The Male Lead I Raised Is Obsessed With Me

We secretly packed our bags and climbed over the wall.

We couldn’t request the Count to open the gates, so the carriage had to be abandoned.

Treon hugged me and cried for a long time.

10 years.

Treon was only a boy in his mid-teens when he was first subjected to violence.

‘…That scumbag, I should have hit him more.’

If this were my previous life, this would have been in a news article.

I held Treon’s hand tightly.

He didn’t seem to realise, but his hands were trembling violently.

He spoke softly with puffy eyes.

“……I’ll try to find a new business partner. We left the carriage, so there’s no way to go back.”

“Don’t worry. You don’t have to look for one.”

“Then we might really need to survive on the streets, won’t we?”

I laughed a little.

“It’s alright, I have something in mind.”

“You should also plan ahead in case Count Martech comes pressuring us…”

“They’ll probably be busy that we don’t even need to bother about it.”

“But…”

“Just trust me. Did you think I did this without any preparation?”

“……”

Treon kept silent.

This guy.

“By the way, madam. Where are we going now?”

Bircher asked belatedly.

“To find an informant merchant.”

“What? Madam, do you even know how to find them?”

“I heard about it by chance.”

Originally, there were two goals for meeting the Count of Martech.

One is to understand the relationship between Treon and Count Martech.

Another is to find an informant merchant.

I wasn’t sure how I would find one, but I needed the help of an informant merchant to get revenge on Count Martech.

There was also a useful clue that our cute Blackie gave us.

We walked in the dark alleyway for a long time. 

“Madam. Are you sure you’re going the right way?”

Bircher asked.

“Well, maybe…”

I’ve only read the descriptions in the book, but I’ve never actually been there myself.

“…It feels like we’ve been circling the same place since a while ago.”

Treon looked at me in doubt.

“Really? Somehow, I think I’ve seen that flower shop before. It was just a flower shop, so I thought they looked similar.”

“Madam. What are you looking for?”
“A bar with a whale on the signboard…”

“Isn’t that the store in front of you?”

“What?”

I halted my steps and raised my head.

It’s true.

There was a signboard with a whale swimming in the sea right in front of us.

It was past business hours, so the lights in the bar were turned off.

The bar might have business hours, but informant merchants had no business hours.

Without hesitating, I knocked on the door.

“Are they asleep?”

There was no answer.

I knocked on the door again.

There was the sound of thumping footsteps, and soon the door opened violently.

Fortunately, Bircher pulled me back so I didn’t hit my forehead against the door.

A man with sharp features and his hair stretched out as if he had just woken up, shouted.

“Don’t you know what time it is? It’s been long since we’ve closed our business!”

Instead of apologising to the man, I recited the code I read in the original story.

“Would you mind giving me a cup of tea?”

“What are you talking about? Don’t you know that this is a place that sells wine, not tea?”

“Even if you drink wine or tea, they both make people delirious. I would like a hot tea with ice, please.”

When I spit out the second code, the man noticed that I was a customer who came to trade information.

He scratched his head in a more relaxed manner before speaking.

“There are a few customers who make strange orders. We don’t accept such orders.”

“Add ten tablespoons of salt to the floral tea.”

When I spoke the last code, the man sighed deeply and stepped aside.

“……I didn’t know we’d have guests at this hour. Come inside.”

The man led us to a small room inside the bar.

And after letting us take a seat at the table, I finally received my cup of tea.

When I picked up the teacup, I felt the warmth flowing in.

Today felt like a really long day.

It was also way past bedtime, so I was sleepy.

The man took a sip of the tea and asked.

“So what brought you here all of a sudden?”

“I came here to sell information.”

“At this hour? It must be pretty urgent.”

“Maybe it’s urgent, maybe it isn’t. I’ll be frank. Wouldn’t you like to devour Count Martech?”

“Oh?”

The man’s eyes filled up with curiosity.

“I guess you’ve received information that could properly ruin Count Martech?”

“Yes. Therefore, as an informant, I would like you to connect me with a decent nobleman.”

Even though that’s what I said, I knew exactly which nobleman I would be connected to.

Duke of Summerhield.

Unlike the ruined Valruga, they were a dignified duke family who dominated the continent and was one of the biggest clients of Count Martech.

In the original story, the heroine finds out that the family that was sponsoring the informant merchants was the Duke of Summerhield from the second male lead.

‘I have no intention of revealing that fact.’

It was for that reason that I had requested to connect with a noble in a roundabout way.

If I requested for the Duke of Summerhield bluntly, Duke Summerhield would feel that something was suspicious.

‘After all, all the information will instantly be reported to the Duke of Summerhield. Removing Count Martech would be a great benefit. Even more so if Count Martech had lied about the materials of the sword supplied to the Duke of Summerhield, the Duke would not have let the Count go.’

The man asked with curious eyes.

“You must have found something very interesting. What is it?”

“Count Martech is fabricating the materials used for making the swords.”

“Haha. Young lady is saying a dangerous thing. This is not a place to sell false information. If you are lying,”

The man quickly changed his tone and scowled.

“You might have to pay it back with your life. Count Martech is the kind of person who always takes revenge.”

He said his words carefully as if he was teaching a little child.

“Every sword distributed by Count Martech is strictly managed. I haven’t heard of any rumours regarding a change in the weight of the swords. If that was the case, the nobles who purchased them would have noticed it at first glance.”

“What if it is not a lie?”

“Are you going to risk the Valruga’s reputation?”

It wasn’t surprising that the man knew who I was.

Rather, I would have been disappointed in their ability to gather information if they didn’t know.

The man tapped on the table lightly.

“Bring me the evidence. A proof to make me believe that your words are true.”

“Proof…”

Do I have to reveal that I possess a divine beast?

But it would be risky to reveal it here. 

I wasn’t sure what kind of mess that would cause. 

Most people who possess a divine beast depend on people with power for protection since there are many people who aim to obtain them.

If I reveal the fact that I have a divine beast, I will be monitored by many nobles, the Valruga will be attacked by many parties and it would be a mess.

“If you say that it was a lie now, I can brush it off as a little girl’s punch once. I’m not the kind of pervert that likes to see such a cute girl die.”

The man already seemed convinced inwardly that I had lied.

Then, what should I do?

How can I prove that what I say is true without revealing Blackie?

The man took a sugar cube and dropped it into his cup, waiting for my answer.

Splash.

When the sugar cube was added, the water in the cup rippled and the level rose.

Realisation struck like a lightning.

Bingo!

There was a way!

I laughed confidently.

“I can prove it.”

“How?”

“But, I need some things to prove it. You can do that much for me, right?”

＊  ＊  ＊

Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

Even though it was late at night, the man got all the items I requested. 

A new sword that was purchased from Count Martech.

A sword made entirely of light iron that was purchased elsewhere.

A light iron of the same weight as the sword.

A scale.

And three tanks half filled with water.

“I’ve got everything you wanted. So? What are you going to do?”

I ordered Bircher to place the light iron on one side of the scale and the sword from Count Martech on the other.

The scale moved for a while before it finally weighted equally.

“Bircher. Remove the light iron and place the other sword on it.”

Both swords and light iron had the same weight.

“I told you, the weight of the sword distributed by Count Martech is the same. There is no change.”

The man stood, crossed his arms and stared at me.

“The weight could have been from mixing other ores apart from light iron. Bircher, put the light iron in the water.”

Bircher looked puzzled by my words but dropped the light iron into the tank as I ordered.

The water in the tank surged and the level rose.

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Look closely. Bircher, put the sword purchased from Count Martech into the tank.”

Bircher dropped the sword into another tank.

When I saw the level of the water, I smiled.

The experiment was a success.

“What is the point of this? Is this supposed to be evidence?”

I pointed to the tank and spoke.

“Do you see this? The water level is different.”

“What?”

The man approached the tank.

“The height of the water is different when you place the light iron and the sword. When the light iron was dropped, the water rose higher.”

“It’s probably because it’s a sword. Isn’t it natural for the water level to be different since the shape is different?”

That was why I requested another sword to be bought elsewhere

“Is that so? Bircher, put the sword purchased elsewhere into the water.”

When the sword fell into the water, the surface of the water shook.

And soon, it became as calm as it was before.

“……!”

The man’s eyes widened.

The height of the water rose and was equal to that of the light iron.

Fortunately, the place that sold that sword didn’t seem to lie about the materials.

“…What is this. Impossible. The height of the water varies depending on the material. How did you know this?”

I learned it during an experiment in elementary school.

I laughed triumphantly.

“If you don’t believe me, you can try it with another sword.”

“No, I believe you. But…It is my first time knowing that you could figure it out this way.”

The man still couldn’t hide his surprise and tottered around the tank.

“All this time, I had been confident that I had a good eye for people…Seeing you now makes me reconsider my eyesight.”

“Then, can you now introduce me to a nobleman that can devour Count Martech?”

The man nodded his head to my question as if he was possessed.

＊  ＊  ＊

Please do not repost. Read only at Dropped Inks.

With nowhere to go right now, we got a room attached to the bar.

It will take a few days for someone from the Duke of Summerhield to arrive.

Bircher, who was arranging the bedding in my room, asked.

“By the way, madam. How did you know that?”

“I read it in a book.”

It wasn’t a lie

I read it in a textbook before I was possessed.

“For such information to be written, it must have been a very difficult book, but that’s amazing!”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“What are you saying?! If it wasn’t for the madam, all of us would have been on the streets! I’m glad you’re here! Then, did you notice it when you went to the blacksmith village during the day?”

“That’s right…”

Come to think of it, this answer seemed a bit suspicious.

I glanced at Treon’s face, but it was still hard to read his expression.

Treon looked at me silently and said.

“……Thank you.”

Huh?

“If it wasn’t for the madam, I would have…I don’t know what would have happened to my family.”

Treon expressed his gratitude honestly.

I was a little surprised since I didn’t expect that he would admit it.

“No, well…You just need to work hard in the future.”

For the first time, Treon replied to me with a smile.

“Yes.”

His face was a mess, but his gentle smile was pleasant to see.

And the next day, I woke up from my rest and was met by an unexpectedly large figure…