Chapter 133

Chapter 133: The Owner of the Golden Goose (2)

“G-golden goose?”

At the words “golden goose,” murmurs broke out here and there.

“Golden goose, she said. Why would she be looking for that terrifying place?”

“No idea. I feel like we should run for it first.”

“If she’s connected to the Golden Goose, it’s best not to get involved.”

The people who’d been eagerly trying to lure me in just a moment ago started edging backward.

Before I knew it, a chill mood settled over the once-raucous street.

“S-sorry! I’m sorry! I don’t really know either!”

I picked the one who seemed like she’d be the easiest to talk to. The woman with the meek-looking face turned deathly pale and bolted.

‘This is a problem.’

The “Golden Goose” that made everyone tremble at the name was the name of a merchant guild.

A massive trading company said to be able to procure anything, as long as it existed somewhere on the continent.

‘But there aren’t many people who know where the Golden Goose’s base is.’

The guildmaster was a former slave, so he was extremely wary.

Thanks to that, unless you were an executive-level member, you generally didn’t know where the guild’s base was.

‘Even I only found out by chance.’

The reason I learned that the Golden Goose’s base was in Paradis was because I was tangled up with the guildmaster through a complicated connection.

‘They said the base is wrapped in layer upon layer of magical barriers, so without a guide you can’t find it.’

If I’d known I’d come looking like this, I should’ve at least asked how to pass through those barriers.

‘Back then, I judged him dangerous and thought I should keep my distance and not get involved any further.’

To think I’d end up seeking him out again after starting a new life.

‘What should I do? Even if I find the location of the base, I’m not confident I can break through the magical barriers and get inside.’

If it was only one barrier, maybe. But if there were several, the chances were high I’d get caught while dismantling the magic circles.

That was when I was standing there, reins in hand, deep in thought.

“Are you looking for the Golden Goose?”

A clear voice rose from near my feet.

A young girl I hadn’t seen before was looking up at me. She was like a doll, pretty, wearing silk clothes, but somehow she looked unnatural.

“Are you looking for the Golden Goose?”

When I didn’t answer, the girl repeated the question.

I stared at her for a moment, then answered briefly, “Yes.”

“How much can you pay? If you want to see the goose, you have to pay.”

So that’s why she suddenly appeared and asked if I was looking for the Golden Goose.

‘This isn’t an ordinary kid. Did he send her?’

I looked the girl straight in the eye and said, “I believe I already paid the price.”

The girl only stared at me in silence. It seemed she didn’t understand what I meant.

“By using the price of the goose owner’s life instead.”

In an instant, silence fell.

The girl stood perfectly still, like she’d turned into a block of wood.

Her glass-marble eyes suddenly trembled, then flicked around this way and that.

It was a rather grotesque sight.

‘So she wasn’t human.’

I thought her slightly unnatural movements and her pale skin that looked devoid of life were strange, but….

To think she truly wasn’t human.

“Ah.”

Then the girl returned to normal and lifted the stiff corner of her mouth.

“Follow me.”

Since I could faintly sense magic power, she seemed to be a delicate puppet controlled by magic.

I quietly followed behind the girl as she walked at a steady pace.

“That’s her. The woman who said she’s looking for the Golden Goose.”

“It’s strange enough that a woman came to a place like this alone, but what does she even do?”

“I don’t know either. It’s my first time seeing her face.”

Surprisingly, the people on the street paid attention only to me.

They didn’t even spare a glance for the girl walking ahead of me.

Even though she had a more eye-catching face than I did, and an unusual appearance.

‘Is this magic too?’

I’ve heard there’s magic that erases one’s presence.

He invested quite a lot for a mere doll.

‘I thought he had strange tastes, but….’

Maybe because he has money, he seems to have a tendency to waste it on pointless things too.

“This way.”

How long did we walk?

The girl stopped in front of an old castle gate.

I couldn’t sense any presence from the ruins, which looked like they could crumble at any moment.

“Leave the horse with me. I’ll move it to the stables.”

At the girl’s words, I quietly got down from the horse.

Then I looked at the castle gate, standing wide open.

Inside, a passageway continued under an arched roof.

Because there were no lights lit, the passage was pitch-black.

“Then I hope you get a good egg.”

The girl bowed in greeting, then led my horse around to the side of the gate.

‘This isn’t a trap, is it?’

A chilly wind blew from inside the passage.

It felt so bleak that it was hard to even imagine there could be something within.

‘No, if it’s him.’

If nothing else, he’ll draw me in because he’s curious about my identity.

He was the kind of person who couldn’t be satisfied until he confirmed the truth with his own eyes.

‘And I can’t come all the way here and turn back with nothing to show for it.’

I finally made up my mind.

I stepped into the castle gate without any more hesitation.

“Ugh.”

In that instant, an indescribable sense of alienness swept over my body.

It felt like I was falling through empty air, and I almost collapsed to the ground.

But it lasted only a split second.

“Urgh.”

When the alienness vanished, a sweet fragrance pricked at the tip of my nose from somewhere.

I slowly opened my eyes.

‘As I thought.’

It had clearly looked like ruins from the outside, but the ‘real’ interior was completely different.

The first thing that caught my eye was a garden decorated with dazzling ornaments and jewels.

Inside the garden, breathtakingly beautiful men and women wandered around draped in silk robes.

Outside, it still wasn’t the season for fruit to set, yet the trees in the garden were heavy with fruit. It truly looked like someone had transplanted paradise onto the earth.

‘But I can’t sense his presence.’

I looked around with guarded eyes.

Then someone approached me.

“Welcome.”

She was the most beautiful woman among all the men and women in the garden.

She greeted me politely.

“It’s been a long time since a guest came here in person.”

Smiling, the woman pointed with one hand toward the inner part of the garden.

“The master wishes to see you.”

***

‘It’s like a maze.’

I followed behind the woman in silence.

I’d already been walking down a complex path for over ten minutes, one that I’d surely lose my way in without a guide.

‘But the building is a bit unusual. Is it modeled after something from the Eastern Continent?’

Thinking pointless thoughts, I passed dozens of sliding doors made of wood and paper.

At last, the woman stopped in front of one door.

“Guildmaster, I’m coming in.”

After speaking in a respectful tone, she slid the door open to both sides.

A room so lavish it made my eyes ache revealed itself.

‘If I’d brought Edwin, it would’ve been a disaster.’

Multicolored transparent veils hanging from a high ceiling.

Beyond the veils draped all the way to the floor, I could see a tall, raised platform.

And on the platform, there was a woman lying as if buried in cushions and pillows.

“Your guest has arrived.”

The woman was dressed in an embarrassingly revealing way, wearing only a single sheer robe.

At her feet, a sturdy man was kneeling, holding a tray over his head with liquor and snacks arranged on it. It seemed the man’s purpose was to serve as a substitute table.

And below the platform, beautiful women on both sides were playing instruments, half-naked.

“Ugh, there we go.”

The woman in the robe shifted and sat up.

With black hair and violet eyes, she hid her face behind a feathered fan.

‘Somnia, the Golden Goose’s guildmaster.’

A woman of slave origin, yet through trade with the Eastern Continent and an information guild business, she became the owner of the greatest merchant guild in the Empire.

In many ways, she was an impressive person.

“I was wondering who the bold bastard was, shouting about looking for the Golden Goose in the streets.”

Somnia swept her eyes over me from head to toe, then let out a snort of a laugh.

“I didn’t expect it to be such a tiny woman.”

She fluttered her fan and tilted her head.

“So, you’re the one who mentioned the price of my life?”

“Yes.”

“How strange.”

Somnia’s face filled with a smile.

“There’s only one person who knows about the price of my life, and that person disappeared from this world a long time ago.”

So she hasn’t forgotten me, at least.

I stood there without answering.

Then Somnia covered my face with her fan. “Take off your hood and show me your face.”

“Do I have to?”

“It’s a matter of trust.”

Her upturned eyes curved into a crescent shape.

With her mouth hidden behind the fan, Somnia said, “And the price of my face is expensive, you know. If you tried to pay it in money, you couldn’t cover it even if you sold everything you have.”

Can’t be helped.

I obediently pulled down my hood.

“Hm?”

Somnia frowned as she looked at my face.

“It’s a face I’ve never seen before. Who are you? If you know the guild’s base is in Paradis, you can’t be an ordinary girl.”

She inspected my face with stubborn persistence.

“No disguise, and no magic, either.”

Then, in a firm voice, Somnia said, “Speak. Who are you?”

Lying here would be pointless.

‘This isn’t like Sage’s case.’

And if I lied, the woman before me would notice right away.

If you underestimate the eye of a merchant who leads a great guild, you’ll regret it.

“Kyla.”

At my answer, Somnia’s eyes widened. She went blank for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh.

“Ha, what did you say?”

“I said Kyla.”

I spoke with a blank face.

“Kyla Angel.”

When I included the surname as well, Somnia’s eyes and mouth fell wide open.

Seeing her shocked expression gave me a strange sense of pleasure.

“You didn’t forget my name, did you?”

In a rather familiar tone, I called the guildmaster by name.

“Somnia.”