Chapter 6
“...SO THAT’S THE STORY. I’ve managed to secure help from Wallenstein, Kagura, and Soul Howl, but we still need all the help we can get to help deter any attacks.”
She had said as much to Lastrada, but now she relayed the state of affairs in the Kingdom of Alcait to Artesia. Having given her the run down, Mira shifted her gaze toward Lastrada.
She knew Lastrada and Artesia were currently up against a very large human trafficking syndicate and predicted neither of them would return until they’d taken care of all of that.
“Well, what do you say? Can you come back?”
The two of them were currently in a situation reminiscent of the one with Kagura. When they’d parted two days prior, Lastrada had said that the situation had mostly been taken care of, but it wasn’t clear just how much of it had been resolved. Was it enough that they could go back to Alcait? Or was it only stable for the moment, and more work was left to be done?
Mira suggested that she might be able to lend them a hand in order to quickly resolve whatever trouble they were dealing with.
However, there was no reason for her to worry.
“There’s no need for that. I already told you, didn’t I? It’s all been taken care of. All that’s left is to strike the final blow.”
With the heist in Haxthausen—in addition to all his previous Fuzzy Dice-related activities and the demise of Gillian Rock—he’d firmly tied the noose around the neck of the huge syndicate. He no longer needed to trouble Mira for help and was on the verge of accomplishing his goal.
“You can leave the rest to me. I’ve got some reliable allies, and we aren’t the only ones working to bring down the syndicate.”
He wasn’t simply confident, but completely convinced.
The human trafficking syndicate operated across the continent. It was a source of great evil, and it was only natural that other champions of justice would also be working to oppose them.
“Hrmm… If you say so, then I believe you. So who exactly are these allies of yours?”
Fuzzy Dice’s job as a phantom thief was all just a cover for his work to bring down the syndicate. Whether it was the doing of the church or the special privilege that’d been awarded Captain Desmond, there were several powerful forces at work behind the scenes. Just how much influence did Fuzzy Dice have?
Curious, Mira asked him about it directly.
“Well, ya know…”
“Ya know what…?”
“That’s a secret of justice,” Lastrada replied, putting a finger to his lips.
He’d never been one to reveal a secret he’d sworn to keep, no matter what. Not even if it were his own parents asking. That was part of his code.
Mira said nothing, looking annoyed.
“What about King Judas? He’s one of your allies, right?” she asked, throwing out the most obvious potential ally she could think of.
It was simple human nature to want to get someone to spill a secret once they’d been sworn to secrecy.
A troubled look passed very conspicuously over Lastrada’s face. King Judas had been conspiring with him, which was why Captain Desmond had been granted special privileges.
He asked her how she’d figured it out, lamenting that he should’ve done more to keep it a secret. Mira answered that it’d been easy to guess after speaking with Desmond about the whole situation.
“I asked him to be more subtle about it… Oh well.”
If Mira had managed to piece together their connection, then it was likely that there were others who’d also figured out that they were working with each other. And that might lead them to attract the attention of the syndicate.
However, Lastrada muttered, that was precisely the point.
When he approached the king for assistance, King Judas’s foremost concern was the safety of other potential collaborators. He purposely made himself stand out so that their other allies could fly under the radar. At least that was what Lastrada thought King Judas was most likely doing.
“Well, this is Judas we’re talking about. Could be that he’s just being careless.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Mira smiled to herself. Considering Judas, whom Mira and Lastrada knew before he ascended the throne, that was the more likely scenario.
Meanwhile, Artesia had begun busying herself preparing for tea. She placed some sweet hot chocolate and loads of cake before Mira.
It was clear to see that she was being treated like an honored guest. As she enjoyed tea, sweets, hot cocoa, and cake, they continued discussing Fuzzy Dice in depth. They hadn’t been able to discuss things very thoroughly the last time.
“There’s really no need to worry. From what I’ve heard, we’ll soon be in a position where their leader will have no choice but to make a move.”
There were others who were also fighting against the human trafficking syndicate, despite not being in league with Fuzzy Dice. Lastrada said that thanks to one of these allies’ plans, there were problems arising within the organization.
This had a substantial impact, according to his intel-gathering collaborators. If all went well, then the head honcho of the human trafficking syndicate would have no choice but to leave whatever well-defended place in which he was hiding.
“Wow, is that so?”
“Yes, although I’m not sure how much longer that’ll take,” Lastrada said, then confidently declared that it would be the only time he would go all-out as Fuzzy Dice.
While he couldn’t reveal their identity, that collaborator’s intel was extremely reliable. Lastrada claimed with certainty that the final battle would be coming in the near future.
And with that, they wrapped up their discussion of Fuzzy Dice and his work.
He’d investigated and collected evidence over the years. And now, after discovering the leader of the syndicate, all that was left was to ruthlessly crush them.
Lastrada had already begun making preparations to do just that.
And so, it didn’t seem like Mira’s help would be necessary this time. The only problem left was getting them to go back to Alcait.
Outside of his phantom thief-related business, was there anything else stopping him from returning? Mira asked, “So do you think you can come home after this?”
Lastrada let out a slightly distressed sigh and continued, “Yeah, we’ve been considering that.”
The two of them had discussed returning to Alcait. It would be better for the children’s education if they lived in a safe country rather than being stuck in a remote forest. Alcait was the best choice, as it was independent and had a king they could rely on.
On that, Lastrada and Artesia were both in agreement.
However, there was something preventing them from doing so. And it didn’t have to do with Fuzzy Dice or their crusade against the human trafficking syndicate, but with the children themselves.
“Artesia and I can take care of the operating expenses, and we’ve talked about asking the commander in chief to prepare an orphanage for us. But the problem is a little closer to home.”
They couldn’t just leave the orphanage as it was. If they were to return to Alcait, they’d need to bring the children with them. Easier said than done.
There were about one hundred children in the orphanage. It would be no easy feat transporting them from where they were, in the northern part of the continent, to Alcait in the south. And considering they could only move as fast as the children were able to move, it would likely take several months.
The issue wasn’t just the children’s safety while on the journey but their health as well.
Even with the combined strength of two members of the Nine Wise Men, it was a difficult task. They’d given up on going back.
“Yeah, you’re probably right… Bringing that many children on a journey of many months would be reckless.”
They’d be taking over a hundred defenseless noncombatants on a long journey. Mira sighed as she considered it. Children aside, it would be a weighty responsibility for those escorting them. If she could just surmount this hurdle, she could successfully bring both of them back to Alcait. She couldn’t pass such an opportunity up.
And so, Mira began thinking of how she might do it.
Solomon would undoubtedly be able to arrange a facility. The nation’s coffers should be full after the treasure she’d discovered in the catacombs beneath Nebrapolis. Furthermore, thanks to their war with Chimera Clausen, they’d established diplomatic relations with the Roslein Duchy and were doing business with them, making a tidy profit.
With all this, it shouldn’t be too much trouble to establish an orphanage. Lastrada and Artesia had even offered to pay for its operating expenses themselves. It was a small price to pay considering that they’d also be getting back two members of the Nine Wise Men.
The only problem that remained was getting the children to Alcait. She needed to find a way to quickly and safely transport over one hundred children.
Her first thought was to use the continental railway. The children were sure to enjoy traveling by train. The stations, however, were extremely crowded, and she was concerned that they might lose some of the children.
Then Mira came up with an even better idea.
“Maybe that’ll work,” she muttered, grinning. Standing up, she said, “Let me go ask!” before running out of the room.
“Ask who…?”
“Good question.”
Heads tilted inquisitively, Artesia and Lastrada jumped up to follow her out of the room.
Having temporarily put their conversation on hold, Mira headed to her wagon, which was still in front of the church. She jumped inside, quickly opened the closet, and grabbed ahold of the communication device inside.
Artesia and Lastrada, arriving a little later, spotted the wagon with its door still open and peered inside.
“Ugh, come on now. Everyone can see your panties,” Artesia said, gently reprimanding Mira upon seeing her bent over with the upper half of her body jammed into the closet. She pulled Mira out of the closet.
“Huh?! Hands off!” Mira said in surprise. But seeing the look on Artesia’s face, she held her tongue.
Artesia was in full lecture mode, something that Mira had seen countless times before.
“A young lady has to be careful about things like that. And if you can’t, then you must at least wear a skort or something.”
She began her lecture. It went on for about ten minutes, thanks to Mira pouring oil on the fire by retorting that she did have something to conceal her panties, to which Artesia then replied that there was no use owning things if one didn’t use them.
“Girls have to be cognizant of such things. You’re cute, and there are bad people out there who might target you. They’ve figured out how to invent cameras, so someone could try taking inappropriate pictures.”
“Hrmm… I’ll be more careful,” Mira said, agreeing with Artesia as her lecture came to a close. Then, quickly doing as Artesia suggested, she pulled out a pair of boy shorts and began putting her legs through them.
Having appeased Artesia, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“All right, let’s try this again…”
Under Artesia’s gaze, she couldn’t do things the way she normally did. Abandoning her usual pose, Mira pulled the communication device out of the closet and placed it on the heater.
She then quickly dialed the number and rang Solomon.
“Wow, a communication device.”
“Oh my, you managed to get your hands on some pretty nice stuff, huh?”
The communication device that Mira so often used was quite an expensive commodity. Lastrada and Artesia both looked quite surprised to see her take it out of the closet and plop it down.
He’ll probably be pretty surprised, too.
Feeling a bit proud upon seeing their expressions, Mira picked up the receiver and dialed.
After a moment, the call went through, and Solomon’s voice began echoing throughout the inside of the wagon.
“This is Solomon speaking.”
“Oh ho, it’s me!”
As Mira said this, Artesia leaned in close to the receiver and said, “Long time no see, Solomon. It’s Artesia.”
“Huh? W-wow! So she found you! That’s fantastic. Yes, it’s been a long time,” he cried out happily after a moment, still a bit shocked.
As she had expected, Solomon was very excited to suddenly hear from Artesia. But his surprise wouldn’t end there.
“Commander in Chief! Long time no see! It’s me! Subaru Hoshizaki has entered the chat!” Lastrada announced.
Solomon’s response was, “Huh?!” Exactly what Mira had anticipated. “Is Red there with you as well?! Wow, what happened? This really is incredible!”
Red was another of Lastrada’s nicknames.
Solomon had just learned that Mira’s mission to investigate someone fitting Artesia’s description had been successful. Not only that—she’d found Lastrada as well. This was better than anything he could have imagined. No wonder he was shocked.
“He was the phantom thief this whole time,” Mira answered, now in a good mood, thanks to his reaction.
Lastrada shot a sharp look at Mira. “Hey, I wanted to tell him…!” Revealing one’s true identity was one of the great joys of being a masked hero.
Mira, who had dropped the spoiler, blanched as she saw Lastrada’s resentful expression. It was enough to make even his anti-hero persona tremble.
“Uh… Oh, you did? Sorry about that…” she apologized, feeling overwhelmed by Lastrada’s discontent.
“I see. So that’s why you became a phantom thief,” Solomon said approvingly after hearing Lastrada explain why he’d become Fuzzy Dice.
Unsurprisingly, he also seemed to know something about the powerful criminal syndicate lurking in the underworld. As a result, he was interested in learning about how Lastrada had managed to almost root them out—but he didn’t ask about his plans. The only thing he had to say was, “Be careful.”
“Okay, so I’ve managed to meet up with them…but there’s a bit of an issue with the whole orphanage thing…”
Fuzzy Dice was fading into the past. Now, it was time to talk about the future. The syndicate may have been powerful, but they were up against Lastrada and his allies. Judging by how confident he seemed, that problem was as good as handled.
The only remaining issue to discuss was the orphanage. Mira explained what would need to happen for Artesia and Lastrada to return to the Kingdom of Alcait.
“Not a problem. I’ve already had the manor behind the academy readied so that it might serve as an orphanage,” Solomon quickly replied, addressing the most important condition for Artesia’s return. After hearing about the rumors she’d conveyed a few days ago, he’d predicted this might happen and had begun preparing for just such an event.
All they had to do now was decide who’d be in charge and file all the paperwork with the church. The manor had been used as a temporary school building before the academy was established, making it easy to convert into an orphanage. He’d even secured a budget for it.
“Oh my, thank you, Solomon. I’m very happy to hear it.”
“You sure don’t waste any time, Commander in Chief!”
Lastrada and Artesia smiled at having the most important condition for their return fulfilled without even needing to negotiate.
Judging from the look of relief on both of their faces, the two of them must’ve really been hoping to go home.
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