Chapter 195
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「Hey hey, if it isn’t Ichiro!」
「Yo, Anon.」
I’ve gotten quite used to his quirky way of talking by now – I even find it endearing.
「Since we never know who might be listening, please call me Low around here.」
「Ah, my bad. I wasn’t being careful enough. But still… this really is troublesome, isn’t it?」
Troublesome – I understand what he means without him having to spell it out.
Though it hasn’t been that long since I met him, I feel like he’s an old friend I’ve known for years.
「Nah, it’s fine. It’s a bit restrictive, but I’m not really struggling with it.」
My response leaves Anon speechless for a few seconds. Finally,
「Low, let’s find somewhere to sit first. We can talk after that.」
He leads the way with a 「Follow me.」
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「Well, have a seat.」
We enter an unremarkable inn just off the main street. Without checking in at reception, he guides me to a back room like he owns the place.
Seeing the question on my face,
「This place? This inn belongs to me.
Of course, it’s under a different name and owner. I need places where I can discuss secrets freely and hide when necessary. This is one of them.」
He sets tea and snacks on the table with practiced movements.
「Hide…?」
「Danger comes with the territory when you’re in the information business. My information targets are quite diverse, you see…」
But that’s me being pretentious, he continues,
「A second-rate informant lets people know they have information. Someone of my caliber makes sure targets don’t realize I already have what I need.」
「That’s… pretty amazing.」
His words aren’t just bragging – I’ve witnessed it firsthand multiple times.
「So actually, I rarely end up in truly dangerous situations.」
「Which means you do sometimes end up in dangerous situations.」
「Well, yes. But with hideouts and everything else, you can never have too many cards to play. ‘Trump card,’ ‘ace in the hole,’ ‘secret technique,’ ‘last resort,’ ‘hidden trick,’ ‘secret weapon,’ ‘lifeline’ – you can never have too many of these.」
「How many do you have!? If you have that many options, they’re not trump cards or secret techniques anymore!」
When I point this out, he
「Haha! You’re absolutely right!」 bursts out laughing.
He lets out a long sigh, then
「It’s fun talking with you. You’re completely straightforward even with me. No, don’t worry – I’m not making fun of you.」
He notices my pouting face and tries to smooth things over. After having his laugh, he says,
「We’ll save the fun chat for next time. Let’s get to the main topic.」
He prepares paper and pen as he speaks.
「Feel free to share what you’re comfortable with. I’d like to hear about your recent Sealed Dungeon exploration.」
「I don’t mind that, but…」
My eyes are fixed on the paper and pen in his hands.
「Oh, these? I thought I’d write a book about your heroic deeds-」
CRASH. I stand up and try to run-
「Come on, Ichiro. I’m just kidding, just kidding!」
Too bad! Yamada has been cut off!
「Why are you backing away? I told you it was just a joke, didn’t I?」
「Eek…!!」
I’m certain his eyes are gleaming menacingly behind that hood.
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*Sniff sniff* I’ve been completely exposed.
Not physically, of course – just about the Sealed Dungeon exploration-
「Hah, hah, amazing! Ichiro, that’s amazing!」
「No it’s not!」
「Ouch!」
When I smack the excited Anon on the head, he finally comes to his senses.
「What have I been-!?」
「Don’t ‘what have I been’ me! You’re scary! People outside will get the wrong idea if they hear these noises!」
「Don’t worry about that. Trust me. This room has sound-blocking magic cast on it. No matter how loud you shout or scream, nobody outside can hear. You don’t need to hold back your voice.」
「That’s even scarier! Anon, snap out of it!」
「Ah! What have I been-!?」
「Is this a loop?」
Despite his pompous attitude that can lead to misunderstandings, he’s actually quite the humorous person – this is humor, right?
「Well, let’s get back to our topic.」
「You’re the one who derailed it in the first place, Anon.」
「Well, let’s get back to our topic.」
I decide not to interrupt his second attempt to get us back on track.
「The story I just heard matches what Saint Mika, the wise Angelica, and Purume told me while you were sleeping.」
「Yeah.」
「You might have heard already, but the nation has issued a summons for the Hero’s party. And it’s not just them being summoned. You’ll probably hear about it soon, but you, Ashley, and Purume – the other contributors to this success – will be called too.」
「Me…?」
「Of course. You’re the greatest contributor, after all. That’s exactly why I at that moment-」
I feel an intense heat radiating from Anon.
This is it. This is his deeply hidden true heart.
「Based on your achievement of completely destroying a dungeon that even former wise ones, renowned adventurers, and mighty warriors could only manage to seal away, I intend to declare to the nation that the bad rumors about you circulating in society are completely false, and that all the Newly Constructed Most Challenging Dungeons conquered so far were actually your accomplishments.」
After saying all this in one breath, he looks at me as I struggle to find words.
Seeing me like this, he adds,
「Oh, don’t worry about it.
For now, let’s just say the pieces are falling into place quite nicely?」
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