Chapter 98 - Case details

After the incident in the abandoned factory and the rescue of the children, things were still busy.

It was a crazy case that invited a lot of suspicion and doubts. There was even the possibility that Nick and the others could be treated as people who murdered a volunteer doctor.

There was no evidence of White Mask having killed Nargava, or that White Mask self-destructed, other than testimony from Olivia and Scott. Plus, the simple fact that they were bringing up a being that was only talked about in magazines about the occult, raised suspicion.

…Having that said, the moment they returned to Sea Anemone, Redd gave them a lot of advice with extreme intensity. And then, Nick and the others went around collecting evidence as quickly as they could. They went to the adventurer guild Manhunt to explain what happened in detail, searched through Nargava’s office in the abandoned area and the house where he kept the children, collected evidence, put everything in order, went to the guild once again, examined the place where the battle with Nargava took place… And before they knew it, a week had gone by.

“I-I’m so sleepy…”

“Don’t fall asleep!”

The moment Nick’s eyelids closed, the deer woman receptionist yelled and smacked the table.

They were in Manhunt’s conference room. The atmosphere inside the guild was rough, enough to be confused with a tavern, but the receptionist’s conference room in the back was the complete opposite.

There was tension in the air. It was a different kind of silence than the guild’s infirmary. It was neat and organized, and the employee’s eyes felt sharp.

“Please… I need a break…”

“I’m at my limit too…”

Said Nick with bags under his eyes, and Sem with a low energy mumble, but the receptionist only glared.

“You’re the leader aren’t you? And you’re the one that spent the most time with Nargava, aren’t you a priest?

I have to deliver documents to the Order of the Sun tomorrow, so you’re going to be here all night preparing them. You might not even get your reward if this isn’t done right!”

To receive a reward for a high paying bounty, it was always necessary to receive permission from the Order of the Sun.

After explaining what happened, they would have to examine if their actions were reasonable for bounty hunters. Since they destroyed an entire building, this examination would be particularly harsh.

“We’ve been so busy this whole week… I’m starting to get jealous of the others.”

Said Nick with a sigh.

The remaining three members managed to avoid being called due to their injuries.

In reality, Tianna and Karan hadn’t fully recovered, and it could lead into trouble if the order looked into Bond too much, so Nick and Sem ended up being the scapegoats.

“It could’ve been a lot worse if that Nargava didn’t keep good records and a journal. It doesn’t usually go this smoothly.”

Nargava left a lot of things behind, almost as if he knew he would die.

Everything from how he was expelled from the capital, how he arrived in the Labyrinth City, and everything he acquired and did. Because of this they knew who Nargava kidnapped as Stepping Man and how they were doing.

It shed no light on who White Mask was, but it was still enough to get a good grasp on the case. Most of it matched what Tianna and Sem theorized.

“Still… You people go to the abandoned area a lot. Don’t those people there have a problem with that?”

“The inhabitants have a rule not to mess with bounty hunters.”

“Surely not everyone follows that rule.”

“That’s true…”

“He didn’t just leave documents, he even left a will. This is the whole reason everything’s going so smoothly.”

Sem answered instead of Nick.

Nargava left more than just documents.

Everything that he left written was left with a patient that seemed trustworthy, just in case he didn’t make it back one day. He also tasked someone he could trust with freeing the kidnapped children, but Nick figured out where they were first, saving some time.

“How are the kids doing?”

“We couldn’t keep them here for a week, and it doesn’t look like that White Mask guy was working with other people, so we returned them to their parents. Don’t make me have to deal with kids ever again.”

“…Looks like Nargava took good care of them.”

The kidnapped children all seemed well when they were found. Nargava did lock the children in that house, but as far as Sem could tell, he did not infect them with anything. He gave them food, a place to sleep, left things there for them to pass the time, and there were no signs that he ever hit them. It seemed they trusted him to some degree.

“The child that died, died of Yellow Devil Disease, but…”

“But?”

The receptionist was strangely hesitant.

“She had the habit of stealing, and was good at pickpocketing. She stole a bottle from Nargava’s pocket when she was looking for a way to escape, but it turned out to be blood from a patient. She carelessly broke the bottle, and became infected.”

Nick and Sem were both surprised to hear this.

“So Nargava didn’t infect her? He was strongly hinting that he did though.”

“…Well, I don’t know if we can fully trust what the kids say. Nargava did write about planning to use kids for experiments, but it never left the planning stage.”

“…So most of the kids were healthy, and the one death was an accident…”

Said Nick as he tried to put his thoughts in order.

And then, Sem told them his conjecture.

“Could it be that he was going to do it but got cold feet…?”

“Maybe. Or maybe there were other problems with his plan. For someone that kept such good records, his actions don’t make that much sense.”

“It’s contradictory.”

All Sem could do was sigh.

Both Nick and Sem felt Nargava was full of contradictions.

He seemed emotionless, but they could feel he had a kind side. He looked cruel, but could be compassionate.

“We don’t expect bounties that give us trouble to be logical. A lot of people lie, pretend they’ve learned their lesson, and get thrown in a cell here time and time again… But the doctor, Nargava, is something else. It makes my head spin.”

“I agree.”

“Stop wasting time agreeing, we have to get the documents ready to show to the big-shots in the Order of the Sun. If they’re not happy with it, they’ll come here and ask all sorts of questions, and worst case scenario, they’ll start arguing with our higher ups. Ah, what a pain what a pain… Anyway, write something convincing or they’ll complain.”

“You say that, but we have the man’s diary and notes, so they have no choice but to believe it, right?”

The receptionist had a self-deprecating smile on her face as she heard Nick.

“Maybe that’s true for other people and the knights, but I don’t believe what people say. Their words are always full of lies, both written and spoken.”

She said while running her pen.

“Both the guild and the order write down their promises but then say ‘the situation’s changed’ or ‘the law’s changed’ all the time. It’s all just scrap paper.

It’s even worse with bounties. Those people lie as easily as they breathe. That’s why I believe in actions and not words, because that’s the only thing you can really trust. So…”

“So?”

“You went after Stepping Man, tracked down Nargava, and saved the four kids. That’s the result. Stop worrying about a liar’s words and really emphasize what you’ve done. That’s your best argument.”

Despite her tone, the content of her speech was actually praising them.

“…Why are you angrily saying something like that?”

Asked a confused Nick.

“There’s too much unorganized information, we can’t put it all in writing. What did he do, and what happened. If we don’t focus on the facts and stick to the main point, we’re never going to be done with this.”

“So you’re telling us to stop chatting. Alright, I get it.”

Nick wanted to say she was the one that got off track, but held it back.

“Also… About what Nargava’s thinking and what he was going to do. Even if he was alive, he wouldn’t tell us the truth. You’re bounty hunters, so stop getting all caught up in what happened and what he was doing. If you want to worry about stuff like that, go back to being a priest.”

What she said struck a chord with Sem.

“You’re cut out to be a priest too, don’t you think?”

“I’ll pass. There’s a lot of work and a lot of trouble around here, but it’s still better than being a priest.”

“I agree, being an adventurer and bounty hunter is better. You can relax and drink alcohol too.”

“Yes. The trick to lasting long as a bounty hunter is to take it easy.”

“But I can’t relax too much. I’m doing some of the work he left behind.”

“Work?”

The receptionist looked at Sem with suspicion, but he shook his head like it was nothing.

“I’m talking about his work as a doctor in the abandoned area. Since he’s gone, I thought I’d take just the patients that didn’t finish their treatment. In return, people there promised to testify.”

“You could just leave it, I don’t think that’s going to bring you a whole lot of money. And I don’t think being a bit nice is going to do you any good either.”

Said the receptionist with a surprised expression, but Sem responded with a light smile.

“It’s alright. I have something in mind.”

“Hmph… Well, do whatever you want. Anyway, I’m going to need to prepare this document… Hey you!”

She suddenly screamed at Nick, who nodded off while they were talking.

“If we can just finish this, you’ll be on your way to receiving your reward. Hold on a little longer.”

“O-ok…”

The sun was starting to illuminate the sky by the time Nick and Sem were allowed to leave the guild.

◆

The sun was rising when they left the guild.

All over the place, people were preparing breakfast, and the smell of bread being baked reached Nick’s nostrils and made his stomach growl.

“I’m tired and hungry…”

“Well, we’ve finally made it out. Good job.”

Said Sem with a kind smile.

Nick secretly admired Sem for being able to smile like that when they were so exhausted.

“Nick.”

“What?”

“I’m… Glad I came here.”

“Well yes… If we didn’t, we might not even get our reward, and they would’ve probably start coming up with weird theories. I’m glad I didn’t come here alone, having someone else here really helps.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“No?”

Sem giggled.

Nick was too tired and sleep deprived to understand.

“When I said that being an adventurer is easier than being a priest, I was half lying. In a way, we have less responsibility, and more ways to have fun when we want to relax, but… When we look around us from where we’re standing, we can see all sorts of different things. There are people we can help, which I think is admirable, but it’s hard at the same time. There’s a lot of human filth we have to see but would be better off not seeing.”

“That goes double for bounty hunters. My old leader didn’t want to get involved in bounty hunting for that exact reason.”

“I know how he feels. But I’m glad I got to learn. In fact, if I just lived in the temple as a clean and pure priest…”

“What would happen?”

“I’d just end up being a nasty hot guy.”

Nick’s face was serious for a moment, before he started laughing.

“Buah… What, you’re calling yourself hot now!?”

“I am. If I don’t remove this mask now, I’m going to have to carry it forever.”

“Sounds like I have a partner I can count on, but is also going to drag along some trouble.”

“Please help me when that happens.”

“Getting carried away, aren’t we?”

“But in return, I’ll help you in any way I can.”

They laughed as they headed towards Sea Anemone, where the rest of their partners waited.

The morning sun painted the sky blue. It was starting to feel like summer.