"Finding the right people.

　Alcantes, the state capital.
　In a dimly lit alleyway, Pham received a report from Ben.

'What shall we do?'
I have some idea of whether or not I have the talent to work for me, but I don't know whether or not I'll be able to use them in battle.
So you don't want to do that?
'No, there's no penalty for introducing incompetence, is there?　So you get paid for referring competent people. That's not a bad deal. I'd be happy to introduce you to a few people for no good reason.
I understand. So I guess I'll take care of the search, then.
Yeah, you should tell the rest of the group.
Yes, sir.

　Ben went to report back to the group.

　After hearing from Ben, Pham went back to his place of business.

　He was also working in a tavern in this city, gathering information.
　It was a tavern named Kentlan.
　His appearance is almost the same as when he was working in Tremps, dressed as a simple and pretty girl.
　The mouth of a drunk person is light. In addition, the girl's appearance doubles the lightness of her mouth, as she is not sure that the other person would understand her if she said this.
　The tavern where Pham works doesn't have any of the senior ministers who work at Castle Arcantes. They come to the castle's gatekeepers and servers who work there.
　The gatekeepers and waiters sometimes talk about the senior officials working in the castle.

　What kind of people they are, what they do, where they often go, what they like and what they don't like, and so on.
　The aim is to gather as much of that information as possible, and eventually get into the arms of the chief minister and infiltrate the castle.

　However, this method is not so easy to infiltrate the castle.
　The servants working at the castle were not recruited from the commoners. There are several families that serve in the castle, and they are passed down from generation to generation.
　Not that this is impossible if they are well-liked, but it's not that easy.

　However, not all of the Shadows gather information in the same way.
　They each gather information in a way that suits them.
　This time, Pham thought that a member of the group, other than himself, would gather useful information.

''I'm back!''

　Pham said as he returned to the tavern, Kentran. His voice and expression were a completely different person when he was talking to Ben earlier.

'Lynne. What was that man earlier?

　Lertz, the owner of the Kentran, asked a question. Lynn was the name that Pham had decided to take on in Arcantes.
　He explained that Ben was his brother. He explained why, appropriately, that he was starting to want to see his face at Siscon.
　Lertz didn't doubt it, but he was convinced.

　The present time was noon. No guests had arrived. Unlike Tremps, Kentran's rarely had customers at noon. At this time of day, Pham was cleaning the tavern.

　Then.

Are you doing it?

　The door of the shop opened with a slightly husky female voice.
　Unusually, a customer seemed to have arrived at noon.

'Welcome.........Hey you!

　Lertz is astonished to see his guest.

　She is a very tall woman. She is tall enough to be considered large, even for a man.
　Her face is well-groomed. She is undoubtedly a beautiful woman, but the power of her eyes is more impressive than that.
　Her clothes are tattered and very moneyless, but she wears a golden necklace, which is quite bizarre.

　It's a good thing that you're not just a guy from the looks of it.

''Mireille. You're back........
It's been what, two years? You're as pissed off as ever, aren't you?
"If you came here to talk shit, you need to go now.
I'm just kidding. He's not a nice guy, but he's got an interesting face. You look like a fish I saw yesterday.
Seriously, I'm kicking you out, a**h*le.
Here's another joke. Make me the usual.
What's the deal?
Have you forgotten?　It's mesala, bread, and then booze.

　Mesala is a soup made by slow-cooking vegetables such as tomatoes and chicken.

It was so long ago that I forgot about it. You used to eat only mesala.
This stuff reminds me of the mesala my mom used to make me eat. It's not very good, but it does make me want it.
Why can't you just tell me you're eating there because it's good?

　Lertz starts cooking.

　Pham was curious about the woman called Mireille.
　Because he thought at first glance that she was clearly not just anyone. He wanted to at least ask her what kind of person she was.

'What about her?'
'Oh?　It's Mireille, the bad drunk who used to hang around here.

　If that's all he heard, he was just a bad person.
　Pham tried to change his mind, wondering if he had been mistaken in thinking that he was just a nobody.

''Who is that cutie?''

　Mireille asked a question about Pham.

'Oh?　She's a new girl who just started working. Isn't she cute?
Hmmm....

　Mireille stared at Pham.
　I felt a slight chill in her eyes as she looked at me and somehow felt her identity was being seen through.

''Oh well.''

　Mireille muttered unintentionally.

　Femme thought instinctively that this woman was still not just anyone, and that she should be careful.