Chapter 169

“Well, as far as I know, my father has been here for two years… No, it’s been a little longer than two years, I remember being sent into an undeveloped area around spring…”

“About two to two and a half years ago. The timing is just right,” Kyle muttered.

Noah agreed. Adrian and Eleonora had worked together on the replica project to complete the design, and it was two years and three months ago that the two of them put an end to their relationship, seemingly because of an unexpected incident. If Eleonora disappeared after that and Adrian started to steal the Mane Ore to continue on the project alone, the timing was precisely correct.

“Have you ever heard where the dealer is taking the Mane Ore?”

“I don’t know if that’s…”

A small rustle resounded from inside the cocoon. Words away from the most important information, Kyle and Noah frowned at the same time. The wrinkled old miner arose and answered instead in a hoarse voice.

“There is only one way down this cliff. At the end of the road, there is a temporary station where trains stop to refuel. It’s not used now, but it’s the railroad that headed to Tauren until a few decades ago.”

“Tauren,” repeated Kyle.

Tauren is the fifth province of Laurent across Noviscosha on the southern border. The old man continued, “If you look down from the edge of the cliff, you can see it faintly. On the day of your appointment with the dealer, black smoke should always rise from the unused side of the station.”

“You mean, you used the closed train station to move the ore. How many people usually come?” asked Kyle.

“Three at most.”

“Three… It’s perfect for camouflage.” Noah mumbled to herself. One of the miners could be their guide, and she and Kyle would disguise themselves as the other two traders. Kyle glanced back at Noah. He must have thought the same thing. Just two days later, a dealer would visit Maobiana.

The boy swallowed his dry saliva and began to speak instead of the old man. “The owner of the mine said never to break the deal. No matter what happens, we’ll have to fill out the quota on a fixed date. So, he kept sending miners downstairs even though he knew many were missing.”

“Have you ever seen the dealer’s face?” 

“I’ve never seen him… Because he’s always covering his face. But the owner of the mine was so agitated when I once made a joke, saying, ‘Isn’t this a secret deal between us with some organizations in the back of the world?’”

“It’s Yulem.”

At Kyle’s immediate conclusion, the young man’s face turned white. He stuttered, “Yu-Yu-Yulem…”

It was a shock to him that the man who had been in contact with the miners once a month was a member of the underworld. If he had done anything suspicious, he could have been thrown from a cliff or drowned in a lake without anyone knowing. However, this story was a little different in the case of the owner of the mine who already knew that the trading partner was Yulem. Why did Donalian Culton rush to get his hands off his own mine? Noah slowly organized her thoughts.

“There was an article about the alleged terrorist in Yulem, who was a suspect in the Edman attack, that he was linked to the Ministry of Magic. Well, it would explain why Donalian Culton was so restless trying to sell the mine.”

Perhaps Culton had only realized recently that the organization he was smuggling with may actually be related to the Ministry of Magic. If the Imperial Family were to discover that a significant amount of the magical ore, which is both valuable and hence, subject to abuse, had been stolen over at least twenty-four times in two years, he would have to spend the rest of his life in prison.

“No, wait a minute.” Noah’s brows furrowed in foreboding. Come to think of it, I took ownership of the mine from Donalian. As soon as the realization crossed her mind, she hurriedly pressed the pause button on the recorder. “Sir, I need to get back to the office quickly.”

“What?”

“Actually, I bought the mine from Donalian for 4.5 million pounds. And the real owner of this mine is now… Well, that’s me.”

“What?”

“Well, I tied him up and put him in the closet, but there’s a chance someone found him and let him go. If the owner of the mine runs away, the investigation will be directed at me… You know, I’m a criminal with sixteen previous convictions, and I don’t think I should be guilty of one more crime.”