Chapter 171
She had come out into the street without any real plan, but now she felt a bit lost.
‘I should have asked properly what they were doing.’
Since Euphen didn’t seem willing to talk, she hadn’t pressed him. Eshar wasn’t the type to share trivial details like that either.
Lynette looked around, then went back the way she came.
She should have familiarized herself with the surroundings beforehand. Now that something like this had happened, she felt pathetic for having been so careless.
She thought that from now on, wherever she went, she needed to prepare for unexpected situations.
‘Come to think of it, I completely forgot about learning something.’
If she learned even basic self-defense, wouldn’t it put Sillian more at ease in situations like this? At the very least, having enough skill to avoid getting caught and be able to escape would be reassuring.
Lynette let out a small sigh and glanced around.
Would there be a branch of the Lera Merchant Guild here as well?
Eshar probably wouldn’t have flaunted her position as the guild’s heir, but she must have received help in some way.
Even if she said she would handle everything herself, she couldn’t have been living with nothing at all.
Seeing that Sillian, who never lacked money, and Eshar, who freely used quite a lot, both had funds to spare, it wasn’t hard to guess that she had gotten it from the guild.
Even as the heir, not everyone at a branch so far from the capital would know her face, so disguising herself as one of the merchants would be an easy task.
Lynette blended into the crowd.
Wearing her hood too deeply felt like it drew even more attention, so she took it off and lightly tousled her hair.
There had been times when she resented her unremarkable appearance, but right now she was extremely grateful for it.
‘This kind of plainness might come in handy from now on.’
Thinking up to that point, she slightly frowned.
No, something like this must not happen again. It wasn’t as though she chose this. She had simply ended up in this situation.
“You go that way. You go this way.”
“Yes!”
“Find the man with long blond hair.”
A group of men approached, and at the moment she subtly turned her body to the side, the words she expected reached her ears.
‘They really are looking for Sillian.’
He had fairly distinctive features, so looking for him by hair color would be easy.
She listened closely, wondering if they might mention her as well, but she didn’t hear anything about looking for a plain brown-haired woman. Maybe they hadn’t seen her properly, or maybe, because she lacked any notable features, it was difficult to describe her clearly.
Just as she was about to walk past them as if nothing were wrong, someone grabbed her arm roughly.
“You.”
“…Yes?”
Was she exposed?
Her heart dropped in an instant.
If she were caught here, her chances of escaping were nearly zero.
‘I really need to learn self-defense.’
Once this is over, she would ask Sillian right away.
Resolving herself, she lowered her gaze slightly.
The man who had been staring at her face tilted his head and frowned.
“No. It’s not you.”
Apparently deciding she wasn’t the one, he released her arm.
As she quietly sighed in relief and took a few steps away, a small scream came from behind. Glancing back, she saw the man grabbing another brown-haired woman.
‘They really don’t know my face.’
It seemed they only knew she had brown hair. That meant she only needed to watch out for the two men who came to the inn earlier.
She quickened her pace.
Even after that, she could feel several more men carefully examining faces in the crowd, but none of them stopped Lynette.
She needed to hurry a bit more. At this pace, she would reach the inn where Sillian is staying very soon.
Finding the Lera Merchant Guild’s branch was easy. They always occupied the center of the busiest district.
Of course, they wouldn’t bother opening a branch in a very small village, but since this is a village under a lord’s domain, there is no way it wouldn’t be here.
Lynette opened the door and stepped inside.
It wasn’t chaotically busy, but it wasn’t leisurely either.
As she looked around, wondering who she should speak to, a man with a pleasant demeanor approached her with a smile.
“Welcome. What brings you here?”
“I’m looking for someone. She seemed to be affiliated with the Lera Merchant Guild.”
When she briefly described Eshar’s appearance, he immediately recalled who she meant.
“Ah. You’re talking about Miss Reina.”
“Yes. That’s right. Reina.”
Naturally, she’s using an alias.
Lynette felt grateful that she hadn’t blurted out her real name first.
“She came by this morning, but may I ask why you’re looking for her?”
“Is it possible to know where she is now?”
At that question, the man blinked, then gave her an awkward smile.
“If you have a message, please leave it. When she stops by again, we’ll make sure she receives it.”
It seemed he didn’t know where she had gone. And even if he did, Lynette could tell from his tone that he wouldn’t tell her.
Well, of course. He couldn’t reveal everything to someone he didn’t even know. Even if he knew who Lynette was, it wasn’t guaranteed he would say anything. The Company had to protect its merchants.
Lynette bit her lip lightly.
“Do you know when Reina usually stops by here? It’s something I really need to talk to her about.”
“I’m not sure. She doesn’t come at set times.”
The man answered with the same pleasant smile.
Lynette glanced toward the door.
Through the fairly large window set into it, she could see the men outside searching for someone.
Feeling the unusual tension in the air, the people on the street were glancing around with puzzled expressions, as if unsure what was happening.
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