「Chapter 027」
Translator: Silver
In the end, there were two aristocrats and three merchants association presidents possible collaborators.
Capul was initially included in this list but was excluded due to the timing of this affair. Personally, I still added him to the four “official” potential suspects.
The first one was the head of a knight household in charge of guarding the major roads.
It’s said that this house often butted heads with the adventurer’s guild in regards to monster subjugations and knightly duties.
The other aristocrat stepped in and tried to poach a couple of adventurers involved. Still, Oink stepped in and torpedoed those efforts. Things have been at a standstill since.
Although the knights’ house had a low noble rank, its private army stressed the limits of what the royal family would allow. All of its members were considered elites.
Honestly, the rest of the suspects weren’t that outstanding. The conflicts they had with adventurers were the results of minor conflicts of interest more than anything else.
“Isn’t the failed poacher the most suspicious one? Their private army has been rather active lately.”
“Baron Monnes…… just because he failed doesn’t mean he’d resort to murder to solve the issue.”
“That’s the thing, though. We don’t know the motivation.”
If you think about it, what’s the point of frequently mobilizing your private army…… was it a show of strength?
In any case, if I present myself at the bait, I should be able to lure the culprits out. However, secretly killing them off wouldn’t satisfy my desire to expose them.
Was it different here?
“What did the adventurers who were killed, rather than revenge, have in common? Did someone previously try to poach them or something like that?”
“I wouldn’t say that things are as simple as that…… if anything, the fact that they both women is the only thing they have in common.”
“What was that?”
“E-Everyone of them seems to have been a beautiful woman. It’s rumored that some aristocrats considered it a waste to have them remain mere adventurers.”
……No way?
Don’t tell me the killer meant to take them away but wound up killing them when things got out of hand.
It couldn’t be something like that, could it?
In the first place, it’s been two weeks since he was last seen, and things have been quiet since…… was it because he had received further instructions?
“Can you looking into the request the previous two victims had taken in the past or their most recent ones?”
“Give me a moment.”
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
The results soon arrived.
Cataloging the request history of adventurers was part of the guild’s duty, so the investigation was relatively quick.
If there was a common client between all of the victims’ requests, we could identify the killer’s backer.
……It’s a shame there wasn’t a curtain for me to step out from behind.
“Excuse me, I think I can resolve this issue by the end of the day.”
“What?! You know where the criminal is hiding?”
“I think I can lead you right to them in a little while.”
Speaking of which, Rue said she was going sightseeing around the castle by herself.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
I made my own deductions about the killer…… instead, it was more apt to call them a would-be kidnaper taking orders from Kapur.
All of the early victims had received requests from the Kapur association in the past.
It turned out that both victims were hired on as escorts for merchant runs in the local area. No one noticed this before because the requests only came up when scheduling conflicts left vacancies in the knight detail.
And a similar occurrence just so happened to occur two weeks ago with Capul set off for Saltberg.
In other words, it made sense that things were so quiet in his absence.
And now, Capul had been enraptured by Rue’s 【Stupid Man Attracting】scent.
If the killer went after her, there’s no way she would let that guy off.
There was nothing for me to do.
“Well, can a silver-ranker scare off the other party?”
“What…… if your theory is true, isn’t it better to wait before making any rash decision……? However, that is a possibility. Shouldn’t you inform your friend of the danger?”
“No, it’s fine. I guarantee it.”
If I was still LV 200, Rue would’ve had a higher defense stat than me.
Unlike myself, the robes Rue always wore were first-class equipment. If you wanted to hurt her, give it your best shot.
Till then, Hawke and I killed time together until a receptionist from the guild called for us.
“It looks like things are starting. Let’s go.”
“A-ah, right.”
We arrived at the receptionist desk just a Rue was dragging a person into the building.
He was a suspicious man dressed in all black.
A closer look revealed that the man was covered in blood and his body was slightly frozen.
“Rue, good work.”
“Oh, Kai-kun! Listen, when I was out sightseeing, this guy called out to me and said he had a message from you. When I followed him, he suddenly cast a spell.”
“So he’s a wizard…… did he hurt you?”
“No, it was some sort of hypnotic magic, but my barrette negated it. It seems to be made of mithril or something. Though, those types of spells don’t work on me anyway.”
As expected, Rue half killed the guy before dragging him here in retaliation.
Hawke was left dumbstruck by the scene before him, but this was reality.
Don’t judge this kid by ordinary measures.
“This man is my target. I’ll take over from here.”
“Can you explain it to me later?”
Now, let the interrogation begin.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
“Hey, mister murder. I’m Kaivon, and I’ve been tasked to find you. Nice to meet you.”
“……”
We left the guild and were currently in a knights’ barracks.
More specifically, we were in the on-site underground dungeon.
With chains and torture tools lined up along the back wall, this place didn’t look like the interrogation rooms you saw on tv.
The distorted look on the man’s face makes it clear that the atmosphere was affecting him.
“I already have a good idea what’s going on, but… You’re Kapul’s man, aren’t you?”
“……”
“When I saw your track record, I knew that you were adept at killing, not abduction. Capul is also stupid for clearly choosing the wrong man for the job.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m the one asking the questions.”
A sudden burst of violence was the first step to dominating the other party.
I already slotted in the 『Back of The Blade』skill.
Without a moment of hesitation, I delivered a sharp kick to his right leg. He wouldn’t die, but it was obviously a brutal blow.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
“So, at Carul’s request, you targeted Rue this time, but instead of abduction her, you were defeated. Didn’t you hear the target’s details?”
“……Damn it, I did! I was only told that she used ice magic!”
“I see, I see. You’ll admit to working under Capul’s orders, won’t you? She just arrived in this city yesterday, and only Capul saw her using ice magic while she was his escort.”
Actually, there were the knights, but I held my tongue.
“Hey, hey, what’s the answer?”
“Gyaaaaaaaaa!!! Yes! Please stop!”
I kicked his right leg again, which had literally been hanging by a piece of skin, and sent it flying off into a corner.
“Alright, Hawke-san, did you hear that?”
“……Yeah.”
“That’s enough then, die.”
I deactivated my ability. After one final blow, the man’s lifeless body slumped into his chair.
……Ability get.
“……While it was listed as a subjugation request, you can’t kill someone who’s already been captured.”
“Are you charging me with a crime?”
“……That’s right. Why did you kill him?”
“Well, I thought it was okay, but I don’t believe you’ve been able to safely obtained the information and keep him secured without me.”
“When this case is over, I’d like a bit of your time.”
“I don’t mind. Please try to contact me later.”
By the way, were you going to drop the main raid now?
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
A group of Metropolitan Garrison knights sealed off the noble districts.
Arrangements had already been made, and every possible escape route had been blocked.
However, it’d take some time before they could take action.
Well, that’s where I come in.
“What…… you, impossible.”
“Did you say he was Oink-dono’s, right-hand man?”
“However, a person like you…… there’s no way, right?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? Oink is an old friend.”
I explained my identity while informing the knights that I would now be leading this investigation.
Apparently, some of the knights and aristocrats had been made aware of my existence. Which expedited my request to search unabated.
Typically, you would need the royal family’s or the prime minister’s permission to conduct a criminal investigation, but I can just ignore that.
Viva power, viva privilege.
“Then, from this point onwards, killing those who resist and the destruction of property are all permitted with the guild’s guarantee.”
“……Please, don’t unnecessarily shed blood.”
It depended on how the other party acted.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
By dusk, the chamber of commerce was surrounded, and I casually called out to the gatekeeper.
“Excuse me. Could you take a look at this document?”
“Eh, t-this is a…… criminal investigation?! With who’s permission――.”
“You won’t be implicated so long as you let me through. I’m allowed to act with impunity should you interior with the investigation.”
“Don’t fuck with me! You can’t enter with this document! First of all――”
Since he was only doing his job, I lightly tapped his chin with my fist.
After successfully knocking the man unconscious without destroying his jaw, I raised my right leg and kicked down the main gate.
「Chapter 027」
Translator: Silver
In the end, there were two aristocrats and three merchants association presidents possible collaborators.
Capul was initially included in this list but was excluded due to the timing of this affair. Personally, I still added him to the four “official” potential suspects.
The first one was the head of a knight household in charge of guarding the major roads.
It’s said that this house often butted heads with the adventurer’s guild in regards to monster subjugations and knightly duties.
The other aristocrat stepped in and tried to poach a couple of adventurers involved. Still, Oink stepped in and torpedoed those efforts. Things have been at a standstill since.
Although the knights’ house had a low noble rank, its private army stressed the limits of what the royal family would allow. All of its members were considered elites.
Honestly, the rest of the suspects weren’t that outstanding. The conflicts they had with adventurers were the results of minor conflicts of interest more than anything else.
“Isn’t the failed poacher the most suspicious one? Their private army has been rather active lately.”
“Baron Monnes…… just because he failed doesn’t mean he’d resort to murder to solve the issue.”
“That’s the thing, though. We don’t know the motivation.”
If you think about it, what’s the point of frequently mobilizing your private army…… was it a show of strength?
In any case, if I present myself at the bait, I should be able to lure the culprits out. However, secretly killing them off wouldn’t satisfy my desire to expose them.
Was it different here?
“What did the adventurers who were killed, rather than revenge, have in common? Did someone previously try to poach them or something like that?”
“I wouldn’t say that things are as simple as that…… if anything, the fact that they both women is the only thing they have in common.”
“What was that?”
“E-Everyone of them seems to have been a beautiful woman. It’s rumored that some aristocrats considered it a waste to have them remain mere adventurers.”
……No way?
Don’t tell me the killer meant to take them away but wound up killing them when things got out of hand.
It couldn’t be something like that, could it?
In the first place, it’s been two weeks since he was last seen, and things have been quiet since…… was it because he had received further instructions?
“Can you looking into the request the previous two victims had taken in the past or their most recent ones?”
“Give me a moment.”
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
The results soon arrived.
Cataloging the request history of adventurers was part of the guild’s duty, so the investigation was relatively quick.
If there was a common client between all of the victims’ requests, we could identify the killer’s backer.
……It’s a shame there wasn’t a curtain for me to step out from behind.
“Excuse me, I think I can resolve this issue by the end of the day.”
“What?! You know where the criminal is hiding?”
“I think I can lead you right to them in a little while.”
Speaking of which, Rue said she was going sightseeing around the castle by herself.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
I made my own deductions about the killer…… instead, it was more apt to call them a would-be kidnaper taking orders from Kapur.
All of the early victims had received requests from the Kapur association in the past.
It turned out that both victims were hired on as escorts for merchant runs in the local area. No one noticed this before because the requests only came up when scheduling conflicts left vacancies in the knight detail.
And a similar occurrence just so happened to occur two weeks ago with Capul set off for Saltberg.
In other words, it made sense that things were so quiet in his absence.
And now, Capul had been enraptured by Rue’s 【Stupid Man Attracting】scent.
If the killer went after her, there’s no way she would let that guy off.
There was nothing for me to do.
“Well, can a silver-ranker scare off the other party?”
“What…… if your theory is true, isn’t it better to wait before making any rash decision……? However, that is a possibility. Shouldn’t you inform your friend of the danger?”
“No, it’s fine. I guarantee it.”
If I was still LV 200, Rue would’ve had a higher defense stat than me.
Unlike myself, the robes Rue always wore were first-class equipment. If you wanted to hurt her, give it your best shot.
Till then, Hawke and I killed time together until a receptionist from the guild called for us.
“It looks like things are starting. Let’s go.”
“A-ah, right.”
We arrived at the receptionist desk just a Rue was dragging a person into the building.
He was a suspicious man dressed in all black.
A closer look revealed that the man was covered in blood and his body was slightly frozen.
“Rue, good work.”
“Oh, Kai-kun! Listen, when I was out sightseeing, this guy called out to me and said he had a message from you. When I followed him, he suddenly cast a spell.”
“So he’s a wizard…… did he hurt you?”
“No, it was some sort of hypnotic magic, but my barrette negated it. It seems to be made of mithril or something. Though, those types of spells don’t work on me anyway.”
As expected, Rue half killed the guy before dragging him here in retaliation.
Hawke was left dumbstruck by the scene before him, but this was reality.
Don’t judge this kid by ordinary measures.
“This man is my target. I’ll take over from here.”
“Can you explain it to me later?”
Now, let the interrogation begin.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
“Hey, mister murder. I’m Kaivon, and I’ve been tasked to find you. Nice to meet you.”
“……”
We left the guild and were currently in a knights’ barracks.
More specifically, we were in the on-site underground dungeon.
With chains and torture tools lined up along the back wall, this place didn’t look like the interrogation rooms you saw on tv.
The distorted look on the man’s face makes it clear that the atmosphere was affecting him.
“I already have a good idea what’s going on, but… You’re Kapul’s man, aren’t you?”
“……”
“When I saw your track record, I knew that you were adept at killing, not abduction. Capul is also stupid for clearly choosing the wrong man for the job.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m the one asking the questions.”
A sudden burst of violence was the first step to dominating the other party.
I already slotted in the 『Back of The Blade』skill.
Without a moment of hesitation, I delivered a sharp kick to his right leg. He wouldn’t die, but it was obviously a brutal blow.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”
“So, at Carul’s request, you targeted Rue this time, but instead of abduction her, you were defeated. Didn’t you hear the target’s details?”
“……Damn it, I did! I was only told that she used ice magic!”
“I see, I see. You’ll admit to working under Capul’s orders, won’t you? She just arrived in this city yesterday, and only Capul saw her using ice magic while she was his escort.”
Actually, there were the knights, but I held my tongue.
“Hey, hey, what’s the answer?”
“Gyaaaaaaaaa!!! Yes! Please stop!”
I kicked his right leg again, which had literally been hanging by a piece of skin, and sent it flying off into a corner.
“Alright, Hawke-san, did you hear that?”
“……Yeah.”
“That’s enough then, die.”
I deactivated my ability. After one final blow, the man’s lifeless body slumped into his chair.
……Ability get.
“……While it was listed as a subjugation request, you can’t kill someone who’s already been captured.”
“Are you charging me with a crime?”
“……That’s right. Why did you kill him?”
“Well, I thought it was okay, but I don’t believe you’ve been able to safely obtained the information and keep him secured without me.”
“When this case is over, I’d like a bit of your time.”
“I don’t mind. Please try to contact me later.”
By the way, were you going to drop the main raid now?
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
A group of Metropolitan Garrison knights sealed off the noble districts.
Arrangements had already been made, and every possible escape route had been blocked.
However, it’d take some time before they could take action.
Well, that’s where I come in.
“What…… you, impossible.”
“Did you say he was Oink-dono’s, right-hand man?”
“However, a person like you…… there’s no way, right?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? Oink is an old friend.”
I explained my identity while informing the knights that I would now be leading this investigation.
Apparently, some of the knights and aristocrats had been made aware of my existence. Which expedited my request to search unabated.
Typically, you would need the royal family’s or the prime minister’s permission to conduct a criminal investigation, but I can just ignore that.
Viva power, viva privilege.
“Then, from this point onwards, killing those who resist and the destruction of property are all permitted with the guild’s guarantee.”
“……Please, don’t unnecessarily shed blood.”
It depended on how the other party acted.
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
By dusk, the chamber of commerce was surrounded, and I casually called out to the gatekeeper.
“Excuse me. Could you take a look at this document?”
“Eh, t-this is a…… criminal investigation?! With who’s permission――.”
“You won’t be implicated so long as you let me through. I’m allowed to act with impunity should you interior with the investigation.”
“Don’t fuck with me! You can’t enter with this document! First of all――”
Since he was only doing his job, I lightly tapped his chin with my fist.
After successfully knocking the man unconscious without destroying his jaw, I raised my right leg and kicked down the main gate.
