CH 273

“. You’ve been through a lot, but you never learn, Birdie.”

“Birdie ……? A-Ahhh, thanks! Ahem. There’s a nice girl’s tits there. So I’ll rub it. OK? Oh, that sister, don’t make a scary face and make a fist, okay!? I’m just kidding.”

“Joking or not, You’ve already rubbed them. I’ll let you deal with this at the tavern, but you said before that it was dangerous to go to Glasco territory, but you came yourself.”

When Basleigh-sensei, who was calculatingly planning to have him to buy another drink, said this with narrowed eyes, Birdie sat on the floor scratching the back of his head and laughing. 

“Nuhahaha! As you can see, most of the people gathered here are members of my clan. I arrived here a little while ago after receiving a request from this town. I say “smelly” because I knew that the request was dangerous. Or rather, you came after all.”

“I see. Well, the more dangerous it is, the better the reward, so we’d like to take the job.”

There’s still the question of who gave it, but we don’t need to tell him that we’re really the minister and her team. There is no guarantee that the person who made the request is on their side, or that they will get any information.

“Here, can you stand?”

I took Birdie’s hand and pulled him to his feet. He jerked his head and opened his mouth with a snicker.

“I’d love to ask for your help, but I can’t let you participate. You know, after we’ve defeated all the powerful monsters, we can take our time hunting them down.”

It seems that he has a firm idea of what he wants, and he doesn’t seem to be unsympathetic to us when we say we are in debt. I’m sure he’s planning a strategy or something, so it’s hard for outsiders to get in. And then Basleigh-sensei spoke up and asked.

“Is it too difficult even for you?”

“Kuku, I’m glad to hear you say so, but it’s just the way it is. I’m the leader, but I’m also the one who holds their lives in my hands, so I can’t just do whatever I want. Let’s have a drink tonight instead! I never thought I’d see you again, so I’m glad, you know?”

Birdie puts her arm around Basleigh-sensei’s shoulder. Does this guy really like Basleigh-sensei ……? As I was thinking about this, Basleigh-sensei opened her mouth while pinching Birdie’s arm.

“Ouch!?”

“It’s a shame, but well, as an apology for my shameful behavior, I’ll let you treat us a drink! Where will we do it?”

“Ow …… We’ll do it at this guild. The time is around 8 p.m. We’ll have a short meeting so can you leave for now?”

“No choice, let’s go, gentlemen.”

We left the guild, hearing a voice say “Sorry” over our backs. He stopped a short distance away, looked back at the guild, and muttered to himself.

“I’m pretty sure the client is the lord, but I wanted to know when the request would be carried out and how many members there are.”

“I don’t know the date, but there are probably twenty-six of them. I’ve already identified the ones who don’t look like people from this town.”

“Master, I thought you were keeping quiet, but you’re looking at that, huh.”

“Umu. I can fight, but I’m not good at negotiating. The right person in the right place, you should remember that too, Makina. Even if you feel useless in the moment, there’s always something you can do.”

“Yes!”

Makina saluted cheerfully, and Fath-san nodded with a smile.

…… Well, I guess we can talk to the merchants and the lord, Zanbia.

We can talk to Zanbia when Himmel-san and the others arrive. It would have been a shame to have let Varnish go. But we don’t want to waste time by stopping, so we decide what to do next.

“We should go around the town, the four of us will stand out and maybe Lux will find us.”

“Yeah, just to get a feel for the terrain, right?”

“That’s what I meant. That’s it, let’s go.”

Makina takes my hand. I thought it would be a good idea to take a walk, so we started walking side by side, matching our steps.

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

After Lars and the others left the guild, Birdie …… Albatross entered the circle with a smirk. Then one of the members called out to him.

“Yo, you’re in a good mood, aren’t you, albatross. What’s with the guys from earlier? Haha, and what’s with the birdie?”

“Oh, they’re the sisters I hit it off with before I met up with you guys. She’s a good woman …… She’ll be here later, but don’t mess with her, okay?”

When Albatross says this with a serious face, the other men raise their eyebrows and open their mouths.

“Hmm, that’s unusual. For you to be so excited about a woman. But they’ve come at a bad time, is it going to be okay?”

“…… Well, whatever works, right? Let’s have a strategy meeting! They’ve changed the request to the Inquisitors of Reflexion and their guards. When they arrive, we’ll fake a monsters extermination and get their trust. We’ll be in the woods for a day. I’ll tell you how to defeat them …… at that time. We’ll kill them all as usual. We’ll mix in some dead slaves to make a scapegoat so they don’t look at us.”

Spreading out a map of the town and the surrounding area, Albatross stuttered out his plan. Then a man raises his hand and asks a question.

“I don’t have a problem with the targets, but wasn’t Retzel-san with you? It would have been easier with him.”

“Yeah, he’s just a guide because he’s a failure and a bad omen. He’s probably sipping tea in a neighboring town right now. Let’s continue, okay? Next is–“

And then Albatross continued.

–The man and woman slumped behind the counter, with the receptionist and guild master in the background. The worst stage was slowly but surely being set.

Now, what happens ……?

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Basleigh doesn’t get a laugh ……!?”

The roles this time is, you know ……

“Out of ideas ……!?”

That’s rude!?