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HELHEIM SCANS
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Chapter 148
A spear imbued with an overwhelming presence of thunderous energy materialized from all directions, aiming at him like an automatic turret locking onto its target.
“M-Mage…!”
Instead of replying, he simply nodded slightly.
The terrified man took a few hesitant steps backward.
Only after the golden thunder spears disappeared did he let out a sigh of relief.
Of course, some still hadn’t come to their senses, quietly suppressing their presence.
But none dared to step forward.
It was the kind of reaction expected from those who had already experienced his power firsthand.
After a brief moment of silence, the clerk clicked his tongue.
“How the hell did you know?”
“Just a hunch.”
The absurd answer from the crazy woman left the clerk momentarily dumbfounded.
It confirmed that they had barged in without any concrete evidence and were just demanding answers.
“This is so damn ridiculous…”
Annoyed, he operated something beneath the table.
“Follow me. Hey! Someone take over the counter for a bit.”
“Damn it. Guess we’re screwed.”
After that, he led us through a hidden passage in the storage area.
“Boss, we’ve got some people here looking for information.”
There was a brief silence at the clerk’s words.
Then, a voice filled with exhaustion rang out.
“We’re closed for the day.”
“If you don’t do business, I might end up dead.”
“Didn’t you hear me? Get lost.”
Hearing the irritated voice from beyond the door, Luna casually walked up and grabbed the iron door handle.
Clank!!!
But the door, firmly secured, wouldn’t budge.
“You heard him? He said they’re closed for today, so maybe you should just come back lat—”
Crash!!!
“What the hell?! Is she even human?”
As Luna effortlessly shattered the solid iron door, the clerk’s face turned pale in less than a second.
“Gah! You crazy lunatic! What the hell are you?!”
Seeing the door actually destroyed, the man inside also panicked and shouted.
“Damn it! What a rotten day!”
“No business today?”
“No! You damn lun—”
Crash!!
“No business?”
Luna crushed a nearby decoration with her bare hands, as if it were nothing more than a piece of clay.
The man’s demeanor instantly shifted—like a merchant driven by greed, he began rubbing his palms together.
“W-Welcome, esteemed customers. We have every kind of information… except for what doesn’t exist.”
Luna glanced at me with a smug expression and nodded confidently.
Watching her oddly naïve demeanor, I wondered if I should stop her and knock some common sense into her right this instant.
* * *
“So, what information are you looking for? Also, you’ll have to pay for that door.”
“I’m looking for someone.”
“You think this is a daycare or someth—Ah, no, never mind.”
The information broker was clearly irritated but quickly averted his gaze when Luna started playing with the crushed decoration like it was a lump of clay.
“Sigh… Damn it… Worse than the women who came in the morning…”
Information brokers tend to develop an instinct for identifying dangerous lunatics.
From his expression, Luna had clearly been classified as the kind of lunatic you should never mess with.
“…Fine. So, who are you looking for?”
At his question, I plopped down into the chair across from him and spoke.
“A girl, eleven years old. Gray hair. Sky-blue eyes, the same color as mine. Her expression is generally gentle.”
“A relative?”
“Do I really need to answer that?”
“Not really. Anything else?”
“She was lost at sea in a Kraken-related accident about half a year ago.”
“Then she’s probably dead.”
Crack!!!
Before he even finished his sentence, a shallow cut appeared on his cheek, and a few strands of his hair fell.
“Ugh?!”
“Watch your mouth.”
“I… I will.”
Sensing the menacing aura radiating from me, he trembled slightly.
“I did hear about that shipwreck. The ocean currents were unusually strong near Remilish Island at the time, so some survivors were washed ashore along the coast.”
“There’s a high chance she’s still alive. And also, she sent a message.”
I explained how an Angler Bird had delivered a drawing that Arsha must have made.
He seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding.
“Huh. So both groups that came today are looking for the same person…”
His next words were something I couldn’t just brush off.
“What do you mean by that?”
“…Oops. That was a slip of the tongue.”
Slip of the tongue, my ass.
He probably wanted the uninvited guests to clash with each other, stirring up some trouble.
Well, his prediction was right.
Who else would be searching for Arsha in this place?
How did they even know?
“Tell me who it is.”
“If you pay, I’ll sell you the information.”
Before I could even reach into my dimensional storage for gold coins, Luna took out a large pink diamond and tossed it to him.
A pink diamond… That must be worth a fortune.
And at that size, its value would be astronomical.
“H-Holy…?!”
“That enough?”
“Y-Yes! Absolutely, miss! I’ll tell you everything I know!”
The information broker’s change in attitude was as swift as lightning.
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But perhaps he was quite skilled at his job.
He efficiently laid out everything, from details of the situation at the time to an estimation of the possible routes through which Arsha might have drifted.
“There were quite a few people rescued from the sea back then. By now, most of those survivors have either returned home or perished... but some may still be alive and here.”
As slaves.
Considering that she was from the Central Continent and still a young girl, Arsha was likely an easy target for slave traders—one without much risk of repercussions.
It was an expected situation, but that only made the anger burn hotter.
At the very least, those responsible for turning her into a slave could never be allowed to walk free.
“To be honest, if the young lady you’re looking for has already left the island, there’s nothing we can do. However... based on what you’ve told me, it seems highly likely that she’s still here.”
The key clue was the Angler Bird.
“Judging by the color of its feathers, it must have returned to this island to lay eggs. And you said it was carrying a piece of paper in its beak? It’s unlikely that the bird just happened to find and pick up a piece of paper mid-flight. There was probably intent behind it.”
“Do you have any related information?”
“In this case, rather than searching blindly, it would be more effective to shake down those who might already know.”
He pulled out a map and spread it open.
“These are the locations of the slave traders operating in Remilish. Want me to be honest?”
I gave a silent nod.
“To be frank, I gave false information to the last two guests who came asking. I didn’t particularly like them. But you, young master, have paid a fair price, so I’ll provide accurate information.”
He pointed to a specific location.
“This is the trading company run by a slave trader named Baron. I can’t say for sure, but he has a history of secretly abducting survivors from past maritime disasters and selling them as slaves.”
Baron, huh...
“I can’t guarantee that he has any connection to the young lady you’re looking for, but his records should have a record of it. If it’s not him, these two others would be the next most likely candidates.”
His meticulous explanation made a strong impression, and I engraved the details firmly in my mind.
“Of course, these people won’t simply give you information just because you ask. You’ll need to pay a fair price... or force it out of them. I’d advise against the latter. He has strong backing and is incredibly devious. If you make an enemy of him, there’s no telling what he might do.”
There were some slave traders one could deal with, and others who were best avoided.
Baron was clearly in the latter category.
With a polite farewell and an offer to return if we needed more information, we left the informant’s den.
It seemed that word had already spread.
The faint presence of those who had been monitoring us was now completely gone.
The power of money was truly impressive.
Then again, these people did this job for money.
Since we had paid them well, they had no reason to be hostile.
Following the informant’s map, we continued moving when suddenly, a voice reached my ears.
“Senior... I think we’re lost...”
“No, just wait a moment. It should be around here... But finding Arsha Cascadia among all these people is going to be tough.”
A familiar voice.
They were wearing masks, so I couldn’t see their faces, but there was no way I wouldn’t recognize them.
Judging by the way Luna stopped in her tracks while scanning the surroundings, she had come to the same conclusion.
“There should be a path around here...”
The two clueless fools checking their map soon noticed us.
They froze for a moment, then hesitantly started walking toward us.
“Halt.”
“...”
At the sound of my voice, they reflexively stopped.
If they didn’t want to be caught, they shouldn’t have stopped.
Not that it would have made a difference.
“W-why... why are you stopping us?”
“Meryl Dyne, do you really think a mask is enough to hide from me?”
At my words, she flinched and then slumped her shoulders.
Was this really supposed to be a top-tier secret organization?
Besides the group’s leader, the only member I had met was Meryl, who honestly seemed a bit lacking.
“L-Lord Leon. It’s been a while.”
“Oh? Rebecca, you’re part of this too?”
“Ah?! How did you—”
The girl next to Meryl, who had been silently observing, flinched and gasped in shock.
“How did you figure it out? We even used perception-disrupting masks... No, wait. Let’s move to a different location first.”
Meryl quickly glanced around before grabbing my arm.
Or at least, she tried to.
“You’re not letting go?”
“Uh...”
If Luna hadn’t stopped her.
Ever since the truth came out, Luna’s jealousy had noticeably intensified.
It was like she had a radar for detecting rivals—she could be completely distracted by a street vendor, then instantly turn around and react.
Her instincts were certainly sharp.
Faced with Luna’s deadly aura, Meryl hesitated and let go of my arm.
I glanced around briefly before activating my mana circle.
[7th-Circle Spatial Magic]
[Teleport]
Thanks to the Hall of Truth I had unlocked most recently, I could now use spatial magic.
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