Chapter 67
“If I had information like that, I would have sold it long ago. Surely you don’t think I’ve been sitting on it for seven years?”
“That’s true for Marbas. But what about the New Era Church?”
“Well, they are such a secretive organization too, you know. Anyway, didn’t you quit digging into the New Era Church? You said those guys didn’t seem to know anything about Marbas either.”
“The situation has changed. I heard something interesting on the commission I just came back from.”
Eden laid out the stories she had heard from the residents of Viscount Raymond’s territory. It was a story about how Marbas had joined hands with the New Era Church and was opening gates, and that instead of killing humans, he was taking them to turn them into followers or using them as sacrifices for the gates.
“Hmm. I get the gist. So in short, if you dig into the New Era Church, you’ll be able to find out about Marbas too.”
“Exactly.”
“But honestly, there’s no information worth selling right now. You couldn’t get information on the New Era Church even with billions. There’s a reason those heretics have survived hundreds of years without the temple catching them.”
Eden also didn’t expect to get information right this moment. The main reason she had come to see Pepe today was to hand over an advance payment and ask her to at least make the effort.
Eden loved money, but even so, she wasn’t the type to be stingy even where it needed to be spent. If it would help her revenge, she could put out hundreds of millions, no, billions, even if she had to go into debt.
“This is a token of my sincerity. Do me a favor, Pepe. Anything will do, just gather whatever information you can.”
Pepe stubbed out her cigarette in the glass ashtray and opened the package Eden had handed over. After checking the gold coins inside, the corner of her lips curled up in a smirk.
“Well damn. With this much, I’m going to have to run my feet raw, aren’t I? But why are you lugging all this around? A single one million bill would’ve done the trick.”
“Handing over a single piece of paper doesn’t have the same impact. You gotta feel the weight for it to feel good.”
“Fair enough, that’s true.”
The Empire used both coins and paper notes as currency. As expensive goods became more common and carrying around a pile of coins became impractical, they created paper notes with the monetary value written on them in numbers.
However, this inconvenience was limited to nobles and commoners with decent jobs. Even though paper money had been around for over a decade, common folk still preferred transactions in coins. This was because paper money was merely a scrap of paper that became useless if torn, but coins were physical assets that could be melted down and sold for their gold, silver, and copper when necessary.
“Look forward to it, Eden. I’ll bring you good news soon.”
Pepe might have looked like trouble, but when it came to getting the job done, she was the best information broker in the capital. Since the capital was where the most people gathered, it was also where the most information collected, so she could practically be considered as the best information broker in the Empire. When someone like her said she would make an effort, it meant she would dig up information by whatever means necessary.
Of course, Eden didn’t expect her to magically find information in a few days that she hadn’t been able to find until now. But anything would truly do. Even a footprint left by a New Era Church member, even a spot where they had been, even the most useless scrap of information. She just hoped Pepe would find out even a little bit about them.
“Well, I’ll be off then. I’ve got another commission this afternoon.”
“Yeah, yeah. Good luck out there.”
Pepe pulled out a new cigarette, stuck it between her lips, and waved. Eden gave a casual nod and escaped from the thick cloud of smoke.
* * *
“Please travel safely. You’ve all worked so hard.”
Viscount Raymond personally came to the train station to see the Holy Knights off, just as he had done for Eden the day before.
“Not at all. Thanks to you reporting it quickly, we were able to minimize the casualties.”
Oscar shook his hand and then led the Holy Knights aboard the train. Once they returned to the capital today, they would rest for a day before heading out on another assignment tomorrow.
Lately, demons had been running rampant everywhere. Not just the New Era Church they had encountered this time, but the countless heretic groups that had branched off from it were opening gates and summoning demons.
“Good grief. What is the world coming to? At this rate, it’ll turn into a world that’s half humans and half demons.”
Oscar spoke jokingly as he found a seat and sat down. Johan smiled faintly as if in agreement and took the seat behind him.
Once he settled into the cushioned seat, the fatigue that had built up overnight hit him all at once. Johan pressed the back of his hand against his stinging eyes and leaned back against the seat.
The night before, Johan had tossed and turned, unable to easily fall asleep even after laying down his exhausted body.
‘Partner….’
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