“Okay, let’s go inside for now!!”
If they continued to shout such outrageous things in front of the public, it would become a serious problem. Regardless of whether it was true or just a big lie, rumors spread explosively if they were interesting. They would add plenty of embellishments to the story…
And even if a correction or retraction was announced, it would not spread as much as the initial rumor.
Therefore, the best course of action here was to silence these and not let them say anything more. The decision of the store employee was correct.
“Okay, but if we never come out of this store again or if we are found floating in the river tomorrow morning, then all of you here will be witnesses and report it to the guild and the security team, right? That’s right, everyone?”
The audience nodded in agreement to Rena’s call.
“…”
The store employee also nodded silently, sweating profusely.
(Well, if someone is found floating in the river, it probably wouldn’t be us, but rather them on the other side! And the chance of “burning to the bone” is much higher than “floating on the water”…) The members of the “Crimson Oath” suppressed their laughter and put on a serious face.
They were led to a room in the back of the store, which seemed to be used for negotiations with important customers. They were made to wait for a while and then a heavily built man and five men accompanying him appeared. Apparently, there was no tea or sweets.
“What’s your intention?”
The overweight man immediately got to the point without even introducing himself after sitting down with a thud.
Naturally, this man was probably the highest-ranking person in this place. It was unclear whether he was the head of a trading company or not…
The other five were one assistant and four bodyguards. Since there were only four young girls on their side, it was deemed sufficient to have an equal number of guards.
It was a reasonable judgment… unless the other side was the “Crimson Oath,” or even the “Crimson Blood is Good!” gang…
However, having four guards stationed at all times was somewhat suspicious for a legitimate trading company. Moreover, they did not seem like very decent, rough and vulgar folks.
Normally, if you were going to bring someone out in front of a customer, you should prepare guards who were a bit more presentable.
…Or perhaps they intentionally prepared these types as a show of intimidation, the members of the “Crimson Oath” and “Crimson Blood is Good!” thought.
“………”
The four members of “Crimson Blood is Good!” did not respond to the man’s words.
“Say something, will ya?”
The man yelled in anger, to which Rena calmly replied.
“Well, if we don’t know who you are, we don’t know how much we can tell you. We can’t just tell important information to someone who knows nothing about it…”
“Guh…”
The overweight man seemed to have no rebuttal to Rena’s argument, and his words got stuck in his throat.
However, there was some truth to what Rena said, so he decided to introduce himself.
In the first place, there was no need to hide his name or position, since they had come to this store.
“I am the head of the Earl Trading Company, Oldine. Now, tell me what you want to say…”
It seemed that it was highly unlikely for someone unknown to appear before them. However, just having the highest-ranking person appear from the beginning meant that they understood the importance of this matter.
…At the very least, they did not intend to simply brush off Rena and her companions as just petty thugs looking for pocket change.
The man introduced himself as the head of the trading company, but…
“It’s not about telling us everything, it’s about us coming here to listen. You know the situation, but we have lots of questions we want answers to.”
Rena cut the man’s words short, and then Pauline added, “We don’t want anything from you. We just want to find the ‘young beast girls who were kidnapped to be made into illegal slaves’ and recover them. So all you have to do is tell us where the young beast girls were sold. We don’t ask anything else from you.”
“…………”
The head of the trading company pondered for a moment.
If they were demanding compensation or hush money, or asking for the return of the beast people, or threatening to report them to the lord or the country, it would be a different story.
However, if they were simply asking for the whereabouts of the children and said that they would take care of it themselves, it was possible to cooperate with them.
“Wait a moment, please…”
And then, the head of the trading company got up from his seat, leaving everyone waiting.
He was probably going to consult with the head of the company. It was too heavy a burden for him to make a decision on his own.
“I apologize for the wait. We have received permission from the boss to explain the details to all of you.
Actually, due to the financial difficulties and food shortage in the village, we arranged employment for some children of beastmen who had come to work as live-in apprentices. This was done through an intermediary who provided us with the necessary documentation. For us, it was a normal part of our business activities, and could even be considered a charitable act.
However, in case we were deceived and there were any problems with the activities we helped with as a third party acting in good faith, we decided to disclose some of our customer information, which we would not normally reveal. This information will only be provided in the form of hints, without clearly stating the source of the information, and only verbally, to ensure the confidentiality of our business.
Is that all right with you?”
The tone had become more polite. Perhaps their rank as clients had changed from “a group of inexperienced hunters who came to make accusations” to “someone not to be offended”.
Pauline and the other three nodded in agreement to the conditions presented by the head clerk.
Negotiations had been successful.
Later, Mile and her party received the information and left the Earl Company. They went to the Hunter Guild branch, the Security Squad headquarters, and the Commercial Guild, where they loudly reported what they had learned.
“We are the ‘Crimson Blood is Good’ on a mission! We came to this neighboring country to pursue a group of criminals who kidnapped several young girls from a beastman village to turn them into illegal slaves! We confirmed the destination of their sale at the Earl Company, so we’re heading there. Oh, by the way, the third clerk at the Earl Company was in charge of that matter. The perpetrator is Vedel, a criminal who was expelled from the Hunter Guild. He has already been arrested. Well then, we’ll be on our way!”
They weren’t lying. They hadn’t asked or done anything at the Earl Company. They had just introduced themselves as hunters from another country and greeted the various parties as they should. As promised, they hadn’t leaked any information about the trading partner they were given.
Their party name, “Crimson Blood is Good,” could be heard as “Crimson Oath” if they insisted on it, which was a perfect countermeasure to avoid being accused of using a fake party name.
After loudly announcing this in front of many ordinary people at the reception desk, the “Crimson Blood is Good” quickly left each building.
It was sure to cause a commotion. They had just unleashed a powerful combination of one-word missiles, such as “beastman village,” “attack,” “young girls,” “illegal slaves,” and “kidnapping,” which could even endanger the head of the Commercial Guild, or even the lord himself.
Of course, the phrase “losing one’s head” was not figurative but literal, meaning that they could lose their heads physically.
“Well, we’ll be passing through this town on our way back, so if those people at the company haven’t received any punishment by then…”
Rena said this, showing her fangs and a ferocious grin…
“No, no!” the other three said, smiling wryly.
Certainly, there was no way the “Crimson Blood is Good” would let the perpetrators of the kidnapping go. They would not only rescue the abducted young girls, but also crush all the villains involved, completely and thoroughly. This was to teach them the terrible risks and drawbacks of abducting young girls, especially young beast girls, to the very core of their being, so that no one would ever commit such a crime again.
“Okay, let’s go inside for now!!”
If they continued to shout such outrageous things in front of the public, it would become a serious problem. Regardless of whether it was true or just a big lie, rumors spread explosively if they were interesting. They would add plenty of embellishments to the story…
And even if a correction or retraction was announced, it would not spread as much as the initial rumor.
Therefore, the best course of action here was to silence these and not let them say anything more. The decision of the store employee was correct.
“Okay, but if we never come out of this store again or if we are found floating in the river tomorrow morning, then all of you here will be witnesses and report it to the guild and the security team, right? That’s right, everyone?”
The audience nodded in agreement to Rena’s call.
“…”
The store employee also nodded silently, sweating profusely.
(Well, if someone is found floating in the river, it probably wouldn’t be us, but rather them on the other side! And the chance of “burning to the bone” is much higher than “floating on the water”…) The members of the “Crimson Oath” suppressed their laughter and put on a serious face.
They were led to a room in the back of the store, which seemed to be used for negotiations with important customers. They were made to wait for a while and then a heavily built man and five men accompanying him appeared. Apparently, there was no tea or sweets.
“What’s your intention?”
The overweight man immediately got to the point without even introducing himself after sitting down with a thud.
Naturally, this man was probably the highest-ranking person in this place. It was unclear whether he was the head of a trading company or not…
The other five were one assistant and four bodyguards. Since there were only four young girls on their side, it was deemed sufficient to have an equal number of guards.
It was a reasonable judgment… unless the other side was the “Crimson Oath,” or even the “Crimson Blood is Good!” gang…
However, having four guards stationed at all times was somewhat suspicious for a legitimate trading company. Moreover, they did not seem like very decent, rough and vulgar folks.
Normally, if you were going to bring someone out in front of a customer, you should prepare guards who were a bit more presentable.
…Or perhaps they intentionally prepared these types as a show of intimidation, the members of the “Crimson Oath” and “Crimson Blood is Good!” thought.
“………”
The four members of “Crimson Blood is Good!” did not respond to the man’s words.
“Say something, will ya?”
The man yelled in anger, to which Rena calmly replied.
“Well, if we don’t know who you are, we don’t know how much we can tell you. We can’t just tell important information to someone who knows nothing about it…”
“Guh…”
The overweight man seemed to have no rebuttal to Rena’s argument, and his words got stuck in his throat.
However, there was some truth to what Rena said, so he decided to introduce himself.
In the first place, there was no need to hide his name or position, since they had come to this store.
“I am the head of the Earl Trading Company, Oldine. Now, tell me what you want to say…”
It seemed that it was highly unlikely for someone unknown to appear before them. However, just having the highest-ranking person appear from the beginning meant that they understood the importance of this matter.
…At the very least, they did not intend to simply brush off Rena and her companions as just petty thugs looking for pocket change.
The man introduced himself as the head of the trading company, but…
“It’s not about telling us everything, it’s about us coming here to listen. You know the situation, but we have lots of questions we want answers to.”
Rena cut the man’s words short, and then Pauline added, “We don’t want anything from you. We just want to find the ‘young beast girls who were kidnapped to be made into illegal slaves’ and recover them. So all you have to do is tell us where the young beast girls were sold. We don’t ask anything else from you.”
“…………”
The head of the trading company pondered for a moment.
If they were demanding compensation or hush money, or asking for the return of the beast people, or threatening to report them to the lord or the country, it would be a different story.
However, if they were simply asking for the whereabouts of the children and said that they would take care of it themselves, it was possible to cooperate with them.
“Wait a moment, please…”
And then, the head of the trading company got up from his seat, leaving everyone waiting.
He was probably going to consult with the head of the company. It was too heavy a burden for him to make a decision on his own.
“I apologize for the wait. We have received permission from the boss to explain the details to all of you.
Actually, due to the financial difficulties and food shortage in the village, we arranged employment for some children of beastmen who had come to work as live-in apprentices. This was done through an intermediary who provided us with the necessary documentation. For us, it was a normal part of our business activities, and could even be considered a charitable act.
However, in case we were deceived and there were any problems with the activities we helped with as a third party acting in good faith, we decided to disclose some of our customer information, which we would not normally reveal. This information will only be provided in the form of hints, without clearly stating the source of the information, and only verbally, to ensure the confidentiality of our business.
Is that all right with you?”
The tone had become more polite. Perhaps their rank as clients had changed from “a group of inexperienced hunters who came to make accusations” to “someone not to be offended”.
Pauline and the other three nodded in agreement to the conditions presented by the head clerk.
Negotiations had been successful.
Later, Mile and her party received the information and left the Earl Company. They went to the Hunter Guild branch, the Security Squad headquarters, and the Commercial Guild, where they loudly reported what they had learned.
“We are the ‘Crimson Blood is Good’ on a mission! We came to this neighboring country to pursue a group of criminals who kidnapped several young girls from a beastman village to turn them into illegal slaves! We confirmed the destination of their sale at the Earl Company, so we’re heading there. Oh, by the way, the third clerk at the Earl Company was in charge of that matter. The perpetrator is Vedel, a criminal who was expelled from the Hunter Guild. He has already been arrested. Well then, we’ll be on our way!”
They weren’t lying. They hadn’t asked or done anything at the Earl Company. They had just introduced themselves as hunters from another country and greeted the various parties as they should. As promised, they hadn’t leaked any information about the trading partner they were given.
Their party name, “Crimson Blood is Good,” could be heard as “Crimson Oath” if they insisted on it, which was a perfect countermeasure to avoid being accused of using a fake party name.
After loudly announcing this in front of many ordinary people at the reception desk, the “Crimson Blood is Good” quickly left each building.
It was sure to cause a commotion. They had just unleashed a powerful combination of one-word missiles, such as “beastman village,” “attack,” “young girls,” “illegal slaves,” and “kidnapping,” which could even endanger the head of the Commercial Guild, or even the lord himself.
Of course, the phrase “losing one’s head” was not figurative but literal, meaning that they could lose their heads physically.
“Well, we’ll be passing through this town on our way back, so if those people at the company haven’t received any punishment by then…”
Rena said this, showing her fangs and a ferocious grin…
“No, no!” the other three said, smiling wryly.
Certainly, there was no way the “Crimson Blood is Good” would let the perpetrators of the kidnapping go. They would not only rescue the abducted young girls, but also crush all the villains involved, completely and thoroughly. This was to teach them the terrible risks and drawbacks of abducting young girls, especially young beast girls, to the very core of their being, so that no one would ever commit such a crime again.
