"No Marriage, Please! vs. Marry Me or Die: The Ultimate Love Showdown" - Episode 21

We decided to talk with Baldo, so early in the morning, we headed to the tavern we’d used before. Apparently, Baldo is a regular there and is on good terms with the owner. Funny how things are connected in unexpected ways.

“By the way, how did you get to know Baldo?”

“I was looking for a well-respected adventurer in the Kingdom. That’s when I heard about him—he’d just returned from the village and had quite a reputation. Who would’ve thought we’d be leaving the same village at the same time? What a coincidence, right?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

When we entered the tavern, the owner greeted us with a courteous bow.

“Good morning. You’re here to see Mr. Baldo, correct?”

“Yes.”

The owner was an elderly gentleman, exuding calmness and refinement.

“This way, please.”

“Thank you.”

He guided us to the back of the establishment. It was a private room, and upon closer inspection, I noticed magical inscriptions etched into the walls. I see—this must be a room specifically designed for discreet conversations.

“Yuri! It’s been a while!”

Baldo stood up and reached out for a handshake.

Ria and I sat beside each other, while Baldo took the seat directly opposite us.

“Compliments of the house.”

The owner brought us coffee. I was genuinely grateful, but felt awkward accepting a free service, so I offered to pay.

“Please, let me pay.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly accept that from someone like you, Mr. Yuri. Now then, if you’ll excuse me.”

Huh? The way he said that… it’s like he already knows who I am. As I was pondering that, Baldo spoke up.

“Sorry about that. I told him a bit about how amazing you are. But don’t worry—he’s the kind of man who never leaks information. The fact this place still exists is proof of that.”

“I see.”

I nodded in understanding… Though “amazing,” huh? Did I ever show Baldo anything like that? Oh, right—he must’ve picked up on something when we talked about nullifying skills. Maybe he sensed a glimpse of

it back then.

“Anyway, I heard the gist of it from Ria.”

“Please, drop the honorifics. I’m just another adventurer now.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll just call you Ria.”

“Sure.”

After that brief exchange, Baldo turned his gaze back to me.

“So, you’re looking for information on the capital?”

“Yeah. But you only just got back, didn’t you? Do you know much?”

“Of course. I’ve already gathered quite a bit. Some of it’s stuff even the Adventurer’s Guild isn’t aware of.”

“That’s incredibly helpful.”

Baldo grinned. In truth, personal connections are vital. The Guild doesn’t just hand out information freely. Adventurers tend to share higher-quality intel amongst themselves.

Though, I suppose we have Ria to thank for that this time.

“So, what exactly do you want to know?”

“Have you heard about any cases of missing adventurers?”

“Missing, huh… Usually, if someone dies in a dungeon, their body’s eaten by monsters, so it ends up being treated as a disappearance. But if you’re calling it an incident, you think it’s man-made?”

“Yes, and I’d prefer to keep this off the record… but I suspect the Empire’s darker elements have infiltrated the Kingdom.”

With that, I shared some of what I knew with Baldo.

“I see. I’ve been hearing more rumors about the Empire lately too. They’ve been steadily annexing smaller nations and expanding their territory. Wouldn’t be surprising if they’ve made it this far.”

Huh? Just like with Ria, he’s taking this remarkably well. Honestly, I feel a little deflated by how smoothly this is going.

“Aren’t you curious about where I got this information?”

“Hm? Nah, I trust you, Yuri. I’m not hung up on minor details like that.”

“That’s right. He’s a fellow believer, just like me. We trust you, Yuri.”

Huh… Something about this feels off. But if it means the conversation goes smoothly, I won’t question it for now.

Still, I can’t shake the feeling that an invisible net is slowly closing around me… Probably just my imagination.

“So, the Empire’s shadow forces in the capital… No, I haven’t heard anything specific. But I have heard rumors of illegal magical artifacts circulating lately—mostly of the dark attribute.”

That’s it. There’s no doubt the Empire is behind this. Sabotage is already underway.

“Then it’s highly likely the source is the Empire. Can you identify the suppliers?”

“Hmm… They’re pretty slick. I haven’t been able to pin anyone down. I actually suspected this might be what you were looking into, so I started digging already—but no luck so far.”

“No, that alone is more than enough.”

The fact that they’re hiding their tracks proves they have something to conceal. Which, in turn, strengthens the case that the Empire is involved. Just getting this confirmation from Baldo is immensely valuable.

“Hey, Yuri.”

Ria tapped me on the shoulder.

“What is it?”

“Should we start investigating the source directly?”

“Yeah. That’s likely the path to uncovering the Empire’s dark operations.”

“Got it! I’ll start digging into it!”

“No, you don’t need to push yourself too hard. Worst case, we could end up in direct conflict with them.”

“Oh… Right. If they find out, it could be bad, huh? So, you mean I should gather intel carefully, without letting them know we’re onto them? Don’t worry—I promise I won’t cause you any trouble, Yuri!”

“A-ah… okay.”

Since arriving in the Kingdom, Ria has shown impressive intelligence. I’m grateful, but also a bit surprised by how proactive she is.

“I’ll do a bit more digging myself. If I find anything, I’ll let Ria know.”

“No, just tell me directly.”

“It’s okay. You’ve got your hands full, right? Don’t worry—I’ll make sure everything gets to you. I’ll verify the info, compile it all, and put together some documents too. Sound good?”

“Yeah, that’d help a lot.”

“Great!”

With that, we wrapped things up, and I headed to the Adventurer’s Guild to meet Eve. As usual, she was standing expressionlessly in front of the quest board.

“Sorry. Am I late?”

“No. I just got here myself.”

“I see.”

By now, I was used to this kind of interaction. Eve’s demeanor was always the same, so I learned not to overthink it.

“—Oh? You seem to get along well with your little sister.”

Ria had shown up again, even though we’d just parted ways.

“I was nearby, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello.”

That made sense. Come to think of it, she and Eve hadn’t been formally introduced yet. I introduced them.

“I see. Eve, this is Ria—she’s been working with me.”

“I’m Ria. Pleased to meet you.”

“I-I’m Eve. Likewise, pleased to meet you.”

Ria gave a bright, friendly smile as she greeted her.

“Well, I’ll be going now. See you later.”

“Yeah.”

“Goodbye…”

The introductions went off without a hitch.

“So… what’s your relationship with Miss Ria?”

“Huh? Oh, she’s just a teammate. We met through a series of coincidences.”

“I see… I understand.”

Eve remained expressionless, as always. But I’d grown used to that too. She didn’t dislike me or anything—this was just her normal.

“Well then, shall we get going, Eve?”

“Yes.”

We delved into the dungeon together. At this point, we were seasoned enough not to struggle with the monsters along the way.

“…Brother. Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you and Ria?”

Out of nowhere, Eve brought up the topic again. With no visible emotion on her face or inflection in her voice, it was impossible to tell what she was truly thinking.

“Yeah. There’s really… nothing.”

“That pause just now—what was that?”

Her eyes suddenly sharpened, and she pressed further.

Come to think of it… sleeping in the same bed with Ria isn’t exactly nothing, is it? Nothing happened, but still… I suddenly felt guilty.

“No, really. There’s nothing.”

“Hmph. Fine. I don’t care at all, you know. Even if there were something between you two, it wouldn’t bother me in the slightest. Absolutely not.”

“O-oh…”

Yeah, repeating “I don’t care” three times definitely means she cares. Then, Eve suddenly walked ahead at a brisk pace.

“Eve, you’re kind of fast.”

“This is normal. You’re just slow, Brother. Hmph.”

“…”

She’s clearly upset, right? Her pace is quick, and she’s talking unusually fast…

In the end, I couldn’t figure out what she was really feeling, as we continued deeper into the dungeon.