“Well, are you going to tell your grand plan now?” asked Erin. Her tone was soaked with annoyance.
“What makes you think I have a plan? Let alone a grand plan,” Aedan retorted without turning away from the book he was devouring with a fervent gaze.
Erin rolled her eyes and glanced around, scouring her surroundings for the third ti ever since they entered this particular store. At the front, there was a variety and an array of trinkets. Half of it were conventional tools that were past their expected shelf life, while the other half were simply things that Erin had never laid her eyes upon. In the middle part of the store, there was the counter and store storekeeper, surrounded by paintings of obscure and abstract thes. At the inner part of the store, there were shelves of books but more than half of these books were ancient and without nas on their spines.
Even now, she still couldn’t figure out the point of this store. It was a store like any other on the street but that was only true for its exterior. It bore no sign or any letters that might indicate the purpose of this store, much like the books it held in its inventory. The store itself had its age etched clearly on its body and there was no sign of any tenderness, love, or care for it. The interior was not any different. The floors were creaking with every step. The walls were musty. The ceilings were showering dust every once in a long while. Even the goods were not in any condition to serve their potential buyer any sort of foreseeable benefits.
“You sent Lyra and Amyra on an errand to procure supplies. You had Siv seek out the assistance of the Adventurer’s Guild for sothing that you don’t feel inclined to disclose. And you had Aera waiting back at the inn. And I’m here, with you. You are not going to convince that you don’t have a plan in mind to get Nivia and Lilian back.”
“There’s no plan here,” Aedan responded as dryly as ever.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Erin sighed and placed her hand on the back of his neck.
“What are you— Eek!” Aedan let out a yelp as he felt Erin’s grip tightening on his neck, with her fingers digging into his skin.
“The truth, asshole.”
“That is the truth!” Aedan squealed. “There’s nothing we can do to get them back except for eliminating the evil as soon as we can. Which is to say, we can only bring that son of a bitch out into the light as soon as we can.”
“How will we accomplish that?”
Aedan shrugged.
“Think carefully before answering.” Erin squeezed harder.
“I truly do not know. Which is why I’m here, looking for answers.”
“What about the others?”
“We are short on supplies, aren’t we? And Iris would certainly have more information. As for Aera… well, she needs so ti alone to rest. I’m sure she’s exhausted.”
“She had been doing nothing but sleeping while in captivity.”
“That’s different. That’s not sleeping. That’s simply being unconscious. It’s similar but in actuality, there’s a vast difference. She needs to rest.”
“Alright. I’m following… but I’m still not quite sure why we are here, and why you are reading that book.”
Aedan smirked. “Have you tried reading any of the books here?”
Erin sighed and pulled out one of the books that was nearest to her. She flipped open the book with a vacant gaze but as soon as she absorbed even a tiny portion of the content, her eyes went wide.
“Now do you understand?”
“...These are real?”
“They are,” Aedan answered, flipping another page.
“B-but how? How do they do it? How is any of these possible?”
“I do not know, and I don’t care to ask. It is their trade secret.”
“Who’s ‘their’?”
“The people responsible for these books.”
“...These can’t be legal, can they?” Erin quickly placed the book back into its original position as if fearing so sort of curse would attach itself to her.
“It wouldn’t be legal but the king and his court subjects don’t know these books exist.”
Erin stared at Aedan with a face filled with disbelief. She could not fathom how such things could exist. These books were, in fact, compilations of official docunts and reports. She had doubted their authenticity at first glance but a quick confirmation from Aedan dispelled all of her doubts. “Is this what this store is for?”
“That and among other things.”
“How is this store still standing?”
Aedan cast Erin a sidelong glance. “Where do you hide a tree?”
“...In a forest,” she muttered.
“And there you have it,” Aedan smiled and resud reading.
“Is that why most of the books here have no titles? To help with its discretion?”
“Perhaps.”
“What are you reading?”
“A detailed account of everything that has transpired in the royal palace for the past month or so.”
Erin frowned. The book was thick, and Aedan had only read fewer than ten pages in. “Is that even—”
“—possible? Yes, it is. The servants and maids have eyes and ears. Yet, they are treated like the wind. The nobles don’t think they have the guts to spill the beans”
Erin’s frown deepened. “Spill what?”
“Spill the beans. It ans to reveal secrets that shouldn’t be revealed.”
“Why would they think the servants would keep their mouths shut?”
“Hubris, my dear Erin. They see the serving folks as lesser people. There will be severe punishnt for those who dare to talk.”
“But they still talk anyway.”
“Gold is the easiest way to make lips loose, or at least I assu that’s how they did it.”
As much as Erin was fearful of the contents, curiosity overtook her caution. Knowing too much would lead to undesirable outcos, especially if one were clumsy and careless with the knowledge they held. However, greed and curiosity were powerful motivators, and more often than not, the two overca every other sentint. She chose a book that had the fewest pages among the others. The spine was worn out, but the pages were still firm and strong. With a resolute heart, she flipped open the book.
“Oh, god,” Erin gasped. Her shoulder trembled along with her will. She quickly closed the book and slid it back into place. “I do not need to know all that. Do these servants have nothing else to do?”
“What was it about?” Aedan asked.
“The sickening nightlife of so lowly lord with a bunch of… children. Those children were street orphans… How can the kingdom allow this? Do they not know?”
Aedan sighed. “It is what it is. As long as the lord pays the tithe and dues, the kingdom couldn’t care less.”
“Disgrace…” Erin gritted his teeth.
“Perhaps you should refrain from reading any of the books. They are quite… infuriating and grating, to say the least. It is, after all, the bare bones reports of the nobles’ daily lives. I fear you would go on a hunt for the nobles’ heads if you fully read even just one of these books.”
“I’m thinking of doing just that, just from reading a few sentences.”
“Just stay off of them. You can peruse the trinkets at the front of the store. They are less… antagonising to look at. So may even hold so secrets. You’ll never know.”
Erin looked to the front. The trinkets were odd, but they did have so sort of charm to them. “Who else knows? This store, I an. And how did you co to know about this store?”
“Iris and Iris,” Aedan answered respectively.
“Of course. Who else but her?” Erin breathed a sigh of relief, as if the clouds of her confusion were finally clearing. However, sothing popped back into her head. “Still, that doesn’t explain why you need to drag here with you while being absolutely unnecessarily silent about your intent and purpose all this ti.”
“I’ll leave that up to your wonderful assumption,” Aedan said, turning further away from Erin.
“...You son of a taint,” Erin hissed, her eyes narrowing. “You didn’t drag along just so you could annoy , did you?”
Aedan moved half a step away from her. “Whatever gave you that idea…”
Erin moved half a step forward. “Oh, was I wrong? Well then, look in the eye and tell that I’m wrong.”
“Well… I’m a little bit busy at the mont. So, can we do this later?”
“No, we can’t.” Erin stepped in front of him and slamd both of her hands beside him with his head in between.
Aedan tried to wiggle his way out but she stopped him with her knee pressing on his left thigh.
“I’m waiting.”
“Erin, this is not a good ti.” He lifted the book up to his face as if to shield it from Erin’s boring gaze.
“The hell it isn’t,” Erin said and gently pushed the book out of Aedan’s face. She then placed her palm on his chest, before gently pressing down, applying more and more strength as the second went by.
“Erin… you’re killing here.”
“Oh, bollocks. As if you can be killed this easily. Tell , why did you take along instead of… the others?”
“...B-bait…”
Erin narrowed her gaze. “What did you say?”
“I’m using you as bait.”
“...You bastard,” she growled. “Since when did you beco so vile?”
“Desperate ti calls for desperate asures.”
“We’re not at that level of desperation yet.”
“We’re not but do you want to wait until then?” Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟
Erin clicked her tongue. “Do you have to keep everyone in the dark?”
“Not everyone. Amyra knows.”
“She knows? You told only her?”
“I told her nothing. She didn’t need to be told. She knows my M.O.”
“Your what?”
“My modus operandi.”
Erin’s gaze turned dark and incensed. “Speak so sense, can you?”
“It ans a particular way or thod to do sothing.”
“Do you always have to use all this gibberish?”
“It’s not gibberish. It is rely the language from a world far far away.”
“I’m sure it is,” Erin grumbled.
“It is,” Aedan tittered and went back to reading the book.
Silence lood between them for a while.
“Who's the bait for?” Erin asked, breaking the short yet unsettling quiet.
“Marsh, of course.”
“How am I bait?”
Aedan closed the book he was reading. “Marsh will surely be curious as to who was the one who foiled his plans. If he had the ans to forcefully drag soone into Limbo, he would surely be able to keep track of everything that transpired in Limbo, to so extent. You would be a thorn in his side, as you have been for countless villains in recent history. If I were him, I would surely eliminate you first before I proceed any further with whatever sches or plans that I have.”
“How does that explain your dishonesty with the party?”
“What dishonesty? I told no lie.”
“Withholding the truth and lying both fall under the category of dishonesty. So, why the secrecy?”
“...To fool your enemy, you first have to fool your friends and allies.”
“You don’t trust us with this information?”
“I have no doubts that none of you would spill it. However, if I told all of you that Marsh might be coming after you, how do you think the others would react?”
Erin’s answer ca quick but she withheld it before it could leave her lips. The answer was wrong. Knowing Lyra, she would be too high-strung to even feign normalcy. Siv might fare better but she was never good at hiding her heart’s intent.
“Walls have ears. Streets have eyes. Marsh cannot know that we are onto him. Let him bask in his ignorance for a while longer. Right now, we have nothing on him. We have not a single clue. However, if we let him co to us, we can turn it against him. If you can’t find sothing, let it co to you.”
“...That sounds like a terrible idea.”
“Do you have a better one?”
“How about we break into his house? Surely you have the ans for that, no?”
“That remains to be seen. It is also why I’m here, in this store. These accounts would provide us the insight for our next step.”
Just then, Erin felt sothing at her feet. She frowned and looked down. Her eyes went wide. “R-Ruri?”
It was Ruri, the Kirin who resembled a cat.
“Kyu~” it squealed in delight as it nudged its head against Erin’s foot.
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