## Chapter 41: Lloyd Society
Secret tunnels may sound mysterious, but they aren’t that rare. After all, they’re built for a reason.
Eivass, along with Lulu and Sherlock, entered an abandoned warehouse filled with dust and rubble, once used for storing stone, not far from the Pelican Bar. Emerging from the back door, they found themselves in a desolate and dilapidated wasteland. Not a soul was in sight. A small creek formed by sewage and stagnant water blocked their path. On the opposite bank, life garbage and dense undergrowth lay piled up, faded and rotting from repeated exposure to the elements.
Seeing it, however, Eivass let out a sigh of relief, as if he had found his target. Without hesitation, he crossed the creek and headed towards the garbage heap beyond. “Continue forward from here, and go over that large dirt mound. You’ll be there,” he said.
“…I see,” Sherlock murmured in a low voice, barely managing to follow Eivass without soiling his shoes. “They used the imagery of sewage and garbage, things that evoke feelings of abandonment and an end, to make people subconsciously believe there’s no path forward. It’s not a particularly clever hiding method, but it’s sufficient for ordinary people.”
“Because it’s not a high-class secret tunnel, and it’s not entirely man-made,” Eivass explained, leading the way and glancing back. “It leads to a chemical plant that was abandoned twenty years ago. About seven or eight years ago, a group of hot-headed youngsters from the Lloyd District discovered and occupied this secret tunnel. They are now the ‘Sweater Brotherhood,’ a group of stranglers.”
“…Stranglers? Isn’t that the name of a gang?” Lulu asked doubtfully, lifting her skirt to keep up with Eivass.
“Not exactly. While ‘stranglers’ are indeed gang members, it doesn’t mean they all belong to a single gang called the ‘Stranglers’,” the newsboy Sherlock replied. “Any gang members who engage in murder and robbery by strangulation are referred to as stranglers. It’s precisely the smaller gangs that resort to such methods to make money.”
“And what about the largest gang?”
“That would undoubtedly be the Lloyd Society. There’s only one Lloyd Society in the Lloyd District,” Eivass answered. “The Lloyd Society, founded by Prince Lloyd over two hundred years ago when he was still a merchant, still exists today. It’s a large, affiliated organization that deals in insurance, usury, oceanic intelligence, and commercial insider information. In a sense, they are Avalon’s only legitimate gang.”
“…Aren’t usurers illegal? How can usury be legal?”
“Because they don’t overtly charge excessive interest. Instead, they collect interest by selling the ‘Lloyd Weekly,’ which is priced far beyond what an ordinary person can afford.” Eivass gave Lulu a somewhat helpless look. “My dear, you don’t think the price of five red candles for a weekly newspaper is reasonable, do you? That’s a weekly paper. This means more than half of the news on it has already been reported by other newspapers—there’s a saying in the news industry, ‘Morning papers are waste paper by evening.’ While it’s a bit extreme… Regardless, a weekly paper should be cheaper than a daily one.”
The newsboy Eivass had met at the entrance of the Pelican Bar earlier was a “newsboy” employed by the Lloyd Society. Haina had sensed that the price of the ‘Lloyd Weekly’ was off, but she hadn’t understood who they were selling to. Eivass hadn’t wanted to explain it to her. Given her straightforward nature, it was better she remained ignorant of such matters. Haina had assumed the buyers would be sailors, fishermen, and laborers… people who couldn’t possibly afford such prices. Even if there were, they would only buy meat and beer. The tired and impoverished lower class have no means to buy newspapers; they only gather free information from bars.
Young Sherlock sighed and patiently explained the intricacies to the naive princess. “Those who borrow from the Lloyd Society in the Lloyd District are required to regularly purchase a specified number of ‘Lloyd Weekly’ copies as additional interest. When the debt collector arrives to check, they verify the number of newspapers the borrower possesses and tear off a corner of the paper as proof of receipt. The insider information they sell works the same way. Factory owners or company directors will directly order a large batch of ‘Lloyd Weekly’ from the Lloyd Society. The newspaper delivery person will then convey any messages along with the papers. They also offer services to investigate specific targets; they even invited me once. To my knowledge, some private detectives accept their employment. When the Lloyd Society delivers the investigated personal information, they also use a specified number of ‘Lloyd Weekly’ copies as payment.”
“…Is it because the newspapers are taxed?” Lulu immediately reacted, realizing it. “So the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Taxation protect them?” Although she had never heard of such gray transactions conducted through newspapers before, she immediately grasped the cleverness of this method. It meant the Lloyd Society would publicly disclose all its financial reports to the kingdom and actively pay a substantial protection fee. Since they accepted their money without arresting them, it implied their actions were condoned.
Truly an organization cultivated by Prince Lloyd. Despite lacking extensive experience, Princess Isabel possessed a sharp mind. Her high level of exposure to knowledge had also fostered a keen political intuition. “By using ‘newspapers’ as a means of collecting money, the Lloyd Society is showing respect for the ‘Path of Authority,’ aren’t they? Even though they originated from the influence left by Prince Lloyd, they could still encounter trouble if they truly angered the Round Table Hall. However, by conducting loan transactions through the sale of newspapers, it means they will report the ‘interest’ as net income for taxation purposes… Because they don’t want to offend the Inspection Bureau, their tax payments are more active and stable compared to merchants, who almost certainly evade taxes.”
Isabel had heard countless complaints from the Minister of Finance about uncollected taxes. He repeatedly demanded the Inspection Bureau dispatch tax inspectors to companies suspected of tax evasion. Each time, he would present a terrifyingly long list—longer than Isabel’s hair, with the other end practically dragging on the ground when held.
Isabel clearly understood that if the Lloyd Society’s tax payments were sufficiently active, substantial, and stable, they would indeed receive protection. The fact that they possessed the distribution rights for the ‘Glass Steps Herald’ already indicated the Round Table Hall’s tacit approval.
The newsboy nodded. “For this reason, the Inspection Department will not send anyone to deal with them. Coupled with their self-initiated efforts to maintain civil order in the Lloyd District, the Inspection Bureau can only turn a blind eye. After all, they are a legitimate organization that operates according to the [Path of Authority] and also respects the higher existence of the [Path of Authority]. In a sense, they are no longer just a society; they can be considered a large corporation with unscrupulous methods. Therefore, they do not engage in acts like ‘strangling’ that could draw investigation. However, their squeezing of other gangs’ profit margins leads those other societies to continuously dispatch members for illegal activities such as ‘strangling,’ ‘burglary or theft,’ ‘kidnapping,’ and ‘assassination’ to acquire funds. This, in turn, makes them susceptible to investigation and arrest by the Inspection Bureau, further compressing the survival space for other societies.”
“—That’s not all,” Eivass said, finally catching sight of the back door of the abandoned chemical plant and sighing with relief. “In reality, even after those stranglers ambush and kill passersby and steal all their belongings, their channels for fencing stolen goods are still through the Lloyd Society. And some commissions, such as assassinations or thefts, are also issued by the Lloyd Society. So, as I said earlier, there is only one largest gang in the Lloyd District, and that is the Lloyd Society.”
“…Is that so?” Hearing this, even Sherlock was surprised. But upon reflection, it seemed logical. No matter how legitimate the Lloyd Society appeared, it was ultimately a criminal organization, not a proper industrial company. Yet, Sherlock had never been able to find concrete evidence of their crimes. Perhaps it wasn’t just because the evidence had been destroyed by the Inspection Bureau. Perhaps, from the beginning, there was no such evidence. Because they no longer needed to personally commit such acts.
Sherlock carefully scrutinized the “Fox” in his clerical disguise, beginning to doubt his true identity for the first time. He seemed very familiar with the Lloyd District, knew about this secret tunnel, and even had knowledge of the Lloyd Society’s secrets… Could “Fox” not be a student from the school, but a gang member? Or perhaps an informant from a certain organization embedded within the church, or even a renegade priest?
With this thought, Sherlock probed, “Mr. Fox… would it cause you trouble if I investigated the ‘Sweater Brotherhood’? If so, I’ll turn a blind eye. As thanks for your help during the ritual.”
Hearing this, Eivass paused. He looked back at the newsboy, a slight smile gracing his lips. “Since I told you about it, I’m not afraid of you investigating. After you finish investigating ‘Bone Sculpture,’ go ahead and arrest the Sweater Brotherhood… consider it a public service. Don’t let their small size fool you; each member of the Sweater Brotherhood has committed no fewer than five murders. According to my little bird… they might have connections with the group behind the Pelican Bar.”
—In fact, it’s more than that. Eivass remembered this secret tunnel because it was a main quest dungeon. He’d forgotten the preceding story, but Eivass was certain the “Sweater Brotherhood” had a connection to the Noble Red Society. This was because the Sweater Brotherhood members appearing in this dungeon had not only been significantly enhanced in body and driven to frenzy by the Demon Scholar’s ritual, but they also kept a large number of Demonic Hounds made from corpses.
That dungeon was quite disgusting. Not only was it long and winding, making it easy to get lost if you didn’t have a map, but there were also various obstacles on the ground like garbage, mud, and sewage that impeded movement. Additionally, a large number of Demonic Hounds would lie in ambush around corners. When the first person passed, they would activate and suddenly surge forward to attack the second person. These Demonic Hounds weren’t just equipped with sharp scrap metal armor and possessed high damage despite being fleshy; their aggro was also chained. After being attacked, they would start howling madly, and other patrolling dogs would hear and come rushing. Compared to the BOSS, whose mechanics weren’t complicated, the regular monsters in this dungeon were far more troublesome.
Eivass didn’t want to play this dungeon again. Just the thought of those half-human-tall, tin-plated mad dogs, fed on human flesh, lunging at him and biting made his scalp tingle. It was better to let Sherlock take care of them in advance. It would also give Sherlock something to do, preventing him from solely focusing on investigating the entities behind the Pelican Bar. Otherwise, “that person” might suspect that his letter had fallen into Sherlock’s hands and would preemptively begin destroying evidence and silencing witnesses. If “that person” destroyed evidence faster than Eivass could investigate, it would become difficult for him.
While “Fox’s” identity was mysterious, to the suspicious and intelligent Sherlock, the clue casually provided by Fox during their encounter in the Dream Realm held more investigative value than any clue deliberately presented in reality. He would suspect the latter’s motives and attempt to reverse-reason from a higher level—which wasn’t entirely wrong. Eivass was precisely afraid of Sherlock discovering his motives, which was why he chose to “casually encounter” him to “unintentionally” slip him the information.
Eivass understood Sherlock well; he was indeed that kind of person.
