Chapter 215: Auction House (5)
“Seeing you suddenly return, I wondered what it was all about….”
The information broker, who had been staring blankly in the direction where Artemia had disappeared, smacked his lips a few times.
She had appeared out of nowhere, grilled him for information about the black market, and when he checked into it, it turned out to be something tangled up with the Holy Sun Church.
He muttered under his breath with a small sigh.
“Honestly, that woman… she’s the same as ever, whether it’s the past or now.”
Artemia was a well-known figure among mercenaries in many ways.
There were quite a few women who jumped into mercenary work at a young—almost childish—age.
In this harsh world, how many people were there who didn’t end up gripping a sword out of sheer necessity just to survive?
But most of them failed to last long, met a miserable end, or quietly disappeared.
Cases where someone survived intact to the very end and succeeded—so-called rising to the ranks of top-tier mercenaries—were so rare that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were exceptional.
And yet Artemia went a step further, seizing the title of a top-tier mercenary before she even came of age.
On top of her ability, she was also blessed with outstanding looks, so whether she liked it or not, she was always someone who drew attention.
Perhaps because of that,
back when Artemia was active in the field, there was no end to the ominous—or sometimes trivial—rumors about her.
Stories circulated of some scoundrel young master from an influential noble family trying to pester her and make her his concubine, only to end up with broken arms and legs.
There were also frequent tales of rookie mercenaries who had foolishly shown off and acted cocky, only to vanish overnight without a trace.
But among them all, the most famous story was, of course, that she had refused an invitation from the imperial family.
And on top of that, she had declared her retirement as if to show it off, then entered the academy—of all things, as a maid. That story had been passed down among them as a legend in more ways than one.
At the time, rumors even spread like wildfire among mercenaries that she had finally gone mad and developed a death wish.
However, as time passed, stories about her gradually became rarer.
Moreover, digging up the past of a retired colleague went against the unspoken rules of this line of work, so tales of Artemia slowly seemed to fade into obscurity.
And yet now, without any warning at all, she had returned—and it was about the black market, no less, and something involving the Holy Sun Church.
“Hmph!”
The information broker roughly blew his nose and shoved the pouch of gold coins she had given him deep into his clothes.
‘This… doesn’t feel like it’s going to end well…….’
The information broker was someone who had owed Artemia a favor several times in the past.
That was why he had tried again and again to dissuade her from this job.
It had all been born out of genuine concern.
If there was one saying that had become an unspoken rule among information brokers and mercenaries alike, it was this: avoid getting involved with the imperial family or the Holy Sun Church if at all possible.
If you got entangled with them the wrong way, it wasn’t just that a single life wouldn’t be enough—you could end up dragging everyone around you into it as well.
But despite the man’s desperate attempts to stop her, Artemia had merely left behind the word “commission” and vanished without a trace.
“…….”
Wouldn’t it be better to shut down his business and flee far away, even now?
For a brief moment, the thought of selling the information about her return for a high price crossed his mind, but he quickly shook his head.
If he did something like that, there was no telling what kind of end he’d meet later.
After all, everyone only had one life.
“…Well, even if she ends up dead now, I guess that’s just her fate.”
The information broker smacked his lips again.
Even so, forcing aside the lingering unease that refused to fade, he returned to his shop.
As he took down the ‘Out’ sign he had carelessly hung on the door and stepped inside, the familiar musty smell and the dim interior greeted him.
“…Whoa, you startled me.”
Inside the shop, a customer he had never seen before was waiting.
A man with his mouth covered.
“…You a customer? Didn’t you see the sign out front?”
“…….”
“…Well, anyway, if I kept you waiting, I’m sorry about that. I stepped out to take a little break. Heh heh.”
The information broker deliberately let out a vulgar chuckle and pretended to adjust his waistband.
At the same time, his eyes swiftly scanned the other man.
He had thrown on shabby clothes, apparently thinking he could hide himself and disguise his identity that way, but the distinctive posture and aura ingrained in his body were not so easily concealed.
As someone known even in mercenary circles for having plenty of experience under his belt, the information broker had a keen eye, and at a glance he realized that the man was no ordinary individual.
‘Damn it, he came straight here.’
The information broker cursed inwardly.
But on the outside, he put on a sly smile and asked,
“Ahem, but what brings you here so early in the day? Maybe you came for a hair-of-the-dog drink?”
“…I’ll save the drinking for another time.”
The man replied in a low voice, pulling several sketches from his clothes and spreading them out on the table.
The drawings depicted a blond young man he had never seen before, a platinum-blond woman, and a red-haired young man.
“Do you happen to know anything about these people?”
“Uh…… I’m not sure. I’m not very good at remembering faces, you see…….”
The information broker shrugged and played dumb.
Then he scratched his cheek with his finger, making a faint rasping sound.
“Besides, this is a tavern, not some detective agency for finding people who ran away from home. I’d appreciate it if you ordered something before talking…… so, how about a nice, refreshing mug of beer?”
“……One mug of beer.”
The man answered shortly.
While the information broker prepared the beer, the man began laying the drawings out one by one on the shelf.
“…….”
The information broker examined each drawing in silence.
There were faces he recognized, and faces he had never seen before.
Then, when his gaze reached the drawing of Artemia, it stopped—just for a moment, a very brief moment.
“So then, what exactly is your business, sir? This isn’t a matchmaking meeting, yet you’ve laid out all these portraits.”
The information broker asked as he casually handed over the beer.
The man cleared away the other drawings and pushed only Artemia’s portrait forward.
“Stop playing dumb.”
A young voice.
From that voice, the information broker sensed faint irritation and disgust.
“You already knew that you’re known as an information broker in this line of work.”
“Heh heh, well now. You’ve been hearing all sorts of strange rumors, I see.”
“Where did this woman go?”
The information broker let out a deep sigh.
“……You’ve got the wrong man, sir.”
He said as he stared straight through the man.
“An information broker, in other words, is a middleman. We have an obligation to protect our colleagues’ information and secrets. This business runs entirely on trust, doesn’t it? I’m not about to sell a colleague’s information for no good reason—especially not to some bone-headed fellow whose affiliation I don’t even know.”
As he spoke, the information broker slowly reached a hand toward the hilt of a dagger hidden beneath the shelf.
“If you’ve understood enough, finish the beer I gave you and get lost. I won’t even charge you. Understood?”
“…….”
At that, the man said nothing and instead pulled out a heavy coin pouch from his clothes, tossing it onto the table.
Clink.
With a weighty sound, several gold coins rolled out of the pouch.
“Uh…….”
It looked several times heavier than the one he had just received from Artemia.
The information broker glanced at the pouch for a moment, then broke into a grin and withdrew his hand from the dagger.
He immediately stretched out both hands and gently stroked the coin pouch.
“Well now…… I suppose I can at least tell you where she was headed. That much won’t put a crack in my credibility.”
Pocketing the pouch, the information broker told him the direction Artemia had gone.
The man cast a suspicious look at him for a moment, then, in a contemptuous voice,
“As expected of rat bastards…….”
He muttered lowly and left his seat.
Watching him go, the information broker did nothing but grin.
“Come again next time, sir!”
And the moment the man completely disappeared, the smile vanished from the information broker’s face as if it had never been there.
He immediately began gathering his weapons and tools from the back of the shop, spewing curses as he did.
“Damn it all, I’m seriously screwed this time. Getting dragged into this at my age……!”
Since he had given him the wrong direction, it should buy a little time.
If so, he needed to warn Artemia as quickly as possible that someone was on her tail.
“…….”
And as the information broker hurried out of the building, someone who had been watching his back from afar quietly followed him, as if they had been waiting for this moment.
---
Using the information she had obtained from the information broker, Artemia began organizing her thoughts.
Black market goods were being sent to an abandoned orphanage, and a high-ranking figure from the Holy Sun Church was purchasing them.
“Hm.”
She lightly furrowed her brow.
The orphanage the information broker mentioned was a place closely connected to the incident involving cultists of the Evil God that had occurred in the underground sewer a few days ago.
‘An orphanage…….’
Forcing away the bad premonition, Artemia headed toward the orphanage.
Securing detailed information and evidence, then delivering them to Lian.
That was the condition for completing this commission, but…….
Instinctively, she had already realized that she would become far more deeply involved in this matter than the commission alone required.
Before long, the orphanage she arrived at was little more than ruins.
Artemia cautiously stepped into the nearly destroyed interior.
The walls and floor were riddled with holes that looked like traces of a violent battle, and bloodstains that had yet to fade remained scattered everywhere.
There was even the lingering presence of demons.
“…….”
Yet Artemia paid no attention at all to those chilling traces, calmly scanning her surroundings instead.
Not long after, she discovered a cleverly concealed door in one section of the wall.
As she ran her hand along the wall, a click sounded, and the door opened.
“……Found it.”
Whispering that, Artemia stepped into the pitch-dark doorway without hesitation.
After descending stairs that seemed to stretch on endlessly and passing through a narrow path, a vast interior space greeted her.
It was a workshop that looked long abandoned, with thick dust settled everywhere.
The moment she stepped inside, a dense stench of blood assaulted her nose.
“Hm.”
Inside the workshop, quite a number of people lay dead in horrific states.
Anything that looked like important documents had already been taken, and there were even remains of bodies burned so badly their original forms were unrecognizable.
Everything looked as though a considerable amount of time had already passed.
‘……Did someone from the Holy Sun Church come through here.’
Just as she was about to turn away with that thought—
she spotted a strange glass bottle gleaming in the darkness.
Inside the bottle, something like a human head was floating about.
“This is…….”
A low exclamation slipped from Artemia before she could stop herself.
That was because the face inside was one she knew all too well.
Inside the glass bottle was the head of Rahma, who had been reported missing long ago.