For a moment, I was at a loss for words, but when I calmly thought it over, it made sense.
It was the information guild, after all.
They would naturally be collecting intelligence on the movements of the Empire’s central nobility and the events occurring on Crete Island.
Especially since only recently new priests had been dispatched to the temple on Crete Island—it was likely the guild had conducted a preliminary investigation.
‘There’s no need to rush. I can make a proper judgment after reviewing the information tomorrow.’
Hiding my surprise, I smiled lightly at the guild master.
“That confident, are you? I’ll look forward to it.”
I could sense the corners of the man’s lips curling smoothly upward.
Although I couldn’t see him clearly due to the interference magic, I could faintly feel it.
“Of course,” he replied.
“Ah… Then, about the contract—”
“You can pay for the information after you verify it yourself tomorrow.”
Hmm. I hoped he wasn’t offended when I said I would judge it personally.
“Besides, it seems like the information you truly want is something else.”
At his next words, I realized my concern was unnecessary.
He spoke with a calmness that suggested he had fully expected this much.
Well, it wasn’t like I was the first customer to act this way.
“Since you’ve said that much, I’ll leave it at that. I’ll see you again at the same time tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
As I stood up, the guild master also rose from his seat.
To my surprise, he moved first and personally opened the door for me.
Even though I had been sitting closer to it.
What was even stranger was that he moved without giving off any sense of hurry.
‘He really must be an exceptional talent…’
I hadn’t expected him to personally open the door.
Caught off guard, I found myself pausing and staring at him. I could feel him smiling brightly.
“Take care, customer.”
There was no pheromone scent coming from him whatsoever.
∗ ∗ ∗
The next day, I headed to “Red Potion” at the promised time.
I didn’t even have to give a password this time—I was immediately guided to the guild master’s office.
When the door opened, the scene before me was exactly the same as yesterday.
Except for one thing.
An iced Americano sat on the table.
Coffee usually came in low tea cups in this world, so seeing it in a tall glass typically used for iced drinks was rare.
“I realized I forgot to offer you a drink yesterday in all the commotion,” the guild master said in a very calm voice.
For a brief moment, a strong urge washed over me to see his blurred face clearly.
[Can divine power dispel magic?
Hmm… If it’s not black magic that uses demonic energy, then it’s difficult. An exception would be if the two forces clashed and the divine power was overwhelmingly stronger—then the magic could be nullified. But that’s different from true dispelling. Think of it like forcing the wrong key into a keyhole.]
The answer Seol gave me last night flashed through my mind.
“…You’re quite considerate,” I said, forcing a smile.
The guild master merely nodded lightly, as if to say, “It’s nothing.”
After I sat down, he immediately handed me two documents.
They weren’t as thick as I had feared—just the right amount for a quick review.
I first looked at the information about the movements of the Sinoa Empire’s central nobility.
[The princess and Karon Luavis have been meeting frequently recently.]
Seeing that written in the very first line, my mind went blank for a moment.
‘Why is this the very first thing listed?’
Below that, the report was divided into direct confirmations by the Ruin Guild and rumors circulating among the public.
From the confirmed reports, it seemed the princess was creating various pretexts to repeatedly meet with Karon Luavis—Kim Minsoo.
‘The princess wants to meet Kim Minsoo?’
Was the Emperor starting to weigh the House of Luavis against the House of Pantheon?
The report only detailed when and where they met; there was no insight into the feelings of the two involved.
‘The princess… seemed interested in Raizen, though.’
That was the rumor back during our academy days.
Though, in the novel, she eventually married Kim Minsoo.
‘What the hell is going on?’
It was impossible to make sense of it yet.
Not without seeing the princess’s behavior toward Kim Minsoo firsthand.
With no clear answer, I simply committed the information to memory and moved on to the next part.
“……”
‘These are actually valuable pieces of information.’
The writing itself was concise.
It wasn’t just random gossip—it provided a clear view of the current movements within the central social scene.
The Ruin Guild’s direct findings and the accompanying rumors were neatly organized.
And though it wasn’t explicitly stated, I could infer the current state of the Pantheon family.
‘The Pantheon family has reverted to its role as the Empire’s sword.’
The heir, Raizen, had distinguished himself at the Royal Academy and held a grand coming-of-age ceremony.
Because of this, the Pantheon family had become a hot topic in the capital’s social circles.
The Duchess herself… had been eager to solidify the family’s standing in the central society.
Having worked at her side and learned the duties of a duchess directly, I knew that better than anyone.
‘But interest in the Pantheon family has dropped significantly.’
It couldn’t be helped.
Lately, the Empire’s attention was focused on Karon Luavis, the newly anointed Saint.
From the citizens’ perspective, it was only natural—a legendary being appearing after hundreds of years.
From a practical point of view, no matter how many monster waves the Pantheon family blocked, if they couldn’t purify the source of the demonic energy, it was meaningless.
‘What’s truly irritating is that Kim Minsoo actually possesses divine power.’
A sigh slipped from between my lips before I realized it.
Pushing aside the complicated feelings, I moved on to the data about the new priests on Crete Island.
“……Fucking bastards.”
It was a complete disaster.
Not a single one of them seemed normal.
One was frequenting brothels daily, another was selling holy water for exorbitant prices under the pretense of healing the sick…
It was obvious they had come to make a quick fortune.
Among them, only three priests stood out for their exceptional cleanliness.
Interestingly, their daily routines were almost identical: they arrived at the temple earlier than others to clean, visited the sick to offer prayers, and distributed food to street children as part of a charity project.
Their roles varied slightly, but they moved together.
However, even here, there were no clues about the missing children.
‘They must have made contact at some point.’
Even if they had kidnapped the children at night, there should have been traces.
If they had lured them in under the guise of education, they likely would have shown special attention to certain children.
‘And yet, the absence of any mention here means… they moved extremely carefully.’
[Their achievements have been recognized, and the main temple is reportedly planning to grant them special rights of appreciation and personnel authority.]
According to the reports, most of the residents of Crete Island initially welcomed the priests, but as their fraudulent schemes and greed grew excessive, the people began to secretly express their dissatisfaction.
In such a situation, the reputation of the only three priests who remained clean would naturally rise.
If these three, now possessing the authority of audit and personnel appointments, were seen purging the corrupt priests from within…
“In the end, the temple’s reputation will only improve.”
In other words, this was a kind of show.
A performance designed to restore the islanders’ trust in the temple and the priests in this isolated society of Crete Island.
And if they succeeded, the temple would find it much easier to secure sacrifices and test subjects for their dark magic.
“Am I being too cynical about the temple?”
I would’ve preferred it if everything had simply been my misunderstanding.
“How is it?”
Even before I could set down the documents, the Guild Master asked.
I gave a strained smile and replied.
“Better than expected.”
“That’s good to hear.”
The Guild Master responded shortly and continued.
“Then, now… I suppose I can find out what it is you truly want.”
Was this supposed to be a bait-and-switch?
The information he had already given was at a level that couldn’t be easily bought even with considerable money.
It was hard to believe they had prepared it all in just a day.
“No, that’s not it. There’s no way they gathered all this information in just a day.”
This was proof that Ruin Guild had already been collecting intelligence on this matter for some time, for their own reasons.
“…Children on the streets have been disappearing. The one I’m looking for is a boy named Tommy. I heard he left, saying he was going to receive an education from the temple, but he never returned. What I want to know first is… what kind of relationship those supposedly clean three priests have with the street children.”
At that moment, I felt the Guild Master’s gaze land squarely on me.
I had thought he would immediately agree, but he just stared silently for a moment.
Then he finally opened his mouth.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be simpler if you just commissioned us to find the boy named Tommy?”
