Chapter 47: Scarlets' Research 1 (6)

“Yeah, they are a difficult bunch...I've often heard others saying that adventurers are actually demons disguised as humans.”

“Yes, well said. Armed groups that don't obey their country or lord are only allowed to exist when they have a common enemy, monsters. If monsters were to become extinct, the next target to be eradicated would be adventurers.”

After listening to the story, Due folded his arms and started to think. He must be comparing his own experience with Victor's explanation. It's been almost two years since he started working as a military officer under me. This was also the first year that adventurers have come to the territory. Now that he's in a position to lead troops to maintain public order, I'm sure he's had to deal with adventurer-related disputes more than once or twice.

“The cons of adventurers. That's a tough one. I never thought about it when all I had to do was swing my sword.”

“Being frank is your strong suit. However, please don't misunderstand me. I don't like adventurers who are disruptive, so I have nothing against you, Mister Due.”

Rather it being about frankness, it was more like commonsense. He carefully considers reasonable opinions and tries to digest them in his own mind. It’s very natural but that makes it all the more so difficult.. Especially since there were many people with extreme viewpoints in my group, Due acting as a balance was important.

Thinking fondly of my “work“, I sipped away at the remaining tea. It was completely cold. Well, it would be a shame to leave it behind, so I drank it, but I wanted to refresh my tastebuds with a refill.

“Uni, may I have another cup?”

“Yes, as you wish.”

I called out to her, and she immediately appeared beside me.

Due and Victor were not surprised now. They had already gotten used to Uni's uncanny ability to appear and disappear. In addition, this time, they knew she was somewhere here from the beginning.

“Master, if possible, please refrain from glancing at where I am with your eyes.”

She said as she poured tea into my cup.

“Hmm? Did I do something like that?”

“Ahh, I think you did. I saw you looking at the ceiling a few times during the interview.”

Due pointed out the specifics.

Oh damn. I covered my eyes with my hands.

“Oh no, I was completely unconscious of it.……Ah, I might have screwed up. They might have noticed.”

“I don't think so. They were not as alert as they should be if they realised I was here. ”

If Uni thinks so, then it probably was true.

It was a trivial mistake on my part. I guess I was a little tense. I've been more focused on my research than on fighting conspiracies. It's a good thing that my opponent didn't notice me dropping clues this time, but if it had been during a struggle with my brother or Marquis Lavallee, I might have made a mistake that I couldn't recover from.

“Strange though. The other side was also A-ranked, and they even had a thief.”

“Probably because there were no traces of malice. There were probably a few close calls along the way, though.”

“Please don’t get worked up over some disagreements with his Excellency. If people were dying every time you did, your infamy would grow, wouldn't it?”

Yes, Uni had been hiding from the four members of the Scarlet Shield and had been observing the meeting. No, no. More like she had been watching them since they were relaxing in this room before the conference began, or even since Victor was leading them the way.

As Due said earlier, she had been lurking behind the ceiling.

In any case, those guys were armed, and were A-ranked adventurers. If they were to be assassins sent from another party, my life would be in danger. This was even despite my various protective armor. So, if they showed any suspicious signs, Uni would immediately launch a surprise attack from the ceiling.

In addition to that.

“There was no indication that our guests, especially the thief, have planted anything in the house.”

“Hm? That's good, that's a relief.”

She had also been on the lookout for them leaving behind audio recording tools or the like.

“Aren't you a little too nervous? High-ranking adventurers are very upright. I don't think they'd agree to be assassins or spies.”

“What are you talking about, Due? There were adventurers acting as spies last year.”

I'm referring to the C-rank party called ‘Green Squad. They were hired by my brother, and they did a great job of getting caught in our smokescreen and playing into our hands. But there was a possibility that they might simply think that a C-ranked party wasn’t enough, and get an A-ranked party instead.

They might be banking on our belief that A-rankers were self-righteous...if we were to be defenceless, then they might have succeeded.

“In the first place, if you can get around the world just through skill and virtue, why does society revolve around royalty and nobility? The priestess of the party was sweating so hard to keep her members from getting into trouble with us, wasn't she? She didn’t want to make enemies with the nobility, you know.”

“So you're saying that even though they were A-rankers, they might have their hands deep in other nobles’ pockets?”

“Yup. Power, money, etiquette, righteousness, and justice... There are many factors in the world that can be ignored by brute force alone. It's the business of nobles and merchants to roll with those factors in their hands. Even if they are an A-ranked party, there are plenty of ways to put a leash on them. The adventurer's guild itself is tied to the merchants of Canales. If you think about it, there isn't a single adventurer in the world who isn't tainted by someone else's colour. Well, it looks like my fears were unfounded this time though.”

That said, I had no intention of weakening my guard around those adventurers today. As Victor said, they were potential troublemakers who have no intention of accepting our control from the beginning.

In fact, I only trust those who have been brainwashed by me into complete submission.

“There is no noble who is more incompatible with adventurers than you, my lord. After all, it was you who built that dungeon. If the truth were to come out, adventurers from all over the continent would come for your head.”

Victor sure does say some terrible things. Well, it's the truth, so I can't do anything to help it. It was I, of all people, who had converted the Trees of Darkness into a dungeon to serve as a barrier for the lab and as a monster material farm. Even though they were a source of income for adventurers, monsters were the common enemy of mankind. There's no way the adventurers would forgive the mastermind of the dungeon.

I responded to my retainer's harsh comment with a chuckle and sipped my tea. It would be a shame to let the tea get cold again since Uni had made it for me. I swallowed the moderately warm liquid into the back of my throat, savouring it carefully.

Ah, how delicious.

“Thank you for the tea, Uni. ...Now then, shall we go?”

“Yes, Master.”

Putting the cup on the saucer, I accompanied her out.

“My lord, where are you going?”

“What are you saying, Victor. Giving our guest a warm welcome is basic courtesy for the host.”

Even I, who people often call impolite, had a certain amount of commonsense. That's why I properly follow the rules.

“Not just here, they are heading ‘there’ too. We'll have to be ready to welcome them.”