Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

Although they appeared to be just petting cats, Shiokawa and the other woman were actually working with a purpose, unlike Leon, who was still unsure of what he was supposed to do. These two were diligently observing the women's movements. Moreover, Leon sensed his own unreliability, as neither woman seemed to intend to rely on him. He could only accept his incompetence for the time being.

After staying in the teahouse for several hours, they left at different times and then met elsewhere to exchange information.

"Did you find anything special?" Leon asked.

“Not yet…” Sen said with a headache. “They seem unguarded, but they don’t give any room to sneak in when they do things. Plus, they’re wearing veils so I can’t read lips, and I have no idea what they’re saying to those people.”

"You can actually read lips?" Leon seemed to have discovered something incredible again.

"...? It's quite simple if you practice, right?" Mori said, puzzled. "Don't you know? Recently, Ryou has acquired the relevant skills through repeated work."

"...Li is truly amazing in every sense."

This incident also changed Leon's understanding of reason.

“I haven’t found anything either,” Shiokawa shook his head and said, “It seems like this is really a bit tricky…”

It was only natural that things would reach a stalemate. Leon knew very well what a stupid idea he had come up with; it couldn't even be called a plan. This kind of idea, put forward on a whim, was at best just a little thought of his own. Seeing that Shiokawa and Mori were having a good time, he didn't dare to spoil everyone's fun. Now, thinking about it carefully, he wanted to curse himself and slap himself.

I still have so much to learn...

Leon patted his face to cheer himself up. First, he needed to find a way to get some information about those women... and that should be his first choice.

“Listen to me,” Leon said, “I have some ideas now.”

"……what idea?"

"Well... shall we go to the guild?"

Leon decided to return to his original profession: that of an adventurer. Information was almost always shared among adventurers, as they were involved in various fields and thus possessed some knowledge of each. Leon wanted to try and obtain some useful information from the adventurers. Therefore, he once again set foot in that place he hadn't visited in a long time.

The adventurer's sanctuary, the adventurer's guild.

"Hey! Leon, long time no see!"

Before Leon and his companions even entered the Adventurers' Guild, some adventurers greeted him, and Leon instinctively stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, it's Brother Tiger!!" Leon quickly called out the other person's name.

"Hehe, I've heard about it." The adventurer ran over and put his arm around his shoulder. "Hey kid, you joined the Akihabara Guard, huh? Impressive! How did you manage to sneak in? I heard the Akihabara Guard has really strict requirements. How did this delicate little thing like you manage to get in?"

"Uh... hahaha..." Leon didn't know what to say and stood there awkwardly.

Both Shiokawa and Mori noticed that Leon was acting strangely. The usually shameless Leon was now acting timidly, and his eyes seemed to be avoiding something.

"That guy... isn't he acting a little strange?" Mori asked, leaning close to Shiokawa's ear.

“Hmm…” Shiokawa nodded, “That person, seems to be someone he knows? But they don’t seem to get along very well…”

Should we go up and help him?

"……Um."

Leon appeared bewildered by the adventurer's advances. To be honest, he had never been good at dealing with other adventurers, having been used as cannon fodder by some high-level adventurers before. Therefore, he had always preferred to travel alone, and to some extent, he was afraid of these adventurers. Even now, after joining the Akihabara Guard and no longer working as an adventurer, he still felt uncomfortable with the situation.

"Hey."

Suddenly, Sen stepped between the two and pushed Leon aside. The adventurer, known as Tiger, frowned, looking quite displeased. Compared to this burly man, Sen's figure appeared even smaller.

"Who do you think you are?" the adventurer raised an eyebrow. "Did I not talk to you?"

“Of course, you didn’t talk to me,” Mori said matter-of-factly. “But there’s something that’s making me a little unhappy. You seem to be belittling my partner, don’t you?”

"Hmph? Are you out of your mind?" the adventurer sneered. "Someone like him could have joined the Akihabara Guard? Did he use some special means to sneak in?"

"Well, it's true that the method is a bit unusual," Mori said coldly, "but you can't even pass the most basic screening by the security detail."

Before he could finish speaking, Sen swiftly knocked his opponent to the ground. The commotion drew the attention of all the surrounding adventurers, making the four of them the center of everyone's gaze.

"Hey...those two girls look like they're from the security detail, right?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it, I think I vaguely remember it."

"Are you kidding me? Such a big guy was actually defeated by such a little girl?"

The crowd erupted in chaos upon witnessing this scene. Leon and his companions, who were at the center of the incident, sensed something was amiss and quickly abandoned the unconscious adventurer, rushing into the guild hall. Since many had noticed Shiokawa and Mori's identities, they didn't follow to see what happened next. Besides, the adventurer's words had, in a sense, belittled the guards, so it was understandable that he had been knocked to the ground.

Therefore, the three of them quickly slipped away from the crowd and arrived at the Adventurers' Guild's hall without causing any trouble.

Upon arriving at the guild hall, Leon bowed his head to the two men and said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have troubled you two seniors."

"Don't mention it," Sen said with a wry smile. "Are you alright? You didn't look too good just now."

“It’s nothing,” Leon said. “I’m just a little bit bad at dealing with these kinds of people.”

"Ha...you, can't you have a little more confidence?" Shiokawa said helplessly. "How can you always be like this? You always seem so capable. No matter what, you're already a member of the guard team, and your combat ability should be much stronger than before. There's no need to act like that. If anyone mocks you like that, you should fight back on behalf of our guard team."

"That's not a good idea..." Leon really didn't expect Shiokawa to say such a thing.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” Shiokawa said casually. “There are always some guys from out of town who think our guards can’t do anything. Guys like that should be taught a lesson, and they’ll learn their lesson. Rather than that, what do you want to do here?”

“Ah…right, I almost forgot about that…” Leon perked up and said, “Actually, adventurers are quite well-informed. Because they usually do all sorts of commissions, they know a thing or two about various fields. There are also people among these adventurers who specialize in collecting this kind of information, so I thought I’d go see if that acquaintance is around. Maybe I can get some useful information from him.”

"I see..." Both Shiokawa and Mori showed expressions of surprise.

"Why are you two so surprised..." Leon asked, his expression twitching.

"No..." Shiokawa said with a wry smile, "It's just that after seeing what happened just now, I was a little surprised."

"Even I have friends, okay!?"

Chapter 35 What great luck!

"Old White!"

"...Tsk, it's you again, you penniless country bumpkin."

Leon quickly spotted the familiar face among the group of adventurers. The man was quite conspicuous, wearing a white hooded cloak. If Shiokawa and Mori knew him, they would probably have spotted him immediately. Upon seeing Leon approaching, the man clicked his tongue, looking both annoyed and reluctant, as if he were about to turn and leave at any moment.

Because his behavior seemed somewhat suspicious, both Shiokawa and Mori kept a close eye on him, just in case. This professional habit probably wouldn't be able to be changed anytime soon.

"Hey, don't say that." Leon shamelessly moved closer. "I'm relieved to see you're alright."

"Heh, do you need to worry about me?" Old Bai pushed him away. "The most important thing for an intelligence dealer is the ability to protect yourself. If you can't even protect yourself, what business are you doing? Also, stay away from me. I don't know you. Don't think that if you try to get close to me, I'll give you a discount."

How did you know I came here to see you for something?!

"Because you're too easy to understand, you idiot."

No matter how harshly Old White spoke, Leon continued to talk to him with a smile. Taking this opportunity, Shiokawa and Mori moved closer to sized up Old White. He was somewhat short, spoke with a vicious tone, and his hood and scarf covered most of his face, revealing only a pair of inexplicably large eyes. Even his voice sounded somewhat muffled.

"So?" Old Bai glanced at Shiokawa and Mori. "You brought these two here to show off or what? I haven't broken the law or done anything to wrong anyone. What exactly do you want with these two guards?"

"What are you talking about?" Leon rolled his eyes at him. "How could I possibly do something like that?"

"That's hard to say, you idiots." Old Bai glared at the two of them. "Just because you won't do it doesn't mean these two won't."

Old Bai, with his keen and unique intuition, sensed something unsettling emanating from Shiokawa and Mori. Having worked as an intelligence broker for a long time, his sense of danger was exceptionally sharp; he could immediately detect even the slightest hint of something amiss. However, this time, he was helpless against Akihabara's guards—those were not people ordinary adventurers could handle.

Actually, he had already sensed something was wrong when Leon and his two companions approached, but running away was no longer an option. No matter how confident he was in his escape skills, he didn't have the guts to do such a thing on someone else's turf. At most, he could only glare at Leon a couple of times to express his anger, but he never expected what would happen next.

“I’m sorry,” Shiokawa apologized sincerely, then explained, “We’re not here to arrest you. It was a professional mistake to treat you that way. I’m sorry if we offended you. We meant no harm. We’ve come here to ask for your help with something.”

"My help?"

Old Bai stared blankly at himself, and only after Shiokawa and Mori nodded in agreement did he feel somewhat relieved. He then glared at Leon, before subtly stepping on Leon's foot, causing Leon to almost cry out in pain. Old Bai didn't say anything, but instead sat down at the table and rudely crossed his legs.

"I never expected this," Old Bai said as if he were doing something great. "Not long ago, that newbie was crying and begging me for information, and now he's become someone like this. Today, he even brought two guards to scare me. He's gotten too big for his britches, hasn't he?"

"No, no! I wouldn't dare!" Leon said hastily. "Besides, I never begged you while crying back then!?"

"Hmph~ I don't remember clearly, and I don't want to remember either."

Old White held out his hand to Leon and gestured with his chin. Leon, momentarily confused, stupidly reached out and grasped Old White's hand, only to be slapped hard across the face. Shiokawa and Mori, watching from the sidelines, couldn't bear to watch any longer; how could this kid be so foolish…

"Do you think I'm stupid?!" Perhaps due to his anger, Old Bai's face was flushed. "What I fucking want is money! Money!!!"

"Couldn't you just say it outright?! Why did you have to hit me?!" Leon was also a little stunned by the slap.

"Alright, alright, Sen, you go and look after him for now..."

"Oh……"

Shiokawa pushed Leon to Mori, then stepped forward helplessly and said, "Sorry, my companion seems to be a little slow on the uptake. I'll talk to you from here on out."

"Hmm... well, I guess I see. This guy has never been a brainy person." Old Bai continued to be sarcastic towards Leon. "I hope at least you can be reasonable."

"I'm not very familiar with the rules for adventurers, so please forgive me if I offend anyone," Shiokawa said, giving him a heads-up.

"Hmph, I'll just turn around and leave when that time comes." Old Bai didn't give him any face at all, and stretched out his hand again, making a two, and then flattened his hand again, "Do you understand what I mean? Of course, this is just a consultation fee, and detailed information will be charged separately depending on the situation."

Shiokawa took two silver coins out of his bag and handed them to Lao Bai. Lao Bai accepted the coins without changing his expression, and after confirming their authenticity, he gave a professional smile.

“So,” Old Bai said, toying with the silver coin in his hand, “what do you want to know?”

"Do you know these people?" Shiokawa took out a holographic crystal and projected the images of the women.

“Oh,” Old Bai nodded, “I know. You mean the underground forces that used to be very active in the Kingdom? They’re everywhere now. To be honest, I’m getting tired of seeing them walking around with those two useless lumps of fat on their heads.”

"That makes things easier," Shiokawa asked. "Do you know what they're doing?"

"You've hit the nail on the head..." Old Bai stretched out his hand, revealing a wicked grin, "A silver coin."

Old Bai's request wasn't unreasonable; it was the standard practice among other intelligence brokers. Each piece of information required payment, and if they wanted to delve deeper, they needed to spend even more money. Moreover, a silver coin was something most people could afford, and Shiokawa understood, so he took out another silver coin and gave it to Old Bai.

Old Bai smiled and took the silver coin from Yan Chuan's hand, then said, "What a coincidence, I've also been investigating things about them recently, but I have to say they're quite impressive. I've learned that they seem to be working for someone, but I'm not sure who that person is. They seem to be investigating something in the surrounding area, because they've cast such a wide net that I can't really deduce what they're investigating."

"What are they investigating..." Shiokawa thought carefully for a moment.

In her recent memory, she hadn't observed the women investigating anything; they were simply looking for customers. What exactly were they investigating...? Shiokawa was a little curious.

"How much else do you know?" Shiokawa asked to confirm.

"Hmm~ I know a few more things." Old Bai hummed twice.

"Well……"

"Wait, this time I'm not asking you for money, and I don't want any gold coins either."

Just as Shiokawa was about to continue offering money to get Lao Bai to keep talking, Lao Bai hurriedly interrupted her, adding that he didn't intend to accept gold coins either, because coins weren't that valuable in this era, so he only wanted a little bit of coins; he wanted something else in return.

"...? What do you want?" Shiokawa became wary.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous," Old Bai said, taking back his money. "Since I'm an intelligence dealer, I naturally go to other people to buy intelligence. So, I want to know some things from you. In return, I will tell you this most crucial piece of intelligence."

The most crucial intelligence...

Hearing this, Shiokawa had to weigh her options. She had dealt with Olito before, and shrewd businessmen like him would never let go of anything valuable or profitable. As long as there was profit to be made, that was enough to motivate them. Shiokawa didn't know much about this old man in front of her, what he wanted to know, or who held the initiative.

However, the most crucial piece of information that Lao Bai knew made her waver somewhat; it might be the key to their mission.

"Hehe, relax, relax," Old Bai said. "There's nothing to worry about, right? This is the information you all want most, isn't it? And the price for this information is just another piece of information. Isn't that better?"

“…Alright,” Shiokawa hesitated for a long time before finally saying, “I can accept this condition, but if this information is something I can’t answer, then forget it.”

"Don't worry, you'll definitely answer," he smiled. "It's not a big question, I'm just curious about your relationship with that silly boy."

"Aha?"

Old Bai's question completely surprised Shiokawa. She had thought he wanted to know some important information about the inside of their little garden, but instead, he asked such a trivial question. She was about to ask him in return if the question was really that important, but after seeing Old Bai's sincere eyes, she realized he didn't seem to be joking.

Then, Shiokawa looked at Leon and then answered Old White's question seriously.

"We're just colleagues in the same unit. We were only with him this time because of Li's instructions. Is that enough?"

"Yes, yes, that's enough, that's enough." Old Bai nodded, looking completely satisfied.

At first, Shiokawa didn't quite understand what Lao Bai meant, but after thinking about it carefully, he discovered something strange, and then everything made sense. Shiokawa gave a friendly smile, which made Lao Bai feel a little uncomfortable.

"What are you laughing at?" Old Bai asked, somewhat displeased.

“It’s nothing,” Shiokawa laughed. “I just think this guy is really lucky.”

"Good luck, huh..." Old Bai glanced meaningfully at Leon's group, "Yeah... I really don't know how this clueless, poor country bumpkin has survived this long..."

While the two were marveling at Leon's inexplicable good fortune, Old Bai remembered something and then reached out his hand to Shiokawa. Shiokawa tilted his head, seemingly oblivious to the meaning behind it.

"What?" Shiokawa frowned. "You haven't even given me the information yet, and you're already planning to back out?"

“No, that’s not it,” Old Bai said. “I want to collect the intelligence fees that this guy didn’t pay before.”

"Then why don't you go ask him for it..." Shiokawa said with a wry smile.

“No, I think it’s more reliable to ask you,” Old Bai added dismissively. “That guy looks like he doesn’t have any money, right?”

"I don't deny that..."

Afterwards, Shiokawa helped Leon temporarily pay the previously unpaid intelligence fees and also obtained crucial information from Old White—