The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 83

Chapter 83:

Overthinking?

WE DECIDED TO LOOK for the tea leaves another time. Mira assured us it was fine, but she looked cross about it. We’d planned to go to the next sweet shop together, but Luiseria said she had stuff to take care of. Wasn’t she just about to go off into the woods, though? Maybe she changed her mind because things weren’t going according to plan.

We split up with Mira and her friends in front of Puff-Puff and returned to the plaza. The whole thing was really strange.

On our way back, Rattloore and I looked around the greenmarket. We didn’t really need any produce since we had so many veggies already, but we didn’t feel like going straight back to the plaza.

“What do you think of Callua?” I asked him. Her interference in the dessert shop made it seem like she was helping me out. I couldn’t figure out why she would do that, though. Did she have her own suspicions about Mira and Luiseria?

“Callua’s an adventurer who moved here two years ago,” he answered. “Before that, she worked two towns away.” 

I still didn’t know much about adventurers. “Do adventurers move around a lot?”

“Yeah, when they want more rewards, or…well, when they need to escape from some trouble.”

“Trouble?”

“Yeeeah, uh, like trouble with a partner. Or family problems…y’know?”

“I suppose I do.”

It seemed her moving wasn’t strange in itself. We finished looking around and reached a quiet side road.

After glancing around to confirm we wouldn’t be overheard, I asked Rattloore, “The big crackdown on the kidnappers did fail, right?”

“Huh? Yeah, why?”

“The moves Mira’s making don’t really match up to the formidable organization I was imagining. But the fact that she has more adventurers involved makes it seem like they’re very well organized. It makes me wonder if this organization is in deeper trouble than we thought.”

“You think the crackdown might’ve hit them harder than we knew?” Rattloore asked.

“I don’t know, but it seems to me like Mira and her friends are trying to rush things.”

“Yeah, they did seem like they were in a hurry. But the crackdown really did go nowhere. All they captured were some documents.”

“Documents?”

“Yeah. They couldn’t get anything useful out of them. Seizerk’s seen them, too.”

“If not documents, then how about money?” I probed.

“Money? There was a safe with a little cash, but I heard it wasn’t much.”

“Was the raid on a private home?”

“Uh… A former merchant’s residence,” he recalled. “It was a pretty big mansion.”

If it was so big, could there have been any “hidden rooms”? The term popped into my mind.

“Is it possible there’s anything still hidden in the residence?” I pressed.

“Eh, I don’t think so. They’ve scoured the place top to bottom.”

“Hmm…is it still under investigation?”

“There should still be people watching it, since the case is unresolved.”

“Watching it…how many people?”

“Uhh, less than before. Maybe five or six?”

“And the guard are the ones keeping watch?”

“Yeah. Adventurers were lending a hand, but since we learned about Mira, they’ve cut it back to just the guard.”

“The guard, you say? Hmm, you said went over the whole place. Who exactly did it?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. The only ones who went in were the guard; no adventurers were at the raid.”

“Only the guard? I wonder…”

“Ivy?”

What do I do? I have no evidence. This is all only my theory, really. I’ll just…say a little more.

“Um…do we know the guard are all trustworthy?” I finally asked.

“The guard? You mean the guys who actually did the raid? Er, I think they’re pretty clean…”

“How did they come to join the guard?”

“Usually, captains or vice-captains recommend new recruits. Oh, or nobles…”

“Nobles?” That word stuck out to me.

“Yeah. They can get a recommendation from a noble…”

“Erm, it’s hard to say this, but…”

“It’s okay,” Rattloore assured me. “I can see what you’re getting at. Yeah, it’s possible some members of the guard are crooked.”

Yep. A powerful organization would have moles not just among the adventurers but among the guard. Rattloore looks panicked, like he just realized it, too. 

If there were traitors in the guard, then it was possible that the former merchant’s mansion was still hiding something. The kidnapping ring wanted it back, but because there were eyes on the place, they couldn’t make a move. If they could wait, the patrols would be gradually reduced over time. But if whatever was hidden there was so important they couldn’t wait…what would they do? They’d have to get rid of the guards.

Maybe Mira was a sacrificial pawn. Not just her—anyone in their organization might be disposable. Now that we knew Mira was a rat, and considering there might be more adventurers involved, it was difficult for the guild to interfere. They’d already pulled their people out of the group watching the mansion, leaving the guard as the main force there. If Mira’s group tried anything now, the guard would have to scramble to arrest them…which would leave nobody for the extra patrols in the meantime.

“Like a lizard losing its tail…” I muttered.

“Huh? What was that?”

“Umm…nothing. Sorry.” I took a deep breath and explained my thinking to Rattloore. He frowned uncomfortably as he mulled over the implications. “What’s the matter?”

“Around a third of the guard are noble recommendations.”

That was way too many. They probably weren’t all moles, but it would take too much time to investigate and clear them all. If this was a calculated move as well, then the top of this organization was a force to be reckoned with. Still, if I could reach these conclusions, then others could, too. The GM and captain of the guard had more information at their fingertips than I did, after all.

“Um, I might be overthinking all this, though.”

“…Ivy, what sort of noble do you think would be most suspect?” Rattloore looked down at me gravely.

Who would I suspect?

“Probably…someone squeaky clean. The last person you’d expect to commit a crime. Or someone with a reputation for being really heroic.”

“…Why?”

“People are looser with information around people they trust and respect. And if something happens, they are often above suspicion.”

“Huh… I can think of two who meet those criteria. One is a person Bolorda trusts deeply, and the other is someone this town would never suspect.”

“Never suspect… Why not?” I asked.

“Because eleven years ago, he put his life on the line to rescue an adventurer’s kid when bandits attacked.”

“He saved a child?”

Saved lives… I feel like I’ve heard those words a lot over the past few days.

“They called him a town hero after he was injured protecting that kid,” Rattloore explained.

“What happened to the bandits?”

“They’re all dead. Why?”

“Is there any possibility…that the whole thing was staged?”

Rattloore fell silent.

Ah! Rattloore’s considering it. But if it was fake, that would mean he was already preparing for this eleven years ago. Wait…

“Um, when did this kidnapping ring first come to light?”

“Around seven years ago, maybe?” He scratched his head. “A woman who was abducted by them escaped before she could be sold into slavery.”

Seven years ago? Four years before that seems too early to fake the attack… But if they only learned about it seven years ago, it might’ve been going on for longer.

As the plaza came into view, I saw Seizerk standing by our tents. He was back early today, and I didn’t see Marcreek or Lowcreek at all. Why’d he come back all alone?