CH 22.1

I finished the list of the proxy criteria quickly.

First, they had to be rich enough to buy a bank.

Second, I could control their movements as I pleased.

Third, they wouldn’t betray me until the end.

Each condition wasn’t a difficult one, but after combining them all,

‘This kind of person is like an animal that exists only in legends.’

No matter how much I looked at it, I kept asking myself whether anyone met these criteria.

Feeling like a vain adventurer trying to find a legendary unicorn, I crumpled the paper and threw it to the corner.

Then, I reconsidered the conditions.

It was true that they had to have a lot of money, but would such a wealthy person be willing to move as I directed them to without betraying me?

Even if one was solved, the other two conditions were also a problem.

‘No, even so, I can’t give up. Let’s think about it carefully.’

I picked up the crumpled paper, spread it out, and stared at it.

The first condition is, who is rich enough to buy a bank?

‘There aren’t that many people with these criteria. Then how about someone who has power instead of money?’

Buying a bank with money was one way, but we could also press them with power.

However, the conditions could be discarded immediately. But, unfortunately, most of the powerful ones were busy sucking up at Julia.

‘There’s no way they will be on my side.’

“Wait a minute.”

After looking into the paper for a long time, I noticed the extreme conditions.

“I can just buy for the bank, but why do I need someone with so much money?”

My back that sunk into the back of my chair straightened up.

“Even if I miscalculated the criteria, it’s way too off!”

I brought in a new piece of paper and started writing new conditions.

First, the weaknesses—If it were something related to anything that money could buy, it would be great.

Second, they could plausibly act like a rich person.

Third, it had to be someone unknown or unrecognizable to others.

It wasn’t a problematic condition. However, if I held to their weaknesses, it would be easier to achieve the rest of the condition.

“Will they even dare to betray me when I’m holding onto their weaknesses?’

It became easier when they changed their mind.

Now that the conditions were completed, I could start looking for someone that met these conditions.

That was easy.

I was preoccupied with thoughts. Then it came to my mind. I forgot about something!

Someone’s name, then followed by a face. And his nickname.

“Janice!”

I asked for Janice as I waved the bell above the desk excitedly. Janice quickly came in.

“Miss, did you call me?”

“Yes, Janice. Call Aunt Zoe right away.”

*****

“Aren’t you being too mean to your aunt just because you have money?”

Shortly after coming, Zoe, who had been called back, complained. She was sitting in a poor posture on the sofa, pulled out the cigarette, and asked.

“Now I’m considering you as a client, not a niece. You looked like someone with a mission.”

Before I could say ‘please sit properly,’ Zoe fixed her sitting posture on her own.

She noticed that her serious-looking niece had a severe request.

“Why are you so stiff?”

It was because my request wasn’t easy.

The request I was going to make could probably be the first failure for Zoe, who had never failed since she established Journee.

‘Will she succeed?’

I was still trying to count her chances to succeed.

‘We also don’t have any talented people to help her work.’

Journee was a new guild. Therefore, there were more passionate people than competent people. Thanks to this, Zoe was super busy. Everyone in the guild relied on Zoe, but there was no one to help her.

‘It’s been bothering me.’

If she accepted my request, Zoe might be the one at a loss.

She could fail to fulfill this task.

I glanced at Zoe.

When I looked at Zoe, who was sitting leaning her back while staring back at me, I could see the future of Journee, a guild that would dominate the continent as the best information source.

‘It’s something that’s actually going to happen.’

I decided to bet more on her success in the future than in the present because I believed that Zoe would surely bring Journee to their glory.

“Say something. Why are you hesitating?”

“Can you go to the Fire Prison?”

“Fire Prison?”

Zoe’s eyes got sharper. Her eyes were full of doubts. She seemed surprised by the unexpected word that came out of my mouth.

Zoe didn’t answer right away. Seeing her didn’t say anything back, the notoriety of Fire Prison came to my mind again.

Wasn’t it rumored as a literal hell?

“Why do I have to go to the Fire Prison?

Fire Prison, nicknamed hell, was where only notorious prisoners on the continent were imprisoned.

Fire Prison was where you couldn’t come out once you entered until your sentence was fulfilled. Only those who were sentenced to life imprisonment and death were imprisoned there.

—Serial killers, habitual drunk wagon robbers, those who planned treason, soldiers who fled the battlefield, and criminals who committed crimes that were simply unforgivable.

In short, the prison was a place that you could only come out from after being burned to death.

For me, here…

“There’s someone I wanted to bail.”

“That person must have been trapped under a big false accusation. You could have just said it.”

Zoe thought that I was just like my mother, naive and friendly. But, it was time for her to know what I really was.

When people were blinded by their love toward their loved ones, they were concerned a lot. However, Zoe forgot that we also shared blood.

I shook my head and said.

“No, he’s a bad guy.”

Zoe dropped the cigarette.

“What? You want me to get a criminal out of that prison? Why? Is it because that person gets life imprisonment? Are you going to take him out and kill him? Are you going to do the same thing as you did for that young doctor?”

When one worked in this field, one could see through something with their sharp instinct.

I didn’t even know about Zoe.