Volume 3, Chapter 3.2
Volume 3, Chapter 3.2
Translator: Kureha
Editor: Weasalopes
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「So this is all the information we have so far.」
「…This Alvan, they’re causing a lot of issues right now.」
「Yeah, and strangely they seem to be avoiding our territory.」
In Darl’s Bandit Guild, Rainy gave her honest impression, as she went through the information which she bought off information seller, who is a member of that guild. There was a limit to the amount of information which she could gather off the street. So, Rainy decided to change her approach by relying on the underground organization.
「… Is it on purpose?」
「Most likely, many of the nobilities and great merchants which Alvan is messing around have been causing us some trouble anyway. Judging by their action, they definitely don’t want the underground organization to be weakened.」
「So what about the rest of the guys Alvan’s messing about with?」
「Well, we’re all seeing it more as Alvan’s free service. Interestingly, he’s also taking down folks on our side who have gone against our rules. They would have been purged sooner or later anyway. Putting aside the fact that he’s not keeping a low profile, there’s no need for us to step into this matter. Also…」
「Even though Alvan was the one triggering others, the one that made the first hit was Alvan’s victims?」
「Precisely, they pretty much put themselves up for a fight, then got defeated fair and square. If an outcast came back and told such a story, they’re pretty much digging their own graves in this world.」
Rainy nodded as she agreed with the information seller. It was the same in Farlane as well. However, the Bandit Guild in this country which the government is turning their blind eye on was mostly a group of people who could not live on the surface life due to their history, personality, or because of talent which they were born with. To maintain the bare minimum peace, it was the guild’s responsibility to keep an eye on their members. Therefore, a member who needlessly causes problems with the government authority or excessively steals will be purged.
As they are not exactly a clean guild, they would occasionally prey on authorities for the sake of income. Yet, unless the authority was corrupted themselves, they would only cause minor inconvenience. The money which they take from the authorities are seen nothing more than insurance; and just because the authority didn’t pay, the guild members wouldn’t murder the authority or cause bankruptcy. Even when the outcasts cause a ruckus, they just silently watch the event unfold from afar. However, if it was their subordinate which has caused some trouble, then they will be burnt alive on the spot.
Because they are such an organization, unless it was an executive which has been murdered, nobody would take any action. The only issue they have with Alvan is that nobody knew why they were killing off members who were going to be purged. So, unless Alvan was making some serious violation, nobody would say anything about their actions. Of course, if a guild member who has been following the rules was almost murdered, then a certain retaliation would have been made, regardless of the guild member’s safety.
「Do you have any information on Alvan?」
「That will be a different payment.」
「How much would it be?」
「Let me see. There aren’t any significant information so it would be 5000.」
As he genuinely did not have any major information, he has decided to sell them at an extremely low price for an information seller in this area. Of course, he could have easily pulled off a scam. However, seeing the young-looking girl in front of him, he felt repulsed at the thought of pulling a scam.
「If it’s something I can pick up around the town, then I can’t pay 5000」
「I have more information than that but fine, how about 4500?」
「Even if there’s some good info, if I can get them from around the town, then I can’t pay no more than 3000.」
「…4000, that’s the cheapest I can make it.」
Seeing Rainy refuse to pay the given price, the man set the lowest price, but he wasn’t surprised by Rainy’s response either. In actuality, the price was still quite high considering they were mostly information which could be rumoured around town. However, it was possible to get their hands on some background information through those rumours. So, the man decided 4000 was the reasonable price, considering Rainy was a stranger to him.
「Fine.」
「Thank you for your purchase.」
Confirming that Rainy has paid the 4000 Seneca, the man laid out all the information he had on Alvan. However, parts of the information overlapped with the issue relating to the authorities and great merchants. The ones which weren’t related to those incidents were mostly what monsters they have taken down and other information relating to Alvan’s combat ability.
4000 Seneca for that information was quite pricey. However, the value skyrocketed with the final piece of information.
「Are you sure about that?」
「Yep, there’s no doubt. I don’t know how exactly but Alvan definitely have some direct connection with the royal family.」
A solid proof that Alvan has opened the secret passage in the palace, that was definitely valuable information.
「I won’t ask for the location of the passage but do you know how it’s opened?」
「Nope, according to someone with background knowledge on magic, that passage has a barrier which won’t open unless the individual meets very certain requirements.」
「…strange.」
「I know right? Well, there’s still some possibility that Alvan purposely released that rumour to hide their real identity.」
This was one of the reasons why the man didn’t have a lot of information on Alvan. The moment he knew Alvan had opened the secret passage to the palace, he feared being purged. So, he stopped the investigation immediately. Even if Alvan was really connected to the royal family and was committing crimes, the information seller getting purged was inevitable. Nothing will change even if the information leaks among the citizens as the royal family’s popularity will win against Alvan’s crime. And unless Alvan had a really sketchy past, the royal family would do nothing about it. So, exposing this information will not have any disadvantage to the citizens of this country.
「Is that all you wanted to ask?」
「Yeah, something like that. Thanks for the information.」
「If there’s anything else you want to know, just let me know. I’ll happily sell it to you as long as you pay up the price.」
「I’ll keep in mind.」
The moment after she responded to the information seller, she was nowhere to be seen. For the man, who has been working as an information seller for some time now, it has been a very long time since somebody has slipped away like Rainy while they were within his sight range.
「Who knows what the Farlane’s spy is sticking their nose into.」
The information seller mumbled to himself, remembering how there was no consistency in the questions which Rainy has asked.
==
Around the same time, at Azuma Workshop in Wulls.
「Welcome, Elle-sama.」
「Hello.」
As per usual, Aearis has come to visit the Azuma Workshop. She would show up frequently, so it was nothing unusual for the people who are at the Workshop. However, it was a big deal to non-regulars at the Workshop who were trying to get close with the princess priestess.
「How can we help you today?」
「Is Artiem-sama here?」
「Artiem?」
Teres tilted her head over Aearis’s question. She did not see what kind of connection Aearis and Artiem had.
「We are very sorry. However, she has gone out to do some work on the farm.」
「I see, do you mind if I wait here?」
「Not at all.」
Not being able to think of any business urgent enough for Aearis to wait at the Workshop, Teres lead her to the back room. In reality, only a very limited number of people are allowed into the guest room in the Azuma Workshop. When it came to the tatami room, it was only the royal family and anyone associated with the royal family or the owner of the nominally family, Merizza.
However, this was only because people at the workshop had no means to form close relationship with anyone else. So, there were no other intentions behind this difference in treatment. Furthermore, the employees at the workshop will not do something like increasing the number of suppliers while the owner of the workshop was absent. So that was the weirdly strict policy at Azuma workshop. In return, the suppliers would receive a lot of premium offers. However, the suppliers themselves seem to be oblivious to this bonus.
「What did you want to meet Artiem for?」
Teres asked as she showed Aearis to the tatami room and brought in tea and sweets. That day, they were serving green tea and soy sauce grilled rice crackers. Teres has called Artiem while she was brewing the tea so now all they had to do was wait for her to come back.
「I will have to explain the finer detail to Artiem herself. However, due to certain circumstances, I have to leave Farlane for a while. 」
「And you need to take Artiem along with you?」
「Yes,」
As Aearis responded to Teres’s question, she elegantly took a sip from the carefully brewed tea. Like Haruna, no matter what feature you looked at, she was clearly not Japanese. However, her manners were very similar to the ones displayed by the Japanese people.
「Do you really need to take Artiem with you?」
「Yes.」
「When will you be leaving the country?」
「I would like to leave as soon as possible. However, I thought I will ask Artiem’s schedule first.」
Seeing that Aearis is trying to fit with Artiem’s schedule, Teres saw that this must be a very serious case. So, Teres has decided to stop asking questions. She was about to take a sip from her tea to change the topic of the conversation. It was then…
「Hya!?」
Suddenly, Teres felt something at her ankle. As something has suddenly tickled her, she cried out in a weird tone and almost spilt her tea.
「Caaaaatch~」
「Catch~ chatch~」
「The pitcher is freaking out~」
As Teres almost spilt the tea, something resembling a tentacle has caught the cup in time. Seeing the weird leg and hearing the nonsensical words, she immediately knew who tickled her leg.
「Seriously, you guys…」
「I was following Tiem-chan~」
「I love Elle-chan~」
「Teres-chan elf~」
Giving a useless response, Octogals curled themselves over Aearis and Tere’s head and lap. Without showing any sign of guilt, they reached out for the rice cracker on the table.
「Geez, have some manners…」
Sighing at the Octogala who never seems to show any change, she finally took a sip from her tea. On the bright side, this was the perfect opportunity to change the topic.
「How long have they been here for?」
「I think it was around the beginning of April. They’re scaring people who are working at the palace using all sorts of mischief.」
With a gentle smile, Aearis explained in a soothing voice. The Octogal which was sitting on Aearis’s lap snapped the rice cracker into two halves and gave one half to the one sitting on her head. It was then, Teres realised that the Octogal sitting on her head had poured in tea for the other three Octogals. They truly were easy-going creatures.
「We, we are very sorry for causing you such a burden…」
「Not at all, they are Arawen-sama’s relatives and their mischief are merely innocent pranks. In fact, I think the atmosphere inside the palace has lightened up a bit since they have come in.」
Teres bowed down in guilt to which Aearis replied comfortingly. In reality, there was no need for Teres to be apologising. The employees at the palace were now treating Octogals as a workplace pet. The head chef has especially taken a liking to them and every time he comes up with a new recipe, he gets the Octogals to taste test. However, it was questionable to say something close to sexual harassment could be considered an innocent prank.
「Either way, they have made themselves quite comfortable haven’t they…」
「Is it a bad thing?」
「No, not at all, it’s just…」
Teres could not say anything as she saw Aearis break the rice cracker into two halves and give them to the Octogals. The strangest thing about this situation would be that Aearis still managed to look as elegant as ever even with Octogal sitting on her head. And seeing that Octogals were calmer than usual, Teres lost her words.
「I’m back, huh, what?」
Artiem who came back in a hurry after being called back entered the tatami room and stopped at the unexpected sight. The moment Octogals spotted Artiem, the total of eight eyes shined and they all jumped over to her.
「We found Tiem-chan~!」
「Tiem-chan, Tiem-chan~!」
「What? Guys, not all at once!?」
Not being able to handle Octogal’s force, Artiem was knocked down to the ground. Teres stood up immediately as the Octogals started to do things which were questionable for Aearis to see considering her age. Meanwhile, Aearis sat in the same place, watching them with a smile as she continued to eat the rice crackers.
「Tiem-chan’s so soft~」
「Tiem-chan’s so big~」
「Tiem-chan, I love you~」
「Teres-chan’s the best-shaped elf~」
「What do you mean best shaped!?」
Teres tried to get Octogals away from Artiem while making comments on the things they were saying. Meanwhile, Aearis just sat there smiling, watching the whole event unfold in front of her as she enjoyed her tea. It took about fifteen minutes for Aearis to actually bring up the reason why she was there.