Luca arrived at the address sent by Bogus.He glanced around the area.

'Why does he want to meet in a place like this?'

Even though it was Sunday and many students had gone to Havok, this place was still bustling.

"Benny, are you doing well preparing for the Foundation Day?"

"You've got practicals coming up, so what are you doing here?"

"Same as you, senior~"

"Hey! First-year! Stop looking around and hurry up!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

He was in the club activities area.The last time he'd come, it was evening and there were few people, but now it was overflowing with people.

"Hey, over here."

"Hm?"

At that moment, someone brushed past him naturally, whispering in his ear as they went by.

But the voice and the fleeting glimpse of a face seemed completely different from the Bogus he knew.

'What the? Is this one of Bogus's underlings or something?'

He didn't really understand, but given the context, it was probably someone related to Bogus, so he followed behind.

They walked through the crowd for a while.

"Here, get inside quickly."

There were still people around, but they all seemed distracted by other things.

Taking advantage of the moment, the whispering person opened the door to what looked like a storage room and told him to go in.

Luca folded his arms and tilted his head.

"Why should I?"

"W-what?"

Surprised by Luca's sudden behavior, he looked flustered.

But Luca was unconcerned.

"I did follow you here, but why should I listen to you when I don't even know who you are?"

"It's me! Bogus!"

"And who is Bogus again?"

At Luca's attitude, Bogus broke out in a nervous sweat.

Thinking that standing here any longer would attract attention, he quickly pulled a student ID from his clothes.

"H-here, look!"

Vmmm! Vmmm!

When Bogus sent a signal, his modified student ID vibrated.

After checking it, Luca stepped into the storage room.

"Next time, prepare some kind of password in advance."

"O-oh, you're quite cautious. I thought you didn't care, coming here with your face uncovered and all..."

"Usually I couldn't care less, but I didn't like being told to come or go without any explanation, so I was just messing with you. Also, your face is different than last time, isn't it?"

As Luca spoke nonchalantly while closing the door, Bogus scratched his cheek.

"Of course I disguised myself. The first time we met, I was disguised too."

"Then tell me in advance next time. I assumed from the situation that it was you and followed along, but normally, I would have ignored you."

"That's my mistake, I got too excited."

Bogus shrugged his shoulders, and Luca clicked his tongue.

"Besides, if you're worried about being seen, why not just meet somewhere with fewer people? Too many people here."

"For someone as famous as you, that's actually more conspicuous. It's better to hide in a crowd. And besides, the people who gather here are all focused on their own things, not interested in others in the slightest."

Hide a tree in the forest. It was true enough.Luca nodded slowly.

"So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Wait. We need to go a little further."

Bogus began feeling around the floor of the storage room.

Tsk! Clank!

There was the sound of a button, and the floor opened up to reveal stairs.

"Let's go."

"Why does this damn academy have so many secret spaces?"

"That's why it's the continent's number one academy."

After the joke, the underground passage ended in a surprisingly spacious office filled with mountains of papers and several students with glasses.

"Welcome to my 'Odds and Ends Club'!"

"... Odds and Ends Club?"

"That's what we call it. The official name is the Magazine Information Gathering Club. Sometimes we put together the 'Hernan Academy Side Stories' magazine with random information we collect."

After greeting the other students, Bogus led Luca to a sofa.

"Want something to drink?"

"Water is fine."

"Ho~ So guarded, you won't even share the smallest info. Impressive."

It sounded like a misunderstanding, but Luca didn't see any need to correct him.Without touching the glass of water Bogus offered, he spoke.

"Shall we get to the point already?"

"It hasn't been spiked or anything, you know."

"I'll drink if I feel like it. Don't worry."

Seeing how wary Luca was, Bogus shrugged.

"I get it. We're not at the stage of complete trust yet."

"You talk too much."

At Luca's icy words, Bogus pouted.

"... Thanks to you, I got a chance to grow my business."

"All that just over that little piece of information?"

"It was a lucky convergence of many things. People were always curious about Luca Traverse. It's just that rumors were holding them back."

Making himself comfortable on the sofa, Bogus leaned back.

"But when I sold information about your tastes in women, I also threw in proof that those rumors weren't true. Then people who'd been hesitating suddenly got very interested in you!"

"Hmph, no wonder I've been getting bothered by annoyances lately."

"The point is, you gave my information credibility."

"Credibility?"

"Yeah. You accepted every duel request you got recently, didn't you?"

Luca Traverse, at his core, wouldn't refuse a legitimate duel, so he had indeed accepted them all.

"As a result, my info was seen as reliable. A lot more people have come to me."

Seeing Bogus's excited expression, Luca could already guess what he'd say next.

"You want more information about me, don't you?"

"That's right! Your tastes are now public knowledge, and some slightly twisted rumors are going around, but that's fine."

"I don't think it's fine."

Ignoring Luca's curt remark, Bogus pulled out his magic power terminal.

"What matters is new information about you. Other informants are after info about you, but what you can observe in public has limited value. Private info is much more valuable."

"Such as?"

"Favorite foods, preferred clothing brands, and although your taste in women is already known to some extent, there are plenty who want more detailed information."

Bogus's eyes gleamed.

"Besides that, what kind of person were you back in your territory, why did you attend the last Granf family party, and what's your relationship with Pasmo Ti-e, who you danced with there? There are endless requests."

"A lot of people seem to enjoy gossip."

"The important thing is, that kind of thing has value."

Bogus waved his magic terminal.

"Luca Traverse, this is what I love. Powerful nobles being led around by information gained by people with no special ability or talent."

"And you say that to a noble, right to my face?"

"You're different. For some reason, you see us differently from other nobles."

A look. Whatever Bogus's true background, he probably meant the way most nobles view commoners.

'I did live in the modern world, after all.'

Knowingly or not, it might have affected him.

"See? A regular noble would have strangled me on the spot whether I was an upperclassman or not, but you're staying calm."

"Is that what you want?"

"You even joke around. Isn't this good enough?"

Watching Bogus's confident demeanor, Luca gave a faint smile.

"Pretty bold. I like that. But there's still one thing that bothers me."

"What is it?"

"From how you're talking, it sounds like you want to be my ally, but should I make someone my ally when I don't even know their face?"

Hearing that, Bogus's face stiffened slightly.

"Do you... want to see my real face...?"

"It's not about whether I want to see it or not. It's about trust. Would you trust someone if you didn't even know their face?"

"......"

At the mention of trust, Bogus fell silent for a moment.

"... If I show you my face, will you trust me?"

"Who knows. The face you show me could be a fake, after all."

"Haha. So you're just saying you won't trust me."

Bogus burst out laughing, and Luca replied flatly.

"Just means you don't have to show it if you don't want to. I still don't think we're at the point where we can trust each other. Would you trust someone you've only dealt with once?"

"I feel like I could trust you."

"Maybe. But I can't trust you. People who just say what the other wants to hear are rarely trustworthy."

He drew a line.

He liked Bogus's style.He liked what he said.But it wasn't credible.

"What you say could be true. But I have no way to confirm it. Did you think I was someone who'd be taken in by nice-sounding words?"

He was not the naive Ottbo, nor Milia, whose thoughts he largely understood.Unlike the main characters, or even supporting characters he knew, he couldn't just trust some stranger whose background was a mystery.

"I'll say it again. Can we get to the main point now?"

At Luca's cold words, Bogus raised his hands.

"Okay. I admit, I got too ahead of myself. I just really didn't want to miss this chance."

"Chance, huh. I've been wondering: why is info about me so valuable that you'd call it an opportunity? Someone really important wants it, don't they?"

"......"

Bogus slowly met Luca's eyes.A brief moment of hesitation—but he soon realized it was pointless.

'He must have figured it out.'

Now he understood Luca wasn't like a normal student. He would have figured out by now why he was seen as valuable.

There was no point in continuing this psychological game.

"You're right. Someone of really high status wants your information."

"Someone that high-ranking is at the academy?"

"There are several. But the one you'd be most concerned about is..."

After a short pause, Bogus said,

"... Tesna Jimus, the highest-ranking figure in the 3rd Prince's faction currently at the academy."

"... Huh. Interesting."

Luca twisted his lips slightly.

'So the Third Prince is interested in me.'

He could more or less guess why.

When he rescued Milia, word must have gotten out.

In this world of magic and spirits, it was impossible to perfectly erase information.

But no matter how powerful the Third Prince was, he wouldn't want to mention that event directly.

So, for now, they were merely gathering information as a preliminary move.

"Of course, other than Tesna Jimus, there are plenty of people interested in you. That's why I want to use your information as the foundation for new info products."

"Fine. I'll answer everything you want to know here today. But in return..."

"I know what you're about to say. You want information about Tesna Jimus, right?"

Bogus seemed to have anticipated that much and nodded. Luca replied without emotion.

"Not just that—I'd also like you to dig up some information on Pasmo Ti-e."

"Huh... I can do that, but why...?"

"......"

At his question, Luca smacked his lips.

"We went in circles, but that's really my main goal."

The very reason he'd come here was to get information on Pasmo.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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