C101
"I thought I was reading some kind of idol profile."
Because the information I bought from the Information Guild praised Isidor much more than the material the Master had researched.
"The Master surprisingly showed himself very polished."
[If you haven't witnessed Sir Isidor's appearance in real life yet, I would like to say you've missed out. Please note that he has been seen frequently in the Magic Faculty lately! Also, I can't help but mention Sir Isidor's fashion sense... (omitted).]
It was a material covered in praise text as if an agency had paid for it.
Everyone sells what they know for 500 gold. I'd rather run an information guild.
The part where he had never caused controversy in the social world was even underlined in red.
Isn't he a shining light himself?
While I was surprised that there was such a perfect person in the world, I stopped in the second half of the article.
"Secret rumors are circulating that Sir Isidor has mysophobia. In fact, he rarely appears in crowded places or private events, and always wears gloves... (omitted)."
The moment I saw that phrase, I realized I had never seen Isidor's bare hands.
"Even in summer, he wears thin cotton gloves."
Also, an image of him playing the piano with gloves crossed my mind.
As a knight, I can understand him wearing gloves in the summer to cover calluses on his hands.
However, I thought it was unusual to wear gloves while playing the piano.
"If it were me, I would have taken them off for a moment because it would be frustrating."
When a few circumstances came to mind, the content from the Information Guild felt quite credible.
"The Master is not someone who would omit information that even common guilds know..."
Either the information was intentionally omitted, or it was left out because it was just a rumor, or it was one of the two situations.
"If it's the former, did he expect me not to know that information? Why?"
Of course, it could be the latter.
In the Information Guild, there is no definitive information, only conjecture based on circumstances and rumors.
"Do I have to take off Isidor's gloves to discover the truth? ... But touching without permission is a crime."
Mysophobia also has a variety of symptoms.
They may be reluctant to make contact with other people or reluctant to be exposed to dirty environments.
"I feel like I'm falling into a maze."
While I was lost in my thoughts, the Master lightly tossed a coin into the air, and I snapped back to reality.
"Where did you get this tea? I think it will sell well."
"It will be difficult to sell these tea leaves because the unit price is not economical."
He said as he placed the gold coin face up on the table.
"Is that all? How much?"
"...the price changes every year."
The fact that the market price is not set means that the production volume is small and valuable.
He received precious tea as a gift from Sir Isidor.
He always gives him many things.
I sighed and put the glass jar with the tea leaves back into the pocket of my robe.
If an appropriate excuse ever came up, I felt like I would have to repay him for receiving such a precious gift.
"Master, do you know what Sir Isidor likes? It seems like you have a lot of information about high-ranking nobles."
"...You can ask him yourself."
"If you ask the recipient in advance, it won't be fun."
"The Princess may be a little less fun, as she often acts closer to the audience."
I waved my hands in front of his tired gaze.
I guess my act of throwing out false bait to catch Emmanuelle seemed a little reckless to him when he saw it.
"I did it because I had a good chance of winning. And I did. High risk, high reward. Don't you know that?"
The Master, who looked at me in silence, took five gold coins from the table and placed them on the already high tower of gold coins.
"Princess Deborah, who has it all, moves so fiercely, so I have to work even harder."
"Yes. My goals are much higher."
When I heard that he would work hard to help the business, I bragged about it.
Not bad. Because I wasn't even halfway to 10 billion.
The tall tower that the Master had built with gold coins looked like it was about to collapse.
"But, Master, don't you have too much money to count? It's not even worth earning more."
"No matter how much I accumulate, I've never gotten tired of it... until now."
"You mean you're not anymore?"
"No way. I really like gold. It makes me feel good every time I see it. As if it's engraved in my instincts."
He made a genuinely old-fashioned comment and stroked Cookie's back, who was sound asleep.
"Cookie looks tired today."
"I've been hunting outside for the past few days."
While watching Cookie, who moved and turned slightly, I squinted my eyes.
While still thinking about Isidor's hands, the Master's large hand, which unknowingly stroked Cookie, caught my attention clearly.
Now that I think about it, I've never seen him without gloves.
Of course, the Master and Isidor are different. The Master must be trying to hide his fingerprints or avoid revealing his identity while working in the shadows.
"I think he'd look good playing the piano because he has large hands..."
But why do I keep thinking like a pervert?
"Cough cough! I'm leaving."
I jumped up and went back home.
-----------------------
The group academic conferences of various social clubs had concluded.
And <Epsilon> held a large-scale post-conference party to commemorate the successful completion of the academic conference.
There were also members from other social clubs who were invited by acquaintances, so <Epsilon>'s Fraternity House was filled with young nobles.
A variety of snacks were prepared in the hall, and the guests gathered one by one with cocktail glasses and began chatting about various things.
The person who was talked about the most, of course, was the leader of <Epsilon>, Sir Isidor.
Last year, Isidor used to leave the capital due to territorial issues in the south, so it was the first time he appeared before everyone in public.
"Will Sir Isidor come here tonight?"
"Well, he's the leader, but it's hard to see his face."
There was a famous anecdote in which the Crown Prince forcibly handed over the leadership of <Epsilon> to Isidor, who refused to attend frequently.
This was why Philap, who was known for having <Epsilon> in mind, suddenly became the leader of <Omicron>.
Because Philap couldn't stand being under someone.
"By the way, it seems that Omicron is skipping the post-conference party."
"It's a shame."
"Princess Emmanuelle was always in charge of the party, so there's no one to take care of the party."
"I never thought that Princess Deborah and Princess Emmanuelle would have such a sharp dispute in public."
"It would have been unimaginable last year."
Politically brilliant Princess Emmanuelle, and Princess Deborah, the shame of Seymour, weren't even comparable.
"Princess Deborah may have been recognized in the tower, but she didn't have much presence in public, but this time Princess Emmanuelle helped her."
On every occasion, Princess Emmanuelle skillfully manipulated public opinion, but she was carried away by Princess Deborah's pace and hit rock bottom.
In <Epsilon>, the atmosphere was pleasant, and in <Omicron>, it was belatedly said that Princess Deborah had set a trap.
However, it is typical of the social circle for conversations with swords in the tongue to abound, and all kinds of intriguing tricks to play a role.
Falling into a trap was a sign of stupidity, and nobles were not very tolerant of losers.
However, the atmosphere of "do not touch Princess Deborah" had become stronger than before.
"That's impressive."
"There."
"Hyuk."
Soon, when the main character of the gossip appeared, the inside of the hall suddenly became quiet as if someone had died.
Princess Deborah was wearing a high-quality violet silk dress.
The asymmetrical style emphasized her unique aura, and although it was frightening, you could hardly take your eyes off her.
The princess, who had her hair pulled up high, which emphasized her sharp impression, slowly crossed the hall alone, approached the window, and crossed her arms.
Soon she frowned and waved her fan, and a deep silence descended as the wide neck of her sleeve slipped down, revealing her tattoo.
In Azutea, tattoos are favored by monks with strong beliefs or militant mercenaries.
They didn't know what kind of beliefs Princess Deborah had, but they couldn't keep their mouths shut, thinking that it was very unconventional.
----------------------
Suddenly, many eyes were on me, so I became flustered and sweaty.
I waved my fan back and forth to cool off.
"It was my first party, so I was looking forward to it a bit..."
There was no one familiar inside the hall.
I arrived too early.
Even so, I'm lucky to have Margaret.
I quickly took a sip of the champagne that Margaret had served me to relieve the tension.
The feeling of tightness in her stomach improved a little.
I opened my fan and looked around, hoping the Fifth Princess would appear, until I locked eyes with a young lady.
