"Yes, I obtained the same information."
"So the fact that it is her final blood fight means she has almost earned enough money to buy her freedom, right?"
"Most likely."
"In that case, negotiating with money might be tricky."
She did not seem like the type who would get dollar signs in her eyes.
"However, there is one piece of information that caught my attention."
Seras leaned closer.
She lowered her voice and continued.
"It seems she already earned enough money to buy back her own freedom two years ago."
"Hm? Then the last two years she was earning money to use after becoming free?"
Well, that was possible too.
And she had managed to save up quite a bit.
"However, it appears that is not the case."
"What do you mean?"
"It seems she is trying to buy back the freedom of someone other than herself."
"So that is why she spent two extra years earning money."
Hmm.
"You did not manage to find out whose freedom she is trying to buy back, I suppose."
"No."
Seras smoothly handed me a slip of paper.
"Here."
I took it and checked the contents.
A light piece of information and a name were written on it.
"A child?"
"It concerns a child who was sold by a slave merchant in Monroy at the same time as Eve."
"Is it Eve's daughter?"
"No, the child is apparently not a leopard person."
"Hmm."
It seemed there were unexpectedly complicated circumstances.
"Still, in any case, there may not be much room to negotiate with money."
I recalled the conversation I had with Eve about the Forbidden Witch.
That feeling.
She had been casual yet stubborn.
She might feel some debt of gratitude toward the Forbidden Witch.
To make her talk, I might need an even greater debt of gratitude.
I thought it over.
"Now then, what should I use as bargaining material?"
I wanted some kind of opening.
She had already earned the money to buy back the child mentioned earlier.
...
Should I just skip Eve and head straight into the demon zone?
Or—
Hire Eve as an escort right after she becomes free.
"There is one more thing I would like to tell you."
"…"
Just how much information had Seras gathered?
It was not even comparable to what I had collected.
"Before that, may I ask one thing? How did you obtain the current information…?"
Seras answered hesitantly.
"I used an information broker."
"An information broker?"
"It seems there were none in Mills, but in a large city like Monroy there are information brokers who handle information that does not come to the surface."
So that was why she had gone to another district.
She also had connections for exchanging azure dragonstones…
I could not underestimate her in this area.
Come to think of it, she had been a knight order captain.
She probably used information brokers regularly to obtain inside information.
"I learned about the 'shadowy places' from the princess. I heard there was a time when schemes swirled even inside the court. The princess skillfully used people from that underworld while protecting herself."
The underworld that handled dirty work.
In this world it seemed to be called "shadowy places."
I see.
That explained why Seras was familiar with it.
It was the influence of the princess she had served.
"I am sorry for going to the information broker alone without telling you. They extremely dislike having someone accompany their 'customer' if that person does not know them…"
"I left the judgment to you. There is no need to worry about it. But how do you determine whether someone knows or does not know?"
I asked purely out of curiosity.
"I know their 'manners.' Those 'manners' cannot be learned unless one is a 'customer' of the information brokers. And the 'manners' serve as proof of being a 'customer.' They can easily see through fake 'manners.'"
It was like a code that only those in the know could understand.
It seemed to be a group that thoroughly maintained secrecy.
I now understood why Seras had gone alone.
I did not know those "manners."
If I had accompanied her, it might have made the information broker unnecessarily wary.
"However, I should have at least told you that I was using an information broker… I am sorry. Also—"
Seras fearfully held out something.
An empty small pouch.
"I used all the money you gave me to obtain the information. Um… bargaining with them is a bad move."
"That is not a problem. Thanks to you we obtained valuable information. If anything, I should be the one thanking you."
"My lord really is kind."
Seras looked relieved.
"…"
No, there was no reason to scold her here.
When you thought about it normally.
"So, what is the other thing you wanted to tell me?"
"Yes, about that—"
Seras took on a solemn expression and said,
"Have you already heard that most blood gladiators who were once called the strongest died in their final match?"
"Yeah, I heard that story too."
Most of them suffered defeat in their final match.
That was exactly why the final match became so exciting.
Would they survive or not?
An extremely low survival rate.
It was just like the Ruined Ruins.
"But isn't that simply because they pit them against opponents who are not easy to beat precisely because it is the final match?"
It did not seem like particularly hidden information.
However,
"It appears that is not all there is to it."
Seras glanced around.
Then she leaned even closer.
She stretched up slightly and brought her mouth close to my ear.
"It seems that one of the ducal houses operating the blood arena is doing something disadvantageous to the blood gladiators on the day of the match."
It was by no means praiseworthy behavior.
No, it could even be called despicable.
It was an act that unfairly trampled on the hopes of the blood gladiators.
But I—
"Hmm."
I ended up seeing it as a good opportunity.
I deeply realized once again that I was trash.
"There might be a clue there…"