“Why are you like that?”
“Ah… You’re wearing a very unique perfume.” The man’s expression was uncertain, possibly indicating that the scent pouch I had brought was effective.
“I’ve heard this guild is very trustworthy, with branches in each region.”
“Yes. That’s why our post-purchase care is both swift and accurate,” the man sitting across from me responded without much preamble.
“That’s impressive. To have branches in every region of this vast empire.”
“Not just the empire. Our colleagues are spread across the entire continent.” He smiled, his hands clasped together on the table. “Our master is very meticulous. No one can escape his sight.”
“Ah.” I nodded indifferently. “That’s good to hear. I place great importance on post-purchase care.”
From the moment I realized there was a connection between Peidion and Redian, I thought about the future where these people would help Redian, who was linked to Peidion. So… Wherever I go, it would be a den of devils.
The ones in front of me must also be devils hiding their souls.
“Paying a large sum for a transaction means I should be able to get immediate help if there’s a problem, right? Especially since I’m planning an elopement for a forbidden love.”
“Don’t worry about that. Our colleagues are present in most places, and the headquarters here manages everything.”
“Hmm, most places?” I asked while keeping my gaze fixed on the book. “Are there places on this continent that are not under your management?”
“Um…” The man answered my question in a formal tone. “There are a few places, but it doesn’t matter. You won’t be going there.”
“How can you be so sure?” I tilted my head just enough, so my face wasn’t visible from within my robe.
Today, my concept was that of a querulous and sensitive client.
“What if I wander the continent and end up staying at an inn in one of those places? As I mentioned earlier, I could be traveling a long distance.”
It was only natural to be extremely anxious and sensitive, considering I was on the verge of an elopement, ‘willing to give up everything for love.’
“Well.” With a swift motion of his hand across the table, a vast map of the continent unfolded. “Here, here, and beyond the mountains stretching to the north in Pronaea.”
The places he pointed to were blank on the map.
“These are uninhabited areas. So there’s no need for us to station our agents there.”
In other words, these were the lands erased from the map, a place of exile for renegade clergy. Priests who had conceived children in the body of a priestess or attempted to meddle in human fate using divinity were gathered here.
“Ah, I’ve heard of it. It’s called the land forsaken by the goddess.”
While the man mentioned not stationing agents there because it was uninhabited…
“Where the goddess does not reside, neither do devils.”
This means the devils chasing after the goddess under Peidion’s orders had no reason to be there either.
Ugh, how tedious. I inwardly scoffed at Peidion. That must be a reason why the goddess fled desperately.
“It must be quite peaceful there.”
“Yes. Tediously peaceful.”
The man then smiled enigmatically.
“Those who served the goddess pretend to be noble and pure, making them hard to tempt.” His murmuring voice felt pointedly sharp.
In essence, those gathered there were not easily swayed.
“It’s an ominous land already, and without post-purchase care, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near it.”
Pretending to be oblivious, I shifted my gaze back to the book.
Barnst’s pastoral district, Babarin, currently twenty-two, born the daughter of a poor farmer, orphaned at twelve…
I didn’t need to read further. By around fifteen, she’d likely marry someone from her village, like Thomas or John, and work on the farm.
Girls born in a rural area like Barnst seldom escaped this process. In this world, it was the ‘ordinary’ life that traded at the highest price.
“Let’s go with this.”
“An excellent choice.”
The page with Babarin’s details tore itself out and transformed into a button-shaped identity insignia.
“Enjoy your newfound freedom in the new world, Lady Babarin.”
“It’s really good to live as a commoner.” I stood up as if relieved. “Without vile people to hinder love and no domain to be responsible for, they’re truly free.”
I threw in one last line, something a thoughtless extra might say. “And unlike the centuries-spanning lives of the nobility, creating a commoner’s life takes just ten minutes. Ohoho.”
That should have been quite the perfect performance.
“Then, farewell.”
“Take care. We support your courage and love, Lady.”
Leaving the soft voice behind, I turned the doorknob.
“Ah…”
Instantly, the blue sky spread before me.
Really, what kind of devils float marshmallows in their hot chocolate?
I sighed deeply as my senses slowly returned. The pungent smell from the scent pouch wasn’t enough; the sweetness made my head throb.
“Now that I’ve bought an identity…”
I gently felt the identity insignia now in my pocket. Though I bought it to deceive the devils everywhere and for when someone might trace my steps later…
What about Babarin from Barnst? It was just a trap. After all, I was heading to Pronaea, the land erased from the map.
* * *
Suddenly, the wall turned into a transparent barrier, showcasing the outside.
“Beleth, what are you looking at?”
“That woman.” Beleth, who had directly dealt with the woman, couldn’t take his eyes off her receding figure.
“Ah, the identity insignia.” A man sipping hot chocolate approached with a nonchalant murmur.
Cases too common to remember over time were plentiful.
“Whether she belongs to any family… It’s mostly noblewomen who desire a commoner’s identity.”
Not just for love, but many noblewomen chose to abandon their status and live as commoners.
“Why did she come to buy an identity insignia? To assassinate her husband? Oh, given her young voice, maybe to escape a forced political marriage. Or to embezzle funds through a nominee account?”
“None of those.”
Beleth raised an eyebrow at the man’s question.
“She’s blinded by love and plans to elope.”
“…What?”
The man’s hand, moving the cup of hot chocolate, stopped simultaneously.
“Isn’t that lie too cute?”
Beleth’s voice was full of interest for the first time in a while.
“Real ladies planning an elopement don’t talk like that.”
Indeed. Most who came here didn’t honestly reveal the real reason they needed a new identity. Especially if they had something precious to protect.
“Considering she’s a young woman, I thought she’d use excuses like avoiding a political marriage or nominee accounts.”
Thus, they concocted numerous excuses and reasons to hide what they loved. So they could bear everything themselves if discovered.
“It sounded like rehearsed lines from a play.”
A playful smile crossed his handsome face.
“As you know, I’m supposed to be an angel of love.”
Beleth, who had the power to enchant human hearts, called himself the angel of love.
“I can’t fail to recognize mere lip-service love.”
The man, looking disdainfully at the cheerful Beleth, muttered. “If our lord heard, you’d be next.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you hear? The rumor that Mephisto was thrown into hell.”
Recently, rumors of Mephisto’s annihilation had spread throughout the world. Who or what caused it remained unknown, but it was a shocking event. Above all, what that incident ultimately meant was…
Our lord’s awakening has ended? The man sipped his hot chocolate, thinking. By now, someone must have realized that person is Peidion’s incarnation.
“Right, now it’s not Mephisto but his original name, Seir, that should be used.”
A flicker of interest passed through his icy eyes.
“Even those favored by our lord who spoke carelessly about the goddess ended up flaying…”
Seir, elevated to a great devil and given the name Mephisto, was a powerful commander in the devil world who ended up becoming a lowly spirit and vanished overnight.
“Beleth, you’ll end up with your tongue cut out and thrown into hell.”
“Wow, as if you’re not a devil. Curse away.” Beleth cursed proficiently while the man skillfully ignored him and turned to leave.
“Ah, but you know.” Suddenly, as if recalling something, he turned his head. “The scent that woman had was definitely…”
For the first time, he showed a smile.
“Unique, isn’t it?”
He was Ipos, once an advisor to Peidion. He had a nose that remembered every scent, with eyes that could read the past within.
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