140 – The Imperial Ball – (1)

Clearly.

A dark room lit only by dim gas lights. Moist and peeling tiles and mossy brick floors. The musty smell combined with the room made it feel like a prison.

And there was a table on top of it.

A brown-skinned woman in a veil sat on a chair across from the table, her long fingers crackling at her ledger, unable to hide her displeasure.

“Why should I be doing this?”

The woman worked hard with her hands while grunting. What she is writing is a detailed report on business income.

It was written in passwords and dirty words that ordinary people could not understand, but the contents were very bloody. It was a piece of paper with details of business behind the scenes, including robbery, prostitution, and assassination.

Originally, for women, chores like this were considered insignificant, or the work of pimps, and were ignored. In the first place, her position was too high to write such an insignificant ledger.

The reason why she did simple labor that she could do at the lowest level.

If you think about it, it was all because of him.

“Oh. Really sure.”

The more I think about it, the more I get angry.

In a fit of rage, he snapped his pen and stuck it on the table.

The surface of the table was already full of bumpy scratches.

“The thieves guild master said he was doing chores for beggars…… ?”

The Master of the Thieves Guild, Hilda the Thistle, leaned back in her chair with eyes unfocused.

No matter how much it was an order from above, it was too unfair.

However, she was too competent to show resentment. As soon as she entered the practice, she could clearly see the problems scattered everywhere.

It was a semi-forced task, but it was Hilda’s strength and weakness to resolve the problem as soon as she saw it.

“Ha ha. If you want to, you have to.”

Yes. Because it was the order of the King of Mouse, who is no different from the king of this world.

Hilda understood that and started playing with her pen again.

How many minutes did that take?

Jumping.

“Eh, master!”

A man in skinny pants rushes in.

I was pretending to be a beggar, but I actually became a beggar.

Hilda lifted her glasses slightly.

“Colin? What else?”

“That, that… ….”

“Didn’t I say I won’t let go of trivial matters?”

I still needed a punching bag to vent my anger on, but it went well. Hilda thought so and asked again, but the answer she got back from Colin was something that shocked her.

“He-he is here!”

“That guy?”

“You know what! You messed up in the bar the other day and collapsed the canal!”

“…… Aagh! f*ck!”

It was the appearance of a true customer.

Hilda, who was still in a bad mood, put her pen back on her table.

Cold.

The table, which had already had countless holes in it, was split in half.

“Hee, hee!”

Colin sat down, spilling yellow soup between her crotches, and Hilda clicked her tongue and kicked the door open.

*

“No, it’s not some kind of fill light. Twi.”

I drank a little beer that tasted like elephant urine and spit it out. After drinking the well-refined liquor from the imperial palace, I felt like my whole tongue shriveled when I touched the cheap liquor from the underground waterway.

I couldn’t help but throw the glass on the ground.

I could feel the stinging stares around me, so when I rolled my eyes and glared at them, they shook their heads and lowered their heads.

“Don’t you cover your eyes? Garbage criminal bastards.”

I growled in the middle of the criminal’s den, but unexpectedly, no one protested.

Is the etiquette injection already done?

Just in case, I pulled out the sword and put it on the table, but it was a bit regretful.

“By the way.”

When are you coming? I think I’ve already waited half an hour.

I looked around.

Mossy bricks and muddy mud are on the floor. I wonder if there is alcohol going in here.

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The place where I am is the same bar I came to with Milia the other day.

I came here because I had something to ask the thieves guild, but I felt a little embarrassed because they looked at me with an unwelcome gaze.

“Ah.”

As I was thinking that, the double door opened and Hilda appeared.

She strode towards me with great strides.

“Hey, dear knight.”

With the words

, He hit the table with his feet and knocked it over.

“Hello, Hilda.”

“Shut up.”

I tried to say hello, but to no avail.

“I told you that! Don’t come here Do you want to ruin business! Don’t you have anything to do with that? “

“…… Surprisingly yes.”

“… ….”

As if this was an unexpected answer, Hilda clutched her forehead.

Actually, the imperial palace was currently busy dealing with various industrial accidents. Even while the work council was not finished, Phaedras’ plan had ruined the entire empire.

There wasn’t much I could do in that situation. If you had to think about it, there was Lynchia’s training class, but even that was a situation where Lautrec had taken a share.

“All right. Don’t talk.”

Hilda shook her head and pulled herself into a chair.

Then Hilda ran to her waddle and waved her hand at a man with a glass. Then the man started kicking the customers out of the bar in a hurry.

“I don’t have to go this far.”

“You’ll be fine, but I’m not?”

Soon after the man left the bar, only me and Hilda were left in the canal.

I suddenly felt awkward and decided to open up the topic.

“How are you doing?”

“…… Well?”

Hilda shook her shoulders.

“Do you know that? These days, I’m doing chores.”

“…… Did you get demoted?”

“That crap!”

Hilda stomped her foot with a bang.

“It’s because of you!”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. Thanks to you and the mighty Emperor, who saved half of the world behind us.”

It was only then that I felt like I was getting a clue.

We hurriedly headed to the underground waterway due to Aranion’s attack.

“Could it be because of the collapse of the canal then?”

“Is that all? I opened the water supply to save you, and the businesses around me were wiped out, and what about our people who died because of your foolish plan?”

“hahahaha… ….”

“Besides, when I confronted the mouse king, he threatened me!”

“Ahahahaha… ….”

“People say there is no one to work! Seriously, would the mouse king even make the executives do chores? Huh?”

“… ….”

Looking at it like this, it was definitely a nuisance.

In the end, I had no choice but to bow my head and apologize.

“Sorry. I’ll talk to Lyncia separately about this…….”

“Okay. Tell me that later.”

Hilda set her glass down to her chin and crossed her arms. She and she slowly lifted the veil. Dark eyes stare at me.

“What is the business?”

“I was thinking of making a request.”

“Request?”

Hilda’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“The situation at the fort is not good. You’ll have to factor in that kind of expense.”

“It’s okay. I have a lot of money.”

I found out the other day, but the Iscobal family’s property was confiscated by the Empire.

And since Lyn Xia somehow passed it on to me, she had nothing to worry about in terms of finances. If anything, you can borrow it from Harzfeld or Milia.

“So what happened?”

“There are two things I want you to investigate.”

“Two things?”

“Yes.”

Hilda pulled out one of her pocketbooks in her pocket.

“It has to do with something.”

“Cult.”

“… ….”

You asked something strange again.

With that look on her face, Hilda wiggled her hand holding her pen.

“Ah, of course I will make sure I don’t harm you this time.”

“Ha ha. Okay. Just tell me.”

“I want you to collect information about the Church of the Moon and blood relatives.”

“Ugh…… ?”

Hilda wrote down in her notebook and frowned at her.

“Why?”

“I told you. It’s something related to the church.”

“No, I mean. What does that have to do with this?”

Isn’t it still unknown?

“They both have apostles involved.”

“…… Hmm.”

Hilda looked like she was struggling as she bit her lip, but she shrugged her shoulders as if she had put it all down.

“Yes. I don’t know where you get that information from, but it must be because you are.”

“Thank you for trusting me.”

“I don’t believe you. I’m counting on your money Money is more important than anything else in the world.”

Hilda smiled as she put down her notebook.

I also smiled at him.

“First of all, it’s about blood relatives. When I went to find the family key at your request the other day, there was information given by the thieves’ guild at that branch. It seems that the king of the clan has made Glacial Cliff his base.”

“The Glacial Cliff side… ….”

“Eisenward. It’s not even a fuss these days, I don’t know what.”

This was the area where Aranion was the Grand Duke.

Since the Grand Duke has disappeared, it must be a chaotic situation.

Come to think of it like that, I wonder if the person of the church that Aranion traded with was Eisenward’s apostle. No, probably for sure.

“Okay. Then, can you cooperate with that branch and investigate the every move of the clan?”

“…… Mmm. Well, since it’s from the capital, the branch will follow it, but it might not be very cooperative.”

“I will believe.”

“…… Son of a b*tch.”

Swearing, Hilda turned her chapter back.

“So why about the Cult of the Moon? It’s true that it’s a new church that has appeared relatively recently, but I’ve heard that it’s also recognized by the capital parish and the doctrine itself is reasonable. Besides, I heard that they are carrying out their own relief activities.”

“Yes. It’s probably a smoke screen. He must have other plans.”

“Are you sure?”

“More than anything else, that’s for sure.”

In fact, it was this side that I was more wary of than blood relatives.

Cult of the Moon. An unidentified church whose symbol is the crest of Iscobal, the half-moon.

They were the main culprits who broke into the capital in the fourth act and turned the palace into a mess.

In the aftermath of Acts 4 and 5, the capital has virtually lost its function. In Act 6, the Great Duke of Winter invades aiming at this, and in Act 7, successive blood relatives attempt to kidnap Lynthia.

Finally, stopping the plan of Cleta, the incarnation of the abyss, was the content of Act 8.

Since Pedras and Aranion have been stopped beforehand, what I need to keep a close eye on is Act 4 and Act 7. And only Cleta.

“Mmm. It’s a bit ambiguous.”

Even though she had barely heard the story, Hilda had a puzzled look on her face.

I grabbed her hand.

“Three times.”

“…… What.”

“I’ll pay you three times as much.”

“Do you know how important money is? Do you think the world can be solved with money alone? Yes?”

“I heard money is important.”

“…… Grunt.”

Hilda let out a deep sigh and put her hand back on hers, which rested on her.

“Then promise me one thing.”

“Yes. Just talk.”

“If this job is successful, put us on the sunny side.”

“… ….”

Criminal organizations?

Yangjiro?

Uh, that sounds a little tough.

*

When she returned to the imperial palace after finishing her business with Hilda, it was around the time the sun was slowly disappearing over the horizon.

First of all, I went to the gymnasium to meet Lincia, but no one was there. Judging from the fact that there was no sign of training, it seemed that there was something else going on today.

In the end, after going through the guards and returning to the sleeping quarters, I ran into Lucy on the other side.

“Ah, Hogukkyung!”

Lucy said that and hurriedly approached.

“Yes. Lucy. Is His Majesty inside?”

“Oh, yes. It is, but.”

Lucy answered with an awkward smile before opening her eyes.

Then she started to stumble with a sinister grin.

“hehehehe. It was like that too. After all, does Hoguk-kyung have feelings?”

“Huh?”

Lucy sneaks her face toward me.

“So, did you decide on your message?”

“…… What?”

“That, that.”

“No, so what is that?”

I suddenly wanted to say something, so I frowned.

Then Lucy put on an angry expression.

“Seo, are you going to throw me away coldly!”

“No, so what are you talking about?”

I can’t keep up with the topic.

When he asked with some displeasure, Lucy opened his eyes wide and tilted his head.

“Ah, could it be that you didn’t hear the story?”

“I don’t know what it is, but I don’t think I heard anything.”

“Huh.”

With those words, Lucy quietly whispered to me.

“It’s the Imperial Family Ball.”

“…… Huh?”

“The ball. Ball! The largest social event in the Empire once a year! Men crave women, and women crave men’s invitations!”

“Is there such a thing?”

It was the first time.

Come to think of it, I think there was a story like this in the original work, but I wonder if it was canceled because of the circumstances.

Is it going to be held as normal with the changed development then?

Ignoring my embarrassment, Lucy spoke to me with a big smile on her face.

“Isn’t His Majesty also looking forward to it? Escort.”

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“… ….”

The fisheye was dumbfounded.