“Simone, you’d better go back.”
Simone looked at the owner, smiled, and spoke lightly.
“Luckily, I think I came to the right place.”
She started looking for a book.
“...Simone, did you know?”
“The owner is an informant?”
No, she didn't know. Simone only vaguely noticed it. The reason she said she knew something she didn't know was because she felt like if she didn't say so, she would soon be kicked out and go back without being able to look at the book.
It seems like he doesn't really accept customers who only buy books. Since this was the only bookstore in town, it was a bit difficult to get kicked out.
Simone quietly sighed.
“If you don’t plan on going to the capital every time you buy a book, just stay quiet. And find the books you need to buy.”
“Oh, Simone... Yes, got it. I’ll find it too!”
Anna started to fidget, but then her eyes turned sad and she and Simone started looking for a book. The guards looked at the two in bewilderment and stopped in front of the stall.
Simone looked up at the two people as if asking what was happening.
“No, Simone. The act of seeking out banned books is also a great sin.”
“Please stop threatening my master’s honor.”
But Simone did not stop. She lightly pushed the two people away with her hand and continued looking for the book she wanted.
“Is there anything more sinful than having that person with me?”
“...”
“Help me find it. The books are so piled up that it’s hard to find them.”
The guard knights looked at each other, dumbfounded, at Simone's words. It felt like Simone had scratched the painful area.
She was right. What could be more sinful than letting Simone into the mansion?
From the moment the family was cursed, there was no honor for the Illeston family.
In order to live, one must not talk about things like fame.
They felt very sorry for their master and themselves as they had to break the family curse by taking on the sin of allowing a necromancer into the mansion.
The escort knights pursed their lips in exasperation and eventually began helping her find the book. At that time, Anna proudly held up a thick book.
"Uh! A book about the Illeston family! I found it!”
Simone received the book from Anna.
In the book, [Illeston Biography] was written in stylish letters. The owner chuckled as he watched Anna excitedly handing this to Simone.
“It’s amazing to look at. Is there anyone these days who is curious about the story of such a fallen nobleman?”
Simone spoke bluntly to him.
“Is it strange that a resident is curious about the Lord?”
“...Seeing as she is called a resident, you are not a noblewoman.”
"That's right."
The owner looked Simone up and down, looked at her clothes, and spoke harshly.
“Whether nobles or commoners, the people of the Ruan Empire no longer care about the Illeston family. There are many people who don’t know it exists, and there are also many cases where it is thought to have disappeared about 300 years ago.”
"Why?"
“Why why?”
The owner snorted as if mocking Simone.
“Who would be interested in a fallen family? If the name of the Ilestone family still remained in people’s memories, not only the necromancer but also books about the Illestone family would have been banned.”
“Simone! I also found a book about necromancers!”
The conversation between the two stopped at the sound of Anna’s voice. Simone gave her host a cursory nod of understanding and then she took the book from Anna.
“Luckily there was. Isn’t there something that isn’t there?”
In response to Simone’s words, the owner said, “Oh, it’s me.” And he waved his hand in annoyance.
“In the first place, there should be nothing missing in a universal store.”
“Anyway, thanks for letting me know. How much is it?"
“Just give it to me and leave.”
The price is whatever the customer wants to pay. Just give as much as you think it was helpful. Anna whispered to Simone.
“It’s two books, so you can give him a gold coin and get change.”
Bam said as he stopped Anna.
“You are getting a banned book. You have to give him a coin.”
Simone silently rummaged through her pocket containing the money. Then she took out three gold coins and placed them on the table.
“One coin is for banned books, the rest is for information.”
The owner chuckled as he accepted the gold coin. It was his brightest expression since she came here.
“Miss, it doesn’t look like that, so it seems like you know the weight of information well.”
"See you later."
After leaving the general store, they stopped at a general store and bought thin paper to use as amulets. After that, it was already late afternoon. Simone slowly became hungry.
“Are there any restaurants nearby?”
“It exists. However, it is not the restaurant you think of, but rather the type of store sold in the market. It might not suit your taste.”
If it's food sold at the market, is it like Korean street food?
“The quality is not that good...”
"Anna."
“Yes, yes?”
Simone looked at Anna as if asking what she was saying. She understands that she is worried that Simone will have an upset stomach and what will happen if the taste does not suit her.
“I’m a commoner too.”
Now that Simone has come to live with the Illeston family, she has been given good clothes, and good food, and been treated well, but she has lived in an orphanage where she was treated worse than other children.
There are so many times that she barely manages to eat food that is of poor quality and tasteless.
She didn't have the sense of taste to insist that she wouldn't eat anything unless it was of good quality.
“Oh, that’s right!”
“Let’s go to a place Anna often goes to fill your bellies.”
“Yes, yes!”
The two guards looked at Simone and Anna with unknown expressions and followed them.
***
The four of them settled down at a restaurant where Anna often visited.
Simone ordered some food and opened a book.
“Do you have somewhere else to go after eating?”
"It doesn't exist."
“Then would you like to go back first with the guards? I’m going back after grocery shopping!”
“Okay, I understand.”
Simone looked through the table of contents of [Biography of Illestone].
Roughly speaking, it was about what kind of family the Illeston family was originally and when it came to be cursed, as well as guessing why.
“These are things I know roughly.”
“Most of the books on the market are probably compilations of rumors about the Illeston family.”
“Isn’t it true?”
“It is said that even the family members do not know when and for what reason the Illeston family was cursed.”
"Yes?"
“Probably no one will know unless the head of the family from 300 years ago tells it directly. A lot of the content in books is usually made up or guessed at.”
“Anna is familiar with the book about the Illeston family.”
"That...”
Anna hesitated and smiled embarrassedly.
“Well, I’m also very interested... It's scary even from a working standpoint... Of course not scary at all now!"
Simone took out another book. This time it was a book about necromancers.
Unlike the book about the Illeston family, this book is quite worn. There were stains and tears here and there.
“Oh my, they somehow managed to offer to sell this book.”
Simone grumbled and opened the book.
This time, she just looked at the table of contents.
The first subtitle of the book is [Description and external characteristics of necromancers].
She hasn't read it yet, but it probably mentions black hair and red eyes.
And then [Birth of the Necromancer], [First sighting]
The subtitles of the second half were [The Fall of the Last Necromancer Anasis] and [The Necromancer Perishes on the Execution Ground].
Simone closed the book and looked around.
“I’ll have to read this later. I have more questions than that.”
This time Simone looked at the knight, not Anna.
“For a poor town, there are a lot of stores, right? There are mostly bars, but aren't these places often without bookstores or stores? Is everything going well?”
A shopping mall is built in this village where only people who do not have money to drink, indulge in luxury, or enjoy cultural activities gather.
Merchants would not stay in a place where there is only supply and no demand for no reason.
“I thought Simone had already noticed.”
Bam said as if it was unexpected.
“There is a rumor that this town has been a trading place for informants for some time.”
“Not just informants.”
Another guard, Osek, said,
“There are many stories that people who do something unpleasant, such as hunters, assassins, brokers, etc., all gather here.”
Also known as the other side of the sunny side.
It has been a while since this village was called that by nobles from other territories.
Because it is ruled by a family that is completely ignored by the state, there are few people living there and management is poor.
Isn’t this the perfect place for a dark conversation?
The current Grand Duke of Illeston seemed to be making an effort to manage it, but the previous heads of the family, as always, were hiding even deeper, burdened with the tightly closed entrance of the mansion and the name of the fallen family.
Meanwhile, the territory where the lord was hiding became a lawless land, and nobles from other continents and regions committed numerous illegal acts here.
At some point, this village festered out of control.
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