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Chapter 22 – Case Progress

How wonderful it was to have breakfast at a leisurely pace. Jill who had just finished eating at a café on the main street was on her way to the Adventurers Guild.

Only those who made a considerable amount of money could afford having breakfast at a café. As a matter of fact, receptionists from the Adventurers Guild were actually highly-paid. Which wasn’t surprising since in order to placate rowdy adventurers, either “brute strength” or “beauty” was necessary. Whether the receptionist was pretty or not directly affected the number of disputes that occurred within the guild.

In other guilds – like the Merchants Guild and the Alchemists Guild – they didn’t necessarily have beauties as receptionists. They could be men, too, not just ladies exclusively, and they didn’t earn that much.

Having great looks was a must in order to be an Adventurers Guild receptionist. In that regard, there were plenty of beautiful ladies around to choose from. But what the guild looked for was not only beauty but brains as well – whether or not they were competent enough to do their job.

For Jill, who worked as a receptionist, having breakfast at a café was a very fulfilling way to satisfy her pride.

「Good morning.」

「Morning, Jill-chan.」

There was already a receptionist at the counter – the one who accompanied the submaster to the capital, a gloomy-looking pretty lady.

「Aurora-san, did something happen?」

Aurora’s features turned even more grim.

「Unken-san wants to see you.」

「Unken-san?」

Wondering what he wanted this early in the morning, Jill stuffed her things inside her locker and changed into her uniform. The guild was crowded, but Aurora was capable of handling things. Jill made her way to Unken’s room, i.e. the guildmaster’s office.

「Oh, Jill. Come here.」

There were seats for guests available, but Unken called her directly to his desk. Jill was relieved, thinking that it wasn’t anything serious that she’d have to take a seat. She didn’t think she did anything wrong, but being called to the office like this was enough to make her nervous – all the more so with Unken wearing a bitter expression.

「Did you need anything from me?」

「I need to tell and ask you something.」

「Okay.」

「As for the former, the adventurer party Distant Glittering Stars led by Nogusa failed in their escort mission yesterday.」

「...What?」

Jill remembered who Nogusa was. The highest-ranked adventurers in Pond were ranked D. She was curious what kind of a person this Nogusa was, so she checked him out only to be disappointed since he was pretty much like the rest of the adventurers in Pond. Even then, he was still rank C.

A C-ranked adventurer failed? They usually took quests that involved killing monsters – the kind that the guards in Pond couldn’t handle – or worked for nobles.

「Did they get ambushed by bandits on the road? Or was it a vicious monster?」

「No.」

「...Don’t tell me they themselves kidnapped the young girl and went into hiding.」

「No. At first I thought that was the case, but apparently that’s not what happened.」

「Then what did happen? Please stop beating around the bush and tell me!」

「...Jill, this case is a disgrace to the Adventurers Guild.」

「I know.」

「Then why do you look so thrilled?! You like gossiping or something?!」

「Come on now, Unken-san. I don’t indulge in such inappropriate pursuits. Now please, hurry up and tell me about it! News is gonna spread soon anyway, right?」

It was a big news so early in the day. Jill didn’t particularly care about Nogusa. Plus it was the royal capital branch that sent their party. It was none of the Pond branch’s concern. News as big as this would be immediately known to the adventurers.

I’m gonna tell Hikaru-kun about this! He was curious about it. Ehehe. I wonder how he’ll react.

Unken heaved a sigh.

「Well... It’s better than someone looking serious at least. According to Nogusa’s testimony, this is what happened: When they peeked inside the carriage during their second break, the girl had vanished into thin air.」

「Vanished? Wait, Nogusa and his men testified? So they went to the royal capital’s Adventurers Guild?」

「They did.」

「But they’ll get suspected first. Humans can’t just vanish into thin air.」

「Yes. If they were the ones who set the girl free, it wouldn’t make sense for them to give such a ridiculous statement. It’s too stupid.」

「So where did the girl go?」

「We wouldn’t be having trouble if we knew.」

「Good point.」

「There are two things that are making matters complicated. First is the coachman’s statement. Apparently Nogusa demanded the keys from him.」

「Why would he do that?」

「Based on their character, they must’ve “developed an interest” in her.」

Jill quickly knew what he meant. She was able to read Unken’s emotions.

「What a bunch of idiots.」

「That’s true, but they’re still rank C adventurers. They ruined the image of the royal capital’s Adventurers Guild.」

「You said there were two things making matters complicated. What’s the other one?」

「I assume you know about the guards at Count Morgstad’s residence.」

「Yes. They’re knights specially dispatched to be the Count’s guards. The master of the house got killed under their watch so the image of the Order of Knights is also ruined!」

「Like I said, why are you so thrilled?! So anyway, one of the knights said he didn’t trust those adventurers so he went after them.」

「Sounds like he really hated those guys.」

「But he never did catch up to Nogusa’s party. He said he got attacked by a bandit.」

「A bandit? Between Pond and the royal capital? That’s unusual. So what happened to the knight?」

「He’ll live, but his bones were broken with surgical precision. A passing caravan picked him up and brought him to Pond. He’s in a clinic right now. An investigator from the capital who happened to be around questioned him. They didn’t allow me to be there though.」

「Ohh... It’s quite strange.」

「I know.」

Jill was sharp. She didn’t get through the tough selection process to becoming a receptionist for nothing. There was something baffling about this case.

「Knights, except for trainees, are quite skilled, aren’t they? Yet he got beaten easily.」

「Exactly. And according to him, it was a kid that ambushed him. He got “sniped” by a “kid” is what he said.」

「Whaaaaat?!」

「That’s disgusting.」

「Ah.」Jill closed her gaping mouth.「But a kid defeating a knight is ridiculous. This sounds similar to Nogusa’s statement. He said the girl just vanished. They’re both saying things that sound impossible.」

「Do you think the two cases are related?」

「The odds of that are highly unlikely. It was surprising, but sometimes there are just people out there who are gifted in the ways of combat, even kids. But would a kid like that actually rob people? Maybe it was a short person.」

「Hmm.」

「Furthermore, there doesn’t seem to be anything in common between the girl “vanishing into thin air” and a “kid gifted in combat”. Or are you saying that the girl who vanished noticed the knight and attacked him? 」

「No. According to the knight, it was a boy. You have the same idea as Aurora.」

「In that case, they’re unrelated. But something about it is bothering you.」

「That’s right. I can’t help but think there’s more to this.」

「So are those the things you wanted to tell and ask me?」

「Yeah. No, wait. I wanted to ask if you know an adventurer... No, not necessarily an adventurer. But do you know of a skilled young boy?」

Hikaru immediately came to Jill’s mind. But he should’ve been reading books the day before yesterday, when the convoy left Pond.

「I can’t think of anyone.」

「Is that so... I should ask Gloria as well. I don’t think I’ll get much from her either.」

＊　　　＊

Hikaru left the hotel together with Lavia. But first he had to go through the effort of going out alone, activating his Stealth, then going back in and use Group Obfuscation so he could bring Lavia out with him.

They couldn’t take two rooms as the hotel required a guild card or soul card to be presented. Lavia had the latter, but it had her name on it. Showing it would get her exposed. The fact that she’s an escaped murder suspect was already causing them some trouble.

There were other options they could take like card forgery, or paying to borrow someone else’s, but there was no need for all that. They just had to suck it up for now.

「.........」

They walked around town. Plenty of people were already up and about at this hour. Pond was situated on a plain. Being the royal capital’s satellite town, it was also being systematically developed. The streets were level, following a grid plan, with little chance of getting lost.

「So this is a town...」

This might be Lavia’s first time to walk through a town, Hikaru thought. He wasn’t tactless to actually say the words out loud. Lavia’s eyes darted around town. Everything looked new to her. The housewives gathered around a well behind a tree, the elderly walking briskly, carrying a shopping basket, the boy getting scolded by a shop owner, the man pulling a wagon full of jars for sale – everything.

「Hikaru.」

「Hmm?」

「...That man’s staring daggers at you.」

「...Yeah.」

It was the hotdog stand owner. Hands folded, the muscular man was staring at their direction – no, he was practically glaring. As they approached him, he held out his massive hands.

「Sixty gilans.」

「...Bold of you to assume I’m buying two.」

「I would love to partake... I mean, I wanna try it too!」

Lavia couldn’t bring herself to talk rough so she settled for a somewhat milder tone of speech. Hikaru handed the money and took two hotdog sandwiches, one for Lavia who regarded the food with great interest.

Hmm, it looks exactly like the hotdogs in Japan... Hikaru thought as he took a bite.

「!」

Hikaru’s eyes grew wide.

「H-How is it?!」

「It’s...」

「It’s...?」

「It’s too spicy! Are you an idiot?!」Hikaru exclaimed.

Crap. This hotdog is literally hot. It was too spicy, he almost blurted out a lame pun. He felt his body temperature rise. Sweat could be trickling down his face any second now. The ketchup wasn’t watery. Now the question was...

「What did you do to the mustard?」

「.........」

「Answer me.」

「I was curious about these spices that a peddler was selling.」

「Why’d you buy them?!」

「It’s your fault! You didn’t come yesterday! I let a different regular taste it and he said it wasn’t spicy enough!」

「Don’t blame it on me! Damn, it’s too spicy... Let’s go. It’s best if you don’t eat it... What?」

「Hmm?」

Lavia was staring blankly at Hikaru. She had already eaten half of the sandwich.

「It’s delicious.」

「.........」

Hikaru shot a suspicious look at the owner. The man shook his head. It’s the same as yours, was what he meant.

「...Do you like spicy food?」

「Hmm?」

Lavia simply cocked her head.

「All right. Let’s go see more of the town, uhh... Renclaw.」

「Okay.」

The two of them started walking. The hotdog was too spicy for Hikaru so he returned it to the owner. Lavia was full from the one sandwich.

「This is no big deal!」the shop owner said, tears rolling down his face as he ate.

Renclaw was a fake name. “Lavia” was too feminine. Hikaru asked her what name she wanted and she answered「I like Renclaw.」It was apparently the name of the protagonist of an adventure novel she once read.

Renclaw (Lavia) was in a great mood. Even with a serious expression, she was humming a tune.

「That’s Dodorono’s Armor Workshop where I bought your clothes. It’s an armor shop, but they sell casual clothes as well.」

「So that’s an armor shop...!」

「The owner is a dwarf who’s just a bit crazy.」

「A dwarf!」

「And that’s where I got my dagger, Leniwood’s Weapon Workshop.」

「So that’s a weapon shop...!」

「The owner is an elf... who’s also a bit nuts.」

「An elf!」

Lavia reacted with great interest to everything. They still had no idea how far the news of her disappearance had spread so Hikaru refrained from entering the shops for now. She just stared from outside, promising herself that she would get inside someday.

「That’s the Adventurers Guild.」

「.........」

「Lavia?」

「I’ve dreamed about this place...」

You even dreamed about it? Wow, you must’ve really wanted to become an adventurer, Hikaru thought. It wasn’t the right time for jokes, though.

「...Hikaru.」

「Yes?」

「...I’m so happy to be alive...」

「Ah, yes.」

「If I went in there, people will say something like “What’s a kid doing in here?” right?」

「Yes, it happens.」

Hikaru experienced it first-hand.

「We’ll go in next time to gather information.」

「We can go in there?!」

「Well I make a living by being an adventurer. People will know soon that I’m working with you. It would be strange if I didn’t bring you to the guild at all.」

「I want to get inside!」

「Yes, next time.」

「Next time...」

「In a few days.」

「Okay.」

For a moment Lavia looked dejected like a puppy being scolded, but quickly flashed a bright smile when Hikaru said “in a few days”.

That’s not fair. It makes me want to take you in there now when you smile at me like that.

Hikaru needed more information first, though, before he could do that. He just had to fight off the urge for today.

「Are we going to walk around town some more?」

「No, there’s something I want to try. Let’s go outside town.」

「We’re going adventuring?!」

「...Uh, more like preparations for an adventure. I want to see how powerful your magic is.」Hikaru said, scratching his cheek.