"Please come with me, Miss Shadow."
Invite Arche who then nods towards Amber. The bartender then took a bottle that was in the cabinet. Behind where the bottle was, there was a lever, which Amber immediately lowered.
Not long after the lever was lowered, the secret door on the floor behind the counter opened. Shows the stairs leading to the basement.
Arche invited Rosalina aka Shadow to follow him downstairs.
Is this a trap? Or did Arche just want to talk in a more private place? Rosalina didn't know. She was a little hesitant, however at the moment she could only follow.
Reluctant to lower her guard, Rosalina still gripped her handgun tightly. Arche led the way, while Amber was about three steps behind Rosalina.
Sweat was dripping down Rosalina's nape, worried that she might actually be trapped. But luckily, it didn't take long for Arche to lead her to an office.
A room whose entire walls have been decorated by various bookshelves with hundreds, maybe even thousands of books, if you count the books piled up and scattered on the floor.
In addition to books, there are also many sheets of documents. For Rosalina, the place was more like the property of a scholar or researcher.
The image of a spy or informant in Rosalina's mind is usually someone who is neat and clean. Not messy like this.
Arche invited Rosalina to sit on the sofa in the middle of the room. Arche sat on the sofa opposite her. Meanwhile, Amber entered another door on the side of the room, then came back after brewing two cups of tea.
"Please, don't worry, it's not poisonous," said Arche, offering the hot tea that was already on the table, "Miss Shadow, I don't know what you want from the Black Horns, but we are currently monitoring the organization ourselves. One of our clients has an important plan to deal with the Black Horns. For this reason, I do not want an unexpected factor to appear suddenly in the middle of our plan. I think you understand what I mean?"
"..."
Rosalina paused... 'Mm, no, I don't understand. The hell is he talking about?!'
[Looks like Red Spider already has his own plans regarding the Black Horns. That's why they don't want any unforeseen factors to arise. In this case, he meant you.]
Reading the message from Theo immediately made Rosalina think.
"This plan of yours… Are you on their side? Or…"
"No."
That meant, whatever this plan Arche spoke of, the main goal would most likely be destroying the Black Horns. And the reason why he didn't want any distractions, was most likely because the Red Spiders or whoever their clients wanted to capture all of the Black Horns in Solmare in one fell swoop.
[The client they mentioned might be the Guild or the government.]
"Your client… is it a Guild? Or Lord Solmare?" Rosalina asked with a serious look.
Arche watched Shadow's gaze intently. He wanted to know the reason the woman in front of him wanted to know the identity of his client.
Because in fact, the client that Arche is referring to here is the actual owner or ruler of The Spider. Arche couldn't just tell it to an outsider. Although he had to admit, he was quite surprised by the two names that Shadow mentioned.
'Accidental? Or did she actually know what a Spider really was?'
"Sorry, but as you know. We cannot reveal the identity of our clients. Confidentiality is what makes us trustworthy."
[Hmm, I can't read their expressions.]
'Well, same. Reading the expressions of a professional like them was impossible from the start!'
[Let's do as planned. The thing they are worried about is the existence of an unexpected factor, but they don't seem to know that it has actually entered the picture.]
'Whatever they are planning right now is bound to fail, huh...'
Rosalina crossed her arms across her chest, then leaned on the sofa. Head slightly tilted upwards, showing confidence and a hint of arrogance.
"I don't know what you guys are up to, but I can at least guess what you guys want from the Black Horns. Sorry, but you'd better throw your plans away."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"How about this? You give me the information I want about the Black Horns, and in return I will give you information about the reasons why your plans won't work. To be honest, I think once you hear the information I have, your priorities will shift from the Black Horns."
Hearing this, Arche's expression contorted. He really wanted to know what real objective Shadow wanted. But neither he nor Shadow seemed to be going around in circles without being able to get much from each other.
'Should I take the risk?'
Whatever Shadow had mentioned bothered him a bit. From Shadow's words just now, she still didn't seem to know the plan he had made, but at least she could guess the purpose and possibility of the person behind Spider.
If the woman said that his carefully and detailed plan was likely to fail, did that mean that other factors he hadn't thought of had managed to sneak in?
What factor is it?
Arche glanced at Amber who was behind Shadow's sofa. He saw that his subordinate shook her head, indicating to reject Shadow's proposal.
But Arche felt that something was bugging his heart. He had a bad feeling after hearing Shadow's words.
[Give them a bait.]
"Looks like you're still hesitating. Let me spoil it a little... Seven."
"! Seven?!"
Hearing just that one word, Arche who had been careful with his attitude, now stood up straight with a face that looked panicked.
'Hmm... looks like Seven is a more dangerous organization than I thought.'
Rosalina thought after seeing Arche's reaction. Not only Arche, even though she didn't see it, Amber's aura changed. The atmosphere in the room instantly became tense.
"Are you sure about this, Miss Shadow?"
Rosalina smiled, "One hundred percent. Let me tell you a little more. They are already in Solmare. And have ties to the Black Horns."
"..." Arche glanced at Amber, "Take all the information documents we have about the Black Horns in Solmare."
Amber nodded immediately carrying out the order. It didn't take long before Rosalina finally received the information she wanted. Everything was on the table in front of her.
In accordance with the agreement, Rosalina also provided information about Seven in her possession. Especially about Mercury. Even though the information Rosalina gave was far too little than Arche's.
But the information about Seven was far more valuable. Intelligence organizations like Spider itself didn't know much about Seven. But they know the big threat posed by this secret organization.
After the exchange of information is complete. Rosalina immediately left. At the same time saying that the relationship between them may not end here.
Amber led Rosalina out of the bar, then returned to the basement, saw her master, Arche sitting at his desk with a dark expression.
"Master…"
"Look at this," Arche handed Amber a sheet of paper that Rosalina had written earlier.
"Mercury, Fourth Seat... Level over 90 and... Ruler of Space?! This… is this true?"
"I am not sure. But, if this information is true. He's a threat far beyond our imagination. Look at what they're here for."
"Buying elves from the Black Horns… wait, from the movement of the Black Horns the last few days…"
"Yeah, there's an indication that they're panicking. Looks like now we know the reason. Either way, it looks like the Black Horns failed to provide the elves that Seven wanted."
Hearing this, Amber immediately imagined the worst possible situation.
"If Seven and the Black Horns clash in Solmare…"
"Especially if this guy named Mercury unleashes his powers, Solmare could be in danger."
Arche thought for a moment, "Give an emergency message to the Headquarter and Guild. We need reinforcements."
After giving the order, Arche recalling Shadow's figure. 'This Shadow... who is she? I hope whatever behind her has no ill intentions towards Amberley.'