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Knowing that, from the questions he had just asked, he had already made his purpose clear, Robb counted out the golden dragons from his pocket as he said,
"I know people in the information trade usually value discretion.
But as a precaution, I'll still give you one piece of advice. Honor the rules of your trade and do not force me to come back here."
"Hehe, my lord need not worry. If I've been in this business in King's Landing for so many years, it is precisely because I understand that very well."
Still smiling as he answered, Anguy accepted the golden dragons from Robb and began inspecting them one by one with care.
Robb nodded at that and said nothing more. He picked up the map Anguy had left on the table and turned to leave.
After leading Edd and the other three out of Anguy's smithy, Robb went straight to the shop in Cobbler's Square to rejoin the rest of the Winterfell riders.
Both that shop and Anguy's smithy, which sold information, had been bought through Ramsay's special channels.
In the end, since that network had not been built by his own informants, Robb did not trust it very much. But as something expendable, a one-time tool, it was perfectly suitable.
The truth was that he had simply had far too little time to build his own network. If he had had the time to build his own information network in King's Landing, then even with the Gold Cloaks searching the gates, he would have found a way to get Bloodwind into the city.
When he returned to the shop, Robb began assigning areas to the riders where they were to search for Arya, using the map of King's Landing as a basis.
The more than ten riders specially chosen for this mission had all seen Arya before, so there was no risk of them meeting her and failing to recognize her.
As for the real problem, how to find Arya when not even an information network could locate her, Robb had already thought long and hard about it.
The night before, while forcing himself to remember, he had vaguely recalled that, shortly before his father was executed by Joffrey, Arya had appeared in one of the city's poor districts, trying to trade a pigeon she had caught for a piece of bread from a baker, only to be turned away.
Now, because of the changes caused by his own actions, King's Landing had already drifted away from the events he remembered. If he wanted to find Arya, he could only use that clue to narrow the search area.
"Lord Robb, would Miss Arya really be somewhere around here?"
Edd, who had been standing beside Robb, looked down at the map spread across the table as he asked.
"Ah... she should be somewhere around these two areas. As for whether we'll find her or not, that depends only on the gods."
At the question, Robb let out a sigh before answering.
The areas marked on the map were Flour Street, lined with small bakeries along its length, and farther west from there, the slum known as Flea Bottom.
The streets in that area were a tangled mess of narrow alleys and twisting intersections, exactly like the vague memories Robb had.
Since King's Landing, even in normal times, already had a population of around five hundred thousand, the population density there was enormous.
Because of that, with only a dozen men, finding Arya in the middle of all those people would require extraordinary luck.
On their first day inside King's Landing, the riders returned empty-handed when night fell, but they did bring back some news from the city.
The patrols of the Gold Cloaks had clearly increased. And many Lannister soldiers had also begun taking part in patrols and in keeping order.
In addition, both the Red Keep and the Great Sept of Baelor had already begun hastily changing their decorations, preparing for King Robert's funeral rites.
Many beggars and drifters had begun lingering around the Red Keep and the Great Sept, hoping to find work or receive alms from the nobles.
That was one reason the Lannister soldiers were also helping keep order. After all, the little over two thousand Gold Cloaks were no longer enough to guard all seven city gates while also controlling the growing unrest in the streets.
Inside the shop, now entirely under Robb's control, he himself was preparing supper for the more than ten riders who had spent the whole day running across the city.
Edd helped as best he could, while the ingredients had been bought that very afternoon by Edd himself.
Food in Westeros, when served to the nobility, had decent flavor and some variety.
The food of the common people, however... was almost indescribable. Put simply, it served only to fill the belly.
Robb and the others obviously could not go out and buy a great deal of expensive food from fine establishments.
Besides, in a world where poison was a common weapon, and when conditions allowed it, the dishes Robb prepared with the cooking techniques of his former world were both safer and far more delicious.
Clack. Clack.
Just as he and Edd were busy preparing the meal, a wooden cabinet in the corner of the kitchen let out two strange noises.
The two looked at each other and immediately stopped what they were doing.
Robb tilted his head slightly toward the front area of the shop, signaling Edd to go call the others, while he reached for the meat cleaver on the table.
"Lord Robb, there's no need to be so tense. I wish to tell you something about your father."
From behind the cabinet in the corner came a soft, gentle voice.
It seemed the person hiding there had only decided to speak because the kitchen had suddenly gone quiet.
"Mm. Come out first. Whatever you have to say, let's speak face to face."
At those words, Robb's vigilance eased somewhat, and he answered.
Deep down, he knew that if it had been an enemy, they would already have attacked by surprise at that very moment.
Creek... thunk.
When the cabinet in the corner was pushed aside, Robb finally saw who had been hiding behind it.
It was a plump figure, wrapped in a dark hooded cloak that concealed his face. Behind him was a secret door set into the wall.
The moment that figure stepped out, the door shut on its own. The fit was so perfect that once closed, it left no trace at all.
No wonder, when he had ordered the riders to search the whole shop, no one had found anything.
"Hehe, Lord Robb, this is a safehouse for information. Having a hidden door here is perfectly normal, wouldn't you say?"
The figure raised both hands, pulled back the hood, and spoke with a soft laugh.
The moment he saw that unmistakable face, Robb smiled as well.
"Yes, perfectly normal, Lord Varys."
Yes. The one who had stepped out from the secret passage was the Spider, King's Landing's master of whisperers, Varys.
With that round bald head, soft voice, and that silent, almost feminine way of moving, it would have been difficult for anyone else to impersonate him.
"Lord Varys's little birds truly are remarkable. I came to King's Landing in disguise on purpose, and yet on the very first day, you already appeared before me.
May I ask what you meant a moment ago when you said you wanted to tell me something about my father?"
Knowing from the memories of his former life that Varys was not an immediate threat, Robb went straight to the point.
"My little birds are not quite as remarkable as you imagine. The cold of the North makes it rather difficult for them to sing.
In truth, your cover was very good. Until this morning, I had no idea you had already left Winterfell."
Varys, tucking his hands into his sleeves as usual, displayed that harmless, pleasant smile and continued,
"As for why I knew of your arrival today and came in person...
In truth, this safehouse for information was sold by me. And the smithy that sold you that information was also set up by me."
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