CH 66

The sun had set and the twin moons were covered by the clouds in the sky. Only the light source of the “Lighting” that Souya had created with his magic was faintly illuminating the surrounding darkness.

The three of them, Souya, Doga, and Seran, gathered the defeated people in the center and watched them as if they were surrounding them, waiting for Louise to return.

“Ah, illumination magic. That’s convenient …… Well, I can see well at night, so it doesn’t matter.”

As a cave dwelling race, Dwarves are born with the special ability of night vision, which means they don’t need lights. In light of this, the choice to attack the workshop in the dusk rather than at night may not have been a bad choice at all. It was the attackers who would be at a disadvantage against the dwarves with their poor vision in the dark.

“Doga-san, night vision seems to be useful. I wish my glasses had such a function.”

Soya was referring to Doga’s reply to the goddess who was not present.

He hoped that if she was peeking at the scene from the garden, she would be prepared the next time they met.

Seran leaned against a tree and remained silent, keeping a watchful eye on the thieves. He might be tired because he had exercised his spirit arts multiple times during the day, including the ice and snow spirit summoning, Summon Snowfrau. If there is a cause of fatigue other than spirit art, it would be Louise’s complaining for a long time.

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A half hour later, the thief Jackal and his partner, the warrior Ryde, arrived, along with Louise, who had settled their score with Souya earlier this morning.

Jackal was leading a group of four more people who looked like a bad bunch. One of them was Rat, who had been involved in the dispute with me last night when he tailed me.

“Mr. Souya …… Well, you’re really amazing. Are you on a date Sis Louise at the blacksmith’s workshop? If you want, I can show you a place with a fancy atmosphere.”

“You’re being rude to Louise-san. Watch your language. The group behind …… are they your men?”

“Yeah, that’s right. We’re going to be interrogating this bunch of robbers.”

The loose-lipped Jackal was instructing his men with a grin, scratching at his eye patch with his fingernails.

The thieves, whose belongings were confiscated after a physical examination, were tied up with ropes, kicked down, and rolled to the ground again. Then came the inspection of the luggage of the overturned wagons. This was also carefully done by two thieves.

“…… Ryde-kun. I need you to keep an eye on it. I’m sorry for having you do this all the time.”

“It’s nothing you have to worry about, Louise-san. I’ll take care of it.”

When Louise told Ryde she was sorry, he put his hand on his chest and saluted her.

“– It looks like I won’t have to stand guard anymore. I’m leaving. I’ll see you again, old man Doga and Souya-san. –Louise. I’ll take my reward at the Adventurer’s Guild at a later date.”

Seran gave a sleepy, absent-minded yawn, put his hands in the pockets of his long black coat, and slowly walked away.

“…… Keh, you scamp. But in addition to him, there’s SIs Louise and Mr. Souya …… Haha, what an out of luck robbers.”

Jackal mumbled a few words behind Seran’s back, and then ridiculed the robbers for being so unlucky.

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As a result of the investigation conducted by Jackal’s men, a forged business receipt was found in the wagon. Jackal’s face twisted in surprise at the controversial evidence that had come to light.

“It’s likely that they used the forged business card to enter through the nearest south gate. For their return trip …… well, if they never go back to Illstadt again, they can just force their way through the gate.”

Louise shared her reasoning with Jackal. Jackal, who was checking the fake business card, nodded his head in agreement. 

“…… That idiot guard …… Well, it’s a reasonably sophisticated product. It’s no wonder they were fooled at first glance.”

Jackal flashed the fake business card, frowned, and scratched his head in an annoyed manner. 

“…… I wonder where they got this fake business card from? I hope your place is not involved. And what about the possibility that the guards at the south gate have been bribed? None of these can be ruled out at this point. Please check it properly on your side too.”

Louise’s voice had a hint of coldness in it, unlike her usual pleasant intonation.

“Yes, Sis. Roger that! …… Seriously, who told you that you can do business in Ilstadt!”

“…… Ugh!”

Jackal randomly kicks a large man in an act of retaliation, who seems to be the leader of the robbers in the stomach.

The man, who was tied up with ropes, groaned along with vomiting from the sudden pain.

“I’m going to take you back and torture you. Don’t ever think you can hold a thing again.”

Jackal then spat in the face of the large man who was contorting his face in extreme pain.

“Jackal. What are you going to do with them?”

“…… Mr. Souya probably shouldn’t ask …… Well, I’m going to have them answer for their crimes and dispose of them according to the thief’s code. At the very least, we need to make an example of them.”

They seemed to be robbers from outside the city, but with the appearance of Ilstadt’s fake business card, the possibility of having accomplices in the city was becoming more likely.

They would have to torture him to get him to talk about it. And there is no doubt that the weight of the example will be effective in deterring crime.

I don’t know what the rules of the thieves guild in Ilstadt are, but I would guess that the tendons in their arms would be cut, or their fingers would be cut off.

Or, depending on the crime, there was a possibility that they would be disposed of as is. Of course, dead people can’t hold things.

“Don’t tell me, you want to let them go? I don’t that’s possible even if that’s what Mr. Souya would want.”

“No way. I’m not a righteous man, nor a villain, nor even a saint. Do what you want.”

Souya shrugged his shoulders and told Jackal that he was not interested.

Souya had no intention of interfering with the rules and regulations of those who steal for a living. There is no denial or affirmation of that. It is an inviolable territory.

If it had been Mia, she would not have been happy, but even if she had been here, it would not have been right for her to interfere.

“I hope you don’t talk about dangerous stuff too much …… You’re disturbing the neighborhood. You can say that I brought this on myself.”

“Hehe, Mr. Doga. Why don’t you pay a protection fee to the Thieves’ Guild? With the money you earn, we’ll use it to keep an eye on the workshop from these insolent people.”

Jackal rubbed his hands and began to negotiate with Doga, who blurted out.

The Thieves’ Guild is also involved in the protection of territories, the so-called “bouncer” business. If any of the stores or areas where they pay protection fees are involved in an act like this, they will be immediately sanctioned and treated as bounty hunters in the city.

This time, Louise’s contacts connected her to the Thieves Guild, but if this area had been under protection, they would have moved more quickly to sanction it.

“…… I can’t stand the thought of being watched by thieves …… I would say that. But, well, there are facilities nearby that I’ve been taking care of. I’ll think about it if I give in and you’re willing to help the security of this area.”

Surprisingly, Doga was positive about Jackal’s proposal. The answer was just like him, as he did not want to cause trouble for others.

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After the investigation was over, the robbers were taken to the Thieves’ Guild under the direction of Jackal. They would be tortured severely as a punishment for their crime.

Finally, Rude came to greet Souya, Doga, and Louise. As usual, he was a soft-spoken, polite young man who seemed to be a well-balanced partner for the foul-mouthed Jackal.

However, he was still a man who worked with Jackal. He was probably used to being ruthless, and the fact that he accompanied them meant that he was probably involved in some way with the thieves’ guild. He may not be the polite young man he appears to be, but there may be another side to him.

“I think it’s time for me to leave …… Thank you for everything today, Doga-san. I’ll be back next time with a souvenir to thank you.”

“Souya …… Why don’t you tell me about your adventures next time? Then we’ll have a drink afterward. I’m looking forward to hearing your achievements.”

Doga shook hands with Souya and smiled, stroking his beard.

It was the best part of the day for Souya to meet an old friend who understood him. He will be relying on him again while he is in Ilstadt.

“…… Little girl, there are 60 gold coins in there for three people. You can check it out. Wouldn’t it be better to go through the Adventurer’s Guild?”

Doga handed Louise the bag of rewards that he had prepared while waiting for her.

“Thank you very much, Doga-san …… I’ll bring some drinks with me next time I’m here.”

When Louise thanked her, Doga frowned, unlike the time with Souya. It’s not hard to understand why he was complaining about his work so much.

“Thank you for your hard work during your vacation. There were some unexpected things, but today was fun. Louise-san, are you going to the adventurer’s guild right now?”

“Yes, Souya-san. I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have to wrap up the matter of Doga-san’s request. And then there’s the handing over of the gold you’ll receive as a commission and the report on the robbery …… Oh, God, I’m going to be so busy.”

Louise ruffled her hair and groaned. If so, it would be a good idea to take the same route to the adventurer’s guild near the inn.

“Then, Louise-san, I’ll escort you to the Adventurer’s Guild. It’s going to be a little dark at night with the moon hiding behind the clouds.”

Souya smiled at Louise as he flickered the faint glow of his lighting.