Drug Traffickers

There were quite a few outer roads that connected to the capital, Pullea. Along one such road, a rough-looking truck was driving down the pre-dawn route.

After going like that for a while, a group of people could be seen blocking that road. All of them wore police uniforms, and they soon raised their hands to stop the truck in front.

Screech—the truck slowly came to a halt, the engine cut off, and the window rolled down. There, a bald man with a friendly look smiled and spoke.

“Even at this hour, you’re working hard.”

“We’re going to conduct an inspection.”

“Of course. Go right ahead.”

At those words, he nodded to the accompanying officers to tell them to search, and about two officers began circling the truck slowly, holding lanterns that shone bright light as they checked it. Unusually, the lanterns showed a faint blue glow, as if they made use of a magic circle.

“What’s in the cargo bed?”

“Milk cans that must be delivered by this morning.”

“Is that so?”

Nodding at the mention of milk, the officer was watching his subordinates who had now gone around to the rear to inspect. Perhaps twenty seconds passed like that. The two officers soon returned and shook their heads as if there was nothing.

“Looks like there’s nothing.”

“The lanterns aren’t reacting at all.”

In fact, the lanterns were magical devices whose light grew brighter in the presence of certain substances. No reaction meant there was nothing problematic, so the officer who had first spoken nodded and told the driver:

“Proceed.”

“Ah, thank you kindly.”

With a light bow and greeting, the driver immediately started the engine and set off again. Vrooom—letting out a rough engine sound, it began moving once more. At a speed neither fast nor slow, the truck followed the road.

Finally, after passing another checkpoint on the road entering the capital, the truck cut through the darkness toward none other than the commercial district. Many shops there had not yet opened, so it was quiet. A few places did open before dawn, and they were in the thick of preparations to start the day.

While the downtown was starting an ordinary day, the truck pulled into the back of a building connected to an alley and then came to a stop. Once the engine was completely off, the driver climbed down from the cab and moved to the rear of the truck.

He then began unloading a metal milk can about the size of a human torso. After struggling it down, the driver hoisted it onto his shoulder and started walking. He headed to a door connected to the building.

Knock, knock. As the sound came, the door quickly opened. The person who appeared looked almost like a bearded bear.

“Hey, you’re here.”

“The goods are delivered. You should’ve come out early to help carry them.”

“I had things to do, you know. Anyway, let’s head in. Haha.”

Laughing, he told him to come inside, and the driver carrying the milk can stepped in. The moment the door closed, his face relaxed with relief. As if to show that he had been acting earlier, he immediately bowed his head to the bearded man who had opened the door.

“We brought the goods safely.”

“Good work. Any checkpoints?”

“There were, but we slipped through them all. When the magic lantern shone on us, I was so nervous I thought we were truly done for.”

“Heh heh, worth every coin.”

“Right. Who would’ve thought we’d engrave a magic circle on the inside of the milk can to cancel out the magic lantern’s function?”

Real milk was filled in there, and on the inside was a magic circle engraved for a hefty price. Thanks to that, they could bring in what they were trying to smuggle without issue. Satisfied with this fact, the two walked deeper inside, where a few more people were present.

After greeting them, the bald driver immediately began pouring the milk from the can into another container. Everyone smacked their lips at the milk, but their eyes gleamed, knowing that wasn’t the important part right now.

When the can was emptied, the bottom was revealed. Pressing and lifting that bottom panel exposed a space about the size of two adult fists. Though it was a small portion of the torso-sized milk can, what they pulled out—small in bulk—would make them a fortune: a magical powder.

What they took from the hidden bottom was “narcotics.” They were drug traffickers who had recently arrived from outside, and this was how they secretly brought drugs into the capital. Naturally, it was a plan born of greed to make a big score.

“If we sell this, we’ll be rolling in it, right?”

“Of course. The price of drugs in the capital has skyrocketed like crazy lately. If we sell it all, it’s ten times the price from before.”

“Damn that king. Why’s he harassing honest(?) drug businessmen like us?”

“He’s a young king—he’s been making a fuss lately, trying to rack up achievements.”

“Give it a little time and he’ll lose steam. Just endure a few more years.”

Grumbling, they bad-mouthed the king. In the midst of this, they moved to bring in new milk cans. A few men slipped out toward where the truck was parked and began unloading the cans on it.

In truth, the cans here contained only real milk. Engraving a magic circle to negate the lantern’s effect was so expensive that they could only afford to carve it into a single can. The other cans existed merely to hide the real one among them, and they were going to empty them to send them back out again.

Just as they were shouldering the cans to move, one man felt a cold touch beside his head and froze. He flinched and started to turn his head when a chilly voice whispered in his ear.

“Don’t turn your head. If you really want to, consider it the same as wanting a hole blown in it.”

“W-who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter. And set that milk can quietly on the floor.”

Beside the men who spoke, figures wearing hats pulled low appeared, gripping pistols. All of them wore dark-colored coats. One glance told you they were no ordinary bunch.

“W-we’re just honest milk distributors. Spare us.”

“Your acting is atrocious. You think we came here without knowing? Milk distributors? Drug traffickers, more like. Just shut up and stay still.”

As he said that, about five people approached the door. They all held pistols and looked ready to open it. The man tried to say something—thud! A blow rang out. The butt of a pistol had rapped him on the head. He collapsed with his eyes rolled back.

Clicking his tongue at the result he’d produced, the unidentified man quickly turned his head to meet the eyes of the others they were holding hostage and began tying up the unconscious man. At that moment, the ones at the door swung it open.

It wasn’t locked, so it flew wide, and they rushed in—bang, bang! Gunshots rang out from inside. Soon, different kinds of gunfire followed—apparently there was a counterattack. But that, too, died down quickly.

Perhaps because of the shots, lights flicked on in some nearby homes, but no one came out. People kept their heads down, afraid of getting swept up in trouble. In the distance, a slew of police cars, alerted by reports, could be seen swarming in.

The arriving officers saw the suspicious figures in black coats and hats holding guns and drew their own. But when the newcomers revealed their identity, the policemen gasped and hastily lowered their weapons. These were the Mauter, the Secret Police, so everyone adopted a submissive stance.

In truth, the agents outranked them by far. Even among the police, only the most carefully selected became Secret Police, and their fearsome reputation made everyone nervous. Meanwhile, the agents who had cleaned up the traffickers immediately began by recovering the drugs.

The quantity was enormous. It was clearly not a one-off; the amount of drugs pulled from hidden spaces was enough to addict at least millions. If this had reached the streets, countless people would have fallen into addiction.

They also collected the milk can used in this operation. An immediate investigation was carried out, and before long they discovered a magic circle etched inside the can. While a thorough examination proceeded, the information was reported to the king as well.

The royal palace, the king’s office.

Ian read the report containing the information delivered by Viscount Rubingston and couldn’t help but be impressed.

“So, they kept transporting drugs inside a milk can engraved with a magic circle that neutralizes the magic lantern designed to react to narcotics?”

“That is correct. They even sealed the bottom and hid it inside.”

“We nearly had drugs circulating. More than that—how long has it been for something like this to show up?”

“Considering it hasn’t even been a month, I’d say they’re moving with considerable momentum.”

“Uprooting the problem is no easy task, as expected. In any case, see that the agents who greatly aided this bust are rewarded.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I’m sure they will all be delighted.”

Watching Viscount Rubingston’s brightened expression, Ian then pondered the magic circle.

“By the way, can that kind of magic circle be made easily? To my knowledge, it’s quite difficult.”

“It cannot be made easily. Setting aside the engraving itself, activating it is absolutely impossible without a mage’s help. You also need a bit of a mana stone. I imagine the price would skyrocket exponentially.”

“The magic lanterns we prepared for inspections must be expensive as well.”

“All of them are expensive. I hear the number assigned to the police department isn’t that many.”

It was truly rare for drug dealers to possess something that could cancel out such costly devices. In particular, the mage capable of inscribing the counteracting circle had to be quite skilled. Still, the thought that a mage was tied up with drug dealers was troubling.

“By the way, there aren’t that many mages in this country, are there?”

“That’s right. They’re far from common. I believe there are two.”

“Two? That’s absurdly few.”

“Considering there are countries with none at all, they’re precious indeed. As far as I know, both are connected with major houses and companies.”

Mages were extremely rare. They had been rare in the past, and as modern times arrived their numbers dwindled even more, making their value skyrocket. Importantly, they had ties to prominent groups and carried out various work together.

‘In truth, a lot of magic is used in this world.’

Magic was used in unseen places—found in lighting, even in steam engines. Anything with decent performance had the power of magic in it, which made it stronger still.

‘Even the steam engine of the battleship Mythos I rode used magic circles.’

It didn’t unleash some colossal force, but its efficiency was outstanding. It maximized efficiency by, say, reducing thermal losses or letting turbine parts spin faster with less wear.

At any rate, the fact a magic circle had been used this time meant a mage might be involved. Mage or not, if they were entangled with drugs, it wasn’t something that could be left alone.

“Find exactly who was involved.”

“Yes, we’ve begun the investigation. If we continue to connect the dots, we should soon have a clear picture of who’s involved.”

Hearing this, Ian suddenly wondered what sort of beings mages really were. The power they used clearly defied everyday reality. It seemed akin to psychic power, but which was greater—such magic, or his own ability?

‘Of course I’m partial to my own, so psychic power looks good to me… but if I consider the scale of magic’s power recorded in history, maybe not.’

Compared to magic—which required all sorts of tools and incantations—psychic power manifested in an instant, almost at once. Magic might be weaker nowadays, but old records claimed there were super-tier spells with the power to erase an entire nation.

‘Honestly, since I haven’t seen the limits of psychic power either, I can’t say which is better.’

As he thought that, he suddenly wondered whether mental manipulation would work on mages. They likely had something tied to mental fortitude; perhaps there was a way to block manipulation.

‘Would they notice my ability?’

If so, the idea of facing mages felt a bit unsettling. Mages were reclusive by nature and rarely showed themselves in public. Considering that, perhaps they wouldn’t cross paths.