Upon getting out of the room, Yoro checked out his letter. There was written that he should go deeper inside, the exact location was a private area in room number 14. But Yoro was already in the area, moreover, the room was the one exactly on his right.
Yoro raised his eyebrows when he found out the room was locked. He looked at Chad for explanation. "You need keys to enter the room with this sign." He said as he pointed at the 'reserved' letter on the transparent glass inside. "But seeing no keys inside the letter, I think you need to ask the receptionist first." He grunted.
Yoro stared at the baldy in front of him for a while, a strange expression on his face. "You really are familiar with this place, huh?" He mumbled.
"I am sorry?" Chad couldn't hear his words properly, but when he wanted to question him about it, Yoro already walked off for quite some distance away.
Like the other clerk in this place, it was another woman in scantily-clad clothing. She raised her eyebrows when she saw that a boy with blue eyes and face hidden behind the mask was heading on her way, a big familiar baldy following behind him.
"Oh my, isn't this our beloved customer, Alpha? What are you doing here?" She asked coquettishly to Chad, which he responded by a grunt while pointing at the boy in front of him
"I am tasked to guard this young master of mine. By chance, are there keys for the reserved room number 14? He was invited here by someone to make some offer."
"May I see the letter?" After Chad had stated his business, the girl instantly got into her professional mode. It seemed that Chad was really popular among women, yet sadly, he was oblivious by this fact.
"Hey Chad" Yoro whispered on Chad's side as he looked at the girl in front of him. "Don't you already have that librarian on your sleeve? Why are you aiming for another woman?"
Chad snapped his head at the black haired brat before him. "What? No! Since when I said I was aiming for her?!" Chad retorted in a pretty hard manner to his statement.
Yoro shrugged. "I don't know. But she was clearly into you, Chad."
Chad stared at the woman who was pretending to read the letter while her ears perked up for extra 'information.'
"Who are you kidding, young master. There is no way that could happen right?"
In the end, his words were only responded with an unimpressed look from both of them. Both were wondering in their head if his name was there only for some kind of a decoration.
In the end, the clerk broke the awkward atmosphere first with a sigh. "Haa… alright, the letter is real. So here are your keys." She sighed dejectedly. Yoro understood her feelings, so he kicked Chad's feet on behalf of her before heading towards the designation room.
Turned out, the inside was the same as room number 15. The person who sent him the letter hadn't come here yet, but the clerk said she would notify him immediately.
And soon enough, the door handle twisted and revealed the person behind.
Both of their eyes met as soon as the door opened, and after a silent assessment from both of them, he apologized. "I am sorry to make you wait, I was kinda busy and tight in time at the moment." He smiled bitterly and took a seat across Yoro.
In Yoro's perspective, this person gave some kind of an imposing impression. He wore a black suit and a red tie, pretty much looking like any other business man on earth. But different from them, his face was like a yakuza. He had sharp eyes and a pointy nose. His brown hair is messy and Yoro could see a glimpse of a tattoo on his neck. So not only imposing, it might be more accurate to call him outright scary. It was a complete contrast with the pale and weak-looking boy in front of him.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Boston." He introduced himself and offered Yoro a handshake.
"Yoshiro Ehren." Yoro responded short and clearly, hiding both his healthy condition and nervousness consequently.
The man, Boston, who was supporting a benign smile on his face, decided to break the ice by a small talk first. "So, Lord Yoshiro Ehren, how do you like it here? Is the casino already to your liking?"
Yoro stayed silent for a brief moment, eyeing the man suspiciously. "...Can't you just get to the point? My health and body didn't support me well enough to keep the conversation going for a long time." He said that, but the only reason he had was the uncomfortable feeling he got in the presence before this man. Boston's prying eyes were pretty much molesting his whole body. If he didn't know Boston was a yakuza beforehand, he would assume the man was an outright bloody pedophile in an instant.
Boston seemed to understand his worry, so he dryly laughed, "I guess we both are similarly tight in time. Fine, I won't beat around the bush then." He straightened his back and intertwined his fingers on the table. His face was dead serious. "There is something going on in Ehrenar City right now."
Yoro was stiffened a bit when he saw Boston's new demeanor. But he quickly gained his composure back and supported the same serious expression on his face. "And may I know what it is?"
The man reached out to his chest and fished out a file. Inside it were photos. Yoro's surprise was visible on his face. Either he was surprised because of the existence of photos in this world, or what was being displayed on the photos, maybe both of them.
"This is…"
"This is the movement of W.A.V.E Trading Company. They had established a base at the end of 8th main road and had been doing business there since then. But as you can see, there is more than meets the eye."
In the first photo, what was being displayed there was a normal carriage like any other carriage. But upon closer inspection, there seemed to be some inconsistency between one photo with the other. It's like they had an additional space in their carriage, moreover, a hidden one.
"They are… smuggling something?" Yoro murmured when he compared one picture with another. He was still surprised at how good the camera in this world was considering it still in it's 19th century vibe… or is it still called a camera?
Boston nodded and expressed his opinion. "Yes, I believe it was drugs. Those newly made drugs are called angel's love. This thing had been revolving around Escilla's Kingdom for quite some time now and royalty was having a severe headache for the victims that fell right and left countlessly, but the case mainly revolved in the capital and there is still no news it had been spreading out in the other city…. yet."
"Impossible!" Couldn't hold his agitation any longer, Chad suddenly snapped beside him, banging the table with his hulk strength and startling all the people inside the room. Chad's face had turned blue after he heard the word 'drugs' coming out of Boston's mouth.
"Ehrenar had many experienced guards in the respective gates to lead the inspection and still considered as the best of the best in terms of security. There is no way anything illegal can be smuggled inside the city, moreover something like drugs. Or... are you implying there are traitors in the guards under my command, huh!?"
Yoro got up from his seat and held Chad from his attempt to punch Boston right in the face. Yoro knew he couldn't overwin Chad in terms of strength, so he tried to persuade him off with his words instead.
"Wait, wait, let's hear him out first. Chad! Like he said, even the capital had been dealing with this for years while hadn't reached the end of its conclusion. We should try to prevent it rather than feigned an ignorance!"
Chad didn't budge from Yoro's words alone and wanted to hit the table in front of him into pieces. Yoro, seeing no effect in his way of doing things, then revealed the hidden card he had been holding off this whole time.
"And please remember your debt for broken property!" He shouted as loud as he could, hoping it could reach Chad's ears
Unexpectedly, Chad stopped moving. When Yoro raised his head up to see what's happened, there he saw Chad with face as white as paper. It's even paler than his own!
'Thank god, my gamble worked.' He cheered in his mind while gesturing to Chad to sit back down.
Looking back at Boston who had his eyebrows raised, Yoro frowned and said. "Drugs? May I know since when has this W.A.V.E Trading Company been running their business?" it was the most important thing to know right now. Yoro afraid that if they had been running for too long, their influence might be beyond Arnold's own reach.
"Years." He revealed bitterly, avoiding eye contact with Yoro as he said that.
Yoro's face turned into a horror stricken one upon hearing that and he was also about to snap at the moment of notice. But Boston had expected this kind of outcome and quickly added in his words. "And Lord Yoshiro Ehren, that very thing is actually the reason why I ask to meet you here."
Yoro exhaled a long breath, trying to calm his guts down. If Chad snapped, he would be there to hold him off, but if he snapped, there wouldn't be anybody who would bother doing so.
"Continue," said Yoro after he re-composed himself.
Boston nodded. "W.A.V.E had been trading their goods in Ehrenar for a few years now. Their company is a big success and Marquis himself even gave them his support. By giving them a special privilege, they could go in and out of the city as they pleased. I am afraid if I notice the Lord Marquis himself, W.A.V.E might hear a wind about it in advance and would take some countermeasure immediately."
Yoro massaged his temples as a headache came in a sudden. Seeing things now, he thought that maybe becoming noble wasn't as easy as it seemed and said to be. He wondered what kind of stress Arnold constantly had with that many nobles inside the Escilla kingdom, which basically everyone was plotting against each other.
'I was born as the second son fortunately.' He thought. Now he knew the reason why his brother had refused such an enticing position in the first place.