Wasn’t This Supposed To Be a Strategy Game? Chapter 68

“Two glasses of rum.”

Seated at a tucked-away table, Asmon smoothly placed the order with the server before scanning the room.

The tavern was full of all sorts of strange, shady characters. It was an unfamiliar sight, but that worked in their favor—no one batted an eye at the two strangers with their faces mostly hidden.

“Looks like they haven’t arrived yet.”

The bandit who had been carrying the cursed item (the “magu”) had revealed that he was supposed to make the exchange in this tavern with a man wearing a red hat. But there was no sign of such a man inside yet.

At that moment, a nearby table caught their attention.

“Hey, did you hear about the invitation?”

“What invitation?”

“Pfft, haven’t heard a thing, have you? Pathetic nobody.”

“What? You little—!”

Crash! A chair toppled with a loud clatter as the two men grabbed each other’s collars, about to break out into a fight. Eden flinched at the sudden commotion.

‘What the… out of nowhere?’

But no one in the tavern so much as turned their head. Not even Asmon, who simply stared calmly at the freshly served rum.

“Oh come on, if you haven’t heard about Eloch’s new venture, then what do you know?”

Eloch?

Eden fiddled with her glass and strained her ears to listen.

“What kind of venture is it that everyone’s talking about?”

Another man interjected, trying to defuse the fight.

“He doesn’t know either! And yet he acts like he’s all that!”

The man who had been insulted snapped back, though the tension quickly diffused before it became a real brawl.

Pretending to ignore them like Asmon, Eden still strained to hear every word.

“But the invitations are out. Even the nobles from the capital will come running if it’s connected to Eloch’s new business.”

“What’s the venture about?”

“No idea. But what’s certain is this: Eloch’s people are buying up every single magu in the empire.”

At the word magu, Eden’s and Asmon’s eyes silently met.

“And the problem is, those invitations cost a fortune. Guys like us won’t ever get one.”

Just then, the tavern door swung open, and in walked a man wearing a red hat.

Without missing a beat, Asmon raised his hand slightly in signal. The man headed over to their table and sat down.

Eden held her breath, watching the man with the long scar across his face.

“Rum.”

The man waved off the server who came rushing over, then gave Asmon and Eden a long once-over. Eden stiffened, ready to improvise, but Asmon spoke first.

“Rogix ran into some trouble. We’re here in his place.”

His tone was effortlessly smooth. Rogix was the name of the bandit who’d originally held the magu.

At the name, the man seemed satisfied. He raised a hand and muttered a strange incantation.

“Settere.”

Immediately, the ambient noise vanished, and the air around the three of them felt thick and heavy—like being underwater.

He’s a mage. Eden instantly realized the man had cast a spell to block anyone from eavesdropping on their conversation.

“The item?”

Asmon promptly pulled out the pouch containing the magu.

“It better be legit.”

“Of course.”

When the man reached for the pouch, Asmon was quicker. He pulled it back slightly, and the man’s brows furrowed in irritation.

“It’s a rare item. I’d prefer if you placed the payment on the table first.”

“…”

“I believe you were told there would be no room for negotiation on the price. I assume that was made clear?”

Asmon was convincing. Even Eden momentarily felt like he had been running black-market deals for years.

The man snorted and reluctantly pulled a pouch from his coat, tossing it onto the table.

Thud.

“Here.”

Eden quickly grabbed it and peeked inside. A mound of gold coins gleamed back at her. She gave Asmon a nod, and he finally handed over the pouch containing the magu.

The man snatched it and checked inside, his expression turning to satisfaction.

‘Still no pop-up…’

Even though the transaction was complete, the quest clear window hadn’t appeared. Eden frowned subtly.

‘Did I miss something?’

Just as the man was about to stand and leave, Asmon spoke again.

“There’s another high-grade magu expected to come in soon.”

The man froze mid-motion and slowly sat back down.

“High-grade?”

“Yes. Rogix wanted to know if you’d be interested in buying that one too.”

Eden glanced at Asmon, startled. That hadn’t been part of the plan. And Rogix certainly wouldn’t have passed on such instructions.

“It’ll take a few days.”

The man considered it for a moment, then spoke.

“If you bring it within four days, I’ll pay for it.”

Asmon met the man’s gaze, unfazed.

“Four days is a tight window. How about this? I’ll bring it directly to the event. As long as the deal is done before it starts, that should be acceptable, yes?”

Only then did Eden realize Asmon’s plan—and she held her breath.

He was trying to confirm whether the man in front of them was part of Eloch, probing to draw out their intentions.

Sure enough, the man’s expression grew subtly significant.

“…I don’t recall saying anything like that to Rogix.”

“Rogix isn’t only dealing with you, after all.”

Even under direct baiting, Asmon didn’t falter. He calmly responded without missing a beat.

As the man’s suspicion lingered, Asmon offered one more push.

“I figured you might need a magu that can hold down Palaph. But maybe not?”

The man’s eyes widened instantly.

“Palaph? That vicious beast? Are you serious?”

With a casual nod, Asmon remained composed. The man’s eyes lit up with urgency.

“If not needed, we’ll sell it elsewhere.”

Asmon began closing the conversation, and the man hastily interrupted.

“The location and time haven’t been finalized yet. This is a major business, so there are a lot of variables. If it’s Palaph, we’ll need time to prepare. You know how it is—this venture is full of distinguished guests.”

Asmon, having silently let the man speak, finally dropped his trump card.

“It’s being held in the Tebel, isn’t it?”

The man hesitated. In the silence spell that muffled all sound, the air around them felt unnervingly heavy, like being submerged underwater.

Gripped by the tension, Eden unconsciously clenched her fists. At last, the man opened his dry lips to speak.

“Tebel needs to be big, after all.”

He bared his teeth in a sly grin, and Asmon’s eyes narrowed.

The man left, saying he would send a message through Rogix once the location and time were set.

Leaving Lectermil with Asmon, Eden sought out a secure inn to rest for the night. Fortunately, the entire inn was filled with Asmon’s knights, so she could relax.

“It really does seem that Eloch owns the Tebel. Since they’re trading and talking business, it’s probably a merchant guild. And if the Tebel is as large as he implied, maybe it won’t be too hard to find.”

Eden summarized what they had learned from the day’s events while eating dinner with Asmon.

Thanks to his clever gamble, they now had solid confirmation: Eloch was behind the mysterious Tebel and the new venture being held inside it.

“My guess is the new business involves trafficking in magical beasts—like Count Retten.”

It was the only thing that made sense for why they’d need so many magus and monsters.

What was puzzling, though, was why something as common as magical beast trading, which even occurred in the capital, needed to be done in such secrecy.

That’s when Asmon muttered under his breath:

“They’re going to hold a Tuma.”

Eden froze and turned to him.

Tuma?

She blinked in confusion.

“You mean…”

“A Tuma is where they pit magical beasts against one another—for sport. People will come flocking to see it.”

“…”

“Palaph would be the perfect specimen for that kind of show.”

The additional explanation left Eden’s jaw hanging.

This was a twist she never saw coming. In her previous gameplay, not once had the word Tuma even appeared.

But now that she thought about it, all the previously vague pieces were snapping into place like a puzzle.

Brutal beast fights—it was the ultimate thrill for bored nobles with too much time and money. A perfect, grotesque spectacle.

‘So that’s why they’re collecting all those magus and monsters…’

Now Eden understood why Asmon had pressed the man so hard earlier.

Still dazed, she looked at him.

“…You knew all this, didn’t you?”

Asmon, calmly serving her a piece of well-cooked meat, answered as if it were obvious.

“I suspected.”

Eden stared at him, as if she’d just been whacked upside the head—then broke into a disbelieving smile.

Now he was piling some vegetables onto her plate with the same indifferent face—and it struck her how incredibly reliable he was.

“You did so well!”

Her praise finally made Asmon raise his gaze to meet hers.

Eden’s face was covered in grime from the long day’s work, but her eyes were sparkling with excitement.

“When that mage sends a message, we’ll know the time and place. Then we crash the scene! We’ll find the Tebel and catch the Tuma red-handed!”