NOVEL WEB Chapter 89
A snake in the underground of the system.
That statement stopped my steps.
“Isn’t this the information you need right now?”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Silina.
The information I need.
She knows what I’m looking for.
Just yesterday, Silina and I were discussing the side branch of Eustetia.
We even talked about the person hiding inside the cartel more than the side branch itself.
Yet for some reason, Silina knows what I’m looking for.
Who told her?
There’s no need to think about it.
“The head of the Information Guild seems to have a loose tongue, huh?”
Ophelia Bloomin.
Then, why did she inform Silina?
To mess with me?
No way.
She can’t do something like that after beating her subordinates and showering them with money.
Of course, I can’t say for sure, but from what I’ve seen, Ophelia was not the type to do such things.
Then why did she inform Silina?
Was it not an alert at all?
“Or did she force the information out?”
“I wouldn’t do such an impolite thing.”
“Then that girl must be the problem.”
Silina flinched at my growled voice.
“I’m sorry for Fabiana-senpai, but I guess I have to find a new source of information.”
“…Eliaernes.”
“Why?”
“I’m not the one who extracted the information, nor did the source speak. And didn’t you say to bring information today?”
“You should speak properly. The fact that you know that period from the start is the problem. Does the Information Guild operate like that nowadays? Isn’t it etiquette for even someone who has come with the Emperor’s order to keep other people’s information private? Back in my day, that’s how it was done.”
Silina mumbled, “Seventeen-year-olds in my time were like this,” and scanned the surroundings.
“It doesn’t seem right to talk about it here. How about we go to a quiet place?”
Hearing Silina’s smaller voice, I also looked around.
Everyone in the restaurant was glancing at us.
Their gazes were anything but ordinary.
Pina, right next to me, was trembling while hugging her tail, making the atmosphere between me and Silina even more awkward.
“If we talk a little longer here, I feel like a new post about ‘that first-year’ will pop up on the community today.”
“I just want to poke their eyes out.”
“Eeek…!”
Gently patting Pina’s back as she was about to choke, I nodded.
“It seems a bit late, but let’s head to the personal training grounds.”
“Good thought.”
*
Arriving at the personal training grounds, Silina began rummaging through her small handbag in one hand.
She pulled out a coffee pot, a set of fancy teacups, five types of tea bags, some black… espresso, milk, and simple snacks, and laid them on the table.
It was a set for a full tea time.
I wondered what she would use that tiny bag for, only to realize it was an artifact with expansion magic.
And a pretty high-grade artifact at that.
An artifact you can’t even buy with money, and she’s using it just to carry a tea set around.
Even if she’s a princess, that’s some ridiculous behavior.
“Why set up your home here?”
“It’s not home. These are just things to decorate your training ground a little more lavishly.”
“There’s no trash here!”
“Isn’t the trash in your hand right now?”
“Are you calling my mint chocolate trash?”
“Yep.”
Silina confidently nodded.
“Ugh.”
Her response wrinkled my brows.
Is there really no one in this world who likes mint chocolate? Surely that’s not the case.
Just going out to the street, there are dessert shops specializing in mint chocolate.
I turned to Pina, who was looking at Silina’s items with sparkling eyes.
“Hey, Pina. You don’t hate mint chocolate, do you?”
“Eek!”
Surprised, Pina looked at me cautiously.
“Please tell me… you’re not saying you hate mint chocolate, which your friend loves, right?”
Shaking her head vigorously, Pina grabbed the mint chocolate milk from my hand.
“Right? You like mint chocolate, don’t you, Pina?”
Nodding vigorously.
Pina, showing intense approval, immediately started gulping down the mint chocolate milk.
“So you’re saying the human is trash because you like trashy mint chocolate.”
Seeing that, Silina looked at me in disbelief.
I stared back at her with the same bewilderment.
“Why am I trash?”
“You’re remarkably confident without even knowing your problems.”
“I’m confident because there are no problems.”
I truly was confident.
I didn’t force Pina to eat something I didn’t want, nor did I threaten her to eat it.
I was simply asking and recommending as a friend.
“You’re just born a hooligan, aren’t you?”
Kekeke—laughing, Silina poured the boiling water from the pot into the teacup and pulled out a bundle of papers from her handbag.
I quickly took a seat opposite her to look at it.
Then Silina took the bundle of papers back.
“If you weren’t a princess, I’d have slapped you two times by now.”
“If this weren’t the academy, your head would’ve been rolling on the floor by now.”
Unfazed, Silina countered my words, took a sip of her tea classically, and looked at me.
“I’m not trying to tease you.”
“Then?”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Worried?”
Taking another sip of tea and munching on a cookie, Silina spoke more seriously than before.
“The information here isn’t certain. I can’t even verify the authenticity of this… neither can the informant who brought this to me.”
“Don’t drag it out and just get to the point.”
“Don’t get angry when you see it. Think thoroughly, assess well, and then decide whether to accept it or not.”
“I’ll handle that myself.”
“And I’m showing this to you before Fabiana, so if you throw a fit, she might really change her informant.”
Meaning Fabiana could kill Ophelia, and further, the entire [Uranus] Information Guild.
What sort of information could provoke such stern warnings? I nodded, hoping it wasn’t what I feared.
“…But.”
“Ugh. When will you show it? Are you planning to show it when I’m old and dead?”
“Speak more nicely.”
Zing—Silina shot me a glare.
After a moment, she turned her less intense gaze to Pina, who was still munching on her cookie beside me.
“So, is it okay if she hears this?”
I looked at Pina too.
“Hic.”
Pina, noticing our gaze, started to hiccup.
Is it okay for Pina to hear?
“Um…”
Honestly, Pina would be better off not hearing it.
But since there is a suspected human tied to demons in the academy, and it seems they are targeting Pina, leaving her alone would be too dangerous.
Even if it’s overprotective, there’s nothing I can do about it.
And, well… this is kind of amusing.
If the door doesn’t open when I arrive… I might need Pina’s help then.
Still… I was a bit hesitant to tell her.
“Pina.”
Tilting her head?
“Are you curious about what we’re discussing?”
After a moment of gaping, Pina tapped her device.
[I’m curious, but it’s fine. Can I step out for a moment?]
“No, just don’t go out.”
Tap. Tap. I tapped the table considering for a moment.
“Just sit and eat cookies. But anything you hear or see here is a secret, okay?”
[Yes. Understood.]
“If you tell anyone else, you and I can no longer be friends. We would be worse than strangers.”
“Hic…”
Pina, who was scared, nodded vigorously.
[That will never happen.]
“Yeah. If Deputy Headmaster Leona asks, you don’t know anything. Got it?”
[I’ll keep that in mind.]
Seeing Pina’s determined text, I shrugged and looked at Silina.
Silina, still heavy with distrust, seemed to comply and handed me the paper she’d hidden.
“I’ll say it again, don’t get angry right away. Even if Fabiana sees this, it’s such low-quality information that she would scoff at it.”
Ignoring her constant nagging, I flipped to the first page.
“…Huh.”
And doubted my eyes.
“Eliaernes.”
“I get it, so just shut… be quiet now.”
I closed my eyes for a moment to compose my breathing.
Carefully placing the paper in my hands down without tearing it, I forced down the killing intent oozing out of me.
“This isn’t certain yet.”
“Yeah. It’s not certain. It’s close to hallucination level in terms of… credibility.”
“But even so, bringing it to me and showing it means there’s a strong suspicion without physical evidence.”
Silina didn’t respond.
After taking a moment to steady my breathing, I opened my eyes again.
I lowered my gaze and slowly absorbed the information Silina had brought.
[Confirmed that a woman with pink hair has contacted a dark mage in the underground of the system.]
[The individual entered the underground through the sewage system of Mirinae on January 2, 954 of the Empire, at 21:48.]
[This informant, code name ‘Dream’, attempted to track this individual but determined that it was impossible due to the labyrinth within the underground.]
[On January 4, at 13:12, this individual exited Mirinae and attempted to communicate with the Black Magic Tower.]
[It is presumed that some kind of transaction took place, as they appeared to come out with items they originally did not possess.]
[On January 4, at 13:17, the individual disappeared through the entrance gate of the Black Magic Tower.]
[As confirmed by ‘Dream’s’ ideation, the individual was connected to the Eustetia Duchy.]
[However, given the muddiness of the color, it is presumed that they are from the side branch, not the direct line.]
[On February 17, 954 of the Empire, ‘Dream’ identified the individual.]
[The female heir of the Eustetia family, from the Veruna Region, specifically, Hesilia Eustetia, who is developing an iron mine.]
[Father: Paedra Eustetia.]
[Mother: Miriul Eustetia.]
[First daughter: Hesilia Eustetia.]
“…Hah.”
[Second daughter: Shivria Eustetia.]
“Look at this fucking girl.”