CH 191

When Lars entered the coffee shop with Henrietta, Basleigh, who was on a separate trip, was gathering information at the guild. 　

“Now then, let’s see if anyone else has any information for today.”

“Yeah. But I don’t think any of them have any useful information ……”

Conrad said to Basleigh as he looked around the guild, which he returned to after a long absence. He was feeling nostalgic for the commotion as usual when Borozov approached them.

“Now, now, Conrad. The time has passed since then, and things may have changed, right? So, Miss, what do you want to ask me?”

“Yes, first of all, Treants was sighted. If there are any particular areas that have been hit hard. And if there are any villages that are heavily damaged. The other thing is suspicious people, I guess.”

Basleigh said as if she was reading from a script. Conrad nodded in response.

“If that’s the case, it’s time for us who have been active in this town to come in. Let’s split up and ask some people.”

“We’ll be back in a few minutes, Miss.”

“I’ll leave it to you♪.”

After the four of them had dispersed, Basleigh narrowed her eyes and looked around, muttering to herself.

“…… Well then. It’s not like me to just wait around either. I’ll ask around that place.”

It was a mixed party, a wise-looking male wizard, a female swordsman and another woman in a robe that caught her eye.

Basleigh approached and greeted them lightly.

“Hi, you guys. May I have a word with you?”

“Hmm? What can we do for you?”

The wise man turned around in response to the call, and at the same time, the swordsman and the woman turned their attention to Basleigh. The swordswoman asked Basleigh with a sense of caution.

“Who’re you? …… I haven’t seen you before, are you new here? Well, have a seat.”

“Well, something like that. I’d like to ask a few questions, I’m just wondering if it’s true that there are too many Treants around these days. Thanks for the kind invitation. My name is Basleigh, and I’m a cheap traveler.”

Basleigh sat down in a chair, and a soft-faced woman put her hands together and smiled.

“My name is Minette. I’m a light wizard and adventurer based here in Oriola.”

“I’m called Tarkas, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Nell, and as you can see, I’m a swordswoman. And as for your question, the answer is yes. To be honest, I’ve encountered so many of them that I’m not sure if I’ll ever be okay. Whenever you go into the forest for a subjugation request, you’re sure to kill one.”

“…… I see. What are the guild and the guildmaster doing about it?”

“Maintain the status quo, they said. For now, they are trying to exterminate them by request. However, the rewards are too low for the large number of requests, so not many people take them. Well, I guess it can’t be helped because if they raise the reward higher, they won’t be able to pay.”

Basleigh listened and put his hand on his chin, then made a thinking gesture. The woman who introduced herself as Minette tilted her head and said to Basleigh.

“Is something wrong?”

“…… No, I’m just trying to decide whether I want meat or fish for dinner this evening.”

“Don’t be thinking about something totally unrelated!? You’re making us look like idiots for taking you seriously. ……”

“Hahaha, it’s our family motto to destroy real-lifers! But jokes aside, thank you very much for the valuable information. And one more thing, do you know that guy over there?”

Basleigh asked the three of them, pointing her finger at Conrad who was listening in a little distance, and Minette nodded with a smile and answered.

“Oh, Conrad-san? I heard you left town, so you’re back now.”

“It’s true. Borzov is over there too? Have you reconciled?”

Nell looked at Conrad and the others as if she knew them, muttering, and Basleigh nodded and started talking.

“Honestly, I’ve been asked by them to come to this town. Get rid of the Treants, they said.”

“I heard that they went to the lord directly to ask for help, but were turned away and left, but it looks like they can’t abandon their hometown. Oops, we should probably get going too.”

When Nell left her seat, Tarkas and Minette also stood up and equipped their weapons before telling Basleigh.

“That’s why we’re going to a nearby village to exterminate some Treants, as requested. It seems like Basleigh-san is going to exterminate Treants too, so thanks for the help.”

“Oh, last question! Have you heard of any suspicious people coming in and out of town lately?”

When I asked the three who were about to leave, they looked at each other and pointed at each other at the same time.

“You mean me!?”

“Hahaha, I was just kidding. It’s a place where adventurers come and go, so it’s hard to tell if a stranger’s face is suspicious or not.”

When Tarkas said it with a laugh, Basleigh cowered with her mouth agape and replied to the three of them. 

“Well, that’s true, too. Well, thank you very much.”

Basleigh also left her seat and gave Minette 5,000 beryls to hold.

“We can’t get this much with the information you just got, you know!?”

“No no, It was very useful, so please take it, treat it as today’s alcohol expenses!”

“…… Don’t say that while crying. Well, I’ll gratefully take it, we’ll see you again if it’s fated.”

“Bye then.”

The three of them walked out of the guild, talking about how strange she was. Basleigh watches them off with a smile and a small wave of her hand, and when they are out of sight, she moves to a position near the wall where she can see all around her.

“(Now, it may be necessary to listen to what the others have to say, but there was one thing that was suspicious. Let’s dig that out after we meet the lord, I guess ……There’s a high possibility that this is the origin of the crop damage in the area. I wonder if we can solve it all at once. For the battle, Lars-kun is here, so that’s fine–)”

While waiting for Conrad and the others to arrive, Basleigh began to compose a plan for the future in her mind. After thinking about it for a while, and then Conrad and the others came back.

“Are we late?”

” No, no, no, I’ll wait as long as it takes for Conrad-san♪. Did you get anything out of it?”

“Yeah–“

The four of them told me the same story that Tarkas and the others had told them. But there was one piece of information that stood out.

“The Guildmaster told us that he had discovered that Treants were particularly common in certain areas. He said that maybe there’s something there, and if so, maybe we can round them up.”

As Borzov said this, Basleigh narrowed her eyes and asked the four of them.

“What does the Guildmaster look like?”

“Oh? He’s that old guy over there with the brown hair. What’s wrong with that?”

“No, no, I just thought I’ll put some dibs if he was a nice guy! Conrad-san won’t budge, after all?”

“Don’t get stick to me ……”

“Hahaha, Miss don’t integrity too. That’s why you’re– Gufu ……”

“Punishment ……!”

“Ahhh, Borzov!”

“Well, now that we have the information, let’s go.”

The three of them help the white-eyed Borzov up.

Through it all, Basleigh left the guild with her eyes fixed on the Guildmaster–

This time, it was Basleigh’s detective work!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“It sure is suspicious ……”

There’s no doubt that there’s a strange man in the house. I mean, there’s the blackmail thing.

“I can’t believe Basleigh is that serious!’

That’s what you mean!?