The Martial Unity

Soon enough, the two of them chalked up a simple but defined plan for the drop-off of the esoteric ore deposits that he owed the Martial Union. However, there was still more that needed to be ironed out as far as Rui was concerned.

"I want access to all information surrounding the investigation with the Voider," Rui mentioned.

Martial Commissioner maintained a straight face, but Rui could tell that he disliked what he was hearing.

"This is not recommended, Squire Quarrier," Commissioner Reze informed Rui. "You should leave the matters surrounding the investigation to us, and have faith in our capabilities."

"This isn't a matter of not having faith in the Martial Union's capabilities," Rui replied. "No matter how trustworthy your operations are, I find it more reassuring to also be informed on the happenings of the investigation. Should I feel that the direction of the investigation affects my interests, then I wish to be aware of that rather than not."

There was a moment of silence as Martial Commissioner simply stared at Rui expressionlessly.

Rui was actually aware of the reasons for the compunctions that the Commissioner had. He did not want Rui to make decisions based on the direction of the investigation. He was most likely afraid that Rui would simply quit the gig if he ever felt threatened by the direction of the investigation.

He was also afraid that Rui would crack under extreme pressure if he realized the investigation was making progress towards him, and make moves that would be extremely suspicious and draw the attention of the investigation.

He was probably also afraid that Rui would also make abrupt changes to throw off the investigation, but the timing of that would also be suspicious and alert Chairman Deacon of the fact that someone has access to classified information.

These were all valid concerns, and if Rui were in his place, he too would be concerned about these very matters as well. Still, Rui had displayed more than sufficient competencies, which was the reason he couldn't push back too hard using the excuse of Rui's lack of training in the handling of intelligence.

What he truly wanted to avoid was any uncertain variables, which definitively came with Rui gaining access to the investigation reports himself. Commissioner Reze simply could not be sure what he was going to do in certain circumstances.

"Let me remind you, Commissioner Reze," Rui firmly spoke up. "That this isn't an internal mission from the Martial Union. This is a partnership that the Martial Union approached me with, not the other way around."

Commissioner Reze sighed inwardly, although he didn't so much twitch outwardly. The problem was that Rui was right, the Martial Union was not the one with the highest bargaining power in the matter. Normally, such circumstances only occurred with Martial Artists of the Upper Realms. Normally, only they possessed the might to speak to the mighty Martial Union on a more equal standing. Martial Squires did not possess this right as they simply possessed no bargaining power whatsoever, comparatively speaking.

Rui was the first Martial Squire of the Martial Union to have ever possessed such bargaining power with the Union. The appearance of the Shionel Dungeon artificially elevated the value of Martial Squires to closer to that of Martial Seniors, however, this single Martial Squire capitalized and dominated the Shionel Dungeon so impressively that he managed to break free from this pattern.

He truly was unable to refuse Rui's demand. It was reasonable given that this was a partnership, and it directly affected his interests thus he had every right to demand it, furthermore, he possessed the competencies to ensure that he would not end up sabotaging himself by acting in an ill-advised manner.

Commissioner Reze simply did not possess the capital to deny him.

"Alright, Squire Quarrier," He nodded. "We accept that condition. Let us iron out the manner in which we should handle the delivery of the reports on the investigation. We would recommend that you do not carry hard copies of any reports back to your inn, that is highly ill-advised as that is liable to have you caught."

"I'm aware of that," Rui wasn't a fool. "I already have a solution. Bury the documents in a specific part of the dungeon. I'll dig it up, memorize it, and destroy them."

Commissioner Reze was aware that Rui had mastered the Mind Palace technique to a high level of mastery. So he wasn't surprised by Rui's ability to memorize it. Still, he had other issues with the solution that Rui had proposed.

"How will you find it once you enter the dungeon? How would we know to bury it in that exact place?" Commissioner raised an eyebrow. Rui acted as though the Shionel Dungeon was not a terribly difficult place to navigate with highly hampered senses and messed up internal compasses and clocks.

Rui straightforwardly confirmed this.

"The Shionel Dungeon is transparent to me, I will be fine," Rui shook his head. "I'll provide you with a map that will aid with directing you to the same place each time."

This time, Commissioner Reze's eyes widened as a lot of oddities surrounding this entire case began making sense to him.

The ability to map the Shionel Dungeon was nothing short of groundbreaking. Within the Shionel Confederation, it was a priceless asset, a national treasure. The one and only means to travel the Shionel Dungeon without spending stupendously large amounts of time, or losing one's way. In the mind-breaking maze of the Shionel Dungeon.

He was starting to understand how Rui roped in the most powerful person in the Shionel Confederation as his business partner given this new information. He had to admit, he underestimated Rui's capabilities. Given how long Esosale Suppliers had been active and how long they had been in the country, it meant that Rui had secured Guildmaster Bradt's aid immediately. This suggests that he had been planning to do so for a very long time.

Then when he considered the fact that Rui's transaction history with the Martial Union indicated research into the Shionel Confederation almost six months before he left the Kandrian Empire, he realized that Rui had planned everything from the very beginning.