Chapter 10
“I had so much I wanted to say. But I forced myself to swallow my words.’’
Without knowing the man’s identity, acting rashly was out of the question. I simply asked the man, as if questioning, why he had come to meet me.
“If it’s not for a request, then why on earth did you come to see me?”
“Oh, that’s… ”
The man, who had been twirling his teaspoon around, stopped.
“…What, what is it.”
In an instant, the playful atmosphere around the man completely changed.
He withdrew the relaxed smile he had been wearing and sharpened his gaze.
“In fact, I’ve come to interrogate Veloa Youngae.”
“…What, what did you say?”
…Interrogation?
Did I hear wrong?
Or is he just joking?
But his face was too serious for that.
‘Interrogation. Me, all of a sudden? Why?’
I simply couldn’t understand. Did I do something wrong to him?
But even if I did, I couldn’t afford to be lenient here. I grasped the him of my dress and stared straight into the man’s eyes.
“Hey. Interrogation. What does that mean? If you don’t give me a proper answer, I won’t just let it slide.”
After going through three regressions, all I had left was the boldness and determination not to be afraid of obsessive male leads.
Now that I can boldly confront even crazy male leads, what’s the big deal about extras like him?
I narrowed my eyes fiercely and glared at the man.
And after a moment of silence, the man spoke up.
“Don’t be so guarded, Veloa Youngae. I’m just curious about something regarding you.”
“…What is it?”
“Youngae, how exactly did you come to know about the Riverrica Guild? Did someone introduce you to it?”
“W-Well… ”
“But as far as I know, you don’t have any connections that could have introduced you to this place….”
…He was right.
Indeed, they would naturally question how I came to know about this place.
‘But I can’t just say I saw it in a novel, can I?’
‘If I say, “I saw a scene where the Northern Duke commissions the Riverrica Guild in the novel <Julieta in a Cage>, and coincidentally, I’ve been reincarnated into that novel!” I’ll definitely be treated as crazy.’
‘…This is awkward.’
It was a truly awkward situation.
But in a way, I had already anticipated it.
“I didn’t expect the Guild Master to come out personally, but I had already anticipated such questions.”
So I had prepared a plan of action.
It was actually too grand to call it a plan, but nonetheless, I hadn’t come unprepared.
And that plan was simply…
“To push through with a brazen face.”
“Oh, that? I just happened to find out. By chance.”
I said, crossing my arms and cheekily tipping my chin.
Of course, I didn’t forget to maintain a relaxed smile on my lips.
At that, the man chuckled as if impressed.
“A chance? There’s no way. Security in Rebeka is thoroughly managed.”
“If you’re a guild of information, you should figure out how the information leaked, right?
What if your client asks about that?
“Haha, interesting words.”
The man chuckled heartily.
Thanks to his laughter, the tense atmosphere relaxed slightly.
“Oh… so the brazen face tactic worked?”
As expected, nobody could outwit a shameless person.
Phew. I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
But…
“Actually, until just now, I wasn’t that curious.”
The man, who had finally stopped laughing, raised his head.
“Now that you’re here, I’m really curious. Somehow, I felt compelled to come.”
Huh?
Wait a minute, that statement… somehow feels unsettling…?
“I must find out how Yeongae knew about this place, no matter what. Even if I have to resort to extreme measures.”
Wait… did I… inadvertently provoke the Guild Master even more with my brazenness…?
“I’ve warned you enough, Veloa Yeongae. So, be honest now.”
The look in the man’s eyes as he gazed at me was anything but ordinary.
“If you don’t tell me this time, I’ll have no choice but to use rough methods.”
The man’s pupils flickered fiercely, as if he were about to tear me apart at any moment.
…What, what’s going on?
He wasn’t even threatening me with a weapon, but for some reason, I felt an intense pressure emanating from him.
Of course, I could use my abilities if necessary. But surely, the other party was aware of that fact as well.
But the way he casually demanded answers was odd.
“Could he be a rather talented swordsman? Or perhaps a wizard?”
Whatever the case, I wasn’t going to lose. Unless he was a Sword Master or Archmage.
But such people wouldn’t be idly working as a Guild Master here. So, even if we fought, it was obvious I would win.
“Anyway, since I’m going to win, should I strike first? It’s the rule that preemptive strike always leads to victory.”
Sure. That sounds good.
I curled up the corners of my mouth wickedly.
“Are you trying to threaten me with rough methods?”
Utilizing the power of the earth, I conjured a strong and sturdy golden stem.
Drdrdrdrdr―.
The stem rapidly grew, enveloping the man’s body. In an instant, the man was covered in the golden stem.
“This is special, so you can’t break it with force. Only my command can release it.”
I smiled smugly at the man.
Where did his bold demeanor from earlier go? The man remained silent.
He looked at the golden stem binding him with a startled expression in his eyes.
“Hehe. Somehow, this feels satisfying.”
I leisurely stood up and commanded the man.
“So, don’t resist unnecessarily. Let’s not do anything foolish.”
“….”
“Hey, are you listening?”
“Haha, hahahaha!”
The man, who hadn’t made a sound before, suddenly burst into laughter.
“What’s this? Are you crazy?”
I looked at him in surprise. Maybe he’s not crazy because he’s too scared. I found myself worrying about that possibility.
“Should I have tried convincing him with words first?”
I regretted it belatedly. After all, I had become somewhat eccentric after being tormented by obsessive male leads.
Yes. Things should be resolved with words. I’ve lived as a civilized person of the 21st century after all. Using violence to solve problems is just absurd.
But such thoughts disappeared completely when I heard the man’s muttering.
“This is hilarious. You did well to come out yourself.”
Ah, he wasn’t scary; he was just showing off.
Indeed, it seemed that the mindset of a civilized person from my world was unnecessary in this world.
Feeling much more relaxed than before, I summoned the carnivorous plant, Flamena.
“Supposedly the leader of the Information Guild, but can’t handle even this much.”
So, I decided to focus on Flamena for now.
Flamena, reminiscent of a giant Venus flytrap, spread its leaves towards the man.
“Yeong-ae, what’s this? A pet plant?”
The corners of the man’s mouth lifted as if amused.
As the guild leader of the Information Guild, there was no way he wouldn’t know that Flamena was a carnivorous plant.
Yet he remained surprisingly nonchalant, as if he were on a picnic.
‘What’s going on? Why is he so casual?’
I felt a bit puzzled as I stroked Flamena.
“Not exactly a pet plant… but having it around can be helpful. It’s useful for disposing of corpses.”
Flamena lightly shook its leaves along my touch. The giant leaves, adorned with thorns, gave off a more eerie than cute vibe.
In truth, Flamena was not solely carnivorous; it was more of a scavenger plant. It primarily fed on animal carcasses.
But in times like these, it was crucial to play along as if it were more menacing. Especially when you couldn’t gauge the opponent’s moves, it was even more important.
“Haha, I didn’t know Yeong-ae was such a tough person. Am I being offered as food for that plant too?”
However, instead of being frightened, the man seemed even more intrigued.
Despite there being seemingly no way out of my golden leash, he remained intrigued.
‘…What’s really going on here? Could he possibly have powerful backers like the Four Great Dukes?’
I couldn’t grasp his true identity at all.
But I managed to buy time.
“No. I just called it to show off…”
I ordered Flamena to return quietly.
Simultaneously, Flamena, with a dejected expression, emitted a bright light and vanished. It returned to its original place, the underground garden of the Veloa Duchy’s mansion.
I closed my eyes and located the position of the explosive plant, Drake. While Flamena diverted the man’s attention, I had summoned it to the underground of this building.
‘Hmm… luckily, it’s completely surrounded the underground third floor.’
Drake had already completely encircled the basement of this building. Moreover, it was in a state where it could explode at my signal.
It’s time. I looked at the man and grinned slyly.
“Actually, the real hostages are in your guild’s headquarters. I’ve planted plenty of explosive plants in the underground of this building.”
“…”
“Sadly, their power isn’t that significant, but I can still burn down a few information repositories. So, choose.”
“…”
“Whether you’ll take my commission or give up the information repository of the Rebeka Guild.”
“…”
The ground trembled as the giant red plant emerged.
If the ground trembled like this, other guests might mistake it for an earthquake…
“Well, it’ll take care of itself.”
