Chapter 520 If You Don’t Have a Chance, Create One
This certainly was an important clue.
There weren’t more people, but there was double the consumption, and many maidservants were missing. There was obviously something fishy going on.
Amazing, as expected of a professional.
Roland was quite impressed. He and Schuck had scurried around for half a day, and even the angel Nia had come, but their search for the enemy was still aimless, like they were headless flies buzzing around randomly.
Did this mean that all three of them were stupid?
Of course not, everyone had their specialties.
Roland played with magic. Schuck was highly charismatic and, as a Saint Samurai, would obviously be a leader in the future.
As for Nia, an angel who has lived in the divine realm for a long time, it would be strange if she knew of these human knacks.
Exposing them to an unfamiliar line of work and with no one to teach them, of course they would end up doing twice the work for half the result.
The hidden pawns who were quite capable but were at the bottom of the social ladder were best suited for intelligence work.
“It’s a pity that the First Princess didn’t take you seriously.” Roland sighed. “It’s obvious that you’re all good at what you do.”
The red-bearded dwarf took another sip of wine. “Those high and mighty nobles don’t care about insignificant people like us.”
Wilmot shook his head and laughed helplessly, then took another sip of fruit wine, his expression full of bitterness.
“Take it.” Roland handed Red Beard a small bag of gold coins. “Here are the operating funds.”
Wilmot thought Roland had given him a bag of silver coins. After he took it, he subconsciously tossed it, and then he froze.
As a dwarf, Wilmot had a strong intuition, which was a racial talent, about metals. Dwarfs could even know what kind of ore they had dug up, and even the purity of the ore, just by hearing the sound of the pickaxe striking the ore.
This was why when he tossed the bag and heard the jingle of the coins, it was immediately clear to him.
There were twenty gold coins!
“That’s too much.” The dwarf jumped up in excitement, his little feet bouncing nine meters high. “This is gold, not silver. Did you give me the wrong bag?”
He looked like he had never seen money before.
These hidden pawns… were originally all criminals, but in reality, they were all the kind that had grievances. Stephanie “vindicated” them, then gathered them up and threw them aside and left them alone. She also didn’t fund any operations for them. Because as far as Stephanie was concerned, the fact that these people could get away with being criminals was already a gift she bestowed upon them. They should work for her and not think about asking for money, but instead earn it themselves. Only when they needed to fight for their lives would Stephanie consider giving them money. When Roland saw the dwarf’s excited expression, he laughed and said, “Take it, there are thirty-one of you after all… but I remember you said before that there were only a dozen of you.”
Wilmot was embarrassed and said, “Those are the members we recruited on our own, they are all poor, please excuse me.”
“That’s because you guys don’t want to use your abilities to make money in a crooked way.”
When these people were eating and drinking wildly in the private booth, Roland could see that they were all poor people who did not have enough to eat.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t be drinking like starving ghosts that had reincarnated.
It was no wonder that these people, who were all quite capable, lived such shabby lives.
The dwarf was stunned, for Roland’s words had touched his heart.
Indeed, every one of them had some ability, not great, but not bad either.
But why didn’t they use this skill to earn a living?
The old hunchback, for example, was clearly a highly-skilled thief, but he still chose to watch the door for commoners, making a little money that could barely fill his stomach and keep him from starving to death.
In reality, if the old hunchback wanted to, he could make a lot of money.
Every hidden pawn had lived a miserable life, and the reason for their misery had a lot to do with their abilities. Therefore, the hidden pawns were not very interested in using their abilities to make money.
Unless they could find someone to shelter them.
The First Princess was their common choice, except that she was willing to help them get away with their crimes, but wasn’t willing to use them.
This made them feel helpless and even a little lost.
And now, the right to use the hidden pawns fell into Roland’s hands.
A Mage who was generous, patient, and seemed to understand the suffering of commoners.
It would probably be good to follow such a master.
At least he could shelter them.
It would also allow them to use their abilities.
Excited for a while, the dwarf held the money bag in one hand before he said, “How nice it would be if you were the husband of the First Princess.”
Wilmot knew very well that Roland only had the power to use the hidden pawns for the time being, and sooner or later they would return to the side of the First Princess. But if Roland was the First Princess’s husband, it would be different, and they would be able to work for him with no mental barriers.
Serving her husband was the same as serving her.
Roland smiled and waved his hand. “The First Princess doesn’t like a little Mage from a remote country like me.”
The dwarf observed Roland’s expression for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and laughed lightly. “It’s you who despises her, isn’t it? The pride of a famed Mage is much more severe than that of a noble.”
Roland was rather puzzled.
He didn’t understand how the other party had come to this conclusion.
Tying the money bag to his belt, the red-bearded dwarf wiped his mouth and quickly became sober.
Dwarves didn’t get drunk; they only got drunk because they felt the need to get drunk sometimes.
They could express their emotions through the false impression of being drunk.
Happiness, disappointment, joy, inspiration, sadness, and so on.
If they could fake being drunk, they could naturally become sober.
The dwarf walked away, fast like Shaolin Popey[1].
Roland paid for the room and then teleported to Stephanie’s underground library again.
It was so quiet that no sound could be heard from the ground, and here, without some noise made by others, one could even hear one’s heartbeat.
Roland walked around the place and didn’t find anything special. There was also nothing incongruous like dark elements in the air.
Although there were no clues to be found, Roland wasn’t disappointed and just teleported away since this place couldn’t be inhabited anymore. The other party could also teleport, so if they showed up when he was resting, even if he could win, he would be quite frightened. It wouldn’t be good for his health.
Roland found a hotel in the capital and was trying to figure out how to get in touch with the hidden pawns when someone immediately came to his door.
The old woman with the buck teeth.
When she saw Roland, she immediately said, “Master Mage, we have confirmed that there is indeed something wrong with the Pine Needle family.”
Roland asked the old woman to sit down, but the old woman refused.
He had no choice but to give up and asked, “Where’s the problem?” “That brat Wild Dog, with his keen sense of smell, has found the group of missing maids.” The old woman’s face was full of sorrow. “They were all buried in a big pit—they died horribly.”
Roland slowly stood up. “How many maids died?”
“At least forty.”
“So many people are dead and no one cares?” said Roland furiously, out of instinct.
He had brought the habits of modern society with him.
In China, not to mention the death of forty people, the death of four people at the same time was a big deal.
Half of the police in the whole city would have to be mobilized, and then the city leaders might all be held accountable.
But then he remembered that this world was not so friendly and peaceful.
He sat down slowly and asked, “Those forty or so maids were slaves of the Pine Needle family?”
“I believe so.”
“There really isn’t a single commoner?” Roland asked.
The old woman’s eyes grew bright. “Master Mage, you don’t mean…?”
“We need to find a reason to start trouble, otherwise how can we work.”
The old woman nodded repeatedly. “I understand, Master Mage, just wait here for our good news.” Then the old woman also hurried away.
Roland, on the other hand, sat in the hotel, browsing the forum.
When it was almost evening, the old woman came again, and she was followed by four downcast-looking men.
An old man, a young man, and two middle-aged men.
“Master Mage, these four men are our people in disguise. They are all quite clever, and if you are looking for a reason, they will cooperate with you.”
Roland immediately felt that the hidden pawns were quite smart.
He only mentioned the idea, and they had already made preparations based on his suggestion. “Then let’s go!”
Half an hour later, Roland followed the four men to the northern suburbs, and a few others quietly put several bodies covered with gray linen cloth near the entrance of the manor.
The four men arrived at the location, dragged the four corpses directly to the entrance of the manor, and then howled and cried.
“Oh daughter, how come you’re gone all of a sudden? Didn’t you say you had good food and a good life here every day? Who killed you, who was it!?”
“Oh sister, you died so terribly, even your face is gone, ahhhhh!”
A burst of crying, with grief-stricken complaints, soon reached the manor.
It wasn’t long before a private army of about twenty men came out, and was about to use force to drive the four men away when the leader of the private army noticed that there was a Mage in front of them. “This honorable Mage, may I ask if you are here to see our master?”
“You could say that, but instead of me meeting him, have him meet me.”
The leader of the private army looked a little hesitant.
The Pine Needle family was the house of a marquis, and this manor belonged to the Fifth Young Master.
The Fifth Young Master was tyrannical and would beat people at every turn.
Many of the maidservants were dead.
Logically, he should drive them away immediately, or else the Fifth Young Master would surely be enraged and then kill him when he heard these cries.
But the man in front of him, wearing a magic robe, was not someone to be messed with.
What should he do?
Anxious, the leader of the private army was sweating profusely.
But just when he was in a dilemma, a frivolous male voice rang out. “Who is it? How dare you come here to cause trouble.”
The leader of the private army immediately made way for a young man in blue attire who slowly walked over.
He looked at the four men who were crying their hearts out and showed his disdain.
Then he returned his attention to Roland and frowned. “This honorable Mage, did you bring these people here?”
“Yes.” Roland smiled. “These people were sharecroppers under my name, but now they tell me that their daughters, sisters, and other relatives are nowhere to be found. Although they have been found now, the people are dead. I’m curious, why did you kill all the maidservants from the first batch and replace them with a second batch?”
The young man raised his eyebrows. “You’re not royalty, it’s none of your business!”
[1] 1994 comedy film
