Готовый перевод Страж Империи / Guardian of the Empire: 10/1

“Not really,” I shrugged, looking at him in surprise. “More for merit. They sent the smugglers to be crushed.”

"What smugglers?!" Bachur grimaced as if in pain and spat right on the floor. “Where? Here?”

“Well, yes, here,” I confirmed, frowning, and carefully asked. “What?”

"Well, if a trader moves through here a couple of times a month, it's an event!" the Ess-Tarkh explained angrily. "What smugglers are there?" And suddenly, he grabbed me by the sleeve, he pulled me to the window, and pointed at the ferry departing from the opposite bank: "There, look at that! See?"

The ferry, loaded while we were sorting out the paperwork, looked as if it were covered with a light gray carpet. A moving carpet. However, no matter how hard I strained my eyes, I couldn't make out what was being transported. But at that moment, everyone fell silent, and I heard a long, drawn-out sound:

"Meh... Meh"

"Sheep!" I gasped.

“That's it,” Bachur confirmed gloomily and spat out the window: “Filthy creatures.”

"And what, do they only drive livestock through this customs post?" I suspected the worst.

"That's exactly why they built it!" Bachur cursed. "After all, the steppe dwellers bring in almost four million head of cattle every year. So they built a special ferry for this purpose, far from the city."

//"Those bastards..." I seethed, realizing how the grey-uniformed men had set me up for the failure of their operation. "So they assigned me an important task – sent me to catch smugglers?! Such the bastards!"

//"Send me back, now!" The imp demanded, looking around in confusion. He jumped up and screamed, "We didn't agree on this! Where are the taverns, the gambling houses, the whores?! There's nothing here at all! It's a complete mess!"

//“What, the sound of gold coins doesn’t attract you anymore?” I responded sarcastically.

//“Why do we need them if there’s nowhere to spend them here?!” The indignant imp yelled.

//"No, imp, you'll stay. Where would I be without you?" I thought, slowly shaking my head, and reminded him: "Or have you forgotten how I bragged that demons are the best accountants?" And with malicious glee, I concluded: "Now you can show off your skill by counting sheep!"

* * *
Three months later

Laidek, office of the head of the First Department of the Secret Service Grass-Tarkh Luarier

"Grass-Tarkh, As-tarkh Covan is here to see you,” said the girl who had silently appeared in the office.

“Okay, Melissa, let him come in,” he said, taking a break from reading the daily news report for a moment, nodding to Luarier and returning to his reading.

"What, just routine?" the As-tarkh asked, sitting down in the chair opposite his boss.

"Yes, as usual, just some nonsense, not worth considering," the Grass-Tarkh confirmed, looking up at Covan. "And what have you come with, Erich?"

"I don't even know how to say it..." his subordinate rubbed his forehead worriedly. "Remember our guard? The one who let de Sameri escape?"

"Of course I remember," Loirier said, slightly surprised by the unexpected question. Then he perked up: "What? Was it for nothing that they put him under surveillance? Did they come to light that he was in contact with Aquitaine agents?"

"No, it's much funnier," Covan chuckled and tossed the sheet of paper he'd brought with him onto the table. "A dispatch from Ostmor has arrived. There was an assassination attempt on the head of the separate Ostmor customs post yesterday. Fortunately, it failed."

"An assassination attempt?" the head of the First Department asked, genuinely surprised. "Have the reasons been clarified? There's no trace of Aquitaine?"

"That's the point, it's been established," the As-Tarkh shook his head sadly. "The smugglers sent the assassin."

"Are you kidding me?" the Grass-Tarkh asked irritably, frowning. "Where did those smugglers come from? There have never been any of them in this hole."

"And now they've appeared," Erich grinned crookedly, looking at his indignant boss, and chuckled cheerfully: “He was sent there to catch smugglers, so that's what he found...”

* * *

Переведено на Нотабеноиде
http://notabenoid.org/book/88185/591753

Переводчики: Camrad_RIP