Chapter 208

Secret Vault Number 3.

Although secret vaults were a dime a dozen in the world, it was surprising that he specified it exactly like that.

“Hmm. Which noble family’s secret vault do you want to rob?”

However, the branch manager asked slyly, hiding any sign of embarrassment flawlessly.

Roan looked up at the branch manager.

Although it was hidden by his hood above the nose, his lips were definitely smiling.

“It is the Secret Vault Number 3 of the Gilsburg branch of the Order of Yorus.”

“You…… You!”

At the request that had become slightly more specific, the branch manager could no longer hold back.

The Secret Vault Number 3 was precisely where the Corrupted Holy Mark was stored.

The branch manager’s face was stained with shock.

Roan was quite pleased with that reaction.

‘In the Thieves’ Guild, even the existence of a secret vault is “information.”‘

In the Order of Yorus, anything could be obtained as long as one paid the proper price.

The price might be absurd, but there was nothing that could not be bought.

The same went for the secret vault hidden in the most secretive place of the Order.

There were two reasons the branch manager was surprised.

First, because Roan knew that the secret vault was classified as information.

Second, because he requested precisely the Vault Number 3.

*Rumble—*

The branch manager sharpened her gaze and raised her energy once again.

The secretive holy power of the Order of Yorus fill the narrow office.

“Speak straight. Are you really not from another branch?”

“If I were, I wouldn’t have handled things this way. And.”

*Boom—!*

When the branch manager first threatened him, he had endured it because of what he had done.

But he had no intention of doing so this time.

Nor should he.

Roan also began to release his dark mana to his heart’s content in earnest.

Although he fell behind the branch manager in skill, Roan was not lacking in the quality or quantity of his mana in the slightest.

Instead, Roan’s mana pushed back the branch manager’s holy power and steadily began to carve out a space of its own.

“W-What is this?”

Although she had not exerted her full strength, the branch manager was even more shocked as she had not expected to be pushed back like this by a boy as young as Roan.

Roan spoke to the branch manager with an exceptionally cold and dangerous expression.

“No matter how much of an outsider I am, extracting information through threats like this is surely not Yorus’s teaching.”

“…….”

Roan’s point precisely pierced the loophole hidden behind the threat.

The branch manager bit her lower lip.

Regardless of how Roan knew of Vault Number 3’s existence or why he wanted to open it.

That was strictly information he possessed—in other words, his asset.

If she wished to obtain that, the branch manager also had to pay corresponding information or compensation.

The branch manager’s current behavior was merely a rude oppression.

*Frizzle……*

The branch manager quietly subsided her energy, and Roan withdrew his mana accordingly.

“I apologize. But you know this is surprising, don’t you? All-knowing kid.”

“I understand.”

Roan nodded.

The branch manager moved to the chair opposite Roan and spoke again.

“Right…… There is no need to find out such information by paying a heavy price. However, as the administrator, I also have something to ‘confirm.’”

“Go ahead.”

Roan shrugged.

It was a way of expressing that he would answer sincerely if it was indeed a reasonable confirmation.

“The contents of Vault Number 3 are completely useless to a clergyman. Do you agree?”

“Yes.”

A confirmation of whether it was fine even though it was a useless item, rather than asking ‘why’ he wanted Vault Number 3.

“The Order of Yorus cannot be punished for storing black magic items. Even if we hand them over to someone else, of course. Do you agree?”

“Of course.”

Even ordinary shops were not illegal as long as they did not sell to black mages, so the officially recognized Order of Yorus was beyond question.

The branch manager let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“Fine, then I will give you information about Vault Number 3. However, our Order requires prepayment.”

“Very well.”

Since the discussion was finished, it was now time for the actual transaction to proceed.

The branch manager buried herself deep in her chair and clapped her hands.

*Clap, clap—!*

Then, unlike the other guild members, a much cleaner-looking man entered from outside holding paper and a pen.

“As I said earlier, I couldn’t find you on our Order’s register. But we cannot just let someone who knows our Order so well go. I want information about you.”

Roan nodded and removed his hood.

In the Order of Yorus, even one’s facial features were information that could not be permitted lightly.

“Oh? You’re more handsome than I thought. The dark atmosphere is also perfect.”

Upon confirming Roan’s face, the branch manager brightened and licked her lips.

Meanwhile, the man holding the paper and pen quickly began sketching Roan’s portrait.

“Shall we start with the most basic thing first? Name.”

“Roan Darc.”

Roan answered without much thought.

Since the name Darc was not light, if he provided a few more pieces of information including being an Acherandir student—

““?!?!?!?!?!!!?!?!?!!!!!!””

……Or so he thought.

The reactions of the branch manager and the portrait sketcher were much more dynamic than expected.

“W-W-W-W-What!??!!? Darc????”

*Bang—!*

The branch manager was so shocked that she slammed the table with both hands and sprang up.

“Why are you only telling me that now!!!”

— Um…… Branch Manager.

At the branch manager’s screaming question, the man sketching the portrait called her cautiously.

Although his attitude was polite, he basically meant to ask if that was something a high priest of the Order of Yorus, who dealt with information, should say.

“Ahem. Anyway! I heard that a descendant of the Darc family entered Acherandir……. Is this an off-campus volunteer service?”

“Yes. Although coming here is not the volunteer mission itself.”

“Of course it wouldn’t be. The Holy Spirit would never order such a thing.”

Only now did the branch manager understand Roan’s unusual knowledge and skill to some extent.

The Gilsburg branch of the Order of Yorus naturally collected information on Acherandir as part of its operations.

The branch manager had already roughly grasped the things Roan had done in Acherandir so far.

Even though Acherandir’s information control was so thorough that she only understood the general flow.

‘It sounded so much like a lie that I thought it had to contain some exaggeration…….’

The branch manager swept her gaze over Roan’s gloomy impression with fresh eyes.

At this level, it seemed it did not contain much exaggeration at least.

The branch manager laughed hollowly and sat back down in her chair.

“Did you finish drawing?”

— Huh? Ah, yes. Roughly.

“Let me see. Yeah, not bad.”

After receiving the drawing, the branch manager compared it with Roan’s face and showed it to Roan as well.

“What you think? Does it look good to you too?”

“……Well, it’s fine.”

Roan nodded.

If there was a problem, it was that the drawing depicted him with an exceptionally dangerous and gloomy impression, like a legendary figure from the underworld who ruled the back alleys.

‘Compared to the one at the Hall of Friendship, this is a masterpiece.’

It was on a completely different level from that portrait that looked like a young demon that had just crawled out of hell.

It was the same logic as how hiring an external studio for graduation photos is far better than having teachers snap them casually.

“Really? He actually earned his keep for once. Then—”

Just as the branch manager was about to hand the drawing back.

“But aren’t the eyes here a bit too sharp? And the mouth seems too tightly closed……”

Roan could no longer hold back and began giving pointers here and there.

It was not just any drawing, but one that would be registered in the Order of Yorus’s information network.

If it went up as it was, it felt like it would cause significant misunderstandings in the future.

The branch manager and the man, who had been listening to Roan’s criticisms for a while, wore blank expressions.

‘But it looks exactly like you……?’

In fact, if they modified it according to Roan’s words, that characteristic image would disappear completely, making it hard to recognize him even after looking at the drawing.

The branch manager reluctantly returned the drawing to the man and spoke.

“U-Up…… Right, we’ll take care of those minor modifications ourselves.”

Of course, there would be no modifications to the drawing.

“Please do so. Since you’re drawing it anyway, shouldn’t you make it accurate?”

‘That’s what I’m saying, it is accurate…….’

As if hearing the branch manager’s inner thoughts, Roan requested repeatedly.

“If that is the case, I can stay and verify……”

“Th-There is no need for that.”

Was this boy truly the same person who had found the secret temple entrance, recited rare Yorus scripture passages, and barged straight into the branch manager’s office?

The branch manager chuckled at the sight of Roan, who seemed to have returned to his actual age now.

Roan did not like that chuckle in the slightest.

“More importantly, shouldn’t you receive more information?”

At that, the branch manager tilted her head.

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“?”

Roan also tilted his head.

Did she mean that just by obtaining his name and portrait, she had gathered information equivalent to the value of the secret vault’s password?

However, Roan’s expectation was off.

“We are the ones who need to give more. First off, my name is Lesper. Lesper Eirant.”

Rather, the branch manager stepped forward and shared her own name.

‘Well, although I already knew the branch manager’s name……’

Roan also did not expect the value of his own name and face to be at this level.

Branch Manager Lesper, even after giving her name, tilted her head and asked the man standing behind her.

“It seems a bit insufficient with just this, right?”

— Yes, indeed…….

Unable to listen further, Roan interrupted.

“Just how important is my name?”

At that, the branch manager asked back with a mischievous smile.

“Oh my, you don’t even know the value of your own name? But that is also information, Darc kid.”

Since the branch manager responded this way, Roan had nothing more to say.

No matter how valuable the item in one’s hand was, if they did not know its worth, they had no choice but to sell it for a pittance.

The branch manager, quite pleased to have silenced Roan, spoke as if doing him a favor.

“Since it’s fate that we met like this, I’ll give you a special service. Hmm…… To the extent that if the crazy black mage schools found out, they would sell their souls to the devil to chase after you?”

“……!”

“Of course, our Order will never hand this information over to those rotten bastards, so rest assured. We will classify it as Class 1 Secret. Naturally, including the fact that you are an Acherandir student.”

The Order of Yorus’s information management was trustworthy, but that was not what mattered.

‘I am still a target of the black mages……?’

Was it not enough that they wiped out the Darc family, leaving only him?

Roan resolved that he must tighten the reins of his growth even further.

As for the clergymen, he was safe for now as long as he had the false divinity.

‘But those black mages won’t hesitate whether I am a clergyman or a black mage.’

At any rate, the transaction was not fully finished yet.

Lesper asked with a sly smile.

“There is still a bit left. Anything else you’re curious about? No?”

Roan contemplated for a moment.

He already knew most things, but if there was anything he needed.

“Please give me information about the black mage smugglers at the Eddinger Campsite.”

This was also an element that changed randomly in each run.

Lesper let out a chuckle.

“Hey, are there only one or two smugglers there? In the first place, the boundaries of a campsite are ambiguous. You aren’t asking for an encyclopedia, are you?”

Indeed, the campsite, where administrative power did not reach well, was a hotbed of smuggling.

However, Roan possessed information that could pinpoint someone.

“The guys who sell holy relics and black magic items at the same time.”

“Ah?”