118 - Information Broker
――A narrow alley in Beim.
Walking through it were Miranda and Shannon.
Looking anxious, Shannon walked while clutching the hem of Miranda's coat as they navigated the narrow alley, which differed greatly from the main streets.
"Shannon, walk a little faster."
"I can't. It's dirty, and besides... this place feels dangerous!"
Once they passed through the narrow, dark street, a pleasure district opened up before them. Since it was just before noon, there weren't many people around.
Shannon looked around, gathering various pieces of information with her Magic Eye.
Blind from birth, Shannon was a girl who had manifested the Magic Eye skill to supplement her vision.
Unlike her older sister, she had pale purple hair and yellow eyes.
"...Don't you think we're out of place?"
Looking around, she saw women in flashy clothing walking with sleepy eyes. Shannon could tell they were exhausted; despite the sun being high, the people walking were preparing to go to sleep.
"And it smells like alcohol..."
Shannon glanced at the walls of the buildings and immediately looked away. Filth was being poured out without a second thought, and she felt as if she were seeing a completely different side of Beim.
(The difference between the clean areas and the dirty areas is terrible.)
Miranda, who had started walking, headed straight for her destination without checking notes or a map, suggesting she had been here before.
She then entered a three-story building.
(...What on earth is in here?)
As Shannon wondered, they found a counter that looked more like a small office than a shop.
When the door opened, a bell rang, and a small girl peeked out from the reception desk. The young girl looked even younger than Shannon.
Shannon was surprised to find a girl younger than herself in the pleasure district, but she was even more surprised when she saw her sister interact with her.
"Inis, is Rauno-san here? I've come to confirm the details of that matter."
The girl called Inis nodded to Miranda and pointed toward the back.
"He's in the back. He mentioned yesterday that his head hurt from drinking. By the way, do you have a companion with you today? What a lovely person."
Shannon looked at the girl, who seemed younger than her.
"No, no matter how you look at it, I'm the older one here."
Then, Miranda spoke with an exasperated tone.
"Don't be silly. Inis is a Gnome, so she's older than you. Now, I'm going to the back. I'll give the success reward to Inis."
"What!?"
A surprised Shannon was led to the back, glancing back and forth between the girl, who was slightly shorter than her, and her older sister.
As soon as they entered the back room, the smell of alcohol hit them.
On the sofa, a brown-haired man with droopy eyes, wrapped in a blanket, turned his face toward them and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"...Oh, it's just a little girl."
Messy hair and stubble.
The man was acquainted with Miranda; he pushed himself up, scratched his head, and faced them.
Miranda proceeded to confirm the work she had requested.
"So, how is the request coming along?"
The man stood up, took a compiled set of documents from a desk in the back, handed them to Miranda, and sat back down on the sofa.
When the door opened, the girl from before—Inis—brought in drinks. Once they were placed on the table, both Shannon and Miranda sat on the sofa and faced the man called Rauno.
Once Inis left the room, Miranda checked the contents of the documents.
Rauno, taking a sip of his drink, glanced at Shannon for a moment. He was slightly on guard.
Shannon understood this, and Miranda did as well.
"She's my younger sister. You don't need to be on guard."
At that, Rauno gave a wry smile.
"Sorry. When you're in this business, you can't help but be cautious. Not knowing who someone is... that's the scary part."
He sounded like he was joking, but he wasn't letting his guard down.
(This guy seems stronger than he looks.)
Despite his clearly degenerate lifestyle, his body was trained, and while he looked full of openings, he remained vigilant.
"...Novem was meeting an acquaintance in Beim? And what did she receive?"
(Novem? Why does Sister know about Novem...?)
Rauno scratched his head, his expression becoming serious.
"It's not confirmed, but she was holding it carefully, so judging by the shape, it was a staff. Moreover, wasn't it a magic tool? I didn't verify it, so it's not written here. Also, they seemed quite close. After all, she called him 'Big Brother'."
As Miranda's gaze sharpened, Rauno reported Novem's suspicious behavior.
"Rather than a falling out, they were discussing which side of the clan to take. The Novem-chan you're looking for said she'll side with Liel-kun. Are you satisfied now?"
Miranda placed the documents she had finished reading on the table and asked Rauno for more details.
"Even though the clan's opinions were divided, she went out of her way to deliver luggage?"
Rauno replied with a lack of interest.
"Who knows? Nobles are a bunch of rotten people. Who knows what they're thinking... 'Let's meet on the battlefield next time,' she said. Siblings killing each other, huh."
Shannon felt Rauno react to the word 'nobles.' Then, after hearing the details, Miranda stood up from the sofa.
"Thank you. I'll be away from Beim for a while, so I'll make another request some other time. Also, the thing I asked for—"
Before Miranda could finish,
"—the information on the surrounding countries and the information on Vanseim you asked for are being gathered. It's not yet worth the reward, but do you want to check?"
Miranda shook her head and tried to leave the room. Rauno called out to her.
"Hey, I'll be in trouble if I don't get my reward. We agreed on ten gold coins. Tracking that Novem-chan was a pain."
To the complaining man, Miranda replied with a smile.
"I'll pay you properly. I'll even add a bonus this time. But I'll leave it with Inis."
"...It's the same whether you give it to me or not."
Shannon looked at Rauno, who was internally very disappointed. She understood he was an information broker, but hearing that he had tracked Novem made her wonder how skilled he actually was.
(I mean, why was I even brought along? Novem is certainly suspicious... but shouldn't the priority be solving the situation with Liel first?)
Shannon couldn't understand why her sister would pay ten gold coins for information on Novem, nor could she understand why she had been brought here.
As they left the information broker's office, Miranda spoke loud enough for Shannon to hear.
"Shannon, you remembered the way here, right? Remember that Rauno-san. He's a capable person."
"Eh? Does that mean..."
Miranda simply started walking without saying anything more—.
――In a clothing store, Novem was shopping with Eva and Mei.
"Ah~, this one is nice too. I want that one over there as well."
Mei looked at Eva, who was distracted by the merchandise, with an exasperated expression.
"They're all the same, aren't they? Just different colors, or whether the leather is from a monster or an animal."
They had decided to buy a robe or coat for Mei, who looked cold. Eva was taking the opportunity to look at other clothes as well.
Novem was accompanying the two of them.
Eva looked at Mei.
"That difference is what's important! How can you just decide without carefully examining them? Isn't that the weird part?"
Mei replied with a lack of interest.
"Because I'm usually naked. I'm only wearing this because Fredricks told me to hide myself properly, so I'm just following orders."
Mei was a Kirin, and her original form was a horse with scales. Remembering this, Eva looked to Novem for help, unable to accept the answer.
"Mei-san, if you're going to live among people, you have to be conscious of your appearance to some extent."
Told this by Novem, Mei reluctantly agreed.
"Fine. But aren't you spending too much time choosing? What are you going to do with such small underwear?"
Eva replied to Mei.
"...I'm going to wear them, obviously. Wait, don't tell me you..."
Mei nodded.
"I'm not wearing any."
Novem sighed and decided to prepare underwear for Mei as well. Then, a clerk approached them.
The clerk was slender and tall, and since the tips of their ears were pointed, it was immediately clear they were an Elf.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
Seeing a fellow kin nearby, Eva looked around.
"Sorry, the other clerks aren't coming over because I'm here, are they?"
Elves were demi-humans, and it was a fact that some humans persecuted them. Indeed, the human clerks nearby were not approaching.
However, the Elf clerk replied,
"No, there are few people like that in Beim. I wonder what's wrong today, though. Perhaps they're just busy?"
It felt as if the surrounding clerks were avoiding Novem and the others.
The clerk gave a wry smile and quickly changed the subject, and Novem asked for underwear for Mei.
"Do you have any underwear that would fit this girl?"
At that, the clerk replied with a smile.
"Leave it to me. I'll choose some for you right away. What is your budget?"
The clerk answered Novem happily—.
Inside the Jewel Orb.
I was learning the skill [Warp] from the Seventh Generation.
"T-this is... a bit cruel."
Out of breath, I looked at the distance I had moved.
A skill that allows instantaneous movement over a distance of only a few meters. That is [Warp].
It was the second-stage skill of the Seventh Generation, and like [Box], it was a skill for controlling space.
However, there were many problems.
First, the distance I could move was limited to a few meters at this stage.
Second, with my amount of magical power, I couldn't use it very many times.
Third, it was difficult to use spontaneously in complex terrain or locations.
The Seventh Generation, looking at me, seemed pleased.
『What, once you get the hang of it, the distance will extend a bit more. Besides, it's easy if you use the Second Generation's skill to grasp the terrain.』
They insisted it was easy while smiling, but it was difficult even using the Second Generation's skill. It wasn't impossible if I took my time.
However, for a movement of only a few meters, it was faster to just walk.
"If I use it even once or twice a day, it seems my magical power will quickly reach a dangerous state."
When I said that, the Seventh Generation nodded.
『That's true. It scrapes you down to the bone. Besides, since Liel has the First Generation's skill, you always need to store up magical power. And you're supplying magical power to Monica... it's tough. If you had this, you could easily break through forts and such.』
Currently, I needed to store magical power for [Full Burst], the final stage skill of the First Generation.
Furthermore, to maintain Monica, I was constantly supplying magical power to the line. In other words, I was in a state where I was consuming magical power to some extent even if I did nothing.
Incidentally, I was supplying magical power to the Jewel Orb in the same way.
"There are many shackles, but I can use magic now. I think it'll be fine in normal combat."
At that, the Seventh Generation's expression became serious.
『A trump card is something you keep. Even if you can only use it once. If you master this, you'll gain strength several levels above your current state.』
It could certainly be a trump card, but combined with the fatigue immediately after use, the massive consumption of magical power, and the short movement distance...
I had been taught, but it would still be difficult to use in actual combat.
Among the skills recorded in the Jewel Orb, the skills held by the Seventh Generation were difficult to master, much like those of the Third Generation.
Inside the Jewel Orb. In the Seventh Generation's Memory Room, I wiped away my sweat and looked around.
Since it was the era closest to the present among the memories of the successive heads, there were many landscapes I had seen before.
Among them, for some reason, I was receiving special training in front of Old Man Zel's house rather than at the mansion.
I now wondered why Old Man Zel, who had been employed as a live-in worker to manage the mansion's large garden, didn't have a room in the mansion.
"Seventh Generation, why didn't you lend Old Man Zel a room in the mansion?"
Then, the Seventh Generation scratched their cheek with a fingertip.
『...I wanted a place where I could let my guard down. I tried to be strict, but I couldn't go on without a break. Occasionally, I'd drink here with Zel.』
Wondering if they had really done that, I looked at the small house.
The scenery changed, and as the surroundings turned to night, the Seventh Generation was drinking with Old Man Zel in the small house. Old Man Zel's wife was cooking and bringing over the alcohol.
『He ran through battlefields and worked for my sake. He was a man who acted as my vassal just as the generation had changed.』
The Seventh Generation, looking nostalgic, remembered Celes's words. And they knew that it was thanks to Old Man Zel that I had received the Jewel Orb.
『Even though he fulfilled his duty until the end, my grandson treated Zel... let's stop here for today, Liel.』
As the Seventh Generation became depressed, I moved from the Memory Room to the conference room with the round table.
Morning.
Since it was a day off, I woke up a bit later than usual. After stretching, I got out of bed and opened the window of my room.
Outside, as it was a large city, people were already moving about actively.
"Now then, I'll go gather the necessary items today."
I had confirmed the necessary items at the guild and asked how long the period would be.
The guild side seemed to be providing horse carriages and some supplies, so we only needed to gather equipment and luggage we thought were necessary.
"I've given the preparation money, so the problem is my equipment."
Looking at the equipment placed in the room, a saber was housed in the scabbard attached to the belt.
The two sabers were spares I had prepared before coming to Beim. I had visited weapon shops and looked at the merchandise, but none of them were particularly impressive.
There were high-quality blades, but as expected, they were expensive.
In that case, I would have to buy a good one from among the mass-produced ones, but if that were the case, there was no need to buy them even as spares.
Since I had managed somehow until now, I had been postponing buying a full set of equipment.
A knock sounded.
"Monica. You may enter."
Confirming the person with the skill [Search], I permitted them to enter the room. I had locked it, but Monica opened it and entered as if it were nothing.
"Hmph, I'm always surprised by this perverted chicken fellow who can feel this Monica even when we're apart. I'll just give you my body and soul. Oops, I've already given them!"
Ignoring the latter half of her words, I spoke to Monica.
"We're going shopping today. You need to be prepared for at least one to two weeks. In some cases, the conquest takes a month, so we have to prepare accordingly. I'll make a list of food and consumables, so let's ask everyone what they need."
At times like this, Beim is convenient.
Because there is a large amount of merchandise, supplies can be gathered quickly.
"...Please give me more attention. Lately, you've been ignoring me more often because the number of women has increased. How cruel. A master who doesn't feed the fish once he's caught it! But I'll still devote myself to you. Because that's who I am... Monica!"
Leaving Monica to her one-woman show as she swung her twin-tails around, I decided to get dressed.
Fourth Generation (-@∀@) "...Small breasts are superior to large ones. Flat is justice! I can't get along with the large-breast faction."