My work is done for the evening. I’ll see if there’s anything I can do and make my way down from the castle. Neurath and Schünzel have been with me since this morning because they’ve been helping me with my baggage.
My father, the minister, had a carriage with his family crest on it and I walk. I’m more comfortable with it… but a nobleman’s carriage is surprisingly sturdy. My father, a minister, needs it.
In my previous life I used strong oak boards for walls, but in this world they even use materials for demons, so they’re even stronger. The glass windows are an expensive feature, but if you take down the shutters, a simple bow and arrow won’t penetrate them. A lot of them don’t have windows, though.
On the other hand, a fully ceremonial one doesn’t have shutters from the start, but when you use one of those there’s always some knight guarding the perimeter, so it’s basically a non-issue. There are no guns in this world.
As a side note, there was already a spring-loaded carriage in the time of imperial Rome and it was very comfortable to ride on, but those technologies died out in the dark ages of the Middle Ages. Like the turntable, it seems that science and technology sometimes degenerate.
Well, that’s mostly the fault of the church people in the dark ages who said “hard work (not effort) is the way to follow God’s will…” and the ruling class of the time took them seriously. It is even a nuisance in the history of mankind, because it caused the stagnation and regression of medical science. It’s scary when people in power make mistakes.
I was thinking about that when a familiar face approached me from the other side. I think he’s one of the scouts we hired for the refugee crisis. I hold off Neurath and the others with one hand.
It’s been a long time, Viscount.
“Oh, I’m glad to see you’re doing well.”
You greet him with a very ordinary greeting, as if nothing is going on. But when I gave him a questioning look, as if he had something to tell me, he opened his mouth and said in a whisper.
“Old man Berto’s got a message for you.”
“… You were one of them.”
Hey, maybe that old backstreet slumlord’s got a pretty good ear for the right people. Maybe I’ve connected his face to the wrong place. I’ll have to check on that next time. The fact that he came here to deliver a message directly to us instead of through the Adventurers’ Guild means he’s got a good story to tell.
Let’s have a drink. I’ll buy you a drink.
“Let’s eat without reservation.”
He motions for Neurath and Schünzel to follow him and they enter the nearest tavern. For a small tip we are given a table in the back and order drinks and snacks for all of us.
You’re good at this.
“I used to break out and drink a lot when I was in school.”
I said so on reflex… but I thought I was a student… I’m going to stop thinking about it because it makes me sad. We’ve got drinks, so let’s just toast for the sake of appearances. I throw some beans into my mouth. I think I heard they’re made from plant demons. It looks like peanuts but tastes like corn. But I’m probably the only one who remembers that.
So?
I chewed up the bean paste, took a sip of sake, poured it down and asked him about it, and he said something unexpected.
The man you’re looking for, we found his body.
“… Puckler’s dead body?”
I whispered my name to confirm it and Neurath and Schunzel looked at each other in shock. I’d said I wouldn’t mind a dead body, but I didn’t expect to find a dead body.
“Tell me more.”
Of course.
The corpse was covered almost entirely in wounds, wearing only rags rather than clothes.
“I heard he had a lot of weird scars. Some of them were still healing.”
“Hmm.”
It’s a common fantasy that beastman lycanthropes have high vitality, but I wonder if it’s the same in this world. I didn’t think that the werewolves and tigers in the games had such abilities. We don’t have any information about Gesarius, anyway. If he’s a hidden character, I hope he’s on our side.
The explanation continues even as I complain inwardly. He was barefoot and had nothing on his person, so in a sense he looked like a man who had fallen ill, but the fatal wound was a hole that had been gouged out of his chest.
“You?”
Yes, and the scar is quite unnatural.
I repeated it in a barbed voice and he explained further. He said that his hands were covered in blood as if he had gouged something out of himself. No way.
“Did you have something in your hand or something?”
No, nothing. But the body didn’t seem to have been found immediately after death, so if she had anything on her, someone might’ve taken it with them.
You gouged the black jewel out yourself. And whoever found the body must have been obsessed with the black jewel. That’s how you switched bodies. I didn’t think you were capable of that. Maybe I was a little naive.
But then he’d be hard to track. Either he’s still lurking somewhere or he’s already escaped in his new body. There are too many possibilities.
Mr. Werner, this is…
“Yeah, right. Schänzel. I’m sorry, but I have to go to my father now.
I was just about to say that when a man approached me.
Viscount, just a moment. I have one more thing to tell you.
All right, let’s hear it.
I guess because I clamped Schunzel with my hand and said that without hesitation… the other party gave me a strange look… You’re the one who stopped him.
You don’t doubt me?
“I don’t think he’s going to bring in a false story at this point.”
I’m satisfied that’s the question, so I’m going to take a deliberately rough tone with it. I decided this was better than aristocracy. The man laughs.
Well, that’s true. Well, I’ll tell you what…
I heard what the man said, and I must say, I’m discouraged. I see. So that’s what happened. We’ll have to talk to the authorities right away. But for now.
“Schünzel, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to tell my father what you’ve heard so far.”
Yes, sir.
“Neurath, I want you to go to Zehrfeldt’s house first and tell Norbert, my father’s butler, what has just happened. If Norbert is not there, then tell Frensen.”
“What? Werner-sama…”
“I’ll stop by the Adventurers’ Guild and the Mercenaries’ Guild before returning. I’ll have a meeting with my father and the others when I get back, but I’ll tell them the details tomorrow.”
I understand.
You’re giving me more to do at this busy time. You don’t owe them anything.
