The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Troublesome Villainess - Chapter 30

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Male Lead Has Gone Mad Over the Villainess — Episode 30
The villagers came out to greet us.
Half their faces wary, half welcoming. It must have been ages since so many visitors arrived. Through the cautious glances, a lord stepped forward.
A man wearing a coat that was worn but still held considerable value.
“I oversee these lands. Might I ask where you’ve come from?”
Millers stepped forward and announced the expedition’s name. The Golden Lily Expedition, and as he revealed the commanding officer’s title, the lord’s face went pale. Just as he began to prostrate himself in panic, Kael raised a hand to stop him.
“Your Highness…!”
“We’ve only stopped by for a night’s lodging. Do you have suitable quarters available?”
The lord seemed to take a moment choosing his words.
“Humble as it is, I shall prepare my residence for you. I’ll have the finest rooms readied at once.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Kael cut him short.
“We’re on an expedition, so I’ll stay with the rest of the unit as well. There’s no need to treat my companions separately.”
“But Your Highness, surely you wouldn’t…”
“I won’t be parted from my troops. A place for the entire expedition to rest will suffice.”
At his firm words, the lord said nothing further and closed his mouth. After a moment of deliberation, he answered cautiously.
“Then I shall offer you vacant houses. About half the village is empty, so there should be more than enough for all of you.”
“Good. Millers.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Organize the encampment. Station guard patrols at the village entrance and perimeter.”
“I shall obey your command.”
While the lord stood hesitating in place, the situation was arranged in an instant.
A relatively large house at the village center was designated as a temporary command post, and Millers distributed the remaining vacant houses among the personnel. After encampment preparations were complete, orders came down allowing free rest until the evening roll call. However, venturing beyond the village was forbidden.
Vanessa and I were assigned a very small house, just barely livable for two. The children and Lilia followed the priests into a larger building deeper in.
Vanessa, who hadn’t slept in a normal house in ages, collapsed onto the sofa the moment we stepped inside. I did the same.
“Lady Rosana, I think I might just stay here.”
“Same.”
For the first time in days, solid ground beneath my feet. I never knew before how good it felt to stand on something that wasn’t mud.
Though from earlier, that market looked rather sizeable.
‘Lady Rosana will end up sharing a barracks with me.’
I shook my head. Wait. That was only when she’d gone into the black market alone, wasn’t it?
Right now we’re in a village, and she’s not going by herself. Besides, we were told we could roam freely until evening assembly.
That should be fine then? And the market that’s open now isn’t even a black market.
“Vanessa.”
“…Yes?”
“Want to go look at the market?”
I thought we’d pick up some snacks and browse around. And if possible, we needed to buy a few more short swords. Vanessa’s eyes lit up and she sat up.
“I’d love to. But Rosana…”
“What?”
“Can I borrow some money? I lost mine.”
Her grinning face was utterly innocent.
* * *
The sun was just about to sink beyond the hill.
The village was quiet. Shops boarded up with wooden planks lined the streets, and the few that had their doors open barely displayed anything. Just a few items scattered atop what could hardly be called a stall.
Still, Vanessa examined things with delight.
“Lady Rosana, look at this.”
Vanessa bought a handful of dried apples and offered me half. When I bit into it, the tartness hit first before any sweetness, but it was oddly palatable.
“I can’t remember the last time I ate something like this.”
Vanessa burst out laughing. Quite a handful, that one. So she really has grown into a proper person.
As we walked, a wooden sign hanging askew with a nail missing caught my eye. Half the letters were worn away, but what remained was readable.
Information Guild.
“…Huh?”
My heart leaped.
The Information Guild. Unbelievable! In the source material itself, both Seraphine and Kael used to gather information from places like this. I glanced at Vanessa. She looked completely uninterested.
“Vanessa, I want to pop in there for a moment.”
“Oh, I’ll just look around here then.”
I nodded and pushed the door to the Information Guild open. As I stepped inside, the smell of paper mixed with mold wafted out. The interior was dim. An old man sitting at a desk beneath the only window looked up from a ledger.
“…A customer?”
I nodded and stepped deeper inside.
All right, let me think about my future plans for a moment.
I glanced around the room. There were several doors, but they were all shut, leaving their interiors hidden from view.
Despite its shabby appearance, the place seemed reasonably well-maintained. At this level, they’d definitely be handling current information.
“…You don’t look like someone who’d come to a place like this.”
I stole a look at the old man.
“Are you nobility?”
“You have a keen eye.”
He smiled faintly and straightened his posture. The old man’s eyes narrowed.
“I’d like to learn about some land in the Northern Region.”
“Land?”
“More precisely, mines. I’d be grateful if there were somewhere the owner is looking to sell.”
The old man’s hand stopped above the ledger. He studied me for a long moment, then let out a hollow laugh.
“Do you know what state the Northern Region is in right now?”
“Monsters are overrunning it, and people have abandoned the land. Which means the landowners are desperate to sell. That’s why I want to buy.”
The old man stared at me intently.
“So I’m looking to purchase.”
“Ha.”
A short, mirthless laugh escaped him.
The old man examined my face for a while longer, then held up two fingers.
“Two silver coins.”
“For information?”
“Land and mines put up for sale in the Northern Region within the last three months. Including owners’ names and asking prices.”
This is what the Information Guild does. The source material had warned me not to haggle carelessly with them—do it wrong, and you won’t get what you want. I handed over the money without a word.
Only then did the old man rise from his seat and disappear into the back.
A short while later, he returned carrying several dust-covered ledgers.
“No one’s come wanting to buy; only sellers. The old listings are already worthless. These days, plenty would hand them over for half what’s written here.”
Half?
That was very good news.
My hand stopped as I was turning through the ledger—at one particular entry.
A mine.
When I checked the location, my heart began to race.
The Northern Region is iron country. It was mentioned in the source material almost in passing, but I remembered it.
When the bodily fluids of the bat monsters inhabiting this mine seep into the iron ore, a new mineral is eventually discovered.
Mithril.
When the expedition returns, that fact comes to light, and the price of the Northern Region’s abandoned mines skyrockets.
There’s no run-up like it.
“Could you copy down these listings separately for me?”
The old man raised an eyebrow.
“You need that too?”
“The owners, locations, and asking prices.”
“That’ll cost you a few coins more.”
I paused to think, then took out a gold coin and placed it on the table.
Clink.
The gold coin rolled across the tabletop.

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