IGBDS 10

Chapter 10

‘Their hearts must have dropped.’

The staff member’s face was exactly like that.

“I apologize. I’ll bring the general manager and the seller.”

He bolted from the room and returned before long with the people he’d mentioned.

The general manager knelt immediately alongside the staff member. He’d clearly recognized Cressida at once.

The one who’d come with them, presumed to be the seller, hurriedly followed the general manager’s lead.

“I apologize, my lady.”

“P-please forgive us…”

I studied the seller closely.

Trousers so short the ankles were fully exposed, and a suit equally tight in the fit.

It looked awkward, exactly like someone wearing clothes borrowed from another person.

Meanwhile, Cressida presented the identity badge she’d brought to the general manager.

“Check it.”

“No, that won’t be necessary—I failed to recognize you. I’m truly sor—”

“The world has advanced a great deal.”

“With magic and alchemy, hair, face, voice… even body type can be changed to whatever one wishes.”

Complete freedom of physical transformation.

Dyes and voice-altering potions were common on the market and their production methods widely known, but changing one’s face and body type had long been considered close to impossible.

Then last year, a single potion released by the Magic Tower shattered that common sense entirely.

Short duration, high price, and side effects that followed.

Despite all those drawbacks, its wondrous efficacy led people to call it the “miracle drug.”

“What I changed was only my voice, but the point is that an era has arrived where we can no longer judge people by appearance alone. For me to exercise power over you as Cressida, it’s only proper that I also clearly prove that I am myself.”

Because of the miracle drug, criminals in the empire could no longer be identified by looks and body type alone.

‘That’s why impersonating high nobles became so rampant.’

Just like this seller, busy bowing his head while hiding his true appearance.

Naturally, nobles protested vehemently, but the Magic Tower didn’t stop selling it.

In the end, the imperial palace had to create new identity badges that were difficult to forge.

“So I’ll check it.”

“Y-yes…”

The general manager took the badge with trembling hands.

Only then did Cressida smile.

“If someone pretends to be a noble, never believe them unless they show their badge.”

“Understood.”

“Now get up. It seems we need to have a proper conversation.”

I gazed at her intently.

Cressida is a remarkable person.

I’d thought so several times in past loops, and that impression hadn’t changed much even now.

Consistent, honorable, someone who doesn’t break the principles she’s set for herself…

If protagonists like in novels really exist in this world, would they be people like this?

“What is it? Staring at someone like that isn’t polite, Maze.”

“Yeah. I looked because you were cool.”

“What are you saying in a situation like this—”

Cressida scolded me quietly, but with her face bright red, it wasn’t frightening at all.

To have that kind of personality and be unable to hide her embarrassment—and even be so human on top of it. That’s not easy.

‘As expected, getting close to her won’t get me stabbed in the back.’

From what I can see, if anyone’s doing the stabbing, it’d be me—I don’t think I’ll be the one getting stabbed.

“Now then, speak.”

While I was lost in idle thoughts, Cressida was diligently digging for information.

The seller, tempted by the promise of a large sum if he consigned the item to the auction house on behalf of someone else without knowing what the necklace really was.

The general manager, who’d agreed to take double the usual commission in exchange for keeping the item out of the catalog.

Both could be charged with crimes if one wanted to press the matter, but the real culprit was someone else, so we decided to focus on punishing him instead.

“If you help catch the thief, I won’t pursue charges against you for this matter, and I’ll guarantee compensation as well. What do you say?”

Being on Cressida’s bad side and punished for dealing in stolen goods versus catching the thief.

Faced with a proposal that offered no real choice, they didn’t even hesitate.

“If you show us such generosity, we’ll do our utmost to help…”

Things worked out more easily than expected.

Darren Molden had thought everything was going terribly wrong when some nouveau riche stranger appeared and snatched up his item.

He’d planned all of this, and now someone had ruined it…!

Still, what improved his mood somewhat was that the bank had readily lent him a large sum.

Originally he’d planned to use Cressida’s name—explaining that he was merely covering the payment on her behalf and could repay it quickly.

But unexpectedly, the moment the clerk heard his name, they’d startled and processed the transaction immediately.

‘Right, our family is nothing to sneeze at.’

And so he returned to the auction house with the enormous sum of one hundred fifty million Sern in hand.

“Oh, you’ve come? The lady is waiting in the reception room.”

“Hm? Yes, lead the way.”

Following the staff member, Molden felt a subtle sense of unease but dismissed it as his imagination.

‘I must be too nervous.’

It was the first time he’d spent this kind of money, even if it wasn’t his own, so it made sense.

But he soon changed his mind. Once he became the son-in-law of the Cressida family, this kind of money would soon be nothing.

When he entered the reception room, the other party was sitting alone.

Had the companion who’d been with her stepped out?

“Aren’t you a little late?”

But why does that woman keep speaking down to me?

I’m not someone who gets spoken down to wherever I go, am I?

He sat down across from the woman and immediately pulled the promissory note from his coat.

“Here is the money as promised. And now you’d better show some proper courtesy.”

He placed the note on the table ostentatiously and crossed his arms.

It was an appeal to be treated as an equal now, but the other party seemed not to understand.

“We won’t be seeing each other again anyway, so let’s not bother with the hassle and just complete the transaction.”

“Tch… Show me the item first.”

At the woman’s gesture, the staff member brought the necklace and set it down.

Only then did Molden realize something was off about this situation. The auction house’s staff member was moving like the woman’s lackey, wasn’t he?

Come to think of it, even earlier they’d been oddly protective of her.

‘Wait, are these people in cahoots?’

Some low-quality auction houses reportedly planted people posing as buyers to drive up prices…

“You don’t need to check the item?”

“…I will.”

Once he began to suspect, everything somehow felt suspicious…

Molden examined the item closely. Down to the subtle scratch marks on the pendant, it was the very one he’d brought.

But somehow he couldn’t shake the feeling of being deceived. Molden kept his hand on the promissory note and hesitated for a moment.

“But still, spending one hundred fifty million on a single necklace is a bit—”

“Then don’t buy it. I’ll just sell it to someone else.”

The moment she finished speaking, the staff member snatched the necklace from Molden’s hand, put it back in the box, and pushed it toward the woman.

The whole sequence was so fast it couldn’t have happened unless someone was being threatened.

“…That’s not what I meant.”

“Is it true that this item’s original owner is Lady Cressida?”

At that single sentence, all of Molden’s thoughts ground to a halt. Then they began to turn again, creaking.

How? Her information network is that good? Or did she know in advance?

If she was in league with the auction house, there’d have been plenty of time to investigate. That’s why she set that price…

“Did you think I’d just sit idle while you fetched the money? I’ve already summoned Lady Cressida. After all, the person you were going to hand it over to was her anyway—so I’ll just deal with her directly.”

“I’ll buy it.”

Molden made his decision immediately. If Cressida was coming, there was no time.