Zeke was confused as to why the Ranger Unit, also known as the Guardians of the Northern Continent, had come to him.
'Could it be that Abel hired him to eliminate me for allying with Kali?'
Zeke noticed the unique shape of the swords the black-clad men were holding.
It was a sword called Kukri used by the rangers of the Gorkha Kingdom, located at the northernmost tip of the Northern Continent. And they had the strongest skills among the northern rangers.
Because his skills were so outstanding, the Central Kingdom paid a great price and used him as a mercenary for important missions.
Especially since Zeke had lived with the Gorkha Rangers when he was on the Northern Continent, he knew very well how tough they were.
Zeke tried to assess the situation by confronting the Gorkha Ranger who had drawn his Kukri.
Zeke said to the man in black.
"Why are the Gorkha Rangers watching me?"
The man in black didn't answer, just aimed his kukri at Zik and watched for an opportunity to go towards the window.
Zeke turned his back to the window and blocked his escape route to prevent him from escaping.
Just then something came rushing in from outside the window.
Ttorr!
A small ball rolled towards Zig's feet.
Soon a cloud of smoke began to billow out from the ball.
[Mandragora root ingredient detected.] [If you are poisoned by this poison, you will lose consciousness.] [You are not affected by the poison due to the effect of the constitution that is impervious to poison.]
Thanks to the poison immunity gained from binge eating Hydra heads, Dokmu could not harm Zeke.
But Zeke fell down and acted addicted.
After a while, when the smoke cleared, the two men in black carried the fallen Zeke and headed somewhere.
* * *
The men in black brought Zeke into a dark, narrow room, sat him down on a chair, and handcuffed him. After the men in black left, confirming that he was tied up properly, Zeke slowly opened his eyes.
I pulled up the map and looked at it, and it was near a farm on the outskirts of Atlas. It seemed to be a house built by remodeling a granary.
'The Northern Ranger has a secret? It seems he has a separate employer.'
Even if he was locked up in prison, he could escape using the portal, so Zeke simply pretended to be a victim of the poison.
He had entered the tiger's den to find out for himself why the rangers of the Gorkha Kingdom were spying on him.
Just then someone came into the room.
He approached Zeke, who closed his eyes again and pretended to be unconscious, and held the bottle up to his nose.
[Neutralizer of Mandragora root component detected.]
It seemed to be an antidote to poisoning.
Zeke acted as if he was coming to his senses.
"Umm… … ."
The man spoke to the awakened Zeke.
"Zeke Draker."
Zeke raised his head and slowly opened his eyes.
'Who is the author?'
A stubborn middle-aged man with an eye patch over one eye.
Zeke knew who he was.
'Cliff Reinhart?'
He was the owner of Reinhart Trading Company, one of the top ten trading companies on the continent of the future.
The reason Zeke recognized him immediately upon seeing him was none other than their connection from a past life.
Abel, who had taken over the family in his previous life, had extended his hand to major companies for war supplies. At the time, Reinhart Company tried to maintain a neutral stance, but Abel and the Empire would not tolerate this. They tried to forcibly dismantle Reinhart Company and confiscate its assets.
Cliff Reinhart risked his life to escape from the Central Continent and pass on information to the Northern Continent.
The person who made contact with Cliff at the time and relayed the information he gave to the North was none other than Zeke.
'Zeke Murray. I trust you to relay this information safely.'
Zeke suggested to Cliff that he seek asylum in the North, but he shook his head.
'I want to face my final death in my hometown, Alencia.'
The future Cliff, who was prepared to die, and the present Cliff appeared to overlap.
Cliff said to Zeke, who was staring at him.
"You look at me as if you know me."
Zeke said with a pretended expression.
"I just looked around to see who would kidnap Draker's blood relatives without fear."
Cliff's expression hardened at those words.
Seeing Cliff's reaction, Zeke realized that this kidnapping wasn't carefully planned.
Zeke decided to stab Cliff.
"Why did you kidnap me?"
There had to be a reason why he hired expensive Gorkha rangers to invade his compound.
If there was any connection to Abel, it would have been beneficial to sort out Cliff Rinehart here.
If Reinhart's money goes to Abel, it'll be even more of a headache.
Zeke turned on the minimap and identified the location and number of rangers around him.
'One in the room, one right in front, and ten around the building. Judging by the noise, there are probably two rangers there.'
Even if he was a Gorkha Ranger, if Zeke had shown his true abilities, he could have taken care of him without leaving a trace.
Then Cliff gestured to the ranger behind him.
The ranger approached and released the handcuffs that were holding Zeke's arms in place.
"I want to tell you that even though things have turned out this way, this wasn't my original intention."
Zeke spoke to Cliff, who was speaking formally, unlike before.
"That's funny. You broke in and kidnapped someone, and now you say you didn't have that intention."
Even when trapped in enemy territory, Zeke was not at all intimidated and continued to speak informally.
Cliff was slightly surprised by Zeke's attitude.
Even the most experienced knight would have been anxious in this situation, but the boy in front of him showed no such signs.
'Even if he's young, a Drake is still a Drake.'
In fact, not all Drakers displayed such a detached demeanor during interrogation situations.
This was possible because Zeke had been trained in all kinds of interrogation and torture during his time as a Southern hitman.
If the Gorkha Rangers had tried to interrogate him in earnest, he might have responded differently, but judging from Cliff's reaction, it didn't seem to be in a hostile direction.
Then Cliff opened his mouth.
"I think I need to explain the situation. I don't know if you've heard of me. My name is Cliff Reinhart. I run Reinhart Trading Company."
Surprisingly, Cliff revealed his identity first.
Zeke said with a mock-venomous expression, trying to leave Cliff alone.
"Reinhart's Company. I don't know how big the company is, but you have a lot of guts to mess with Draker. Even if you kill me here, Draker will chase you to the end, and even if you don't kill me here, he will chase you to the end. No matter what you do, you will never be able to escape Draker."
Then Cliff's expression hardened.
Even for the owner of a large corporation, the knight's life force held an aura that was difficult to accept.
The ranger who had been standing behind stepped forward and tried to stop Zeke.
But Cliff raised his hand and stopped the ranger.
Cliff took out a document and held it out in front of Zeke.
"Please look at this for a moment."
Zeke shifted his gaze from Cliff to slowly look through the document.
But the document contained something completely unexpected.
'Elena Stone?'
Elena Stone was none other than the mother of Liam Stone, who became his subordinate.
The document Cliff brought contained information about Elena Stone's recovery from the safflower disease.
Zeke wondered why Cliff had brought him information about Elena Stone's safflower disease.
"It's a disease that has been slowly spreading in the southern part of the Central Continent, and it's called Honghwabyeong locally."
Cliff said, looking at Zeke.
"I have learned that Elena Stone, the mother of Academy student Liam Stone, also contracted the disease and nearly died, but recovered. Zeke Draker, do you know anything about this?"
There was no way I didn't know.
Elena Stone overcame her scurvy disease thanks to the medicine that Zeke made for her.
Zeke said to Cliff.
"I sent Elena Stone some medicine. What does that mean?"
Then Cliff's expression changed completely.
"Zeke Draker, you were right when you sent the cure. How did you know about the cure for this disease that is not even well known yet?"
"I sent it to you because I thought it would work when I was suffering from a high fever and it worked. But I don't understand why Reinhart Company is investigating such things. They even kidnapped me."
Then Cliff shook his head.
"Again, that was never my intention. I just needed… … ."
Zeke cut Cliff off.
"The cure you gave to Elena Stone. That's what you were trying to find out?"
Cliff shut his mouth at Zeke's words.
Zeke looked at the silent Cliff and tried to figure out why he had done such an extreme thing.
"Is there anyone who needs urgent treatment for safflower disease?"
It was not a question, but a statement of confidence.
Cliff sensed that Zeke was not your typical fifteen-year-old.
Now the odds are stacked against Cliff.
Even if you try to make a deal, you have to give in to what the other party wants in a much more disadvantageous situation.
Then Zeke spoke first.
"Cliff Reinhart. No deal."
As soon as he grasped the situation, Zeke tried to seize the high ground where he could gain the upper hand.
Cliff opened his mouth calmly at Zeke's words.
"What are the terms of the deal?"
Zeke held up three fingers.
"If you promise to grant my three demands in the future, I will tell you the cure."
Cliff said, looking at Zeke.
"I need to know what the demand is so I can agree to the deal."
"I will tell you what is necessary within the scope that Reinhart Trading Company can handle."
Cliff looked at Zeke for a moment, then said:
"I will do business with you if you agree to write a contract that clearly states the terms."
Zeke nodded with a smirk.
"Okay. A contract is essential for any transaction."
Cliff gestured and the ranger went outside to get some paper and a pen.
Cliff took his time and carefully drafted the contract.
Zeke read the contract Cliff had written.
"Nothing unusual. But one thing."
He said to Cliff.
"Someone who needs to cure Hong Hwa-byeong. I need you to tell me who that person is."
Cliff's expression became much more serious than before.
He said, looking at Zeke.
"I can't say that."
"Then I guess we'll just call it a deal."
Cliff, who had been thinking about it, realized that he had no choice and slowly opened his mouth.
"I can only say that I am one of the royals of Alencia."
Zeke clicked his tongue.
"If you do it this way, I'll consider it as if there was no deal."
Cliff clenched his teeth.
Then he finally opened his mouth.
"Melissa Alencia."
Zeke's eyes changed at Cliff's words.
"The first princess of Alencia."
Alencia was currently in a dispute with the Roman Empire over control of the Zinn ghetto in the border region.
The Kingdom of Alencia was already in a state of internal instability due to the sharp conflict between the royal power and the aristocracy, and the Roman Empire took advantage of this to build and deploy large-scale military bases in the border region and covet the Join ghetto, which was Alencia territory.
Melissa Alencia was a popular figure among the people due to her effective policies toward the people, compared to the sickly and incompetent king.
Moreover, public opinion was forming that if she succeeded to the throne, the royal authority would regain its authority and end the internal power struggles with the nobles.
If Melissa Alencia, who was becoming a major issue in the Central Continent's political situation, fell ill and was unable to inherit the throne, the chaotic situation in the Kingdom of Alencia would become even more difficult.
Zeke asked Cliff.
"Why is Reinhart Trading Company going to such lengths to cure Melissa Alencia's illness?"
"I was in the middle of coordinating a big deal with Princess Melissa. If something were to go wrong with the princess before the deal was finalized, the entire company would suffer huge losses, so I tried to find a cure."
In the previous life, Reinhart Trading Company grew centered around the Kingdom of Alencia and eventually rose to become one of the top ten trading companies on the continent.
It was understandable that he already had a lot of influence, as he was so attached to Cliff Reinhart that he said he wanted to die in Alencia even if it meant dying there.
But even so, I still didn't understand why they hired Gorkha Rangers to invade the Draker clan's residence.
Although it was not fully developed yet, the current Reinhart Trading Company had some financial resources, so if it was really urgent, it could buy the cure with money.
'I guess there's something I don't know.'
Zeke looked into Cliff Reinhart's eyes.
As he mastered the Elemental Sword, Zeke became more adept at mana's power than before, and was able to sense other people's emotions more closely.
He read the emotions he felt from Cliff.
'Desperation, impatience, deep loyalty… … .'
It didn't seem like they were just trying to save Princess Melissa for the sake of a deal.
Zeke realized that there was something between Princess Melissa and Reinhart's Company.
It was clear that at least with Cliff, there was definitely more to his relationship than just a transaction.
I thought maybe there was something bigger to be gained from this deal.
Zeke signed the contract Cliff handed him.
Cliff sighed in relief when he saw Zeke's signature.
Then Zeke opened his mouth.
"Okay, Cliff Reinhart. First, let me make my first request."
He said, looking at the cliff.
"You have to get me a job."