Sub Quest (2)

I don't think I could ever do farming.

While running around the market trying to catch the chickens, that realization hit me like a bolt from the blue. I never once thought I had bad stamina in my life. But that was based on a foolish human standard.

Dream!

Only those who have directly faced off with chickens fleeing from humans know just how fast they can be. Even when I try to use my wits and catch them carefully, they seem to sense it, and miraculously escape.

As for retirement or whatever, after I escape this scenario world, I can clearly see my future being one of starvation if I ever look toward livestock or farming.

It'd be different if I had a well-behaved, sturdy fellow like a helper to boss around by my side, though. For now, I leaned against the cart and caught my breath when I saw Leonardo up ahead, skillfully catching chickens with swift movements.

'Wow. This young guy is pretty quick!'

Before I knew it, a crowd had gathered and were admiring him. If this keeps up, his reputation will definitely rise.

By the way, didn't that guy complain about muscle loss yesterday? He should still be feeling the pain after using so much strength to rescue Vittorio. Yet, there's no sign of exhaustion on his face.

He's either tough enough to endure the pain, or maybe the Ertinez bloodline hidden within Leonardo's body is somehow tapping into its strength and rapidly growing. Or maybe it's just a protagonist's perk.

In name, it was a group project, but in reality, Leonardo did almost all the capturing. I, on the other hand, desperately pretended to have energy while sneaking in and out. Whenever I felt out of breath, I would quickly fall back and catch my breath, repeating the cycle.

…If the behind-the-scenes informant is weak, that's definitely embarrassing, right?

Maybe I should secretly start training my body from now on. I seriously rubbed my arm muscles and fell into thought. I mean, I've never heard that I'm weak. I don't usually fall behind others either.

At that moment, out of the corner of my vision, a cute, deformed chicken image shimmered, and the count went up to 28. We had actually caught 29, but one of them had slipped out while I was trying to grab it, so it didn't count. Anyway, this was a tricky quest.

Whoosh.

Leonardo slid gracefully across the dirt path like a jaguar, catching the last chicken. His dynamic movements made his clothes cling to his body, briefly revealing the outline of his well-defined muscles before they disappeared again.

Looks like Leonardo Ertinez' body isn't as bad as I thought.

The letters wavered and appeared before my eyes.

[Scenario Sub Quest Achieved! – Catching the chickens that escaped from the coop (30/30)]

[Depending on achievement, Leonardo's reputation increases. Current reputation in Sinistra: 100 points. To meet the minimum required: +900 points.]

So, we have to repeat this at least nine more times? My eyes were twitching as I thought about it, and Leonardo approached with a refreshed expression. He said with a tone of contentment:

"This is actually quite the workout."

Oh, really? To you, fighting with chickens must have felt like some fantasy realm's standard drill, like running laps in a training yard, huh? I couldn't understand it. I gave him a tired, squinting look before shaking off the dust and standing up.

"Yeah, helping out is always good. It'll all come back to us eventually."

"Is there some deeper meaning behind catching chickens? That's surprising."

This guy, ever since I was humiliated, has he been looking at me as some easy target? With a playful tone in his voice, Leonardo was teasing me again. I muttered under my breath and flicked my hands, irritated.

The old man, looking at the fully packed chicken coop, smiled with deep wrinkles forming at the corners of his mouth and pulled out a small money pouch.

"Thank you, young man! Here, this is the remaining payment from the chickens I bought. Take it, and this is for the innkeeper too. I'll spread the word to my friends that the drinks at your inn are great, I promise. You all worked hard!"

The old man gave me a bundle of eggs neatly tied together with straw. I briefly thought about where these eggs came from, but then just silently accepted them. Since they were produced by lively chickens, the taste was probably good.

The old man also handed eggs to the market vendors as a gesture of apology, and with that, he tugged his cart and left. The street was finally starting to return to peace.

"Here."

Leonardo placed a small pouch of money on my palm. It wasn't too light, but not overly heavy either. I pushed the money pouch back toward him and declined.

"It's fine. You earned it with your labour."

"But I'm freeloading at your inn, aren't I? You also took me in without asking. I'm repaying you for your help, but is this not enough?"

"My kindness being paid back in money… it feels weird. I'll decline."

No, I won't take a single cent. Whether it's a material debt or an emotional one, you're going to owe me a lot. I need to accumulate those debts, like miles in a rewards program. Even if I spend my entire life repaying them, it still won't be enough. Only then can I at least become a supporting character.

The only "supporting character" I know right now, Vittorio, owes almost his life to Leonardo, doesn't he?

So, I'm going to get deeply entangled in your life for sure. Like a leech, I'll cling to you and push my role up to become the main character. Given the nature of this scenario, as the story progresses, it's highly likely that new characters will appear out of nowhere, so I need to put in safety measures to keep my role from being reduced to nothing.

Moreover, with the reliable copy bug, I don't even have to worry about my finances. I don't need money. Who would've thought I'd be saying such rich-person lines one day?

Leonardo, seeing me repeatedly refuse and quickly turn away, seemed a bit puzzled and tilted his eyebrows slightly. Then, as if he had remembered something, he suddenly said:

"Ah. I remember you saying last time that I'll need to pay for the information."

"Then… should I accept it as a request fee?"

"Yes, if that's alright?"

Honestly, it's difficult. Very difficult.

It's clear that Leonardo is hoping to buy information at this point. It must be about something related to his death—maybe the whereabouts of his subordinates who were arrested or went missing, or more information about the body of 'Leonardo Ertinez'.

The problem is that I can't answer any of his questions. The scenario area is limited to just the city of Sinistra, and the extent of information I can obtain is limited to that.

The world I'm faced with is barely a few kilometres around this city. If I were to argue it, there's probably no one more ignorant about this peculiar fictional world than I am. Being a suspicious innkeeper who also acts as an information broker isn't easy, and it left me with a dry mouth.

That said, outright refusing his request wouldn't make sense either. If the information broker doesn't sell information, the character would fall apart.

I put on a calm expression and gestured to Leonardo. It was my way of signaling that we should return to the inn.

When we returned to the inn, I found Vittorio, who had broken my earlier instruction to stay put and had done the dishes while we were away. I couldn't really scold him for ignoring my orders, since I knew full well how uncomfortable it must be to sit still without a home or money. I simply ruffled his hair.

"You did well, kid. Have some candy. But don't forget to brush your teeth after you eat it."

After handing him the candy, I went into my room and brought out a couple of sheets of paper. It was something I had written when I was trying to decide on the concept for the information guild earlier.

Sitting on a round table, I called out to Leonardo. He dragged a chair over and sat down. The tables had been flipped over after the cleanup from the previous night, so there were no available seats. One of us had to sit somewhere awkwardly for now.

Still, sitting like this makes our eye levels match, so it's comfortable. He might be a wild one, but when you look closely, it seems like 'Leonardo Ertinez' was quite blessed genetically. I hear he comes from a well-known noble family, so in some ways, it makes sense.

Anyway.

On the paper, I had drawn a pyramid chart. Starting from the top, S-class at the peak, and descending all the way down to the D-class at the bottom.

"There are two ways to buy information here. One is to sell the information you have and use that money to buy other information. The other is to purchase information with currency or valuable goods equivalent to the worth of the information you want."

I spread two fingers, then three more, and waved my palm slightly.

"Now, the value of information is classified based on the effort, currency, or rarity involved in obtaining it, ranging from S-class down to D-class in five levels. Based on the amount of money you're offering… D-class would be the best option. D-class information is like the gossip of a miller's son-in-law having an affair with someone. Nothing serious."

"…D-class still seems like it could cause a family to fall apart, though."

"Well, information is relative, right? For nobles, an affair or a ruler's secret dealings would be considered big news. But for someone in a quiet village, a love triangle like that is only valuable to the people involved."

I smiled and then looked at him.

"Now, tell me. What do you want to know?"

If I sense that answering is impossible, I'll have to quickly come up with an excuse to get out of this. Ready to chatter, I kept my gaze fixed on Leonardo, feeling tense.

But Leonardo didn't respond right away. Instead, he seemed to suddenly plunge into thought, a serious expression taking over. Slowly, he asked.

"You mentioned examples, so I'm curious. If the rarest are S-class, what kind of information would that be?"

"Well…"

Ah, he's biting the bait I wasn't even trying to cast. This is great for character development. I deliberately dragged out my answer, then gave a sly smile.

"An S-class secret would be something that could shake the world to its core."

In this world, if it's the scenario world, and you're the protagonist, and everyone's free will is controlled, wouldn't that be an S-class secret?

Oh, and the fact that you, Leonardo, are actually the soul of Leovald inside this body. That's probably S-class too.

"…Does that mean you already know all the secrets, since you're the one selling the information?"

"Oh. Does it sound like that's what it means?"

[Scenario Weight 5.08%]

Wow, it's going up smoothly.

Anyway, I didn't lie, right? Haha.