BVSM 03

Chapter 03

Every month, my instincts, sharpened by the stress of wiring money to repay my debts, scream out.

“Two hundred thousand gold?!”

I hastily flipped over the envelope and clamped a hand over my mouth upon seeing the enormous sum of two hundred thousand gold.

I thought it would be at most five thousand, or maybe ten thousand gold!

“Why are they giving me so much for an interview fee?”

Without realizing it, I bowed my head slightly toward La Mar.

“Even if he is a villain, he doesn’t seem stingy, huh? Wow, with this money, I can cover a month’s — no, if I save a bit, two months’ worth of food expenses!”

Gripping the two hundred thousand gold, I cheerfully started running toward the job agency.

Both my steps and my heart felt light for the first time in a while. I even felt a bit grateful toward that notorious Aden.

Until then, that’s how it was.

Meanwhile, at La Mar.

Long after the interview had ended, Aden was still looking down at the resume on his desk.

‘Ilian Grecia.’ As he mulled over the name written on the resume, he didn’t even lift his head at the knock.

“Come in.”

“Yessir, coming in.”

Ruter, putting on a cheeky salute, closed the door and sat down.

Ruter’s “official” title was Aden’s executive assistant.

But cracking his muscular arms — which didn’t suit an executive assistant at all — Ruter asked,

“So, why did you call me?”

“How was she when you escorted Miss Grecia out earlier?”

“Ah, that kid.”

Ruter grinned.

“Seemed fine.”

“Why do you think so?”

“She didn’t badmouth you, boss.”

Aden lifted his head. Slightly flustered, Ruter shrugged.

“Well, that interview must’ve been more like an interrogation, right? Most people would’ve been intimidated, but even when I subtly set the stage for her, she kept smiling and answered well to the end. What did she say? ‘I learned a lot’?”

“….”

“She answered well and was polite. I don’t know for sure, but she seemed like a sharp, teachable kid.”

“I received a similar impression.”

“Right? Then…”

“But why was she unable to control her expression for just a moment, only when I asked again about the ‘Iren Flower Incident’?”

As Aden spoke, something flashed through Ruter’s mind.

“That Iren flower — isn’t that the item our rival trading company, Crimson, imported fake seeds of to make money back in the day? And when they got caught, they threw the local trading company under the bus and washed their hands of it!”

“Correct.”

“I heard every port except one rural harbor suffered damages?”

“Sirena. Quite coincidentally, it’s Miss Grecia’s hometown. Thanks to her uncovering the poisonous seeds herself, Sirena apparently escaped harm.”

“Just as I thought! I knew she seemed smart!”

Ruter smiled proudly, then blinked when he saw Aden’s expression.

“…D-do you think she’s lying?”

“Hard to say. I find it more plausible that there was internal collusion between Mason Trading Company and Crimson, allowing her to get advance information and avoid the damage. Miss Grecia herself likely knows that, which is why she hesitated.”

“….”

“Of course, I can’t conclude based solely on this. But.”

Aden handed over a photo taken with a magical device.

Ruter took it with a mix of doubt and belief, then covered his mouth.

“That’s her coming out of Crimson!”

“I received this from an informant this morning.”

“…Huh, do you think she was coming out from an interview there?”

“As you know, Crimson hasn’t posted any hiring notices recently.”

Of course, if Ilian had known, she would have been utterly exasperated.

She had only gone out of her way to ask if there were any part-time jobs not listed at the job agency.

But the problem was,

“Surely Crimson wouldn’t send another spy?!”

The point was that La Mar was already on high alert regarding Crimson’s movements.

There were factions that viewed the suddenly expanding trading company La Mar with suspicion.

Rumors said that not only rival trading companies but even the royal family was keeping a close eye on the shifting landscape.

Of course, if they had nothing to hide, it wouldn’t be a problem.

‘But we’re not exactly clean!’

La Mar was an information guild disguised as a trading company.

A so-called “black hand” that stops at nothing to achieve its goals.

As with any business, but especially for La Mar with its secrets, the existence of a spy would be obviously critical.

“Ah, but still.”

Coming to his senses, Ruter spoke.

In Ruter’s opinion, Aden was excessively suspicious.

That pathologically suspicious and cautious personality had certainly led to successes. He understood the need to react sensitively.

‘Especially since the spy sent by Crimson is already bothering him.’

Aden had detected that spy long ago.

He just hadn’t “dealt with” them yet, as he was still tracing the flow of funds.

The spy, unaware they’d been caught, was fruitlessly floundering within the trap Aden had set.

“Would they really send another spy when they already have one? Of course, the current spy isn’t particularly good at their job, but…”

Just as Ruter glanced toward the door and was about to continue,

Aden slowly turned over a document and cut him off.

“This letter of recommendation states that since she started working at age 14, she has never been late or absent a single time.”

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

“Regardless of possibility, the recommender written here, Mason Trading Company, closed down a few days ago. Of all times.”

“Uh-oh, that is a bit strange…”

“And the owner of that company is also out of contact.”

There was no way Mason, who had set off on a round-the-world sailing trip, could be reached.

Again, if Ilian had heard this, she would have grabbed the back of her neck.

“So far, these are just circumstantial. But decisively, Miss Grecia…”

Tap, tap.

Aden tapped the desk.

“She recognized at a glance that this desk is genuine black wood.”

“…Is that true? Even experts have a hard time distinguishing that wood?”

“Not just the desk in this office — she asserted that all the desks in the office are black wood. What do you think that means?”

Until now, Ruter’s somewhat ambiguous expression instantly hardened.

“Either she obtained prior information that we deal in black wood…?”

“Or, contrary to what’s written on this resume, she was raised in an environment very familiar with black wood — for example, trained in a noble household. It’s one of the two.”

Aden’s eyes, as he uttered the word “noble,” sharpened like blades.

“It’s naturally a problem if she’s from Crimson, but it’s also a problem if she’s a noble’s agent attempting to more cleverly disguise her identity by exploiting connections with rival trading companies.”

“Uh, what will you do?”

Ruter got the impression that Aden was leaning more toward suspecting the latter.

Sweeping back his black hair, Aden spoke darkly.

“First, send someone to Sirena. Try to make contact with Mason Trading Company.”

“Yep, understood. Then what about Grecia — I mean, the new ‘spy’…?”

“Why, of course.”

Aden’s eyes gleamed.

“We hire her.”

“Excuse me?”

“You keep your enemies close, Ruter. Watch their every move closely, and…”

The corner of his mouth rose very faintly.

“We dig out who’s behind her.”

“….”

“Don’t you agree?”

Ruter subtly averted his gaze from his boss, whose smile was scarier than his blank expression.

The next morning.

“Director of the job agency? Hello, what brings you here?”

“Well, you see…”

Ilian Grecia, who had opened the door in response to a knock,

“…So she says I’m to start work today, right away?”

“Huh?!”

Received the notice of passing the interview for the secretarial position at La Mar while still in her pajamas.