Episode 8.5

"Dear me, truly an incredible way of enjoying food. Though I am not surprised considering you've just got back from a dungeon. And to think you would run into young master and his group on the same day by chance, I'm not sure whether to call it bad or good luck."

In a private room of a restaurant Chaney invited him to, Lecan is wholeheartedly enjoying his meal and booze. Food really taste best after a dungeon. All the more when it's food from a high-class restaurant like this, truly makes him feel alive.

"Now then. Now that it's come to this, I have to explain the situation to Lecan-san."

"I'm good with not knowing."

"When lord-sama welcomed his spouse to this town, that spouse brought along with her, her cousin, knight Midosco Avanklein to this town. This person had an awfully spendthrift personality, and despite not being that able, held a strong craving for authority. He obtained all kinds of rights from many positions, and even plotted to make his eldest son, Aria-sama, to take up the position of the lord of Vouka Town."

"More of this booze."

"Yes."

Heeding Lecan's demand, Chaney called a waiter to make additional orders and continued his talk. His subordinates are not with him in this room today. At first, it seemed like he was being considerate to Lecan, but apparently that was not all there is to it.

"There are two people cooperating with Midosco-sama. The first one is the present master of a major merchant house, Zack of Zaikaz Company. And the other one is the second son of Golbul town lord, Henjitt Douga."

After finishing another piece of fried boned chicken, Lecan threw away the leftover bone, and drank up a cup of booze filled to the brim.

"Once Zaikaz Company set up a branch in this town, they gradually built reputations over the years, crushed their rivals through means of slightly questionable moralities, and permeated into the core of this town. Eventually, the present master Zack himself came to this town and unfortunately took away my company's position as the lord's purveyor."

"Another plate of this deep-fried boned chicken."

Chaney continued on after ordering more.

"In the meantime, town lord-sama had been gradually gathering evidence from those who couldn't stomach Midosco-sama's ways of doings things and those whom he betrayed, waiting for a chance to convict him."

"I'd like some vegetable. Get me something green."

Chaney resumed his talk after ordering some more.

"Midosco-sama proclaimed himself as the one in charge of this town military force, he persistently demanded the lord to increase the number of personnel for both knights and soldiers. However the lord flatly refused him, saying that four knights were enough and they wouldn't have the budget for more than sixty soldiers, neither do they have a need to."

"There's only four knights?"

Lecan asked while gulping down booze.

"Yes. Town lord-sama, his eldest son, Midosco-sama and his eldest son, the four of them."

"There were two knight-looking guys behind that lord's eldest son though."

"Those were only their equipment. You need His Majesty the king's sanction to be formally recognized as a knight."

"I see."

"Since Midosco-sama was getting too relentless in his demand, the lord made a request to Shira-sama to purchase five magic tools that could shoot out flames from a magic engineer renowned in the capital, Yaclubend-sama."

Now that he mentioned it. One of those five is inside Lecan's <Storage> right now.

"A mage capable of shooting out powerful fire magic is said to equal ten knights. In other words, as it was practically an additional force of 50 knights, Midosco-sama had no choice but to stop clamoring. Yet, he then went to make up some reasons and demanded to safeguard those magic tools himself. The lord entrusted two of the five magic tools to Midosco-sama."

"Another cup of booze please."

"Now then, the other day, lord-sama's daughter Sushana-sama had fallen ill. They gathered all medical experts in the town, but none could pinpoint the cause of her illness. At his wit's end, lord-sama begged Shira-sama to make a house call. Shira-sama said that her illness was born from a curse, she wouldn't make a complete recovery from ordinary medicine."

When a curse makes you ill, curing the illness will only delay its recurrence for later. You won't recover fully unless you dispel the curse.

"At that point, Midosco-sama and Zack Zaikaz made a bold offer full of confident. That they would surely get their hand on a medicine that could cure the young lady were they tasked for it. Of course, that was in exchange for an outrageous compensation."

"Was Midosco aware that it was a curse?"

"I wonder? It was known only as an illness however. The fact that it was a curse was kept secret even to the madam. At any rate, as I was aware of the situation, I made a suggestion. That I would procure the medicine."

"Hou?"

"To tell you the truth, about a decade ago, a <God Cure> was found in a small dungeon at a certain small village. It was a miraculous medicine the village chief's son frantically looked for in order to cure his mother's sickness. However, the son couldn't make it in time before the passing of his mother, he left the village out of sadness and died in another dungeon. The village chief secretly kept the Cure with him without ever telling anybody else."

"But you knew, Chaney."

"I saved that village from a crisis by chance you see. They offered me the <God Cure> as thanks. I refused at the time. Since it wouldn't be a fair trade. For the matter this time, I prepared as much money as I could possibly collect and offered to buy the <God Cure>. I went with as few escort as possible along with a coachman as to not draw attentions, but it ended up biting me in the back instead."

So that was the situation with escort recruit back then.

"I brought the medicine on the day the young lady was barely holding to her life according to Shira-sama. As for the rest, Lecan-san is familiar yourself. Ah right. The day after I delivered the cure to the lord's mansion, Henjitt Douga-sama suddenly came visiting. Saying, <After hearing about peril befalling the young lady, I have come with a medicine that will surely heal her illness>."

"You said Midosco and Henjitt Douga were accomplices."

"Yes."

"Then did Henjitt come because Midosco and Zack asked him to."

"I suspected as much myself, however I'm not exactly sure."

"What's in it for Henjitt?"

"Henjitt-sama has been in love with Susyana-sama for quite some time."

<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka.com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>

"I see."

"Now then, from here on are but rumors and hypothesis. First of all, there are rumors about Midosco-sama losing the magic weapons entrusted to him."

"Hou. Both of them huh?"

"Both of them yes. However, those were important weapons that town lord-sama entrusted to him after many absurd quibbling from him. Not to mention the enormous cost attached. You simply do not lose them. One of those is with me, and even though I could make use of it to question about how it ended up in the hand of assassins who were trying to obstruct me, it would just turn into an endless argument of him accusing me of theft. Once it turned into an ugly back and forth, I'm afraid it would end with me losing as someone with a weaker position."

"For sure."

"This is also a rumor, apparently Midosco-sama had been visiting Shira-sama many times over demanding her to urgently deliver substitute magic tools since the ones he had been forced to buy were broken."

"Why didn't he go to the lord instead."

"The lord has signed a pact with the maker that forbids him from making additional purchases were he ever lose or break the weapons when he purchased them."

"And that's how it connects to Shira's disappearance huh?"

"That's what I personally suspected. Major drug stores in this town are currently having a huge uproar at the disappearance of Shira-sama due to Midosco-sama's unreasonable demands. Of course, high class customers of those drug stores, aka this town's powerful people are furious at Midosco-sama. In addition, Shira-sama is said to be acquainted with many powerful figures in the capital. Having made an enemy of such a person, people in Midosco-sama's faction have been like rats fleeing a sinking ship."

"Including Zack Zaikaz?"

"Oh he was leading the pack. Hence, the time is finally about ripe to charge Midosco-sama for his crimes. No. It's already mostly ripe."

"I see. By the way, who is Nike?"

"Oh, have you not met her yet? She's Shira-sama's granddaughter you see. Despite being a young woman, she beat huge magic beasts that were sighted near this town twice, and became a gold rank adventurer."

"Shira's granddaughter? A young female adventurer? Is she perhaps a silver haired young female adventurer with a short sword on her waist, outwardly appears to be in her twenties, and whom Shira would probably look like in her younger days?"

"That's right, that's her."

"I see. I didn't know her name, but I was with her for 20 days in our search for herbs."

"The two of you alone?"

"Yea."

"That's, I'd suggest not to let the young master be privy of it."

"Why?"

"Because love is blind."

"Hou? Love? To that?"

"Nike-san showed up in this town's guild the other day, you see. And someone must have informed Agito-sama about it. Along with the commotion regarding Shira-san's disappearance, in exaggerated manners."

"I see."

"By the way, Lecan-san. How was the dungeon this time?"

"Got to the lowest floor. Got this from the dungeon boss."

"T-that's! First time these eyes feast upon one. A Golden Potion is it. If you'd let me take it off you."

"Nay. I'm using it myself."

"I thought you would."

"No other treasure chest besides this spawned. I'm unloading some potions including leftovers from last time."

"Ooh! Thank you very much."

Lecan stuffed a bag with all small and mid red and blue potions and brought it with him.

After handing the bag over, he gulped down the last of booze, and left his seat.

"It was a good meal."

"I'm glad to hear that."