“Haaaah,” I said, pulling out my sword from a monster.

Various chunks of unrefined mana stones laid on the group. Leon picked some of them up, and threw them in my direction. I caught them and crushed them, putting the rest on the bag.

We made our way back into the cave at floor thirty four just after we defeated all the monsters who arrived due to the faintly source mana. It wasn’t anything great, just a couple of goblins. In fact I was surprised there wasn’t a big battle.

Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as I thought because I was stopped midway through my action since the adventures approached me. Leon sighed behind me, seemingly tired.

“Oh, by the way, the insignia was from the Nadeau family, right?” he asked, tapping his finger on his armor as if checking it. “You could've used our family insignia, so why choose the other?”

As if perplexed by my actions, Leon voiced his confusion. Leon had a good point: I held both the Nadeau and Basset insignia, Leon’s father was generous enough to give me one which proved to be very useful.

“Because I like to be mysterious,” I lied in a sarcastic manner. “In all seriousness, it was the best course of action. The Nadeau family is more underground, the probability of them taking action is low. Plus I wanted to send a message.”

“A message?” Leon repeated.

“Yeah, they should relay the information back to the Ballerini family,” I said while cleaning my sword from all the monster blood on it.

This should be obvious, but I also have the Chaim family insignia, heh. I collect insignia like collectibles though I have a good reason for it.

Because I like them. It may be a simple reason, but I don’t care. Every insignia is different, each adorned with various gemstones depending on the status of the family.

I find it very pleasing to see the beautiful gem on my hand. Nah, who am I kidding? I like it because the gemstones used for the insignia are expensive, I do find them pleasing to look at though.

Besides, women love jewelry.

And I need to find ways to discard my excessive amount of jewelry. While I usually sell them off to other nobles, I occasionally give them to someone.

As Leon mentioned, I’m given a percentage of any goods the Basset finds, jewelry being included in the goods. Basically, I’m being rewarded from doing a good job since his father is the one who decides how the goods are split.

I do a good job at my work, but that’s besides the point.

Ah, you may be curious about the women who I gift jewelry to. Heh, well, wouldn’t you like to know?

I’m joking.

It—

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Heh, I should’ve known from the start. You dislike the Ballerini family, don’t you!” Leon began laughing.

“I wouldn’t say that, but their suspicious activity is definitely worrying. Who knows, they might be even involved with the Amagiri family.”

“Yeah, my father also said the same thing. Operation Delta shouldn’t have been found out, much less interceptive. The only ones who knew the information were us, Ballerini, and your family,” he said as if he bitterly remembered the events.

“Although there were a couple of others, only the three of us had confidential information on the operation, if it was leaked to I don’t know maybe the Amagiri, it would explain their sudden appearance,” Leon continued, obviously sarcastic about the identity of the family.

“Yeah, I never trusted them from day one. As such I sent someone to conduct an undercover investigation. She should be doing quite the good job, considering her reports,” I said, flicking the insignia upwards like flipping a coin.

“Ah, are you talking about her?” Leon inquired, very curious for some reason.

“You need to be more specific,” I replied.

“The orange haired one…well, tangerine orange to be more specific. Anyways, she’s short yet has a decent bust size despite being shorter than the average woman.”

Leon suddenly started giving me a description. Although it wasn’t helpful, I had a rough idea. I nodded, opening my mouth.

“I think I know who you’re talking about, but to make sure, what’s her name?” I asked.

“Shit, I forgot. Uhhh…the one you fucked!” Leon suddenly said something outrageous.

“Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?”

“…” Leon stared at me, blinking over and over.

“Nah, I’m joking. I’m a virgin,” I said, waving my hand.

To be honest it was a bit too serious so I wanted to lighten the mood with a joke. Plus, it was a good way to retort to such an outrageous comment by Leon. A joke for a joke as they say.

“You got me worried for a second,” he replied, wiping nonexistent sweat on his face.

“Being serious, the one you gave jewelry to. If I remember correctly, you ordered one to be made for her specifically. She sure was elated when she received it,” he chuckled.

“Right…”

Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down? But this time for real, do you know how much women enjoy being given something expensive for free?

Of course they’ll be happy!

“It was indeed her,” I nodded.

“So that’s why I haven’t seen her in a long time, I thought you abandoned her once you got tired of her, you fucking womanizer.”

“Woah, woah, things sure are escalating! Now, what is this accusation coming from?” I questioned, awkwardly chucking.

“For one, when she was still here, you rarely included her in any activities for that matter,” he said.

“Well, she didn’t want to be included. For some reason she only wanted to spend time alone with me. Plus I can't hang out with my friend?” I said, defending my innocence.

“So why did you only call her whenever you wanted something and left right afterwards?”

“That’s because she was reporting about important situations regarding the trades. I had to depart to the given locations while she unfortunately stayed back,” I explained.

How is he misunderstanding all these situations!?