Chapter 47 “Trading”

　I close my eyes and read in the name of memory reading.

　I open one eye and look out the window to see the city lit by moonlight after the sun had set.

　As I try to close my eyes, the noise outside is getting louder and louder.

　There were more screams and shouts, and the sound of human footsteps running around.

　I listened closely...

　"Fire!"

　"Again! Where is it this time!"

　Hey, hey. Did you burn it down already?

　How fast is too fast?

　The plan I heard was to take control of the mansion, have the "lead actor" hurt the little boy, and finally burn the mansion to the ground.

　I thought they might take their time with the hurting part, but....

　But I guess they quickly finished the matter as I saw from the outside.　

　I guess the bitter feelings of resentment and bitterness will pass after a while...?

　Well, okay. I'm not going to be bothered in the future.

　That's a great result.

　No, I took care of it, didn't I?

　I was a little worried.

　It's too soon to tell, and I don't think so, but did I screw it up?

　Huh? No? Seriously? I don't think so, no matter how much.

I would have turned over all the cronies and any other pawns that might be nearby.

　They must have sent a force to investigate in advance and sent a force that would not only be able to adequately control the situation, but would be able to catch it...I'm sure.

　Hmmm. I'm curious. Shall I go take a look?

　Why don't we just "communicate"?

　--Hey. If you can hear me, answer me.

　--Uh, yeah. What's going on?

...Oh, Pok, you're alive.

--What happened to you earlier?

　--there's no problem. It's all taken care of. I killed all the people in the house, so it's all right.

　--You killed them so easily?

　--...... Oh, that little brat? Yes, he made him into a dummy by cutting off his arms and legs, and then easily cut off his head.

　...Was it really that easy?

　--Is there any evidence?

　--That's okay too. I burned the house down after everyone had left, so I don't think there are any traces of him. I also crushed the dummies that were entrusted to me to the extent that they were recognizable.

　Well, it's okay if it's all over. It seems to be doing what it's supposed to do, so I guess it's all good.

　--Okay, I see. Then, some of you guys should stay behind and leave here as planned.

　--Okay. Was it Oratorium?

　--Oh, there's a woman named Fatima at the lord's mansion, so you'll be taken care of by her.

--Okay.

　Now that I've said what I need to say, I'll finish my communication. So, now Fatima's next.

　Oh, man. I hate talking to her. I've been giving all kinds of reasons why I haven't been in touch with her, so maybe this is a good time.

　I'll send a message to Fatima.

　--Fatima. Wake up...

　--Yes! Mr. Roethvelt! It's your Fatima!

　Whoa. She's coming at me so fast.

Her character is starting to break down.

　--Well... Is everything okay now?

　--I'm fine. I'll make it okay even if it's not okay.

　Oh, I see.

　--How's the territory?

　--So far, no real problems.

　--I see. Well, let's get down to business. I'm in Willead now...

　--Medrym? There's a lot of stuff over there, so I'm gonna need some tea leaves or something.

　Hey. What are you asking for a souvenir?

　You want me to come back in the dark? Give me a break.

　--I've added a few more people. I'll send them over there and you take care of them.

　--......... cheating? I'm not telling you to stop. They say they prefer the color of heroes, but at least plant your first child in me, okay?

I ignored her.

--Just use him to the best of your ability.

　With that, I forcefully cut off the communication.

I can't keep up with her....

　I should do what I have to do and go back to the inn.

Let's leave the troublesome ones to Fatima when we leave town.

Especially the two Temple Knights are too good to throw away. Their equipment is also valuable.

I entrusted Pok with a corpse that has been made to look just like them.

I told him to destroy them appropriately and leave them at the scene.

The ones left in town were to be used to cut off the tail in case they were traced back to us.

　If they are safe, I will leave them in town as a liaison, but... well, it's just insurance.

　...I guess it's time for them to come back?

　I look at the doorway.

The door opens silently and a man in a black cloak enters.

"You're early."

"He was too insignificant to be worth the effort."

　He takes off his hood.

A stern-looking man in his early twenties appeared.

"Old man... wasn't an old man anymore."

"No, my guest...no, Mr. Ro. I am grateful to you."

　The rejuvenated old man - Trust - kneels down.

"Oh. No need to thank me. It's a business transaction."

　Trust nodded.

　"I have no more regrets. My children will be able to depart in peace."

　I grab Trust's head and slowly 'root' my way in through his ears.

　"Do you have any last words?"

"Lord Ro. I will not forget this favor even if I die."

　"You may forget it. In the end, I let them die."

　Trust shakes his head in silence.

"So long."

　The soul is consumed.

　Trust's body stiffens and weakens for a moment.

　"Stand up."

　He stands up silently.

"You're going to join the others who have gone ahead of you and head for the Oratorium. You know where it is."

I throw him a bag of money over.

"Buy some tea leaves and pastries with it and give it to Fatima, say, 'It's from me."

I'm going to give her a lot of trouble, so this is the least I can do. Trust nodded and walked out of the house without a word.

　I exhale lightly.

　I was about to leave the burning inn when I noticed that Trust was still breathing.

I could have left him there, but I had a few things I wanted to try, so I offered a deal.

　I wanted to see if I could modify his body while retaining his original ego. In exchange, I would help him get revenge and he would give his life to me, but he agreed without hesitation.

　After the deal was done, I magically crushed a nearby corpse and dumped it in the place where Trust's body had been, then left the place with him and altered him in an appropriate place.

　I'm used to altering people's bodies since I've done it with my own.　

　First, the memories are read to recreate the body in its prime.

　Next, the body is modified to greatly increase its physical abilities, such as muscle strength.

　Finally, as an insurance policy against betrayal, a lump of root was parasitized into the brain.

　I used a considerable amount of "root" because I played around with his whole body, but I was able to achieve a well-balanced result at a high level. In addition, he had lost his weapon, so I gave him a prototype weapon as a gift, and he was ready to go.

　At first he was puzzled, but as he got used to it, he began to smile ferociously.

We tried to hit the Temple Knights with a revenge attack, but they were literally beaten to death in the blink of an eye.

　I was watching from behind and was amazed at what he did, not seeing anything at all.

　The most surprising thing was that he cut through that armor, which boasts of its iron-clad defense, without even bothering to look at it.

I heard that Trust had developed that strange technique on his own....

　I can probably use it, but I doubt I'll ever be able to master it.

　It is a very unique technique. It boosts its effectiveness by using magic power, even if unconsciously.

In other words, this guy is generating effects similar to magic without any formations.

　This is great. I guess it could be used in a variety of ways.

　Well, we'll see how it goes.

　I'm leaving Pok's house too.

　I think Heidi should be back by now.

　When I returned to the inn, Heidi was looking out the window.

　When she noticed me, she said, "Welcome home," and sat down on the bed.

　"Looks like another fire."

　"Yes, it does."

　And it's the same place that's on fire.

"Did you ask where it's burning?

　"No."

　I know it's burning.

　"I heard the mansion the lord's son built is on fire."

　"I see."

".......what do you think of ......?"

Is this some kind of probing?

"Well, I'm sure he's got a few enemies here and there, and I'm sure one of them set the place on fire."

　Let's just say it's a little blunt.

　Heidi stared at me for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I guess so," and stood up.

　"Did you get the plates issued?"

　"Yeah, no problem."

　I show her the new plate.

"Starting tomorrow, we'll be able to take on some more challenging quests."

　"I'm looking forward to it. I don't know what's in store for us, so we'll keep our fingers crossed."

　After that, Heidi started talking about the quest she had taken yesterday, and I listened to her.

　The night goes on...

　As the sun rose and morning came, yesterday's commotion and bustle had subsided, and the town had regained its former vigor.

　The scene of the commotion had also calmed down, and the knights of the country, who had been busily moving around until a moment ago, were discussing something.

　As I watched, I - José, an apprentice Gnostic holy knight, was at the scene of the riot, working as an escort for the cathedral knight Christella.

　A little further away, at the site of the burned down mansion, Sarisa, a Holy Knight Apprentice like me, is talking with a knight about something. Her shoulder-length hair was swaying in the wind.

Normally, this kind of incident would be investigated by the knights, but since the Temple Knights were said to be escorting someone at the mansion, we came to check it out.

　I look at Christella-sama next to me. She has long white-colored hair that reaches down to her waist, and even to me, as a person of the same sex, she is an amazingly beautiful woman.

　While I was doing so, Sarisa came back.

"Cristela-sama, I'm back."

　"Thank you for your help. How was it?"

　"Yes! According to the interviews with the knights of the country and onlookers, the body was identified as Dylan and Alex, the Temple Knights themselves."

　Hearing this, Lady Cristela's expression clouded over with sadness.

　"Well...those two..."

　Sarisa's expression also clouded.

　"Yes. The fire itself was quickly extinguished, but the bodies were so badly damaged that although we managed to identify them as themselves, it seems difficult to determine the cause of death."

Looking closely, Sarisa's face is blue. The body was in a pretty bad shape.

　"The other bodies were in a similar state. Especially Mr. Triplett, who was only able to be identified by his belongings and clothes..."

"I see...I am in a position to blame them for their failure to fulfill their mission...but for now, let us pray for their souls as they fulfilled their mission with all their might."

　Cristela closed her eyes in prayer, and Sarisa did the same.

　I closed my eyes as well.

"Then, Sarisa, please continue."

　After doing so for a little while, Lady Cristela called out to us.

　Sarisa gave a small nod.

"Yes, ma'am. According to the knight, a fire broke out in the night, and the mages rushed to extinguish it immediately after the people noticed the fire and reported it. After that, they dug out the bodies from the burnt ruins."

　Sarisa pulled out a notebook from her pocket and opened it.

　"The bodies we were able to identify were Dylan, Alex, the knights, Triplett, his servant, and his... mistress...The majority of the corpses...were dead. Most of the bodies... were crushed as thoroughly as the others, so we have not been able to confirm the exact number of people."

　She turns to her notebook.

　"We spoke to some onlookers who saw some of the men leave just after the fire was set."

　"That's strange."

　Cristela puts her hand on her chin in a thoughtful gesture.

　"Is it...odd?"

　I can't help but to speak up.

　"Yes. I would like to check first, have you found the equipment of Dylan and Alex?"

　Sarasa hurriedly checks her notebook.

　"No, we have recovered a few pieces of what looks like armor, but most of it has not been found yet."

"...I suppose so. White armor does not burn so easily. So it is possible that the two men were killed and then stripped of their armor."

　"To destroy the bodies?"

　"Why is that?"

　"...... so that they could do something so gruesome. Could it be that someone had a grudge against them?"

　"It would have been a grudge against Mr. Triplett, not against them."

　Sarisa muttered, "Indeed," and pushed herself to silence.

　"If we consider the situation alone, we can say that the bandits killed them in some way and took their armor."

　"A robbery disguised as revenge? But robbing Mr. Triplett?"

　"Yes. Maybe their target was the white armor from the beginning."

　Sarisa's face changed color.

　"So, is it an enemy of the Order?"

　"I doubt it. I'd like to know what happened, and if at all possible, let's capture them alive."

　"I understand."

　Sarisa nodded strongly, and I nodded yes.

"Then let us follow the killer's footsteps."

　"We'll check out the crime scene a little more. Sarisa, I'm counting on you. Josee, come with me."

　""Yes.""

　We each started to move.