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Chapter 25
The Lady Only Deals with the Real Thing
“I Think I Might Fall in Love with You, Boss.”
“I think I might fall in love with you, Boss.”
“If you take a look at the underground archive, you’ll probably fall even harder.”
“Oh my, how romantic…”
Hannah stamped her feet excitedly as she admired the collection in the underground storage.
Since she was well-versed in document management laws, I didn’t have to worry about her handling things on her own.
Like someone reverently looking over a sacred text, she carefully inspected the books and eventually picked out two volumes.
By the look on her face, she wanted to take them all but was restraining herself to just two.
“Boss, I want to buy these two babies. Please sell them to me, yes?”
“Of course. You can take them home any time.”
Playing along with her way of treating the books like children, I asked if she was fine with the fact that they were a little pricey. Hannah boasted proudly, “Thanks to you, I saved 8.5 million gold! Spending this much is nothing!”
Two million gold and two books exchanged hands. I also threw in a letterweight she had admired as a freebie, which nearly made her faint again.
Naturally, this led to plenty of conversation.
“Is there anything I can help you with, Boss? I’m really good at spotting typos, forged documents, and books. I know the document management laws well, and I can even do restoration. I’ll help for free to repay your kindness! That means I can come often, right?”
“I was actually looking for someone to advise me on ancient documents, so I really appreciate your offer. But—no, I can’t accept it for free.”
“What? Did we just swap personalities or something?”
So we even ended up drafting a contract for consultation.
When Hannah tried to wriggle out by insisting on no payment, I forced her to sign anyway—and then a thought struck me.
“Hannah, you said you’re good at spotting forged documents, right?”
“Yes! I work in the royal archive office, so pretty much all documents that pass through the imperial palace go through us. I’ve never missed a single one!”
“…If it’s confidential, you don’t have to tell me, but among the forged documents you’ve found, were there any from a certain Lady Rozanne, the Countess?”
“Oh my! How did you know?!”
As I thought.
“That woman submitted budget requests with receipts that didn’t even match the official formats, and the amounts were obviously forged. And we’re talking about huge sums, too.”
Hannah pouted, clearly displeased.
“She was trying to siphon off budget funds with fake receipts, so I rejected them several times. Thanks to me, at least half of her budget probably got cut.”
So that’s it.
She tried to get someone fired for simply doing her job properly?
Heh. A laugh escaped me.
“Right, she even contacted me several times personally. Offering to treat me to dinner, inviting me to parties, that sort of thing.”
“You didn’t go, did you?”
“Of course not. Do I look like I have time to meet people? If I have free time, I’d rather spend it reading.”
So she must’ve resorted to more extreme measures.
Her attempts at bribery failed, and since Hannah was too competent to dismiss without cause, Rozanne probably planned to fire her just to install one of her own people.
At least Hannah isn’t the type to leak anything about me to Rozanne… but who knows what Rozanne will try next.
Since her attempt with the banned books scheme failed, there was every chance she’d cook up something else underhanded.
She won’t act openly under her own name again, that much is certain.
I asked Hannah to report to me if she received any suspicious contacts, no matter how minor.
Having come to trust me fully after the auction incident, Hannah nodded immediately.
After seeing her off and resuming my work, my thoughts solidified.
I’m going to need some information.
Remembered facts and speculations are useful, but what I needed now was fresh, living information.
Only then could I prepare.
From my cardholder, I pulled out Alter’s card and flipped it over. The emblem of the Information Guild gleamed back at me.
I murmured softly,
“There’s nothing for it—I’ll have to visit the Information Guild.”
It was already late at night by the time I finished up.
Fortunately, I’d heard from customers that the Information Guild operated 24 hours a day.
I packed a few newly purchased self-defense magic tools and set out. After wandering for quite a while, I finally found the place.
There was no signboard, so I wasn’t sure at first, but the guild’s mark was stamped on the wall.
The Information Guild in the Principality of Moro was downright terrifying…
In my previous life, I had once visited their guild in a desperate attempt to find out information about my grandfather.
I’ll never forget how shocked I was when I opened those doors.
The one who greeted me wasn’t a person, but a snarling wolf baring its fangs.
The dim space echoed with screams—it looked less like a guild for selling information and more like a guild for extracting it.
When I asked about my grandfather, they told me they didn’t deal in “that kind of information” and kicked me out. Later, after much begging, they finally agreed to speak—only to demand a sum far beyond what I could ever afford. Most likely, they refused because it involved imperial matters.
Would this place be the same?
“…Huh?”
Carefully pushing the door open, I was stunned by what I saw.
“Hey there! First time, right? Welcome! What would you like to drink? Juice? Tea? Milk?”
Wait… they greeted me kindly?
“Sorry it’s a bit messy—we’re putting up new curtains for spring.”
So many windows?
“Don’t mind that guy—he loves getting attention from newcomers. Want to give him a snack?”
And then… a cuddly cat? One of a hundred, apparently.
By the time I realized it, I was already sitting in a chair, petting a cream-colored cat.
The man who had greeted me looked to be in his mid-thirties, with a warm, approachable demeanor. He set a glass of juice before me and smiled.
“Why do you look so spaced out?”
“To be honest, I was expecting this place to be… scarier.”
“Well, that makes sense. Until a few years ago, we really were a scary place. We deliberately cultivated that grim, threatening atmosphere people usually associate with an information guild. It was great for extracting information, sure.”
“And then?”
“But it was so scary that actual customers stopped coming… so we completely remodeled.”
He covered his mouth with a sheepish laugh. I couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry for him.
So that was it—they’d targeted the wrong demographic, business suffered, and they had to revamp.
Unlike the Principality, it seemed the Empire’s guild catered more to ordinary folk.
“So, has business improved since then?”
“Better than before, but… not great. Maybe it wasn’t the interior after all. A customer recently told me it wasn’t the building that was scary, but us. Said it doesn’t matter how you style a hyena’s fur—it’s still a hyena.”
“Hyena? Hm… I don’t think so. Honestly, I thought you looked very pleasant.”
I meant it.
After all, my standard for appearances was my grandfather.
But the man seemed deeply moved by my words.
“You’re a kind one, huh? Want another glass of juice?”
“I meant it, Guildmaster.”
“Thanks. Call me William, though, not Guildmaster. Much more casual.”
Seriously, I meant it…
As I stared blankly at my second glass of juice, a thought came to me.
“Maybe that customer meant not your looks, but your way of speaking? Your manner of dealing with people?”
“My speech is scary? Should I change it—maybe use more polite endings and round out my tone?”
“No, not you, William. Another guild member.”
“Another member? Whooo?”
“N-no, I didn’t mean it like that… I only met one person from your guild before, a man named Alter.”
“…Alter?”
Huh.
At the mention of that name, William froze.
“Ah, Alter. You mean our guild member Alter. Why? What about him?”
From his reaction, it seemed Alter wasn’t an impostor at least.
So he really was a guild member.
But being an official member doesn’t necessarily mean he’s trustworthy.
Rozanne and Hugo were proof enough of that. Nobles of impeccable pedigree, yet they spent their days doing vile things.
So of course there could be criminals hiding within the guild as well.
Still, it wouldn’t be wise to spill every detail in front of the guildmaster. If anything I said brought trouble for Alter, I couldn’t take responsibility. Worse, they might try to silence me.
After some thought, I gave a short answer.
“His clothes.”
“Clothes?”
“He always wore such pitch-black clothes. To someone who doesn’t know his situation, he might look a little intimidating.”
“So it’s just the clothes?”
What, was there supposed to be something else?
“You mean… it wasn’t because of scary eyes, or a chilling aura, or that looking into his gaze made you feel like apologizing for no reason?”
