After enjoying the brief tea time that Imperial Priest Veron had prepared, I immediately rose from my seat.

Imperial Priest Veron dragged his heavy frame all the way to the entrance to see us off, which felt somewhat burdensome.

“Then farewell to you both.”

“Yes, thank you, Father.”

Regardless, he had gone out of his way to help us, so I expressed my gratitude.

“Haha, if you ever have business again, feel free to seek me out. I’ll personally see you out.”

The settlement process had been somewhat unsettling, though.

Well, come to think of it, having an Imperial Priest handle the settlement rather than an outside employee might have been a blessing. As an Imperial Priest, he would certainly be discreet.

After safely completing the settlement,

I spotted a bank a block away from the settlement office and exchanged 120 shillings from my account into physical currency.

Jingle-

‘That’s a hefty sum.’

My pockets, which had grown loose from nothing but spending lately, were once again stuffed full.

The run-in with that thug had taught me one thing: to avoid situations like before, I needed physical currency on hand.

I couldn’t withdraw too much for fear of pickpockets, but flashing account funds in an urgent situation wouldn’t bring anyone to my aid either.

I also withdrew a gold coin to repay Chasey for the one she had covered on my behalf, but she refused it, leaving me no choice but to pocket it.

Behind me came the sound of footsteps—jjol jjol jjol—following without a word.

‘This is uncomfortable.’

Chasey’s burdensome gaze bore into the back of my head, and I kept my eyes forward, pretending not to notice.

But I couldn’t ignore the young lady of the Einthoven family indefinitely, so I glanced back and inevitably met her eyes.

Bright, sparkling eyes.

“Shieldbearer Lee Shin—no, Mr. Shin! Who exactly are you?”

Chasey, who had been quietly waiting for me to finish at the bank, seized the moment and spoke up urgently.

“The player who shattered the Holy King’s Placement Method, and the champion who astonished an Imperial Priest… perhaps?”

‘The epithets keep multiplying.’

The image taking shape in Chasey’s mind was steadily gaining substance.

“I’m just a 1-Cost Shieldbearer.”

I had spoken the truth, yet Chasey nodded as though she understood completely.

“So that’s your cover story. Understood! I’ll keep your secret as best I can!”

A secret known only to her.

It was far too tantalizing a notion for a girl who had just reached adulthood.

“Phew-“

I eventually gave up on explaining.

To make Chasey understand my situation, I would have to reveal my origins and my secrets from the battlefield, and given that prospect, it was better to let her misunderstand.

‘The misunderstanding will clear up once we spend more time together anyway.’

At that moment, a question surfaced in Chasey’s mind as well.

Chasey pondered in silence.

“But why were you getting beaten up by that local thug?”

When she had examined him through mana, the injuries were real, not an act.

Of that much, she was absolutely certain.

‘Sister Ariel did say he was a champion who couldn’t manipulate mana.’

Then had the Imperial Priest exaggerated his reaction to mock her?

No, that wasn’t the kind of reaction he’d had. There had been nothing unnatural about his behavior.

Chasey’s agonizing continued, and the one who shattered her reverie was an unexpected figure.

“Excuse me.”

Chasey turned around at the voice calling from behind. Standing there was a short boy with brown hair, dressed in shabby clothes.

‘Who’s this?’

An unfamiliar face. Was he someone Chasey knew?

“Pardon? Me?”

Chasey pointed at herself in bewilderment.

Judging by Chasey’s reaction, that didn’t seem to be the case…

He didn’t appear to be picking a fight, and from his appearance, he might be a beggar looking for handouts. We had just stepped out of the bank, after all.

“Do you happen to have any money? My younger sibling is sick, and…”

Just as I thought.

Tap- tap-

I nudged Chasey’s shoulder as she stood there, at a loss.

Then, moving only my lips where the boy couldn’t see, I conveyed my intent.

‘Let’s go-‘

It was already familiar to me from my days on the streets, but for Chasey, the young lady of the Einthoven family, this was likely her first encounter with such a situation.

It was a common occurrence among vagrants, so I intended to ignore it and walk past.

In situations like this, the best response was no response at all.

You never knew how someone with nothing to lose might lash out, so not engaging at all was the safest course.

But the words that slipped from the boy’s mouth defied expectation.

“You met Father Veron, didn’t you? I know about him. What kind of person Father Veron really is… If you just give me money, I’ll tell you! If you don’t know this, you’ll be in danger.”

Flinch.

Chasey seemed slightly shaken, but I didn’t believe the boy’s words.

It was one of the most common tactics to extort money.

The information you’d actually get for your money would likely be riddled with rumors and falsehoods.

‘Ignore him.’

Perhaps sensing that I wouldn’t believe him, the boy quickly added:

“Philip! You saw Philip, didn’t you? I saw you come to the orphanage earlier! I live at the orphanage too.”

Philip…

Wasn’t that the little kid who had been making fun of me earlier?

‘So that place was an orphanage.’

If someone from the orphanage was saying this much, there had to be something to it.

Come to think of it, there had been much about Priest Veron’s behavior that I couldn’t comprehend.

Not only did he know Chasey, but there was also his strange reaction to me.

Well, as they say, better safe than sorry. It wouldn’t hurt to hear the kid out at least once.

“I’ll pay you after I hear the information. Spare me the nonsense.”

The boy shook his head firmly at my words.

“No, I’ll take the money first. What I tell you will depend on the color of the coin.”

Brazen attitude. I felt the corners of my mouth curl upward.

“Is that so? Then let’s hear it. You know what happens if I’m not satisfied, right?”

Clack-!

I flicked a coin from my pocket toward the boy with my finger.

“Of course… gasp! This is…!”

The boy’s expression underwent a dramatic shift as he caught the coin.

He had expected a silver coin at best, but what I had given him was a gold coin.

It was a hundred times more than he had anticipated, and his hands were trembling.

The boy gulped, squeezed his eyes shut, and then held the coin back out to me.

Swish-

“No, I don’t think my information is worth this much. Please exchange it for a silver coin.”

“Is that so?”

I obliged the boy’s request and swapped the gold coin for a silver one.

The boy let out a sigh of relief and carefully tucked the silver coin into his pocket.

‘The information might be worth trusting.’

Judging by his attitude, he didn’t seem the type to fabricate stories.

The boy glanced around cautiously before slowly opening his mouth.

“I’ll cut straight to the point. The place you visited earlier isn’t actually an orphanage.”

‘Didn’t he just say it was an orphanage?’

I furrowed my brow at the boy’s words.

“Is that what’s important?”

What I wanted to know was anything concerning my own safety, not the founding history of that building.

But the boy paid no mind to my reaction.

Well, his confident expression suggested there was something to it, though I hoped it would be worth at least one silver coin.

“A specialized training facility for raising spies to be planted throughout the Empire. That is the orphanage’s true purpose.”

Spies…

It was surprising, but I couldn’t bring myself to agree with his claim that I’d be in danger if I didn’t hear this information.

“What does that have to do with us?”

“Father Veron’s primary business is selling information. He collects intelligence on travelers who come to Trivik through the children and sells it to various factions. People with striking appearances, people with money, people who look like they can be squeezed for cash—those are the usual targets.”

The boy’s gaze drifted toward Chasey.

“What? Why am I…”

Chasey pulled her robe deeper over her head, embarrassed by the converging stares.

Given her appearance, such concerns were only natural.

But I couldn’t help feeling deflated.

‘There goes a silver coin.’

Now that I’d heard it, it wasn’t anything significant.

“Is that all?”

“It is dangerous! No one Father Veron has targeted has ever left Trivik in one piece.”

The boy stomped his feet in frustration.

“You don’t need to worry about her. He can’t touch her anyway.”

There was something the boy didn’t know, so it couldn’t be helped.

Chasey’s older sister Ariel, who was currently on her way to Trivik, was none other than an Adjudicator.

Laying a hand on an Adjudicator’s family? That would be nothing short of courting suicide.

When I dismissed it as no big deal, the boy’s face fell.

The information he had gathered the courage to share was clearly valuable…

The boy sighed and slipped his hand back into his pocket.

“I’ll return the money. I’m sorry. I suppose it wasn’t information you needed.”

The boy held out the single silver coin he had received as payment for the information.

‘How peculiar.’

He was different from the typical vagrant. Anyone else would have insisted that they had provided the information and therefore earned their pay.

He was a kid with enough promise that it would be a waste to see him scraping by on the streets.

“You don’t need the money? Then was the story about your sick sibling a lie too?”

The boy’s face fell into a sullen expression.

“No. I never lie. A boy named Rolland cut his hand deeply yesterday. But the ointment costs one silver coin. A garbage ointment made from boiling weed roots should only be one shilling! They’re definitely overcharging because we’re orphans, I’m telling you.”

But there was no general store nearby where they could get it at a fair price, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and buy it.

It might have seemed like a minor wound, but the source was rusty iron, and left untreated, it would fester and rot. They had no other option.

The boy let out a sigh.

“He wouldn’t be the first kid to lose a finger that way.”

“How did he cut his hand?”

From the sound of it, this happened fairly often. I wondered what kind of work could produce such deep wounds.

“We usually work in the factory underneath the orphanage. Printing newsletters. Father Veron is the majority shareholder of the Yukan Newsletter, after all.”

“The Yukan Newsletter?”

Chasey stared at the boy with a startled expression.

Did she know about the Yukan Newsletter?

“The Yukan Newsletter is one of the more prominent newsletter companies in this area. They typically dig up secrets that famous champions or players are hiding and publish them as sensational exclusive stories.”

Hearing her explanation, something came to mind.

I had occasionally spotted copies in the trash bins outside the shieldbearer Guild in Luteran.

The boy continued.

“That said, the treatment isn’t bad. The kids are just clumsy with the equipment—the experienced ones don’t have accidents. The children have nowhere else to go anyway, so they’re content just being able to eat regular meals.”

The boy didn’t seem to have much more to say on the matter. It had simply come up while he was explaining that he wasn’t lying.

I wasn’t particularly interested in whatever Father Veron was up to. It wasn’t labor exploitation, and the children seemed satisfied enough.

But the boy seemed to have a reason for bringing this up.

“How about it? I’d say that was worth the price…”

The boy grinned.

‘Interesting kid.’

Shrewd, but a fairly conscientious merchant.

“My name is Jay. If you ever need information, come find me. You won’t find an informant around here who gives you better value for your money.”

He was a kid I rather liked, but I couldn’t help offering him a piece of advice.

He reminded me of myself three years ago.

“Don’t assume everyone will be as conscientious as you. The world is full of all kinds of people.”

“Of course. I’ve met all sorts of people myself.”

My advice was worth more than the silver coin I had paid him, but whether Jay took it to heart, I couldn’t say.

“See you next time! Pretty lady, handsome customer.”

Well, going further than that would be overstepping, so it wasn’t worth worrying about.

I just wanted to get back to my lodgings and rest.

Far too much had happened today.