Ch.6Chapter 6 – Meeting the Branch Manager of the Black Feather Information Broker Organization (2)

As I entered the Sky Wind Tavern, a palpable tension hung in the air between me and the mustached man who appeared to be the owner.

At that moment, my eyes were fixed solely on the mustached man who was wiping beer mugs.

And his eyes were likewise boring into me.

Judging by the slight wrinkle between his brows, he seemed displeased…

Perhaps it was because I had walked in without ordering anything and immediately started asking questions?

‘By the way, this pressure is incredible. Could he be some kind of hidden master?’

There was a reason I was standing there, unable to even open my mouth, just staring at the mustached man.

The moment he asked if I had come seeking information, an overwhelming pressure unlike anything I’d ever felt before came crashing down on me.

It wasn’t a physical force pressing down on me.

Some formless power emanating from the mustached man was completely binding my movements.

All I could do was tremble in fear, hoping he would withdraw this power.

“Hmm, I apologize.”

At that moment, the invisible force flowing from the mustached man completely vanished in an instant.

It was as if the power that had been crushing me had never existed in the first place.

Even when I was forced to work overtime during a powerful typhoon, I hadn’t felt such pressure.

Whatever the case, the force pressing down on me was gone, and that was enough.

“Whew, I can breathe again.”

“Hahaha. I must apologize. I suppose I was a bit taken aback since it’s my first time encountering a customer like you.”

As I let out a sigh of relief, the mustached man laughed good-naturedly and admitted his mistake.

Oh, mister owner. Make that kind of mistake one more time and this time next year might be my death anniversary…

“I apologize. In exchange, if you tell me what information you’re seeking, I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge.”

…but I guess that mistake wasn’t entirely bad.

Seeing how he offered to answer questions about the information I was seeking, he seemed like someone who knew quite a bit.

As the owner of what was essentially the village’s only tavern, the mustached man must see and hear many things.

I wasn’t sure if he would know the information I wanted, but if not, I could always ask him to direct me to someone who might.

I approached the mustached man, and he invited me to take a seat.

“Before we begin our conversation, let’s wet your throat first.”

“Ah, thank you.”

The mustached man—or rather, the tavern owner—seemed to have a generous heart to match his good-natured appearance.

As the tavern owner poured beer from an oak barrel, droplets began to form on the surface of the glass, suggesting it was cold.

“This is our tavern’s special dark beer. It has a low alcohol content, so you won’t get drunk easily. It’s preferred by those who can’t handle alcohol well or those engaging in lengthy conversations.”

“It tastes good.”

Since only lager beer was available around here, this was my first time trying dark beer.

As I took a sip of the cold beer, I could taste a hint of chocolate similar to coffee, along with the aroma of smoked barley.

Due to its low alcohol content, it wasn’t heavy but light and refreshing—it would pair well with dairy-based side dishes.

“I’m glad you’re satisfied with the dark beer. Now, let’s get to the point. What information are you looking for?”

The tavern owner, who had been laughing heartily after his beer was praised, immediately changed his demeanor when the topic shifted to information.

“I’d like to know how to get to Glesius Academy, which direction to go, and how much it would cost to get there.”

“Glesius Academy…”

After hearing what I said, the tavern owner seemed to ponder for a moment before pulling out a pen and paper from under the counter.

He began writing something using characters I’d never seen before, yet strangely, I felt like I could understand their meaning.

“If you wish to depart for Glesius Academy, you’ll need to hurry.”

After finishing his writing, the tavern owner tore off the paper and handed it to me while giving me a word of caution.

Checking the paper he gave me, I found it contained the information I needed.

[Glesius Academy is about a 20-day walk from Oak Village. You must pass through a city called Belsarem on the way.]

[The distance from Belsarem to Glesius Academy is about a 17-day walk or a 10-day carriage ride. Using a merchant caravan’s carriage is the safest option, typically costing around five silver coins, though the price has recently increased due to the rise in monster activity. Most recently, it’s reported to have gone up to seven silver coins.]

[Note: Previously, merchant caravans headed to Belsarem every other day, but recently this has changed to once every two weeks. The last caravan departed 8 days ago, so the next one is expected to leave in 5 days.]

Summarizing the contents of the note, I could organize it like this:

‘To get to Glesius Academy, I first need to go to a city called Belsarem, which is about a three-day journey from here. After reaching Belsarem, I should travel with a merchant caravan to Glesius Academy for safety, but the cost has increased recently due to the growing number of monsters.’

Seven silver coins was half of the money I had.

The money pouch I found contained fifteen silver coins in total.

I paid one for lodging and received 90 copper coins in change.

Plus the 10 copper coins I earned this morning for using my ability on people’s bread.

So I currently had 14 silver coins and 100 copper coins, equivalent to 15 silver coins in total.

The carriage fee was equivalent to what it would cost to stay at an inn with meals for two to three months.

But I think it’s worth investing that much to meet my favorite heroine.

As for money, I can earn as much as I need using my ability.

I confirmed this morning that my ability applies not just to simple tools but also to food that people eat.

Everyone wants to eat delicious food for the same price.

So when I transformed hard bread into soft bread at the inn, people rushed to ask me to use my ability on their bread too.

This morning at the inn, I charged just one copper coin for making bread taste better.

I don’t know how much the coarse breakfast bread costs, but with people offering one copper coin each, I had already earned back what I paid for my room yesterday.

I’m not running a charity here—I need to earn money to survive in this world.

I could have tested my ability for free, but there’s something I learned painfully in my previous life during my time in society.

You know what that famous villain representing madness in creative works said:

If you’re good at something, never do it for free.

Once you do something for free as a favor, people will shamelessly ask you to keep doing it for free.

I learned this lesson the hard way while working at a small company.

When it became known that I knew how to assemble computers, that bastard department head and section chief made me build the latest computers without giving me a penny for my trouble.

They even had the audacity to blame me and demand repair costs when they broke something themselves, claiming I had assembled it incorrectly. My blood pressure nearly sent me to the hospital.

What happened to that department head and section chief, you ask?

They tried to pull the same shameless act with an employee from one of our business partners and ended up being sued for fraud, getting fired from the company.

Even worse, during the investigation, it was discovered that they had embezzled company assets and pocketed sales proceeds.

And the result? Well, what could a section chief and department head from a small company with no power or connections do?

They couldn’t afford to hire former judge attorneys who benefit from the revolving door system, so they each got 7 years in prison without probation.

I wonder what they’re doing now. Still running scams in prison? Shameless fellows.

Ah, really. Thinking about my life in that world reminds me of how hard I had it.

Right. Let’s get to Glesius Academy as soon as possible.

I’ll see my favorite heroine Mina, or if she’s not there, I’ll heal by meeting the other heroines.

With this ability I received from Epitrina, at least I won’t starve to death from being unable to earn money until I die of old age.

“Thank you for providing such valuable information. I should hurry, it seems.”

“Take care on your way back, customer.”

I was able to leave the tavern with the owner’s farewell.

Now that I knew how to get to Glesius Academy through the tavern owner, the next step was to prepare the necessary items for my journey.

◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈◇◈

Justin let out a sigh of relief as he watched the man who had just left the hideout.

The man had shown little sign of intimidation even when Justin had exerted his fighting spirit at full power.

‘Come to think of it, I didn’t ask his name.’

Justin belatedly realized he hadn’t asked the man’s name.

‘No, it’s better this way. I should never get involved with him again. I almost lost my life right here.’

Justin shook his head and began preparing for today’s business.

The image of the Black Feather branch manager he had presented while dealing with the man had completely vanished, and now he was every bit the tavern owner once more.