Honestly, it wasn’t a very pleasant face.
Which made it even harder to read.
Either way, the whole situation felt deeply unsettling.
“Is His Highness the Young Duke close with the Guild Master?”
“Hmm. You could say we’re close. Or more precisely, it’s a relationship we can’t avoid.”
“Because he’s from Kazliden?”
“Yes. As you know, he’s the master of this district. If you want to do business, you have to be very clear about who’s above and below you.”
In other words, it meant they had formed ties with Kazliden for the sake of stable business.
“I’ve heard the relationship goes back to the previous generation as well.”
“So it’s a longstanding connection.”
“Exactly.”
Rothen smiled brightly, as if confirming it.
‘…This is bad.’
If that’s the case, it means I’ll inevitably run into him often as long as I keep coming to work here.
And there was no way someone of Kazliden’s standing would be received in some side reception room. He could probably reach the sixth floor in no time at all…
‘If I’m not careful, I’ll get dragged into this too.’
I was hiding it for now, but if we kept meeting like this, who knew what might happen.
He might try to learn my abilities and bind me to him—or even recruit me to the ducal house.
My ability was rare enough that neither outcome was impossible.
“Has he left already?”
At my question, Rothen checked the clock.
It was exactly 5:00 p.m.
“Yes. He should have left by now.”
“Then I’ll get going too.”
“Good work today. To think you’ve already made this many potions…”
Rothen’s gaze swept over the potions lined up across the desk. Four bottles in total. Compared to the beginning—when making even one had been a struggle—it was a massive improvement.
Even I could tell it was impressive, but Rothen looked even more shocked, his mouth hanging open.
“Is it really that impressive?”
“Of course! Even for high-grade potions, making just one a day puts the whole guild in celebration mode.”
Now I understood why Gilbert had insisted on recruiting me. Rothen was unusually animated as he spoke.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I cleared my throat and finished the cake in front of me. Just as I stood up, something came to mind.
“Rothen, Benson earlier seemed like he recognized me.”
We were meeting for the first time—at least, that’s what I thought—but Benson had acted like he’d already heard about me.
Rothen’s eyes widened as if something had just clicked.
“Oh! I should have explained earlier. Lady Amelia will be coming and going here frequently from now on, won’t she?”
“Well, yes…”
I felt a little guilty, since I had actually been planning to sneak away at one point.
“Because the building is so large, there are a great many people working here. Staff at the entrance—and myself included—will see you often, so we recognize your face.”
“So other people won’t?”
“Yes. That’s why we’ve shared basic identifying information with the guild and merchant groups. It just makes it easier to request assistance or supplies if something is needed later.”
“Basic information…?”
Naturally, it didn’t include anything sensitive. Just appearance, name, and age.
“So you don’t need to worry about your safety. Everyone knows you’re a specially appointed talent of the Guild Master.”
“I see.”
So that’s why Benson had acted like he knew me.
Either way, it didn’t seem like anything harmful would come of it. And for practical movement, having at least minimal information shared actually benefited me.
“Please take care on your way back. Shall I escort you downstairs?”
“No, it’s fine. I should memorize the route anyway.”
Rothen had originally been Gilbert’s subordinate. As his direct aide, he must already be extremely busy.
It felt wrong to make him escort me just because I didn’t know the way.
I gently pushed away Rothen, who looked like he was about to follow me, and quickly headed down the stairs.
‘Still, it’s a relief the layout is simple.’
I had taken the stairs today to look around, but apparently there were warp gates originally.
With those, travel was much faster. I planned to get used to the building today and use them properly starting tomorrow.
As I descended, a sudden commotion reached my ears.
“…?”
I instinctively looked down.
A group of people had gathered below.
‘What is that?’
They didn’t look like staff. Several rough-looking individuals were clustered together.
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I scanned the surroundings and grabbed a passing employee.
“What’s going on down there?”
The employee, recognizing me immediately, spoke up.
“Oh, we’ve just taken custody of people from an illegal fighting pit. They’re the ones we brought in.”
“An illegal fighting pit?”
I asked in surprise, and the employee explained kindly.
“The Proud fighting arena is infamous for its brutality. So the Guild Master occasionally conducts raids. It looks like today’s raid just brought in another group.”
“I see…”
“Still, today is relatively calm. Usually, people from the arena are heavily brainwashed, so they resist quite violently.”
That made sense. I had heard of Proud’s fighting arena before.
A “human hell.”
Not beasts fighting beasts, but humans tearing into each other. A place where only the strong survived—it truly deserved the name of hell.
People were forced to fight endlessly until death. It wasn’t somewhere a sane person could survive.
After thanking the employee, I leaned slightly over the railing again. For some reason, I couldn’t stop looking.
As I scanned the area, something dark caught my eye.
“…?”
Black hair, messy and overgrown, obscured most of the face—but beneath it, the eyes were strikingly sharp.
And dangerous. Like they could kill someone at any moment.
“Hm.”
But why did he feel so familiar?
Where had I seen him before?
I hadn’t even attended high society after my possession, and my family had collapsed soon after—I hadn’t had the chance to meet anyone.
So this should be a first encounter.
“…?”
As if sensing my gaze, the boy looked up.
And the moment our eyes met—
His body tilted.
He slipped.
“Ah—?!”
He tried to regain his balance quickly, but it was the stairs. One wrong step and bones would shatter instantly.
And below—
So many people!
No—!
I still had to come here often! I did NOT need this kind of dramatic introduction!
I hurriedly tried to cast magic—
“Ugh?!”
Something solid slammed directly into my front.
Ow—my nose!
What—what just hit me?!
I instinctively rubbed my forehead against whatever I had collided with.
And then I felt it—
The “wall” that had caught me tremble.
“…Huh?”
A wall… trembling?
Before I could make sense of it, a firm arm wrapped around my waist.
“Hey.”
A pair of arrogant eyes swept over me sharply.
“You trying to die or something?”
