Published: August 10, 2026
In the end, Hadwell said he didn't have much time, so instead of going to Old Town, we decided to go into a café in this city.
There weren't many people here who could understand Oracle language anyway, so Hadwell began speaking without worrying too much about anyone eavesdropping.
The big red-haired man was extremely humble toward us. That was probably partly just his personality, but more than anything, it seemed to come from how desperate his situation was—he was clinging to hope, like a man grasping at straw.
"Yan Dutchman is not a merchant. He's a blackmailer."
That was the gist of what he said.
"...I met him about two years ago. He approached me at the Oracle Jeweler's Guild and asked if I wanted to steal profits from the Dilz trader, granado trading company."
"...At a jeweler's guild, he asked you to fight a trading company?"
At my question, Hadwell nodded.
"What he wanted to 'attack' was their main product: craft textiles. The idea was to monopolize them, use that as leverage, and then negotiate for the right to trade precious metals. Yan would provide the money for the stockpiling, and he told me not to worry because he had the backing of the dutchman ducal family. He said all the precious-metal-related interests he took from the other side would be handed over to Hadwell Trading Company..."
"...Why did he tell you that? No offense, but Hadwell Trading Company isn't all that impressive, is it?"
"We're still Oracle's leading jeweler, but compared to granado trading company... yes, that's true."
Hadwell answered honestly with a wry smile.
"More than anything, we only do business within the country. We don't have the know-how to trade across the sea, so even if we gained those interests, I had no confidence we could turn a profit. I told Yan I had to decline because overreaching beyond our means would only ruin us. And also because I felt something... something I couldn't put into words. A bad feeling."
I understood exactly what he meant. Was it merchant's intuition? No matter how beautifully dressed up a profitable deal might be, sometimes some corner of your mind rings the alarm bell and tells you that you should not get involved.
In the end, Hadwell firmly refused, the deal fell apart, and they went their separate ways.
After that, there was no contact for a while—but then... half a year ago. When Hadwell returned home from a buying trip, his wife and child were gone.
His house had been violently ransacked, and there were even spots of blood on the floor. Unfinished food and toys were scattered everywhere, and it was obvious that a group had burst in and kidnapped his wife and child without warning.
Perhaps remembering that day, his large body began trembling.
Yan contacted him immediately. He said they should talk again, face-to-face, about the matter from before... and he was smiling that greasy smile of his.
Anger, sorrow, regret, and remorse seeped out of Hadwell as sweat.
"I'm... just a merchant. I don't have the power to denounce the dutchman household. I don't have enough connections, money, anything. I didn't have the resolve to weigh merchant's pride against my wife and child's lives... I just couldn't."
A thin line of blood dripped from Hadwell's fist. He was clenching so tightly that his nails were splitting the flesh.
...I said nothing, and simply waited for his sobbing to subside.
...It was long. Far too long.
I slapped the table hard.
"So in the end, what's that guy's goal?"
Hadwell kept his head lowered. His half-hearted attitude annoyed me.
"I get your situation. Your family was taken, and you were forced to help Yan, which meant getting in the way of granado trading company... and by extension my business. But what's Yan's actual goal? He spent all that money and committed crimes for it, so what does he ultimately gain from all this?"
"...Nothing."
Hadwell shook his head and said that.
"Nothing? What do you mean, nothing?"
"He said his goal was simply to destroy granado trading company. That Cyrus Granado was a corrupt merchant, an incompetent manager riding on his parents' influence. A shameful villain who sullies the blood of the king's brother and Hero Siegfried."