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Chapter – 57
The next day.
I went out with Louis and the former Duke.
“Is this the place you were so eager to come to? Singing since morning like that?”
“Yup. Exactly.”
“It doesn’t seem that special. Why did you want to come here so much?”
Louis looked around the café with a puzzled expression.
“‘Cause they have tasty cakes here.”
“Who told you that?”
Oh.
I didn’t expect him to ask that far.
“…Anyway, someone said so.”
“Hmm. Well, if it’s you, little one, then that’s enough!”
Phew.
It was a relief that he didn’t pry further. If he had, I would have been in a tight spot.
‘Because it would be a lie to say someone recommended this place.’
After all, I didn’t come here for the cake. My real purpose was somewhere else.
Namely…
‘I came to find the weakness of Antis!’
Yes.
<Blue News>.
This seemingly ordinary café was no ordinary café at all!
As the name suggested, it was a place where information was bought and sold.
In other words, it was a secret information guild disguised as a café.
I remembered this place thanks to the <Ice Empire Series>.
‘In that story, Angela goes to an information guild.’
Though Angela went to a restaurant, not a café.
Anyway, this reminded me of a book I had read before reincarnation, Saturday Gossip.
<Blue Bird News!
Thought to be a cake shop, but actually an information hotspot.
It has been revealed that the recently closed “Blue Bird News” was actually the headquarters of the empire’s top secret information guild, “Black Crow,” shocking the public.
According to a source from Black Crow, the original purpose of founding <Blue Bird News> was information gathering.
But it became so famous for its cakes that they couldn’t handle the popularity and had to move the headquarters…>
Hmm. Skip the rest!
‘I read that newspaper back when I was begging for scraps….’
By now, it should have been fully operational again.
Fortunately, when I said I wanted to go somewhere, Louis and the former Duke readily agreed to accompany me.
The Duke also wanted to come but had urgent matters to attend to, so he couldn’t join.
It was unfortunate, but honestly, it was for the best.
My heart would have been racing anyway, worried that the former Duke might notice something.
The Duke is very perceptive. If he had come here, he would have realized immediately that this was no ordinary café.
Uh-oh.
That would have been very, very troublesome!
If he asked me how I knew about this place, I would have no way to explain.
“What will you have, Cotton Candy? Order anything you want.”
“…Really? Can I really?!”
“Of course. If you want, I’ll even buy this entire shop.”
“Ah, no… that’s a bit…”
I shook my head firmly and quickly turned my attention back to the menu.
Let’s see…
‘Strawberry shortcake, blueberry tart, lemon cheesecake…’
Sigh.
Almost drooled.
‘Stay calm, Melony. Don’t be distracted by desserts. Remember why you’re here.’
The important thing wasn’t ordinary cakes.
I needed the cake that would serve as a code here.
A menu that would serve as a code for buying and selling information.
‘But how do I figure that out…?’
Unfortunately, Saturday Gossip didn’t reveal the code itself.
But it did mention a hint to decipher it.
‘If you rub the menu with a special solution, the hidden code will appear…’
The problem was, I had no idea what the special solution was.
Ugh.
“Thinking hard, huh?”
“The little one. I said you could order whatever you want, didn’t I?”
I didn’t bother correcting their misunderstanding and focused more intently on studying the menu.
‘If the hidden code appears when rubbed with a special solution, that must mean it was originally written with a special pen and erased. So there might be traces left behind.’
…Phew.
This place handles things very cleanly.
There was no trace of writing or erasure on the menu at all.
“If you can’t decide, should I choose for you?”
“Grandpa can pick too. How about Mont Blanc? The chestnut flavor is sweet and rich, should be good.”
“Hmm, Mont Blanc is nice… but can I think a little more?”
It would be a waste to give up now.
I wanted to uncover Antis’s weakness and get information that would hit him hard.
‘Most importantly, I only have today.’
I asked Hudson quietly, and he said it would take about four days for the donation to go through after the sponsorship contract is processed.
Four days is too short to alter the transaction path.
So…
‘I must find Antis’s weakness today!’
Thankfully, the former Duke and Louis were generous.
“Don’t worry about time. Take your time and think!”
“I don’t mind taking my time either!”
Ugh.
Still, I couldn’t just sit around forever.
‘Calm down, Melony. There must be a way.’
As I took a deep breath to settle my mind, an idea suddenly came to me.
‘What if I use my divine power here…?’
When I had fixed Grandma’s tree before,
It was a coincidence, or maybe not, but I remembered witnessing a scene from the past.
‘Of course, that was the first and last time.’
Even though I had practiced my divine powers several times afterward, nothing like that happened again.
Still, it was worth a try.
I swallowed nervously and subtly used my power.
“Suddenly using divine power? What broke?”
“Eh? Nothing… I just accidentally did it while tidying up…”
My clumsy excuse made the two tilt their heads.
But only for a moment.
“Well, it happens when you’re little!”
“Ahem. Luckily, it wasn’t a dangerous power. But be careful, Cotton Candy. If you lose control, you could collapse like last time.”
“Yes, I will be careful.”
Phew.
I exhaled in relief and looked back at the menu.
In the end—
‘It… it worked?’
Using my power was the right choice.
Though in an unexpected way.
I didn’t see any past scenes again.
Instead, codes appeared on the menu.
The codes that had been written with a special pen and erased.
I blinked my eyes rapidly to hide the codes from Louis and the former Duke.
‘Why did this happen?’
Honestly, I was a bit confused.
My divine power is “the power of repair.”
But this feels less like repair…
‘It’s like turning something pristine into a messy state.’
Sigh.
I didn’t quite understand, but as long as it worked!
I quietly monopolized the menu and started placing orders according to the code.
“I’ll have the Sesame Sprinkled Cheese Cake!”
“…What? Are you serious, little one?”
“Yes. I’m serious. Because I like sesame and cheese. And…”
The code didn’t end there.
The next part of the menu was crucial.
“I’ll also have the Slipped Milk and Mint Choco Cake, and the Pineapple-Topped Bread!”
Louis and the former Duke were shocked by my order.
“Well… okay, we have to respect your tastes. Um, yes, indeed…”
“Crhhmm. Are you having a hard time these days…? No, that’s not it. Well, the world is full of different people, after all, ahem.”
Muttering to themselves, they kept repeating “respect the taste” to convince themselves.
After finishing his self-hypnosis, the former Duke called the staff.
Ding-dang-ding.
The bell on the table rang cheerfully.
Soon, a staff member quickly came to our table.
“May I take your order?”
With a cheerful voice, the staff asked.
And at that moment…
‘Huh?’
I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.
Why was that person here…?
