Chapter 373: Chapter 373

“Well, are you going to tell me your grand plan now?” asked Erin. Her tone was soaked with annoyance.

“What makes you think I have a plan? Let alone a grand plan,” Aedan retorted without turning away from the book he was devouring with a fervent gaze.

Erin rolled her eyes and glanced around, scouring her surroundings for the third time ever since they entered this particular store. At the front, there was a variety and an array of trinkets. Half of it were conventional tools that were past their expected shelf life, while the other half were simply things that Erin had never laid her eyes upon. In the middle part of the store, there was the counter and store storekeeper, surrounded by paintings of obscure and abstract themes. At the inner part of the store, there were shelves of books but more than half of these books were ancient and without names on their spines.

Even now, she still couldn’t figure out the point of this store. It was a store like any other on the street but that was only true for its exterior. It bore no sign or any letters that might indicate the purpose of this store, much like the books it held in its inventory. The store itself had its age etched clearly on its body and there was no sign of any tenderness, love, or care for it. The interior was not any different. The floors were creaking with every step. The walls were musty. The ceilings were showering dust every once in a long while. Even the goods were not in any condition to serve their potential buyer any sort of foreseeable benefits.

“You sent Lyra and Amyra on an errand to procure supplies. You had Siv seek out the assistance of the Adventurer’s Guild for something that you don’t feel inclined to disclose. And you had Aera waiting back at the inn. And I’m here, with you. You are not going to convince me that you don’t have a plan in mind to get Nivia and Lilian back.”

“There’s no plan here,” Aedan responded as dryly as ever.

Erin sighed and placed her hand on the back of his neck.

“What are you— Eek!” Aedan let out a yelp as he felt Erin’s grip tightening on his neck, with her fingers digging into his skin.

“The truth, asshole.”

“That is the truth!” Aedan squealed. “There’s nothing we can do to get them back except for eliminating the evil as soon as we can. Which is to say, we can only bring that son of a bitch out into the light as soon as we can.”

“How will we accomplish that?”

“Think carefully before answering.” Erin squeezed harder.

“I truly do not know. Which is why I’m here, looking for answers.”

“What about the others?”

“We are short on supplies, aren’t we? And Iris would certainly have more information. As for Aera… well, she needs some time alone to rest. I’m sure she’s exhausted.”

“She had been doing nothing but sleeping while in captivity.”

“That’s different. That’s not sleeping. That’s simply being unconscious. It’s similar but in actuality, there’s a vast difference. She needs to rest.”

“Alright. I’m following… but I’m still not quite sure why we are here, and why you are reading that book.”

Aedan smirked. “Have you tried reading any of the books here?”

Erin sighed and pulled out one of the books that was nearest to her. She flipped open the book with a vacant gaze but as soon as she absorbed even a tiny portion of the content, her eyes went wide.

“Now do you understand?”

“They are,” Aedan answered, flipping another page.

“B-but how? How do they do it? How is any of these possible?”

“I do not know, and I don’t care to ask. It is their trade secret.”

“The people responsible for these books.”

“...These can’t be legal, can they?” Erin quickly placed the book back into its original position as if fearing some sort of curse would attach itself to her.

“It wouldn’t be legal but the king and his court subjects don’t know these books exist.”

Erin stared at Aedan with a face filled with disbelief. She could not fathom how such things could exist. These books were, in fact, compilations of official documents and reports. She had doubted their authenticity at first glance but a quick confirmation from Aedan dispelled all of her doubts. “Is this what this store is for?”

“That and among other things.”

“How is this store still standing?”

Aedan cast Erin a sidelong glance. “Where do you hide a tree?”

“...In a forest,” she muttered.

“And there you have it,” Aedan smiled and resumed reading.

“Is that why most of the books here have no titles? To help with its discretion?”

“What are you reading?”

“A detailed account of everything that has transpired in the royal palace for the past month or so.”

Erin frowned. The book was thick, and Aedan had only read fewer than ten pages in. “Is that even—”

“—possible? Yes, it is. The servants and maids have eyes and ears. Yet, they are treated like the wind. The nobles don’t think they have the guts to spill the beans”

Erin’s frown deepened. “Spill what?”

“Spill the beans. It means to reveal secrets that shouldn’t be revealed.”

“Why would they think the servants would keep their mouths shut?”

“Hubris, my dear Erin. They see the serving folks as lesser people. There will be severe punishment for those who dare to talk.”

“But they still talk anyway.”

“Gold is the easiest way to make lips loose, or at least I assume that’s how they did it.”

As much as Erin was fearful of the contents, curiosity overtook her caution. Knowing too much would lead to undesirable outcomes, especially if one were clumsy and careless with the knowledge they held. However, greed and curiosity were powerful motivators, and more often than not, the two overcame every other sentiment. She chose a book that had the fewest pages among the others. The spine was worn out, but the pages were still firm and strong. With a resolute heart, she flipped open the book.

“Oh, god,” Erin gasped. Her shoulder trembled along with her will. She quickly closed the book and slid it back into place. “I do not need to know all that. Do these servants have nothing else to do?”

“What was it about?” Aedan asked.

“The sickening nightlife of some lowly lord with a bunch of… children. Those children were street orphans… How can the kingdom allow this? Do they not know?”

Aedan sighed. “It is what it is. As long as the lord pays the tithe and dues, the kingdom couldn’t care less.”

“Disgrace…” Erin gritted his teeth.

“Perhaps you should refrain from reading any of the books. They are quite… infuriating and grating, to say the least. It is, after all, the bare bones reports of the nobles’ daily lives. I fear you would go on a hunt for the nobles’ heads if you fully read even just one of these books.”

“I’m thinking of doing just that, just from reading a few sentences.”

“Just stay off of them. You can peruse the trinkets at the front of the store. They are less… antagonising to look at. Some may even hold some secrets. You’ll never know.”

Erin looked to the front. The trinkets were odd, but they did have some sort of charm to them. “Who else knows? This store, I mean. And how did you come to know about this store?”

“Iris and Iris,” Aedan answered respectively.

“Of course. Who else but her?” Erin breathed a sigh of relief, as if the clouds of her confusion were finally clearing. However, something popped back into her head. “Still, that doesn’t explain why you need to drag me here with you while being absolutely unnecessarily silent about your intent and purpose all this time.”

“I’ll leave that up to your wonderful assumption,” Aedan said, turning further away from Erin.

“...You son of a taint,” Erin hissed, her eyes narrowing. “You didn’t drag me along just so you could annoy me, did you?”

Aedan moved half a step away from her. “Whatever gave you that idea…”

Erin moved half a step forward. “Oh, was I wrong? Well then, look me in the eye and tell me that I’m wrong.”

“Well… I’m a little bit busy at the moment. So, can we do this later?”

“No, we can’t.” Erin stepped in front of him and slammed both of her hands beside him with his head in between.

Aedan tried to wiggle his way out but she stopped him with her knee pressing on his left thigh.

“Erin, this is not a good time.” He lifted the book up to his face as if to shield it from Erin’s boring gaze.

“The hell it isn’t,” Erin said and gently pushed the book out of Aedan’s face. She then placed her palm on his chest, before gently pressing down, applying more and more strength as the second went by.

“Erin… you’re killing me here.”

“Oh, bollocks. As if you can be killed this easily. Tell me, why did you take me along instead of… the others?”

Erin narrowed her gaze. “What did you say?”

“I’m using you as bait.”

“...You bastard,” she growled. “Since when did you become so vile?”

“Desperate time calls for desperate measures.”

“We’re not at that level of desperation yet.”

“We’re not but do you want to wait until then?”

Erin clicked her tongue. “Do you have to keep everyone in the dark?”

“Not everyone. Amyra knows.”

“She knows? You told only her?”

“I told her nothing. She didn’t need to be told. She knows my M.O.”

Erin’s gaze turned dark and incensed. “Speak some sense, can you?”

“It means a particular way or method to do something.”

“Do you always have to use all this gibberish?”

“It’s not gibberish. It is merely the language from a world far far away.”

“I’m sure it is,” Erin grumbled. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by novel(ꜰ)ire.net

“It is,” Aedan tittered and went back to reading the book.

Silence loomed between them for a while.

“Who's the bait for?” Erin asked, breaking the short yet unsettling quiet.

Aedan closed the book he was reading. “Marsh will surely be curious as to who was the one who foiled his plans. If he had the means to forcefully drag someone into Limbo, he would surely be able to keep track of everything that transpired in Limbo, to some extent. You would be a thorn in his side, as you have been for countless villains in recent history. If I were him, I would surely eliminate you first before I proceed any further with whatever schemes or plans that I have.”

“How does that explain your dishonesty with the party?”

“What dishonesty? I told no lie.”

“Withholding the truth and lying both fall under the category of dishonesty. So, why the secrecy?”

“...To fool your enemy, you first have to fool your friends and allies.”

“You don’t trust us with this information?”

“I have no doubts that none of you would spill it. However, if I told all of you that Marsh might be coming after you, how do you think the others would react?”

Erin’s answer came quick but she withheld it before it could leave her lips. The answer was wrong. Knowing Lyra, she would be too high-strung to even feign normalcy. Siv might fare better but she was never good at hiding her heart’s intent.

“Walls have ears. Streets have eyes. Marsh cannot know that we are onto him. Let him bask in his ignorance for a while longer. Right now, we have nothing on him. We have not a single clue. However, if we let him come to us, we can turn it against him. If you can’t find something, let it come to you.”

“...That sounds like a terrible idea.”

“Do you have a better one?”

“How about we break into his house? Surely you have the means for that, no?”

“That remains to be seen. It is also why I’m here, in this store. These accounts would provide us the insight for our next step.”

Just then, Erin felt something at her feet. She frowned and looked down. Her eyes went wide. “R-Ruri?”

It was Ruri, the Kirin who resembled a cat.

“Kyu~” it squealed in delight as it nudged its head against Erin’s foot.