"...Die? Are you threatening me now, Sir?"
Dung Beetle's face turned sour. Of course, I didn't pay attention to it.
"Or do you just think I'm an idiot? 9 gold means exactly 9 gold. I know the price of this work."
Like any information merchant, Dung Beetle had a good eye for people.
He was able to clearly assess who he could overturn and who he could not. Therefore, to show any weakness when dealing with him was a direct road to defeat.
And compromise was a sign of weakness. Once you gave in once, Dung Beetle would never let you out of his grip.
"Respect me, Sir... Finding two Dark Elves in such a big city would be a problem even for me..."
"8 gold."
"Ehhh?"
"7 gold."
"Ahem...?"
"6 gold."
...!
"5 gold."
"W-wait, what is this...!"
"4 gold."
"Stop, stop!"
"3 gold pieces."
"Okay, okay, I agree, just stop!"
Dung Beetle waved his arms wildly, shouting.
"Tsk. 3 gold, not bad."
Despite my praise, he was far from happy.
"...3 gold coins...I'm going to starve to death..."
"You're actually lucky, Dung Beetle. Your gold's almost gone negative, a little more and you'd owe me for this job."
"..."
It was like Dung Beetle wanted to scream in my face, 'that's not how it works!' but I ignored it.
I knew his greed better than anyone.
If his greed could be converted into his abilities, he would be a god.
...Though perhaps it was greed that got him where he is?
"But if you're not happy, I can always go to another information merchant."
Dung Beetle was good, but he wasn't the only one. Demand always breeds competition.
"...I'll take 3 golden coins, Sir."
As if it were a masterful illusion, the displeasure was quickly gone from his face, replaced by an obliging smile. Though with a hint of bitterness.
"I will make the best of it, my honored guests."
In the end, Dung Beetle decided that maintaining this connection was more valuable than short-term gain.
I mentally praised him in my head. Without that kind of thinking, he wouldn't have made it this far.
Thud.
Taking out a pre-prepared coin pouch, I placed it on the table.
"Half now, half after the job is over."
Getting up from my seat, I added.
"I'll triple the payment, from 3 gold to 9, but I need information on the Dark Elves before tonight."
I couldn't procrastinate knowing what each of them could be experiencing right now.
"..."
Dung Beetle's smile trembled, but he said nothing.
Turning around, I left with Esther.
***
Tap tap tap tap.
Left alone, Dung Beetle didn't touch the mugs of tea in front of him, continuing to tap his finger on the table.
"How?"
He really didn't understand.
The password to the entrance, which he had set only a couple days ago – and had not yet had time to tell anyone, had now been revealed by an unknown person?
This inexplicable phenomenon was the main reason why Dung Beetle was so quick to accept his unreasonable price for this endeavor.
"But how?"
"...Mind-reading magic?"
He answered himself when the most obvious idea occurred to him.
Dung Beetle squeezed his hand a couple times, but soon shook his head.
"No, if this was it, I'd be drooling like a lunatic right now, unable to put letters into words."
"Then perhaps Memory Erasing Magic?"
It sounded plausible.
If he had met this person in the last few days and told him the password and then lost his memory of it, everything fell into place.
It also meant that the other personality was powerful enough to make him do this... such a new client couldn't help but please his greedy heart.
It's just that—
Anyone who possessed such Magic, placed in the Forbidden Section of Consciousness Manipulation, could be more terrifying than any nightmare.
And honestly, when the man asked if he wanted to die, goosebumps ran down Dung Bettle's skin.
"Could I have known such a man? And that woman with him..."
He sank into thought for a long moment.
"Bloody Chancellor? Or perhaps Queen of Snails...?"
His circle of connections was too vast and as it should be in his business, almost all of their identities were hidden to him.
"Perhaps they have something to do with my Mistress?"
A random suggestion flashed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. In the end, Dung Beetle still couldn't come to a conclusion.
But one thing he was sure of – this new connection, if used properly, could gold him, elevating him above the others.
His Dwarf eyes never failed him when it came to people and money.
"So two Dark Elves, huh? He-he-he, we'll soon have some wonderful days ahead of us."
Dung Beetle was ready to take advantage of this.