Leaving Nilfheim Manor, Esther and I walked through the streets of the city.
"Young Master, by a little trip, did you mean a trip to Balmont's Black Market?"
"Yes."
"I see."
"Are you upset, expecting me to take you on the honeymoon to an Empire island resort in the East Sea?"
"No, what good is a vacation like this? I've always wanted to visit Balmont's Black Market."
Judging from her tone, it didn't sound like flattery to her Master, but rather her true feelings.
"They say even the rats there have gold teeth. Can it be true?"
...Her whisper to herself gave away some of her thoughts.
"By the way, Esther, if it becomes necessary to address me from now on, address me as Mr. Wolf."
"All right, Mr. Wolf. But what is it?"
Esther is as quick as ever to grasp, I thought.
"Those are our code names we might need at the Black Market. I don't think we'll be socializing there much, but just in case."
Yeah, just in case. In the place we were going, we couldn't leave even a shred of personal information behind. Otherwise, the rats living there would spread it all over Balmont tomorrow, and the day after that, all over the Empire.
"To avoid any confusion, I'm going to call you Maiden."
"...Can I choose another code name?"
"No."
I slipped my hand into my pocket and a moment later a pure gold coin glistened in the air.
Flick!
She caught it deftly with her mouth, as gracefully as before.
No, really, how does she do it?
"You know, I've been thinking and I find that name quite fitting for me. You're very creative, Mr. Wolf."
"Thank you."
After walking a few streets, alternating between dark and light alleys, we reached the right place.
"Here we go."
Putting on the black cloaks, I held out a mask to Esther and then put on another one myself, matching our chosen roles.
Putting the finishing touches on our preparations, the two of us entered the bar.
For a moment all eyes fell on us, but they soon returned to their past endeavors.
For the record, it was a special themed bar where many people wore masks, so we didn't look like idiots.
Masks of the Lion, the Goblin, the Clown... and a host of others were around.
Ignoring them all, I crossed the entire hall and walked right up to the worn bar counter.
"What do you want, sir?"
The middle-aged bartender turned to me, continuing to clean the large beer glass in his hands.
"When the last sunset falls upon the land, the eternal sun of the Empire will be gone."
"...Excuse me?"
"Where there is no light left in the sky, the True Heir will awaken."
"I'm going to call security..."
Remembering every word of the code that the Black Market in Balmont was supposed to use, I continued.
"A new Star of Destruction will rise into the sky."
"Damn, I should ask for a raise for these perpetual drunks..."
"The Star of Chaos and Change."
"..."
The bartender set the glass in his hands aside.
"...You have passed, Sir."
The man coughed awkwardly, averting his gaze.
What kind of bastard comes up with a security passcode like that?
The bartender was embarrassed. I was embarrassed. Esther, who heard it, was embarrassed, too.
So, the embarrassed trio of us continued our journey deep into the bar, following the bartender.
The Black Market was a common occurrence not only here in Balmont, but throughout the Eternal Sun Empire.
Rather than the rottenness of the Empire, this place could be called its downside.
Something that was always hidden in the shadows, but influenced the entire light world.
Something that everyone knew about, but few dared to speak of.
Many deals between the big shots of this Empire were conducted here, deciding the future of this world.
It was the dark side of the Empire, the Black Market.
"Behind that door will be the one you seek."
The bartender walked us to a room downstairs before returning behind his bar.
Opening the door, my companion and I entered the small room.
Only one hunchbacked Dwarf man sat there, pouring tea into mugs.
"Dung Beetle."
A trace of surprise flashed across his face at my words as he raised his head.
"Oh, oh? I guess our guests have met me already? I'm honored."
Among information merchants, Dung Beetle had its notoriety.
Rumor had it that he was nicknamed Dung Beetle for his phenomenal ability to gather dirty information.
...Though having met him in person, I was more inclined to think the reason was in his face.
As soon as we sat down across from him, he smiled with all his 32 gold teeth and rubbed his hands together in a businesslike manner.
"Hehehe, why have my much-admired guests come to this humble abode of knowledge and wisdom today?"
"..."
His voice was cutting, and his caustic laughter seemed to test my patience.
"Perhaps a cup of tea would suit you for starters."
He slid the cups of tea toward us.
"We don't drink."
Moving the cups away from Esther and me, I moved on to the main topic.
"You must help me find two humans. Two Dark Elf slaves to be exact."
Normally I wouldn't be so direct about everything, preferring to check out the other side, but Dung Beetle, despite his unpleasant personality, was a proven man.
"One of them is a young man, looks to be no more than 20, the other is a girl, looks to be about 14-15 years old."
"Uh uh, a young man and a little girl... the honored guest has very exotic tastes, he-he-he..."
"None of your business."
Despite my answer, the nasty smile didn't disappear from his lips.
And I couldn't deny the meaning behind his words.
In this superstitious barbaric world, where the color Black was considered a bad omen and a harbinger of death, the race called Dark Elves could not a priori lead a good life.
And the Dark Elves slaves were sought out for only two reasons.
First, to use them as material for research, experiments, or as a catalyst for sacrifices to Demonic Creatures.
Although they were a 'cursed' race, the quality of their body was at a level desired by all.
This included Mages, Black Mages, Curse Researchers, Cultists, and many others.
The second is using them as slaves for nightly entertainment.
Although Dark Elves weren't very popular in this area – they were very similar to High Elves.
With the difference that for defacing the body of a High Elf, you will be executed by the Holy Court of the World Tree along with your family, and for defacing a Dark Elf... nothing.
So, using a special reagent that temporarily whitens their skin, making them indistinguishable from normal Elves, the humans were wagering on them.
This mostly included perverted nobles, especially those who had been wronged or offended by the arrogant High Elves.
These two reasons, along with the fact that Dark Elves rarely left their territories, made from so valuable and rare.
"..."
But even though I knew the attitude towards Dark Elves in this world and knew even better the attitude towards those who seek them, Dung Beetle's smile irritated me.
Should I hit him?
Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale... calm down, I decided to be polite today.
"Just shut up and mind your own business."
"But I didn't say anything— I'm already silent, Sir!"
When I glared at him fiercely, he quickly began rummaging through his drawers of papers.
It seems that while Damien's handsome face made a 'Wow!' impression on the ladies, it had a more intimidating effect on the men.
After a couple minutes, Dung Beetle looked at us again and laughed ruefully.
"Hehehe, my humble abode of knowledge and wisdom has no information about them, but if you give me some time, it will be done."
"Good."
I wasn't hoping for instant results anyway.
"And don't sound like an old pedophile librarian pervert. It makes me sick."
"...Y-yes? Okay, Sir..."
That's better.
"So where do I look for these two Dark Elf slaves, Sir?"
"Balmont."
"Balmont...? Aren't there more specific places?"
"No."
If it were that easy, I wouldn't even bother coming here. I continued.
"Of their special features, silver hair and scarlet eyes."
Traits of the Ruling Lineage among the Dark Elves.
Of course, no one in this world was interested in learning about the history and culture of the Dark Elves, so to others, they were just 'Red-eyed Silver-haired Slaves'.
"I have it memorized, Sir. Anything else?"
The Dung Beetle was no exception.
This was the first time I was glad that the information merchant didn't know something. Otherwise, things would have gotten a lot more complicated for us, or rather, more expensive.
"That's all. I'll pay you nine gold coins once the job is finished."
"9 gold coins...? Haha, the honored guest knows how to joke..."
"..."
"..."
In response to my unchanged face, Dung Beetle frowned.
"...Just so you know, the normal price for such a difficult job is 70 gold. And in these troubled times, it can easily go up to 90 gold per risk."
"..."
"...But for your sake, my deeply honored guests, I am willing to discount and give in for 55."
"..."
"Even if you continue to remain silent, the price won't get any lower, Sir..."
"Dung Beetle."
Finally, I broke the silence.
"Do you want to die?"