The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 26

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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 felt completely deflated.

I thought, did I do something else bad besides proposing self-human trafficking?

I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head.

“Yes.”

“…Really…?”

Anyway, now I knew that guy was really affiliated with the guild.

That wasn’t my main business here.

‘At least he was a crazy person with a confirmed identity.’

I’m not sure if that’s fortunate or unfortunate though.

Since he seemed to genuinely mean I wasn’t scary, I brought up the main topic to the muttering William.

“Anyway, I came here because I have two things I’d like to request.”

“Ah, right. You’re the pawnshop manager. You’re giving me a look asking how I knew, but you didn’t forget where this is, did you?”

“I forgot for a moment. Somehow we ended up talking about interior design and cats first.”

William laughed heartily and propped his chin on his hand.

“What’s the request about?”

“First, I’d like an introduction to someone who could serve as an external consultant. I don’t have any connections, you see.”

William, who was looking at the list I handed him, glanced over my shoulder.

What’s there? I was about to turn around when William spoke to me.

“It’s just a feeling, but since you said I made a good impression on you, I’ll tell you this one for free. For aged whiskey, this manager here knows it well, so you can visit them. Just mention my name and they’ll know. And…”

How can someone worried about sales tell me this for free!

…I desperately wanted to say that, but I kept my mouth shut.

I’ll come back later with bread or something to repay the favor. Instead, I diligently wrote down William’s words.

“Weapons expert? Hmm, nothing comes to mind right now. I’ll contact you later if I think of someone.”

“Really? Thank you.”

“Well, you might encounter someone by fate before I contact you.”

Excuse me?

It sounded too much like wishful thinking to question, but since I’d received free information, I just smiled out of conscience.

William raised one eyebrow and gestured with his chin as if telling me to continue.

“You said two things, right? What’s the other one?”

I stared at William intently.

A person who became an Information Guild leader at a young age.

Regardless of my good impression of him, his olive-colored eyes were sharp.

“Seeing you hesitate, it seems like quite a secretive request? Should I investigate some high-ranking people? Or do you need someone’s weakness?”

Of course, those are things I need.

If I could properly dig up the weaknesses of the Rionet people, no amount of money would be too much.

However.

‘Information guilds don’t work on trust. They work for money.’

In other words, the story I reveal could become my weakness and be sold at a high price.

To none other than Rosaline and Hugo.

Having finished my thoughts, I opened my mouth.

“In a way, you could call it investigating high-ranking people.”

“Really?! Finally, some real work…!”

“But it’s not investigating specific individuals.”

“Then?”

“What I need are rumors. Rumors circulating in noble society.”

William, who had been tilting his head, soon showed an expression of understanding.

He’s not a guild leader for nothing. He’s quick to catch on.

“Ah. Someone’s planning to invest somewhere, someone’s looking for quality gems, someone’s getting close to someone else. You mean rumors like that?”

“Yes. Through rumors, you can know in advance, right? What items to secure first, how much you can raise prices, who will lead the trends.”

I deliberately whispered.

“As you know, the pawnshop business is all about timing. The key is buying cheap and selling expensive. But information from newspapers is inevitably slow.”

“So you’ll utilize rumors? Wow, you’re really planning to do this properly?”

“Of course, I need to make money. My dream is to become rich.”

I acted cleverly as if it were solely for the pawnshop.

While hiding my true intention that business was a secondary purpose, and my ultimate goal was to learn about Rosaline’s movements.

‘If I know investment directions, I’ll see cash flows, if I know trends, I’ll see who the influential leaders are, and if I know connections, I’ll see overlapping people.’

And among them.

‘Rosaline will definitely be involved!’

It’s an opportunity to find out Rosaline’s relationships and activities all at once.

‘I might also get clues from trivial rumors while I’m at it.’

Like Hanna, whom I met by chance at the auction house.

Considering that it’s an Information Guild that would filter out unreliable rumors, it was an efficient method that would save me the trouble of verification.

They say to hide a tree in a forest. I disguised my intention to track Rosaline as business.

“Right. Well, that shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“You seem disappointed somehow?”

“You caught me. I was hoping for something a bit more challenging. Instead of common requests like ‘catch my cheating lover’ or ‘find my runaway pet,’ I thought I might finally do some real Information Guild work!”

William’s sparkling eyes became slightly dejected.

It seems he didn’t notice my true intention and accepted it as just another common request. That was fortunate for me.

After agreeing on fees with William, who would send information from time to time, I was about to leave when he suddenly asked.

“How is Michele doing?”

It didn’t sound like he was simply asking about his well-being.

This would also be information to him.

‘I had been wondering where and how the news about Grandfather being sick leaked out…’

Perhaps this person was the source of information that Rosaline and Hugo accessed.

That’s not necessarily wrong. William just did his job as befits an Information Guild, and the detailed circumstances aren’t his concern.

So my lie wouldn’t be a big wrong either.

“Of course, he’s doing well.”

I deliberately answered with an even brighter expression and turned around.

‘I’m just doing my job too.’

I felt a bit bitter.

It would be nice to have someone I could openly talk to about Grandfather.

‘That’s a luxury for me right now.’

Life is lived alone anyway! I don’t have time for sentimentality! I was about to walk briskly with that thought.

I suddenly bumped my forehead against something pure white that appeared.

What is this hard thing? Is it a stone…

“Busy again today.”

This voice?

“When are you ever not busy, really?”

It was Alter.

My aching forehead came before the embarrassment.

Looking at it, what I thought was a stone must have been his chest.

“Why are you blocking the way?”

“You should have walked while looking ahead.”

Behind Alter as he said this, there was a threshold.

Anyone would think he was warning me about tripping over that threshold.

Thinking about it, I smiled slightly.

“Were you telling me that because you were worried I’d trip over the threshold?”

A way to end the conversation with this person.

That’s what came to mind.

I smiled brightly and looked up. Perhaps because the distance was closer than I thought, Alter flinched.

“What nonsense.”

“Oh, don’t pretend otherwise. But I told you, didn’t I? Even so, I can’t give you special treatment.”

“What?”

“How did you know I came here and were waiting for me?”

“Waiting? I work here. So we just happened to run into each other…”

“Hmm, I see! I’ll believe you.”

“You’ll believe me?”

‘Nice hit.’

I figured I should stop around here. If I kept poking at him, I didn’t know how he’d react.

‘Anyway, seeing him here, he really must be with the Information Guild.’

Without saying anything more, I smiled at him and spun around to leave, but I heard footsteps.

What? I looked back and saw Alter following me.

‘What, why is he following me?’

Did those few words really make him that angry?

When I slowed my pace slightly, the footsteps behind me also became slower. When I quickened my steps, the following footsteps also became faster.

I wasn’t scared. Partly because I had plenty of self-defense items I’d bought from Emma’s shop, but more than anything.

‘He’s not really that scary.’

Contrary to what William said, Alter didn’t have a frightening or eerie face that made you want to apologize.

If that person happened to act badly toward me? It would be a good opportunity to test out my self-defense items.

I was just about to rummage through my bag to pull out a magic tool.

Thud—

“Ow…”

I ended up smashing my head into a statue.

Why is something like this in the middle of the street?

Having fallen and ended up sitting on the ground, I was looking resentfully at the statue when a shadow fell over me.

“I told you.”

It was Alter.

“To watch where you’re going.”

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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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