Chapter: 94
Did they jump the gun just because I showed interest?
I furrowed my brow at Alsetin’s words.
“Alsetin. What are you…?”
“Information broker. I never thought you’d be this terrible. With only one talent and you can’t even manage that?”
Even if the Newman family is deeply involved in the underground world, how on earth did they connect me to that necklace when I might’ve only mentioned it here?
Wait.
It’s impossible unless it leaked from your end.
Is this a confession of conscience?
Or did you decide to go insane and just wanted to be thrown around?
“I’m sorry. Young Lady Alrn. I’ll accept your scolding. But time is of the essence, so can we get to the point?”
“Go on and spill it.”
“Useless information broker. Just talk. It’ll only prove how pitiful you are.”
Alsetin started explaining in a calm tone beneath his amused laughter.
“First thing you should know is that the Newman family has been interested in you for a while. We’ve only realized lately that they’ve been keeping an eye on you for at least four to five months.”
About half a year back, that’s right when I possessed Lucy’s body!
All I really did was train like a madwoman in the Alrn family, so how could I attract their attention?
The only other thing I could chalk up might be when I went into Evans’ minor dungeon to pick up Grandpa.
But that was just our knight order training.
There’s no reason for them to be interested.
Unless…
Oh! The reputation quest!
When I cured the curse of Agra with the potions I had.
The moment I remembered, it all clicked.
As I mentioned before, the Newman family is a noble house linked deeply to the underground.
They amassed wealth and status through all kinds of dirty and unethical dealings, so they’ve always played a significant role in side stories.
Most often in a bad way.
But not everyone in that family is like that.
After all, the Newman family is a tribe of people, and they do have a couple of ordinary quests among them.
One of those quests is directly connected to the firstborn of the Newman family.
The firstborn is under threat from the curse of Agra.
The head of the family has poured his resources into keeping him alive, but the curse is relentless.
Failing to save him means all other efforts are for naught.
The head isn’t ignorant of this fact.
He’s desperately searching for a way to lift the curse to save his son.
But here lies the problem.
If he finds a way to lift Agra’s curse, he’ll be tagged as Agra’s enemy and will face Agra’s wrath.
Just like I did, narrowly escaping death several times by that bastard Agra’s interference.
While I can bear it since I’m aware of all the troubles he causes, ordinary people in this world are different.
To the continent’s people, Agra is seen as a heinous god who almost annihilated the world.
Who would willingly accept the threat of such a villainous god?
Even if they offered a hefty reward, it wouldn’t mean a thing if my life were at risk!
That’s why most competent individuals shy away from lifting Agra’s curse.
There are a few who aren’t afraid of sacrificing themselves, but those are usually noble clergy.
It’s pretty clear how they feel about the Newman family, a bigshot in the underground.
Of course, they wouldn’t help.
And can the Newman family force anyone to heal?
Definitely not.
The few who could even consider lifting Agra’s curse would be those labeled as disasters.
If they had the ability to blackmail such individuals, the Newman family could’ve solved it themselves.
If there’s no one who can help, can’t they just use an item instead?
That’s not wrong.
If acquiring those items weren’t such a pain in the neck.
Items capable of suppressing a deity like Agra wouldn’t just pop up out of nowhere, right?
No matter how expansive your network or deep your pockets, it means nothing if such an item isn’t on the market.
Just how desperate would the head of the Newman family be, watching his son perish with none of these avenues working out?
He’d be willing to do anything to save his child.
Imagine if rumors of a miracle worker reached him.
Wouldn’t he be tempted to think that person could save his son?
But here’s the curious bit.
At a time when my reputation and power are low, the quest’s trigger makes me a target for kidnappers.
Why was I able to walk around without a scratch when nothing was working out?
Was it because I’m the Alrn family’s Young Lady?
Honestly, I feel grateful to have a noble start every day that passes.
If, in my hunger for new experiences, I had started as a commoner or slave, where would I be now?
Ugh. I don’t even want to think about it.
In a game, it might end with the game over screen, but not here.
There would surely be a horrific scene that you could only describe with a 19+ warning.
“From the moment Young Lady Alrn first visited this place, I assume they’ve perceived our movements as your intentions.”
“So…”
“So, you got robbed of the necklace, you useless broker? And you call that an achievement? You should wear ‘pitiful’ written on your forehead!”
“I’m sorry.”
I roughly understood the situation.
The Newman family swiped the necklace to lure me out, huh?
Even Alsetin can’t compete when a noble family like that goes all out.
It wouldn’t be so much that he was incompetent as it would be the Newman family moving quickly.
“Has there been any contact from the Newman family?”
“Has that pathetic family sent anything yet?”
“Not yet.”
Why the hold-up?
They took the item; you’d think they’d want to negotiate or call me out based on that!
As I tilted my head in confusion, Alsetin carefully voiced his thoughts.
“Can I share my guess?”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
“Do it. I’m curious how long until you say something useless.”
“I think the Newman family wants to observe Young Lady Alrn’s reaction.”
The Newman family has been in the underground for a long time.
Thus, they surely know how to cover their tracks.
If they left any signs, it was likely intentional, meaning they wanted to trigger contact.
With these clues, Alsetin explained that the Newman family hopes I would reach out to them.
“If you contact them first, they can then assure themselves that the item they obtained is indeed what you desire. That will give them an upper hand in future negotiations.”
“Or, it’s fine too. The Newman family will continue to keep an eye on us and cause trouble. Eventually, you will get the item you want.”
In a way, they’re pressing the issue urgently, which would confuse the elder who sided with Alsetin in agreement at his somewhat convincing explanation.
[If it’s intentional to leave signs, they likely want you to contact them.]
Hmm. So, the Newman family is quite anxious, huh?
What to do in this situation?
A straightforward negotiation to get that necklace shouldn’t be too hard.
But I don’t want to be satisfied with just that.
The Newman family has a lot to offer given their influence in the underground world.
It seems way too boring to just take the necklace and part ways when I’m clearly on the upper hand in this situation.
Isn’t there anything I can work with?
While contemplating this, I realized that I truly lack talent in politics.
I can’t seem to come up with any plausible answers.
If you look at typical novel protagonists, they whip out strategies that get them more than what they originally sought after.
Why don’t I have that talent?
Maybe causing chaos isn’t something smart people do.
What a hellish world this is!
Regardless, that’s okay.
While I might lack a talent for politics, I do have Grandpa’s insight.
Help me out, Grandpa!
“Grandpa, what should I do?”
[Are you asking how to retrieve that necklace, huh?]
“No, that’s a given. I’m asking how to get something more than just that.”
[You mean you should know what the other party wants and that you can give it to them?]
“Yes, obviously.”
I’m not in a position to lift Agra’s curse just yet, but I do know where to find the item that can.
If the item isn’t trustworthy, I can also provide a lead on someone who can lift the curse.
In simple terms, I can offer a solution one way or another.
I’m like the polluted waters!
[Let me ask one more thing. Is the necklace something you need right away?]
Hmm. Well, thinking about the time it takes to clear the quest tied to that necklace to raise the lowborn’s favor to 70…
“It’s okay to give yourself some leeway for the next two months.”
[So, it’s more urgent than I thought. In that case, it would be better to act strongly rather than wait for them to get desperate. Answer a few more questions.]
*
“Head of the family. A letter has arrived from Young Lady Alrn.”
“Oh? That was fast.”
Gus Newman chuckled at the letter brought by his subordinate.
It seems the item that was brought in a rough manner was quite valuable to Young Lady Alrn.
Sending a letter this quickly suggests the same.
Smacking his lips, Gus opened the letter and scanned the top.
“To dear Gus, head of the useless family.”
“Ugh.”
That’s right. She’s pretty pissed off.
I knew well enough about Young Lady Alrn’s abrasive manner, but did she really have to go this far with me?
Normally, he would’ve fumed over the insult, but today, Gus merely raised his brows instead.
The fact that the other party was upset only implied just how urgent their situation was, which was exactly what Gus wanted.
However, as he read further down, a frown gradually appeared on Gus’s face.
It wasn’t just the insults that filled the letter.
The reason for his anger was clear.
“How’s that weakling, the firstborn who’s loved by the evil god?”
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