Chapter 78 – Monsters Hiding in Buildings (10)
“—So, I just threw it in the basement and came back.”
I went back to Fran and told him what had happened.
Fran must have been taken aback when I ran out of the room in a semi-nude state while the two of us were enjoying our affectionate exchange. Fortunately, I explained it, so I understood.
“Ugh… You didn’t know Nord might have been spying on us if he hadn’t noticed?”
Fran shuddered at him, hugging her shoulder. I, as a man, feel so unpleasant. How bad must our Franc feel?
I suddenly regretted leaving the puppies alive. Should I go and see George now? I could just close my eyes and throw a piece of firewood at it.
“Still, I think I did well in entrusting it to the guards. Since they are experts in this kind of thing, they will solve it better than we can solve it ourselves, right?”
Fran said while wiping herself with a towel. Like Dorca, it seems that the people of this world have high trust in the guards.
“I guess so. It’s fine as long as I don’t become a bad memory for Fran.”
When the guards play the sutra, I can ride Hamal and return by myself. There are two days left until the next request.
In the meantime, the innkeeper will not starve. I thought so and looked around the room.
“But sleeping here for the night is a bit embarrassing.”
Even though it was the same space as before, I felt something creepy and unpleasant.
It seems to know why the house price of the building where the accident occurred is falling. It was uncomfortable to eat and sleep in such a disgusting place.
At my words, Fran took out a pocket watch.
“It should come up soon enough, so shall we change our clothes and set off for Sargadis right away?”
“What? What time is it?”
“Thirty four.”
It’s half past four? I was surprised and took out my watch. I wondered if Fran’s watch was wrong.
But it was also 4:30. Fuck? I returned to the inn before nightfall, and was surprised to find that the night had already passed.
“It is almost dawn. Why is the time already like this?”
“… It’s because Norr doesn’t know how to tire.”
Fran said, looking around the messy bed.
Could it be that I didn’t realize the time was passing by having sex?
No, the owner of the inn more than that, but now this semen is removed.
‘Fuck.’
I have no choice but to clean it up properly before the guards or villagers see it and panic. I put on my top and stretched out.
“Franc. Wash up first I’ll start cleaning the room.”
“Oh, will you? Thanks.”
After wiping the semen from her body, Fran went to the bathhouse to wash herself. I roughly wiped this messy room with a rag that I had picked up from the first floor, and went to take a shower in turns with Frank.
“As expected, I made a hole here too.”
Examining the bathroom furnace, there was a hole covered by a plate.
If I hadn’t been on guard, that bastard would have snuck in francs through this hole as he filled the firewood. After brushing my teeth, I also wrote down the location of the hole in the bathroom.
─Tumble.
After confirming that there were holes in the walls of each room, I went to check on Ttareungi. It was because I thought that the voyeur might have messed up something.
“Hee-hee-hee-heung?! (Are you going to run?!)”
“Yes, yes. Wait a while.”
Fortunately, Ttareungyi was fine. If something went wrong with him, there would be a problem even if he didn’t get caught peeping, so he took good care of him.
After tidying up like that, we got on top of Ttareungyi.
It was now goodbye to this village.
***
Hehe!! (See you later!!)”
Returning to Sargadis, we first returned Ttareungi to the farm. Ttareungi, who was still behind on his return, went back to the stable, regretting the farewell.
“It’s the first time in my life that the person who borrowed Hamal came back in one day.”
He got his deposit back from the tongue-in-cheek farm owner, and then went to the guards.
And he explained what he had been through in the village of Perfort.
“All right. I will send someone to arrest you.”
The guard heard the story and shouted to the waiting personnel.
“Ezel! Your team will go find out the testimony and catch him too. Don’t forget to ask for cooperation from the wizards guild.”
“Are you riding a horse?”
“Then are you going on foot? Start right away!”
“Yep!”
A young guard named Ezel ran to the stable with his companions. I wrote my name and status—as a Nord with long-term status—on the paperwork the guard gave me.
“What if I get arrested?”
“Peeking is punishable by a fine. If he is a habitual offender or another crime is discovered separately, he can be sentenced to slavery.”
“Isn’t it impossible to tell if a habitual offender is a habitual offender with magic?”
There is magic in this world.
You can think of it as a degraded version of Psychomatri’s psychic powers in science fiction dramas. To be precise, it is a magic that senses the time when the target object was made.
‘Aside from investigating the age of an artifact, it was also useful when searching for information about the estimated time of death of a corpse or traces of a crime.’
I can’t write This is because the longer the history of magic goes back or the more resistance magic is applied, the more mana it takes.
Since the artifacts that archaeologists touch start from a hundred-year history, I didn’t dare to learn them at all. Usually, relics are dated with a special magic tool.
Still, it was good magic when looking for evidence of criminals who were ignorant of magic countermeasures. I heard that this is one of the reasons why the guards stand guard for the wizard guild or provide convenience.
But with this, you won’t know how often you’ve used that peephole.
“You will know the details only after interrogation, but if the time when the wizard investigated and the hole in the inn room or bathhouse was made more than 5 years ago is almost a certainty. There are more crimes like this in rural village inns than I thought.”
The guard answered willingly, probably because the free results were rolling in.
“Since the public bath system came into existence 10 years ago, the number of voyeurs has increased. There are many cases that go beyond peeping and lead to other crimes, so a new criminal law was created.”
“I have heard of that too.”
It is said that there were many such crimes during the period when the security of public baths was poor.
When going to and from the public bath, everyone wears light clothes.
So, stealing things brought to the bathhouse was a daily routine, and incidents of robbery and molestation against people returning from bathing were frequent in each city.
In particular, it is said that there was a king’s order to make bathing compulsory in the country because of hygiene.
“Yes. So is this case. It doesn’t make sense that I didn’t know about the hole in the inn room and bathhouse for several years, but even if I claimed innocence using that as an excuse anyway, the existence of the hidden basement would be a problem.”
“They say it’s a grocery store made to keep thieves out.”
“There are also many unscrupulous men who claim to have kidnapped travelers or pilgrims and handed them over to illegal slave traders. If evidence of the transaction is found, it will be over.”
“Ah, you mean something like a secret ledger.”
“That’s right. It seems that this matter will be reported to the lord and investigated on a village-by-town basis. If this happened at the inn, it means that there is a high possibility of ties to criminal organizations at the village level.”
The guard took the papers I had written and put them in a drawer.
“And even if it’s just an incident someone did out of mischief or malice, if the villagers didn’t commit a crime, wouldn’t it be okay to be investigated?”
In a world without the concept of a warrant, the investigation is quite coercive. Is it because the number of bandits has recently increased?
As a security guard or lord, if there is a criminal organization, they would want to eradicate it.
“Ah, citizens don’t have to worry. Even if he is lucky enough to be released, he will be under the surveillance of our guards, so he will not have any ill feelings.”
He smiled awkwardly like a civil servant and tried to reassure me. It’s okay if you don’t do it on purpose. Sensing the guard’s consideration, I bowed gratefully.
“Thank you for caring me. Then work hard.”
“Yes. Be careful and go back.”
That’s how I ended the conversation.
As expected, the issue of excessive suppression was never pointed out for beating the innkeeper. I knew that. Damn, I was considered a smuggler from the beginning, so I shut up and started getting beat up.
‘Is there a concept of excessive suppression?’
I don’t know about other countries, but it doesn’t seem to exist in Britannia.
Before the trial, there were some who were found innocent by examining the list of entrants.
Thanks to its long history and magic, criminal investigation techniques are very progressive, but this is a different world where there is no human rights protection for criminal suspects.
‘I’m sure it’s because I could miss a really dangerous criminal while being considerate of a criminal suspect.’
It is a world where individual power can be strong beyond the standard. Even if 100 innocent victims were made, it was the security groups in the other world who would definitely arrest one criminal.
This is because one criminal who was released after a long time could cause tens of thousands of casualties later.
‘It’s fortunate that there are few cases of witch hunting without evidence.’
I cannot say that there are no similar cases.
It’s a world where it’s scary to get attached to it.
In the end, strength and power were indispensable in order to live without unfair or dangerous things in this uncivilized medieval different world land.
That’s why I want to go back to Earth and why I want to be strong.
“Are you finished talking?”
After finishing work, Frank, who was waiting outside, asked.
“Uh. He said he was going to arrest him.”
“Will Nord be called soon?”
“To testify? Probably not.”
Investigate and if there is no problem, fine it and that’s it. I do not call or call the suspect separately.
It’s ridiculous, but even if he was really an innocent victim, he would be fined for leaving holes in every room and even in the bathroom.
Even in Korea, if there were hidden cameras in every motel room, the motel owner would eat Big Taffy.
Anyway, since the work was over, he went to the Auduumra Guild and hit the request completion report.
“Could you provide the Power Stone you mentioned for our investigation? We can pay you in a few days.”
When we talked about the hobgoblin shaman and the power stone, the receptionist proceeded with the procedure in a businesslike manner.
“Can I submit it as evidence and get it back?”
“If you wish. I just can’t answer how long it will take until the investigation is over.”
“Nor. If you decide to return it later, and then change your mind, you can ask to buy it at that time.”
Fran took the receptionist’s words and explained them. It meant that you could end up with consignment processing and then go and sell it if you needed urgent money. He must have learned it when he wanted to be a receptionist.
“Then I will return it later and leave it as evidence.”
It would be more profitable to sell it to someone who wants it at a higher price than to finish it in the guild. When money is urgent, you can come here and get the value of the Power Stone.
The receptionist who received the Hobgoblin’s Power Stone placed it in the box.
“Thank you for the offer. Ah, since you succeeded in this quest, you should be promoted to the Bronze class in the next one.”
The receptionist, who kept talking businesslikely, also smiled when he said that. I was so embarrassed that my back itched for no reason.
“Hmm, that’s right. I received a request to escort the transport guild’s wagon to Haysbent. Did anything go wrong there?”
Wasn’t it suddenly canceled or canceled while I was out for a while? The receptionist who handed over the documents answered my words.
“There are no changes to the quest details or rewards. Including Nord-sama and Eitrinen-sama, all 4 members of the Bronze Class have been filled.”
“Good for you. What about the other members?”
“In addition to the two of you, one wizard and one warrior received it.”
“It is suitable.”
It’s a pity that there is no priest, but even if it’s just me and Fran, there’s little risk of getting hurt in the bronze quest.
Above all, since there is a silver class, he is the main person, and we hired him as a backup.
‘I think the silver class was hired by the guild leader’s son.’
The one-armed young man said he would be in charge of his children. He must have used his hand to move it safely. I thought so and told Fran.
“It is over now. Shall we go back and rest?”
“Yes. I’m a little sleepy…”
Tired of staying up all night, we slept well and rested all day at the inn.
***
Franc and I woke up the morning before her carriage escort request.
It was an ambiguous timing to receive a day trip request, so I decided to rest until the day of the escort request. Frank finished mending his robe, and I borrowed a rune magic book from the wizard guild for money.
She reads books and investigates the range of applications of runes. At night, she acts as cat daddy and listens to the information gathered by the cats.
She said, “There are more cats than I have ever heard.”
Fran embarrassed me by coming along that night, saying she wanted to see me talking to the cats. The number of cats has increased compared to last time, as if my rumors had spread among the cats.
I coughed and asked.
“Ehhhhh? (Did you know what I asked for?)”
“Nya-. (Yeah-.)”
Even though I risked shame and chatted, there was no special information.
People hiding in the alleyways secretly exchanging things more often, or the fish shop owner’s security guards are tight.
‘Still, I know how to research information.’
Considering that there are many people with bad personalities, it was worthwhile to choose a cat.
Rats are better than cats in terms of penetrating power, but they don’t have a language system that allows for complex conversations. Her memory was also low, making it difficult to gather information.
In that respect, stray cats are good.
These bastards are the ones who fully enjoy the benefits of lookism. No matter where you go, you are never suspected or attacked. Even if attacked, it escapes well.
There won’t be a psycho who kills a cat as a witness at a crime scene. Consider that a spy’s talents include looks. The cat is a fucking natural born spy.
‘I can trust these guys.’
Cats collect information on a cat basis, so there is not very high quality information.
Still, I knew that I had the ability to know what I was asking for. A few pieces of dried fish were enough information.
“Nya myoan. (Eat.)”
“Nya-nya–!! (Yahoo——!!)”
I recorded the information that looked useful and returned after feeding the cats.
I took out all the dried fish I bought for 2 coppers. From now on, it would be better to come to collect information once a week considering the cost-effectiveness.
Another night passed like that, and the morning of the day of the request was bright.
