The price for the information wasn’t paid on the spot.
It seemed the old man judged the place inappropriate for deep conversation and thus suggested moving to another location.
I accepted her proposal to avoid the blood-like stench tickling my nostrils.
(Honestly, it was more for Black Wolf’s sake than mine.)
A little later, following the old man’s guidance, we arrived at a room in the shop’s basement and resumed our conversation with renewed vigor.
“May I inquire about the source of this information?”
“I verified it myself.”
“Hmm…”
The old man furrowed his brow as if troubled.
Figures. It’s hard to gain trust with words like that alone.
Reluctantly, I had no choice but to reveal my identity.
“My name is Allen. I’m a soldier of the Empire.”
“Ah, Allen… so you’re the ‘Barbarian Slaughterer,’ huh?”
Impressive. Even this high-level information guild knows my nickname.
The old man scrutinized my face carefully.
“You don’t look like the rumors describe. Are you disguised?”
“We’d be in trouble if our identities were exposed.”
“That makes sense. Now, about setting a price…”
Luckily, the old man seemed to believe me.
Thankfully, there’s no need for further haggling.
Is it really this easy?
Even though he decided to trust me, it was hard for him to fully let go of his suspicions.
“This information is too shocking to gauge its worth. Perhaps there’s something specific you desire?”
A counteroffer.
Well, doesn’t matter.
We were the ones in a rush after all.
“As I mentioned earlier, I want all information regarding Queen Sara. We need a legal weakness to exploit. Frankly, touching the queen is too risky.”
“Hmm… Let me fetch all the information we have. Roslai? Bring it over.”
“With all due respect… we still don’t know who these people truly are. The information might not even be true. They could just be opponents of Queen Sara. If we’re not careful, we might end up collateral damage in their conflict!”
Though he tried to whisper, his voice wasn’t quiet enough to deceive a master’s ears.
Still, I didn’t scold the man.
Because, frankly, his reaction was justified.
Isn’t it strange that he believed me just by showing a bit of force through Opheucus?
That’s why I couldn’t completely let go of my doubts either.
“Roslai, it’s our job to verify the authenticity of the information. How can we claim to survive on information if we can’t even do that?”
“W-well, that’s true, but… they seem quite suspicious, don’t they?”
“If you don’t want to disappoint me further, go ahead and fetch it. I don’t want to raise my voice in front of our guest.”
“…Understood.”
Defeated by the elder’s charisma, the man gritted his teeth and left the room.
I smiled faintly and said,
“Seems like you’ve got some headaches on your hands.”
“Indeed. He’s a successor-in-training, but he has a long way to go. Sorry for the unseemly behavior in front of you.”
“A successor? Isn’t it a bit early for that? He looks quite young.”
“…Your kind words are much appreciated.”
Despite his awkward response, I merely shrugged.
Why he insists on acting older is beyond me, but everyone has their quirks.
***
“It was a good deal. One piece of advice—consider closing shop for a while. I can’t predict what will happen next.”
“Thank you for your advice. May light guide the hero’s path.”
“Don’t mention it… hope we meet again sometime.”
“Please leave safely.”
Allen nodded and disappeared in an instant.
Roslai watched in astonishment as the woman beside him also vanished without a trace.
“H-how is this possible…?”
“This is the pinnacle of stealth. Remember this well. Among the notorious Blackwater operatives, such stealth is exceedingly rare.”
The elder sighed, knowing full well how many times Allen had weighed his life on the scales.
If he had drawn his sword, it wouldn’t just be the elder’s life taken—it would be every living soul within this branch.
He was that strong, that cruel.
“Even so, giving away information so easily is incomprehensible. They attacked one of our members, did they not? Even if he’s a soldier of the Empire…”
“That’s why the other branch leaders don’t recognize you as my successor.”
“Why bring that up now…?”
“Do you still not realize that if he wanted, our lives would already be gone?”
Roslai’s eyes widened in shock.
“T-that can’t be true! We still have reinforcements ready. If they came out…”
“An expert cannot handle a master. Go back and memorize everything about the ‘Barbarian Slaughterer.’ Didn’t I explicitly tell you to memorize key figures’ information?”
“I did! But two people against us…”
“Be quiet. Any more mistakes and you’ll only prove your incompetence.”
Under the elder’s sharp gaze, Roslai reluctantly bowed his head.
“…Understood.”
“Good. Return immediately. Close this branch temporarily. Fortunately, they chose to overlook our mistakes and extend their favor. Let’s move forward graciously.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare right away.”
Roslai no longer questioned the elder’s orders.
As the elder watched him silently leave, he idly touched his rough skin.
This was a top-tier disguise mask, far superior to anything commercially available, though it couldn’t compare to Blackwater equipment.
“To see through my disguise… indeed, those called heroes are different.”
For the first time, someone outside his inner circle had realized he was pretending to be older.
Yet Allen said nothing.
Even though he could have taken much more, he left with only what he initially sought.
He accepted questionable information without verification.
He was certainly an intriguing person.
“Today was quite fruitful.”
Just forming a connection with a hero was satisfying enough.
After all, she wasn’t just any branch leader—she was Lucy Florea, Guildmaster of the White Crow.
Her position as head of one of the world’s top information guilds testified to her exceptional abilities.
“Queen Sara being the High Priest of Lust. The Empire targeting them. And meeting the hero.”
She felt incredibly fortunate that she was here to confirm the recent intel about Queen Sara’s ties to heresy.
Although their first impression wasn’t great, the conclusion wasn’t bad.
She knew even small connections could come in handy someday.
Especially since she obtained invaluable information that couldn’t be priced…
“Looks like I had a good dream last night.”
Lucy smiled contentedly.
“Preparations are complete. Branch Leader… no, Guildmaster.”
At Roslai’s timely announcement, Lucy nodded.
“Let’s go.”
Thus, the White Crow abandoned its Artisan branch in the Arigon Kingdom’s capital and retreated to headquarters.
***
“The quality of information you gathered exceeds expectations. To obtain so much in such a short time…”
Theron marveled as he reviewed the documents I handed over.
Erias nodded approvingly.
“Cross-referencing this with the intelligence from the Empire’s Information Department should suffice.”
“Yes. This will be helpful in emergencies.”
“True. This should provide sufficient justification to crush those vermin.”
There are two main reasons we haven’t acted despite being certain Queen Sara is the High Priest of Lust:
First, no one would believe the queen of a nation is also a high priest.
Second, we might end up fighting the kingdom’s army.
While assassination by me and Black Wolf is an option, it’s not feasible against a high priest.
Dragging this out would only complicate things for us.
The crux is that we can’t start a war over heresy.
Perhaps war is exactly what those heretics aim for.
That’s why we’ve been gathering evidence so meticulously.
“Speaking of which, did anything unusual happen while I was gone?”
I shifted the topic to lighten the mood, though it had only been a few hours.
“No emissaries from the Arigon royal family came.”
“But others did.”
“Others?”
Confused, I tilted my head.
Theron chuckled and continued,
“We aren’t the only ones staying at the palace. Envoys from other nations are here too, and many sought contact with us.”
“Huh? Isn’t tomorrow the alliance conference?”
“Exactly. It shows how esteemed the Empire’s reputation is.”
Theron replied proudly.
Just as I was about to relax, thinking nothing major happened, Erias dropped a surprise.
“The Holy Country sent representatives too. Both the Pope and the Holy Maiden are here. Whatever divine revelation prompted their visit, they could be valuable allies if needed.”
“True. The more forces, the better.”
“You’re surprisingly calm about this. I expected you to be shocked.”
“Huh?”
Blinking in confusion at what he meant, Erias gave me a disapproving look.
“Have you forgotten who the Holy Maiden is? She’s your precious disciple, isn’t she?”
“Oh.”
Only then did I recall that Senna was the Holy Maiden.
She rarely acts like one, so I occasionally forget.
But why is she here…?
“Apparently, she threw a tantrum insisting she wanted to see you.”
“Oh…”
Knowing Senna, this was entirely plausible, leaving me speechless.
Erias smirked and added,
“Feels good to be loved by your disciple, doesn’t it? You incorrigible fool.”
“…Oh.”
In the end, I fainted dead away.
