Securing My Home, Success (2)
[Due to the rank change (Extra → Minor Character), special abilities have been unlocked.]
[Special ability unlocked:
Special Ability: Innkeeper's Insight
「The inn is a place where all information gathers. You are specialized in collecting information with your sharp ears and subtle presence.」
• You can now access information about specified targets. The amount of information available to you may be limited depending on the target's role and rank.
It was a jackpot. Things were falling into place so smoothly that it was almost suspicious. The ability to access information about others! It sounded vague and somewhat nonsensical, but with this, I could shape the direction of my role.
From now on, this place wouldn't just be an ordinary inn—no, it would be a suspicious information guild disguised as one. And I would be its leader. Of course, I wasn't planning to stay as just a minor character. At the very least, I was aiming for a lead supporting role. I couldn't afford to die in a place like this. Having been given a second chance, I wasn't about to throw it away.
Sometimes, it's not the protagonist who draws the most attention, but the compelling supporting character. Someone with many secrets, or a sidekick who turns out to have a main-character-level personality, or even a seemingly ordinary person who emerges as the final antagonist at the end.
I put on a casual smile. Holding the pocket watch in my hand, I climbed up to the second floor, pressing my ear to the wooden door. I could faintly hear Leonardo's voice.
"This isn't… right."
And as soon as he finished speaking, I knocked. Leonardo opened the door, his face slightly flustered, as if he was worried I had overheard something he didn't want me to hear.
"Don't worry. I didn't hear anything." Of course, I already knew what it was about from the script, but I played dumb and handed him the pocket watch.
"This is yours, right?"
The designated line came out naturally. However, instead of simply reciting the line, I added a subtle tone, as if I knew the meaning behind the pocket watch.
"It looks valuable. You should hold onto it."
What was meant to be just a casual remark turned into something much more significant. He hesitated for a moment before taking the pocket watch. As he did, he clearly saw the crest of the Count Ertinez family engraved on the back. Leonardo glanced at me, but it seemed he only felt a vague sense of unease for now.
"Get some good rest."
I tacked on a line that wasn't in the script, narrowing my eyes into a sly smile. Then, I activated the Innkeeper's Insight.
It seems the specified entity's rank is higher than mine, so most of the information is unavailable for viewing. It looks like Leonardo's details are off-limits due to his higher status. However, this doesn't completely block all insights—I might still be able to gather some details in other ways. At the same time, a strange event occurred.
[Viewing information.]
Rank – ■■ (Scenario weight: ■■.■%)
Role – Leonardo (Leovald)
Script – ■■■■■■–
Dialogue – ■■■■■■–
Special abilities – ■■■■■■–[Viewing information.]
Rank – Minor Character (Scenario weight: 3.8%)
Role – 'Leonardo Ertinez'
Script – [Second son of the famous knightly family, the Count of Ertinez. However, due to his lazy and arrogant nature, his physical abilities are poor. He has a reputation as a reckless, good-for-nothing troublemaker who relies on his family's influence to get by.]
[He has an older brother, Ferdinand Ertinez, and a younger sister, Celestina Ertinez. After their mother died, he became estranged from his father, the Count of Ertinez.]
[After a large argument with his father, he runs away to the bustling city of Sinistra in the Count's territory.]
[He dies from acute alcohol poisoning in a secluded alley in Sinistra.]
Dialogue – None
The information display overlapped twice.
Thud.
Leonardo's door closed, and I stood still for a moment before slowly moving my feet.
So… it seems that the soul inhabiting and simultaneously the protagonist, Leovald, and the original owner of the body, Leonardo Ertinez, are considered separate individuals. That's why the information windows appeared stacked together. It was an unexpected event, but it worked out well for me. With this, I had an advantage in terms of information.
While I stood quietly in the hallway, gathering my thoughts, something strange happened outside the window. The sun set rapidly, and within a few minutes, the dim twilight of dusk descended.
I realized that this sudden change was part of the transition to 'Take 2' of the scenario. The setting for 'Take 2' was the night at the inn. Once the sun had completely set, Leonardo would mingle among the guests on the first floor, drinking and gathering information.
The inn, which had been eerily quiet except for the crackling of the embers, suddenly filled with voices. Without the sound of a door opening, people began to appear and chatter. They felt like strange intruders to me, yet there was nothing I could do about it.
As if it had always been done this way, I wiped the cup with a dry cloth at the counter, a chill running down my spine. I soon discovered something through conversation: when talking to extras, I received no response at all, while minor characters at least gave simple reactions.
However, their words were nonsensical and didn't connect logically. It was like a broken cassette tape, or perhaps like a parrot that could only repeat the same words over and over. These were lines required for the next scene. It was as if they were soulless automatons, only performing the roles they were given. I spoke to every guest in the tavern and checked their lines thoroughly.
"Come on, let's have a drink! For the national hero and commander of the Sinistra frontline, the brave Sir Leovald!"
"My cousin works in the military… the first field commander, and those close to Sir Leovald during the operation, they insist that they didn't die during the mission. They kept denying the official announcement by the royal family."
"They even openly doubted His Majesty. There were rumours that some of them were either detained or had disappeared without a trace."
"Impossible! You must have misunderstood something. Even if something like that happened, there's no way a kind person like King Godric would do such a thing to soldiers who lost their mental anchor."
I carefully organized the information I had gathered.
One, Leovald was the field commander of Sinistra and hailed as a national hero.
Two, there are doubts surrounding his sudden death, and Leovald's closest associates raised objections, only to meet a tragic end.
Three, King Godric, who seems to be behind the incident, is outwardly merciful but likely is not as kind as he appears.
It was a predictable development, but there was no better way to convey the outline of the incident to the audience at this stage of the play. After verifying the information, I selected a few guests who had mentioned key lines related to the unfolding of the story and quietly pushed them into the underground storage where sausages and beer were kept. Sorry. But I can't help it if I want to survive. Once the tavern closes, I'll let you out. Your lines will have to be handled by me… so please bear with me.
Having finished my task, I checked outside the window. The sun had already hidden itself, and a deep night had settled. Returning to the counter, I noticed Leonardo descending from the second floor. He looked around the crowded tavern with a surprised expression.
"Weren't you supposed to be closed today?"
In response to his question, I shrugged and answered.
"That's right. So everything's being offered for free. On days like this, everyone needs a place to gather and mourn, right? If you want a drink, a juice is fine. We don't sell alcohol here."
"It's a tavern, and yet you don't sell alcohol? Is that drink that person over there is having some kind of herbal beverage?"
"Heh, what's the harm in a little lie? Logically speaking, would anyone really serve alcohol to a drunk fool at the funeral of a national hero?"
I gave a half-smile as I poured juice into a glass and handed it to Leonardo. He scratched his cheek and sat down at a table. The sounds of drunken guests celebrating grew louder around us.
"Cheers! To the national hero and field commander of Sinistra, the noble Sir Leovald!"
It was time for me to start making my move as well.