Ten minutes later.
【Log: Due to your proficient use, Great Memory Erasure Technique has reached lv.2】
【Great Memory Erasure Technique (Reversed) lv.2: When performing a non-lethal weapon attack, you have a 20% probability of causing the target to recall a memory.】
〈“Sophie, busy with a myriad of affairs, received a delegation. After the meeting, Sophie found her pipe missing and couldn't find it anywhere. She summoned the Secret Hero Kaila and said, ‘Hurry, catch up with the delegation and see who took my pipe.’
Kaila rushed to catch the delegation. Five minutes later, Sophie found her pipe under a pile of documents. She quickly recalled Kaila and said with a smile, ‘Look, I found my pipe.’
Kaila replied, ‘It’s too late. Half of the delegation has already confessed to taking your pipe, and the other half died during interrogation.’”〉
Silvervein City, Tailor Shop.
Sophie sat quite ungracefully with her legs crossed, perched boldly on the square oak table that was meant for displaying luxurious fabrics.
She simply ignored the system's blatant slander.
However, she had to admit that the Great Memory Erasure Technique was a bit more useful than she had imagined.
She had originally thought this “recall” effect only worked on people who already had amnesia.
Now it seemed its potential went far beyond that.
In front of the table, Amos, Bart, and the proprietress Martha were kneeling on the thick carpet in a triangular formation.
On the back of each of their heads, several red, swollen lumps were visibly protruding.
“Great, noble, and merciful Lord of the North...” Amos clutched his head, his face a mess of tears and snot, with none of the arrogance he had shown as a patrol soldier just moments ago. “We... we must have been possessed by a demon to have offended your lordship during your undercover inspection!”
With the help of the Great Memory Restoration Technique, the three of them had successfully forgotten the false memories regarding Sophie’s appearance and instead “recalled” her identity.
She was a noble lady traveling in disguise to observe the lives of the common people.
And they believed this without a shadow of a doubt.
“Enough nonsense.” Sophie lightly kicked the edge of the table with her heel. “The kingdom’s laws should be very clear about the price for offending a noble, shouldn’t they? I am in a very foul mood right now, and I’ve suffered immense psychological trauma. Mental damage compensation, lost wages, defamation damages... you decide how you want to settle this.”
“Yes, yes! Of course! Your Lordship’s mental distress must be compensated by us lowly commoners!”
Bart untied the coin pouch from his waist and poured the contents out at Sophie’s feet with a clatter. “This is my salary, a total of nine Silver Moons and eight Copper Shells! It’s all yours!”
Amos also hurriedly emptied all his pockets, holding the coins respectfully in his palms as he offered them up. “My Lady, I have fifteen Silver Moons here!”
Sophie unceremoniously swept all the coins into her player inventory.
Then, she turned her gaze toward the proprietress, Martha, who was kneeling at the back.
The moment their eyes met, Martha shuddered violently. She scrambled to the corner of the room and pried a heavy wooden box from beneath a hidden floor tile.
“Lordship! This is the shop’s entire revenue, a total of seven Gold Suns and eleven Silver Moons! It all belongs to you!” Martha wailed, her face full of grief.
But compared to losing her head, money was clearly a secondary concern.
“Hmm, your attitude in admitting your mistake is fairly sincere.”
Sophie took the box Martha handed over. Seeing the woman’s pained expression, she raised an eyebrow.
“This shop of yours... these clothes on the shelves... they’re worth quite a bit.”
Sophie’s gaze swept across the ceiling, the floor, and the wardrobes.
Martha’s eyes widened.
Could... could it be?
“However, I won’t be staying here for long, so I won’t demand property from a commoner like you,” Sophie chuckled.
Drenched in a cold sweat from fear, Martha let out a long sigh of relief and cried out in gratitude, “Thank you, Lordship! Thank you, Lordship!”
See? She even has to thank me.
The people of the Red Moon were all about compromise. If you took their revenue, they might be unhappy, but if you showed that you intended to tear down their house, they would suddenly become very reasonable and willing to hand over the money.
Seven Gold Suns, thirty-five Silver Moons, and eight Copper Shells.
Adding that to her original two Silver Moons and three Gold Suns, she had nearly twelve Gold Suns at the start.
She was rich.
Sophie happily tucked all the money away.
In Solitude, 1 Gold Sun = 20 Silver Moons = 240 Copper Shells.
Although Sophie missed the Red Moon Empire’s convenient currency ratio of 1 Gold : 10 Silver : 100 Copper, times had changed, and she could only adapt to the local customs for now.
“However...”
Sophie toyed with a glittering gold coin as her tone shifted.
“For the purpose of my undercover inspection, I want to ask you: in this Silvervein City, is there a better way... a way to completely hide one’s face without attracting excessive attention from the patrol? Or perhaps a special kind of mask that wouldn’t arouse suspicion?”
She was fed up with being looked at like a freak by these people.
She wore a mask to protect them, yet they suspected her of being some evil entity.
“Most noble lords use things like veils to cover themselves...” Martha said cautiously.
Sophie shook her head.
A veil wouldn't work.
Something semi-transparent couldn't possibly suppress her Charisma.
“But aside from members of certain cults, very few people wear masks on their faces,” Martha thought for a moment. “With the interference of the Moon Witch, the gods rarely grant their favor anymore. The sects within Solitude have mostly withered away.”
“If you don’t want to be recognized, perhaps you could try a magic mask with an illusion effect? Of course, they are very expensive, but that shouldn't be a problem for a noble such as yourself.”
“How much?”
“Around fifty Gold Suns.”
Hiss.
Sophie twitched her lips.
Using an illusion was indeed a solution.
It wasn't a simple disguise; it would transform her entire head—into an elf, a dwarf, or even a skeleton. Her Charisma value after the transformation would naturally be completely different.
But dropping fifty Gold Suns just for a mask seemed a bit excessive.
“Are there any magic material shops around here?” Sophie suddenly asked.
Speaking of transformation, she could achieve the same effect through a ritual.
“There are, but they only carry common materials,” Amos replied. “After all, Solitude is remote and isn't exactly a place adventurers love to visit. If Your Lordship needs something specific... it might be better to post a commission.”
“What about uncommon materials like the Winter Snow Lotus? Isn't our Solitude adjacent to the snowfields?”
“A Winter Snow Lotus... those are very rare.” Amos shook his head. “And you know the situation over in the snowfields; it’s not exactly convenient.”
I don't know what the situation is.
Though, it probably had something to do with the curse.
But the Winter Snow Lotus was a primary material.
Sophie rubbed her temples, feeling a slight headache.
“If you need it, the supply of Oriental Snow Lotus might be more plentiful. It’s a higher-grade material from a distant eastern land, and the supply is stable. It’s almost entirely replaced the local product,” Amos said.
Oriental Snow Lotus? That was indeed a new material she hadn't heard of before.
She wondered if it was rare.
Sophie nodded.
She planned to go and take a look.
Rate on N.U.
