The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 88

Chapter 88:

The Organization’s Money

“HERE IT IS.”

The captain pushed on a sturdy-looking shelf, and the wall near it slowly rolled away to reveal eight cubbies. Five were empty, but the remaining three had boxes stacked within. We could see papers though the open top of the one closest to us.

“These were hidden back here,” he explained. “The boxes are all full of organization documents.”

“Mind if we take a look?” Seizerk asked. The captain signaled his assent. 

Seizerk, Bolorda, and Rattloore reached for the papers in the open box. The captain, meanwhile, opened another box and rifled through it. These weren’t for my eyes, so I examined the rest of the room.

“No way…” Someone’s troubled voice came floating out of the secret room. I heard a dull thunk as they punched the shelf.

I peeked over and saw Bolorda with a bitter expression. Seizerk laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Even him…”

Did he have a friend who was mentioned in one of these documents? How many people would be hurt when everything here came to light? My chest hurt as I watched Bolorda. I averted my eyes and took a deep breath. There was so much I couldn’t do. 

For now, the best way for me to help was to tell them who we could trust.

I circled the room, checking the walls and ceiling. I’d spotted a safe when we toured the mansion, but it was small. Given the presumed scale of the organization, too small. I’d hoped there might be more money in a hidden room like this one. I pushed and pulled on every spot that caught my eye, but…nothing.

Drat. Had they kept their funds in another location? I’d searched the whole room, but Captain Barxby and the others were still reading. The guards outside would get suspicious if we stayed too long. As I crossed the room to warn them, I heard a creak under my feet.

“Hm? The floor?”

It was a wooden building, so it wasn’t that strange for the floor to creak. I’d heard plenty of squeaks and groans in the foyer and the hallways. But this one stood out to me. I tried stepping in the same spot again. It creaked. Strange. What’s different about this one?

“I wonder if something’s there…”

Excited now, I squatted down to get a closer look at the floor. With my eyes low to the ground, I noticed a slightly uneven patch. I tried pressing down on it, but there was no change. I tried sitting to the side and pulling it, but no luck.

“Yeah. No way it’d be that easy. Shame.” I braced my hands on the floor to stand up. Without warning, the floor shifted forward. 

“Ack!”

Bonk! My forehead hit something.

“Ivy!” Rattloore ran over to help me up, brushing the dust off of me.

“Hey, what’s that?”

Hm? I followed Bolorda’s gaze and saw an opening in the floor. So it was made to move forward, not sideways? Lame. Rattloore pushed the panel the rest of the way, uncovering a bulky wooden box under the floor. And inside…

“There it is!”

The thrill of discovery made me forget all about my sore head. My eyes were fixed on an enormous pile of money. There were two more boxes the same size down here! The organization hadn’t just left their paperwork; they’d left their funds, too. Losing this much money would be a huge blow to them. I saw why Mira was in such a hurry.

“That’s a lot of moolah—whoa! Ivy, you’re bleeding!” The captain shouted. Rattloore pressed a cloth against my forehead. The pressure made the wound hurt more. Darn! I forgot to bring potions.

“Use this.”

A blue potion dangled before my eyes. I turned to find that Bolorda was the one offering it to me.

“Oh, no. I’m fine.”

“Don’t be shy,” he insisted. “Consider it a reward for finding these.”

“Bolorda, that reward sucks.”

Bolorda frowned angrily at Seizerk. “I know that. It’s just for now!”

Rattloore took the potion from Bolorda and applied it to my forehead. The pain started to fade immediately. For a potion to take effect this fast, it must’ve been a common potion rather than a lesser one. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d use one of these.

“Thank you very much.” I bowed to Bolorda, who rustled my hair.

“Thank you, Ivy,” the captain said as he lifted a box out of the hidden chamber.

I was glad I could help. There was another box crammed behind the ones we’d first seen, making a total of four. Every single one was stuffed full of cash. I knew even without counting that it was a fortune. Just imagining the level of organization that could move all this money…well, it scared the heck out of me.

“Man…this is way more than I expected,” Seizerk mused.

The other three concurred. Even these men who’d been investigating the kidnapping ring for years hadn’t imagined they’d be so well funded.

The captain sighed, clearly exhausted. “This organization might be a lot bigger than we thought.”

An organization large enough to be handling so much money was formidable indeed. The adventurers all probably knew that from experience. Oh! We’ve been here for a while.

“Should we leave before the other guards start wondering where we are?” I suggested.

Bolorda put a hand on my head and grinned wryly. Then, he touched my forehead. Had my accident left a mark?

“No scar. That’s good.”

I’d never worried about scars before, so his comment made me feel a little weird. Potions were life-saving items, so I thought people never gave them away for free. But Bolorda had just given me one like it was nothing. That made me smile a little.

The captain’s words broke through my reverie: “Let’s go with Ivy’s plan. It’s as good as anything we’ve got.” I whipped around to face him, and he nodded at me. What does that mean?

“Hold on, Captain. Have we fully considered everything?”

Bolorda was right. I nodded as well. Rattloore had his face turned away from our discussion, but his shoulders were shaking. Was he laughing at me? I punched him in the shoulder.

“Ah ha ha ha…”

He’s laughing harder! And Seizerk’s laughing, too! Why?!

“C’mon, Bolorda. Think about it. Ivy’s strategy makes good sense. Do you have any better ideas?”

“Hmm…well, guess I don’t.”

“Right?”

Huh? Why is Bolorda okay with it now? And what’s with that smug look on the captain’s face?

“Excuse me? This plan does rely on the enemy a lot, so I think you might be better off with a plan that doesn’t leave so much outside our control…” I protested.

“It’s okay. The plan’s plenty solid.”

I don’t think it’s okay, but… For now, we put the documents and the money back in their hiding spots and trudged back to the foyer.

The captain took charge. “First things first, we’ll have to transfer the evidence and the money to a safe spot. Where’s a good place?”

Why is the captain looking at me? And why’s he making eye contact like that? Weird. I’m the youngest person here…

“Maybe…the storehouse you sent Margajura to investigate?” I suggested.

“Yep. That’s definitely the best candidate.” Bolorda had reached the same conclusion. You could have said so!

“Then let’s get Margajura out of here.”

“Actually, Captain, let’s have Margajura lead the document transfer.”

“No, no, no. We can’t let any of their people know what we’ve found.”

“Ah, sorry, let me explain,” I said. “Um, lots of the rooms here have boxes stored in them. We’ll say we’re moving them to the storehouses. Then, we’ll slip the documents from the secret room in with the other boxes. If we make a show of checking the contents of the others as we transfer them, Margajura will think it’s all just junk in there.”

“And so will the organization,” Seizerk added.

I nodded. Margajura would run to tell the organization about anything out of the ordinary that happened here—that’s why they’d sent him.

Did the captain just say, “Let’s have Ivy write up the details of the plan”?

I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that!