Chapter 60
Ceres’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“I’m going to find and take the three keys.”
“What are those?”
She knew they existed — she could still vividly recall the organization’s leader babbling excitedly about those keys with an almost feverish expression.
But what they meant, she had no idea.
What happens once you find those three keys?
“If you’re that curious, go ask your leader.”
The three black keys weren’t just symbolic relics representing the founding members of the Sky Organization.
The information guild, Sky, had a separate place dedicated to storing information — a vault of secrets.
Hidden knowledge spread across the continent.
Countless pieces of information that had never seen the light of day were all gathered in one place.
And only the head of the organization had the right to open that vault.
Upon inheritance of that position, the leader had to swear an oath — a magical one.
An oath of obedience to the three black keys.
If the oath was broken, the violator would lose their life.
“Was that really necessary? It’s not like we planned to keep control of it forever.”
“You never know what people might do. What if the organization we created betrays us? We should at least ensure we can use it safely while we’re alive.”
“That, I agree with.”
It had been one of the few times Artea and Kainel saw eye to eye — and so, Grace had nodded in agreement.
Thus, every new head of Sky was required to sign Artea’s blood-bound oath. Anyone who refused could not assume the position.
You couldn’t open the vault without the oath — and what kind of information broker couldn’t access their own information vault?
Well, I figured by now it would have become meaningless…
But judging by the way the last leader had looked absolutely terrified, the power of the keys was still very much alive.
Even after all these years, the vault and the oath were still being used. Which, honestly, made sense.
Back when they managed Sky, the amount of valuable intelligence stored there had been enormous.
Secrets capable of toppling royal families, of forcing imperial hands…
And that wasn’t all — the private scandals and hidden sins of every noble house had been carefully piled up in those archives.
It was the kind of treasure trove no one would willingly abandon — no matter how much time passed.
If anything, the scale and value of that information had likely grown even greater over the years.
“Do you know where all the keys are?”
“I do.”
Well, not all of them.
How could she possibly know where Artea’s key was?
Of course, I know how to find it, she admitted inwardly.
But unlike what she’d told Ben, she had no intention of actually going after it. It was more of a threat — leverage, if needed.
Still, I could easily get Kainel’s key if I wanted to.
She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of face he’d make if she, looking like this, demanded the key from him. Draw his sword first, maybe?
“I’ll say this again — don’t breathe a word about this.”
She couldn’t just ignore Ben this time. Normally, he only followed her up to the cave’s entrance, but today he’d snuck all the way inside, determined.
If word got out about this place, she’d have a whole new mess to deal with.
“Sure, fine.”
Ben nodded more easily than expected.
After all, his job wasn’t to report every move she made — it was to follow Ceres and uncover her true identity.
Absolutely, absolutely not because he was afraid she’d expose his cover if he refused!
“You’re not going down?”
“I am, of course.”
Snapping out of his thoughts, Ben began walking again when Ceres spoke.
“While you’re at it, grab that for me.”
“…?”
Ben frowned when he looked where she pointed.
There sat a fairly large water container — the one prepared for the children.
“…Me?”
“Yes. You.”
And with that, Ceres started down the mountain, leaving him behind. Ben’s frown deepened.
“Damn it…”
He glanced between Ceres and the container, then finally sighed and picked it up.
This isn’t how this was supposed to go.
Something about the situation felt completely off.
“What the hell did you just say, you bastard!?”
“What? Tell me I’m wrong, you piece of shit!”
“You crazy son of a— I’ll kill you!”
The place where her footsteps had once lingered —
Perhaps because Ceres hadn’t shown up in a while, fights had begun breaking out again.
“Oh no, what do we do?”
“I don’t know…”
Jay, a maid working for Baron Drow, looked flustered as the brawl escalated.
Mark, the clerk, only sighed deeply — it had been a long time since he’d seen a scene like this.
A moment later, he quietly grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen, ready to jot down the names of those involved in today’s fight.
“Are you out of your damn mind!?”
Whack!
At the height of the fight, one mercenary picked up a chair.
“What, you gonna throw that?”
“……!”
But then—
A calm voice rang out, instantly silencing the entire tavern.
“Hmm.”
The mercenary holding the chair froze mid-motion and slowly turned his head.
Standing there with her arms crossed, eyes fixed calmly on him—
Ceres.
The other fighter had already gone back to his seat, pretending nothing had happened, head down in his stew.
Coward!
A bead of cold sweat rolled down the mercenary’s temple as his “comrade” abandoned him to his fate.
“H-ha… ha ha… N-no, I just thought the chair was squeaking a bit, so I, uh… was going to fix it.”
“Really?”
Ceres turned to Jay.
“Bring him a hammer.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Jay quickly fetched a toolbox and handed the hammer to the mercenary.
“Here you go!”
Her bright smile returned, all her earlier fear gone as if it had never existed.
Even Jay herself was surprised — just Ceres’s presence made her feel completely at ease.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes!”
Well… it wasn’t, but now it was.
Mark, too, smiled faintly at Ceres’s casual question.
She hadn’t changed at all — still calm no matter what chaos surrounded her, and that steadiness alone made people feel safe.
“Where have you been, anyway? And… what’s with the scarf?”
It was the early days of autumn — cool mornings and evenings, yes, but not enough to need a scarf.
So both Jay and Mark gave her curious looks.
“Did you catch a cold, miss?”
“Oh, that? No. I just forgot.”
She’d come straight from the magic training grounds and hadn’t adjusted her outfit.
No wonder she felt hot — she’d been wearing a scarf the whole time.
Honestly, how absent-minded can you be?
Shut it.
Feeling like she could almost hear her disciple, Enoch, scolding her again, Ceres roughly pulled off the scarf.
Clink.
Just then, the tavern door opened, and someone stepped inside.
The air grew still once more — but this time, it was different from when Ceres had arrived.
Recognizing the aura, Ceres turned her head slowly.
Standing at the entrance, staring directly at her—
Kainel.
“I-I’m done eating!”
“Me too!”
“Check, please!”
“Keep the change!”
The mercenaries scrambled to pay and flee, just like always.
Honestly, shouldn’t they be used to this by now?
Did they really have to panic every time they saw him?
What, does he look like he’s going to eat you or something?
Step. Step.
And you, she thought irritably, I told you to come early in the morning or late at night.
Why show up in the middle of the day again?
“Are you here for food?”
She addressed him bluntly, as always.
“I’m not here to eat.”
“Then what? It’s a restaurant. If not for food, why come?”
Ignoring her puzzled tone, Kainel sat down at a table.
“To collect a debt.”
“A… debt?”
Debt? What debt?
Did the original owner of this body go all the way to the Duchy of Persia to borrow money or something? That made no sense!
Whoosh.
Kainel gestured lightly, and someone entered from outside — his aide, Del.
Ceres recognized him instantly. Del smiled politely and gave a respectful bow before approaching.
Slide.
He placed a thick stack of documents on the table in front of Kainel.
What on earth was all that? Was he planning to handle paperwork here?
“They’re debt records.”
“Debt records? All that? You— you’re in debt? What happened to all your money?”
“What? No. They’re yours.”
“…Mine?”
“Yeah. Yours.”
“……”
A chill ran down Ceres’s spine.
Slowly, she reached out and picked up the top document from the stack.
