Francesca quickly removed her clothes and sat on the opposite side of the bathtub.
I’m highly aware I just said “after me”.
She’s a little bit embarrassed but she soon forgets about it, after she notices something in my body.
“Bell-san… What are those dark linings in nyour body?”
“It’s a curse.”
“Curse?”
“I suggest not to pry too much about it.”
“I-I’m sorry, I’m just curious...”
“It’s okay.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
Drips of water fill the silence as Francesca cleans her body in front of me. She might have felt awkward.
“How's the food?”
“It’s delicious, nya!”
“You can have more if you want.”
“Nyeally?!”
She raised her brows along with her tail, and moved closer to me.
“Yes.”
“Then…”
“But first”
“...”
“You must first do something for me.”
She leans back and hides her melons with her arms. Her cat ears turn red along with cheeks. And shyly said.
“Nyou… want me to do it with you?”
“Yes.”
“O-o-okay!”
She once again revealed her melons and crawled towards me, like a cat.
“Not that.”
“!!”
“What I mean is work, not that.”
“You’ll give me a job, nya?”
“Yes If you’re willing to accept it.”
“What kind of job would it be, nya?”
“Gather some information for me and I’ll pay you in return.”
“A-are you a spy!”
“Don’t shout like that, you’ll get us in trouble.”
“S-sorry…”
“Let me clarify some things before I continue.”
“...”
“First of all, I’m not a spy, though you’ll gather some confidential information along the way, but those matters won’t directly affect your kingdom in any way if that’s what you're concerned about.”
“...”
“Second, you don’t have to risk your life to get this type of information. You’ll just have to ask around like a normal citizen since you’ve been here for a long time, but still, you must proceed with caution.”
“...”
“And lastly, I’ll be teaching you how to properly gather that information I’m looking for, so you don’t need to worry much about it.”
“...”
“...”
She pursed her lips for a moment.
“I still don’t know… Nyou said some of it is confidential and I have to ask around about it like a normal citizen. I don’t knyow if I’d be able to pull that off, nya.”
“That’s why I’m going to teach you.”
“...”
She hugs her knees as she delves into her own thoughts. Her upper body is starting to dry off after minutes of thinking.
“If you have some debts to pay, this could be your ticket to freedom.”
“!!”
She raised her brows and looked at me.
“H-how much are nyou willing to pay?”
“3”
I raised my three fingers.
“3...”
She tilted her head sideways and twitched her ears.
“3 gold coins.”
“!! nya!? 3-3-3 gold coins!”
“Yes, and I’ll pay you two silver coins right now in advance.”
She raised her hands and started counting, thinking how many copper coins she’ll be able to get.
“That’ll be 6,000 copper coins in total.”
“!!”
Her jaw drops after hearing those numbers.
“How much does an average worker earn in this Kingdom?”
“6-10 copper coins per day, nya.”
“Since you’re a tourist guide, how much do you earn per day?”
“...”
She gave a thought for a moment before speaking.
“10-20 copper coins per day, but sometimes I dyon’t get anything at all!”
“Do you still think you can’t do it?”
She once again hugged her knees and stared down at the water.
“I-I’ll try!”
We soon agreed to discuss it further tomorrow morning. We both got off the bathtub and she went back again to wash her clothes.
Worried that she’ll sleep naked next to me, since there’s only one bed in this room. I lent her my sweatshirt. She wears it immediately since she can no longer stand the cold. She would occasionally stretch the hem of her clothes, covering her thighs.
She didn’t accept the blanket as she’s worried that I might catch a cold. But she’s still shivering since her legs are exposed. I then told her that we’ll just share the same blanket before we sleep. She hesitated because the blanket is too small for the two of us, not unless we got closer to each other.
I then proposed that if she’s ok with it, we’ll just have to sleep closer to each other and I don’t mind if she hugs me in the end. She pursed her mouth and glanced around the room, the bed, and soon my abs before looking back at me.
She began to blush, but she didn’t let out a scent of lust. It’s pure innocence that lingers her mind. After a few moments of silence, she then nodded and told me it’s fine for her as well.
--
The next morning.
Before we set onto the actual discussion, I told her not to pry too much about my personal interest and background, the same applies to me. Though, there's one exception for that, only if both parties will benefit from it.
Our goal is to identify the princess’ hobbies, her personal background, her guards, and the reason why she went to the catacombs.
After the meeting, Francesca immediately went to the market to buy some supplies like leather, feathers, wood planks, and parchments; along with some tools.
Our base would be this apartment. I then set up a curtain, dividing the room into two. One is for my private workplace and the other one is a place to sleep and set out discussions. I began to draw my blueprints while Francesca drew the general map of the Kingdom.
Locations of interest are marked all over the map, most of them are located in the town square and in the commercial area of the Kingdom.
--
The next day, Francesca went to the marked places and began asking questions like I taught her. On the other hand, without Francesca’s knowledge, I created spiders made out of wood, and three crows with feathery wings.
The crows would monitor the sky from above following Francesca wherever she goes.
Francesca would come back in the afternoon to report. Afterwards, she goes home to take care of her cousin. Following her around, I notice she’s been living in the slums far behind the residential area of the Kingdom, just near the catacombs. I still can’t fully trust her, so I must remain vigilant.
At night, the spiders would crawl onto those confirmed locations and set up webs into their stores and houses, eavesdropping their private conversations.
I could have used these puppets of mine and sent them to the castle, but after knowing Freya was there, she could easily spot these creatures and destroy them. She usually acts on impulse if she notices something suspicious. And I have to actively control these puppets since they don’t have a core to act on their own. That’s a gamble if it happens.
Freya has a keen sense of sight. She could spot someone moving from a distance of 1 kilometer and be able to recognize them. Still, Miros’ eyes are far superior when it comes to distance of sight, but only if the sun could see it, one could hide from the shade of the trees and he won’t be able to find them.
I can’t let them know my true identity. In this current time and year… After three thousand years of sleep… I’m supposed to be considered dead in this world. I don’t have any more interest in staying alive. I’ve already done what is done and finished what I’ve started. What they do here and now is no longer my concern.
Right now, my only main goal is to destroy that magical core bound to my soul. And that would be the end of my suffering in this world of the living. I don’t know how much I’d be able to stand this new feeling I’m having right now but the longer I stay out in the open the more I remember about my parents.
It felt refreshing at first, but that sensation didn’t last long as those feelings I had before were just the same when my parents were around. Those were peaceful times yet harsh enough for me not to remember about them any longer…
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