This Novel is not my Novel

"That's enough useless talk. Let's get back to the main topic."

"A job offer from the successor to the world's greatest Information Guild is being treated as 'useless talk'! Pret is so sad, sob sob."

It wasn't as if real tears were coming out, but Pret pretended to wipe his eyes with his sleeve.

The "sob sob" at the end wasn't the sound of actual crying either, but merely him speaking the onomatopoeia.

He couldn't have looked more detestable.

"If you insist, then we can end today's conversation right here."

"Oh, come on, senior! It's not professional to neglect your primary business just because you're sad, is it? This Pret is resilient! I will endure my sorrow and see this deal through to the end!"

"Didn't I say to stop with the useless talk?"

"I also said that I'd personally keep the information I hear from you and never sell it, didn't I? Now it's your turn to name your price! I'll shut my mouth and prick up my ears, so go ahead and tell me!"

For fear of being kicked out of this space, Pret quickly changed his attitude and, in a reversal, urged me to get to the main point.

It was an absurd sight, but since the result was what I wanted anyway, I stated the compensation I had thought of beforehand.

"I'll exchange it for information on the Awakened professors and the Special Class students."

"Huh? That's not a very profitable deal, is it? Exchanging information on just one person, Senior Karvaldr—information that can't even be sold—for information on a large group including Her Royal Highness the Princess?! This is beyond a rip-off; it's tyranny!"

"What if we exclude those belonging to the Imperial Family or noble families, and limit it to information on commoners?"

After all, there were only two things I wanted to know right now.

One was all information regarding Sveinn, and the other was whether or not Banhilda had succeeded in finding and taking revenge on the enemy who killed her family.

My request for information on the others was just a smokescreen.

If I pinpointed specific people and asked for an investigation, Pret would find it strange.

That was why I had first requested information on everyone, then narrowed the scope to commoners.

Both Sveinn and Banhilda were commoners.

"That's what you were originally after, wasn't it? As for Her Royal Highness the Princess or those from noble families, information about them is already well-known and their status is clear. To demand an excessive amount at first and then pretend to make a concession by trimming the unnecessary parts—you sure know how to haggle!"

As expected of the man slated to be the next head of the Information Guild, he saw right through to what I wanted.

Although he did mistake my purpose for haggling.

This was also good to use as a smokescreen, so I didn't bother to deny it and decided to use it.

"It's not pretending to make a concession; it is a concession. The information you want to know is something you could only find out by risking infiltration of the ducal castle, or information you could never find out unless you heard it from me, isn't it?"

"That's true. The quality and scarcity of the information are more important than the quantity. Besides, the information Senior Karvaldr is asking for can be obtained through the Austri Ducal Family's own information network, not just the Information Guild. It's definitely more of a gain on my end."

"Is that all? Since that information is also necessary for you, you've probably already finished your investigation, so you won't need to put in any extra effort."

As I continued to speak as if I were haggling, I started to think I was actually on the losing end of this deal.

And it seemed the other party felt the same.

Pret expressed his doubts, saying the following:

"Every single word you've said is correct. That's why I have a question. You know the value of the information you hold and you're good at haggling. So why are you trying to make a losing deal?"

"Didn't you say with your own mouth that you hate people who undercut the value of information? I figured someone like you would repay me in some way for the profit you're making in this deal. For example... by you bringing me important information that I wasn't even aware of?"

In the original novel, Pret would often procure necessary information for Reisir on his own initiative.

Thanks to that fact coming to mind, I was able to come up with a plausible excuse right away.

As if it had been part of my calculations from the very beginning, all very naturally.

I'd say that was a pretty quick-witted response.

So I was feeling inwardly proud...

"Wow... Senior, really... Why are you being like this, really?"

"Is there a problem? Since you can sell me the information you bring, you won't be at a loss."

"No, no. That's not what I mean. I mean, why do you keep saying things that I find so appealing? You don't even plan on joining our guild, yet you're making me greedy for you."

It seems I was a little too quick-witted.

"···That's enough talk that strays from the main point. Just decide whether you'll accept the deal or not."

"Huh? Wasn't this deal already sealed?"

"In that case, hurry up and ask your questions."

"You're going to give me your information first, even before you've received your payment?"

"I have to. Depending on the answers I provide, the level of that 'payment' will change."

If only for the sake of the readers who want a fast-paced story, I wanted to get to the main point quickly.

Unfortunately, the other party continued to heat up the small talk.

"Wow...! So this is how you won over Senior Reisir?"

"Let me make this clear, I have never won Reisir over. And I've never tried to appeal to you either."

"To be this good without even intending it! That's even scarier and more amazing!"

"···Just get out."

"I'm sorry."

Finally, only after the order to leave escaped my lips did Pret end the small talk and agree to begin the information trade in earnest.

"After last summer vacation, what was the reason for the sudden change in your attitude?"

"Immediately after returning to the main family residence after the closing ceremony, I hovered on the verge of death for two days due to symptoms of poisoning. After experiencing that, I came to think that I should refrain from doing things that would earn others' resentment."

"···You say such a tremendous thing so incredibly calmly."

"Because I've said the same answer before."

"Who heard that answer?"

"The ones who heard it directly from me are Reisir, Vigdís, and Ríolíkin. Those three. And Helga heard the explanation from Reisir in front of me."

For reference, Vigdís heard this in Chapter 45, Reisir and Ríolíkin in Chapter 95, and Helga in Chapter 128.

"So that's why the people working at the ducal castle were suddenly fired, I see. If it's this kind of information, I can understand why your family would try to hide it at all costs. After all, it's none other than the Austri Ducal Family, which has passed down the Ether ability to handle 'poison' for generations. It would have been dangerous if I had tried to infiltrate and investigate recklessly."

"It would have been."

"But... haven't you told that information to too many people?"

"They aren't the types to go around blabbing... and since it's not like I'm going to take over the family anyway, what do I care if the family's pride is crushed? The shame will be the father's share, for failing to properly protect his child."

Since I was a transmigrator and not the real Karvaldr, I needed an excuse so the original protagonist wouldn't suspect my identity.

Because I couldn't reveal such circumstances.

I deliberately held back a sneer and gave a light shrug of my shoulders.

"So there was friction with His Grace the Duke regarding that incident...?"

Pret wore a look of surprise at the unexpected answer.

Well, the information he had investigated did include the fact that "Karvaldr had long craved his father's affection."

It was only natural for him to react that way to my attitude of not caring if I fell out of favor with Hárðr.

"We didn't have an emotional conflict, but if you mean friction in a physical sense, then yes."

"Friction in a physical sense means...?"

"It means I was hit."

"And yet there was no emotional friction?! No, before that. He hit his own child who had nearly died from poison?!"

At my words, Pret didn't just stop at astonishment but even showed anger.

I had considered the possibility that he might coldly ask, "Did you perhaps eat the poisoned food intentionally?"

Was it because I had first mentioned that I'd had an epiphany about refraining from acts that earn resentment after being poisoned?

Or was he playing along with all his heart and soul to draw a deeper story out of me?

"According to my exclusive attendant, I supposedly procured and ingested the poison myself."

"What's that supposed to mean...? According to him??"

"I have no memory of the day I took the poison."

"The aftereffects of the poisoning... is it?"

The fact that I have no memory of the day I returned home after the closing ceremony is something I already mentioned in Chapter 95.

And in Chapter 45, I had also told Vigdís that Karvaldr might have procured and taken the poison himself.

But Pret knows a great deal about the real Karvaldr.

He's not as careless as Vigdís.

So this much alone wouldn't be enough to completely dispel his doubts.

So I added the following sentence.

"This is something I haven't told anyone else, but... according to the doctor, it seems psychological issues were also a factor."

In reality, I didn't lose my memory for psychological reasons, but simply because I'm not Karvaldr and don't possess his memories.

But a doctor did say that, so it isn't false information.

"It was strange that among those fired from the ducal castle, not a single one was killed or seriously injured, and that they were all given letters of recommendation so they would have no trouble changing jobs, even though you nearly died from poison. If you partially lost your memory and psychological issues were a factor, then it's highly likely that you ingested the poison yourself. But since you have no memory, you can't accept that fact, can you?"

The person before me nodded his head, showing a look of acceptance, as if he finally understood everything.

"Even so, do you have any guesses as to why you would procure and take the poison yourself...?"

"You have a guess as well... do you really need to hear it from my own mouth?"

"I spoke out of turn. I'm sorry."

Directly spitting out the words, "I suppose it was because I was so desperate for my father's attention..." would not only violate my character's personality, but it also risked planting a new seed of doubt in the mind of the person who had just been convinced.

I avoided a direct answer and shot him a glare, and Pret, with an "oops" expression, bowed his head deeply in apology.

After a moment of silence.

Pret studied my face and spoke again.

"Um, but... if you really did take the poison yourself, and it wasn't a premeditated act but an impulse purchase on your way home... don't you think there might have been someone who instigated it? No matter how much of a reason there was, to make such a decision and carry it out overnight... it's a bit strange, isn't it?"

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