The Tales of Draconic Warlock

It says either the mayor is taking the missing case seriously or someone powerful or rich wants answers and the mayor has no other option.

I believe that it might be someone looking for answers. There was no way that the mayor of the town to get involved in such things personally.

I mean unlike nobles, mayors are not permanent nor hereditary. They serve their term and leave the town. Yeah, sometimes mayors stay for life in their position but they wouldn\'t be too vested in the missings of a couple of merchants unless more than two disappeared.

If there were more than this disappearance in the past, then he certainly would get involved.

Well, unless he was a saint, he wouldn\'t involve himself in such situations.

If he is a saint, I would feel pity for him and his descendants but I would respect him. If the reason behind his involvement is other than noble, then this would be a professional transaction. There would be no need to exchange pleasantries with such people for too long.

I mean if it was a common man who ignored such things, then I can\'t blame them but as the mayor of the town or city, whether they are the permanent rulers or not, they have duty to protect the habitat\'s citizens and make sure that the surrounding areas are safe.

If they are not safe they have to act swiftly and make preparations to make it safe.

If the surrounding areas are not safe, then the trade with the outside world would be reduced. Reduction in trade means, a reduction in the income for the habitat. It\'s not just income, the habitat would lose access to various resources that are not available nearby.

I mean, no region would have every resource present. Many of the resources had to come from other regions. In order for the goods to arrive at their destination on time and without any losses, the route of travel should be safe. If that was a problem, then the arrival of goods would be delayed or cancelled. Both of the options are not good choices.

If this mayor has posted the mission just to cover his ass or due to external pressure then friendship with such person is a moot point. It would only bring disadvantages to me.

Everything has its own disadvantages but they should have advantages too. As long as the advantages are higher or equal to the disadvantages then it is worth the effort.

Let\'s see if this mayor is worth the effort or not.

---

I arrived at the Mayor\'s residence within a few minutes after I left the Inn. The town was not that big and the Mayor\'s home is something that is easily recognizable and something that everyone knows about.

When I arrived at the Mayor\'s gate, one of the guards who were guarding stopped me and asked, "State your purpose?"

"I am from the Royal Academy, here to take the mission about the missing merchants", I told him.

"Wait here", he said and disappeared into the mayor\'s mansion.

Yes, though the town is not big and can be considered a medium town, the residence of the mayor is not small.

I wonder how he could afford such a residence.

There are a few reasons for that.

The noble under whom this town comes could have presented him with this mansion when he took as the town\'s mayor.

He may be a descendant of a rich person who has entered politics. It is not an uncommon scene.

He may have done something great for the town in the past and the town built him this using their savings.

Any of the above can be the reason for his luxurious residence. Not everything has to be obtained through illegal means.

The guard returned a minute later, "The mayor likes to see you. You can meet him in the room that is on the third right after you enter the hall", he said as he resumed his duties.

With his directions, I reached the room where the Mayor was in at the moment.

---

"Hello mayor, It\'s nice to meet you. I am Magnus, a fourth-year student from the Royal Academy", I greeted the old man, who is supposedly the mayor of this town.

"Ah, nice to meet you too", he said.

"I assume you are here about the missing merchants, right?" he asked.

"Yes mayor" I answered.

He then took out a small file and handed it to me, "This contains all the pertinent information about the mission. You can take it with you", he said.

It appears that the mayor is either not interested in solving this missing merchant mission or he knows that there was no use in trying to or he thinks that I can\'t do anything as I am still a student.

I don\'t think that I am the only one who took the mission. Maybe from the Royal Academy but there are four more academies and there are adventurers who usually venture out into the wilds and they could have taken it.

Since he said that I could take it with me. It means that he wanted me to leave. So that\'s the main reason why I feel that the third reason might be the right one.

"Thank you Mayor", I said and bugged out from there.

Since I am not welcome there, it\'s best to show them what I can do. Once they see that I am the one who solved their case, then they will show the respect that they should have shown me in the first place.

I mean, we are strangers and I understand that they don\'t respect me but I came here from the Royal Academy to find out what happened to the merchants. It\'s not like I would eat their resources. Moreover, I bring a small boost to the town\'s income. So they should have shown the decent courtesy that a guest has the right to.

They didn\'t, just because I am young.

No need to clash with small people. they would bow on their own when they see how good I am at what I do.

Now let\'s return to my room at the Inn and see what the file says.

---

It was true. There is a lot of information here about the missing party. No wonder the mission said to collect the data required from the Mayor of the town.

The two merchants that went missing are Adrian Sivel and Norton Sivel, brothers and also cousins of Count Sivel, the noble who rules over this little town. No wonder the mayor was involved in this matter.

The two merchants were from a side branch of his own family and losing two family members is not good for his reputation especially if that happens in his territory.

This also means the competition would be very high.

Though the remuneration posted was small, the gratitude of a Count is nothing to be scoffed at. If someone could find his cousins and bring them back alive, then the Count would certainly grant something grand.

I would like to get such a reward, but the problem lies with the lack of evidence about anything.

Those two left Endis Town one fine morning, along with their guards but they all disappeared mysteriously. It happened almost a month back.

Many searched but couldn\'t even find any traces of fights.

I mean if anyone had attacked them, then they should have fought them right?

If those two were alone, they might have given up without resistance. Most merchants wouldn\'t know how to fight. Even if they did, at most they would know some basic fighting and nothing more.

If there are monsters or bandits that attacking them, they could fight the low-level members if they knew how to fight but if the number is high, they would lose the fight.

With that many guards, there is no way that they were attacked by low-level monsters or a few bandits.

No, if it were monsters, they are definitely high-level and if the culprits are bandits then there should be a lot of them and certainly some awakened among the mix.

Well, not all bandits are some farmers who lost crops and joined banditry. Many of these people are evil and want to kill others and this is the only way for them to do that.

There is a military but there are supervisors who would scrutinize your every move. Moreover, the ones who join these bandit groups are those who don\'t have good talents and can\'t reach higher positions. It means that they would forever stay as cannon fodder in the army.

Moreover, they have to follow someone else\'s orders, which they wouldn\'t accept no matter what.

---

Anyway, I should start looking for this group. To do that, I should do what they did and when they did it. So the hunt has to wait till the morning.