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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: I Thought I Was the Protagonist
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“Weren’t you even going to check the contents?”
Delia glanced at my trembling hand before asking with a strange look on her face.
“Like you said earlier, it’s not that difficult to verify. You think I’d try to fool you with something this simple?”
Delia’s eyes settled calmly.
‘It feels like she’s biting now….’
Pretending to be nonchalant, I checked the documents while watching her reaction.
There were two addresses listed for the people I wanted.
They didn’t seem far from here.
‘I can head straight there.’
I glanced at Delia, but she didn’t seem inclined to speak first.
Not yet?
Should I prod her a bit more?
I deliberately gathered the documents and stood up.
“Thanks. I’ll be going now.”
“Yes, take care.”
Delia stood as if to see me off.
‘Huh? That’s not it.’
Is it really not happening today?
Just as I was about to leave the office since I couldn’t stall any longer after saying I was going—
“Lady Espin, could I ask you one thing?”
Delia’s voice caught my steps.
‘That’s it, yes.’
I forcibly suppressed the smile tugging at my lips, thrilled that things were going as hoped.
Turning around with a composed expression, I asked,
“What is it?”
Delia’s face looked complicated.
“Why did you request us at the Adventurer’s Guild?”
It was the question I’d expected—and hoped for.
“I can’t request you?”
“To get information, an Information Guild would be better. It’s just strange that you came to us. This is our first request from an outsider who isn’t a guild member.”
I could read all of Delia’s inner turmoil plainly.
The place I’d visited was the Adventurer’s Guild.
A few days ago, I’d entrusted them with finding two people.
And today, I’d received the results.
Billy often told me stories from his adventuring days.
He told them so vividly.
Listening to him sometimes made me want to go on an adventure myself.
But that would change the genre from romance fantasy to straight fantasy, so I held back.
‘Being the protagonist comes with its own exhaustion.’
Anyway, while listening to Billy’s adventure tales, a thought struck me.
Adventurers travel everywhere and gain tons of experience.
So, couldn’t I use them to build an information network?
It wasn’t a well-organized system, but with a little tweaking, it seemed like I could gather quite a variety of intel.
And couldn’t I make use of that?
Even having read the original novel, the information I had was limited.
I was saving money for investments, but I didn’t know where those investment targets even were.
[Your Majesty, Don’t Obsess!] didn’t explain those details in depth.
Roughly, what was trending at certain times.
Which shops were booming.
That was the extent of what I remembered.
To make use of this meager knowledge, I needed a proper source of information.
I could use an established Information Guild, sure.
‘But that’s under the villain Damian’s influence….’
I needed my own information network.
Lost in those thoughts, I learned about the Adventurer’s Guild through Billy—what do you think I thought?
‘Gotta snatch up any opportunity that comes my way!’
…isn’t that obvious?
Swallowing up the Adventurer’s Guild wouldn’t happen overnight.
This request was the first step.
Make them aware of me.
‘It was info I actually needed, too.’
As expected, the guild had reacted.
They had no choice but to.
The Adventurer’s Guild had lower status than other guilds.
And maintaining it must come with plenty of headaches.
Aside from the occasional remote exploration request, they probably barely got any work.
A place without steady income discovers a new revenue stream.
What would they think?
Couldn’t they make use of this?
Greed like that would stir.
Delia’s heart must be complicated in this unexpected situation, and that’s what I’d aimed for.
“Like I said earlier, I can’t request you?”
“Well….”
“Of course not. If that were the case, you wouldn’t have accepted the request in the first place.”
I quickly cut her off as she seemed about to say something negative.
From life experience, negative thoughts breed bad outcomes.
If you want something good to happen, you need positive thoughts and actions.
My interruption apparently irked her, as an unhappy look flickered across Delia’s face.
No, can’t have that.
“So, how does it feel having taken the request?”
I swiftly redirected her attention.
“…It seems like something we could use going forward.”
“Then that settles it.”
I neatly simplified Delia’s complications for her.
“Could we use this method too?”
Was she asking permission since she got the idea from me?
Using adventurers to gather information wasn’t a novel concept.
Anyone could think of it, but people default to Information Guilds when they need intel, so it hadn’t occurred to them.
I couldn’t tell them not to use it.
And having them actively build an information line was exactly what I wanted.
‘That way I can use them when I need to.’
“Of course. If it’s a method you need, you should use it as much as possible, right?”
I gave her a push so she wouldn’t hesitate.
She pondered for a moment, then her eyes lit up.
“It’ll be a new challenge.”
Her enthusiastic look was pleasing.
The seed I’d intended to plant seemed to have taken root properly.
* * *
Finishing my conversation with the Adventurer’s Guild left a strange sense of regret.
I’d gotten what I aimed for, but I’d hoped luck would make it even easier.
Like Delia being so moved by my advice that she clung to me saying, “Please save our Adventurer’s Guild!”
Nothing like that happened.
In a romance fantasy, shouldn’t something like that happen smoothly?
Deep down, I’d hoped for some protagonist buffs to explode.
It had been too quiet for two years.
‘It’s about time for one to go off.’
“Miss, we’ve arrived.”
I left the Adventurer’s Guild and headed straight there.
“Is this the right place?”
“If the address is correct, then yes?”
That’s all I could say to Billy.
It was my first time here too.
An ordinary house in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
It was one of the addresses I’d gotten for five gold coins—the home of someone who’d become my future investment target.
Knock knock.
I knocked without hesitation.
“You’re here?”
The homeowner opened the door with a bright voice, as if expecting someone, but made a puzzled face upon seeing me.
“Uh, who are you?”
As the door opened, a delicious, appetite-stimulating aroma wafted out.
Seemed I’d come to the right place.
“Miss May?”
I checked just in case.
“Huh? Are you here for me? Uh, yes, that’s me.”
May started to answer casually but switched to polite speech after noticing Billy behind me.
“Could I have a moment to talk?”
“Um, yes. Come in.”
May looked a bit wary but let me inside readily enough.
She probably didn’t feel the need to be too guarded against my young appearance.
The delicious smell grew stronger as I entered.
The scent of freshly baked bread.
It stimulated the appetite of a bread lover, making my mouth water involuntarily.
Would she offer me a bite?
“You seem to have come looking for me—what brings you here?”
May cut straight to the point.
No intention of entertaining an uninvited guest, it seemed.
Guess I’ll go home and bake some bread today.
“Will Miss Bell be coming today by any chance?”
May’s eyes widened.
“You know Bell? She’ll be here soon… Did you arrange to meet her here?”
May must have been waiting for Bell.
Perfect.
“Not exactly. When Miss Bell arrives, shall we talk together?”
May looked even more baffled.
“May? I’m here! Oh? You have a guest?”
Right on cue, Bell arrived and voiced her confusion upon seeing me.
May hurried over, and they whispered to each other.
“Do you know her?”
“Me? No, I don’t. Why would I know a little kid like….”
“Shh! She looks like a noble lady. Anyway, she’s a stranger, right?”
“Yeah. Not my guest?”
“I thought she was yours?”
I heard every word of their conversation about me.
Then they both looked at me at the same time, and I gave them a bright smile.
“Hello?”
May and Bell stared at each other, signaling their mutual confusion about who I was.
“Um, who are you?”
“Are you sure you’re here for us?”
“Yes, I’m here for May and Miss Bell. I’m Espin Samuel.”
They looked even more lost.
No wonder.
I’d unilaterally researched and tracked down May and Bell to invest in them.
More precisely, to invest in the dessert shop Maybel that the two would start together.
In the original story, Maybel was the shop that led the capital’s dessert trends.
It was mentioned frequently enough that even the heroine stopped by all the time.
An important place like that needed to be secured early.
My plan was simple.
Like most startup entrepreneurs in romance fantasies, Maybel must have struggled with funding in its early days, right?
That’s when I’d swoop in with helping hand extended.
‘I found them early, so investing should be easy!’
So I got right to it.
“You two, you’re thinking about opening a dessert shop, right? I’ll invest. Take my investment!”
At my confident declaration, May and Bell exchanged glances before turning to me with strange expressions.
Huh? That’s not the reaction I wanted.
“Um, miss. We have no plans to open a dessert shop. Who told you that?”
May asked, sounding utterly baffled.
She seemed genuinely perplexed, leaving me flustered instead.
I quickly looked at Bell, who nodded as if agreeing with May.
‘N-No way.’
Maybel definitely opens a dessert shop and becomes famous.
“You two really have no plans to open a shop?”
“Yes, we’re not ready yet.”
“Exactly. Making desserts is just a hobby for us.”
They were firm.
“…….”
Looks like my greed to claim it first made me come too early.
But still, no plans at all?
My plan had gone this far off course.
I just want to make some money too!
I decided to persuade them.
“You have to open a shop. Your desserts are the best! They’ll be the top in the capital soon!”
“You serious?”
At May’s question,
“Of course!”
I answered sincerely.
“You’ve never even tried what we make.”
“…I can tell just by looking.”
“You haven’t even seen it.”
May and Bell looked at me like I was a con artist.
I Thought I Was the Protagonist
