CH 133

Chapter 133 – Glasses boy talks to the ruler of the brothel district

Similarly to the man from the extortion that I met a small while back, I was stuck, unable to move.

The old lady’s grey eyes stared intently at me.

Like a frog that was being glared at by a snake, I forgot how to move as she looked at me.

Though the reason I can’t move is because I feel out of options in this situation.

I am not coming up with any ideas on how to turn this situation around.

… Oh, was this it?

Was this why Sorichika told us those words?

That we could kill freely?

In this case, I could kill this old lady to silence her, but there are probably other situations that may lead to one of us wanting to kill someone else.

Of course, I’m not going to do it.

The idea just came up. I thought that it was a valid possibility.

But if I kill her, then I’ll have to deal with way too many enemies. Including the woman that brought me here, the big man, and the younger man with a low voice.

Once that happens, I’ll be stuck deep within a quagmire, and I’m sure I won’t be able to get out of it until I die.

Or rather, even if I die, it might not be enough. They might also go after my sister or my village.

Right now though, I just have a single foot inside this swamp.

There must be a way to safely escape this situation.

“… Oh? This is quite… Mmm…” The old lady turned her gaze to the other woman, “Sevi, this pet’s fur is a bit different from the usual, isn’t it?”

“You think so?” Sevi replied.

“You’re an interesting little boy.

“I want to talk to him privately for a bit. The three of you may leave.” The old lady said.

******

And now, the two of us were alone.

The other woman, the big man, and the younger man with a low voice all left. Leaving only me and the old lady in this office.

“Boy.” The old lady got up from her desk and moved closer to me.

… She’s small. Smaller than me, even.

“You were thinking about killing me earlier, weren’t you?” She asked.

“… Did you ‘see’ that too? Or did you just feel the murderous intent?

“I didn’t plan on showing any murderous intent though…” I replied.

The old lady started laughing, “You’re an interesting kid.”

She sat down at a nearby table, that seemed to be there to let her talk to customers more easily.

I sat down across from her.

“Hundreds, thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of people have tried to kill me.

“I’m especially sensitive to this kind of emotion.

“So don’t worry, I didn’t feel anything. It was just my intuition at work here, which was something that has saved my life many times now.” The old lady told me.

Intuition… A talent that doesn’t rely on logic.

It’s a nice thing. I want to have something like it too.

“You’re quite something though. You didn’t show the slightest turmoil even in that kind of situation. You’re a genuine assassin alright.” She told me.

I was quite troubled, actually. I just didn’t show it.

Also, I’m a hunter, not an assassin.

“Is it alright to have just the two of us here though? If I was really an assassin, I might have wanted to kill you.” I asked.

“If you wanted to kill me, then there was no need to enter this place from the front door, nor was there any need to expose your face.

“To put it simply, if you came here to assassinate me, I’d already be dead.

“I’m alive though. That’s all the proof I need, to know that you didn’t come here to take my life.” The old lady replied.

Well, she’s correct.

If I wanted to kill her, I would have already done it.

It’s just the two of us here, after all.

“Though you must have something set up in case of an emergency. Even if you believed that I wouldn’t attack you, you wouldn’t stay alone with me in a room with no countermeasures planned.” I said.

“Of course I have countermeasures.” The old lady replied.

… But she has no intention of telling me those.

“Why don’t you risk your life and try it?” She asked me.

“I would rather not.” I replied.

I have no reason to do it, after all.

I would just like to know what would happen if I crossed the line.

“So, what did come here to do?” She asked me.

“You already have an idea, don’t you?

“Secure food, clothing and shelter until I find the Tower of Bryne.

“I just happened to be recommended to come to this place perchance.” I replied honestly.

And then I made a big blunder as I came to this place carefreely, which led to my Gift being seen through.

Seriously… ‘I can always escape later’?

How did I let my guard down this much? This was totally my fault.

The extortions I went through so far were nothing. This is what the real Krozheit is like.

Having my Gift seen through by this old lady… There is real danger here in this city.

“In that case, we can solve things here quickly.” The old lady said.

I suppose.

But I think I should refuse the next offer that the old lady will make.

At least once… Because her triumphant smile annoys me.

“I’ll tell you about the Tower of Bryne if you listen to my request. How about it?” The old lady asked.

A momentary turmoil went through her triumphant smile.

Because this time, I was the one smiling.

“You don’t need to tell me.

“Maybe a kind ruler, someone other than you, will lend me a hand.

“Even if none does, I think I can find it on my own.” I told her.

“You’re bluffing.” She replied.

“You think so? But you already gave me the hint that I needed to know, in order to figure out the location of the Tower of Bryne.” I said.

Right now, I was remembering the words that Sorichika told me.

Why did she give me a special assignment?

She told me that I would find the Tower of Bryne easily.

I’ve started to understand the meaning of the task of searching for the Tower of Bryne.

My Glasses were seen through, but I’ve also started obtaining information myself.

This dialogue was not in vain, nor was it one-sided.

… Though well, if we compare the quality and weight of the obtained information, then it’s a complete defeat on my end… An utterly crushing defeat.

Because the information about my Glasses is way more important than the information about the Tower of Bryne.

******

“I see…” The old lady sighed, smiled wryly, then leaned against the back of her chair, “You’re a troublesome kid, alright.

“Most people break down once their Gift is seen through.”

I suppose most do.

The information behind one’s Gift is extremely valuable.

If one can understand your Gift, that usually means you have already lost.

Because once the secret is known, you can deal with it in whatever way you want.

I’m no exception.

Even if the true nature of the Glasses is unknown to her, I would still be unable to do anything if the power to materialize the glasses was sealed somehow.

“You’re certainly not a stupid person.” I commented.

“Oh?” She said.

When she saw through my Gift earlier, she said it was Materialization Magic. She didn’t say the name of the Gift itself.

Those words were enough to let me know that she had seen through my Gift, but at the same time, they were probably used as a stepping stone. A weapon that she could leverage during negotiations, while also serving as a reason to make me want to negotiate in the first place.

“Then, how about this? I can promise you that I won’t tell anybody about your Gift.

“As a show of good will, I didn’t say the name of the Gift just now, but just talked about Materialization Magic instead.” The old lady told me.

“Mmm… ‘If you don’t listen to what I say, I will reveal your Gift.’

“This doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d say. You don’t seem to be the kind of person to engage in this kind of terrible negotiation.

“Even if negotiations break down here, you won’t disclose it, right?

“I can understand this much, so I’ve decided to speak honestly too.” I told her.

It makes sense to use the information on someone’s Gift as a bargaining chip, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to use the ability to divulge the information as a bargaining chip.

This old lady has surely done this often, so she knows how to use the information to her advantage.

Essentially, we can negotiate because there is an important premise behind our conversation. She will not leak the information regardless of how the negotiation goes.

If she broke this kind of promise even once, then all trust on her would be shaken.

If that happened, then everyone she negotiated with in the past would suddenly become her enemies.

Basically, all those people would decide to try silencing her before she can divulge the information on their Gift.

It’s something that I once heard from my master. Someone that constantly tries blackmailing others is absolutely stupid and will surely get betrayed before long.

But this lady is not stupid.

“… Kid.” The old lady stared at me with the same sharp eyes that she used before, “Stay here for a while. I won’t do anything wrong to you.

“We’ll also treat you well. I’ll give you whatever you want, even a woman, if you so desire.”

“You’re willing to go this far for me?” I asked.

“Indeed. Because if someone else takes hold of you, you’ll surely become a threat.

“If you refuse, then we’ll have to take care of you here and now.” The old lady told me.

“… Alright, I can stay here for a while.” I replied.

“… Huh?” The old lady seemed to be surprised.

Why was she taken aback though? “Was my reply unsatisfactory?” I asked.

“No… It’s just that I didn’t expect you to go along this easily after being threatened.” The old lady told me.

Oh, she was expecting a rejection, so she was disappointed by me nodding along.

The threat wasn’t the reason though.

“As I said earlier, I just wanted food, clothing and shelter.

“If you’re going to be taking care of me, I’m fine with staying here.” I told her honestly.

Besides, I think it’s convenient for me to stay by this old lady’s side.

Though well, that’s about as much of a reason as I have.

This time, if something happens, I’ll definitely run away properly. I will not hesitate.