Another World’s Good Swindler 252

Chapter 252 – Reunion

“… This is obviously a document handed over by the guards. There is no sign of forgery, and the number of people is definitely the same.”

He shrugged his shoulders at Trisian, who looked at the papers handed over and the slaves in the dungeon with a disapproving expression.

“Look. Hey jailer.”
“Yes.”
“You guys have nothing to do with this kidnapping, right?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, let’s do it. Did you hear? It’s not.”
“Stop the stupid pun.”

Trisian responded with an annoyed response and called the guards accompanying him.

“Do the numbers on your ID match?”
“Yes. It definitely matches.”
“I can’t believe it… Are you guys hiding the people you kidnapped somewhere?”
“Under? It can’t be! Are you saying that there is even a hidden space in this building?!”

Trisian’s doubts made Germi annoyed in reply. The guards flinched at the overflowing force, but Trisian did not move.

“I wouldn’t say there’s no such possibility.”
“I can’t believe it. How dare you say something stupid like that.”

Germi is dumbfounded by Trician’s calm remarks and makes a gasping sound.

“Are you sure you don’t have that much credit for us?”
“The Black Moon is a group of criminals who melted into the Westway night and ate the city even before I was born. Do you want me to believe that you say that you have become good now, like changing your palms?”
“… It was shown not only by words, but by actions. You handed over the ledger and the traitor.”
“But the disappearance case happened again. You are the only organization that will commit crimes worthy of serial kidnapping in the West Way.”
“If I was going to do that again, I wouldn’t have bothered handing you the ledger and the traitor. The words don’t make sense.”
“That… Couldn’t it be that you took care of one of the executives to increase your control over the organization? In the first place, the man named Johannes whom I received had become a complete idiot due to severe torture…”

Trisian blurted out his words, as if he thought his words were far-fetched.
However, if you have to argue, Trisian’s words are not wrong.
At first, I also tried to increase Germi’s position in the organization by instilling distrust among the executives, even if it was a lie. But I hadn’t expected Johannes to betray me for real.

It’s not that I don’t understand why she’s so suspicious.
As she said, the Black Moon is a mafia group that has existed in this city for over 30 years.
Her life as a guard would have been a war against the Black Moon itself, so even if she told her to trust her lifelong nemesis, I know it wouldn’t be easy.

Judging by her attitude of not being able to clear her doubts even after she showed her innocence by showing her the dungeon where the slaves are imprisoned, maybe this is an error of confirmation bias.

“Have you searched the forests on the outskirts of the southwest where people are said to be missing?”
“It is still there. First of all, I was about to go after finishing the search from this side.”
“What?! According to common sense, when an incident happens, it’s right to start looking for clues step by step, starting from where it happened!!”
“Why go back when the answer is nearby?”

It is certainly. Trician has confirmed the Black Moon as the culprit of this disappearance and must be looking for her evidence.
In the meantime, since the Black Moon has committed sins, it may be unfair for her to say that Trician is bad.
If the fish disappeared from the fish shop, the owner would naturally suspect the cat next to it.
It is an inescapable human nature.

“Now, for now, we have proven that no one has been kidnapped here. They are all slaves taken over from the guards.”
“Hmm… Let me admit that there is no ‘here’.”
“We have nothing to do with this case. But, Trisian suspects we kidnapped people, so let’s assume we did. Oh, but we really have nothing to do with this? I’m proud You can put your hand on Germi’s chest and claim it.”
“You’re trying to put your hand on my chest like it’s natural!”
“I understand, so keep talking.”

When I played a small prank to lighten the mood, Germi kicked the floor with the soles of her feet with a blood band standing on her forehead, annoyed. Trisian urged me to talk behind my back, as if trying to hide her embarrassment.

“If we’ve kidnapped people from the forest to the southwest, and we haven’t brought them here yet, then the only place left where we can keep them is the warehouse in the forest to the southwest, on the outskirts of the city, right?”
“Hmm…”
“Let’s go there. I will show you that too.”

I rode the wagon prepared by the organizers and headed straight to the southwest outskirts of the forest. When going out of the city, Trisian showed his face to the guards guarding the gate, so it was an automatic gate.

It didn’t take long before we arrived at the planned factory site where the warehouse building stood to the southwest. As soon as he got off the wagon, Trisian came to a halt as if he was embarrassed by the clattering sound and the bustling crowd that he did not think was in the outskirts of the woods.
She’s wearing a helmet, so you can’t see her expression, but you can roughly guess her expression on the inside.
I glanced at Germi.

“They are carpenters. I commissioned the reconstruction of the inside and outside of the building.”
“Boss! What are you doing in this squalid place!”
“Oh, Danny.”

Noticing our arrival, Danny Ahn greeted us with a bright expression. Danny Ahn looked at my face and bowed his head.

“It’s been a long time since I saw you.”
“It is a lot of work. Danny Ahn, even though you are an executive, are you directly at the construction site?”
“No. I usually leave it to my subordinates. Still, it’s the part I’m paying most attention to these days, so I tend to visit at least once a day to check. Isn’t Thermia-san also checking it?”

Thermia, who was behind Danian, nodded her head.

Since the work of the textile factory is entirely entrusted to Thermia, there is no choice but to cooperate in business with Danian, who is paying for the construction.

After an appropriate greeting with Danian, he approached Trisian, who was staring blankly at the construction site.
That’s all she has to admit. That we are innocent.

“How is it? Do you think you can keep people locked up here?”
“Hey, how are you? Are you still going to doubt it? Are you saying we hid it?”
“It’s hard to believe…”

Germi smirked, and Trissian groaned with her arms crossed.
Doors and roofs are openly torn, carpenters climb up, and not even a mouse can hide in a building under construction.
Trissian didn’t do anything stupid to say there were people hiding here.
She took off her helm, threw it over her side, bowed politely to Germi and me, apologizing.

“I’m sorry for doubting you. I seem to have decided that you guys, the black moon, were the culprits. Did a bad deed Will you accept my apology?”
“Uh? Uh…”

Germi was taken aback by Trician’s honest attitude, which could be said to be cool.
She’s weak against people who come out this straight.
With this, it can be said that Trisian’s suspicions about us have been revealed.
Trissian frowned at her in embarrassment.

“But if it’s not you, what kind of guys are doing it…”

Now that we’ve cleared our doubts, what’s next has been decided.
To help Trisian find the culprit of this case.
Because I like her She wants to erase her debt to her.

“Is it the work of the monsters?”
“Monster… Yes, maybe. It’s the most obvious thing to suspect, but looking at it one step away, I was surprisingly narrow-minded.”

At my words, Trissian nodded her head.
There is bound to be a difference in flexibility between investigations that determine the culprit from the beginning and those that do not.
Trissian also began to think flexibly without blaming others for her.

I brought up the story of monsters to help Trician’s investigation, but I’m not a person from this world in the first place, so I’m not knowledgeable about the types of monsters.
There are people who are well-informed about this kind of work.

“Roin, Ms. Elena.”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”

The chattering women huddled near the wagon turned their attention to me.

“Wait, this way.”

When I explained the situation to the two people who approached, Roin opened his mouth first.

“What are the characteristics of the disappeared people?”
“There were many pharmacists and a few hunters who went out to gather herbs.”

Elena, who had been listening to Trician’s answer, opened her mouth.

“Um… There were a lot of pharmacists… ? What herbs grow well in the forests to the southwest?”
“I’m not a pharmacist either, so I don’t know that much.”
“Is this forest a place where monsters often come out?”

At Roin’s question, Trisian shook his head.

“There are quite a few things like wild beasts, but sightings of monsters are rare. To the extent that a group of wandering goblins can be found once or twice a year from the unexplored lands of Arpagon?”

Roin, who was crossing his arms, pouted his lips.

“Umm, it’s useless to talk to each other.”
“What are you talking about?”

At my question, the old man untied his arms and put his hand on his waist as he continued.

“After all, in order to find the culprit, you have to find the site where people disappeared, and from there, you have to look for clues one by one, be it footprints or whatever. But there is no way to know who has disappeared and where in this vast forest. So we need someone who can at least take similar actions to the missing people.”
“What about that story?”

Roin nodded at my question.

“Because they are people who can act similarly to the missing people. If you ask the pharmacist or the hunters, I wonder if they’ll be sure. If the apothecaries had come here to gather herbs, they would all have the same purpose of collecting herbs in the end. Hunters are the same way.”

At Roin’s words, Elena nodded her head.

“Medicinal herbs are plants after all, so if you keep looking for places with similar growing conditions, you might be able to reach the place where the pharmacist went missing.”
“Right… Thanks for the advice. It was difficult to receive such delicate opinions from the guards, who were mere soldiers who only obeyed my orders. I’ll have to go back to the city today and ask the pharmacists.”

Trisian nodded and thanked Roin and Elena as well.