Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Deal (2)

Rio went down on one knee.

Psshh.

Anagin watched him in silence, then poured wine into his empty cup.

It was a long while before he finally spoke.

“…Do people here always drop to one knee that easily?”

“When it’s time to bend, you bend. Besides, to a merchant, pride is just another commodity.”

He’d deliberately said it to sting, but Rio didn’t so much as blink.

“I get your point, so get up already. I can’t stand watching a grown man with balls kneel.”

“As you wish.”

Rio rose with a faint smile, as if he hadn’t suffered the slightest humiliation, and sat back down.

Anagin muttered as he watched.

“Huh. So you want to make a deal… But what do you and I have to deal over? A deal needs both sides to want something. I’m no merchant, but I know that much.”

“Let me ask the opposite. Do you truly want wealth?”

“……”

“I don’t think you do.”

“…Is there really someone who doesn’t want wealth?”

“No. If I’d met anyone like that before, I’d have called them a liar. But watching you has changed my mind.”

“Oh, is that so.”

“Scoff all you like, my mind won’t change. I take pride in my eye for people, and I’m certain you’re not the type to cling to a few coins.”

“So you’re asking for wealth? A backer to protect your city.”

“No, I want more than that. Anagin. I want you to sponsor our city. In return, I’ll help you.”

Anagin frowned at the absurd proposal—yet he couldn’t dismiss it as nonsense. Rio’s eyes were far too serious for that.

Reading his thoughts, Rio explained further.

“Do you think Ascetics really operate all on their own?”

“No?”

“Close, but not quite. Ascetics need backers too. People who provide information, funds, medicine, weapons, magic tools. All different kinds. Kings, nobles, magnates—even thieves and thugs.”

It was the first time he’d heard any of this, but it didn’t sound like a lie.

“Ascetics receive that support to train more effectively. Of course, it isn’t free. The backers gain the Ascetic’s backing in return for their help.”

“Interesting story. But then, shouldn’t I be the one receiving wealth, not you?”

“That was just an example. The point is that both sides exchange what they need. What our city needs right now is wealth, and what you need, Anagin, is a backer to help you, isn’t it?”

“You talk like you can help me, but from where I’m standing, that’s a big fat no.”

Anagin sneered. And it wasn’t entirely wrong.

By any measure, Disis Polis had nothing to offer Anagin.

Rio didn’t deny it.

“I admit it. Right now, we can’t offer you any help. We’re barely managing to stay afloat as it is.”

“Are you messing with me?”

“This is neither a joke nor a scheme. I believe you know that.”

Anagin let out a dry laugh.

“Why’s that?”

“If you thought it was a scheme, you’d have slapped my head clean off my shoulders. But my head’s still attached. Which means it isn’t a scheme.”

Rio answered with intensity in his eyes. As if to say—if I’m wrong, go ahead and slap me.

Instead of slapping him, Anagin straightened up from where he’d been leaning against the backrest.

And it wasn’t just his posture that changed.

“Hey, Market. So you’re saying you can help me later?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you a bit overconfident?”

“Lack of confidence doesn’t make things go well. Besides, when you meet someone of worth, you have to grab hold of them—even if it means bluffing.”

“You’ve just caught a couple of nobodies, and the Market who runs a whole city is flattering me this much. That’s rather flippant.”

“If that were all you were, I wouldn’t be doing this either… Please don’t take me for a fool.”

Rio’s tongue had clearly loosened.

“If you were just some strong Giant… I’d have humored you and silently prayed you’d leave quickly. Do I look like I’m just flapping my gums?”

Anagin shook his head. He seemed to have something on his mind, but that remark itself was sincere.

“Then why go through all this trouble?”

“You’re the first. I’ve never met anyone greedier than my father.”

“…?”

When Anagin frowned in confusion, Rio added, as if astonished.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That you want to become a God. And by your own strength alone.”

“So what?”

“That is the very crystallization of greed. An arrogant, preposterous goal that transcends human bounds—a posture so arrogant it borders on madness.”

“Mock another man’s dream and you might get hit.”

“I’m not mocking you!”

Rio slammed both hands on the table.

“I neither mock nor doubt your dream.”

“You mean you think I’ll become a God?”

“What does my opinion matter? You’re the one who said you’d do it. My thought is simply that you don’t seem like you’ll end up as just another common Ascetic. So please, sponsor me.”

“Sorry, but I’ve no intention of wasting my precious time protecting this city.”

“I’m a merchant, not a thief. All I ask of you is investment and time.”

“…Go on.”

“As my father’s eye judged, Anapic is a dangerous land—but also a land of infinite possibility. I intend to grow a city here and expand my influence across all of Anapic. And that won’t be the end.”

“Then what?”

“I’ll extend my influence into Hellas as well. The future information, wealth, and rare magic tools I gain from it—I’ll provide all of it to you.”

“How am I supposed to believe that?”

Anagin feigned indifference, but Rio merely shrugged.

“Who knows? I can only tell you to trust your own judgment.”

“Ha! Smooth talk.”

“A merchant’s tongue is his lifeblood. Though I don’t understand why you’re suspicious. If I break my promise or fail to deliver results, you can simply kill me, can’t you?”

Even Anagin, who’d been half-listening, grew interested at that.

“…You’re saying I can kill you if you don’t live up to my expectations?”

“Why ask my opinion? You’re the one holding the sword.”

“I wasn’t raised that crudely.”

“Then let’s consider it agreed. If I lie, or if you judge I’ve failed to deliver, you may kill me as you please.”

“You’re bolder than I thought?”

“That’s the minimum required to make a deal this big on credit.”

“Also unexpected.”

“What is?”

“That you’re putting in the effort. I figured since you like Hellas so much, you’d pocket the commission and go back there. You’ve got the skill for it, don’t you?”

The fortune Bander had amassed from exploiting the surrounding area was no small sum, and the commission from it was a considerable amount. Since the request had come through the city, it wouldn’t have been right for Rio to pocket it privately—but wrong and impossible were two different things.

Yet instead of doing that, Rio had chosen to develop the city.

An unexpected choice for a young man dragged here against his will by a father chasing a dream.

Rio spoke.

“…I can’t abandon the citizens for whom this city is their only hope.”

“Bullshit.”

“Was it that obvious? Truth is, I got stubborn too. Against the bastards who barge into funerals, throw their weight around, and look down on people just because they’ve got some strength—and against those dogs on the inside who suck a place dry and then play dumb the moment my father dies. So I made up my mind.”

“And what did you decide?”

“To do something that’ll shock everyone who looked down on me… I’m going to build my own nation!”

Rio stood straight and declared with dignity that he would found a nation.

It sounded like bluster, but to Anagin, there was no falsehood in it. He hadn’t heard the grinding of calculated wheels—so rather than refuse outright, he paused before answering.

“Tell me specifically what you want.”

“First, I’d like you to invest the wealth obtained from the Bander Peddler Band into our city. We need a great deal of money.”

Anagin nodded. He’d taken it, so it was his—but it wasn’t something he was desperate to hold onto. Too much luggage was a hassle anyway.

“Fine. But you’ll need to provide travel funds, dry rations, and the subspace bag you promised.”

“Of course.”

“Anything else?”

“Once I’ve grown the city enough to help you, I ask that you aid us as a sponsor—once in a while.”

“Help with what, how?”

“I mean, lend a hand when we’re in dire straits. When kingdoms and merchant caravans—groups that keep Ascetics as backers—clash, an Ascetic’s help is indispensable.”

“Sounds troublesome.”

“I won’t ask for help lightly. I plan to find other Ascetics first. When I do request your aid, it will only be when truly necessary.”

“Yaaawn~ For now, understood.”

It wasn’t a fully satisfying answer, but Rio didn’t press.

He hadn’t known Anagin for even half a day, but he judged him not to be the type to make empty promises.

“Ah, one more condition. That Bander fellow smashed up a carriage earlier, didn’t he? It belongs to someone I know—please compensate for it.”

“Don’t worry. Since you seemed close to them, I took care of it in advance. We’ve provided a new carriage and compensated for the other damages.”

Anagin nodded at the swift handling.

The situation itself had been too poor for any real showing, but Rio’s knack for getting things done seemed decent enough.

“Oh, and what’s your relationship with them? I saw through the window—you seemed quite friendly.”

“Not particularly? Just someone I ran into by chance?”

“By chance?”

“Well, someone who helped purely, without any calculation.”

“Ah…”

“Is that all you had to say?”

“For now. If we discussed anything more at our current level, it wouldn’t be a deal—it’d be begging.”

“You know it well.”

“A merchant is good at accounting. In that spirit, there’s one thing I’d like to tell you. It’s not confirmed information, just a rumor, though. Have you heard of the Ruins?”

“The Ruins?”

“Yes, you could call them spaces for Ascetics. I hear one has been discovered nearby. Are you interested, by any chance?”

---

Late evening, after the sunset had fully faded.

Anagin turned down Rio’s offer of lodging and left the city hall.

With the sun down, the city that had been fairly lively fell quiet as if it had never been.

Anagin walked through the middle of that city and came across a figure.

“You startled me. Were you waiting for me?”

The figure was none other than the Old Man.

The Old Man answered.

“That’s right. Did your talk with the Market go well?”

“Well, we had a productive conversation.”

“He asked you to be his sponsor, didn’t he?”

“Ho, how did you know?”

Anagin was impressed by the Old Man’s insight. The Old Man said it was nothing.

“I can read the signs. If someone of your caliber came along, even I’d ask them to be my sponsor.”

“Someone of my caliber—I appreciate the generous view, but not knowing the reason makes me nervous.”

“So modest. You can’t even use Eulogia, yet you brought down a Bander who could, with ease.”

“Eulogia? Ah, you mean that thing that makes a strange light flow along a blade?”

Anagin recalled the moment his sword, raised to block, was sliced through like a carrot. It had left a small cut on his cheek. It had healed cleanly since.

“That’s right. It’s what you can use once you’re able to handle the giant’s power inside your body—‘Gi.’ It’s also called Yul. Weren’t you taught?”

“Yes.”

The Old Man couldn’t say anything to such a brazen answer.

That said, Anagin wasn’t unbothered either. He was just as taken aback. He wondered why that so-called Master of his hadn’t taught him something like this.

‘Does he not know how to use it either? No, that can’t be it.’

Having fought the Master countless times, Anagin briefly doubted his skill—then dismissed the thought.

Because the Master’s ability was incomparably greater than that of the Bander who used Eulogia.

If he hadn’t taught it, then he simply hadn’t taught it—it wasn’t that he couldn’t. He had a nasty personality, but he wasn’t incompetent. Wait—that actually made it more infuriating.

“Well, does that matter?”

“It does. Even with similar power, life and death turn on a moment’s focus.”

As if to prove his words weren’t idle, the Old Man put strength into one hand.

A faint light showed beneath his skin, and when he traced a fingertip along the building’s exterior in that state, the surface was cleanly carved away.

“Pareisphere. Or, Pa, as it’s called. The technique of concentrating the Gi inside your body into one part—it must be learned before using Eulogia.”

“So that’s how you saved the children before the carriage was destroyed.”

The Old Man was impressed by Anagin’s sense. To infer that from a single glimpse.

“Correct. Concentrating it in your legs lets you boost your speed in an instant. It drains stamina heavily and weakens the defense of other parts, though.”

“I see… I apologize for the carriage being destroyed.”

“I received a new one, so it’s fine… More to the point, to finish what I was saying—Pareisphere and Eulogia are essential for an Ascetic who is a Giant. Yul, which imbues weapons with Gi, is especially useful.”

“It does seem like it’d come in handy.”

Anagin said exactly what he felt, no more, no less.

Normally, such an attitude would earn a scolding for being cheeky and complacent, but the Old Man couldn’t do that.

Because that attitude wasn’t arrogance—it was confidence, proven by skill.

“Yul can only be used after a certain amount of training. The problem is that there are few who can teach it properly.”

“Ho, is that so?”

“For Ascetics, each of these techniques is a treasure in itself. You need to pay a considerable price, or have connections.”

“That’s a problem. I don’t have connections.”

The Old Man smiled.

“I’ll teach you.”

“……”

“I can’t stay by your side and teach you until you can use it, but I’ll teach you the basic training methods. At your level, you should be able to master it on your own.”

“What are your conditions?”

Anagin asked what the real point was.

He appreciated the offer of help, but he understood well enough that helping him wasn’t the Old Man’s real business. The help was just a pretext for what he actually wanted to ask.

*Drrr. Drrr.* He could hear the Old Man’s mind churning away.

By this point, the Old Man stopped dancing around it too.

“I’d like you not to come near me and my children.”

“…Is it because of getting caught up in that fight?”

“That’s not it. It’s because I’m old and superstitious. Do you happen to know how Giants came to be?”

Anagin stroked his chin and thought it over.

“As I understand it, when humans helped the Gods fight the giants, the humans who were drenched in the blood of fallen giants became Giants. The Great War, or something like that?”

“Correct. We call it the Great War. Humans rose up against the tyranny of the giants, and the Gods aided them.”

That was how it went. Once, the masters of the world had not been the Gods but the giants, and the giants had ruled over humans as slaves, oppressing them.

When humans fought back against the giants’ tyranny, the Gods helped them, and thus the age of Gods and humans was able to begin.

“That’s why the power of giants is, in one sense, regarded as ill-omened. At its root, it’s the power of beings who oppressed humanity. Perhaps because of that, people who stay near a Giant are said to meet with misfortune.”

“That sounds like nonsense to me?”

“I didn’t believe it when I was young either, but now that I’m old, I suppose it weighs on me. And more than anything, it weighs on me even more with someone as bold as you.”

Ah, he understood what that meant.

The Old Man wasn’t trying to keep his distance simply because Anagin was a Giant—he was keeping his distance because Anagin was a Giant who intended to become a God himself.

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing Anagin fall silent, the Old Man apologized.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“?”

“You and I only met briefly yesterday, didn’t we?”

“……”

“Your request turns out to be less of a big deal than I expected. I’ll take it as repayment for the ride. So don’t worry about it.”

At Anagin’s terse answer, the Old Man felt sorry, but he didn’t bother adding anything and simply nodded.

“Thank you. Then I’ll teach you how to master ‘Pa’ and ‘Yul.’”

*Whoooosh…*

Just as the Old Man was about to explain the training methods, a sound rang out, and a faint light pushed back the surrounding darkness.

When Anagin focused his nerves into his right hand and put strength into it, light gathered and illuminated the area.

The stunned Old Man was too surprised to say anything, and in the meantime, Anagin drew the long sword he’d received from Bander and imbued it with Gi.

“You already knew how to use it?”

“I do now.”

“How?”

“Because I saw it used twice today.”

Anagin gave an answer that far outstripped the Old Man’s common sense.

It was a sight he couldn’t possibly believe based on his own experience, but the Old Man couldn’t say anything. It had already happened.

Anagin dispersed the Gi he’d concentrated in one spot and walked past the Old Man.

“Where are you going?”

“I’ve finished my business in this city, and it just so happens I’ve got somewhere to go now—the Ruins.”

The Old Man was about to tell him that traveling at night was dangerous, but he stopped himself. This wasn’t someone he had any business warning about danger.

More than anything, having him vanish in the middle of the night wasn’t bad from the Old Man’s perspective either.

Come sunrise, his grandson would obviously throw a fit insisting on going to see Anagin. Still…

“Wait a moment.”

“Do you have more to teach me?”

The Old Man shook his head.

“…No. It occurred to me I never even told you my name. Meeting like this is fate, after all.”

Anagin let out a scoff at the foolishness of it.

“Forget it. The name of someone I’ll never see again, of all things. I appreciate the concern, but worry about your own family. Your own family.”

Leaving only those words behind, Anagin disappeared beyond the darkness and left the city.