"Due to the promise I couldn't keep today and the rudeness I committed just now, I couldn't bring myself to do it."
"……."
"The most important virtue of a guild is trust with customers, isn't it? If I erase the memory, I would have to erase everything, including the fact that you entrusted a job to our guild. I don't want to go that far."
I frowned at the scope of the memory to be erased, which I had been listening to quietly.
I almost had to pretend to attend all kinds of balls to look for you.
"So, what do you want to say to me?"
"Please keep the secret of the place you saw today."
"……."
"In return, I will provide you with as much information as you want about the person you are looking for, free of charge."
I was surprised by the unexpectedly generous condition that followed.
What is this secret place that you are so determined to keep quiet about?
"What are the children inside? Are they descendants of rebels?"
"They are orphans who were rescued after being imprisoned and abused by a half-magic organization."
"Half-magic organization……?"
‘Does this game have such a profound setting?’
I tried to recall, but nothing came to mind.
Bunter added with a bitter voice.
"Once magic began to be commercialized, those who claimed to be devout believers started to strongly oppress the mages, accusing them of practicing heretical black magic."
"……."
"The current royal family also ties its legitimacy to the divine mandate, so the treatment of mages is becoming increasingly harsh."
Bunter took a breath and continued.
"Some heretics even claim that all those who practice heretical magic must be eliminated for a true emperor chosen by God to be born, a preposterous idea."
"……."
"You must know that the remnants of the defeated Leila Kingdom, who recently lost a battle led by the crown prince, are causing many problems."
"Of course."
Of course, I had no idea.
But I nodded solemnly, pretending to know.
"Though it sounds absurd, many of the empire's nobles also make the same claim."
"The empire's nobles……? Why are they doing this?"
"Mainly those who are involved in the mass production of magical artifacts. They use mages but want to erase their existence so they can monopolize all markets that use magic."
When playing the game, I couldn't understand why Bunter hid the fact that he was a mage.
‘I thought it was just a setting value……’
I never imagined such a profound background was hidden.
The background of the crown prince I encountered before also had its own legitimate reasons, which I thought were just basic settings.
I couldn't shake the growing sense of dissonance with the original game I knew.
"Please, Lady."
At that moment, Bunter bowed and implored again.
"It's a matter of the children's lives."
Above Bunter's head, concerned about the children, [Affinity 6%] began to flicker.
I immediately realized.
How I responded here would determine whether the affinity increased or decreased.
Just as I opened my mouth to promise to be careful,
‘But……’
I suddenly felt a sense of unease.
‘Why is affinity involved here?’
Everything that happened today was unexpected. Especially the hidden quest.
‘Wasn't it originally not part of the game story to put out a request to find Bunter……?’
Thinking this, I suddenly opened my eyes wide, realizing a major flaw in my thinking.
The standard for the game settings I knew was all based on the normal mode.
‘……I don't know the Bunter of hard mode.’
In the game, Bunter was set to regularly take care of orphans in the back alleys and help the poor, presenting a kind and benevolent image.
[A kind and benevolent mage, while helping the poor, discovers a real duchess raised by a poor commoner.
With the mage's help, the kind heroine returns to the duchy and sincerely helps unfortunate children, generously donating her possessions.]
As I listed the settings in my head, a question suddenly arose.
‘But why did such a kind and benevolent Bunter bring the heroine to Penelope's coming-of-age ceremony?’
The time when the fake duchess receives the most attention.
It seemed obvious that it was to make Penelope look bad.
"……Lady?"
After a long silence, Bunter called out to me, sounding puzzled. A strange feeling enveloped me.
The sudden appearance of the hidden quest. Bunter's plummeting affinity.
Not knowing the hard mode story, I believed I had been avoiding death while destroying the original story.
‘……But what if all this is one of the routes included in hard mode?’
I clenched my trembling hands and turned on the choice option, which I had long turned off.
‘……Choice option ON.’
I needed to confirm immediately.
A white square window immediately appeared before my eyes.
〈SYSTEM〉 Do you want to turn the choice option [ON]?
[Yes. / No.]
I pressed [Yes]. Immediately, the choice options appeared.
1. Why should I do that?
2. Well…… I'm not really interested. Do you have any rare gems?
3. What if I start spreading rumors about the children? What will you do then?
‘Ah……’
I sighed. Why do ominous thoughts always come true?
In the normal mode, Penelope, who was hated by all the male leads, already had such situations intricately laid out.
I chose one of the options with my trembling hand.
"……What if I start spreading rumors about the children? What will you do then?"
My mouth, which had been out of my control for a long time, moved on its own.
However, as soon as I finished speaking, Bunter's eyes, visible through the holes in the mask, turned cold.
The aura he emitted was clearly different from before.
"Then the meager status you hold now will be in jeopardy, sir."
He whispered about my identity in a chilling voice.
Bowing his head was not a request; it was a warning.
‘You knew, didn't you?’
After all, once I mentioned the white rabbit, he couldn't have not known who I was.
In the normal mode, it was assumed that Penelope, despite Bunter's warnings, carelessly spread rumors.
‘Choice option OFF.’
Turning off the choice option, I finally spoke of my own will.
"……I'll be careful."
The murderous aura that had been emanating from the man disappeared at my firm answer. And.
[Affinity 8%]
The affinity, which had plummeted, recovered to a level similar to the beginning.
I felt a deep sense of despair at my relief.
I stood up from my seat.
"Is that all you wanted to say? It's very late, so I need to go."
I was too tired of the solo masquerade ball.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have come wearing a suffocating mask.
Bunter stood up with me, looking puzzled.
"About the information on the person you're looking for……"
"That's fine."
I quickly raised my hand to stop him. I coldly said, having made a quick decision.
"Actually, I already know who it is from another source."
He stiffened, clearly taken aback.
However, it didn't feel particularly satisfying.
Compared to the other male leads, Bunter was extremely normal, but the plan to use him as insurance had failed.
Everything went wrong when I was forced to learn his secret due to the cursed hidden quest.
Moreover, Bunter is about to find the heroine in the normal mode.
The beautiful lady he meets regularly in the slums and the mad dog of the duchy, who now knows a dangerous secret.
I had overlooked that Bunter's 'kindness,' which I had pinned my hopes on, was a double-edged sword.
‘I should have focused on the others before meeting the heroine.’
I no longer cared how he saw me and passed by the [Affinity 8%] coldly.
"By the way."
Then I suddenly remembered the items I had brought with great effort.
"You said you would provide information in exchange for keeping quiet."
I returned to my original position and took something out of my robe pocket.
"I don't need the information. Give these to the person. I came here today to add this to the request."
I placed a white handkerchief and an antique velvet box next to the teacup.
"What should I tell them?"
"They'll understand if you say it's a token of gratitude."