Profession, Merchant Volume 5 Chapter 9 (Patreon)

Chapter 9 – Arrest, I

When I opened the front door, a man with a large beard stood before me.

“Who are you?”

“This is my identity.”

He showed me his police ID.

“I’m a police inspector with the Public Security Bureau.”

The moment he said “police”, “I” immediately cringed and tried to hide my discomfort, but unfortunately it only made it worse.

There’s nothing I can do about it. This “me” was still inexperienced in this area.

“We don’t have any young girls here who are good at magic.”

It was as if he confessed openly: “We have a little girl at home who is good at magic”.

The inspector, however, tilted his head and said something else.

“Magic? A little girl? No, I am here for the master of this house. Excuse me, are you his son?”

“Y-yes.”

“I” breathed a sigh of relief when he said that.

“If you wish to place an order, please allow me to do so on his behalf. We supply armor and protective gear to the military and police, so you can be sure of the quality of our products.”

“No, I don’t intend to place an order. I have business with your father personally.”

“My father personally? Unfortunately, my father is out stocking up.”

What? You want him to tell the truth, that he’s asleep? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but this disappointment of a pervert is already taught at a young age. Or at least enough to save his father’s face.

“I’m here now.”

But the moment “I” said that, my father suddenly appeared from behind me, making me look down in embarrassment, as if I had been caught in a blatant lie.

“Hello, sir. It’s been a long time.”

(It’s been a long time?)

But when the inspector said that, “I” stroked my chest in relief. “So it was just an acquaintance of my father’s who came to visit!” “I” said to myself, thinking at least this would mitigate his shameful act.

But things were not that simple.

“Ah, yes, it’s been a long time. Can I see the warrant?”

“Yes, here it is.”

“He has a warrant?!”

While ‘I’ was unsure what was going on, the inspector unfolded a piece of paper in front of us.

I clenched my butt cheeks. Am I going to be arrested? At this early age?

Anxiously, I glanced at the paper.

But it wasn’t my name that’s on it.

It was my father’s.

My father’s name was inscribed on the warrant.

“I will ask you one last time. Are you not going to stop delivering supplies to that ‘hero’?”

“I will not stop. Because our contract has not yet expired.”

Yes, I remember now.

Father continued to deliver supplies to the fugitive “Hero” even after she was branded a “Fake”.

“Why? Why should my Shishou be arrested?”

It was “I” who complained.

His tone, which had been a little smug when he had been chatting with the little girl earlier, was now broken by his agitation.

The inspector, seeing the situation, replied apologetically.

“This female ‘hero’ is now being hunted internationally as a ‘fake hero’. If she continues to receive supplies from a powerful merchant family in our country, our entire nation will be suspected of supporting a hostile force, and there is a possibility that our country will be isolated in international trade.”

“Then what was it about when the whole nation praised her as a ‘hero’ a few years ago? Can’t you see that we are already being made fun of?”

“I agree with you from a moral point of view, but when it comes to the peace of the people and the stability of the national order, there’s no other way.”

It was a perfectly valid argument with no reason for refusal.

But “I” jumped in towards the inspector, as if to vent my uncontrollable anger at being unable to refute.

Of course, there was no way that a small swinging fist, devoid of composure, could hit a police inspector in his current position, so “I” was grabbed without a second thought.

“I’m sorry about my son, but please leave him alone for this. Son, could you please step aside?”

Then my father spoke.

His words left me stunned.

And then,

“Hey, is he your enemy?”

Before I knew it, the little lass was standing next to me, staring at my father with icy eyes.

It was as if she was about to pounce on the police inspector as soon as my father gave the signal.

But my father still refused any help.

“I don’t know who you are, but I don’t need your concern. I saw this coming. Shall we go now, Mister Inspector?”

Looking back on it now, he was an extremely indifferent father.

“You must be joking! Shishou… Dad, wait! Inspector, the supplies, we won’t be sending any more supplies to the ‘Hero’, so please don’t take him. I’m begging you!”

“He” was a stubborn brat who didn’t know when to listen.

So the way “he” clung to them and begged was nothing short of appalling.

“Sir, even your son is begging you. Are you still not going to change your mind?”

“Even if you release me here because you take pity on my son, I will still do it. So don’t ask such an obvious question.”

See? I knew my father was bound to answer that way.

“Ah, yes, son. You haven’t forgotten what I told you this morning, have you? I’m counting on you.”

Having said these words, my father was taken away.

But even minutes after he had left, ‘I’ was still staring at the door, dazed.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything.”

Saying this, the little lass next to me also sank down.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Then she looked at my face, and “I” huffed as if in a hurry.

“I have to go.”

“Where are you going?”

“He said this morning, ‘I’ve already done all the stockpiling, so you can do the rest while I’m gone.’“

Maybe it was all for the “hero”.

Immediately afterwards, “I” went into the warehouse, took out my book and notes and checked what I was supposed to deliver.

And indeed, when I checked, they were supplies for the Hero, along with a sword with a note stuck on it saying “New Production”.

“Sorry, little lady. Now you really must leave.”

“I don’t want to.”

Surprisingly, the little girl still refused.

“You heard what I said, right? I have to take my father’s place.”

“Yes. I heard you.”

“Then…”

“So I thought I’d help you.”

“What? Why?”

“I” asked doubtfully, but the young girl continued without changing her expression at all.

“Because I like you.”

The girl’s small lips seemed too mature in his eyes at that moment.

Not in a sexual way, but in a “reliable adult” kind of way.

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