Chronicles of Forgotten Extra-Chapter 105: Black Market [3]

"So what is it you need?" Cipher asked for her attention to be fully on Alden.

Her purple eyes scanned him with amusement.

She was curious what Alden was going to ask.

She was considered one of the best professionals in this field, but still only a few people even knew her name.

But Alden somehow knew and asked specifically for her.

That alone made him interesting.

And when he had given his name? From his tone and expressions she could deduce it wasn't a lie.

She had worked in this field long enough to know when someone was lying.

So either he was a very great liar or it was his real name.

Either way, she was curious.

Alden looked at her calmly.

"I need three things from you." He pointed three fingers.

"First, I need a secure bank account to manage my transaction anonymously."

"Mhm, that's easy…" She nodded, "Fifty thousand Era for a standard account. A hundred if you want extra layers of security."

"Which one do you want?"

"Set up the high-security one." Alden didn't hesitate.

"Secondly, I need information on this guy."

Alden threw a leather wallet towards her. It was from the scammer he had killed.

There was no specific reason for him to do this. He wasn't expecting much.

Maybe the guy had really been feeding him some sob story. Maybe not. Either way, it didn't matter.

It wasn't out of some sense of justice. If anything, it was a selfish and hypocritical act. It was just a way to settle his mind.

But that was not the only reason.

Kidnapping people from the main district of Valloria and selling them wasn't something a few lowlifes could pull off alone.

At least not when they were so weak.

That meant someone with power was backing them.

Alden had killed those slave traders impulsively back then. He needed to at least know who was behind them to be prepared.

The last thing he wanted was some 'How dare you kill my subordinate? Now face my wrath' kind of situation.

Though, realistically speaking? The chances of a high-ranking noble getting personally involving themselves over a bunch of disposable pawns were low.

But the low chance didn't mean zero. And Alden would rather be prepared than not.

Cipher caught the wallet with ease, her movements precise. There was an ID card of a plain-faced, middle-aged man inside it.

"You're paying for intel on this guy?" She raised her brows, looking at the face of an unremarkable middle-aged man.

"Yeah," Alden answered.

Cipher clicked her tongue but didn't argue. It was not her job to interfere between what the client wanted. "Fine. Job, address, history—I'll get it all."

"What's the third thing?"

Alden looked at her with a smirk, "I need you to bet money on me."

"Huh?" Cipher looked at him blankly for a moment.

Then—

"Hahaha," Cipher laughed. "You are indeed interesting, Damien."

Cipher immediately understood what he meant. 'So he is entering that place, huh?'

"How much?" She controlled her laugh as she asked.

Alden threw a pouch at her.

The pouch had 500k Eras, which amounted to nearly all his remaining money.

"Are you sure about betting?" She asked. "Betting is risky business and once it's placed, there's no going back."

"Yeah, I am sure." he nodded.

"You can deduct the charges for your work from it and bet all the remaining money on my match." He said.

"Sure," Cipher answered cheerfully. "Aside from the normal fee, I also charge five percent of whatever profit you make."

"I don't mind." Alden nodded.

He had plans to visit Black Market many times in the future, and he planned to make Cipher his official broker.

She could get him any artifact and potions, which might not be so easy to buy with just money.

So, he wasn't going to haggle over some small change.

"Come back in two hours. I'll have your information and bank account ready."

Cipher extended her hand toward him, her grin widening.

"Here's to high stakes and reckless choices, Damien."

Alden shook her hand.

The deal was set.

"See you in two hours then." He stood up and walked towards the exit.

__

Alden stepped out of the office and into the narrow alleyway of the Black Market.

He had two hours to kill.

He didn't like waiting, but at least it gave him time to get a feel for the market.

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He walked deeper into the Black Market.

The deeper he went, the more the scenery changed.

At first, it was all small-time vendors and merchants selling their goods. But past that, the market turned strange.

There were many shops with no signs and no visible goods.

'What do they even sell?' Alden wondered.

It must be some kind of service that they sell.

Those were the real businesses in a place like this. The ones who sold secrets instead of ordinary things.

Just as he was wandering through the black market.

He heard a sound.

He looked at the source of the voice to find a small stall at the roadside near him.

The stall was simple and just had a small table on which a crystal ball rested. Behind the table sat a hunched old woman.

Her face, like most of the other people here, was covered by a mask.

Unlike the plain masks worn by most, hers was different— it had a dragon carved onto its surface.

"Do you want to know your future, dear?" She asked, her voice smooth but calculating.

Alden looked at her.

Yeah, definitely a scammer.

He didn't believe someone could predict the future.

It could be possible for someone with time affinity if there was one.

But till this date, nobody had that kind of affinity in this world. At least that was what was stated in both the novel and this world's history.

So how could this old woman predict it?

"No, thank you, ma'am," Alden still answered politely.

He wasn't stupid.

If she really was just a scam artist, no harm done. But what if she turned out to be some hidden powerhouse?

Well, he had read enough novels to know better than to piss off some seemingly harmless old person.

The old woman chuckled, her sharp eyes never leaving Alden.

"Oh, don't be so quick to refuse, dear." She tapped the crystal ball with her finger. "This isn't just for show, you know."

"Really? So you can actually see the future?" He still wasn't convinced.

The old woman simply smiled, "I see glimpses of fate. I can unravel a few for you."

Yeah, definitely something a scammer would say..

Still, he had a lot of time to kill so, he played along, nodding his head slightly.

The woman placed her hands over the crystal ball, closing her eyes dramatically as if she was seeing something for real.

The ball glowed with a faint light—likely some cheap mana trick.

Then she spoke.

"I see blood."

Alden resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

Wow, how original.

"I see chains breaking and a path of corpses behind you," she continued. "Yet, you continue to walk forward, untouched."

Suddenly her voice turned to a whisper.

"And there's a shadow… waiting for you."

"Watching your every move."

'The script is quite good.' Alden thought in his mind.

"How much should I pay you?" He crossed his arms.

"You don't need to pay anything, dear." The old woman chuckled again. "Consider it a free glimpse."

Alden narrowed his eyes.

That was odd.

Scammers always wanted something. But before he could press her, she waved her hands towards him.

"Go on now," she said with an amused smile. "You have many things to do."

"But remember child—some things in fate can be changed, and some cannot."

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

He thanked her politely as he turned and walked away.

She is probably just some scam artist trying to act mysterious so she could charge money.

He kept moving, but he still felt a strange unease.

Her words weren't anything special—just the usual cryptic nonsense these types spouted.

Yet… something about them just felt strange.

A few minutes passed.

He passed a few more stalls.

But his mind was wandering to what that old woman said.

Damn it.

He couldn't take it anymore as he turned around again. He was going to ask the old woman again for answers.

If nothing else, it'd give me a peace of mind at least.

He didn't care if it was a scam.

But as he arrived at where the stall had been—

Nothing.

There was no one there.

No table.

No old woman.

It was all gone.

He frowned slightly.

Did she just pack up and leave?

He stepped closer.

Yeah, she must have just left quickly…

But then he noticed something.

The ground where the table had been, there were no marks, no footprints, no signs of anyone being there before.

No. I am just overthinking it.

He forced himself to turn away.

He still felt a bit… uneasy.