Chapter 704: A Traitor Within

In a tavern in Kuka City, Ika, a disguised Henwell drinks and sings with a group of mercenary rangers.

Dressed like a mercenary ranger himself, Henwell looks nothing like the lord of Blood Hill whose name inspires awe across the continent.

Kuka City is where the Lady of Calamity agreed to meet him. So why has he chosen this chaotic tavern as his base?

Because from here, he can watch the luxurious hotel in the distance: the famous King's Shield Hotel.

During the War of the Six Kings, the new king, Baleqi, stayed at this hotel and used it as his command post.

Baleqi devised a series of counteroffensives inside the King's Shield Hotel.

The orders for the Defense of Kuka City, the Holding Action at Fire Eyes City, and the Counteroffensive at Wilderness City were all issued from here.

The hotel witnessed the Ika Kingdom turn the war around and Baleqi rise to power.

Afterward, a wealthy magnate bought the hotel and formally renamed it the King's Shield to commemorate Baleqi's achievements.

The magnate poured an enormous fortune into renovating it, transforming the hotel into a Kuka City landmark and the most luxurious establishment in the city.

The hotel also has a connection to Peace Haven.

Guests at Henwell's wedding saw the reinforced-concrete buildings that Peace Haven had constructed.

At the same time, Peace Haven's Construction Supervision Office began accepting outside contracts.

The mysterious magnate immediately paid a tremendous sum to hire a Peace Haven construction team to renovate the hotel.

That is how Kuka City gained this imposing nine-story building, standing thirty-five meters tall.

The project also made the hotel famous, turning the King's Shield Hotel into the largest luxury entertainment venue in eastern Ika.

Fine dining, theaters, gambling, accommodation... The hotel is a complete luxury entertainment complex.

Everyone who enters is rich or influential. Henwell's current disguise would look badly out of place there.

Besides, Henwell needs to watch the hotel and determine whether anyone is following the Lady of Calamity.

On his fifth day in Kuka City, a prearranged signal from the Lady of Calamity finally appears on the balcony of a top-floor room.

The next day, Henwell assumes another identity. Posing as a wealthy merchant, he makes a conspicuous show around Kuka City before arriving at the King's Shield Hotel.

The reception desk is staffed entirely by beautiful women, who welcome Henwell with impeccable professionalism.

No matter how lavishly Henwell spends, however, he can secure a room only on the fifth floor.

An attendant then takes Henwell on a tour of the establishment.

The entire first floor is a reception hall. Four covered walkways connect the hotel to the theater next door.

The second floor houses the casino, which offers gambling games from across the continent and will even accommodate reasonable games proposed by its guests.

The third floor contains restaurants, while the fourth is divided into private rooms and salons.

Guest rooms begin on the fifth floor, which is generally open to the public.

Only well-known figures may reserve rooms on the sixth floor. The seventh is restricted to nobles, while the eighth and ninth admit only the highest aristocracy.

The handful of rooms on the ninth floor are reserved exclusively for members of royal families.

Guests from the lower floors are forbidden from going upstairs and disturbing those above them.

Numerous elite guards stand watch at the entrance to each floor. Their strength rivals the defenses of a count's castle.

Partway through the tour, something catches Henwell's attention.

Noticing his curiosity, the attendant explains, "This is the guest lift. It provides direct access to the seventh floor and above."

Henwell frowns. "How does it work? Surely people below are not pulling it up with ropes."

As Henwell asks the question, a middle-aged man in magnificent robes approaches. "You have a keen eye, sir."

"You spotted the problem immediately. Human labor is far too unstable, even with a gear train."

"To provide our guests with a better experience, we adopted a remarkable new source of power."

"It is a machine that burns coal. A set of ingenious mechanisms lets it produce steady, powerful output."

"Only Peace Haven possesses such machines, and the lord of Blood Hill guards the technology closely. It has never been made public."

"Ah, yes."

"That remarkable machine is called a steam engine. We paid an enormous price to obtain one."

Henwell smiles. Of course he knows a steam engine is running below. What interests him is how the owner of the King's Shield obtained it from Peace Haven.

Henwell jokes, "If this so-called steam engine is technology the lord of Blood Hill keeps secret, you are being remarkably open about using it."

"Are you not afraid word will reach the lord of Blood Hill and offend the most powerful knightly lord on the continent?"

The guard beside the robed man scoffs. "Henwell may be powerful, but this is Ika. What can he do even if he finds out? Besides, we are not afraid of him."

The robed man frowns and rebukes him. "Enough."

The guard immediately lowers his head and retreats. This piques Henwell's curiosity. The man before him has no extraordinary power, while his guard is a genuine Grand Knight.

The robed man turns back to Henwell. "My guard does not know his limits. Please excuse him."

"We neither stole nor seized this machine. We paid for it and bought it from someone else."

"How it left Peace Haven has nothing to do with us."

"If the lord of Blood Hill is willing to do business with us, we can offer him a satisfactory price."

The man continues, "I manage the King's Shield. You may call me Solomon. How should I address you, sir?"

Henwell inclines his head. "So you are the owner. I am a merchant from western Lumir who had the good fortune to earn a little money when an opportunity presented itself."

"My guild is small, and I doubt you have heard of it. It is called the Qili Guild and cannot begin to compare with your establishment."

After only a moment's thought, Solomon says, "So you are Mr. Adolf. The Qili Guild may not belong to the Trade Alliance, but it has quite a reputation."

"I should correct one point, Mr. Adolf. I am not the owner of this establishment. I merely manage it on the owner's behalf."

The Qili Guild truly exists and has no apparent connection to Peace Haven.

It is an identity Henwell personally constructed, and only three people in all of Peace Haven know the truth.

The Qili Guild is famous because its deals are unusual and yield enormous profits.

It is the kind of guild that reads shifts in the wider situation with uncanny precision, then wagers heavily on what it sees.

Put simply, it may go half a year without making a deal, but one successful trade can sustain it for three years.

People in commercial circles have heard of it, but very few have dealt with it directly.

Solomon continues, "Mr. Adolf."

"Although we did not steal the machine from Peace Haven, my employer does not wish to invite unnecessary trouble."

"I therefore hope you will forget the careless remark our captain of the guard just made."

"In return for your goodwill, we will waive the full cost of your ten-day stay and move you to a room on the sixth floor."

Henwell shrugs. "Forget what? Did someone say something?"

Solomon smiles. "Nothing at all. Enjoy your stay."