Information Gathering (4)
Their eyes were opened wide as they exchanged glances with each other, unsure of what they should say.
“Is there any problem with this book?”
“Ah. No. There’s no problem.”
“Right, our little knight must be busy running some errands. For the Duke of Chernobog’s cherished young lady…”
Isn’t the Duke’s young lady too young to do such a thing?
Frowning in disbelief, they began to communicate with gestures that were more like sign language.
That does not mean that she has the status of Duke or Duchess. Even if his wife has already passed on.
No, you can’t be so sure of that!
Duke Chernobog’s esteemed young lady narrowed her eyes.
Daughter, or the father?
Altair, who had been silently staring at and studying their hand gestures as it started to become more intense when they began to argue on both sides, lowered her head to read the title of the book she held.
[ The secret story of the Duke and the Stableman ]
Altair was reasonably puzzled.
After the purge of Alzetta II, Chernobog was the only Duke left in the Empire, her father.
No, what the hell was happening between her father and the stableman without any of her knowledge?
‘I have to go back and ask him about it.’
Ah, before that, she has to calm her father down.
When Altair made a puzzled expression, the gestures of the young ladies whose hands were running wild with the fear of tearing off each other’s heads suddenly stopped.
“Aah. I’m sorry about that. What a disgrace.”
“It’s such an important issue that… However, I still believe that she has the social position of the Duke. Whoops, excuse…”
The beautiful blonde said as she wiped the blood from her nose gracefully with a handkerchief.
It was only then where Altair was able to somewhat figure out what they were possibly discussing based on their hand gestures.
Were they possibly trying to guess which family “The Duke” in the story might be from?
It would have been necessary to communicate secretly because they could not openly discuss the names of other dukes in front of her, the knight of Chernoborg.
On the other hand, blood spilling from her nose means she needs to work harder on improving her health.
Giving them a light salute, she held out the book she had been holding and passed it onto the librarian at the counter.
“Please check this out.”
The librarian smiled, about to bring out her books to keep a record when she stopped her pen.
“You mean this…?”
“Are there any problems?”
“Ah, of course not. It’s nothing.”
Cold sweat seemed to drip down from his temples as he picked up his own again. Pushing up his glasses once with his index finger.
Altair, who was looking away and was about to leave with a borrowed book, and the librarian called to her in a gentle voice.
“That… Shall I grab a paper bag for you?”
“Hmm? Yes, that would be fine.”
What a kind person.
When he noticed how there was neither an attendant nor a servant with her, he offered to bring out a bag for her to put the book in.
Putting the book in the bag, she smiled satisfactorily. Promising to visit the library again even if she did not have anything special to do.
***
The street was flooded as the rain continued to pour down.
Instead of heading back to the Duke’s residence, the carriage curved through the downtown areas of the island and stopped at the entrance of the main street which was lined with various large and small dressing rooms.
Getting out of the carriage under the escort of a family knight, she found the largest dressing room of all.
As soon as she stepped inside, she looked through the catalogue and asked for a modest dress at the very end to be brought to her.
The usher bowed politely at her request and said.
“I’m sorry but you are unable to try it on right away.”
“Do you have any other dresses with a similar design? Maybe something with more jewels than that. Green jewelry would be great as well.”
“If you would like a dress like that, we will have a dress made just in time… I’ll show you to the dressing room right away.”
Altair’s words were a secret code to start an information transaction.
No one would come to a large dressing room to just ask for a simple dress. Even if one were to choose such a design for frugality, there is no reason for them to wear jewelry.
Still, having to check the colour of jewelry was another way to be careful and improve the security of such transactions and businesses.
To be given a chance to hold such transactions, one would have to say the same colour as the third dress from the right end of the dresses on display to the store.
Altair was led to another space that felt quite different as compared to when she had visited as the Duchess of Chernobog in the past.
Soft pink lights were decorated around the room which had props such as fans and hats hung all over the walls. One section of the room held transparent glass displays of beautiful shoes that can be worn to match the dresses.
In the middle of the room, atop the white fluffy carpet, is a light purple sofa. Along the edges of the full-length mirror installed on walls were white magical bulbs the size of a baby’s hand that sparkled.
If you become a part of the Chernobog family, prominent designers from all around the continent would instead send you the dresses themselves.
Therefore, ever since she was young, Altair had never had many opportunities to visit a dressing room in person before.
She was looking around and admiring the room as if possessed by something when she heard a woman’s voice over the mirror.
“From here on out, I shall explain the rules of our guild…”
She spoke in a firm tone.
“No. I’m already familiar with them so there is no need for you to have to do that. Let’s proceed on with the next section.”
“…”
The informant, who had originally been taking a break, immediately continued to show her the way.
“Yes. This will be the prices.”
Once the informational speech was over, the guide moved towards her and showed her a small notice board.
A small piece of paper containing various criteria was clipped on to the top of the board along with a table at the bottom which showed the classification of the price of information.
[ ER: Extreme / Very High risk. Information related to families or the masters of the families. G1200.
MR: Intermediate / Medium risk: Information related to aristocrats or wizards. G300.
LR: Low risk. Information on a commoner’s family with noble guardians. G50.
NR: No risk. Information on commoners and slaves. G10. ]
In the case of ER-rated information, which was what Altair was aiming for, it was set at such a high price that it would be hard for even someone of her status, Duke’s daughter, to prepare the amount needed.
Should this have been the first time she visited this place, this would have been such a huge deal for her that she might have even tried to cancel the deal.
However, she was already used to this place.
Hence, on the way here, she had sold her jewellery, clothing and other accessories to accumulate some funds.
Nevertheless, the amount of money she now had on hand fell short of the total amount necessary. Luckily, she held the key to make up for this shortage and additional costs.
‘Only a handful of people are aware that Princess Chernobog is a master.’
No matter how hard she tries to hide that fact, it will soon be disclosed anyways should an outbreak of war or something of equivalent importance occur.
If it is something that is already on its way to happening, might as well exchange it for other information of similar value in advance.
Since this is information regarding the Duke’s family, it should be enough to at least compensate for half of the ER-rated information’s value.
After a quick mental calculation, she quietly nodded as the explanation of the information continued on.
“What I’m showing you now is limited to only domestic information. If you are looking for information regarding overseas locations and people, I can go get the other tables.”
“Domestic. ER and MR, respectively.”
“Please, wait a moment.”
Click. The guide left the room, locking the door behind them.
“Then, tell me the first one you’d like information on.”
“Investigate the death of Liz Chernobog. Specifically, I’d like for you to focus on her connection to Arsene Estarrot.”
“Your request has been taken received. Please tell me the following request.”
“I want the personal information of the young wizard, Teran La Cresche’s hand.”
Originally, the second case was to ask a question regarding demons. However, after hearing the conversation in the prohibited area, she spontaneously decided to change her second request.
‘The moment I find out black magic is intertwined with the request, I shall cancel the deal. Regardless of how much information it provides.’
The informant answered concisely.
“Received. Now, choose a dress from the catalogue and make payment.”
“Wait. There’s still one more thing.”
“Speak.”
“I would like to sell an ER-rated piece of information.”
“In terms of sales, it depends on reliability. You can sell them at prices ranging from 1 to 70 per cent of the usual ER-rated information’s buying price. Unreliable and untrustworthy information may be subjected to a rejection of the transaction.”
“That’s fine. I can show it to you here.”
From the moment she had entered the dressing room, her identity had already been figured out.
All that is left is for her to do is to show reliable evidence on her information.
Clack.
Suddenly, she pulled out the sword from the satchel attached to her waist. Across the street, signs of movement caught her eye.
There, the guild’s mercenaries were on standby, ready to intervene in case things go south. At least for now, she has not been stopped nor attacked yet.
“The information I’m selling is about myself.”
As she spoke, she held the sword upright in front of her chest. The long white blade was soon shrouded in a blue haze.
As the blue aura gradually faded and spread out in all directions, for the first time ever since she started conversing with him, there was a sense of wonder in the informant’s mechanical voice.
“We will accept and trust the information you’ve provided with 100 per cent reliability… However, we shall only pay you 60 per cent of ER-rated information as such information already exists in our information network. About how Chernobog is already a master.”
No way. Someone has been talking about it and spreading such information.
Altair’s eyes widened, startled at the newfound information.
‘I don’t believe it’s someone from my family who would do such a thing… Then, the suspects left would be Estarrot’s knights.’
She frowned at the thought.
There is only harsh punishment waiting for those who are loose-tongued.
Without realising, she was already laying out the groundwork needed for them to have to endure great hardship and suffering in their near future.
“With that, you will be able to pay for the down payment and the additional charges.”
“Alright.”
Placing the sword back into its satchel, the locked door finally reopened and in came the guide with a catalogue in hand.
The dress chosen here was to act as a prop to avoid suspicion for having stayed in the dressing room for too long. Plus, it was also a free gift in exchange for the expensive deals that take place.
Choosing the most luxurious dress to make it easy to spin a tale and reason for her taking too long, she paid for the information and came out.
***
Clatter.
The sounds coming from the fork and knife were exceptionally loud when heard in the middle of a silent room.
For the first time ever, Altair realised how awkward having a meal with her father after her regression was.
It was because the aftermath of secretly meeting with Ahin yesterday still lingered between them.
What could he possibly be thinking? Altair thought as she observed her father sipping wine with an illegible expression.
Plucking up her courage, she broke the silence.
“Father, there is something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“What is it about?”
“During my meeting in the palace, the Crown Prince had presented me with the opportunity to be the knight of the 7th Crown Princess. For now, I have yet to make a decision.”
Thud. He placed his glass down on the table as the liquid in it swirled.
“What did he say to you?”
“As long as I were to remain as her knight, he promised that not even lightning would be able to harm me.”
He clicked his tongue.
“So in other words, he made promises that he is unable to keep even before he has ascended the throne.”
“I also am not fond of entrusting my life to someone else. Moreover, I don’t trust his words.”
“Then reject his offer. It is absurd to mention being a knight of a member of the Imperial Family when you yourself have yet to be officially appointed as a knight.”
“Yes, I’ll do so after a reasonable amount of time has passed.”
Once again, awkward silence filled the room once she had ended their conversation with her soft response.
Clatter. The sound of the cutting of meat felt as loud as the sound of artillery fire.
Determined to break the silence once more, she thought of any topic she could use.
Soon, her expression which was deep in thought turned brighter.
“…Actually, I had visited the Imperial Library as well. When I was there, I had found a title related to a dude and had borrowed it.”