CH 210

“Rocking~ in the wagon~♪, we’re headed~ for a cage where they’ll never get out again~♪”

We put five people in the back of the cart, and the horse and I pull it. On both sides, Makina and Basleigh-sensei were standing to prevent any possible escape. Behind us was the carriage of Hugel-san and the other, the lord’s family.

There was a suggestion that we could leave Sarge behind and go alone, but Hugel-san said he would talk to Kelbrem directly, so we decided to go this way.

I was worried about leaving Rakute-san and Henrietta behind, and if there were still assassins, they might take advantage of our absence, so we all came together. 

In the meantime, I turned around and called out to Basleigh-sensei to stop her singing.

“Stop it, MrBasleigh-sensei, it’s true, but singing in the street is embarrassing.”

“It’s a strategy to get information out of them by damaging them mentally. Isn’t it fine, right, Makina-chan?”

“What!? I-I don’t know even if you ask me that!? …… I think you’re a good singer, though ……”

“Oh, thank you, Makina-chan …… Now then, we’re almost at the guild, I wonder how are Conrad-san and the others doing?”

When the guild’s sign came into view, Basleigh-sensei narrowed her eyes. It’s not early in the morning, so the other adventurers are out, but it’s hard to escape when that many people who survived are packed in.

The problem is that we’ve only heard verbally that the mastermind is Kelbrem, so the evidence is pretty thin. In the meantime, I asked him to bring the threat letter with him for a handwriting analysis.

Eventually, we passed through the guild’s door. I could see Conrad and the others frozen in the center of the room. But there was no sign of Kelbrem. I called out to him, wondering if he was planning to wait for us and storm the guild master’s room.

“What’s going on, Conrad? Everyone has a grim look too.”

“Oh, it’s you, Lars-kun! No, we’ve been waiting for you.”

“Are we going to storm the Guildmaster’s office?”

I turned my attention to the door at the back and Borzov came up to me and shook his head, answering for Conrad.

“Well, Leisha said he hasn’t been seen since this morning. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes …… there was something strange going on yesterday when someone who claimed to know him showed up at the guild, is there a connection?”

“What did he look like?”

“It was a man with a very kind face. He was accompanied by a petite girl with glasses and a ponytail, and after whispering something in his ear, he hurriedly followed him outside. He came back soon after, but after that, but he said he didn’t feel well and stayed in his room …… And in the morning, there was nothing at all.”

If he was talking to him as if he knew him, Croix was the most likely candidate, but did he give us that information to reassure us and help him escape? But the fact that he looked so kind.

“Leisha-san, did he have any bandages on his face or anything? What about his name?”

“Hmmm, it was a man with a very pretty face. I don’t know his name because he didn’t give it.”

“Is that so ……”

As I put my hand on my chin and pondered, Hugel-san, who had stepped forward quickly, opened his mouth. The adventurers groaned at the sight of him.

“Lars, why don’t we just go into the guild master’s room? You might find some clues there.”

“Hugel-san. I guess so, let’s go house hunting. Let Me, Conrad, and Hugel-san check it out. Makina, you two stay with the two of them.”

“It’s three, though, Lars-kun?”

“Basleigh-sensei can protect herself, right.”

“How mean ……!”

Then Leisha-san went to Conrad with some kind of key.

“Conrad-san, I’ve got the key, so I’ll open it.”

“Please.”

“Mu, that woman, to Conrad-san, she’s ……! Oops, I slipped!”

“Kyaaa!? W-What’s with you!?”

Basleigh-sensei’s deliberate hit on Leisha-san, who was smiling at Conrad, threw Leisha-san off balance. 

“No, there was a thieving cat, so I just–“

“You mean me!? Conrad is my …… Ahh …… It’s nothing …… Seriously, I’ll remember this later ……! Now then ……”

Leisha, acting like an adult, turned the key and opened the door for us. We entered cautiously, me and Conrad in that order, and after looking around to make sure nothing was out of place, we invited Hugel-san in.

“…… No one’s here, huh.”

“So he ran away, that Cloix, he gave us the information because he thought it would be safe to do so?”

I opened the next room to make sure, but this one seemed to be more of a private room, and there were clothes hanging in the closet. Then Hugel-san called out behind me.

“…… Hmm, his handwriting is trying to change a bit, but it’s a close match. I can’t say for sure because he’s not here, but the fact that he’s not here now is kind of proof.”

“So, yes, it’s not clear ……”

Because the threat isn’t really gone, Conrad left the Guildmaster’s room, and now Cave spoke to me.

“So he got away, it would have been different if we had caught Croix there ……”

“It’s no use talking about it. I’m glad there are no casualties, because we’re in a situation where we have no choice but to fall back. For now, let’s set aside Kelbrem and see what we can do about them.”

I opened my mouth in front of the five bandits.

“By the way, who’s these three ……?”

“These are the bandits who attacked the lord’s mansion. They probably work to Kelbrem, but since they won’t talk, I think we’ll have to throw them in jail.”

“I see. Hey, you guys look like you’ve been abandoned. They said Kelbrem is gone.”

One of the adventurers crouched down and said, and the men silently looked away. Well, they’ve endured Basleigh-sensei’s torture, so I guess there’s nothing to talk about now.

Then Hugel-san claps his hands and tells the adventurers in an unusually loud voice.

“This time, I have caused you trouble because of my inadequacy. The threat to our family is far from over, but thanks to you guys subjugating the Treants, the town and village will gradually return to normal. Thank you so much.”

When Hugel-san bowed, the adventurers said in confusion.

“No, please raise your heads. You’ve been blackmailed, so you can’t help it.”

“That’s right. The guild master is the mastermind behind all of this, so there’s nothing we can do ……”

“I’ll be busy again, so let’s make it up to each other! Now that I’m hungry, I think I’ll go get lunch, if you need anything, just give me a call.”

“Lars-sama, let’s take another request together!”

The adventurers, having decided that the matter was settled, began to leave the guild in disarray, or sat down on chairs to doze off.

“Oh, then let’s have lunch too! Conrad-san, please!”

“Conrad-san is eating with me! It’s fine, right? We always eat together, after all!”

“Y-Yeah, ……. Oh, no! I can’t, because I have to deal with these bandits! I think Basleigh-san should send the Lord with Lars-kun!”

“Oh, I see ……”

“Chie-“

Conrad does a good job of fending them off, and we decide that Conrad will take care of the bandits and we’ll take care of Hugel-san, so we go outside to move.

Still, it’s a problem that he got away …… I don’t think he’s gone far, should we search the area?

It’s becoming long now, so it’s time to really settle this ……!

Thanks again for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Now then, how will Kelbrem will react? If he really got away, the readers will be stressed-out mach!”

Of course, it’s true for the author, too, right?