176-Episode 176: The End of the Thing

The undead of an ancient magical civilization...

''Yes. That undead caused the mass production of orc-based chimeras.

When we reported back to him, the guild leader held his head in his hands.

"Sure, if you look at the orcs that are being dismantled right now outside of the town, you can understand that they are not ordinary demons, but I didn't expect that 'undead with an uncommon obsession with orcs' was the cause...

"..........

Hearing our conversation, Liliera and the others remained silent with subtle expressions.

When we returned to the guild, we were ushered into the reception room at the back of the guild as usual, and we were explaining the situation to the guild leader.

''It's common for undead who have lost their sanity due to experiencing death to lose their ability to make normal decisions. Just as someone who was once a brilliant chimera researcher has come to believe that orcs are the best demon material for chimeras.

And then the whole lab dies in a fit of rage. It's a very silly scenario.

The lab that was destroyed is in the foothills of the eastern mountains, but the effects of their self-destruction blew the entire building to smithereens.

It's the same as the matter with the demon from the other day. But if we can find the remains of that destroyed laboratory, we'll know something happened there. The evidence of its disappearance can be substituted by the orcs outside of town. Now we just need to get rid of the orcs and this will be the end of it. Yes, I'm sorry, but until that is confirmed, I can't give you permission to fulfill your request.

You haven't been paid yet? I'm tired of fighting those orcs.　We've got the orcs we've killed so far, so that's good.

You tell me. It's my job, too. If I had physical evidence of a third party working on the case, I could talk to my superiors and negotiate an early payment of the fee.

When Gyro-kun complained, the guild leader let out a sigh, wishing he had proof that the undead were real.

'Evidence... how about this?'

Then I put two items on the table.

'A hat and a cane?　This is a magic tool.

'Yes, they were used by the undead. We barely managed to recover these two.

How do you know if it works?

When they found out that it was a magic tool, the eyes of the guild leader and Elma-san, who was taking a statement beside them, shined.

''Yes, it seems that the hat has the effect of activating defensive magic at all times when worn, and the staff is like something that reduces the consumption of magic power when activating magic.

I'm not going to be able to get my hands on anything. It's a good thing we found a valuable item. I'm sorry, but do you mind if I borrow this?　This guy would give the report more credibility.

Well, it's not that big of a thing, but if it's an emergency armor in case the experiment fails and an equipment that reduces the magical power consumption of the jutsu used in the experiment, it would be a credible piece of equipment for the undead who were researchers.

''Yes, I don't mind.''

Okay, that's going to help convince the top brass!

''Yes, if a rare magic tool is submitted as evidence, the top brass will have no choice but to admit it. Even so, you did a good job of lending me your precious magical tools. It would have been a great loss if they were to be taken away by force.

No, it's not that big of a deal.

"...and...

When I said that, for some reason the guild leader and Elma-san looked at each other and let out a sigh.

''Well, it's an S-rank, you know.

''Yes, it's an S-rank, so it wouldn't be surprising if they possessed a number of valuable items.......''

I don't know, but I guess that means they're convinced?

Anyway, we left the guild after we finished our report safely.

I'm so tired today. I can't wait to go back to the inn and rest.

I want to eat. I've been smelling roasting pork all morning, and I'm starving.

Gyro, you're not a pig. You're an orc.

It's pretty much the same thing.

No, there's a difference between a pig and a demon.

But you're sure about that?

And that's when Liliera-san calls out to me with a serious look on her face.

'What is it?'

The undead. Shouldn't you have killed it?

It sounds like what Liliella wants to hear is about Mr. Ganei.

''Yes, I thought it would be better to pretend that Mr. Gan-ei was exterminated.

Yes, I told the guild leader that I had defeated Gan-ei, but that was the right thing to do.

But that was a good reason to do it.

''As I said before I reported to you, it's better that Gan-ei-san's skills are not known to the country's nobles.

Even after his death, Gan'ei continued his chimera research to destroy the white plague until he became undead.

We don't know exactly when the ancient magical civilization collapsed, but that still means that Gan'ei has been researching chimeras for hundreds, if not thousands of years at most.

Although the progress of his research was not as good as it was in his heyday due to problems with deteriorating equipment and available materials, the lost ancient chimera research would still be attractive to the powers that be.

If the modern powers that be took Gan-ei inside, they would likely give him the latest research equipment and budget to resume research on combat chimeras with the aim of increasing their military strength.

There were a lot of greedy and powerful people like that in previous lives and previous generations. No doubt there are such people in this day and age as well.

''But I don't want Gan-ei-san to do any more chimera research for the sake of destruction. If I'm going to do it anyway, I want you to do peaceful chimera research.

A peaceful chimera. Can you really use a chimera for that?

'I've been studying chimeras all this time, and I'm sure Mr. Ganey can do it.

Now Mr. Ganei has been sent to my hometown.

We don't have many people there, so I don't think the powers that be will come after us.

Besides, I'm sure the people in the village would be more than happy to welcome him.

I've given you a letter of introduction just in case, so I don't think you'll be mistakenly attacked.

I hope you will enjoy doing research that will benefit others from now on. "I hope you enjoy your research that is useful to others.

In my previous life, although I was called a wise man, most of my research was for fighting purposes.

I want you to be free of those ties.

But there is one thing that worries me.

What?　I knew you'd set that man free?

''No, it's a proof magic tool that I made for submission to the guild, but I'm wondering if its performance was still low. In order to give it credibility, I thought it would be better to produce a slightly better magic tool instead, even now.

" " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

I was going to come up with something more incriminating, but for some reason people stopped me.