1.
Kyle’s expression, which I watched crinkle helplessly, grew gloomy in turn.
“I thought it was the best coffee I’d made all year….”
Kyle muttered timidly.
“You don’t have to force yourself to drink it.”
Visibly dejected, Kyle reached out to take the cup back. He looked truly disappointed. Could it be?
*‘Is this some kind of guild test?’*
A test to evaluate my patience or the sincerity of my motives by seeing if I’d finish this coffee? The information I have about the guild is from over a year in the future. There might be some peculiar procedure during this period before the code words for a request.
*‘If that’s the case….’*
I must pass, no matter what.
I reached out and stopped Kyle, who was about to lift the cup.
“No, I can drink it all.”
As I pulled the coffee cup back toward me, steeling my resolve, Kyle’s expression brightened.
*‘Connie!’*
I squeezed my eyes shut and downed the coffee in one shot.
*‘Ugh.’*
It felt like drinking mud or water used to rinse a dishcloth. The only saving grace was that there were only about two sips’ worth. Through sheer willpower, I managed to shift my deeply twisted expression into something resembling a blank look.
“You really drank it all!”
After glancing at the empty cup and cheering, Kyle offered me a slice of cake as a special service. I stared at the whipped cream cake, which looked delicious on the surface, for a moment.
*‘Is this part of the procedure, too?’*
It looked plausible enough, so it might taste like an eraser this time. Or maybe something even more terrifying to imagine.
*‘Still, my palate is already ruined by the coffee.’*
Like a knight heading to the battlefield, I resolutely picked up my fork and cut off a corner.
*‘Would it be better to just eat as much as possible at once?’*
But my body, still reeling from that heinous coffee, violently rejected a larger piece.
*‘Just this much for now.’*
Closing my eyes tight, I put the piece—just a little larger than a bean—into my mouth.
*‘It… tastes good?’*
It wasn’t a flavor that made hymns ring out the moment it touched my tongue, but it was a decent enough cake. I cut a much larger piece and shoved it into my mouth to erase the lingering aftertaste of the sludge-like coffee.
Kyle smiled contentedly as he watched me diligently eating.
“It’s delicious.”
I complimented the cake, omitting the phrase “compared to the coffee” at the end.
“Thank you, customer.”
Kyle’s eyes crinkled until they were almost invisible. Even after I polished off the cake, which was only about the size of my palm, Kyle continued to linger around me.
*‘Is it now?’*
“Excuse me.”
I gauged the situation and whispered the code words for a requester to Kyle.
“The blue falcon soaring through the firmament has guided me here.”
*‘Please, let it still be the same.’*
Given there is one procedure I don’t recognize from my future knowledge, it might be different from the code I know. There was no reply from Kyle. I lifted my eyes slightly to examine him; the eyes that had been smiling brightly until a moment ago were drooping again.
“Ah, you were that kind of customer.”
Even though the information guild was his primary business, his tone sounded immensely disappointed. His sulkiness lasted only a moment; perhaps the “Guild Master mode” had been activated, as Kyle’s aura changed in an instant. Before, he had felt like bouncy pudding that would be riddled with holes if poked with a fork, but now, despite the same smiling face, he felt somehow firm.
“So, what brings you here, customer? Are you on the buying side? Or the selling side?”
Kyle asked, wearing his smile like a mask. I answered, bluffing and pretending to be as relaxed as a small bird fluffing its feathers to look larger to an enemy.
“Both.”
“Hmm, a special guest has arrived.”
Kyle stroked his chin, weighing me, and his scales soon tilted to one side.
“First, I’d like to hear about the items you’re trading.”
It meant he was at least willing to listen. I took a breath and handed him the documents I had brought.
“This is what I’m selling.”
Taking the documents, Kyle checked the contents carefully. After grasping everything in a single glance, he set them down on the table.
“This is an account of the manipulated financial documents of House Camelot and its subordinate families.”
“Yes. A field investigation will be necessary, but it should be mostly correct.”
At my confident answer, Kyle smiled, raising only the corners of his lips.
“Good. I’ll acknowledge that this is information worth buying.”
Kyle placed one hand on the pile of papers.
“However, it will be difficult to offer a high price.”
With that, he tapped the documents a few times with his index finger. The kind-hearted cafe owner mode, who had served me a piece of cake more expensive than the coffee, was nowhere to be found. Kyle picked at the deal with a fussy expression.
“Information like this, it only takes time, but it will eventually be revealed. If the window to sell it is limited, you have to accept that its value drops, don’t you?”
I readily agreed with Kyle’s words.
“That’s a fair point in principle. Since the Emperor’s inspection team is already investigating, they’ll likely reach a similar conclusion within a week at most. I admit that.”
They were as capable as I was, and there were more of them than me. The only reason I was able to find House Camelot’s corruption first was that I knew exactly how the situation had unfolded.
*‘And it’s also a set of documents I’ve already processed.’*
“But in a situation where every second counts, acquiring information even just a few hours early is worth a fortune.”
I placed my hand on the documents, side-by-side with his.
*‘If you don’t want to buy it, give it back.’*
It was a bluff made with all my might. Kyle smiled, his eyes curving as if he were enjoying this.
“You have quite the talent for negotiation.”
*‘Got him!’*
“Because I assume you’re planning to choose a surprise attack before Duke Camelot can get rid of the remaining evidence in the territory.”
I had bragged a little in my joy that the bluff worked, but Kyle’s expression stiffened for a moment. He straightened his posture, which had been slightly hunched while resting his hand on the documents. Then, he backed away a step from the table, as if on guard.
“I think I got too excited because it’s the first time I’ve seen a customer finish my coffee since I opened.”
Kyle smoothed out his expression quickly and smiled as if he were in a bind.
“Pardon?”
When I questioned him about the incomprehensible situation, Kyle’s smile deepened.
“Is it Count Renkels? Unfortunately, no other routes are coming to mind. Miss Carolina Diaz.”
“How do you know my name? No, more than that, I don’t know what you’re talking about….”
I don’t know how the flow of the conversation ended up like this.
*‘Why is Count Renkels coming up?’*
Seeing that I was completely clueless, Kyle also looked a bit confused. For a while, he looked into my eyes, trying to find a clue, though he soon gave up.
*‘I really don’t know what’s going on.’*
Sighing softly, Kyle spoke to me in a tone of rebuke, as if talking to a small child.
“First of all, answering a question with a question is not a very good habit.”
His tone was gentle, but since he was the one who asked first, it sounded as if he were telling me to provide an answer to his question first. I was completely overwhelmed by Kyle’s strange aura.
“So, if you just tell me why Count Renkels came up….”
*‘I’ll try to come up with an answer.’*
Stung by Kyle’s gaze, which grew sharper the more I spoke, I furtively avoided his eyes. Kyle let out a loud sigh, as if wanting me to hear it.
“I asked how you knew the guild belonged to the Emperor.”
He then spoke like an impatient teacher educating a slow student.
*‘Oh, so that’s what it was.’*
I finally found the thread of the conversation.
“Well, the code word is ‘the blue falcon soaring through the firmament,’ isn’t it?”
Even if it wasn’t for my past life’s memories, I would have noticed the moment I heard the code.
*‘Because the crest the Emperor used when he was a Grand Duke was a blue falcon.’*
My parents had an educational philosophy of “just don’t cause trouble and grow up healthy,” so unlike other noble families, they weren’t the type to make me memorize the crests of all the nobles on the registry.
*‘But it’s so famous.’*
The imperial family was said to be descendants of the gods, so they could use the emblem of the Goddess. However, the previous Emperor, the current Emperor’s uncle, decreed that “a collateral imperial family cannot be allowed the Goddess’s emblem,” and bestowed the blue falcon emblem upon the Emperor when he was a Grand Duke. It was intended to insult him—who would have otherwise inherited the throne as the only son of the Crown Prince—by branding him as collateral royalty.
“Just by that?”
Kyle seemed somehow disheartened upon hearing my answer.
“Well, everyone else is walking on eggshells, so no one uses the blue falcon as a symbol for anything, right? If there’s only one person who uses it, wouldn’t it be easy to guess?”
Trying to be careful with my words, I omitted the subject and pointed to the sky with my index finger. Seeing that, Kyle laughed out loud.
*‘No, I meant the high and mighty people above, not the person who was defeated by his nephew and is now in heaven.’*
While I felt awkward, Kyle didn’t stop laughing easily. After a long time, he finally stopped and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
“I’ve turned your guess into a certainty.”
It felt like I’d been dealt a blow, but he didn’t seem particularly displeased.
“Very well. Now it’s time to hear what Miss Diaz wants.”
Kyle’s smile was cheerful as he invited me to state my price.