379 - - 三百七十七话 打ち合わせ

What a mastermind it was, the Gulli father and son!　I tried to get up the momentum, but I'm not very excited. I wish Gulli and his son ...... had never come back. I wish they would have at least stayed away from us.

"Oh by the way Sylphy. Who is the hostage taker?　Maybe it's Gina and her friends or Mel."

There's no one else to go after. No, I think Mr. Toruku's family, Marie's family, and Gina's family could be hostage candidates.

They should know that I have a spirit guarding Sara and her family, but haven't you been able to gather enough information?

If you are related to Galli and his son, it would not be out of place to be that dumb, but the story of the adventurer who tried to kidnap Sarah and her family and was beaten back should be well known. If they are planning to kidnap Gina and her family, they may have at least a trump card hidden in their pocket. Let's just be on our guard.

"He's going to go after Gina and the others when Yuta isn't around. At first they were going to kidnap Gina's family and make her do what they wanted, but they stopped when they noticed the security of the Adventurers' Guild. They didn't want the Adventurers' Guild to get involved in the kidnapping of Gina's family.

Well, considering my relationship with the Adventurers Guild, if Gina's family was kidnapped, the Adventurers Guild would make a serious move. I may have been premature in reducing the number of my guards at the last meeting with the Adventurers' Guild. But it still worked, and we should be thankful for the security of the Adventurers Guild.

What about Mel?

"You didn't mention Mel. But if Mel is targeted, Meral will just obliterate him, so it won't be a problem, will it?"

...... I would be more worried about the kidnappers than Mel's safety. Meral...... don't do anything that will traumatize Mel.

"Well, let's get going, shall we?"

"What?　Where?　Oh, Gina and the kids. It's a little early for you, isn't it?"

I'm not taking a break at all, okay?

"No, it's not. We're with Gulli and his son. Let's get over there and crush them. It'll be fun to have all the Deenes here."

...... Wouldn't that destroy King's Landing?　You're right, I said flashy, but I'm not thinking that big. Sylphy, are you excited?

"No, you see ......, if there is no evidence of an attack, it will be just an attack on the Marquis de Galli. I can get by with being a wanted man, but I don't want people to think that I attacked a nobleman because I don't like him."

A minimum of publicity is important.

"Well, that's true. So what are you going to do?"

I'd like to take my time to think about it, but Galli and his son seem to be in a hurry, and Sylphy's in high spirits, so I can't just sit back and take it easy.

"Let's see ......, we'll think about the details of the plan from now on...let's see...is it the quickest way to get Gina to act as a decoy?"

I know it sounds inhumane, but a couple of Great Spirits as escorts would do the trick. We could probably plunge into the middle of a war and come out of it unscathed.

The most likely target for kidnappers is the child Sarah and her family, but even if they know they are safe, they would be hesitant to use a child as a decoy. Gina would be able to handle the situation as long as she explains what is going to happen beforehand.

"Yuta will probably have one of Dine and the others as his escort, won't he? Then it will be all right. But make sure you talk to Gina about it.

"Yes, I know. Now all we have to do is to follow the trail of Gina's attacker to Baron Mason and we'll have enough evidence.

To be honest, it would be easier if we just attack the Galli family right now like Sylphy said, but then we wouldn't have any proof and we wouldn't be able to destroy the Galli family with a big show of force. We have to go through the proper procedure.

Hmm?　I don't see why we can't just pretend that we were attacked and get the liaison and Baron de Messon. No, if they don't try, there's a chance they'll be identified by magic or something, so at the very least, let them get their hands on him.

"Where's the flair in that?"

Sylphy tilts her head cockily and asks. ......Yeah, it's so cute to see her tilt her head back. It's strange that her expression hasn't changed.

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet, but I don't think we need to be flashy in the labyrinth city. The only place that needs to be flashy is the Royal City with Gulli and his son."

"That's true. Well, I'll look forward to seeing your plan in King's Landing.

Sylphy is putting pressure on me. Maybe she knows what I'm thinking and is pressuring me. ...... I have to come up with a plan that will make Sylphy happy.

But I'm getting to think big things like destroying the Marquis' house. Well, there's a force that can physically destroy the country...so it won't be a problem if we go that big...

"Oh, by the way, they've hired two necromancers too. They are planning to use the two genie-sorcerers to suppress Yuta's genie and kidnap Gina and the others while they are at it."

"What?　The genie is going to be the enemy?"

I don't like the idea of fighting with a genie. But it's a relief. Baron Mason was right about me.

I'm thankful that my enemies are weak, but if there are many like Gulli and his son, I'll feel too sorry for them.

"They won't be my enemies. The genie sorcerers had big things to say to Baron Messon, but it's the floating genie who has the contract, and the floating genie would rather cancel the contract than antagonize the great genie."

"I see."

Come to think of it, the spirit contract was in favor of the spirits. So the odds are stacked against us before we even begin to fight. I was hoping for at least a somewhat decent opponent, but it seems there's not much difference.

"Hey, I was wondering if it's possible to ask the spirits to suppress the spirits of the enemy side?

"Well, spirits don't really fight each other. So, they may discuss and decide not to interfere with each other. Even floating spirits who are not conscious hesitate to attack each other by instinct, so they may think that they can control spirits by themselves."

I see, such misunderstandings can occur when people cannot communicate with each other. It seems that she has a contract with a spiritist who cooperates with her kidnapping, and the contracted spirit may be a floating spirit with no clear consciousness.

Well, it can't be helped. Sylphy said that it's hard to make a contract with a lower level spirit if we use the normal contracting method.

In our case, it seems that the mediation of a great spirit plus a kind of compatibility diagnosis is done, so we shouldn't be together.

"Yuta, verumankshita-" "kyukyu-" "interesting-" "koo-" "it's alright!" ......"

Oh, the Bells are back from their room search. We should go to Gina and the others' rooms soon, so we can think of a plan later. We move to Gina's room, listening to the results of Bell and the others' room search.

"Master, I don't mind if it's not a fancy room. ......"

When we moved to Gina and the others' room, Gina said the first thing out of the corner of her mouth. Apparently, the room was more luxurious than she had expected and she felt uncomfortable in it. I felt the same way.

I was worried and checked on Sarah and the others, but they seemed to be doing fine. Sara seems calm, and Marco and Kikka are exploring the room with great interest, as if they have the adaptability characteristic of children.

Fukuchan and the others are also making a lot of noise with Marco and Kikka, and there is no sense that they are being swallowed up by the room. It seems that Gina and I are the only ones who haven't adjusted yet. We'll try our best to adapt together.

"Well, you know what? Well, it happens once in a while, so let's try to get used to it. Besides, isn't it fun to eat at a fancy inn?"

The inn had a system whereby meals were usually taken in the room, so I made sure to ask for it. Well, when I ordered 17 servings of food, he looked at me strangely.

"Oh, of course. We can eat the food here, can't we? What kind of food do they serve?"

As expected of the diner's daughter, her interest easily shifted to the food.

"It seems that they have taken dishes that are popular in the labyrinth city and made them into a menu with a taste appropriate for this inn. I think it's probably an adaptation of a dish from Toruku's restaurant.

"That sounds interesting."

Gina nodded with a big smile. I know, right? I'm secretly looking forward to it. I like Toruku's garlicky dishes, but it's good to enjoy a different taste once in a while.

I'll just open up and ask for food for all of us at Torque's place too.　...... a few times, but I'm worried that they might find out that meals are an important communication tool with the spirits.

As long as some weirdo doesn't find out and take advantage of the young genie, there is no problem in spreading the word. I am worried about the floating spirits and lower class spirits, though not about the middle class spirits and above.

By the way, the food at Mr. Toruku's place is my recipe. Could it be that the dishes that Ruby makes are similar to mine?　No, Ruby is not a high class person, so she should be fine.

Well, now that Gina's out of her mind, let's talk about the Gulli family. We don't want them to go out and get kidnapped by accident.

****

"So, everyone is being targeted. Any questions?"

I tried to make my speech as non-scary as possible, but ...... thank goodness, he doesn't look that scared by the look on his face. I guess I have to live up to his expectations considering he trusts me. ......It is possible that it is the genie who trusts me, but I won't go into that too deeply.

"Master, I don't mind being the bait, but wouldn't one Mel be more of a target?"

"We didn't talk about Mel, and Meral's there, so I'm fine."

"I see."

Gina's family is being watched ...... by the Adventurers' Guild guards, plus Sylphy. I'd say we're almost in good shape, and it's best to keep quiet so as not to cause any unnecessary worry.

"Master, I think it will be more effective if I take the bait rather than Gina's sister.

Then I'll be the bait. I'm a man!

And Kikka!

When Sarah ran for the decoy position, Marco immediately ran as well. I think Kikka just went with the flow. It will be hard to convince her that she can't do it because she's worried. Especially since Sara and the others know they are safe with Dine and the others.

"...... Well, it's true that Sara and her friends are more effective, but it's not a good idea to use a child as a decoy because it's not a good look. Even asking Gina to do it is not exactly a compliment."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, I think there will be a fuss about this, and you may be asked to explain. That's why it's important to keep up appearances."

The final strategy is still up in the air, but if you're going to be flashy, there's a good chance you'll be asked to explain yourself. I can just not tell the truth, but the less I lie, the easier it is for me to do it.

Sara and the others agreed with me and Gina took the bait, though she seems a little frustrated. Everything is going well.

"Master, when are we going to do the decoy?　If you don't want me to go out until then, I can't help you at Mr. Torque's, can I?"

Oh, that reminds me. Karku had dead eyes, too, and it would be bad if we didn't send him to help us as soon as possible.

"Well ......, I'll start taking him to and from school tomorrow. Marco and Kikka will stay with me.

That way, you won't be targeted on the move. Toruku's inn also has guards sent by the Adventurers' Guild, so Sara and the others will not be attacked while they are working there. We should ask Dine to escort us just in case. While we're buying time, let's think of a plan and quickly destroy the house.

"If we try to be on time for the preparation, we'll have to be up early in the morning..."

Gina asks worriedly. I've become a lot healthier since I blended into this world, but it's still hard to get up early. ......When we catch Gulli and his son, we're allowed to punch them a few times, right?

"Well, I'll try to go to bed early.

I'll ask Sylphy to wake me up just in case. Now we should discuss what Gina and the others are going to do.

Especially Gina needs to visit her parents' diner, and Sara and the others may have some places they want to go and some things they want to buy. The labyrinth is out of the question until this situation is settled.

I also have some other requests for Marie, and I have to deliver some materials and trash to be disposed of at the core of the labyrinth. Oh, I have to remember the requests for the redemption of spirit money and the collection of alcohol.

......It's going to be a very hard stay in the labyrinth city this time. ...... well, Gulli and his son, let's beat them up instead of just punching them a few times.