Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 024
Chapter Title: Antara's Slave Market
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Antara, once called the Sacred Land.
It had been home to the continent's third-largest temple, Antara's Repose, and a pilgrimage site for countless faithful.
Sein had his own memories of the place.
But not anymore.
"I wouldn't have recognized it at all."
The Antara in Sein's memories was completely different from the one before him now.
The Antara once known as the Sacred Land.
"Now it's a notorious slave market even in Zone 7."
Arin said, taking in the sight of Antara.
"Have you been to Antara before?"
Sein asked.
"Once."
Her age wasn't what it seemed.
She was the daughter of Zillan, his former master—the same generation as him.
"No matter what you imagine, don't think of the past."
As she said that, Arin gazed toward Antara's central district.
Ruins larger than the city's walls.
The temple that had once been renowned across the continent: Antara's Repose.
"No plans to."
Sein replied, picking at his ear.
"We just need to find what we're after."
"I hope that's all you do."
"What do you take me for?"
Sein chuckled.
"I came into Antara without causing a fuss, didn't I?"
"That was thanks to me, not you."
Arin shot back curtly.
Unlike in Borfeo, there'd been no clashes with the guards.
Unlike Zone 8, seen as the boonies, Zone 7 had proper infrastructure.
The barriers were solid, and safety was somewhat guaranteed.
-Eek!
-We greet Demorus's legion.
In Demorus's city of Antara, they recognized the witch Arin.
Guards startled by the witch's visit, nearly fainting.
-I just want to pass quietly.
At Arin's single word, the panicking guards froze.
Naturally, Arin's visit hadn't been announced to Antara.
"That's why I'll have to deal with some hassle for a bit."
Arin said irritably.
The guards wouldn't report her visit.
-But... may we at least inform the lord...?
They had a duty to report to the lord.
If something went wrong after silencing themselves out of fear of Arin, the guards would bear the blame.
-I'll handle it myself.
-Th-thank you.
And so.
"From Zone 7 onward, the territories are properly established, so there are obligations to manage. I'll go sort it out before any trouble brews."
Arin was about to step away briefly.
"Do whatever. Just don't attract weirdos and stir up problems."
"...What the hell do you think I am?"
Arin shook her head at Sein's snickering remark.
"Anyway."
She warned once more.
"You'd better not cause a scene this time."
Borfeo was under Demorus's influence, but not a full territory.
To be truly considered underworld territory, certain conditions had to be met.
"Don't worry about it."
Sein said confidently.
"I'm here to find something. Planning to pass through quietly."
"Please do."
Ssshh.
Arin melted into the shadows.
"...I hope so."
Though her form vanished completely, the people on the street seemed oblivious.
Arin had left.
Now it was Sein's free time.
"Alright then..."
He grinned.
"Time to hit the info guild."
*
*
*
Chichiron was a rural village.
Borfeo felt like a provincial town.
Antara was more like a mid-sized regional city.
A much larger scale.
Far more people.
And...
"So, toss us a few coins and sweet-talk us—how hard is that?"
A rough-looking man waved a dagger idly.
"...You! Do you know who we are?!"
Sein laughed as if dumbfounded by the man's words.
He crouched down.
A group lay collapsed before him, bleeding.
They looked like typical back-alley thugs, but a small butterfly tattoo on their wrists stood out.
"Just how low-rent are you guys?"
Sein pointed at a wrist with his dagger, incredulous.
"You're Otolmeo guys, aren't you?"
"...You knew that and—!"
"That's why I asked."
Now irritation was creeping in.
"Where's your guild?"
Otolmeo.
One of the continent's famed info guilds from days past.
Of course, that was ancient history; now they were a shadow of themselves, scraping by only in Zone 7.
"You come at us out of nowhere asking where the guild is—what kind of answer did you expect?!"
Otolmeo's informant replied, sounding wronged.
"That's what informants do."
"...Damn it."
The informant shut his mouth.
Judging the opponent too lightly had been a mistake.
"I'm starting to get annoyed, so how about spilling it quick?"
At Sein's repeated prodding, the ashen-faced informants exchanged glances.
"Fine. Our guild is..."
Stab.
Before he could finish, Sein's dagger plunged into his wrist.
"Gaaah!"
The informant screamed in agony.
"What kind of informant sells out the guild that easily?"
"...What do you expect me to—!"
"Worse, you were trying to lure me somewhere else."
"......!"
The informants' eyes widened at Sein's words.
"You think I didn't notice that gesture?"
The subtle hand signal amid their exchanged looks.
A sign unknown to anyone outside Otolmeo or rival info guilds.
Done to lure targets to advantageous spots.
Sein had clocked it all.
"Let's keep it simple. No plans to mess you up—just here to buy info."
"......!"
The informants' eyes bulged again.
"...For real?"
"For real."
"Then why the hell do this?!"
The guy yelled.
"Look over there! You blind?!"
One informant jabbed a finger somewhere.
"If you're pulling crap, your wrist won't be the end of it."
"Just look!"
Sein glanced back after his curt warning.
Where the informant's finger pointed...
[Otolmeo Information Shop]
Otolmeo's name and "Information Shop" were plastered boldly.
"......?"
Sein blinked in confusion.
"What the hell is that?"
"Can't you read?! That's our guild shop! If you want info, go there!"
"Then why'd you pull this crap?"
"...Huh?"
Sein eyed the informants.
"I asked where the guild was, you didn't tell me, so this happened...?"
"We thought you meant headquarters...?"
"Ha."
Sein rubbed his forehead.
Changes over time.
Misunderstandings.
And his own screw-up.
All of it had led to this.
"Sorry about that."
"What the... "
But the informants clammed up.
No more provoking this lunatic.
*
*
*
"Times sure have changed."
Sein muttered.
"An info guild hanging out a sign like 'Information Shop' in plain sight."
"...First time in Antara, sir?"
As if overhearing Sein's mutter, a middle-aged man asked cautiously.
He was Britz, manager of Otolmeo's Antara branch information shop.
Britz eyed Sein warily.
-Came to buy info.
A young man who strolled in with a cocky attitude.
Strikingly handsome, but Britz wasn't one to be swayed.
The eyes.
With over a decade in the info trade, Britz could tell.
'Crazy bastard.'
The kind you don't touch.
And just now, he'd heard low-level guild informants had tangled with this guy.
A fresh face in Antara.
The eyes.
And...
"I want everything on Antara's Repose."
The info he sought.
Nothing about him was straightforward.
"But you run a business like this?"
"...Pardon?"
"Info guilds rub plenty of people the wrong way. Who likes their secrets sold out?"
In fact, that's why info guilds hid in the shadows.
"Ah, we're under Demorus's protection."
Britz declared proudly.
"Per the pact of the three great underworlds, no one touches an info guild under underworld protection lightly."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
Britz maintained his polite demeanor.
"But seriously, you can operate out in the open like this?"
"What exactly are you implying?"
Still, Britz felt annoyance bubbling.
Knowing the guy was dangerous, he'd even name-dropped Demorus as a warning.
Yet this punk treated Demorus like some stray mutt's name, not enough—he was...
"Your intel's too weak, no?"
Even dissing Otolmeo, practically his own home.
Twitch.
A vein throbbed at his temple inevitably.
"...I don't follow, but if you'll excuse me—"
"We'll call that payment."
Sein cut Britz off.
Antara's Repose loomed right there, a massive structure in plain view.
Sein wanted the rundown: how it was treated, security, that sort of thing.
This should cover it.
'Saves money. Nice.'
So Sein spoke up.
"Looks like someone rolled into Antara today."
"......"
Britz, the seasoned info broker, swallowed his anger and waited.
"Pretty girl with black hair. Ring any bells?"
"...You're joking..."
"Can't even ID her from that? Otolmeo's gone to shit."
Britz felt an urge to split the guy's skull with a dagger.
Simultaneously, his hand slid under the desk.
An emergency button for crises.
The moment he pressed it...
"Touch that, you die."
"......!"
"Listen till the end, man. You're an info broker."
The eyes.
They'd changed.
If he'd just been a lunatic before, now deeper, darker.
"The witch entered Antara."
"......!"
"Now probably at the lord's castle. That worth the price?"
A true madman's gaze.
The real deal, honed over years in the trade.
"......Impressive intel. Thank you."
Britz said.
"Antara's Repose info won't cover it. Anything else you want?"
"Good."
Only then did Sein smile.
"Looks like you get info value after all."