Up until the figure from before came back, I sat there in awkward silence.
'I mean, how does someone even reply to that?'
I watched as the two had their quiet conversation, and after another couple of minutes, the figure vanished.
And finally, the expression I had been hoping to see on Evelyn's face appeared.
Seriousness.
"Your information was correct. My lackey found tens of wolves in the sewers. He killed a few, but he said a couple hundred more came along, so he had to escape... But... You know, this is not a small bit of information."
I smiled. "Want to skip blackjack then and get right down to business?"
"..."
"My office, follow me."
She rose from the seat and went up another flight of stairs.
I, like the gentleman that I am, followed right behind her.
In front of me was an office with a strangely modern steel door. She placed her hand on it, and it suddenly opened.
'A fingerprint scanner? Damn... She must be making thousands of gold from that guy if he can pull something like this off.'
However, before stepping in, she glanced back at me.
"Not sure if you've noticed, but your butler is gone."
"Uh, yeah. He probably ran away with my money."
"Does this happen often?"
I shook my head. "He usually does it more discreetly. I doubt he's coming back this time around though."
She just stared at me, then shook her head.
"Since he had the balls to steal in my gambling house, I'll deal with him, don't worry."
After that, she simply waved me inside her office.
It was nice and cozy. I found myself drawn to a black sofa, so I sat down on it. I crossed my legs and waited for her to finish pouring herself a drink.
After that, she walked over to me and sat down. After placing her drink down on the table, she turned toward me.
"You know a lot."
"Well, if I hadn't known a lot, you wouldn't be seeing me."
"Mm... That's true." She took a sip, then continued. "I just don't really get what Amon Everness, the Demon Child, wants from a humble gambling house owner such as myself."
A faint smile appeared on my face. "Would you be surprised if I told you all I wanted was money?"
"If all you wanted was money, I'd throw you out here and now."
Chuckling, Evelyn twirled her drink around, her expression distant yet serious.
"What is it you're really here for? I don't like beating around the bush for too long."
Hearing that, I straightened my back.
Going to her territory, getting an audience... It all went according to my plan so far.
But then again, I had just woken up in this world.
My plan wasn't so well made that it could see the future.
So whatever happens after I open my mouth is a gamble.
"I... I want to establish a mutual partnership between us."
She froze for a moment.
"Mutual partnership? You know that would mean that you would need to be on the same level as I am. Don't be surprised when I tell you, you're not even close."
I didn't give up.
"I need your support, and in exchange, I'll give you information."
It was simple but effective.
"Every bit of information I give you would be enough to change thousands of lives."
More.
"It could make you super rich too."
More...
"I can also tell you..."
I suddenly froze, realizing just what I was about to say.
But I wasn't sitting in a room full of politicians.
I was sitting in a room beside a person who dealt in shady dealings, and so...
"I can tell you who is going to be the next emperor."
When I finished my words, a deathly silence ensued.
Her hand, which held the cup, trembled slightly. She put the cup down, then crossed her arms, avoiding my gaze.
She didn't say anything, but I was glad that she at least considered my proposal.
It wasn't a total Hail Mary.
I had a few other plans I could try if this didn't work out.
After all, I had finished this game completely.
I knew everything that was going to happen, and I knew precisely when it would happen.
If anything, I am—
"Are you an oracle, per chance?" Evelyn asked, startling me momentarily.
"I kind of thought about it when you told me about the wolves earlier. I thought: maybe he has some kind of information network in the slums..."
She let out a faint giggle.
"Then I remembered who you are. And then you threw these ridiculous proposals at me. I can get behind the first two, but you know who the next emperor will be?"
Evelyn paused for a moment, making sure I understood everything she was saying.
"Also, the oracles of the church already divined the next emperor. All of them named different imperials."
Of course they did, the gods didn't know either.
Why? Well, the imperial family wasn't a normal family.
One day, they are holding a gala and celebrating with their entire bloodline,
The next, they accidentally make a nuke and toss it onto the city, killing everyone.
I still get shivers from that ending. That piece of shit Reinar cost me my longest playthrough, all because he had an epiphany.
Despite that, I had an ending I wanted to reach.
For that, I needed Evelyn to support the next emperor early...
"Lucaviel D. Quincy."
"The bastard child?" Evelyn nearly jumped up. "Now you're just making fun of me, aren't you?"
I met her gaze.
"I want there to be trust between us. So as a token of sincerity, I'll give you a heads-up."
I glanced around, making sure no one was listening.
"You just made an investment into a Magic Stone mine, right?"
"Huh?" Evelyn froze for a moment, her eyes narrowing. "No, I didn't. I was going to accept next week though. How do you..."
Shaking my head, I replied, "That's good then. Don't take that offer. That Magic Stone mine seems like the property of a noble, but in reality, the Quincy imperial family owns it. The one selling the mine is just some corrupt vice minister."
I remembered very well which official it was too. After all, after Evelyn got the mine, there was a cutscene showing the transaction and then what happened before it.
It sucked. But on the bright side, the vice minister became a eunuch by the end of the year.
Approved.
"All you'd get from buying that mine is a never-ending headache, 250% increased taxes on Magic Stone export, every one of your routes would have an imperial checkpoint, needing you to pay up to 250 gold worth in fees before you even get the Magic Stones to your buyers."
I leaned back with a sigh.
"Trust me, you don't want that deal."
Like last time, Evelyn thought of it as a joke at first, but even so, she snapped her fingers, causing the figure from before to appear.
She whispered the details to the figure, and it soon vanished.
Evelyn cleared her throat.
"I'll need to confirm that information. If you're not lying to me, I'd be willing to enter into a mutual partnership agreement with you."
My heart began to beat faster, and I could just barely stop a smile from forming.
"I see..."
I was glad it went so smoothly. I was honestly half expecting her to pin me down and beat me up for lying.
But hey, not being beat up was better.
"It should take about half an hour for your shadow to confirm the information... So why don't we talk terms in advance, hm?"