Volume 2 - CH 8

(8/8)

Baron Riot had a ring in his hand, a memento of the ring that Lily had lost to bandits.

The ring, which had been taken from her by a bandit, was in Baron Riot's possession. Riot's carriage bore the bad taste emblem of a black pig, and he wore a ring that was different from the emblem, which left an impression on me because I thought it did not suit him.

If the ring was there now, it would be either under the grave or in Baron Riot's house.

I don't want to get too close to the Baron's family, since they are connected to the bandits and are the ones I had to deal with.

"I wonder if there's any way we can it back. I'll tell the Baron's people what happened――."

I interrupted her mid-sentence as Serina started to say something like that.

"Don't be silly. How are you going to explain that situation? If you're not careful, we'll be silenced."

The family would not be pleased to hear such a bad story about a nobleman hanging out with bandits.

"That's ......, if you tell them it's stolen goods."

"It's the same thing. You will have to prove that it was Lily's possession, but that's even worse."

There must be a dozen people who plan to use the princess of a ruined country for something bad.

If you are a pure and righteous hero, you might have saved her and helped restore the kingdom, but I've already got my hands on Lily.

I'm sure she doesn't want to rebel against the Guilan Empire and become a princess again. She doesn't seem to have the guts for it.

Even now, she remains silent with a dejected look on her face.

"But it might be a good idea to at least look into it."

"Really!?"

Lily reacted.

"Yeah. It might have been sold or given away as an inheritance. Then we could get it back for a lot of money and without revealing our identities."

"Yes, you're right. Then, I'll go check it out."

"Serina, don't make a show of asking around in the tavern, okay?"

We are well known among the adventurers. Even more so with the beautiful Serina.

We don't want to be known that the heroes is sniffing around baron and the ring.

"Yes, I'll ask Kojima-sensei then. I heard that he has permission to enter the royal castle's library freely, and I think he can tell us where Baron Riot's house is."

That doctor,huh ......, He is also a summoned hero, but he is still confined to the royal castle, and the other adventurers may not know of Kojima's movements.

"All right. We'll go hunt rabbits and make money as usual."

"Yeah, I got it."

Serina got the address of Baron Riot from Kojima, but we continued our rabbit hunting that day.

I got one treasure ball. In addition, I also hunted Mount Ape to raise my level by one. I also gained a few skill points.

The next day, we took a break from the Kenjutsu dojo and headed to Baron Riot's mansion.

"Here we are."

Serina led us to Riot's villa, which had its gates in a prime location in the royal capital and was surrounded by a high wall.

"Aren't you going to go inside?"

Serina asked, seemingly intending to negotiate or punch her way in to get the ring. But the other party is a nobleman. I don't think it's going to be that easy.

I signaled her to wait and tried to remind her of the skills that would help us here.

The skills that were automatically sorted came to my mind.

[Sycophant] [Scammer] [Raid] [Sneaking in] [Underwear thief].

Hmm?

[Underwear thief]?.

The next cheapest skill among these is [Sycophant]. But even so, at 4 points, it's a skill that's a bit heavy.

If you try to do it in real life, it takes a lot of courage.

I immediately took the [Sycophant Lv1] skill without taking [Underwear Thief Lv1] skill.　

No kidding. Stealing underwear isn't going to do me any good.

Sneaking into a nobleman's house is also out of the question.

"Hey, weren't you just trying to get some weird skill?"

Serina asks me, did this woman even see the skill candidate I was trying to take?

Well, if that's the case, she'll probably call me an underwear thief, and She'll be more than a little angry.

She's an oddly perceptive woman.

I'll deny it flatly so she doesn't notice.

"No, I just took a skill called [Sycophant]."

"Is that so. Well, if you're dealing with a nobleman, that might be a good idea, but ...... Oh, someone's coming out."

I saw a woman in a maid's uniform walking towards me from behind the house.

"Hide!"

I said quickly.

"Ehh? Why......"

I guess the theory is to get her to talk to the nobleman and negotiate with them, but we only have one negotiation card, the [Treasure of Speed (Small)].

I feel like I don't have enough on hand.

But it's also a hassle to hunt rabbits again tomorrow and the day after. It's not like I'm going to go to all that trouble for Lily's sake.

"Serina, do you think you we get the ring back with just this jewel?"

"Hmm, I don't know, but I think we should try to negotiate with them."

"Then, no. If we show that we want the ring, we'll treated as related to that greedy baron, they might try to push us even more. Use your head a little more."

"Murgh, then what are we going to do?"

"We'll follow the maid for a bit."

I said so, and incidentally took the [Stalker Lv1] skill. It costs 3 points.

Serina stared at me with a great expression, but she didn't complain. Naturally, I'm a little excited, but I only took it because I need it for my adventures, not because I'm actually thinking about stalking women with it.

The maid is a bit more beautiful and has a face I like, but that's irrelevant.

"Master, I will follow you no matter what your hobby is. ......!"

Meena says in a whisper, with a strange force, but this idiot took the [View Party Status] without my permission, didn't she?

You've wasted 10 points. You'll get a spanking later.

"You're the worst man."

Serina said in a whisper, but she was hiding properly. She seems to have agreed to following the maid.

Well, she doesn't seem to have other idea right now. I'm going to take advantage of her weakness and take good care of her.

"All right, let's go after her."

Lily nodded silently and followed me, perhaps because her own ring was at stake. Ione wanted to follow me here, but I refused. I don't want to make an enemy of Fritz and her father.

"Is that a grocery purchase?"

"I suppose so."

The maid walked into a nearby store with a shopping bag.

After exchanging a few words with the shopkeeper in an amiable manner, she found a stall, looked around and ordered dumplings.

The maid, with a happy face, sipped her dumplings.

"I hope she didn't spend all the family's money."

Serina was worried, but I'm sure she's getting that much salary. If she's spending it, I can grasp her weakness by using it, but spending as much as a dumpling is weak material.

Then, the maids peeked into the clothing and accessory stores, but it seemed that she was skipping out on her shopping, and were looking around without buying anything.

"Hey, does doing this mean anything to you?"

"I don't know. If you don't like it, go back to the inn first."

Serina was getting tired of it, but gathering information is a steady job. It's not that stalking is fun.

The maid looks at the young man every time he walks by, but he looks so innocent that I wonder if she likes him. This is a negative evaluation.

"Why should a heroes do something like stalking ......?"

Serina mumbled, but still followed me.

The maid finally decided to return to the baron's mansion, she changed direction and entered a narrow alley.

I'm pretty sure it's a back alley with few people ahead.

That's a good chance.