Chapter 30
The Male Lead Went Crazy for the Troublesome Villainess — Episode 30
The villagers came out to greet us.
Half their faces were wary, half were welcoming. It must have been a long time since such a large group had come through. The lord stepped forward through the watchful eyes.
He was a man wearing a coat that, though worn, must have cost a fair amount.
"I am the one entrusted with this land. May I ask where you have come from?"
Millus stepped forward and announced the expedition's name. When he revealed the Golden Lily Expedition and even the supreme commander, the lord's face went pale. As the man hurriedly tried to throw himself to the ground, Kael raised a hand and stopped him.
"Your Highness......!"
"We stopped by to impose on you for a night. Is there a suitable place?"
The lord visibly hesitated over his words for a moment.
"It is humble, but I will escort you to my residence. I will order the best room prepared at once."
"There's no need."
Kael said tersely.
"We are on an expedition, so I will stay with the troops as well. There is no need to treat my party separately."
"But how could Your Highness......."
"I have no intention of staying apart from the soldiers. Anywhere the entire expedition can bed down will suffice."
At his firm words, the lord could not press further and fell silent. After choosing his words for a moment, he answered cautiously.
"......In that case, I will provide empty houses. About half the village is vacant, so there should be no shortage of space for everyone to stay."
"Good. Millus."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Organize the encampment. Post sentries at the village entrance and outskirts."
"As you command."
While the lord stood there hesitating, the situation was settled in an instant.
A relatively large house in the center of the village was designated as the temporary command post, and Millus went around the remaining empty houses, dividing up and assigning the personnel. After the encampment preparations were finished, word came down that everyone was free to rest until evening roll call. However, leaving the village was forbidden.
Vanessa and I were assigned a very small house that was barely livable for two people. The children and Lillia followed the clergy into a larger house further inside.
Vanessa, finally able to sleep in a normal house again after so long, sprawled across the sofa the moment she got inside. Naturally, I did the same.
"My lady, I might just live here forever."
"Me too."
It was the first dry floor I had set foot on in days. I never knew walking on something other than mud could feel this good.
But from outside, the market had looked pretty big.
'You will be sharing a barracks with me from now on.'
I shook my head. Wait. But that was about when I went into the black market alone.
Right now I was inside the village, and I wasn't going alone. Besides, they said we could move around freely until the evening assembly.
This much should be fine, right? And the market open right now wasn't even a black market.
"Vanessa."
"......Yes?"
"Do you want to go look around the market?"
I planned to buy more snacks and look around a bit. And if possible, I needed to buy some more daggers. Vanessa's eyes sparkled as she sat up.
"I'd love to. But Rosana."
"Yes?"
"Lend me some money. I lost mine."
Her bashful smile was utterly innocent.
* * *
The sun was just about to sink beyond the hill.
The village was quiet. Shops with their doors nailed shut with planks lined the street, and even the occasional shop that was open had barely anything for sale. A few goods sat on planks that could hardly be called stalls.
Still, Vanessa was excited and peered at this and that.
"My lady, look at this."
Vanessa bought a handful of dried apples and held out half. When I chewed, the sourness hit before the sweetness, but strangely, it was still edible.
"I don't know how long it's been since I ate something like this."
Vanessa burst out laughing. She used to be such a handful, but she'd really come a long way.
As we walked like that, a wooden sign hanging crookedly because one nail had come loose caught my eye. The lettering was about half peeled off, but what remained was still legible.
Information Guild.
"......Huh?"
My heart thumped hard.
It was an Information Guild. Oh my god! Even in the original, Seraphine and Kael used to get information from places like this. I glanced at Vanessa. She didn't seem interested in this at all.
"Vanessa, I'm going to stop by there for a bit."
"Ah. Then I'll keep looking around here."
I nodded and entered the Information Guild. When I pushed open the door, the smells of paper and mildew rolled out to meet me. It was dark inside. At a desk beneath the only window, an old man looked up from the ledger he had been paging through.
"......A customer?"
I nodded and stepped inside.
Now then, let's make some plans for the future.
I quickly glanced around. There were several rooms, but all the doors were closed, so I couldn't see inside.
It looked shabby from the outside, but it seemed to be a properly run establishment. A place like this should have recent information too.
"......You don't look like the sort of person who would come to a place like this."
I glanced at the old man.
"Are you a noble?"
"You have a good eye."
I smiled brightly and adjusted my posture. The old man's eyes narrowed.
"I'd like to look into some land that's come up in the north."
"Land?"
"A mine, to be precise. I'm looking for one that's up for sale."
The old man's hand stopped over the ledger. He stared at me for a long while, then let out a hollow laugh.
"Do you know what state the north is in right now?"
"It's land where monsters are swarming and everyone has pulled out. So right now, the landowners must be desperate to sell."
The old man studied me in silence.
"So I'm going to buy it."
"Huh."
A short, hollow laugh escaped him.
The old man studied my face for a while, then held up two fingers.
"Two silver coins."
"Is that the price for the information?"
"Land and mine listings that have come up in the north within the last three months. Including owners and asking prices."
Now this was an Information Guild. In the original, it said never to haggle carelessly at one. If you handled it badly, you might not get what you wanted. I handed over the money without complaint.
Only then did the old man rise from his seat and disappear into the back.
A moment later, he returned carrying several dust-covered ledgers.
"Until now, no one has come to buy, only people wanting to sell. The old listings have prices that no longer mean anything. Right now, there would be plenty of people willing to let them go for even half the price written here."
Half?
That was very good news.
My hand, which had been turning the pages of the ledger, stopped abruptly at one spot.
A mine.
When I checked the location, my heart pounded.
The north was rich in iron. It had only been a passing detail in the original, but I remembered it.
The fluids of the bat monsters living around this mine would seep into the iron ore, and a new mineral would later be discovered.
Mithril.
Around the time the expedition returned, the discovery would come to light, and the price of the abandoned northern mines would literally skyrocket.
It was the mother of all moonshots.
"These listings—could you copy them out separately for me?"
The old man raised an eyebrow.
"You need that too?"
"The owners, locations, and asking prices."
"Give me a few more coins."
I thought for a moment, then took out one gold coin and placed it on the table.
Clink.
The gold coin rolled across the tabletop.