Chapter 101
***
The two days passed quickly.
Most of the time was spent reading books borrowed from the library, and occasionally pondering where to find the village chief who might be with the Empress.
She tried to keep an ear to the social news, hoping to discover something, but apart from hearing that the Empress had been busy attending salons lately, there wasn’t much to gain.
‘I’ve really used up all the information from the original work now.’
From now on, she would have to improvise everything and react according to the situation.
‘Maybe I should just tell the female and male lead to figure things out themselves and spend the rest of my life at the seaside.’
Angelina seriously considered this for a moment.
Whether it was possession or reincarnation remained ambiguous, but anyway, as someone who knew the future, she felt her role was over now that she had shared all her privileged information.
However, remembering Blake’s face saying time was on their side and not to be hasty, she couldn’t bring herself to let everything go.
Then there was the memory of her brother bursting into refreshing laughter when she told him about the plan to strike at the Order, and the female lead’s determination to trust her.
‘Right, let’s at least find the village chief and locate the remaining sacred objects.’
Angelina changed her mind.
But she failed to realize that she simply needed a justification to not stop, even though she felt she might no longer be helpful in this matter.
“Miss, the blonde hair suits you well.”
“Does it?”
“It goes really well with the leather armor you’re wearing now. No one would recognize you as the young lady. But the problem is you’re still too pretty, so everyone will stare at you.”
Angelina let out a hollow laugh at Haley’s flattery.
She observed herself in the mirror.
She wore a plain mercenary outfit that made it hard to believe she was a Flaubert, and her hair was now dyed a common deep blonde.
To enhance the mercenary look, her hairstyle was tied up in a rather rough way, making her look nothing like a noble lady.
Of course, her delicate features still raised questions about whether she was really a mercenary.
Anyway, someone who didn’t know her well probably wouldn’t recognize her easily.
“Since we couldn’t be certain how magic is controlled and managed in the black market, I used a safe, non-magical disposable dye for your hair.”
“Good job.”
Angelina was only satisfied with her appearance after putting on a tattered robe as well. She looked like she wouldn’t have any problems wandering around the black market.
But there was still one problem remaining.
“Pudding. I’m bringing you along because you insisted so much… but you absolutely cannot reveal yourself. Understand?”
Because of what happened last time when she left him behind, he refused to be separated from her, so she had no choice but to take him along.
“Kyu!”
“I’m serious. Now too many people know you’re my divine beast, so if you’re discovered, I’ll be discovered too.”
“Kyu!”
“You answer well, but…”
“Kyu!”
After answering one last time, Pudding jumped into Angelina’s arms.
He settled on her shoulder and then his body gradually disappeared.
“It would be nice if you became as light as you are invisible. My shoulder’s going to be sore tomorrow.”
When Angelina grumbled, Pudding made himself even smaller.
“You can get even smaller?”
Now reduced to the size of a hamster, Pudding pressed his front paws firmly on Angelina’s shoulder as if giving her a massage.
Moving freely from right to left across her shoulder, he made a great show of not wanting to burden her.
“I should have kept you right next to my brother.”
Though her words suggested regret for her past actions, Pudding’s desperate appearance was so cute that her heart had already softened.
When she raised her hand, Pudding quickly climbed onto it. Having shrunk to the size of a hamster, his entire body fit perfectly in her hand. Angelina kneaded the fluffy Pudding as she walked.
“Shall we go then?”
For the first time in a while, Angelina went out for herself, not to target sacred objects or the Order.
***
“Wow, it’s like another world.”
That was Angelina’s first impression upon entering the black market.
“I thought a black market would be gloomy and secretive, but that was just prejudice.”
She had imagined it would be underground, hidden, with everyone keeping noise to a minimum and all transactions conducted secretly with the exchange of passwords.
But it wasn’t like that at all.
“Try a red banana~ If you don’t like red bananas, how about some chocolate coffee? All the young people love it these days.”
“These are newly made communication earrings. Why don’t you take a look? They’re brand new items no one else has yet.”
“This fabric is imported from the far east, oh my, it’s perfect for you, sister. Oh my, oh my, look how well the color matches! This must have been imported just for you.”
From the entrance, stalls of various kinds, sizes, and prices were spread out in colorful arrays, with more aggressive customer solicitation than regular markets.
The location was also an open space not far from the capital. It was an easily accessible place where people often came for walks.
“No wonder the palace can’t say a word, even though they control the guard forces.”
The palace must know about something held on this scale. This meant the palace knew about it and turned a blind eye.
“Well, rather than suppressing it, providing a place where things can be released is also a method.”
If they blocked this, dangerous transactions would move to darker places, so from the palace’s perspective, it would be easier to manage if kept in plain sight like this.
“This is troublesome though…”
Angelina let out a groan as she looked around at the items displayed outside and the curtained trading places.
“I don’t understand the system.”
Usually in markets, there would be areas for groceries, snacks, furniture, household items, etc., all separated.
Surely this place must have something similar, but she couldn’t figure out the criteria. To Angelina, it looked like everything was scattered randomly with everyone fending for themselves.
“Haley. Can you sense any magical power or holy power? Is it concentrated somewhere?”
“I’m not sure about holy power, but magical power is evenly distributed. It seems they’re deliberately using tools to scatter it.”
“Deliberately?”
“This way, they can immediately detect if dangerous magical tools enter or if wizards come in.”
“Hmm… Then the guards must have sensed your presence, too?”
“Probably. I dispersed my magical power as soon as we entered, but skilled individuals would have felt even that momentary fluctuation.”
“Hmm…”
Angelina crossed her arms and thought for a moment.
Would it be a problem for them that a skilled wizard like Haley had come? It would be troublesome if guards came to check on them.
“But there are many strange devices causing such fluctuations besides me. They won’t be able to distinguish whether it’s a wizard or not.”
“Really? That’s fortunate then.”
“The space management is more thorough than I expected.”
“Haley is right. It may look relaxed, but the security is also meticulously well-placed.”
“I see.”
Angelina expressed small admiration at Laura and Haley’s words. The tiny Pudding draped over her shoulder added a “Kyu…” as if in agreement.
“Hmm… Then I guess we have no choice but to wander around aimlessly until we find what we want.”
“Shall I guide you to places with significant magical fluctuations?”
“Yes, let’s do that at least.”
Angelina readily agreed.
She thought that whatever principle the holy power suppression device operated on, it would likely involve magical power. After all, even if the two energies shared the same root, they were currently the worst compatibility in this era.
***
After looking around three or four places with Haley’s guidance, Angelina finally found a place she liked.
“What brings such cute young ladies all the way here?”
A man wearing baggy shorts and a droopy gown greeted them with a slick voice.
He was fiddling with a suspicious crystal ball while resting his chin on the table.
“A fortune teller?”
“That’s what people call me. But let me tell you in advance, I don’t have any mysterious powers like seeing fate. I’m just a fallen priest who enjoys stargazing.”
“Fallen…?”
Since not many people introduce themselves as fallen, when she asked about the meaning, he smiled somewhat mischievously and said:
“I was expelled from the temple, so doesn’t that make me fallen?”
“Ah… If that’s what being fallen means, then I know someone like that, too.”
Angelina spoke while thinking of Mason, and the man’s eyebrows briefly rose sharply. But soon he smiled slyly again.
“Are you close with that person?”
“Well, I meet them often.”
“Be good to them. They’ve probably experienced many shaken beliefs.”
At those words, Angelina’s eyes narrowed.
When a priest expelled from the temple said such things, she couldn’t help but wonder if he knew something about the Order.
But if she asked more questions, her identity might be exposed.
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