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Chapter 4
Evelyn crossed her arms and thought for a long time, but she couldn’t figure anything out.
“It doesn’t matter.”
This wasn’t the important part. She could slowly investigate her grandfather’s true identity later.
Saving Grand Duke Gracias came first.
The first idea that came to Evelyn’s mind was to send a letter.
At that time, anonymous mail existed. As long as a stamp was attached to the envelope, it would be delivered. She could write her name if she wanted, but somehow she didn’t like the idea.
The Grand Duke’s reputation was simply too terrible.
A warning letter from a complete stranger…
Even if it were her, she would immediately try to find the sender and confirm whether the warning was true.
Grandfather had said he knew the Grand Duke, but she had nothing to prove it.
If she made a mistake, she might be caught, and just like the Grand Duke’s other victims, she could end up with broken bones.
Besides, I don’t even know which army Grandfather served in.
She had asked him before, but he never wanted to tell her the details.
Perhaps the war he had experienced had been so horrifying that he wanted to forget it.
That was why she never asked again.
So she had no way to prove what she was saying.
And she certainly couldn’t say that she had seen the future in a dream.
Whether people believed her or not, it was dangerous.
Still… I don’t have any other choice.
Maybe an anonymous letter would work, depending on how she wrote it.
Evelyn carefully wrote the letter in handwriting different from her usual style.
Then, wearing a simple disguise in case someone recognized her, she dropped it into a mailbox far away from her house.
After sending the letter, several days passed.
Nothing changed.
“Why?”
The Emperor’s birthday celebration was drawing closer and closer.
Yet in her dreams, the Grand Duke was still being attacked.
Did the letter even reach him?
Or had it been lost along the way?
She had heard that so many letters passed through the capital that mail sometimes went missing.
Just in case, she sent several more letters.
Still, nothing changed.
Then Evelyn finally realized something.
“I don’t have enough information.”
There was information that Evelyn, who had only recently arrived from the countryside, simply didn’t know.
She needed someone who did.
At this rate, all she would accomplish was sending one useless letter after another.
Fortunately, I know an information broker.
More accurately, it was someone her grandfather had known.
She didn’t know whether he was still working.
But she had nothing to lose by checking.
So she confidently left the house to see if the place was still open.
It was unfortunate that she couldn’t enjoy the experience because of the situation.
Still…
She had always been curious about information brokers.
Now she finally had the chance to meet one herself!
With that thought, Evelyn headed into the back alleys of the imperial capital.
The back alleys often appeared in novels and in the stories her grandfather used to tell.
Because of that, Evelyn already knew.
The back alleys were places where countless histories began… and ended.
And in those stories, one kind of person always appeared.
Street thugs.
They swaggered around, robbing anyone who looked weak.
Sometimes they drove others into despair.
Sometimes they themselves fell into despair.
And sometimes, they became nothing more than stepping stones for the growth of a great historical figure.
“Hey there, miss. Looks like you’ve got some money.”
So when a thug appeared, Evelyn wasn’t surprised.
Of course someone would appear here.
She calmly nodded, reached into the bag hanging at her side, and pulled out a gun.
Although cold weapons were still preferred in this era, weapons continued to evolve.
That was how guns had been developed.
Of course, they weren’t easy to use.
The bulky-looking gun came with many limitations.
It could hold no more than six bullets at a time.
It also took time before a bullet could actually be fired.
Even that was troublesome enough.
But the biggest condition was something else.
The user had to be able to use mana.
From operating the gun itself to reducing the time needed to fire a bullet, mana had to be continuously supplied.
Since the gun had been created by an alchemist and a mage, this requirement was unavoidable.
Because of that, it wasn’t a particularly cost-effective weapon.
But apparently the thug thought differently.
Then again, only someone well-trained in martial arts could knock away a fired bullet.
“What? Is that a real gun?”
The thug stared at Evelyn with a nervous expression.
Most people capable of using mana were nobles.
His reaction was perfectly understandable.
“Yes.”
Evelyn nodded.
Then she raised the gun toward the sky and fired a single shot.
That alone was enough to drive the thug away.
“Ahhh!”
She didn’t chase after him as he ran away as fast as he could.
Now she also needed to leave quickly.
Some people would run away after hearing a gunshot.
Others would come to investigate.
Recalling the stories her grandfather had once told her, Evelyn ran through the winding alleys.
Soon, she found the old tavern she had been looking for.
A signboard painted with a strange monster swayed above the entrance.
When Evelyn grabbed the half-broken doorknob and pushed, the door opened with a loud creak.
The outside looked old.
The inside wasn’t much better.
Several chairs had clearly been repaired after breaking and stood unevenly.
Dust covered the decorations hanging on the walls.
Still, the tavern seemed to be open.
A middle-aged man stood behind the bar.
Evelyn’s eyes sparkled.
He really looked exactly as Grandfather had described!
His narrow eyes and round nose matched perfectly.
She shyly walked over and whispered,
“One Dead Dragon, please.”
The man’s already narrow eyes became as thin as needles.
“Not a Red Dragon?”
Red Dragon was a fairly famous strong liquor.
But it wasn’t what Evelyn wanted.
She shyly held up three fingers and spoke again.
Grandfather had told her to say “one cup” first.
If the other person questioned her, she was supposed to raise three fingers and say this.
“Yes, Dead Dragon. Two cups.”
The man still looked suspicious.
But he didn’t ignore her.
He opened a door behind the bar and gestured toward it.
“This way.”
Evelyn followed him down a long hallway.
At the end was a small room.
Unlike the outside of the building, it was neat and clean.
She tried to remain calm.
But her heart kept pounding.
So this really is an information broker! There’s a hidden room!
And now Evelyn herself was standing inside it.
In many ways, she truly resembled her grandfather.
She enjoyed new experiences.
The man sat down first.
With a serious expression, he looked at Evelyn.
“Have a seat.”
Evelyn sat across from him as instructed.
The man’s narrow eyes suddenly opened wide.
“So, what brings you here?”
Evelyn answered calmly.
“I need some information.”
“Heh heh. Then you’ve come to the right place.”
The man—the information broker—rubbed his hands together with a grin.
The serious attitude he had shown moments earlier had completely disappeared.
“What kind of information do you want? If you ask, I can even find out what kind of underwear a noblewoman likes to wear!”
If he can find out something like that, then learning about the Grand Duke should be easy.
Evelyn’s face brightened.
“I need information about Grand Duke Gracias.”
The information broker still wore a smile as he asked,
“Who?”
“Grand Duke Gracias.”
“Who?”
“Grand Duke Gra—”
Before she could finish speaking, the information broker suddenly grabbed both sides of his face and screamed.
“Aaaahhh! No! No! I didn’t hear anything! I didn’t hear a thing!”
He jumped to his feet and ran in circles around the room like a dying insect.
Then he hurried to the door they had entered through and checked that it was tightly locked.
After that, he pressed his ear against the wall, as if trying to hear whether anyone outside had overheard them.
He’s certainly a strange person.
Even while Evelyn was thinking that, the information broker didn’t stop.
This time, he climbed onto a chair and looked up at the ceiling, his whole body trembling.
Evelyn still had no idea what was happening and could only blink in confusion.
Finally, the information broker took a long, deep breath.
