He shook his head, his lips pouting as if to say, "This is ridiculous.

"Mr. Nines, you have contacts in the autonomous cities in the east, right?

"No.

　Mr. Nines sat back in his chair and kept his lips shut as if he wanted to change the subject. As if to indicate that he had no intention of talking anymore. I guess that's what it means to be helpless. Of course, I had expected this to some extent.

"Lugis. You haven't forgotten, have you? For those who have left the orphanage, please visit .......

"The orphanage won't give you a hand. Of course I remember, I've heard it so much I've got calluses on my ears.

　Pointing deliberately to his own ear, he sits down in his chair, as does Mr. Nines.

　The orphanage only protects those who belong to the orphanage. That's the iron law of this place.

　Those who have left the orphanage, whether by subcontracting or otherwise, are no longer protected. They may enjoy the past a little, or borrow it for a night's sleep, but they are not to rely on its help.

　If you do that, you will lose faith in the orphanage. If a person sold to a brothel escapes and the orphanage eventually protects him, it is a betrayal of the contractor.

　There are more reasons. In the backstreets of King's Landing, there are not only orphanages, but also those who run the brothels, those who control the rogues, and a wide variety of other ways of life and organizations to suit them.

　And all of them are connected to the orphanage. Brothels take in women and those who can do the math, and those who are strong are taken in as bouncers.

　If the orphanage has a direct connection not only with the organization, but also with the people who were recruited. The orphanage itself would become too powerful. Then, other organizations would not be able to overlook the orphanage.

　Therefore, the orphanage must remain a special zone that cannot be touched because of its weakness, and on the other hand, it must remain a neutral zone that maintains non-interference.

I guess that's what it means. I've heard it like a fool, along with Alueno.

Then I think we're done here, kid. No matter how much trouble you're in, I can't reach out to you as the master of the orphanage.

　Mr. Nines' expression hardens as his purple eyes narrow and his body refuses to listen. You're absolutely right. There's no way to argue with that. That's not what I'm here to talk about.

Exactly. That's why I didn't come here to foolishly ask the owner of the orphanage to protect me. That's not what I meant.

　He gets up from his chair and puts his hands on the table, looking down at Mr. Nines, who remains seated. Mr. Nines blinked his eyelids, as if he was surprised by my attitude.

　I have no power. I have no wisdom or education. The only education I have is what I learned at the orphanage. I don't have the oratory skills to persuade others, and I'm not shameless enough to talk about morality now.

　So I have to use the weapons that I have. That is.

"I'm here to make a deal with you, Mr. Nines. Equal.

　The weapon I have is knowledge. Yes, I have to stand with Kalia Vadnick, Richard's grandfather, and Mr. Nines with the knowledge I once had of this time.

"...... Lugis. Last time, I'll tell you. A deal is a deal between two people who have something they need.

　Sighing deeply, Mr. Nines rambles on. It's as if he were trying to teach a young child the way of things.

"You're looking for a message. But I'm not looking for anything. I'm content. That's why there's no such thing as a deal.

No, of course not. You see, Mr. Nines is not a moving corpse, he's a living person.

　I raised my palm on the table as if to eat the edge of my words.

　I could hear the sound of his breath catching. Even the sounds of nature seemed to fade away, except for that one moment of Mr. Nines' astonishment.

　Her purple hair swayed, and though she was probably trying not to look upset, her eyes and body language were clearly different than usual.

　Under my hand was an engraved ring.

　The one worn by the man in the helmet who attacked me and Kalia Vadnick.

　I thought it might be useful for something, but it's hard to describe how I feel when I have to use it to deal with someone who's almost like a family member.

What's up with the ...... ring. I don't know if you're fishing for money. I don't know if you're trying to get money out of me, but it's not worth a d*mn.

　The voice was already back to the usual Mr. Nines. He sounded uninterested. Acting like it's no big deal. Make it sound like it's not worth anything.

"Yeah, it's not for sale. Do you know this mark?　It's an old-school heraldry thing.

　The engraving on the ring. He points to the emblem on the ring and lists the facts that Mr. Nines would know, one by one. The purple eyes blinked.



I don't care if it's the truth of the matter or not,......, but the person who had it was a squad leader with a decent amount of weapons and a horse. I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

　A chill hangs in the air of the orphanage.

　We have to be patient. There's no point in letting them know that we're impatient. We must not show our weakness. Just tell them it's there, that's all.

　As if prompted by Mr. Nines' words, I swallowed my spit once and continued to speak.

No, I don't know what I'm going to do. If I tell this story to the guild - if I was the only one who was attacked, but even Kalia Vadnick was there. I thought, "Well, the hunt for the Old Ones is about to begin, isn't it?

　Yes, no matter what the truth is, it doesn't matter if I'm the only one who was attacked. The lowly common people don't deserve to have their say, and they don't deserve to be used. But not Kalia Vadnick. A noble, if fallen, family, knightly. And at the time of the attack, he was a member of the Order, a knight without a doubt.

　All you have to do is get her to talk. Once the word gets out, people will assume that she was attacked by the Old Ones and was forced to leave the Order as a result. It's easy for them to judge.

　Then, the rest is easy. Complaints of recession and heavy taxes. In the name of security. In the name of maintaining order. In the name of the upper class being attacked. The kingdom will happily hunt the old guard. I can assure you of that.

　--Because the hunt for the old guard and the conflict between the old guard and King's Landing actually existed. In the future as I know it.

Lugis. Why did you bring this up to me?

　I stopped speaking. After a moment of silence, Mr. Nines, his eyes downcast, spoke up.

It's just that Mr. Nines is a man who values the ancient faith. It's a conscience that makes me want to help out as much as I can.

　It's like having a conversation with the tip of your sword, or the edge of your words.

　You know your situation, but you are wise enough to avoid saying so. Make them think that. It's as if you're offering your will, as if you're not the enemy, this is just a transaction.

　After a few moments, a big sigh fell out of his mouth.

"Good. You've become a good man, Lugis.

I'm glad to hear it. I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Nines, of all people.

　In the event that you have any questions concerning where and how to use the internet, you can call us at the web site.

I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I've seen it before. Citizenship, if possible - two, just in case.

"All right. I've got plenty of contacts in the autonomous cities. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but I'll make the call. So, Lugis. What do you have to offer me?

　Mr. Nines' words were an immediate answer. To be honest, citizenship of a self-governing city is not something that can be acquired easily. He was telling me that the Old Ones had their hands in it, too.

　I fumbled with the ring in my hand and spoke.

"Destroy or give away the ring. And I'm moving ...... Caria Vadnick to a self-governing city. No more evidence, no more witnesses, two birds with one stone.

"I see.

　"I see," chuckled Mr. Nines, his throat quivering with amusement.

"You've become a really nice guy, Lugis - you'll get your citizenship for sure.

　He smiled with a kind of seductiveness that I have never seen in an orphanage before.

　Now, the two prerequisites for dragging the woman out were in place. All that remains is the means of execution.

　I breathed a deep sigh of relief inwardly that I had managed to negotiate two difficult issues.