The Witch Hunter System

"…Sunpeak Town is the most central settlement in the Kingdom of Black Rose; it's the center of the spider web," Vaan answered.

"If Queen Henrietta didn't make Blackthorn City the capital of the kingdom to combat the threats of Gehenna in the north or if Gehenna didn't exist, Sunpeak Town would have been the ideal location geographically."

"The fastest route from one end to the opposite end of the kingdom would mostly pass through the Sunpeak Region. That's why Sunpeak Town is attractive as a city of trade. It has high traffic," Vaan stated. "Of course, I'm sure you already know this fact."

Cyrena nodded.

However, that wasn't why she asked the question. She felt like there was more to Sunpeak Town that attracted the various forces.

"Since the invention of magic airships and access to flight magic, fewer people have taken the ground route around the kingdom," Astoria mentioned thoughtfully. "At the very least, upper-class members deign to travel by foot."

"Even so, the upper-class members are only a minority. Most people still traverse the ground route around the kingdom. As such, Sunpeak Town remains attractive as the main trade city in the kingdom."

"But to attract forces besides merchants and scholars… It must be information," Astoria guessed.

"That's right. The key is information." Vaan nodded before continuing, "As Sunpeak Town develops, all sorts of people will pass through or stay. Thus, it'll be the best place to gather news throughout the kingdom."

"However, Blackthorn City could be considered an independent country within the kingdom; little information leaves or enters it. Thus, we can conclude that the Assembly of Silent Night and possibly the foreign merchants' interests lie in the rest of the kingdom and not the capital."

"The Assembly of Silent Night is one thing… But if foreign merchants are more interested in collecting information than profit, they would be spies for other witch kingdoms," Astoria frowned.

The witch kingdoms' borders were closed off to the outside world. However, travels between each witch kingdom weren't restricted.

"What if the spies aren't limited to the other witch kingdoms?" Vaan casually raised the question, causing Astoria and the others to pause with frowns.

It wouldn't be surprising if the Kingdom of Black Rose had spies planted in other witch kingdoms and beyond. Thus, logically thinking, the other witch kingdoms and beyond would also be interested in putting spies in the Kingdom of Black Rose.

"That shouldn't be possible… is what I would like to say," Solana uttered with a wry and helpless smile.

"But seeing how the Assembly of Silent Night managed to infiltrate the kingdom after the purge, I guess it wouldn't be surprising if spies from other countries could also sneak into the kingdom."

"Wouldn't that make the kingdom's security too lacking? What the hell have the border lords been doing?" Silvaria frowned.

While listening to the conversation, the Lord of Wolfwater slowly began to realize something was at play that involved not only various forces but also various countries.

"Considering if war ever breaks out, the border lords of each country would be the first to be wiped out. It wouldn't be strange if these border lords achieved a tacit understanding and made secret deals with each other for their own benefits," Vaan mentioned.

The room went silent for some time.

While everyone felt the looming threat of war with other countries, Vaan pondered the enemies' objectives.

He believed it was related to the Third Great Expedition, which was ultimately related to him.

The Kingdom of Black Rose was forced to divide Furhengir's carcass with other witch kingdoms. But they were coincidentally ambushed and robbed before they could bring their share back.

If the greatest treasure of Furhengir got lost during the chaos, the various parties involved would undoubtedly be looking for it.

Still, considering the stone containing the Witch Hunter System was kept by him for many years without getting stolen, there was a high chance that they didn't know exactly what they were looking for.

After all, no one recognized the stone's value.

"Nevertheless, it doesn't matter what the various forces are trying to achieve here in Sunpeak Town. If they hinder our progress, I will eliminate them all the same," Vaan calmly stated.

The Assembly of Silent Night and the other forces weren't the only ones who wished to establish a base in Sunpeak Town for gathering information.

He was also interested.

After all, he knew too little outside the Kingdom of Black Rose. Only by grasping the situation of the kingdom and its surroundings would he know where to direct his focus and attention.

Exploration discoveries weren't made with one's eyes closed.

"Right now, I only have two concerns: finding the culprits behind Dahlia's attack and developing the properties in the central town area. Other matters come after," Vaan mentioned shortly after.

"Some truth will be shed on the culprits behind Dahlia's ambush once we receive the information extracted from the survivors. Thus, we can put that aside for the time being. That just leaves us with Sunpeak Town's central development to worry about," Astoria mentioned with some complicated feelings.

She found it strange that she, an academy headmaster, would be involved in the development of another town. She was abandoning her duties back at Blackmoon Academy to assist Vaan.

"We've been trying to develop the central town area while you were gone, but the merchants have been hindering our progress," Solana mentioned before stating, "If we can't gain their honest cooperation, gathering construction materials will be troublesome."

"Shall I go and kill a few to make them more honest?" Aelianna suggested as her eyes glimmered with a cold light.

"That won't be necessary," Vaan shook his head and said, "They will come to us."

"If they aren't stupid, they should already know what happened in the central town area. Coupled with my flame barrier preventing them from leaving, we can expect merchants to be lining up for forgiveness sometime tonight to early morning."

"They'll definitely act more honest and cooperative then," Vaan stated.

After Solana, Dahlia, and Cyrena heard that, they couldn't help but look forward to it. The merchants had given them so much trouble in the past month.

It would be nice to see them grovel pathetically for a change.

"Is that so? It's a bit embarrassing to say, but I'm a little excited to see that happen," Solana spoke with a shy smile.