Don’t Look for the Resurrected Villainess - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 20

“This is….”

The man’s expression hardened as he recognized Roam’s emblem.

He probably didn’t know whether this brooch belonged to the eldest daughter, second daughter, youngest, or someone else entirely. But he must have realized it was genuine.

“Now that you’ve recognized it, hurry up and call your superior.”

At my cold words, the man scrambled to his feet. However, there was no need for him to go call anyone.

Before that could happen, a woman who had been listening to our conversation from behind the curtain revealed herself.

“It seems our staff member wasn’t to your liking. Please speak with me. I’m Belona, the owner of this shop.”

She was thin and wrinkled, adorned with flashy clothes and accessories.

As she took the seat the man had occupied, a strong scent of cosmetics wafted from her. She looked a bit older than I remembered.

“The emblem is genuine.”

She could tell the brooch was authentic just by looking at it. I replied with an arrogant tone.

“That’s right, I came on Duke of Roam’s orders.”

“The Duke wants all the items in our shop?”

Belona’s voice was smooth.

“This is the first time we’ve welcomed such a generous customer….”

Trailing off, she soon smiled and gazed at me.

“I haven’t received any prior notice about this. Perhaps there’s a letter or message you’re supposed to deliver?”

Compared to the earlier employee, Belona’s attitude was flawlessly natural. However, I could sense that she was inwardly suspicious.

Of course she was—Father had never bought things this way before. Magic tool creators would come directly with their items, present them before Father, and plead desperately for him to buy them before they could even cross Roam’s threshold.

There was always a pile of magic tool creators waiting in line like that. Certainly, visiting shops directly like this was something neither Father nor Prisian Sister would do.

But the situation is different now, isn’t it?

“A few days ago, the Princess was discovered in a nearby village.”

Pretending reluctance, I calmly began to speak.

I may no longer be Roam’s child, but I never said I wouldn’t use Roam’s name.

If they’re going to use me, then I should use them too—that’s only fair.

“We could have brought her back safely, but the search party botched the job. The Duke was greatly angered by this.”

Anyway, people from the underworld like Belona wouldn’t believe romantic rumors about me being kidnapped by monsters.

Rather than fabricating stories according to public rumors, it was safer to mix lies with some truth.

“Oh my, such a thing happened.”

Belona gasped softly and widened her eyes. However, her gaze didn’t waver at all, and her gestures were exaggerated.

As expected, she’s already heard about the search party.

“The Princess will appear in this city soon, so he ordered us not to leave any unofficial items in stock. The Duke hopes she won’t be able to purchase anything. And later, when the Princess comes, he wants you to detain her under the pretext of having no inventory.”

“But if that’s the case, couldn’t we just lie and say we have no items? There’s no need to go through the trouble of actually buying everything.”

“She was born and raised in Roam. Do you think you can fool her with clumsy lies?”

Belona must have heard plenty about how viciously I used to torment Lilia. She probably thought of the possibility that I might cause a scene if told there were no items.

“…Do you need the items right now then?”

“That’s right. This is urgent, so you need to bring them out immediately. Calculate everything at full price and send the final invoice to the Roam main house—they’ll process it.”

Magic tools are expensive. Not just one or two, but sweeping up everything in the shop would inevitably impact even my comfortable financial situation.

So at a moment like this, wouldn’t it be appropriate to charge an enormous cost to the Roam Family?

My arm, which hadn’t fully healed, was somewhat uncomfortable, but I felt satisfied knowing I’d extract compensation for damages this way.

“Of course I know the House of Roam’s excellent character well, but as someone running a business, how could I give away all my items without any collateral?”

“That’s why I’m offering this brooch.”

I gestured toward the brooch with my chin. She really hadn’t expected me to offer the brooch as collateral—this time Belona looked at it with truly wide eyes.

“Or do you lack the discernment?”

This brooch is genuine. With this, I could enter anywhere and use Roam’s name as my own.

Since I was offering something money couldn’t buy as collateral, naturally she couldn’t refuse. She probably couldn’t even imagine that someone would spout nonsense while bearing Roam’s emblem.

I hope my family properly understands my intentions when they get this back later. And that they’ll stop the nonsense about Roam’s lost daughter and such.

“I’ll prepare everything immediately. Please wait just a moment.”

“Ah, while you’re at it, gather up all the items from nearby shops to save trouble. Of course, calculate those properly too.”

“…Yes, I’ll do that.”

She smiled and stood up for now. I crossed my arms and leaned back leisurely. Shortly after, a small bag was placed before me. It was a small cross bag connected to subspace.

Naturally, it was packed full of illegally distributed magic tools.

* * *

Before I died, I had secretly visited the Great Library once.

My purpose for coming while hiding my identity was singular: to find a way to cure my incurable disease.

Looking back now, it was natural that there were no results since I was trying to find a cure for a disease that never existed in the first place.

But back then I was truly desperate, and I despaired all the more greatly because of it.

I think I vented my anger a bit because I was upset. I remember getting angry, saying that despite being called a treasury where all the world’s knowledge gathered, there was nothing useful. Well, there was some property damage in the process too.

Because of that incident, the proud Imperial Palace-dispatched mages and researchers officially sent a letter of protest to Roam.

‘I ignored it all though.’

The Great Library I returned to was still massive. After changing my appearance again upon leaving the shop, I entered the building looking like an ordinary woman with dull red hair, green eyes, and freckles.

Various books were organized by category around the circular center that opened all the way up to the building’s ceiling.

[The knights seated at the round table number twelve, of which two have fallen into eternal darkness, and the remaining ten shall wander without seeing the peace before their eyes, for it is the Captain who shall illuminate the chaos.]

Nadab had definitely said that. There must be a reason he specifically mentioned twelve knights seated at a round table.

However, the problem was that searching for materials using the terms ’round table’ and ‘twelve knights’ among countless history books was too broad.

It wasn’t something that could be done in a day or two, so it was actually impossible to skim through all of it today.

So I decided to first look up information about monsters called Dura’han.

If I could learn about the circumstances of how Dura’han are born, I could guess at Nadab’s past. Knowing their birth background or habitat would be helpful.

When I reached the library full of monster-related books, I sighed automatically. With so many monsters in this world, why did Nadab have to be a Dura’han of all things?

If only he had a slightly more normal appearance, it would be so much easier to take him around. Or at least if he were smaller.

“The classification is….”

Not beast-type, but humanoid? Or would it be better to search by attribute? If it’s Dura’han, it would be dark attribute, right?

The monster section seemed popular, as people were packed between every bookshelf. I stuck my head out between them and looked around, but I couldn’t see the title I wanted.

The dark attribute bookshelf was full of nothing but Black Dragons. Occasionally there were things like undead or hellish beasts mixed in, but I couldn’t see any books dealing solely with Dura’han.

Even the titles were uniformly flashy. They looked more like novels than research books.

“Ha, the book organization is really….”

Terribly done. It’s so hard to find books now just as it was before.

The higher-ups have librarians find everything for them, but books in public spaces like this have to be found and shelved by yourself.

As a result, books sometimes end up in the wrong places, and their storage condition was also terrible compared to what was provided exclusively for the higher-ups.

Making books available to everyone was groundbreaking to begin with, but if you’re going to make them public, couldn’t you make it a bit more convenient?

And why are there so many visitors? This isn’t a marketplace—shouldn’t there be some limit on the number of people allowed in?

“These librarians just waste funding and don’t do any actual work.”

As I irritably bent down to scan the lower bookshelves, I gritted my teeth. I hadn’t expected to find everything at once.

But at this rate, I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to skim through a single book today.

After looking around three bookshelves, I was starting to feel frustrated. I was anxious because Samuel could potentially reach this city as early as tomorrow.

I had planned to quickly check some important information today and leave the city tonight.

As I chewed my lips and glared at the bookshelf, someone suddenly spoke to me.

“It seems you’re looking for something specific.”

It was a chubby man wearing thick-rimmed glasses.

“Shall I help you?”

I could feel the man’s intentions too clearly as he asked with a flushed face. I hesitated briefly, but soon nodded.

I wasn’t in a position to be picky about help. I had no choice but to use every available method.

“I’d be grateful if you would.”

With a bright smile, I began reciting nonexistent family circumstances and stories without batting an eye.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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