"Wait, are you serious, sir? What makes them so special? They don't look like the typical rich kids," Roy asked, his confusion apparent as he looked towards Captain Mero. As the ship's first mate, Roy was responsible for helping keep the vessel running smoothly, but his duties extended beyond the ordinary work expected of a sailor. Before mana had arrived, he had worked as a bodyguard, and the company had hired him because of the combat experience he had gained in that profession. His position aboard the ship was therefore somewhat unusual, as he served as its combat officer rather than merely another member of the crew.
The distinction was important because the captain was responsible for everything concerning the ship's ordinary operations, while Roy took command of the crew whenever the vessel came under attack. If hostile people attempted to board them, or if they found themselves caught in a dangerous confrontation, it would be Roy who organised their defence and decided how to respond. His previous occupation had also given him considerable experience dealing with wealthy clients, influential officials, and their children, so he believed he had a fairly good understanding of how such people behaved. Yet the group currently travelling aboard their vessel did not fit the image he had developed from those experiences.
Most of the rich children and important officials Roy had encountered shared a particular kind of confidence that he found difficult to overlook. They knew what they possessed, understood where they stood in society, and often behaved as though their wealth or position made them inherently superior to everyone around them. Some were polite enough to conceal their attitudes, but even then, there was usually something in their expressions or mannerisms that suggested they considered ordinary people unimportant. Roy had learned to recognise those subtle signs during his years as a bodyguard, and he had encountered enough wealthy clients to know that the pattern was not entirely coincidental.
The young passengers aboard their ship, however, gave him none of those impressions. They looked like ordinary friends going on a trip together, the sort of group that could be found in almost any school across the continent. They talked to one another without appearing particularly concerned about status, and none of them seemed interested in reminding the crew that they were supposedly important people. If Roy had encountered them in a different setting, he might have assumed they were simply young adventurers or students travelling to visit some interesting location. That was precisely why Mero's warning had surprised him so much.
"They are suspected to belong to a genuine Trade Family," Mero explained, his expression so matter-of-fact that he seemed to consider the statement sufficient to answer every question. He continued checking the timetable as though he had just explained something obvious, leaving Roy to process the information on his own. For the captain, the distinction between an ordinary wealthy family and one of the old Trade Families was enormous, and he did not need to elaborate unless his first mate genuinely failed to understand. Unfortunately, Roy was not convinced that the rumour deserved to be taken seriously in the first place.
"You can't be serious, sir," Roy replied, frowning in disbelief. "There must be thousands of so-called suspected Trade Families, and we have confirmation of only two. Even then, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole story were something they invented to make themselves seem more important." From his perspective, people claiming to belong to ancient and influential families were hardly unusual, especially in a world where mana had created countless new opportunities for wealth and power. Anyone could make grand claims about their ancestry, but proving that those claims were true was an entirely different matter.
"It isn't made up, Roy. Not in the slightest," Mero answered, his tone becoming noticeably firmer. "And I say suspected because they haven't confirmed their identity themselves, not because we doubt that they are a real Trade Family." He finally turned his attention away from the timetable and looked directly at his first mate, making certain that the seriousness of the situation was understood. The company had not reached its conclusion through idle gossip, but through a considerable amount of investigation into the region and the people who had controlled it for generations.
The company had sent several people to speak with former inhabitants of the surrounding region, hoping to establish whether the rumours about the family were accurate. Those inquiries had proved far more difficult than expected, because the people who possessed the relevant information were remarkably unwilling to share it. Some were reluctant to discuss the matter at all, while others appeared determined to avoid providing anything that might reveal too much about the family. Their reactions had not offered direct confirmation, but they had given the company plenty of reasons to take the rumours seriously rather than dismissing them as fabricated stories.
"What we do know is that the forest has appeared on every map of the region for as long as anyone can remember," Mero continued. "And according to the stories passed down by the local inhabitants, a family has lived in that forest for generations." That alone would not have been enough to establish that the Sonnenbergs were a genuine Trade Family, but the surrounding history made the situation much more interesting. The family had remained associated with the same forest through political upheavals, changes in government, and the disappearance of people who had once attempted to challenge its control over the territory.
"Then there are the assassinations," Mero added, his expression remaining completely flat. "Every politician and official who attempted to take over that forest eventually met an unfortunate end." He delivered the statement without changing his tone, as though he were discussing an ordinary administrative problem rather than a long history of suspicious deaths. Roy stared at him, waiting for some indication that the captain was exaggerating, but Mero gave him none. The captain's composure made the story considerably more unsettling than if he had tried to frighten his first mate with dramatic descriptions.
"So yes, they are the real deal, and they are as dangerous as they come," Mero concluded. "Keep the sailors under control, and make sure nobody does anything stupid during this assignment." He had no intention of allowing a careless remark, an unnecessary confrontation, or some sailor's attempt at showing off to jeopardise the company's plans. The higher-ups had been very clear about why their vessel had been anchored at that particular port, and Mero had no desire to explain to them that the entire arrangement had failed because someone aboard his ship could not behave themselves.
The company wanted to establish a reliable line of contact with the Sonnenbergs because it hoped to order bows for its employees. With mana changing the nature of combat and conventional equipment becoming less dependable in certain circumstances, high-quality bows had become increasingly valuable to people who understood their practical advantages. The Sonnenbergs possessed the expertise needed to produce such equipment, and building a relationship with them could provide the company with a reliable source of weapons in the future. That opportunity was valuable enough that Mero was determined to complete the assignment without creating unnecessary difficulties.
"Understood, sir," Roy answered, straightening his posture and adopting a serious expression. He did his best to conceal his nervousness, because he did not want the captain to think that a few stories about an old family were enough to unsettle him. Nevertheless, he had no intention of ignoring the warning, especially when it came from someone who had access to information unavailable to ordinary sailors. If the Sonnenbergs really possessed the history and influence Mero described, then treating their young representatives carelessly would be a spectacularly foolish decision.