Chapter 45
Ch.45 One Step Away from the Truth
Anya believed that since the Golden Crow Beak Masked man possessed some black gold card—something that sounded incredibly prestigious—his status must be high.
But it wouldn’t be too high, because true upper-city elites would never come to a black market like the Whisper Market in the lower city.
Just like that annoyingly rich playboy Luo Nan von Medillion—Anya found it hard to imagine him personally descending into the lower city to compete with someone like her, who had to calculate every copper Tais whether she spent one extra coin on her daily meals.
As a street kid raised by struggling through the lower city, the girl understood perfectly well what these so-called big shots with golden crow beak masks really were.
Although they could bully and dominate within the lower city, to the real aristocrats of the upper city, they were nothing more than disposable gloves, easily replaced at any moment.
Therefore, their thirst for information was the most desperate.
Information was the key to gaining the upper hand—to demonstrate greater value before the true big shots—and thus climb upward step by step.
And recently, among all the most explosive secret rumors across Opalia, the detailed circumstances surrounding Luo Nan von Medillion’s assassination stood out as the most valuable piece of intelligence.
So Anya felt confident she could trade certain pieces of information she knew for the scales she needed for her advancement.
“Oh? Do you actually possess some insider information? Could this assassination have been staged by Luo Nan von Medillion himself? Or perhaps…”
Luo Nan didn’t truly believe this Bandage Face could possibly know anything he, as the central figure of the event, did not already know.
But what if?
What if this Bandage Face was an underling of the mastermind behind the assassination attempt on him?
If that were true, then the information he provided—combined with what Luo Nan already knew—
He decided it was worth hearing what he had to say.
“As I expected, you’re clearly very interested. This isn’t a place to talk—follow me.”
The two arrived at a private room in the corner of the third floor of the tavern. After the server delivered two large mugs of freshly squeezed juice, the Bandage Face personally inspected the room for any eavesdropping magical arrays, then locked the door from the inside and sealed the windows shut.
Having completed all these precautions, he picked up the fresh juice and drank nearly a third of it in three loud gulps, then let out a long sigh in his gender-neutral voice: “Ahh~ I’m alive again! Indeed, the one thing life absolutely cannot do without is alcohol!”
“Hmm, aren’t you drinking? Consider it my treat,” Anya said casually.
“No, let’s get straight to the point. What part of the ‘assassination of Lord Medillion’ do you hold insider knowledge about? The cause? The process? Or the aftermath?”
Luo Nan asked this because he knew the Bandage Face could not directly reveal the specific content of the information.
After all, the value of information lies only when the buyer does not already know it.
Therefore, he could only judge whether the information offered by the Bandage Face was worth exchanging for one scale using this method.
“Wait a moment—we should first discuss the price.” The Bandage Face did not answer Luo Nan directly, but instead intended to establish a basic agreement on price first.
“Fine.”
“You probably guessed—I currently need ‘scales from the corner of a mermaid’s eyes.’ I won’t tell you what I’m using them for, but my need is small: just one, a single ‘scales from the corner of a mermaid’s eyes.’”
Upon hearing the Bandage Face’s opening offer, Luo Nan thought internally: How convenient—he himself had exactly three scales, and crafting that artifact required only two.
The extra one had previously been useless to him—but now, perhaps it could be put to practical use?
“I technically accept this price, but whether your information is truly worth one scale, I must hear your description before making a judgment.”
“So, may I now ask what aspect of the insider information you hold?”
There was a chance!
Anya saw the Golden Crow Beak Masked man’s response and realized he was already intrigued by her firsthand information.
She carefully considered: aside from the fact that during her brief stint as a temporary waitress, Princess Serela had explicitly ordered her not to disclose anything about that day, no one else had demanded secrecy regarding the follow-up coordination or the journey she took alongside Luo Nan von Medillion.
That meant these details could be traded!
Especially the fact that the assassin of Luo Nan von Medillion had ties to an extremely dangerous cult.
She had later investigated through various channels and confirmed—the inverted hanging man symbol paired with the circular ring she’d seen in the lobby of Apartment 23 belonged to the Abyssal Lord ‘Nature’.
In other words, the person who tried to assassinate Luo Nan Medillion was a follower of Nature!
She believed this information was more than sufficient to exchange for one ‘scales from the corner of a mermaid’s eyes’.
“It concerns the identity of the person who attempted to assassinate Luo Nan von Medillion. Let me put it this way—the mastermind behind this assassination was not an individual, but a certain organization!”
“A certain organization?”
Could it be…
Did this Bandage Face truly know the identity of the person who funded those Nature followers and ordered them to assassinate him?
Was it one particular noble surname from that faction? Or perhaps a conspiracy among several families?
Luo Nan felt he was now dangerously close to the truth.
Unexpectedly… he had searched far and wide without success, yet here it came effortlessly.
He had accidentally stumbled upon someone who knew the truth—without even trying to investigate.
“Wait… could I really be this lucky?”
Yet, the excitement in his heart lasted only a moment before Luo Nan immediately doused himself with cold water.
He always had self-awareness—he knew his role was to play the villainous fool, and thus he could not expect the same effortless success as a protagonist.
This near-free gift from heaven—Luo Nan felt he needed to be even more cautious.
“Uh, Bandage Face—I’ll call you that for now—but I also possess some information myself. For safety’s sake, I must first confirm whether your information overlaps with mine, because intelligence only holds value for those who don’t already know it.”
“I understand perfectly, Crow Mask. Ask your questions.”
Luo Nan sensed that the Bandage Face strongly disliked this nickname—he had emphasized Crow Mask with unmistakable spiteful intent.
But Luo Nan paid no attention to such minor details. He asked: “First, is the organization you know responsible for the assassination of Luo Nan von Medillion a widely known entity?”
Anya thought: Were the Abyssal followers not an evil force hated throughout the entire continent? Surely they were universally known.
“Yes, they are indeed widely known.”
“Hmm, good. Next question: Is this organization rooted within the capital city of Opalia?”
“Naturally, they are rooted in Opalia.”
Of course they were—how else could they have infiltrated the elite banquet held in the upper city? The tendrils of Nature’s followers must have sunk deep into the soil of the capital.
“Good. Now, the final question.”
“Ask.”
At this moment, Luo Nan felt he was infinitesimally close to the truth. A widely known organization, rooted in Opalia—who else could it be besides the upper-city nobility?
With this realization, Luo Nan temporarily suppressed his rising excitement and spoke calmly:
“Do they possess a long, venerable, and praiseworthy history of glory?”
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