When the plot-skips players into the game world

Secret paths might sound mysterious, but they are not that rare, after all.

After all, their very purpose is for people to use them.

Aiwass, with Lulu and Sherlock, entered an abandoned warehouse not far from the Pelican Bar, which had previously stored stone materials and was now full of dust and rubble.

Coming out of the warehouse's back door led to a desolate wasteland in a state of decay.

There was not a soul in sight. A small stream formed from sewage and stagnant water obstructed their path. Across the stream, heaps of household refuse and overgrown bushes, faded and rotted from the elements, piled up.

But upon seeing this, Aiwass breathed a sigh of relief as if he had found his target, and without hesitation, he stepped over the stream and immediately made his way towards the opposite side's expanse of trash.

"If we keep going from here, climb over that large mound of earth, we'll arrive," he said.

"...I see," someone replied.

Sherlock, who barely managed to jump across without dirtying his shoes, murmured in a low voice while following Aiwass, "Using sewage and trash to conjure up images of abandonment and dead ends, to subconsciously lead people to think that there is no way through. It's not a very clever method of concealment, but it's adequate for the average person."

"That's because it really isn't some fancy secret passage, nor is it man-made," he replied.

Leading the way, Aiwass turned slightly to explain, "It leads to a chemical plant that was abandoned twenty years ago.

"About seven or eight years ago, a group of youngsters from the Lohar District discovered and took over this secret path. They are now the 'Sweater Brothers Association', a faction of the Strangler Party."

"...Strangler Party, isn't that the name of a gang?" asked Lulu, struggling to keep up with Aiwass while holding up her skirt.

"I thought they were the largest gang in the Lohar District."

"Not so. The Strangler Party certainly consists of gang members, but it's not to say there is a single gang known as the 'Strangler Party,'" he answered.

Responding to her inquiry, Newsboy Sherlock added, "Any gang member who carries out murders and robberies by strangulation is called a Strangler Party member. It's precisely those smaller gangs that resort to such methods for money."

"And the largest gang?"

"That would definitely be the Lohar Society. There's only one Lohar Society in the Lohar District."

Aiwass responded, "The immense organization known as 'Lohar Society', which was formed over two hundred years ago by Prince Lohar when he was a merchant, still exists today. They trade in insurance, usury, overseas information, and business insider secrets. In a way, they are Avalon's only legal gang."

"...Usury is illegal, isn't it? How can there be legal usury?"

"Because they do not charge exorbitant interest overtly. Instead, they collect their interest through selling copies of 'Lohar Union Weekly' at prices way beyond what ordinary people can afford," he explained.

Turning to Lulu with a hint of resignation, Aiwass continued, "My dear, you wouldn't think it normal to pay five Red Candles for a weekly, would you?

"That is, after all, a weekly publication. This means that much of the news on it is old, previously reported by other newspapers – there's a saying in news, 'The morning's newspapers are waste by night.' While it may be an exaggeration... however you look at it, weeklies should be cheaper than dailies."

The Newsboy that Aiwass had encountered at the entrance of the Pelican Bar was one of those 'newsboys' employed by the Lohar Society.

At that time, Hayna sensed something was off with the price of the 'Lohar Union Weekly'. But she didn't understand for whom 'Lohar Union Weekly' was meant. Aiwass didn't feel like explaining it to her either.

Given her straightforward nature, it might be better for her not to know such matters.

Hayna had thought that sailors, fishermen, and laborers would be the ones buying the newspapers... but they couldn't afford such prices.

If they did have any money to spare, they would spend it on meat and beer instead.

The tired and impoverished lower class couldn't afford to buy newspapers; they would glean free information from bars instead.

Sighing softly, Little Sherlock patiently explained the complexities to the naive Princess, "Those who borrow from the Lohar Society in the Lohar District are required to regularly purchase a specified quota of 'Lohar Union Weekly' as additional interest. When the loan collectors visit, they check the number of newspapers the borrower possesses and clip a corner off for verification.

"They do the same with the insider information they peddle. Factory owners or company directors will directly order a large quantity of 'Lohar Union Weekly' from the Lohar Society. The person delivering the newspapers brings the oral messages as well.

"They also offer services to investigate specific targets, even inviting me once. As far as I know, some private detectives accept their employment. And when the Lohar Society delivers the gathered personal information, the payment is also in a specified number of copies of 'Lohar Union Weekly'."

"...Is it because newspapers have to pay taxes?"

Upon hearing this, Lulu quickly caught on: "So the Minister of Finance and the Tax Minister would protect them?"

Although it was her first time hearing about such a method of grey market transactions through newspapers, she immediately recognized the cleverness of the practice.

This meant that the Lohar Society would declare their entire revenue to the kingdom openly and actively pay a substantial protection fee.

If they took their money and did not arrest them, it indicated that such behavior was permitted.

It was, after all, an organization fostered by Prince Lohar.

Despite lacking in experience, Princess Isabel had a sharp mind.

And with her exposure to high-level knowledge, she had also developed a keen political instinct:

"Choosing 'newspapers' as a means to collect money must be a way for the Lohar Society to show its respect towards 'the path of authority', right? Even though they originated from the power left by Prince Lohar, if they truly angered the Round Table Hall, they would still face trouble.

"But if they conduct loan transactions through selling newspapers, it implies that they will consider the 'interest' as a pure income to be taxed... Because they do not want to offend the Supervisory Bureau, compared to merchants who are almost certain to evade taxes, their tax-paying behavior will indeed be more active and stable."

Isabel had heard the Minister of Finance complain countless times about the inability to collect taxes.

He constantly requested the Supervisory Bureau to send tax inspectors to companies suspected of tax evasion. Every time, he could produce a terrifyingly long list—longer than Isabel's hair, wishing one end didn't almost touch the ground when held in hand.

—Isabel keenly realized that if Lohar Society's tax payments were sufficiently enthusiastic, substantial, and incredibly stable, they would indeed receive protection.

Having obtained the distribution rights to the Glass Staircase Daily already demonstrated the opinion of the Round Table Hall towards them.

The Newsboy nodded, "That's why the Supervisory Court won't bother them. Plus, since they maintain order in Lohar District on their own initiative, the Supervisory Bureau can only turn a blind eye to them."

"After all, they are a society that not only practices 'Authority,' but also respects 'Authority' that exists higher up. In a sense, they are no longer an association but can be considered a large company with unclean methods."

"So they won't engage in 'strangling' activities that could lead to an investigation. However, their squeezing of other gangs' profit margins leads these other associations to continuously choose to dispatch members for 'strangling,' 'home invasion robbery or theft,' 'kidnapping,' 'assassination,' and other illegal ways to obtain funds."

"This results in them being readily investigated by the Supervisory Bureau and arrested. Thus further squeezing the living space of other associations."

"—It's not just that."

Finally, having seen the back door of the deserted chemical plant from afar, Aiwass breathed a sigh of relief and casually added, "In fact, after the Strangler Party attacks and kills passersby, stealing everything on them, their means of disposing of the stolen goods still leads to Lohar Society. Some of these commissions for assassination or theft are also issued by Lohar Society."

"So when I said earlier that there is only one biggest gang in Lohar District, it is Lohar Society."

"...Is that so?"

Upon hearing this, even Sherlock was taken aback.

But after thinking it through, it seemed reasonable. No matter how legitimate, Lohar Society is essentially a gang organization with unclean hands, not a proper industrial company.

Yet Sherlock could never find evidence of their crimes...

Perhaps it wasn't just because the Supervisory Bureau destroyed the evidence.

Perhaps from the beginning, there was no such evidence. Because they no longer needed to do those things themselves.

Sherlock looked closely at the priest-dressed "Fox," and for the first time, began to doubt his true identity.

He seemed very familiar with the Lohar District, knew about this secret path, and even had knowledge of Lohar Society's secrets...

—Could it be that "Fox" was not a student from the school, but a gang member? Or perhaps even a spy planted by some organization into the church, or a renegade priest?

With this thought in mind, Sherlock tentatively asked, "Mr. Fox… would it cause you trouble if I investigated the 'Sweater Brothers Association'?

"If it would, I think I might look the other way. As a thank you for your help during the ritual."

Upon hearing this, Aiwass paused in his steps.

He turned back to look at the Newsboy, a slight smile curling up at the corner of his mouth.

"If I were afraid of you checking, I wouldn't have mentioned it in front of you. After you investigate the 'Bone Sculptor,' feel free to arrest the Sweater Brothers Association as well... You'd be removing a menace to society. Don't think they are a small group; each member has at least five lives on their hands.

"According to some rumors I've heard... they might be connected with the group behind Pelican Bar."

—But it was not just that.

The reason Aiwass remembered this secret path was because here was a main storyline side quest.

He had completely forgotten the prelude to the story, but Aiwass was certain the Sweater Brothers Association was definitely related to the Noble Red Society. Members of the Sweater Brothers Association who appeared in this side quest were not only greatly enhanced in physique and made more ferocious in mind by the Demon Scholar's ritual, but also kept a large number of Demon Dogs made from corpses.

That side quest was quite disgusting.

Not only was it long and winding, making it easy to get lost if one did not know the way, but the ground was also littered with various trash, mud pits, and sewage that hindered movement, and there were many Demon Dogs lurking around corners, activating when the first person walked by, then suddenly rushing out to bite the second person.

These Demon Dogs were not only covered in shrapnel armor with sharp edges, tough as hell with high damage, but also had chain aggression—once hit, they would start frantically calling other dogs, and the patrolling dogs would come running once they heard.

Compared to the boss with its straightforward mechanics, the small mobs in this side quest were much more troublesome.

Aiwass had no desire to go through this quest again. Just thinking about those man-eating, half-human-height iron-plated mad dogs pouncing and biting gave him a tingling sensation in the scalp.

It would be better to let Sherlock take them down in advance.

It also conveniently gave Sherlock something to do, to prevent him from fixating on investigating the matters behind Pelican Bar. Otherwise, "that person" might think his note ended up in Sherlock's hands, becoming cautious and beginning to destroy evidence and silence witnesses.

If "that person" destroyed evidence faster than Aiwass could investigate, it would be difficult for him to proceed.

Although "Fox's" identity was a mystery, for a suspicious and astute Sherlock, the clues casually provided by the Fox encountered during the ritual in the Dream Realm seemed more trustworthy than clues deliberately delivered in reality.

Because he would suspect the latter's motives, attempting to infer from a higher level in reverse—it wasn't wrong. Aiwass was afraid he would realize his motives, so he had to relay information "unintentionally" to him through a casual "chance encounter."

—Aiwass knew Sherlock; he was indeed such a person.