Borock made a smug face at Cere’s question.

“Heh. You ever heard of Underground Runia?”

“No.”

“…”

Borock flattened at Cere’s curt reply. His attempt at sounding cool was thrown right back at him.

“Anyway. There’s a hidden ring of information brokers all around the kingdom, and they sell all of their dirty little secrets with the information guild. And me, I’m the second leader of that guild.”

While Borock was going on about himself, Cere had lifted her cup of milk with both hands and started taking sips. She stopped momentarily to respond.

“I suppose you have ties with illegals and servant spies.”

“Hey hey, don’t say that so loud, eh? Where’d you hear it from?”

“I was just guessing.”

Borock unintentionally confirmed Cere’s guess. From the moment Cere had taken a second look at her three-day permit, its shortcomings became obvious.

The permit was essentially a signed piece of paper with a date and wax seal. Once the three days were over, what would happen if it wasn’t renewed? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And these people were what Cere referred to as illegals. If these illegals stayed hidden in deep alleyways or were hired by an underground group, they could reside within the safety of Runia walls forever.

As for Borock, he didn’t care if Cere knew of their operations. After all, what could a mere child do with that information anyway? Tell an official?

Nah. Borock thought.

Besides, everyone with a bit of social status had already known of this issue. The real problem was the information guild. Their tactics had made these illegals and moles extremely difficult to discover or prove guilty. Having known this, Borock continued trying to look cool in front of the interesting little girl that was sitting one stool away from him.

“Heh, you’re pretty sharp, little miss.”

Borock reached for one of Cere’s biscuits and continued.

“I also got connections with many powerful nobles. Some are even wrapped around my fingers.” He dropped the biscuit into his mouth.

“So, you have a lot of enemies.” Cere remarked.

“Nah. Well yeah. But if someone tries to get at me, I could use my connections to ruin their lives by bankrupting their businesses. Or I could take away their political favor, stripping them of their title and ruining their household. Or I could kill ‘em.”

Cere turned to look at Borock with the feeling that one of his options seemed rather out of place.

“That last part was a joke, right?”

“Hahaha!” Borock’s laugh resonated throughout the tavern.

Still chuckling from the remnants of his laugh, he continued, “People always take me so seriously. We just met and you already understand me. Of course I can’t just kill ‘em—no one would trust someone like that.”

Borock collected himself. “I always tell ‘em it’s a joke but the fear doesn’t leave ‘em. Well, they listen to me because of that so I guess it’s better that way.”

Cere could understand why his supposed joke was taken seriously. Honestly, from his earlier display that silenced the entire tavern, death might have been tacit for anyone that came across his bad side.

Jones interposed, “When this bonehead talks, everyone gets chills. And when he gets mad, they freeze.”

“Shut up or I’m looking for a Third Home.” Borock made a scooting gesture.

Jones faked a serious tone, “Your meals tonight will be free.”

“Aight I’m staying.” Borock replied instantly.

The two broke into a grin. Then their attention turned to Cere, who had finished her milk and biscuits. Borock had already talked about himself, so now it was Cere’s turn to share.

Cere, realizing this but not reacting, thought about how to leave. There was no way she was going to share anything with the vice leader of the information guild—that could only spell danger. Also, she didn’t have a backstory prepared, nor was she very creative—especially not on the spot like this.

On top of that, Cere had to return to Canaria soon because Molly had promised to save her a spot. Cere contemplated on whether to use Molly’s promise as an excuse to leave, but she decided against it.

After all, there was nothing she could do if Borock said, “Ok I’ll come too.” That would be a terrible scenario. Molly would be scared to tears. No… not just Molly. The entire inn.

Cere needed another excuse. One that could refrain Borock from accompanying her. She could feel the two of them staring her down, so she quickly decided on this one.

“I’m feeling sleepy, so I’ll take my leave.”

Cere was getting ready to hop off her stool when Borock spoke flatly.

“Uh miss. You don’t sound sleepy at all.”

They didn’t buy it… but Cere understood the mood and how those two operated.

“Yawn.” Cere spoke flatly as well. Then she hopped off her stool and made her way toward the exit.

“Awh little miss. You’re so unfair!” Borock cried indignantly, his previous daunting persona reduced to a smolder.

Jones snickered at the upset Borock, who stayed in his seat. Although Borock could have easily pursued Cere, he decided against it. He was certain that they would meet again—simply because he wanted for it.

Cere also knew this and kept it in mind. But by then, she would have come up with a believable backstory. Maybe.

✦✧

The chilly yet refreshing air had crept into her clothes, making her body tingle. Upon returning to Canaria, she was greeted by Molly.

“Hi Cere! Welcome back!” Molly gave a big smile.

“Hi Molly.” Cere walked up to the counter.

Molly noticed Cere’s slight grin. “Hm? Did something happen?”

“No.”

But Cere’s polite denial had only made Molly even more curious.

“The diner’s open now but the food isn’t ready yet. If you have nothing else to do, want to take a seat? I’ll show you to your table.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The quiet diner had twenty sturdy wooden tables. The table that Molly had reserved for Cere was against a wall—an edge spot. There was a blue flower placed on top of it which signified that Molly had reserved it.  

After a short while, other guests had started taking their seats too. Just like Cere’s previous inn, her meal was bundled with her room reservation, and there were no menus, as everyone was served the same course.

The one thing that had changed was that Cere no longer sat alone. Molly had joined and sat closely beside her.

“Soo. What did you do when you were gone? You can’t lie to me.” Molly, with straight posture, full of curiosity.

“What do you mean?” Cere, calm, but couldn’t look Molly in the eyes. To Molly, that was more than enough information.

“Stop it. I saw you grinning and that’s not like you.”

Even though Molly only talked with Cere once before, she had already learned how to read Cere within that short conversation. Was this the power of an astute ten-year-old innkeeper? To Cere, a peaceful escape was no longer possible.

“I went to a tavern nearby. Second Home.”

“Eh…? Wait—Second Home?! That place is dangerous!” Molly shouted on instinct. After realizing she had caused a ruckus, she lowered her voice.

Molly had trouble collecting her next words, but she whispered, “And what were you thinking going to a t-tavern?!”

“Um… I was really hungry and wanted a snack…” Cere felt defeated by Molly’s reproach. Was it really that big of a deal?

“You’re thinking it’s not a big deal, huh?—since you came back all safe and sound.”

Cere, seven-year-old girl, founder class, read like a book.

“Y-yes. There is no need to worry… the tavernkeeper was very accepting.”

“Oh my god. You met Jones?” Molly, with no vestige of her previous fret, had both elbows on the table and palms supporting her chin in astonishment.

What the—a new Molly suddenly appeared. Now Cere was curious.

“Yes, he was kind.” Cere purposely spoke minimally to probe Molly.

“…That’s all? You know, he’s really popular around here. One time, I dropped some bread onto the ground, and he offered to buy them from me. He saved me from a lot of scolding from my parents. And also, a lot of women have tried to court him, although I heard they always get rejected.”

According to Cere’s data, Jones’s appearance was definitely attractive. Coupled with his kind demeanor, it made sense that he was favored among the opposite sex. But considering the fact that he always rejected women, perhaps he favored the same s—

“And… this is only a rumor but, they say a giant sometimes visits his tavern.”

Cere, desperate to avoid reviving the former worried Molly, decided to keep her meeting with Borock a secret. But there was one thing she felt the need to mention.

“I see. By the way, don’t call them giants. They like to be called giga.”

“O-oh… okay. Giga.” Molly was surprised by Cere’s statement.

“But yes. Giants are quite scary.”

“Right?! They shouldn’t even be around this area.” Molly sounded distressed, probably because Canaria was close to Second Home, the place where Borock frequented. If Borock were to invite some of his big friends, it would be sure to cause a huge commotion—of fear.

But Molly had said something interesting: this area? Did that mean…

“Hm? They have their own area?”

“Ah… yes. They mostly live in the lower eastern part of Runia. No huma ever goes there because of that.” Molly spoke as if she were warning Cere. She continued. “You’re really brave, you know.”

“I was only looking for a snack…”

“Hehe. It’s okay. I’m glad you came back safely.” Molly smiled as she held one of Cere’s hands. Cere was only a visitor, so it couldn’t be helped that she was unfamiliar with how things were around here.

After finishing their meals, Cere headed back to her room. The view from the third floor was quite pleasing, especially with the evening breeze that seeped through her window and caressed her face.

Tomorrow, the king’s proclamation would finally take place. Tens of thousands of people were going to watch something unprecedented: a king rising to an emperor—a promotion of rank capable of bringing forth a revolution.