"So, what do you want to know?" Miss Nightmare asked with a sip of her drink, smiling.

"You're asking quite a broad question there, considering there are enough daily occurrences on the continent to fill several thick dictionaries, although sadly dictionaries don't fetch much money," she replied.

"Fair point. Let me rephrase then. Are there any forces, organizations, or individuals hidden beneath the surface of powerful factions that seek to conquer the world?" I asked.

"There are many answers to that question, as many influential people aspire to conquer the world," she replied.

Why couldn't this guy just give me the information without cutting me off before I finished explaining everything, like a normal NPC? Although I knew they surpassed the levels of a regular NPC, but...

Fine, if that's how it is, let's get straight to the point.

"Alright then, let's start from the beginning," I said.

"Sure," she nodded.

"About six months to a year ago, someone informed the king of Chelfa about the existence of underground ruins in the Chelfa Kingdom. That bastard planned to excavate ancient weapons from the ruins to conquer the world."

"Oh, yes, indeed. I've heard about that intelligence. So, these ancient weapons, huh? I heard the Church managed to keep it under wraps. It's a surprise that you're telling me. Very well, this information is worth around 100,000 gold coins. Don't give me that look. Even though I'm running a business, honesty is still important," she said innocently.

I rolled my eyes at her innocent voice and continued, "Next, the Rosen Kingdom, also known as the 'Middle Corridor,' sent two druids to the academy's competition, attempting to kill the students. This incident further escalated the tension between the East Continent and the West Continent."

"I see... Are you interested in becoming my informant? Your intelligence seems quite impressive. Though I knew about this, hearing it from you, it seems like you were the first observer of the information," she said.

"That's not the end of it," I sighed and went on, "Furthermore, it's all connected to me. By any chance, do you know what happened in Po Tian City before?"

"Yes, an unprecedented robbery occurred, and the leaders of the East Continent's criminal organizations used it as an opportunity to wage war against each other. Please tell me you were not involved," she said.

Not only was I involved, but I was the one who did the heist. Of course, I couldn't tell her that, or else my bounty would definitely skyrocket tomorrow, making me the most wanted person in the East Continent.

"Of course not, but I was there at the scene. But that wasn't the only thing that happened, right?" I replied.

"Of course not. Many assassin organizations took advantage of the chaos to complete their missions. Sadly, some of their employers were killed first, leaving them without anyone to pay them," she said, sounding melancholic.

"That's quite unfortunate," I shrugged, continuing, "However, from the robbery to the outbreak of the battle, it took less than six hours. In other words, those people were already there, waiting for a reason. But who incited them?"

"Well... I suppose you have a point," she responded.

"And lastly, just a week ago, the king of Chelfa successfully excavated the ancient ruins and began using the ancient weapons. By the way, that king had a necromancer by his side. Although he was eliminated, according to his collection, he was not just an ordinary necromancer."

"...My goodness, I have a feeling that you might be someone sent by the Church to exchange information. Only the Church folks would be so familiar with necromancers."

"It's not always a bad thing to know a little more, is it, Miss Information Broker?"

"You're right...very interesting, necromancer."

Miss Nightmare laughed, but her brows furrowed instead of relaxing like before.

It seemed she was also pondering on the information I had just given her. Although it was incomplete, I did provide a lot of details about these events. If she were to investigate this flower incident, finding information wouldn't be difficult, but these things had only recently taken place. It wouldn't be a simple task to quickly gather information.

And besides me, who would have thought that there might be someone involved in these matters?

"That necromancer...maybe they just happened to get involved. How can you be sure that they have a background?"

"Let me tell you another detail. Before Queen Chelfa launched her ancient ruins expedition, the princess and the prince were actually planning a coup."

"Yes, I've heard about it, but according to the information, it was supposed to happen in a few weeks."

"It happened earlier due to various reasons...but that's not the point. The point is that as soon as they made the decision to stage the coup early, they were both imprisoned at the same time. And their subordinates, led by an unknown person, launched the coup and wiped them out."

"Unbelievable...there are still such hidden details?"

Miss Nightmare pondered for a moment, then looked at me.

"Who are you really? Although you seem to be this Miss's guard, I can't help but feel that you're...more frightening than she is."

"Nonsense...and besides, identity doesn't matter here, does it?"

"You're right...fine, the value of the information I've obtained from you...I can't even estimate it, so I will try to give you as much information as I know. That's the exchange of information, right?"

As she spoke, she took out a purple badge from her jacket pocket.

"Snake Eye."

"Snake Eye?"

"That's...the name of our organization!"

In an instant, I felt a chill run through my body!

Oh my god...

Did I just walk into a trap?

"Hehe, look at how nervous you are. What's there to be nervous about? I'm just an information broker, not one of those assassins or killers from the organization...although I don't know who you guys are, I have to say, I'm impressed by your ability to connect these events and piece them together to the current state. And it looks like you're not weak either, so...how about considering joining us?"

Hey, hey, hey, you're recruiting at a time like this...

"You see, these events are all connected to many people and their names, but from your words, it feels like you're narrating a novel, you...don't seem to care about their lives at all, do you?"

"If that were the case, I wouldn't be sitting here asking you questions. It's precisely because these things are related to me or my friends that I am looking for answers here."

"Oh...I see. This might lead us to find out your identity, you know. Is that okay with you?"

"Well, if you guys want to find out, you'll eventually find out. Why bother hiding?"

"As expected, you really fit our style."

"I am honored to hear you say that."

"Alright, I guess you have more questions, don't you?"

"You noticed all that?"

I gave a bitter smile and looked at her.

"Then let me ask, was it you who orchestrated the assassination attempt on Princess Anne today?"

"No."

"Do you know who did it then?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me who?"

"...Originally I couldn't, but as a special gift this time, I'll tell you... Princess Anne was not attacked today, nor did she even go to Gray Academy. The person who impersonated Princess Anne and was attacked at the door was actually a decoy for the real target, a person named 'Fir'."

"..."

"Surprised?"

Suddenly, the person took off their mask!

"Now this is even more surprising, isn't it?"

There was nothing beneath the mask... no face!

"Well then, see you later, Fir~"

With that, the person transformed into a pile of white sand, even their clothes included!

"Earthen Arcane·Sand Double? Wasn't this magic lost?"

I swallowed my saliva and looked at Oyado and Pure White. It was not safe to stay here any longer; the other person... had already figured out my identity!

"Let's go, we need to leave here quickly!"