53 – Episode 48: That guy over there is a hero!!! – 2

“Here it is. Have a seat.”

The place where I followed the man in the fedora was a shabby basement. A musty smell stung my nostrils. He snapped his fingers, and all the lights on the basement walls came on.

The appearance of the room was quite shocking.

I roughly imagined such an ordinary office with a bookshelf and a wooden table. But there was nothing here.

A worn-out wooden desk and a few chairs. That was it. The rest was littered with dust and rubbish.

No, how could the office of such a famous and well-known business be so shabby?

I couldn’t believe the words of a soldier at the castle gate who had a reputation for being the most reliable and trustworthy company on the continent and a good value for money.

I wondered if I was looking for the wrong person.

“that… Are you really that famous information vendor?”

“Yes, I am the intelligence officer dispatched to this area, but what is the problem?”

“No, rather than a problem, here is a bit… ”

Perhaps understanding my embarrassed expression, he smiled and asked me.

“Isn’t the office a bit shabby?”

It was so straight-forward, so while I was thinking about what to answer for a while, the man continued.

“No matter how colorful and appetizing the fruit is, it is of no use if the kernel is not sweet. What’s important is what’s inside the shell.”

In a very serious atmosphere. The man put his bowler hat on the desk and spoke again.

“Okay, let’s get to the point. What kind of information did our customers come to our store for?”

I immediately brought up the story of the ‘transcendent species’ to him. Then he smiled intriguedly. The man drool for a while.

“Ohhh… are you talking about the transcendental species? I must remember seeing it somewhere… Please wait a moment.”

He started searching through his drawers. Then he pulled out a piece of paper that had turned slightly yellow.

“Oh, I found it here. There is only one piece of information collected by the searchers of the merchant association.”

“So the content… ”

“I will let you know if you purchase it.”

I admired the man who spoke like a knife. He must have been a celestial merchant. The money I currently have is around 3 gold and 80 silver. I had to fight in this.

“Then what will the price be… ”

“Purchasing information is fixed at 1 gold, searching for information is 50 silver.

In addition, since exploration must lead to future purchases, we charge customers for purchases in advance.”

Our expressions were not firm, and we were about to crumble.

Kyoko screamed in anger. It seems that the price was too high for her, whose concept of money was shattered.

“Chop! This guy is an impostor!”

“Is it possible to adjust the price?”

I also intuitively thought that the price would be prohibitive, but it was an amount beyond imagination.

1 gold for the purchase price of the information currently being traded.

From the search request to the pre-purchase price for it. If you add all of these together, it was a whopping 7 gold.

We couldn’t afford to buy it with our budget.

Unfortunately, at my request, the man shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. Since we are also a poor company that makes a living from information alone, we can’t open our mouths that cheaply.”

Yes, I honestly expected it. I nodded my head calmly, but carried through my argument.

“Because our pockets aren’t enough… Instead, we’ll add 4 navigations. In addition, I will pay for the cost of the search and the purchase of this information right here.”

I spoke calmly.

“So now I want to proceed with the transaction with a total of 3 gold. Of course, we promise to purchase the incoming information without delay after the search is complete.”

The corner of the man’s mouth seemed to rise slightly at my words mixed with earnestness. After looking at my face once or twice and thinking for a while, he opened his mouth a few minutes later.

“good. They are very special people, so I will sell them for 3 gold only this time. However, you must proceed with a contract to purchase the four pieces of information that are being searched for.”

After writing the purchase contract, I was able to hand over a map. The map showed a village in a mountain range.

“If you go here, you will get what you want.”

At the man’s words, I put the map into my bosom.

I felt a little awkward, but I thought it was because of my mood.

“Then please return safely. We hope that you will continue to use our ‘Tree and Key of Wisdom’ company a lot in the future.”

Until the end, he had a strange smile.

In the end, I got out of there with Kyoko without being able to figure out the identity of the unpleasant feeling.

* * *

The office where Joo-hyeok and Kyoko escaped. After staring at the exit for a while, the man sighed lightly. He was still smiling, but he had a slightly pitiful look on his face.

he murmured softly.

“I’m really sorry to the customers who just bought the information, but there’s one thing I didn’t tell you.”

The tree and the key to wisdom. The power of regulations is absolute in the company that has been secretly active since a long time ago.

The most important of these are the items of security and leakage.

According to the regulations, customer information is strictly protected, but there is one exception.

If information about a customer comes in the form of a request by some unspecified person.

Under the condition that the person who wants to purchase the customer’s information pays the full amount of the transaction, which is ten times the amount of the existing request, the customer’s information can be passed on to a third party later.

“But I can’t help it. Because this is a rule… ”

The man with a puzzling smile that I couldn’t tell what kind of expression he had at the moment snapped his fingers.

…

When he snapped his fingers, the man was standing in front of the huge palace located in the middle of the capital city. He started walking slowly towards the gate.

“Stop. Reveal your identity and talk about your purpose.”

A uniformed guard brought a spear to the man’s neck.

The man smiled and opened his mouth. The guard’s face began to wrinkle at his words.

“I am just a merchant. I have come to see Her Majesty the Great Queen for a deal… ”

“Go away right away. This is not the place for an insignificant guy like you to come.”

The guard’s expression was full of contempt.

“Oh no, to interfere with a merchant going to a customer. You are a very rude person. If that’s the case, you can bring it back from the Tree and the Key of Wisdom and tell it to His Majesty… ”

“I was told to go back… ! what the heck… how did this happen… ”

The guard’s voice, which was about to shout loudly, cut off in the middle. The guard, who looked around with trembling eyes, muttered in dismay.

The figure of the man who had just been standing in front of him had disappeared. The guard looked around for a long time, doubting his own eyes, and then made an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

At that time, the man had already entered the palace.

“Oh, really… Even meeting customers is so difficult. When will I be treated properly…”

He grumbled as if he was a little disappointed, and walked around the palace as if he were used to it. The place where the man who seemed to already know the location arrived was the Queen’s office.

The man knocked, and only after the Queen gave permission to come in did he open the door and move into the office.

“you are… !”

“Long time no see. You are the queen.”

“That emblem is… No, it’s not important. The fact that you came here means that a hero… !”

He said with a meaningful smile as he looked at Queen Renia Feltrofin, who jumped out of her seat in surprise.

“Yes, we have found the current locations of the people we commissioned last time. your majesty.”

“Now then… !”

“I’m sorry, but according to the regulations, you have to pay ten times the amount of the previous request to be able to deliver the information.”

Lenia opened her mouth without even thinking about it.

“I will give it. Talk about information.”

No matter how much money it costs If only the Kingdom of Feltrobin could monopolize the party of warriors, that money would have been nothing more than a pittance.

He nodded his head at Rhenia’s firm answer.

The man slowly began to share information with Lenia. Hearing that, Lenia’s expression began to turn into astonishment.

“… Is that true?”

“of course. How dare you tell a lie to an important customer who has used us for generations, not just a customer who has purchased our company’s information once or twice… .”

“All right. Just go back.”

Renia’s voice was faintly trembling, perhaps due to the great shock. At her words, the man nodded and took off his bowler hat and held it in his hand.

Then he gave a polite greeting.

“Then next time, please use our tree and the Key of Wisdom.”

The man snapped his finger once, then disappeared like smoke. Confirming that he was gone, Lenia ordered the cavalry minister to come to the office as soon as possible.

When the cavalry minister arrived, she spoke without hesitation.

“Immediately order all standing forces, except for the guards and a handful of escorts, to be sent into the search.”

“Yes… ?”

The cavalry minister, who was very surprised, but only opened his mouth, looked at Rhenia in disbelief. However, her mind was already burning.

“Warrior… That group of warriors are currently here in Roteles.”

Her intense eyes were directed out of the office window.

Among the countless houses and buildings located in the capital, there is a group of warriors he has been waiting for so long.

I couldn’t miss the prey that came close to my nose.

“Failure is not acceptable. Everyone has to come forward with the determination to put their necks on the line. No matter what happens, bring the warriors to the palace.”

Lenia thought as she clenched her fists.

‘Senior King, no, Father, I will definitely restore this kingdom. Please watch.’

You should never miss it.

Whatever happens, you must hold on to it.

All for the future of Feltrofin Kingdom.

…

something is f*cking weird

Human instinct is pointing. That something dangerous is about to happen. The chills down our spines made us feel as if someone was watching us.

I stopped and caught my breath.

Then he quietly whispered to Kyoko, who was following him.

“Kyoko.”

“Why are you calling me?”

Kyoko tilted her head and replied.

I walked slowly with her and opened my mouth with a calm expression. I tried to explain to Kyoko that we should run away quickly.

“f*ck…!”

By the way, just the moment I opened my mouth to explain!

I could definitely feel a lot of people behind me. As soon as I confirmed that, I immediately grabbed Kyoko’s hand and started running.

Kyoko said while blushing at the sudden situation.

“Hey, wait a minute! what is this… !”