Volume 5 Chapter 17 Please Give Me A Break, But...
Aina probably had some inkling, but it still caught me off guard. Honestly, I never imagined someone who openly flirts with other people's lovers would earnestly handle requests.
"If I don't work somewhat seriously, the Guild will scold me. Even I, as a hard-earned 2nd rank mercenary, don't plan on letting go of my title easily."
Reed seemed to catch onto what I was thinking from my expression and sighed as he spoke, sounding resigned.
"I wanted to come to Eubarest without all the work, you know? This town attracts people from foreign lands. That's why it's a prime spot to meet beautiful ladies from all sorts of places."
"I don't really want to hear about that."
"Even the finest beauty you might meet occasionally has a flaw or two."
"Is that 'flaw' referring to me? Hey, are you talking about me?"
I kept repeating the same sequence until Aina stopped me, and then I crossed my arms and sat back down in my seat.
"Oh, Leader. I finally found you."
As we were talking, a group of several people came running over to our seats. It seems like they are members of Reed's mercenary group.
"Oh, good work. So, how did it go?"
"It went pretty well."
"I see. Well, it's time for me to get to work."
After the brief conversation, Reed stood up and placed some coins on the table.
Before we could say anything, Reed, accompanied by his men, began to leave. Just before he left, Reed silently conveyed something to us.
"You probably already have an idea, but this matter seems to be quite complicated. You can continue sightseeing in Eubarest, but if you decide to get involved, be prepared for the consequences."
Reed said that and finally left the store. The rest of us stayed behind for a while, looking at the door of the shop.
'I'm sorry for the delay in telling you, but there were these fake soldiers causing a scene, trying to take you away, partner. Some people were chasing after them. They're probably Reed's lackeys.'
So it seems that Reed's subordinates have found the hideout of those troublemakers who caused the commotion. Reed will probably go there now.
"Aina, what does Reed's final line mean?"
"...The scam that Yukina-san encountered just now is related to the commotion. It's not completely unrelated, there must be some common background."
"A common background?"
"If I were to put it bluntly, it means there is a mastermind behind all this."
Aina held the cup on the table in both hands and spoke slowly while looking at her reflection in the tea.
"At that moment when Reed-san hinted at the authenticity of those soldiers based on their reaction, they probably just imitated the equipment and are likely fakes. But if that's true, Eubarest has a big problem."
"...Come to think of it, it's quite a big deal for fake soldiers to be calmly walking around town."
Finally, I'm starting to understand little by little.
The fake soldiers were fabricating false crimes to take innocent civilians with them. Even an amateur can see that this is clearly a criminal act.
But they were trying to commit this crime without any hesitation. In other words, normal soldiers were not that threatening to them.
"Of course, those fakes wouldn't confront the real soldiers face to face. They reacted quite sensitively to Reed-san's question. However, behind the scenes..."
"They pretty much do as they please."
Hey, wait a minute.
We came to this town for sightseeing. It was supposed to be a trip to relax and heal from the daily exhaustion. So why does it feel like we're getting caught up in trouble again?
"If there are people like that spreading in the town, complaints from the civilians should be reaching the soldiers' barracks. Normally, the soldiers would take down the fakes at that point, but if that's not happening--"
"Is it someone big enough that even the regular soldiers find it hard to handle?"
"Or maybe they're bribing the higher-ups of the soldiers. Of course, these are all just my speculations."
But looking at Aina's serious expression, it's difficult to just dismiss it as a guess.
After saying that much, I let out a deep sigh and dropped my shoulders.
"...Maybe we should discuss this with Mikage and the others once."
"You're right."
Yesterday, it was a peaceful atmosphere for sightseeing, but suddenly it became tense halfway through. I really wish they would cut it out.
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