There was one difficulty with this operation.

The most important, yet somehow more difficult task than pulling off this ridiculous operation.

That was the task of persuading the manager of East Safe.

At least that’s what the leaders thought, but…they never thought things would have worked out this well.

“It’s an honor to be able to help.”

The manager of the East Vault, Neumann Den East, smiled kindly at Arendt. Arendt nodded, smiling and curling his lips.

“Thank you so much for your cooperation. Thanks to you, we were able to capture all the villains alive.”

“…”

There was even a kind of bond between the two people as they exchanged glances. The store manager was someone who could not take his eyes off Arendt from the time he stayed behind to watch.

Kendrick muttered tremblingly.

“Why? I thought I wasn’t that narrow-minded… for some reason, that appearance is very unpleasant.”

“What a coincidence. I happened to be thinking the same thing, Sir Kendrick.”

Diana also quietly agreed.

Laius just put his hand on his forehead and sighed heavily.

The manager, Neumann Den East, was the younger brother of the owner of the upper store, and as can be seen from his ability to operate the vault, which was the main business of the upper store, he was by no means an easygoing person.

His job was to be kind to customers and to provide the best customer service.

Since he was entrusted with the precious items of his guests, he was the one who would never take any risks that might result in a loss.

As expected, the store manager seemed surprised to hear that an armed group was targeting the safe, but the store manager immediately expressed his disapproval when Laios said that there would be a battle inside the safe.

“That’s a bit tricky. The building might be damaged, and as you know, there are treasures here that can’t even be converted into money. It’s not that I don’t trust you, sir, but I can’t take risks.”

The knights could not help but look somewhat embarrassed at that firm refusal.

When the emperor’s personal knights appeared, it was normal to bow one’s head, but their opponents were not ordinary people.

Perhaps, if one were to pick the person in the imperial palace who received the most trust from the nobles, it would be this person. It is said that the empire became peaceful due to the crown prince’s activities, but the authority of the nobles could never be ignored.

If you were even a bit dissatisfied with the manager of East Safe, who was under their protection, there was a high chance that you would end up in a difficult situation in the long run.

Right then, Arendt, who had been silent, suddenly opened his mouth.

“Well then, we’ll just beat them up for you. It’s not like you are losing money anyway.”

“Yes?”

Arendt smiled at the store manager who looked at him with confused eyes.

“It seems like you are quite confident in your defenses, but the people who are coming in today will not be able to deal with the people you can hire with money.”

“That means… Does this mean you will withdraw altogether?”

The store manager’s expression was also slightly crumpled by the blatantly sarcastic remarks.

Arendt continued speaking naturally.

“Oh, of course we have to catch the thieves. But it is difficult for us to make sacrifices. You can’t risk your life to go on an adventure, right?”

Manager Neumann’s face hardened. It was no wonder since he got his words handed back to him in the worst possible form.

The leaders, who had missed the moment to close Arendt’s mouth, just held their foreheads and sighed heavily.

Arendt continued to speak.

“What. We may be knights, but we still have to risk our lives. But, do we have to go to such lengths to protect the store manager’s property?”

“That is against chivalry.”

“Aren’t knights people?”

“…”

The store manager kept his mouth shut.

It was because it was absurd.

Manager Neumann’s eyes turned towards the leaders, but they also had nothing to say. They couldn’t criticize Arendt as being disrespectful in front of the store manager.

The leaders only had one sin, allowing Arendt to talk as he pleased.

From the awkward silence, Arendt ended his words cheerfully.

“Then it looks like we have communicated our positions, store manager.”

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“Yes, it is difficult for the store manager to take risks with customers’ assets, and it is difficult for us to give up a situation that is advantageous in battle.”

Arendt shrugged his shoulders.

“But the store manager needs to protect the safe from thieves, and we can’t run away from this injustice. As the store manager said, we are knights, then…”

Arendt’s golden eyes sparkled.

“How about finding a compromise?”

At least at that moment, Arendt was neither a knight nor a traitor.

Those twinkling eyes belonged to a merchant who was strictly pursuing profit.

“Are you proposing a deal?”

“As expected of the person leading the East Safe. You have quick comprehension skills.”

Manager Neumann seemed at a loss for a while as to how to interpret the situation where the knight was making a deal with him.

However, this situation was essentially a tradeoff.

He relaxed his cold face and agreed to a conversation with Arendt.

“Let me hear it.”

That sparked a conversation.

Arendt smiled and held up his finger.

“Are you preparing for independence from East Top? How about we help you with that?”

With that one phrase, Manager Neumann’s complexion changed in an instant.

Diana muttered incoherently as she recalled the situation from earlier.

“That guy… How could he know such details?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

Smiling weakly, Kendrick’s gaze landed on Laius.

“It’s so great. The only thing that comes out is talent. If he decides to commit fraud, wouldn’t he become a big name that most fraudsters can’t even imitate?”

“What a monster. I’m worried about the future. He must be quite difficult to deal with.”

When Diana said that, Laius made an indescribably subtle expression.

Kendrick fully understood that feeling and patted Laius on the shoulder a couple of times.

‘He is not a soft person.’

Manager Neumann thought so with a friendly smile.

He already knew that, but every time he looked into those eyes, he had to remind himself of it.

The one standing before him was a young, if not immature, apprentice knight.

Was he twenty? He was a beautiful man with a pretty face that was hard to find anywhere.

Neumann slowly recalled his memories.

There wouldn’t be many people with spotless silver hair and golden eyes like stars shining; additionally, the name by which he introduced himself was ‘Arendt von Eckhart’.

“I had a rough guess from earlier, but it looks like you are the apprentice knight of the rumors.”

“Rumors?”

Arendt reacted to what he hinted at.

Neumann nodded.

“There is probably no one among the influential people of the Imperial Capital who does not know him. He was arrested for treason, but he survived the trial.”

“Ah….”

Arendt nodded slightly hesitantly.

Since there was such a fuss, he didn’t expect it to go away quietly, but he never thought that the rumor would spread outside the imperial palace.

“But you still listened to me.”

“If the rumors were true, it would mean that the Lord persuaded all the stubborn nobles and judges present. I originally dismissed it as a rumor, but… after talking to you in person earlier, I thought it was quite possible.”

Manager Neumann continued speaking in a soft tone.

“The ability to make people listen is something very special, and it seems that the Lord has very outstanding abilities.”

The store manager’s eyes as he said that were filled with a subtle light.

“Haha. Originally, the decision-making authority was in the hands of the captains, but they were helpless. Since you provoked people like that and proposed a deal, it must have been difficult for them to refuse, even for the sake of the Knights’ reputation. Those must have been brilliant words.”

Arendt did not bother to respond. However, the silence seemed to be enough for Neumann and he nodded in satisfaction.

“I won’t ask you how you knew what was going on with me. As you said, I am in a position to compete with the merchants. However, this does not mean that I covet the entire East Top. I just want to stand alone.”

Arendt promised to give the right to trade daily goods to East Top.

The other managers were puzzled by those words, but Manager Neumann had no choice but to listen to his words.

The amount of goods consumed in the Imperial Knights’ dormitory was enormous. From the ingredients used to prepare the knights’ meals, to all kinds of household items.

The finances of the Imperial Knights were managed autonomously by the knights and executives.

Until now, for convenience, goods had been supplied through various merchants who supplied goods to the imperial palace, but there was no problem at all in changing business partners at the discretion of the leaders.

“That’s why it was so outstanding. What are the conditions Lord Arendt will lay out for me?”

There were no further conditions needed for Manager Neumann to cooperate, who wanted to stand alone.

“I promised the East Top that I would one day relinquish the duties of being in charge of the safe and become independent, and so far, I have been quietly preparing for a new merchant business. There have been quite a few people who have come to me asking for deals, but no one has pinpointed the point.”

Most people thought that Manager Neumann was just expanding his business in the upper east corner.

“The Imperial Palace is one of the biggest markets, so, if you do well, you will be able to gradually increase your influence, starting with the Knights’ Dormitory. This is a great opportunity for the newly launched business.”

“Aha, so… you’re saying that you’re going to use me as a link between the palace and the merchants? I think you’re taking too many risks.”

“There isn’t much left for me after I leave East Top anyway. A risk with guaranteed benefits is well worth it.”

The reason why Manager Neumann cooperated so much in this case was not just because of the conditions that allowed him to exclusively supply goods to the Knights.

Arendt burst out laughing.

Similar to the impression he got from the novel, Manager Neumann was a quite interesting person.

While he was steadily trying to become independent from East Top, he eventually fell out of favor with the upper management. To make matters worse, his safe was broken during the raid and he was kicked out of East Top.

It was a situation that could have led to despair, but he once again tried to make a comeback by establishing himself at the top.

Manager Neumann, who had lost everything, came to Laius and knelt down.

The content was a request to help him make a deal with the Knights’ living quarters, and with the help of Laius, who felt responsible for his downfall, Neumann was able to stand up once again.

When a full-scale battle broke out, he supported the knights both materially and spiritually.

Although he was ambitious and had the temperament of a businessman, he did not carelessly throw away the favor he had received and the ties he had established.

That was this person right in front of Arendt.

Arendt spoke naturally.

“I’m just an apprentice knight, right? Besides, I’m still called a traitor.”

“I’ve already seen enough of your abilities, so wouldn’t it be okay?”

“Then I’ll assume it’s not my fault if it fails.”

“I won’t blame you.”

What a stubborn old man.

Arendt looked a little tired and shrugged his shoulders. Then he snapped his finger at the store manager. It meant to come closer.

Manager Neumann quietly approached the young knight as he was told.

“Why are you doing that?”

“It looks like you’ve seen quite far… aren’t you scamming me by just lending me a safe?”

“I thought you would say that, you’re right. I don’t think it’s worth the price just for your cooperation in this matter.”

It was as if Manager Neumann had opened up his biggest client and protected the safe without any major damage, so from the perspective of the knights… No, from Arendt’s perspective, it was not profitable.

Manager Neumann saw that Arendt was not the kind of person to ignore that point.

“Is there something else you want?”

Manager Neumann whispered with a meaningful smile.

Arendt looked slightly disgusted.

“What. Did you know?”

“Hehe, I’m also a businessman, aren’t I? It’s probably something the leaders don’t know.”

“What… well then, let’s talk quickly. I have something to ask you.”

Arendt looked around.

The knights were busy trying to control the situation. The managers were also busy giving various instructions and were not paying any attention to Arendt and the store manager.

Now was the opportunity.

“Are there any suspicious items in the safe?”