The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 25

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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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“I think I’m going to fall in love with that Manager.”

“After you see the Underground Storage Facility, you’ll probably love him even more.”

“My goodness, how romantic…”

Hanna stomped her feet excitedly as she toured the collection in the Underground Storage Facility.

Since she was someone who knew document management well, I wasn’t worried about letting her browse on her own.

She examined the books with the reverence of someone reading scripture, then came out with two volumes selected.

She looked like she wanted to take them all but had no choice but to pick only two.

“Manager, I want to buy these two babies. Please sell them to me, okay?”

“Yes, of course. You can take as many as you’d like.”

Playing along with Hanna’s habit of treating books like children, when I asked if she was okay with the somewhat expensive price range, she declared boldly, ‘Thanks to you, Manager, I saved 8.5 million gold, so I can spend this much!’

2 million gold and two books changed hands. When I threw in a paperweight she’d called pretty as a service bonus, Hanna nearly fainted again.

We also had plenty of conversation.

“Is there anything you need my help with, Manager? I’m good at spotting typos and really excellent at catching forged documents or books. I know document management well too, and I can do restoration. I’ll help you for free to repay the favor! So I can come often, right?”

“I was actually looking for someone to advise me on ancient documents, so it’s a really grateful offer. But I can’t accept it for free.”

“What? Did we switch roles or something?”

So we even wrote up a consulting contract.

After forcibly holding back Hanna, who tried to flee saying she didn’t need compensation, and getting her signature, something suddenly occurred to me.

“Hanna, you said you’re good at catching forged documents?”

“Yes! Since scribes are also part of the Archives, most of the Imperial Palace documents pass through us. I’ve never missed one!”

“…If it’s confidential, you don’t have to tell me. Among the forged documents you’ve found, was there anything from someone called Rosaline, Viscountess?”

“Oh my! How did you know that?!”

As expected. It was just as I thought.

“The budget request forms that lady submitted had receipts that didn’t match specifications and showed obvious signs of amount forgery several times. And for really large amounts too.”

Hanna pursed her lips. She looked displeased.

“It seemed like she was trying to embezzle budget money with fake receipts, so I rejected them several times. She probably got about half cut because of me.”

So that means.

‘She tried to fire someone for doing their job properly?’

Ha. A hollow laugh escaped me.

“Right, she contacted me personally several times too. Saying she’d treat me to dinner, invite me to parties.”

“You didn’t go, right?”

“Of course not, where would I find time to meet people? When I have free time, I’m busy reading books.”

So she must have resorted to extreme methods.

Bribery didn’t work, and there was no justification to fire such a competent person.

Probably after Hanna was dismissed, she planned to insert her own person.

‘It’s fortunate that Hanna isn’t someone who would leak information about me to Rosaline, but I don’t know what else Rosaline might try.’

Since the banned book scheme failed, there was a possibility Rosaline would cook up another underhanded plot.

‘She won’t do it openly under her own name.’

I requested that she tell me about any suspicious contacts, no matter how small.

Hanna, who had come to trust me completely after the auction house incident, nodded saying she would of course do that.

After sending her off and working, my thoughts solidified.

‘I probably need some information.’

Information I remember and information I speculate about are important, but ‘fresh’ information is also necessary.

Because I can only prepare if I know.

When I flipped over Alter’s glittering business card from the card storage box, I could see the Information Guild mark.

I muttered quietly.

“I have no choice but to visit the Information Guild.”

***

It was late at night after closing.

Fortunately, I’d heard from customers that the Information Guild operated 24 hours.

I packed several newly bought self-defense magical tools and set out. After wandering for quite a while, I found my destination.

There was no sign so I wasn’t sure, but I could tell by the mark stamped on the wall.

‘The Information Guild in Moro Duchy was really a brutal place.’

In my previous life, I had gone to the Information Guild to somehow find out information about Grandfather.

‘How shocked I was when I opened the door back then.’

What greeted me wasn’t a person, but a wolf baring its fangs and growling.

The dark, gloomy space with screams echoing looked less like an Information Guild and more like a guild that ‘extracted’ information.

‘When I asked about Grandfather’s matter, they said they didn’t handle that kind of information and kicked me out… When I begged and pleaded to go back, they quoted an impossibly large sum. It was probably because they didn’t handle Empire matters.’

Would this place have the same atmosphere?

‘…Huh?’

I carefully pushed open the door and was confused by the guild’s appearance.

“Hello! First time here? Welcome! What would you like to drink? Juice? Tea? Milk?”

They’re greeting me warmly first?

“It’s a bit cluttered, sorry. We were in the middle of changing curtains to celebrate spring.”

There are this many windows?

“Don’t mind that guy. He likes getting attention from people he’s meeting for the first time. Want to try giving him a treat?”

And there’s even an affectionate cat, said to be one in a hundred?

When I came to my senses, I was sitting in a chair petting a cheese-colored cat.

The person who greeted me was a pleasant-looking man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties.

He set down juice in front of me and smiled broadly.

“Why do you look so dazed?”

“To be honest, I was expecting a scarier place.”

“Well, that’s understandable. Until a few years ago, we were a ‘scary’ place too. We created that menacing atmosphere you’d typically think of for an Information Guild. It was good for extracting information.”

“But?”

“Maybe it was too scary, because customers wouldn’t come… So we overhauled everything.”

I looked somewhat pitifully at the man who covered his mouth saying “Ugh.”

So they remodeled because they targeted wrong and had terrible sales.

Unlike Moro Duchy, the Empire’s Information Guild seemed to be used by many ordinary people.

“So did sales improve a bit?”

“It’s better than before but well… just so-so. Maybe the interior wasn’t the problem. A customer who came recently said the interior and all that wasn’t the issue, but that me and the others being scary was the problem. Said a hyena is still a hyena even if it ties its fur in pigtails.”

“A hyena? Hmm, not at all. I thought you seemed very pleasant.”

I was sincere.

My standard for appearance was Grandfather.

However, the man seemed quite moved by my words.

“You’re a kind kid, aren’t you? Want to drink another glass of juice?”

“I’m being sincere, Guild Leader.”

“Thanks for saying that, even if it’s just words. Don’t call me Guild Leader, just call me William comfortably.”

No, this person, I said I was being sincere…

Looking blankly at the juice that had become two glasses, something came to mind.

“Maybe that customer was talking about speech patterns rather than appearance? The way you treat people? Something like that being scary?”

“My speech pattern is scary? How should I change it, should I use formal speech and make my sentence endings rounder?”

“No, not William, but other guild members.”

“Other guild members? Who?”

“Not, not that way of speaking… I’ve only met someone named Alter.”

“…Alter?”

‘Huh.’

When Alter’s name came up, William hesitated.

“Ah, Alter… you mean our guild member Alter. Why? How was he?”

From his reaction, he’s at least not an imposter.

Then that means he’s really a guild member.

‘But just because someone’s affiliation is certain doesn’t make them trustworthy.’

Take Rosaline and Hugo, for example.

They’re nobles with the most certain status, but they go around doing nothing but bad deeds, don’t they?

So there could easily be criminals who belong to the Information Guild too.

‘But it would be awkward to tell the guild master every little detail. I can’t take responsibility if he suffers disadvantages because of me, and he might try to silence me.’

After thinking, I gave a brief answer.

“Clothes.”

“Clothes?”

“He only wears really dark clothes. I thought people who don’t know the situation might find it scary.”

“The only problem is the color of his clothes?”

Well, is there some other problem?

“So… it’s not because his gaze is frightening, or his aura is eerie, or when you make eye contact you automatically feel like apologizing, or anything like that?”

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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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