Chapter 420
"That was quite a misfortune, wasn't it?""You're absolutely right."
Unable to go for a meal with a paint-stained Gurgle, yet also unable to part ways after finally making contact with the target person, Shalia found herself in a dilemma.
So, the choice she made was to head to the inn where Gurgle was staying.True to his large expenditures, the inn was a hotel-like establishment favored by nobles, complete with an attached restaurant.
The clientele around them were all well-dressed guests.Shalia wondered if it was appropriate for a paint-smeared Gurgle and a rough-looking adventurer like herself to show up here, but the top-tier hotel staff had top-tier responses. Immediately recognizing Gurgle as a guest, they guided him to the large bath and prepared everything for him to wash up.
Meanwhile, Shalia, also a guest, was shown to a seat in the restaurant and treated to tea and sweets.
Relieved that this wasn't one of those unpleasant establishments that "pick and choose guests to exclude," she listened to the live music while waiting for time to pass. Eventually, Gurgle emerged from the bath, changed into fresh clothes.
Fresh from the bath, the greasiness from their first meeting was gone, replaced by a sense of cleanliness.
The first words she directed at that Gurgle were those words of sympathy.
"So, what do you want to do now?"
It certainly wasn't the same flirtatious energy as their first meeting. Thinking it wouldn't be strange if they just parted ways here, Gurgle nonetheless sat in the seat across from Shalia and ordered tea from the hotel staff.
"I'm not really in the mood for a meal, but I also want to talk with you, pretty lady. I'll cover the cost of this seat, how about it?""Well, the atmosphere seems nice, and it's not too formal, so I guess that's okay."
Changing from a meal to just talking wasn't a problem.That was the original plan anyway, and since the situation itself was still within acceptable bounds, she didn't feel any aversion.
*If he'd tried to take me straight to a love hotel from the start, I would've kicked him flying*, Shalia thought to herself, while smiling brightly and requesting another cup of tea from the hotel staff.
The flavor and aroma were on par with the tea she drank back in the pioneer village. Noticing that her palate had become refined, she kept it off her face and debated whether to wait for Gurgle's move or to make one herself.
Seeing him hesitate on how to start the conversation, she decided it was safer to make the first move.
"Still, being able to stay at an inn like this, Gurgle-kun, you must be quite wealthy.""What, you didn't believe me?""Well, since you have guards under exclusive contract, I figured you were from a decent merchant family."
Start with safe topics and gradually dig deeper. That's the first step to learning about the other party.The negotiation techniques taught by Gato and Liberta were things Shalia had never learned in her not-so-short adventurer's life.
Creating a smile like this, feigning interest to charm him, and taking the lead in the conversation.She'd never even considered such methods.
"You're quite observant.""Yeah, I'm an adventurer too, you know. I've done escort work before. Your guards don't have that roughness typical of adventurer or mercenary escorts. That means they're properly trained guards.""So you really were an adventurer.""Ah, you doubted me too. Well, I'm aware that for an adventurer, I dress rather nicely. I can see how I might look like a 'pretend adventurer' from a noble background. There have always been a lot of those, but I'm fairly serious about it. If anything, I've got some decent skill."
And she learned how to handle information—what to share, when to share it, what not to share—constantly processing it in her mind.
Since she claimed to be an adventurer, she didn't hide adventurer-related information.She concealed her final rank of A-Rank Adventurer but hinted that she wasn't low-ranked.She casually showed her well-used, favorite short dagger.It looked unassuming, but anyone with a discerning eye would recognize it was made from dragon materials.
Gurgle didn't seem to notice, but his demeanor suggested he believed Shalia's words.
"Well then, I guess we're even for doubting each other♪""Yeah, I guess so."
The chill that had settled over the room due to the paint incident was, for now, dispelled.Matching Gurgle's recovering mood, she decided it was time to steer the conversation.
"By the way, I wanted to ask you, famous Gurgle-kun. Do you know anything about Shine Moss? An apothecary among my companions is planning to make a new type of potion, and they said they need that Shine Moss. That's why I was dispatched here."
She explained her reason for coming to this city, feigning coincidence.Under normal circumstances, this turn of conversation might sound contrived, but Shalia's expression-making skills were on par with an actor's, perhaps even surpassing them.
She crafted an expression tinged with an ennui that conveyed genuine need and distress—a look so convincing even the guards couldn't see through it.
"! Shine Moss! Yeah! I know it! I know all about it!"
The moment he realized that the product Shalia wanted was one he himself dealt with, he leaned forward, his previously contained desire surging to the surface.
As Gurgle's breath grew heavy, one of the guards behind him tapped his shoulder, saying, "Calm down." Snapping out of it, he deliberately cleared his throat and sat up straight. Watching this, Shalia understood the reason behind Liberta's information that he had "no talent as a merchant."
Expressing such exaggerated emotions and expressions—was it intentional, or just his natural state? There were only two possibilities.Given how naturally it came out, she leaned towards the latter.
"After all, that's our family's specialty product! Even the goods we supply to the temple are related to Shine Moss!""Wow, what an amazing coincidence!"
So, for a Gurgle like that, she drew out empathy by showing "surprise," an emotion that would seem genuine to him.When she expressed delight at her good luck, Gurgle's face slackened into a foolish grin.
Seeing that, she thought, *That's the kind of face that would turn girls off,* and made a mental note: if he could control these emotions, he might actually stand a chance with women.
"I heard a rumor it was in this city, so does that mean—""Yeah! That moss is cultivated exclusively by my family! And we only supply it to a very few places. Those rumors are probably spread by local merchants!"
He wasn't used to being buttered up.Hearing "amazing" from a cute face sent him over the moon.
*The story about being "tricked by a girl" in the past must be true,* Shalia thought, as the conversation increasingly confirmed the accuracy of Liberta's information, making her almost smile.
"I see. So then, maybe if I ask you nicely, you could let me have some Shine Moss?""I'd love to, but you see...""What? You don't mean... you want my body in exchange for the goods!?"
Getting the goods would require some effort.Based on prior information, simply buying it with money wasn't possible without meeting certain conditions.
So, half-jokingly and half-seriously, Shalia hugged herself and twisted her body to show rejection.
"Wh-would I do something like that!? If I did, my old man would kill me!""Ah, I see. So you're disciplined about that much.""What do you take me for?""A pervert who keeps glancing at my thighs♪""Guh! It's your fault for dressing in a way that's just barely hiding them!""Ehh—, this is my fashion statement♪"
As confirmed beforehand, Gurgle's family strictly prohibited such unscrupulous business practices as "demanding the body in exchange for money."
When he frantically shook his head to deny it, cold sweat trickled down his face.Whether from some terrifying experience, Gurgle's expression was strained.
Confirming that parental discipline was effective, Shalia light-heartedly put on an act and smiled.
"So, how can I get you to let me have the moss?""That moss is managed by the whole family. I can't just hand it over to someone I just met.""Oh? So I have to earn your trust first?""But our family doesn't trust easily. Even if you trick me, my old man, my mom, and all my relatives would absolutely never agree!""Doesn't it make you sad to say that?""...I'm used to it by now."
The conditions she extracted matched the information Liberta had given her.Gurgle's position was merely that of a delivery manager; he didn't hold a particularly high status within the family.
Gurgle, "trusted" in an unpleasant way, drifted into a melancholy air as he averted his gaze.
"Hmm, isn't there any other way?""Ah, there is one.""Oh? What kind of way?"
Without delving deeper into his melancholy, she continued the pretense of desperately needing the Shine Moss and inquired about the means of acquisition.The moment she asked, a bizarre sight emerged: a frog-faced adult man blushing shyly. It was a spectacle with zero appeal, but no one pointed it out.
"Wh-what if you married me and became family?""Hmm, sorry, but I like girls♪""So you're that kind!! Then don't give me false hope!!"
When, amidst his bashfulness, he asked her to "please date me with marriage in mind," Shalia cut him down cleanly with a perfect smile.Gurgle slumped onto the table instantly, but—
"Aren't you missing something?"
Shalia pressed the attack further.
"Missing what? It's fine, I'm not gonna look down on you for liking girls! There are people with that kind of taste in the world, right?""That's broad-minded of you— wait, no, no. I'm saying, did I ever introduce myself as a 'girl'?♪""Huh?"
Her intuition whispered that now was the time to drop the bomb. The atmosphere in the room froze instantly.Gurgle, who was directly told, his guards, and even the hotel waiter who happened to overhear the conversation—all froze.
It took several seconds for everyone to process Shalia's words.
"Eh? Huh? Eh?"
If you had to describe Gurgle's expression now, it was a magnificent hundred-faced expression that seemed to have a "CONFUSION" status window floating above his head.He understood, but didn't want to understand.Or maybe he couldn't understand even if he wanted to.
"I'm a man, you know?""Liar!!""It's true, it's true♪""Say it's a lie!!""I could even swear it to the gods, you know? That I'm a man.""Tell me it's a lie!? There's no way a man like you exists!!""Well, here I am♪"
But reality is cruel.Mercilessly, Shalia hammered the bomb home at Gurgle, who seemed ready to utter lines that would make the cicadas cry.
"You tricked me from the start!?""Tricked you? That's outrageous. I'm proud of this look! It's cruel of you to criticize someone's preferences like that.""Your every movement and word is feminine!! It's your fault for making me misunderstand!""But girls are cute, aren't they? Is it so wrong to aspire to be 'cute'!?""And now you're turning it back on me!?"
Emotions all jumbled up, Gurgle wanted to be angry but couldn't quite manage it.Shalia piled on, expressing her own emotions as well.
"So does that mean! I hit on a man!?""That's about the size of it. Sorry for being so cute?""That's exactly it! And yet, here I am, feeling like forgiving you because you actually made me feel good for a bit! I'm the real fool here for misunderstanding and hitting on you!""By the way, no one's ever seen through me at first glance.""So you're doing it on purpose! Then you should have introduced yourself as a man from the start!"
Through this back-and-forth, Shalia drew out Gurgle's emotions and closed the distance between them.