Chapter 53
——Millheim Adventurers' Guild, Branch Chief's Office
"So? What about Glen? Has he shown his hand?"
The mustached man—the branch chief—sat at an ebony desk with his back to the window and asked the question.
"A newcomer saw him tampering with a wagon late at night."
Aileen reported calmly, standing straight-backed.
"However, the situation has changed further. Otto the Ominous Bird, who was in league with Glen, has been defeated."
"What?! Tell me everything."
The branch chief stood up. The documents on his desk shifted slightly.
"The wagon loaded with spices that Glen tampered with broke down on the road. Since the merchant refused to leave it behind, a rookie party was left to guard it while the main group went on to the monastery where they planned to spend the night."
Aileen took a small breath and continued.
"The wagon left behind reached the monastery just before the gates closed, bringing Otto's horse and armor with it."
Silence fell over the branch chief's office. The only sound was the wind outside.
"That rookie party defeated him? ...Who are they?"
The branch chief pinched his mustache and lowered his gaze, deep in thought.
"They're a four-person group called Oath's Balance. Mireille is with them now."
Aileen replied without moving a muscle.
"And what about Glen?"
"Cecilia is tailing him. The baron's household will probably make a move."
"I see. So, as far as the baron's household is concerned, Glen is a traitor."
The branch chief tapped the desk with his fingertips, lost in thought.
"So, what will you do?"
Aileen continued her report without changing her posture.
"We'll capture whoever attacks Glen. If we get a confession, it will make not only Glen's collusion but also his ties to the baron's household clear."
The branch chief nodded.
"Clever. All right. The rookie's testimony should help support the case, too. We'll take an official statement."
"They said they'll testify after Glen is attacked."
"What?"
The branch chief narrowed his eyes.
"They said that if the Guild punishes Glen first, the baron's household might turn its attention to us."
Aileen continued without so much as shifting her stance.
"Are they really rookies? ...Could it be that this plan was the rookie's idea, too?"
"Yes. A boy named Noah."
The branch chief let out a long breath and shrugged.
"Understood. Proceed as planned. I'll look into Noah on our end, too."
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
Aileen turned on her heel and left the branch chief's office.
As Mireille watched Oath's Balance disappear up the stairs, Aileen came down them in the opposite direction.
"How were they?"
At Aileen's question, Mireille replied with a small shrug.
"The others are one thing, but Noah-kun is on another level. He didn't even bat an eye at the pile of gold coins."
"The branch chief is going to look into that boy, too. We should keep an eye on Glen. Let's join Cecilia."
As soon as she finished speaking, Aileen headed for the tavern, and Mireille hurried after her.
"How's it going?"
The two women sat down beside Cecilia, who was keeping watch from a seat in the back of the tavern.
"They've been like that the whole time."
At the table Cecilia indicated with her eyes sat Glen and the members of Black Iron, thoroughly drunk.
"After all the attacks they'd suffered up until yesterday, you'd think they'd have some sense of danger."
Cecilia sighed.
"It is strange. Have they been made to believe they're out of danger now?"
Aileen watched the noisy men with a cool gaze.
"Could it be Noah-kun...? No, surely not."
Mireille murmured, but the image of the boy's eyes, utterly unruffled before that pile of gold coins, remained vividly burned into her mind.
Before long, Glen and the members of Black Iron stood up and staggered out of the tavern.
"Looks like they'll come tonight."
Cecilia murmured with certainty. Her gaze never left the men, who were making a racket without a care in the world.
"Well, if it means we can wrap up the job quickly, that's lucky for us."
Mireille replied with a shrug, sounding somewhat amused.
"Mireille, tail them. Cecilia, take a position up high. I'll direct things from here. ...Let's begin."
Aileen's sharp instructions changed the mood among them at once.
The chill of the night brought out the scent of the damp cobblestones.
Mireille activated 'Stealth' and began gliding from shadow to shadow. She kept her eyes fixed on the backs of Black Iron as they stumbled out of the tavern, maintaining a steady distance.
The moment she stepped into a back alley beyond the reach of the streetlamps, her senses sharpened even further.
"...Now, where will our prey appear from?"
Blending into the darkness, she followed Glen without a sound. She was nothing like the woman who had been joking just moments before.
'Cecilia's in position. Signal me if anything happens.'
Aileen's voice reached her ear through the 'Whisper' spell.
"Understood. ...For now, our prey is still staggering along."
Mireille replied quietly. Ahead of her, Glen and the others disappeared into the depths of a dark alley. The damp night air chilled her skin.
"You go on ahead. I need to relieve myself."
Glen said, humming as he parted from his companions and stumbled toward the side of the alley.
"...This is the worst."
Watching from behind cover, Mireille grimaced openly.
The moment Glen loosened his belt—
Two men appeared soundlessly, as if melting out of the darkness.
"They're here. They have 'Stealth.' They're pretty skilled."
Mireille's whisper reached Aileen through 'Whisper.'
'Understood. Stay put for now.'
Aileen's cool instructions rang in her ear.
One man moved into position behind Glen and gave a short nod. At that signal, the other man closed in on Glen like a shadow and slit his throat in one swift motion.
"...Glen's been taken out."
As soon as Mireille calmly reported the facts, a reply came back.
'Good. Secure the attackers as planned.'
Mireille sprang out of the darkness where she'd been hiding and hurled a small pouch packed with luminous mushroom spores at the two men.
The pouch burst, scattering glowing powder that vividly illuminated the backs of the fleeing men.
"—Marking complete."
The men, showered in spores, glowed from head to toe as they desperately fled into the darkness.
The men's pounding footsteps echoed through the back alley. The moment they reached a crossroads in the maze of alleys, they split apart in opposite directions as if flung away.
'Mireille, take the left. Leave the right to Cecilia.'
Aileen's instructions came immediately.
The man who turned right kicked off the wall of a dead-end alley and raced up onto the rooftops.
But a shadow had the high ground. Cecilia, stationed in the church bell tower, fired 'Aero Snipe,' which sliced through the air and struck the man's knee with pinpoint accuracy.
Meanwhile, the other man fled into a narrow alley to the left. For just an instant, he felt relieved when the presence behind him vanished. But he was only watching out for danger on the ground.
"...You forgot to watch above you."
Mireille's cool voice came from overhead.
She kicked off the building's wall with 'Air Step' and surged through the air. Before the fleeing man could turn around, Mireille's kick, driven by gravity and acceleration, slammed his back against the cold stone pavement.