Chapter 42

Where people and money gather, entertainment districts naturally form for people to enjoy after work.

The population of the capital Gran is about 300,000. With so many people drinking and enjoying themselves, the scale of the entertainment district is quite substantial.

The entertainment district in the northern part of the new city of the capital is located off the main street and is bustling with over a hundred bars of various sizes.

Most of these bars are side businesses; those closer to the main street often double as inns or restaurants. The closer you get to the back alleys, the more bars there are that operate gambling dens or sex establishments as their side businesses, a well-known fact among the residents of the capital.

The bars in the back alleys are only open at night, but some bars near the main street are open during the day.

Those that double as restaurants often open for lunch, and bars that also serve as inns are almost open all day.

In such a bar, a person who is drunk in the middle of the day is usually a good-for-nothing.

A good-for-nothing who skips work to drink, looking serious but actually not.

A mercenary, a good-for-nothing who spends money recklessly because he has a little extra cash.

A good-for-nothing who has been drinking since last night and looks more like an alcoholic than just hungover.

Among the good-for-nothings overflowing in the bar, a handsome man with a cold gaze was also one of them.

However, what set this handsome man apart from the other good-for-nothings was that waiting in the bar was part of his job.

"Hey, Cesare. Thanks for the good info last time."

At that moment, a person who had come down from the second floor spoke to the handsome man who was sipping fruit water at the counter.

The handsome man called Cesare stopped his movement with his lips just about to touch the glass, without turning around, and replied.

"I told you, three silver coins for that information was a bargain."

"Yeah, this time it was good info. This time."

The speaker emphasized "this time."

He was referring to the time when Cesare sold him information that he felt was a waste of money.

In Cesare's opinion, that was a completely baseless complaint.

Information is all about freshness. It's faster than meat, vegetables, or even the small fish that come into the port. Information that was valuable a few hours ago can become worthless in an instant.

The information Cesare provided to him was indeed worth the information fee at the time.

If he couldn't make use of it, it was because he was too slow. It was unfair to blame Cesare.

Still, it was unreasonable to expect a mere mercenary to understand that.

To them, the result is everything. If they profit from the information, it's good; if they don't, it's bad.

Frankly, it was silly to even engage with him, but mercenaries were both valuable sources of information and important buyers.

He couldn't afford to be overtly rude.

"Let me know if you have good info again."

The mercenary man said this and left the bar.

Cesare didn't even call out to him, quietly tilting his glass.

He didn't waste his charm on anyone who wasn't paying.

At this time of day, with the sun fully up, hardly anyone enters the bar until lunchtime.

Even fewer people speak to Cesare sitting at the counter.

If anyone does, it's either a former customer or a potential one.

Those who have business with Cesare during the day are usually looking to buy information.

Cesare himself was dedicated to selling information during this time.

He gathered information at night.

He chatted with mercenaries and traders in the bar, skillfully extracting information.

He then integrated and analyzed the information he obtained and sold it to those who needed it at a price.

Cesare was one of the information brokers.

However, he didn't sell information to just anyone.

Some information could put him in danger.

So he didn't act openly but worked through intermediaries.

He had connections all over the place.

The bar owner was one of them.

Many people came to the bar seeking information.

If the information wasn't significant enough to warrant an information broker, it became a tip for the bar owner's extra income.

When someone came looking for information that couldn't be obtained with just a tip, it was time for an information broker like Cesare to step in.

"Cesare, you have a customer."

The bar owner called out from behind the counter.

Cesare moved his head reluctantly.

Across the counter, a young man dressed like a mercenary stood in front of the bar owner.

He looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, with a violet cloth wrapped around his forehead and a purple robe on his body.

He had black eyes and black hair, and his face still had a hint of youth, but his posture exuded the presence of a seasoned mercenary.

"Are you the information broker?"

"Yes, I am."

The young man sat down one seat away from Cesare.

Without being asked, the bar owner placed a fruit wine in front of the young man, who then took out three copper coins and placed them on the counter.

Hmm, he doesn't seem to be a beginner, Cesare thought.

The bar owner put the copper coins in his pocket with a satisfied look and moved away from Cesare and the young man, confirming that the introduction to the information broker was done correctly.

Cesare, having confirmed this, spoke.

"I am Cesare, the information broker."

"..."

"..."

"Didn't you learn that it's polite to introduce yourself when someone introduces themselves to you?"

"Do you want to know my name?"

"Trust is built when both parties introduce themselves, don't you think?"

"If you want to know my name, I can tell you... but how much will you pay?"

Cesare's eyes narrowed.

It had been a while since he met a mercenary who put a price on his name.

"So, what kind of information are you looking for?"

He started the business talk as if nothing had happened.

"I want to know about the woman who appears on the road near Tria."

"Oh, that one... I'd like to say two silver coins, but five copper coins will do."

The information the young man wanted was about a mysterious female mercenary who had been appearing near Tria.

"That's quite a drop in price."

"Well, it was worth two silver coins before. But now it's not that valuable, that's all."

Cesare deduced that the young man intended to challenge the female mercenary.

However, according to the information Cesare had, the female mercenary had stopped appearing.

Since she was invited to the Tria Duke's mansion, there had been no reports of her appearing on the road.

"Alright, I'll buy it."

The young man put the copper coins in his pocket, and Cesare began to share the information about the female mercenary.

The places and times she appeared, when she first showed up, her appearance and fighting style, her undefeated record on the road, the information about those who had challenged her, the fact that no one knew her purpose, and the various rumors about her identity.

Until about a month ago, this information was sold to many mercenaries.

But now, since she had stopped appearing, it was essentially dead information.

Cesare considered it worth less than one silver coin now.

"Apparently, she hasn't been seen since about a month ago."

When Cesare finished speaking, he noticed something odd about the young man's expression.

He expected the young man to be disappointed at paying for useless information, but he looked calm.

He even seemed uninterested.

However, it was unusual for someone to pay and then show no interest in the information.

"Have you been able to track her movements since then?"

The young man asked for more information.

"From here on, it's extra."

"How much?"

"Let's see... five silver coins."

It seemed the young man's interest in the female mercenary was different from other mercenaries.

Cesare, sensing this, boldly quoted a higher price for the additional information.

The young man took out five silver coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter without batting an eye.

"About half a month ago, there was a commotion about a Grinder appearing in the western grasslands of Tria. ...Do you know what a Grinder is?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good. The Grinder was quickly eliminated by a dispatched army. And it seems the female mercenary was part of the extermination team and made significant contributions."

The young man urged him to continue with his eyes.

"From here on, it's information I just obtained, and other information brokers don't know yet."

Cesare smiled and lowered his voice.

"It seems the female mercenary got into a dispute with the Tria guards about five days ago and disappeared since then."

"Where did she go?"

"That's still... the dispute itself raises questions about its credibility—"

Cesare paused, feeling suspicious.

Normally, after hearing the story, one would be curious about the details of the dispute.

Perhaps the young man was only interested in the woman's whereabouts and not the events in between.

Cesare didn't have detailed information about the dispute.

He only knew that the Duke had issued a capture order for the woman, the reason being assault on the army and suspicion of child abduction, the capture attempt had failed, and the woman had disappeared, and that a black-eyed, black-haired boy had been with her.

Cesare closed his eyes to hide his inner turmoil from the black-eyed, black-haired boy in front of him.

"Is something wrong?"

The young man asked Cesare, who had paused.

"Nothing, I just need to verify the information. Can I have a day?"

"That's not necessary."

"I can't do that. I'll make sure to do the work worth five silver coins. I'll have the verification done by tomorrow morning."

"Alright, I'll wait here by noon tomorrow."

The young man went upstairs and reappeared a few minutes later, saying to the bar owner,

"I'll be out until night."

"Alright. Dinner is after the evening bell. It's fine until midnight, but after that, it's extra."

"Understood."

The young man waved his hand and left the bar.

"Is that customer staying in one of the rooms upstairs?"

The second floor of the bar was known to be an inn.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?"

"What's his name?"

Naturally, the guest's name would be in the register.

It would be a breach of trust for an innkeeper to reveal a guest's name to an unrelated person.

But Cesare knew the bar owner was a greedy man.

"...One silver coin."

After a brief silence, the bar owner stated his price.

"Isn't that a bit high?"

"The name is valuable enough for an information broker to want it."

"Ah, amateurs shouldn't be greedy. Six copper coins."

"Who helped you catch a customer today? Eight copper coins."

"You have a point. How about seven copper coins?"

"Alright."

The bar owner took the copper coins from Cesare and quickly put them in his pocket.

"So, what's his name?"

"Wait a moment..."

The bar owner pulled out the register and opened the page he had filled out that morning.

After rubbing his slightly aged eyes, he pointed to the name the black-haired boy had checked in with and said,

"His name is Theoris."