Chapter 141 – Detective

000

In the royal capital, there are people of various occupations that are not commonly seen in the provinces. The royal capital is the most populous place on the continent, and it is also the birthplace of culture, and there are quite a few jobs created due to ‘relaxation’ that cannot be found elsewhere.

In particular, there were those who received various kinds of pastimes to solve their day-to-day problems against nobles who did not trust adventurers, although most of them were called solvers.

They themselves call themselves ‘Detectives’, but when something happens in the capital, there are those who rush like hyenas and try to get their share. There are also detectives who are in charge of searches and so on.

A room with a gloomy atmosphere. The magic light was repeatedly turning off and on, as if the remaining power source to supply mana was running out.

Thanks to the small amount of light coming inside thanks to the curtains on the windows, the lighting and turning off feels more frantic.

The wallpaper was originally white, but now it has turned gray. The floor and ceiling are so worn out that you don’t know when they were repaired.

It was cluttered like Lila’s room, with papers scattered all over the place and books scattered all over the place with nowhere to step on the floor, but it was not her room.

An old office in a building narrowly straddling a slum in a place close to the back alleys of the royal capital.

A person covering his face with a hat while leaning on a chair with a backrest in front of a desk piled with potion bottles to relieve fatigue.

He is also one of the detectives in this royal capital, and his name is ‘Grey’.

Lila frowns at her long-uncleaned office her, and she sighs heavily.

“Grey. Wake up.”

“Umm…”

As she slowly opens her eyes to the voice her calling her her name her, removing the hat covering her face her, a teenager with gray hair like her own name her. The appearance of a child of the same age as Sasha was revealed.

The eyes are light blue eyes. As for the voice, it was hard to tell whether it was a boy or a girl, but it was a relatively low and calm voice, or rather, a sleepy voice.

Wearing a ponytail with her hair the same color as that of a mouse crawling in her shadow, Gray, wearing a white shirt and overalls, rubbed her eyes as soon as he saw Layla and sighed with a languid voice, “Ohhhhh”, And changed his posture. Do it right

“It’s been a while. The head of the magic department at the academy. Lila-sama. It was over a year ago that I met you before, right? They said they needed information about a hero active in Elesia… Is things going well?”

At the smirk of Grey’s greeting, which seemed to scrape the inside, Layla let out a big sigh and spoke.

“…Even if you don’t answer, you’ll know.”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then don’t ask.”

“Let’s do that.”

Seeing that Lila’s hair was burning red, Gray obeyed her by lowering her right tail her.

Gray, who looks like an ordinary kid at first glance, is an orphan from the royal capital, and he was caught by the kingdom guards while working as a shoplifter in the slums.

However, he was pardoned by matching the identity of the serial thief the guards were struggling with with his observational skills and extraordinary mind his, and after that, he saved money and became a detective with a decent office.

Even so, helping the guards is one of a handful of times since then, and it’s the aesthetics of Gray to do something similar to an intelligence dealer or make trivial requests, earn just enough money to not starve, and live an inconspicuous life. Could

Lyla didn’t know what kind of means Gray used to gather information, but after hearing rumors about him and visiting him, considering that he was able to find detailed information about Alvein in advance, this detective’s skills are genuine. Can you

“So. What did you come for today? Investigation of the magic swordsman who goes around like these days?”

“Something like that. Because I know it without investigating it one by one. …If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll burn this office down.”

“That, as much as that… Uh huh. You’re quick-tempered… “

At Layla’s threat, Gray laughed out loud, but then knelt down in a cold sweat.

This, unique attitude of bowing one’s head to the other person didn’t really like Layla, but that would be Gray’s way of dealing with herself.

“I want to investigate Percys Tromeia’s younger brother, Setos Tromeia. He said he had a lover in the past, and the lover’s identity.”

“Are you Setos-sama? Again, it’s about a high-ranking person in power. As you know, the higher the target of investigation, the more expensive it is, right?”

At Gray’s words that seemed to be okay, Layla nodded her head. To that extent, she has already made up her mind.

“And. Alvein, the former hero. He must be confined to a labor facility now. In case there is a strange guy contacting him.”

“Hmm… It smells. Having the two of them investigate together means that they have something to do with it, right?”

“…”

Layla didn’t say anything to Gray’s words. Although she said more than necessary and was wary of information leaking out. Rather, Gray saw Lila’s reaction to her and smiled as if she were sure of something.

“Well. I understand. I won’t ask for details. But. Apart from the investigation on Lord Setos, I am also investigating something else. Maybe, I may need help from Lady Lyla on my side.”

“…From me? You’re a detective, are you going to let someone else do your job?”

“No, no! No! Of course, I’m a detective, but when it comes to magic, Laila-sama knows better than I do. If you help me, I’ll cut the cost of Setos-sama’s investigation, so Please cooperate. It’s a sword~”

“I’m sorry to say that,” She said in a servile voice, pushing Gray, who was trying to rub Layla’s shoulder her, with one hand, and Lila let out another sigh of annoyance.

“Okay. Okay. So? What kind of incident is it?”

“Recently, there have been cases of consecutive disappearances of men belonging to the Royal Capital Adventurer Guild. Regardless of age, the first incident occurred less than a month ago.”

“A case of serial disappearances of male adventurers… What do the victims have in common?”

At Lila’s question, Gray shrugged her shoulders and shook her head from side to side.

“That. Except for being an adventurer, nothing. Age, marital status, race, origin. Everything is random. Thanks to that, I was wondering if it was an event with some magical meaning.”

“That’s right… If you say you’re only targeting men, then maybe you’re preparing something ideologically or ceremonially. The guards?”

“That’s quite a headache. The adventurers’ guild that asked me to investigate is not working properly because adventurers keep disappearing, and the guards, like the guards, don’t take it very seriously, saying that the adventurers disappear for a day or two . . Of course, it’s only superficial, and I think it’s like an order from above.”

“If you can give instructions to the guards, the military… Nobles and knights. Well, I tend to hate adventurers, so it’s not strange.”

Lyla, who heard Gray’s words and frowned at her, pops several possibilities into her head her, but neither of them is on the grounded side, so she’s annoyed by the situation she can’t specify.

Perhaps, Iona judged that it might have something to do with the succubus commotion in the royal capital that Iona talked about, but sending Gray to her back alley was a bit reluctant.

“Okay. Then, I’ll investigate this one too.”

“Really! Thank you! Then, if I find out anything about Setos-sama and Alvein, I’ll contact you right away!”

“Yes. …I’m telling you, but don’t go near the back alleys. If you’re a detective too, you know that there’s a lot of power struggles there lately, right?”

“Hehe, of course. It’s too much of a waste to put your face in a place like that and be dealt with.”

Hearing that answer, Laila stood up from her seat.

“Oh, is he passing away already? I should have served you a cup of tea…”

“Okay. You might know how old the car in this office is…”

After talking to Gray like that, Laila left Gray’s office, refusing to see her off her.

Gray looks at Lila’s back to her and scratches her head to her, then puts the hat on her desk upside down.

“It’s a back alley… I wonder if there’s something there.”

Saying so, he packed his investigation equipment and quickly left the building.

001

“In other words, someone is kidnapping male adventurers.”

When Cleon finished the meal and said that, Ram Part nodded.

“Yes. Thanks to that, the guild is completely short of workers. We send requests to local adventurers’ guilds for support, but there are very few places that respond.”

At Rampart’s answer, Cleon nods his head. Eustes must have come here from Ellesia in response to that request for support.

It seemed that it wasn’t just the adventurers who disappeared, so the number of male employees who were in charge of the guild’s paperwork also decreased. Thanks to that, Eustes, who could read and write, was drawn to the paperwork department as soon as he came to the guild in the royal capital.

“Cleon… Maybe, this.”

“Yes. It seems to be related to the agenda that Iona and Ruba are holding.”

“What is it, you guys. Do you know anything about this incident?”

To Rampart’s question, Cleon’s answer was that succubuses were expanding their territory in the back alleys. Of course, Amelia was a state-level secret, so no matter how much the other person was Rampart, he didn’t bring it up.

Rampart and Eustes listened to Cleon’s story and lowered their voices with a slightly cautious expression.

“I see. Is the Tromeia family investigating the affairs within the capital like that?

“But. It’s a bit questionable that the church doesn’t know about it. …No, considering the current pope and the church’s stance, if they knew, it would be right to intervene. Or, they could pretend they didn’ don’t know, .”

The two of them, who each spit out their impressions, shut their mouths, then made difficult faces again.

“However, even if the culprit is a succubus, the question remains. Succubuses are obviously troublesome monsters, but adventurers in the royal capital will be able to stand against them to some extent. Even if their personalities are strange, there are many of them with skills.”

At Rampart’s words, Cleon nodded his head. That’s why, they thought that there were still unknown facts in their tricks.

“Anyway. This part also overlaps what we’re trying to solve. Maybe we can help each other.”

“If you help us, we’d appreciate it… But where the hell did you guys get so close to nobles?”

When Rampart asked such a question, Quon made a troubled face and answered while blurting the end of her words.

“Because Cleon is a master who gets along well with women…”

“What…? Come to think of it, it seems that she was on good terms with the women of the hero’s party even when she was young…”

When Cleon, who had nothing to say at the story of the two, kept his mouth shut, the two burst into laughter when they saw Cleon.

Only one person, Eustes, seemed to have a slightly different idea.

“A demon’s hand approaching the capital…”

002

While walking, talking about Rampart and Eustes, the two returning from the adventurer’s guild, and Esca, whom they met during the day.

Seeing the familiar girl Leila walking from afar, Quon waved her hand her.

“Lyla~!”

Lila, who flinched at the voice her calling her name her, drew closer to where they were, breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that it was her kuon her.

“You both haven’t gone home yet. How was the event at the temple?”

“It ended safely. I also met Esca-sama.”

When Quon answers Lyla’s question, Layla looks at Cleon for a moment.

[Didn’t anything strange happen?]

[Okay. That one?]

[This one, too, left the investigation to the informant I spoke about this morning.]

Telepathy between the two takes place in a flash, and both smile. However, Quon puffed out his cheeks as he looked at Cleon and Layla.

“Really. You two. You think I don’t know?”

“What, what?”

“Telepathy. Of course I can’t interrupt, but did you think I didn’t notice?”

At that, Lila shakes her hand in shock.

“Oh, no, Quon! I just wanted to make you not worry!

“Yeah, yeah. That’s right. I was just talking about something that bothered me a little.”

Cleon nodded to Layla’s pitiful excuse, and Quon watched the two for a while before sighing.

“Is it about Alvein? Isn’t the Setos-sama I met yesterday at the mansion the father of Alvein?”

At Quon’s words, both of them thought for a moment about what to say, then nodded.

“I thought that would be the case. Probably, I think it’s safe to say that it’s almost confirmed. His face resembles Albain’s. Above all, he knew his uncle’s name his.”

“…That means that Alvein is a cousin to Aruru. It means that he is the illegitimate son of the duchy.”

When Lila said that, Cleon and Quon’s faces became complicated.

“But, Setos-sama didn’t seem to know that he had a child.”

“…That’s right. If he knew that his child was a hero. He would have summoned him to the royal capital, not Elessia.”

What would happen if Setos found out that his child was alive and that he was now in a forced labor facility.

The group had no choice but to have a bad feeling.

“…Anyway. You have no choice but to be careful not to get caught.”

When Lyla says so, Quon and Cleon also nod.

“Let’s go home today, Sasha might already be back. And, starting tomorrow, we’ll be helping the Duke’s work in earnest.”

The moment Cleon said that and took a step forward.

“Kyaaak…!”

You bump into someone approaching from the front, and the other person loses his balance and falls backwards.

She was a beautiful woman, dressed in a little fancy dress. Her glamorous make-up and the sweet scent of perfume that emanated from her body told her what kind of job she was working for.

“Sorry. I should have been more careful.”

When Cleon gives her hand her while talking like that, the woman grabs Cleon’s hand and pulls her body her up.

“Oh, no. I’m sorry. Adventurer.”

“…”

After the woman said that, she brushed off her body, and when she saw the marks on Cleon’s clothes from the bottle she was holding, she lowered her head in surprise.

“I’m sorry! The clothes are because of me!”

“…No it’s okay.”

She looked at Cleon who was talking like that and handed her something like a flyer. She looked very familiar.

“I-I. I work at a store like this. I’m out of cash right now, so if you come back later, I’ll pay you-“

“Wait. This man is in our group… What is he doing in front of us?”

“Cleon…? You’re not going to go to that store, are you?”

The voices of Lyla and Quon come from behind. When Cleon hurriedly turned his head, Layla, whose hair was burning red, and Quon, whose eyes had lost their light, were staring at Cleon.

“No. Wait. This woman is-“

“Well then!”

The woman gives her flyer and quickly runs away, perhaps frightened by Quon and Layla. Cleon looked at her from the back, but it seemed to anger Layla and Quon even more.

“C-le-on-?”

“Wait. Lila. Quon. The story I heard at the guild earlier… Maybe I got a clue quickly.”

Cleon gives the leaflet to Layla and Quon. As the girls expected, the flyers were things that advertised businesses.

That, too, a high-end window in a back alley.

“…No way.”

“I can’t believe it. It’s a fairly simple technique, but… That woman just got used to the flow of things.”

At Cleon’s words of her, the two of them calmed down a bit, and she remembered that it was as he said.

“Then… I guess I’ll have to investigate the back alleys.”

“It was assumed from the beginning. It’s easy for us to do it if the establishment’s location is specified like this. …Ah, but today is impossible. Cleon’s activity limit will come soon.”

Layla talks while looking at Cleon as if she had just remembered.

“…Activity limit time?”

“Yeah. It’s the anti-fatigue drug I took in the morning. If I don’t go home soon, I’ll collapse on the street?”

“You…! You didn’t design it like that on purpose!?”

Cleon was taken aback by Layla’s sudden words her, but he certainly, suddenly, felt her body her grow a little heavier.

“Heheung- How are you? Come on. Let’s go home quickly! It’s a bit late for a nap, but if you don’t want to collapse on the street.”

Layla leads the way while looking at Cleon as if she is having fun. And she looks at Cleon as if she is worried and prepares for the unexpected situation.

Cleon went back to her quarters her, feeling her headache and drowsiness at the same time.

003

When darkness descends completely on the royal capital, the moonlit back alleys. There was a person walking with cautious steps.

She wore a robe and hood to hide her true identity from her, but judging from the swords on both sides of her waist, it was clear that she was not an ordinary person, and that she was an adventurer or something similar.

“…If I’m going to deal with the devil, I’m the one with the power of the holy sword.”

The young man, Eustes, was carefully examining the back alley while saying that.

A story I heard from Cleon during the day.

If there was a demon threatening people, it was their job to stop it.

Of course, Eustes had no intention of digging too deep. Because he wasn’t conceited that far.

“… But, it’s a really dark place. I don’t think it’s strange if something pops out right away.”

“What’s the sword?”

Then, suddenly, a voice came from behind.

When Eustes barely held back his screams and looked back, there stood a gray-haired child wearing a bread hat.

“…Children? Why are you in a place like this at this time?”

“That’s what I’m going to say. Why are you, Mr. Adventurer, in a place like this… By any chance, are you looking for a spearman?”

“Tea, Changgwan! I have no intention of going to such an unscrupulous place-“

“The voice is loud. Then, if you get caught by the strange guys patrolling the back alleys, you’ll be arrested. Ah. My name is Gray. I’m a detective.”

Saying that, Gray looked at Eusthes’s whereabouts a little, then shrugged his shoulders.

“I thought it was a face I had seen somewhere. I wonder if it was Monk Eustes, the eldest son of the Woodnocker family. I heard that the family collapsed and he was working as an adventurer.”

“You, it has nothing to do with you. More than that, detective. What were you doing in the back alley?”

“Probably. It’s the same purpose that Master Eustes was investigating. It’s a sword investigating the disappearance of an adventurer’s guild.”

When Gray said that, Eustes nodded and sighed.

“I see… So did you find out something?”

“It’s just that some of the back alleys have recently hired quite a few employees. It’s strange. It’s not that many outside workers have been brought in to increase the number of employees at the company.”

“…What is that-“

Eustes doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of what Gray is saying.

But at that time, they feel that the moonlight above them was covered by something.

When two people look up at the same time-

“Oh my. I thought it was that child because I could feel the holy energy… It was the other one? A half-hero, a cute kid…”

A group of demons descending with their wings flapping in enchanting costumes. They seemed to be looking for someone, but they approached while licking their lips at an unexpected prey.

“… It seems like a big deal, but…”

“Kuh… Mistil Tane!”

When Eustes draws out the holy sword, two magical swords appear around him as if dancing and cut down the demons. The wounded inmas retreated from them a little while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Umma, who seemed to be the leader of the group, mocked Eustes with a rather excited smile.

“Oh. It’s possible to use the power of a holy sword even if it’s only half.”

“I won’t open the road! Let’s get out together!”

“Bo, usually in this situation, ‘I’ll kill the time, run away!’ Isn’t it!?”

“No, I have to live and see!”

Eustes and Gray shouted that and tried to run back in the direction they came from.

“Slip.”

The moment the little girl’s voice, which rang low, led them to sleep.

They definitely realized something was wrong.

004

Cleon was asleep like a dead man. It was caused by two days’ worth of fatigue all at once, but a lullaby of a quiet melody came from somewhere.

Once again I dragged him into the deep dream.

And, gradually. Slowly. At the same time, the mind is in the swamp of water like mud.

Somewhere, it was a sweet scent.

And- the feeling of being separated from the body and mind.

Noticing that this is the sense of falling into a dream, Cleon recalls the existence of ‘dream’ that he heard from Iona and Ruba.

Layla said that she had set up a barrier, but maybe the magic swordsmen, who have a little more affinity to the demons’ black magic, are affected by the dark dream regardless of the barrier.

As long as you’re aware of it, there’s no problem. No matter what temptation appears, you just have to not respond to it.

Cleon, before he knew it, was Elesia’s old house where he spent his childhood. She saw her self in the bedroom there.

However, only the body is the body of an adult. Sitting on the small bed, I felt a little awkward.

Why, here

“Cleon.”

At that time, a voice calling out to me from outside the room.

At the sound of that voice, Cleon’s heart skipped a beat. He could hear it ringing.

“Le, Shia…?”

When Cleon answered the voice, her door opened and she came inside.

It wasn’t the usual appearance of her wearing her armor. She is Lecia in ordinary plain clothes, whom we could meet occasionally.

She was already over 40 years old, but due to the power of her holy sword her, her aging her progressed slowly, so even compared to Cleon now, the age difference between her her and her age her was not noticeable.

Still, her platinum-colored hair and her blue eyes her gleamed, and her Cleon her looked so dazzling in her eyes her.

In her memory of her, Lecia appeared as she was at the time, undeteriorating. Although I knew this was an illusion.

Cleon’s soul her grows so much that she wants to reach Grecia.

“Cleon…”

Lecia calls herself with her watery voice.

Lesia- doesn’t make a voice like this.

Whole body, reason. Screams at her soul and mind her, foolish.

With flushed skin, with a flushed face. She does n’t move her arms or twist her body her, as if to emphasize the feminine body felt behind her thin clothes her.

Cleon’s breathing her only became rougher.

Even if she was right now, I wanted to hug her. What I feel is not lust, but longing. And it was just weird.

Little by little, the moment she reached out her trembling arms her to touch Lesia’s body her.

Slow-! With the sound of something being cut strongly.

Lesia-and the scenery of her who was with her was cut away.

As if a picture in a piece of paper had been split in two, Lecia’s figure was neatly torn.

As Cleon held his breath, his hands he penetrated the ceiling of the room he was in and spread them apart.

Outside of the room he was in, it was a pure white space.

There, Galatea, as large as a giant, looked down at Cleon with compassion.

“Galatea…”

The moment Cleon called the name of his sword his like that.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Galatea sitting next to him with his hand on Cleon’s forehead.

“…Sorry. …And, thank you.”

“…”

Gently wiping Cleon’s eyes with his fingers, Galatea quietly closed her eyes.

Then, the small area of ​​fabric that was draped over her body scattered like smoke, exposing the important part of the woman that had been covered.

“I don’t want to be her substitute for her.”

“…Yes.”

Cleon grabbed Galatea’s outstretched hand hers. She nodded.

And, they quietly hugged each other.