HTWBB Chapter 6

A face that seemed earnest to the point of desperation was submerged in the beautiful evening backdrop.

Yes. He must have been desperate.

Rietta lifted the corners of her mouth faintly. As she became aware that she felt nothing, the sticky grape juice clinging to her hands, the flowing sweat, the sensation of the held hand—all of it vanished completely.

The her of that time had smiled brightly at him.

'Of course, Jeffrey.'

Rietta pulled up the corners of her mouth like she had back then. It was an oblique sneer.

"No."

"Huh?"

"I won't go."

Along with her firm answer, she reached behind her waist. The sensation of solid metal flowed along her palm without betraying her expectations. Her anxiously beating heart seemed greatly reassured as it regained its slow rhythm.

As soon as the handle settled familiarly in her grip, she swung her arm without hesitation. The dagger made an eerie sound as it plunged into the man's chest. Instead of the sound of cutting flesh, the noise of sharp metals clashing against each other shook the air.

From the split chest, dark red smoke spurted out like blood. Crash! The smiling man's lips twisted like broken glass, and his entire body began shattering into pieces.

The cabin roof and the familiar rice paddies, even the evening sky that seemed like it would linger forever. In an instant, they became tiny fragments and scattered through the air.

"Hah!"

Rietta gasped for air like someone who had been submerged and pulled up from water. The insufficient air rushed in all at once, making it difficult for her normal breathing to return. She was completely out of it.

She let some time pass, and immediately after realizing she was lying down, she alertly sat up. Her focus wasn't properly set, so she blinked rapidly.

In her gradually clearing vision, white marble flooring with a sense of age came into view. While steadying her staggering body and regulating her rough breathing, her spinning head finally began to stabilize slowly.

When her mind became somewhat clearer, she belatedly recalled where she'd been lying. The black space beyond the door and Abel who had vanished in an instant, the magic she'd been caught in without realizing.

'Abel...'

If it was high-level mental magic of this degree, Abel wouldn't have passed through safely either. Was it an illusion showing the most intense memory? Or perhaps...

Rietta shook her head as if to shake off the unpleasant feeling. And just as she turned to look for Abel, she suddenly stopped moving.

Unlike the hall before entering, this place was unsettlingly white. Only one thing filled the not-so-wide space. A platform about five steps away and the luxurious velvet placed on top of it.

Rietta, staggering closer to the platform, saw the First Emperor's treasure nestled in red velvet.

"Brynhildr's Necklace."

It was far more splendid than what she'd seen in the picture. With just the faint light entering through the small window, dozens of diamonds loudly shimmered, and the jet-black jewel set in the very center sparkled with piercing brilliance.

Rietta examined the traces of magic scattered around. The mind magic was, as expected, using the necklace as a medium.

Having finished her assessment, she reached toward the necklace still emitting dark red energy it hadn't fully contained. However, a hand that suddenly shot out grabbed it first.

"It's quite a commendable magic spell."

Rietta slid her gaze along to follow the necklace. A large hand was gripping the necklace carelessly.

Abel, who had disappeared and reappeared, looked exhausted. It was completely different from when he'd carried her while running without a hair out of place. His jet-black hair was soaked with sweat, and his neatly fastened shirt had also been loosened haphazardly.

When their eyes met, he smiled faintly.

"I grabbed it first."

"That's right."

That he'd approached the platform first wasn't important. Rietta acknowledged it cleanly, but that didn't mean she was okay with having the ancient Emperor's treasure taken from her.

Abel swept back his wet hair and stepped back.

"You promised, didn't you?"

"It was only verbal."

"Oh my. But if the situation were reversed, I would have said the same thing."

"Seeing how your words are getting longer, you must be out of energy."

"Did you notice?"

Since he was stalling for time instead of subduing her, there was no way not to know. After a very brief pause, Abel muttered.

"I'm sorry."

It was a tone that felt no remorse at all. At the sudden apology, Rietta tilted her head, puzzled. He lightly shook the necklace in his hand. His deep purple eyes were looking directly at her.

"I can't yield it."

BOOM! With an explosive sound, thick dust rose.

Rietta hastily covered her mouth with her sleeve and stepped back. A strong wind blew in from the side. Having grasped the situation, she immediately kicked off the ground.

Her body, still swimming in the aftermath of the illusion, creaked and protested its condition. Ignoring her churning vision, she tried to move quickly.

Abel's location was already completely empty. When she passed through where the wall had been broken, cutting through the dust, hazy dawn light greeted her.

She could see Abel's form—just a bit more running and she could catch him. Rietta stepped on the beautiful garden where the golem had completed its task without hesitation. As she approached near the forest, she squeezed out the faintly recovered magic and put strength into her legs.

And the moment she left the forest surrounding the tomb, she took a large stride. Abel looked at her with wide eyes.

"I thought you wouldn't be able to follow."

"Wait...!"

"See you again, Rietta."

Abel, standing at the edge of the cliff, waved his hand lightly. His smiling eyes still had no warmth whatsoever.

After a moment's hesitation, Rietta reached out toward him as he tilted backward. However, before her hand could reach him, whoosh, he disappeared from view. She sank down in that spot, grasping at the empty air with no trace of him.

No sound of collision, no scream came from below.

"Damn Abel."

Rietta muttered emptily. The sun was rising in the distant east.

Midday sunlight poured through the open window. As the grown leaves tapped at the window as if trying to enter, a light breeze stepped in first.

The mixed fresh scent of grass brushed past the tip of her nose. The midsummer sunlight was quite stinging, but the interior, not yet fully heated, warmed to just the right temperature for drowsiness. Flutter. The sound of paper rustling occasionally filled the quiet space.

Grace was pressing down a pile of documents with her elbow and dozing with her cheek resting on her hand. Her head, which couldn't help but droop, swayed precariously up and down.

Flap flap.

While Grace was wandering in dreamland, even skipping lunch, a slender bird flew in through the open window. Even at the sound breaking the peace, she only furrowed her brow slightly without opening her eyes.

The bird tilted its head this way and that a few times, then soon squawk, let out a cry.

"Wh-what!"

Startled, Grace shot up from her seat. The thrown-aside chair rolled haphazardly across the floor.

She looked around here and there with a face still half-asleep, then stopped her gaze at the window. A bird elegantly perched on the windowsill was there like a painting. It was a species absolutely never seen around these parts.

When the bird's eyes met Grace's, it haughtily extended its foot. Having fully woken up, she rushed close to the bird in a single bound.

"Crazy. Who uses a bird like this as a messenger pigeon?"

The situation didn't seem leisurely—the tied note was all splotched.

Grace untied the string bound to the bird's leg and turned her gaze to its lustrous feathers. Though it was a common color no different from wood, it strangely drew the eye. After glancing at the firmly closed door, she bent down slyly.

"Will you come back a little later?"

When she took out a few small fruits from her pocket and placed them in front, the bird that had been watching calmly picked up a raspberry. Then, as if answering, it flapped its wings once and flew outside without regret.

Grace paid attention to the beautifully moving tail feathers. It was definitely a rare species that ornithologists supposedly spent days and nights in deep forests desperately searching for.

A bird found only rarely in the high mountain regions near Helron, which was now a common brown but would be covered in gem-like sparkling blue feathers come winter.

She still vividly remembered scholars pooling their commission fees in small groups and rattling off all kinds of information in front of Grace. She took her eyes off the departing bird and unrolled the note all at once.

<I found the place we were looking for. It's been about 2 hours since R departed, and I'll be waiting at the promised location. -m>

The crazy sender using a rare species as a messenger pigeon was Melian.

A pleased scream leaked out between her rising lips. The stinging summer sunlight touching her cheeks felt as soft as a carpet.

She read through the note once more, then couldn't help but repeatedly kiss it.

"Where did such a lucky charm roll in from?"

That hunter, blunt as a block of wood, was truly Grace's treasure.

Actually, when Rietta first came to find this place, everyone in the guild agreed she should be driven away. Grace had no different opinion either.

By that time, Rietta already had a record of being caught once by the 9th Knight Order, and the rumors about her were brutal enough that various guilds avoided her.

It was true that she brought massive amounts of money to the places she dealt with, but there was also a strong possibility of bleeding losses elsewhere.

For her, who had just become guild master due to unavoidable circumstances at the time, Rietta was too overwhelming an opponent to handle.

'Is the information guild's guts only this much? It's different from what I heard.'

'You don't think you're the one who's irregular? Darling, I want to keep doing business in this field for a long, long time.'

'50-50. Let's just contract this once, and if you don't like the results, you can terminate it without conditions.'

That the guild had the information Rietta wanted at the time was coincidence, or rather, fate. At least Grace was convinced of that.

Like most hidden treasures, the information was nothing but pie-in-the-sky stories and vague locations. But Rietta returned in just two weeks. Then she readily handed over the treasure, saying it wasn't what she'd been looking for. As promised, the transaction concluded with them splitting the disposal amount in half.

The contract she'd made thinking she was being deceived was truly a great success. After completing a couple more transactions as a test while she was at it, she finally had to acknowledge it. If she just took on a bit of risk, Rietta was an incomparably efficient asset.

'Only deal with me. I'll treat you well. So please, only with me!'

Regardless of the years they had survived together since the founding period, the reason the guild's reputation was absurdly low was simple. It was because there was no money in the guild due to the trashy philosophy of previous guild leaders: 'only give to those worth giving to.'

While collecting information indiscriminately, they thoroughly screened clients and mercenaries, so the ledgers always recorded deficits.

Their wish for quality clients to visit did come true, but naturally, high-value deals weren't always available.

With no money, they reduced scale and let members go. As a result, naturally there were times when Grace had to run the field herself.

In any case, for various reasons, she had to cling to Rietta.

'I'll make information even if we don't have it! Let's make an exclusive contract with us, okay? Honey.'

'Alright.'

Three years had passed since that matter-of-fact answer. Grace put Melian's note in her bosom and grinned widely.

Since it was an item called legendary, and considering who the client was, at the very least this much... Grace rapidly worked her mental abacus.

It would help with the prestige they'd barely managed to raise, so they might even be able to establish branches in other regions.

"Guild Master."

A light knock followed. Grace, who had been making happy plans, furrowed her brow.

"What?"

"A distinguished guest has arrived."

If it was a distinguished guest who would bother coming up to the guild master's room, there was only one person recently.

Sitting back down, she reluctantly said to come in. The door opened and a man with common features strode in. However, because of his solid body visible even outside his casually worn clothes, and his efficient gait and posture, he seemed far from ordinary.

At the appearance of the expected person, Grace smiled as if painted on.

"You came again today."

"Is there news?"

"I clearly told you to wait several more days."

"I don't have much time. Still nothing?"

As short as two days, as long as five. The knight before her visited the guild with about that much interval. The time he stayed was very brief. Without even exchanging light greetings, he would only ask about the necklace's whereabouts, then leave as soon as he heard the answer.

He had also shaken his head at the suggestion to deliver news to wherever he was staying. Grace liked that inflexible aspect of the knight. So she decided to be a little more flexible, having been considering whether to keep her mouth shut according to principle.

"You came at a good time. There's news."

"How did it go?"

"It seems we found a clue, but the whereabouts still aren't certain. Don't get your hopes up too much."

"I'll relay it as you say."

"Ah, and this time will you at least tell me somewhere I can contact you? You mentioned it's urgent."

After brief consideration, the knight scrawled information briefly on the paper Grace held out.

"It's a bookstore in District 24. Just pass it to the owner."

"Got it. I'll send news as soon as it arrives."

The knight, who only bowed his head in greeting, immediately turned and disappeared. Grace leaned back against the backrest carelessly and swept back her hair.

In fact, for an information guild, figures related to the imperial family were unwelcome guests among unwelcome guests. Since long ago, emperors who would root out forces of darkness appeared at least every three or four generations, and for the past few years, they'd been rounding up treasure hunters on a large scale.

Therefore, the person who made this request was equally unwelcome.

'They say this is a very historic information guild.'

The 2nd Prince said that and brazenly asked her to find "the necklace." When he suddenly mentioned a treasure treated as legendary, the back of her head felt cold.

Grace recalled the succession selection method the imperial family employed when there were many excellent heirs. The First Emperor's necklace. There was no doubt a competition was underway for the crown prince position.

'...I understand there's a knight order directly under the imperial family in charge of information.'

'Unfortunately, they say it's prohibited from use.'

She, who had been planning to refuse, knelt before the bundle of down payment the prince offered. The success reward was a whopping three times the gold before her eyes.

To her, still feeling uneasy despite that, he even added the condition that he would overlook whatever incident she caused.

"So you absolutely have to bring it, Rietta."

Rietta, who had been indifferent even when she mentioned the prince and money, had for some reason readily accepted, and sure enough, was creating the best result.

Grace began writing a note to send to Melian while humming.