“Now, enough with the nonsense. Let’s get to the point.”
“To think a job offer from the successor of the world’s greatest information guild would be treated as ‘nonsense’! Pret is so sad, boohoo.”
Pret wiped his eyes with his sleeve, though no actual tears fell. The “boohoo” at the end wasn’t a real sob either; he was simply speaking the sound effect aloud. It was a truly despicable display.
“If that’s the case, let’s end today’s conversation here.”
“Oh, come on! Senior, really? If I neglected my main job just because I was sad, I wouldn’t be a professional, right? This Pret is resilient! I will endure my grief and finish this deal!”
“I thought I told you to stop with the nonsense.”
“I already said I’d keep the information I learn from you private and never sell it, right? Then it’s your turn to name your price! I’ll keep my mouth shut and my ears perked, so please, speak up!”
Afraid of being kicked out of the room, Pret quickly changed his attitude and urged me to get to the main point. It was absurd, but since the result was what I wanted, I spoke the price I had prepared in advance.
“I’ll exchange it for information on the Awakened professors and the students in the Special Class.”
“Huh? That deal is way too unbalanced! You’re offering information on a single person, Karbaldr, that can’t even be sold, in exchange for information on multiple people, including the Imperial Princess! This isn’t just a bad deal; it’s a robbery!”
“What if I exclude those belonging to the Imperial Family or noble houses and only ask for information on commoners?”
There were only two things I wanted to know right now anyway. One was everything about Svein, and the other was whether Vanahilda succeeded in her revenge by finding the enemy who killed her family. Asking for information on the rest of the group was nothing more than a smokescreen.
‘He’ll think it’s strange if I ask him to investigate specific individuals!’
That was why I initially asked for everyone’s information before narrowing the scope to commoners. Both Svein and Vanahilda were commoners.
“That’s what you really wanted from the start, wasn’t it? Information on the Imperial Princess or those from noble families is already well-known, and their identities are certain. You asked for too much and then pretended to compromise by cutting out the unnecessary parts. You certainly know how to haggle!”
As expected of the successor to the information guild, he saw right through my intentions—even if he mistakenly thought my goal was haggling. This served well as a smokescreen, so I decided to use it rather than deny it.
“I wasn’t pretending; I actually compromised. The information you want to know is something you could barely find even if you risked infiltrating the Duke’s Territory, or something you could never know unless you heard it from me, right?”
“That’s true. The quality and rarity of information are more important than the quantity. Besides, the information you’re asking for can be obtained through the House Austri’s own information network without going through the guild. It’s definitely a win for me.”
“Is that all? Since information on them is something you’d need too, you must have finished your investigation already. You won’t even have to put in any extra effort.”
As I continued the haggling act, I started to feel like I was actually the one getting the short end of the stick. It seemed my opponent felt the same way. Pret expressed his doubt.
“Every word you say is right. That’s why I’m curious. You know the value of your information and have a talent for haggling. Why are you trying to make a deal that puts you at a loss?”
“Didn’t you say yourself that you hate people who lowball the value of information? I figured someone like you would pay me back in some way for the profit you make in this deal. For instance… by bringing me important information that I wasn’t even aware existed?”
In the original work, Pret often provided Reysir with necessary information of his own accord. Recalling that fact allowed me to come up with a plausible excuse immediately. It was very natural, as if I had factored it into my calculations from the start. I felt I’d handled that quite well under pressure. I was feeling a bit proud of myself…
“Wow… Senior, really… Why are you being like this?”
“Is there a problem? You can sell that information to me, so you won’t lose anything.”
“No, no. I didn’t mean it that way. Why do you keep saying exactly what I want to hear? You don’t even plan on joining our guild, yet you’re making me so greedy for you.”
I might have been a bit too quick on my feet.
“…Stop drifting away from the subject and decide whether to accept the deal or not.”
“Huh? Wasn’t this deal already settled?”
“Then hurry up and ask your questions.”
“Are you going to give me your information before you even receive your payment?”
“I have to. The level of that ‘payment’ will change depending on the answers I give.”
For the sake of the readers who wanted the story to progress quickly, I wanted to get to the main point as soon as possible. Unfortunately, my opponent was still fixated on small talk.
“Wow! Is this how you won over Senior Reysir?”
“Let me be clear, I have never won over Reysir. Nor have I ever tried to make you like me.”
“You weren’t even trying, and it’s already this much? That’s even more terrifying and amazing.”
“…Just get out.”
“I’m sorry.”
Only after I finally issued an order for him to leave did Pret end the chatter and engage in the information trade in earnest.
“Why did your attitude suddenly change after the last summer break?”
“Immediately after returning to the capital after the graduation ceremony, I hovered between life and death for two days due to poisoning symptoms. After experiencing such a thing, I realized I should refrain from doing things that would make others resent me.”
“…You’re saying something so shocking with such a calm face.”
“Because I’ve given the same answer before.”
“Who heard that answer?”
“Reysir, Vigdis, and Liolikin are the three who heard it directly from me. Hailga heard the explanation from Reysir in front of me.”
For reference, Vigdis heard it in Chapter 45, Reysir and Liolikin in Chapter 95, and Hailga in Chapter 128.
“Is that why the people working at the Duke’s Territory were suddenly fired? I can see why your family would try so hard to hide this information. It’s not just any family; it’s the Austri Ducal Family, which has inherited Aether abilities to handle poisons for generations. It would have been dangerous if I had tried to investigate by infiltrating.”
“I suppose so.”
“But… haven’t you told too many people about this?”
“They aren’t the type to go around talking… and it’s not like I’m going to take over the family anyway. Why should I care if the family’s pride is crushed? The shame belongs to the father who couldn’t protect his child properly.”
Since I was a possessor and not the real Karbaldr, I needed an excuse so the original protagonist wouldn’t suspect my identity. Because I couldn’t reveal those circumstances, I intentionally smirked and shrugged my shoulders lightly.
“In regards to that incident, did you have a conflict with His Grace the Duke…?”
Pret looked surprised by the unexpected answer. Well, among the things he had investigated, the fact that ‘Karbaldr has long craved his father’s affection’ was included. It was only natural for him to react that way to my attitude of not caring if I offended Hard.
“There was no emotional conflict, but there was physical friction.”
“Physical friction…?”
“It means I was hit.”
“And yet there was no emotional conflict?! No, wait. He hit his child who almost died from eating poison?!”
At my words, Pret didn’t just stop at being shocked; he even showed anger. I had even considered the possibility of him coolly asking, ‘Did you eat the poisoned food on purpose?’ Was it because I first mentioned that I realized I should stop doing things that earn resentment after being poisoned? Or was he reacting enthusiastically to draw out a deep story from me?
“According to what I heard from my personal servant, I obtained the poison and consumed it myself.”
“What do you mean by that…? You heard it from someone else??”
“I have no memory of the day I took the poison.”
“Is it a side effect of the poisoning?”
I had already mentioned in Chapter 95 that I had no memory of the day I returned home after the graduation ceremony. And in Chapter 45, I had told Vigdis that Karbaldr might have obtained and consumed the poison himself. However, Pret knew a lot about the real Karbaldr. He wasn’t as careless as Vigdis. So, this wouldn’t be enough to completely dispel his doubts. Thus, I added the following sentence.
“This is something I haven’t told anyone else… but according to the doctor, it seems like psychological issues played a role.”
It wasn’t that I actually lost my memory for psychological reasons; it was just that I didn’t have his memories because I wasn’t Karbaldr. But the doctor did say that, so it wasn’t false information.
“It was very strange that not a single person among those fired from the Duke’s Territory died or was seriously injured, even though you almost died from the poison. In fact, everyone was even given letters of recommendation so they wouldn’t have trouble finding new jobs.”
“If you lost part of your memory and psychological issues were involved, it’s highly likely you consumed the poison yourself. But since you have no memory of it, you can’t accept that fact, right?”
The person in front of me nodded as if everything finally made sense.
“Even so, do you have a guess as to why you would go so far as to buy and eat poison yourself…?”
“You already have a guess… do you really need to hear it from my mouth?”
“I spoke out of turn. I’m sorry.”
‘I think he did it because he was desperate for his father’s attention.’ Saying that out loud would not only violate the character’s personality but also might plant new doubts in the mind of the person who had finally accepted the situation. I avoided a direct answer and glared at him, and Pret bowed his head deeply in apology. After a moment of silence, Pret spoke again while gauging my reaction.
“Well, but… if you really did take the poison yourself, and it wasn’t a pre-planned event but something done impulsively on your way home, don’t you think there was someone egging you on? No matter the reason, deciding and executing such a thing in a single day… it’s a bit strange, isn’t it?”