the new year.’

“Come to the Elle Round next January. I have someone to introduce to you both.”

They’d come to see Acanders often, so it’d be good for them to meet. They’d be seeing each other more often from then.

“And don't be late.”

“I’ll pay the balance for the herbs then.”

Even if he were to not pay for them, his debt would’ve already been paid for by the donation of the potion he’d found on the mountain.

“I trust you.”

“Then I’ll take my leave… Oh, yes. Soned…"

As Allen paused while he was getting up, Soned asked with a smile:

“What is it? Ah, if it’s about the reward you mentioned earlier, don’t worry at all about…”

Allen shook his head.

“Something different.”

“What is it?"

“Don't make it publicly known that you’re with me.”

As Soned blinked, Allen added:

“The elves.”

“Ah!”

Upon realizing his true intentions, Soned nodded admiringly at Allen’s meticulous foresight.

“I’ll claim that my relationship with you is solely for the exchange of tea leaves if necessary.”

“I understand.”

Allen got up from his seat and said in a playful tone:

“Then I’ll just look around in the trove you're proud of.”

Allen didn’t think he’d find anything as useful as that which he’d already remembered, but…

‘You never know.’

As he began to leave the door of the drawing room, Soned added:

“I’ll prepare you a guide.”