Chapter : 70
While I was looking through my notebook, someone appeared from behind and linked their arm with mine.
“Excuse me?”
“Let’s go. Everyone’s waiting for you. We’ll end the consultation here. No extra fees, right?”
“…Thank you for your patronage.”
Leaving the clerk with a reluctant expression behind, the person holding my arm pulled me along.
When I turned to look, I saw a small woman wearing a robe had grabbed me.
But the strength with which she pulled my arm was far from ordinary. I could only gape and be dragged along helplessly.
She led me through the back door, not the entrance I had come in. There was no chance to call the knights standing at the entrance.
“Wait a moment.”
When I tried to pull my arm free, she tightened her grip and said in a low voice,
“Stay still. There are people following us.”
“Eh?”
Startled, I stopped in my tracks. The woman tugged my arm impatiently and spoke loudly:
“I told you not to meet that kind of man anymore!”
“Uh… sorry.”
Once we passed the information shop and a quiet alley came into view, she dragged me into it. I glanced back, but there was no sign of anyone following us.
‘Could it be… this woman is a thief?’
Was she using this trick to make me feel safe and lead me to a waiting group?
I had to stop her. Last time, I was nearly in serious trouble after being pulled along by a woman in a robe.
Taking a deep breath, preparing to push back with all my strength, the woman removed her hood.
“Huh?”
Under the hood, familiar pink hair appeared.
“Long time no see, Miss Selene.”
It was Eloi.
Having heard Eloi’s voice many times before, I was shocked that I hadn’t recognized it until just now.
“How…?”
Eloi smiled at me. Her cute face made me inexplicably happy.
“You came looking for information? I’m so glad we met here.”
“Me too. But what are you doing here…?”
Eloi winked slightly and said,
“Running an errand. By the way, that place is expensive but not very good for quality information. If I had been a step later, you might have ended up at a loss.”
“Ah… really? That’s the place my brother told me about.”
“Count Whedon rarely uses information shops.”
I nodded, understanding. Eloi smiled as she spoke again.
“You’re looking for specific information, right?”
“Yes.”
“And since you came alone, this must be information that shouldn’t be revealed to anyone?”
Well, I wasn’t exactly alone—I had lost my group after meeting you, but still…
“That’s right.”
“Then I’ll introduce you to a proper information dealer.”
“Really?”
Eloi held my hand tightly and gently shook it as we weaved through the alley.
The streets here, dirtier than I thought the capital streets were, made me realize the back alleys of the information guild were even worse.
It was like a dark, crime-ridden alley from a movie… exactly the kind of place that came to mind.
There were occasional signs that looked like shops, but all the doors were firmly closed.
People sitting outside the buildings stared at Eloi and me suspiciously.
It was scary, not knowing when or where someone might do something. Yet Eloi walked confidently to a door that looked like a shabby warehouse and knocked.
Bang bang.
She knocked so hard it seemed the old door might break.
“Huh? They should be here now…”
Bang bang bang.
As Eloi knocked a second time, wood chips fell from the door.
‘She’s going to break it…’
I thought it would fall apart on the next knock. Sure enough, with a creak, the door opened.
“What is it?”
“Hurry up and open, will you?”
The man who peeked out seemed quite surprised at our sudden arrival.
“Eloi? Wait… I haven’t cleaned the room yet!”
“When have you ever cleaned it?”
Eloi pushed the man aside and ushered me inside. With a bang, the door closed, and the man scrambled to tidy the room and turn on the dim light.
The room was shabby and slightly messy, with wooden floors and furniture resembling a small cabin.
A blond man who looked like a commoner brushed bottles on the floor with his foot and scratched the back of his head.
“Good grief… without saying a word, you just—”
Eloi ignored him and seated me comfortably at a chair that doubled as a table.
“This is Marty, someone I’ve known since I lived in the countryside. You can just call him Marty.”
Her tone, usually cute and gentle, was slightly rougher, probably because she was with a hometown friend. I almost laughed at the change.
Eloi gestured to Marty and continued.
“Marty has no connection with my father, so whatever information you get here won’t be traced back. Even if the place is messy, he’s tight-lipped…”
“Why are you saying all that? Miss Eloi, nice to meet you. I’m Marty Lucas.”
Marty, wearing a hunting cap I hadn’t noticed before, tipped it to me stylishly.
“Oh, I’m…”
I stammered, and Marty winked at me.
“Is there anyone in the Empire who doesn’t know Miss Whedon? Truly an information broker…”
I smiled awkwardly.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Feel free to speak casually. I’ve been curious about you for a long time. It’s an honor to meet you like this.”
“Don’t give away too much—that’s information too.”
I nodded at Eloi’s reliable warning, remembering how easily I had been tricked before.
“Shall we sit?”
I took a seat, and Eloi continued her explanation. Marty had started as a runner for a well-known information dealer and now dealt in buying and selling information himself.
“If it’s the information you want, I can get it anytime, and at a friend’s discount.”
“Don’t think about charging me.”
Though Eloi had known him since childhood, Marty, a commoner, casually used informal speech with her. They must be very close… I was curious about a lot of things, but there wasn’t time to ask.
Eloi gave Marty a gentle scolding, and he shrugged with a playful smile.
“Then for your first transaction, I’ll give it to you free of charge. What do you want to know?”
I glanced at Eloi, wondering if it was okay to speak while she was present. Marty took a sheet of paper from a nearby cupboard.
“If you write it here, I’ll see it secretly. All of this is information, and I’ll burn it after reading it, so don’t worry.”
“My goodness.”
Eloi snorted and got up.
“If the first floor is like this, the second must be a pigsty.”
She climbed the creaky stairs. I quietly spoke to Marty:
“I want to know about a certain person.”
“Yes, that’s very easy.”
“A person who recently appeared in high society.”
“Ah… Princess Elizabeth, you mean?”
“How did you know?”
Marty smiled.
“You can’t be called an information dealer if you don’t know that.”
“I just want to confirm if they’re really from a distant allied country. I want to know if it’s the same person.”
“Oh. Someone’s impersonating the princess?”
I tilted my head and touched my chin.
“Not exactly…”
“Then, who is this person?”
“I don’t know.”
Marty frowned and rolled his eyes at my answer. I hurriedly added,
“They appeared in the capital suddenly and disappeared suddenly… If there’s no such person, just tell me there isn’t.”
“Understood. Shall I pass the information to you through Eloi?”
I didn’t expect her to do so, but just in case she might see it, I wrote down the address of the mansion and said,
“You said the first one is free… but I’ll pay.”
“If you insist, I won’t refuse.”
Marty smiled happily. Eloi hadn’t come down from the second floor yet. I decided to ask questions now. I took the gems from my pocket and placed them on the table.
“Do these two look the same? One’s a magic stone, and the other is something I happened to pick up…”
The second gem had fallen from a handsome man I’d bumped into on the street—silver hair, golden eyes. Later I realized he had the same hair and eye color as the Demon King. I examined the gem he dropped.
Unlike the transparent magic stone, the gem had a faint red tint, making me doubt if it was the same kind.
If it was a magic stone, the man could be connected to the Demon King.
If not, I’d end up as the woman who hit someone and stole a gem—so I had to know.
Marty looked at me as the gems sparkled on the table. His eyes showed surprise.
“I actually wanted to ask you how to get a magic stone…”
“It just formed naturally in a sealed state.”
“And this red one?”
“I just happened to pick it up.”
Marty looked through a jeweler’s loupe at the gem and said,
“This one…”
