Make a Contract and Become My Apostle (13)
Junk Town was a place crawling with grave robbers and all sorts of other lowlifes. The very fact that it was situated on the continent's edge—a thoroughly abandoned wasteland—made it hard to classify as a normal town. There was even a self-deprecating joke going around that the "junk" in its name referred to the residents themselves rather than literal trash. Given that neither the locals nor the visitors were ordinary, law-abiding citizens, and with incidents occurring almost daily, the joke wasn't far from the truth. Thus, a deafening explosion rocking the town was just another Tuesday in Junk Town.
"Whew... When was the last time we were here?"
"It's been a while," Falco replied.
The two exchanged brief words as they took in the sights. Junk Town was excessively lively, but otherwise, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Merchants lined the streets displaying stolen goods of questionable origin, while others brawled in broad daylight over the most trivial disputes.
The Goddess, finding the scenery quite novel, gasped in wonder. Yohan knew all too well that she had been imprisoned for an eternity until recently. Instead of nagging her, he quietly let her enjoy the view.
"Ah, that's salted horsemeat. They slaughter sick or injured horses and eat them."
Yohan suddenly found himself curious about the Goddess's past. The era when she hadn't been stripped of her name, when her followers spanned every corner of this vast continent. He wanted to know her true name, too. But he didn't pry. Even if he asked, she would only reply that it was no longer her name to bear.
"Yeah, what is it?" Yohan muttered back, snapping out of his thoughts as her voice echoed in his mind.
"Huh?"
At her words, Yohan glanced over. Sure enough, a massive, heavily built man was lumbering toward them from a distance.
"Well, look at that. I was planning on looking for him anyway, but he saved me the trouble."
"Indeed," Falco agreed, nodding.
"Yeah, that's Wilhelm. He's the muscle-brained sheriff of this dump."
While Yohan was busy running his mouth, the muscular giant arrived right in front of them.
"Yo," Yohan greeted, waving a hand at the giant.
But for some reason, the sheriff's eyes flared with rage. Without a word, he lunged forward and grabbed Yohan by the collar.
"You little bastard! How dare you show your face in this town!"
"W-what the hell?!"
Something was seriously wrong. Yohan instantly realized that things were taking a very bad turn.
"Normally, I would have thrown you straight into a cell or beaten you to death. Consider this opportunity to explain yourself a mercy born of our past acquaintance."
"Gee, I'm so touched I might cry."
Inside the Junk Town sheriff's office, Yohan and Falco sat across from Wilhelm, staring at him over a table that looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"I get the gist of the situation. The grave robbers pulled a massive betrayal and cleared out of town, right?"
"Yeah. And you're one of those goddamn grave robbers," Wilhelm growled in response to Yohan's question.
This was a massive headache. To say the situation was bad was an understatement. Yohan had literally been betrayed and left for dead by those very grave robbers, but proving his innocence was a nightmare. He had been stabbed in the back, but the Goddess's power had completely healed the wound. Claiming he had been attacked would sound like a blatant lie without a scratch to show for it. He could reveal the Goddess's existence right here, but he doubted it was worth the risk. The only physical evidence that he had fallen out with the gang was their completely decimated hideout.
Putting himself in the shoes of the muscle-bound gorilla before him, Yohan had to admit Wilhelm's perspective made sense. Why would a sheriff bother traveling all the way to a distant hideout just to verify some evidence when he could simply beat this scrawny punk and his companion to death right here? In other words, Wilhelm really was exercising an immense amount of patience. If they hadn't known each other beforehand, Yohan and Falco would have received a classic Junk Town welcome the moment they stepped foot in the village. He had to resolve this somehow. Yohan's mind raced, searching for a way out.
"Look, let me make one thing clear: we aren't part of that gang anymore. In fact, I beat the guys in my old crew to death with my own two hands."
"And why should I believe that?"
Yohan pleaded his case, but Wilhelm's stern expression didn't budge an inch.
Damn it, it's the absolute truth, but I have no way to prove it. Yohan had to concede the point.
"Fair enough. Honestly, if I were in your shoes, old man, I'd think I was full of shit too."
"And who is that next to you? I've never seen her face around here before."
Until recently, Falco had been wrapped head-to-toe in bandages, and even then, she rarely ventured outside unless it was for gang business. There was no way Wilhelm would ever connect this clean-faced girl to that creepy, bandaged freak.
"So, I've been doing some thinking..."
Yohan decided to put off explaining 'the girl next to him' for now and brought out the plan he had cooked up.
"Speak."
"The grave robbers from my old crew looted the town vault before they fled, and they injured several residents in the process, right?"
Wilhelm gave a silent nod.
"We'll take responsibility and hunt down the rest of them. That'll prove our innocence, won't it? Besides, you probably remember their faces and names, don't you, old man?"
"Hmm."
Wilhelm let out a low grunt at Yohan's proposal. He crossed his massive arms and pondered for a long moment, his eyes shifting as he calculated.
"Fine. That does make sense."
When Wilhelm finally spoke, both Yohan and Falco visibly brightened.
"Alright, Yohan. I'll trust you just this once."
As he said this, Wilhelm suddenly drew a concealed sword and slammed it onto the table.
"..."
This muscle-bound freak had been fully prepared to slaughter them right then and there if things went south. Yohan's smug expression instantly soured.
The Goddess's voice echoed in his mind, but Yohan did his best to ignore her.
"W-well, I'm glad you accepted so easily. I was fully prepared to grab your pant legs and beg if I had to."
"The proposal itself carries no loss for me," Wilhelm replied, his harsh expression softening slightly as he responded to Yohan's attempt to play it cool.
"If you actually eliminate the runaway grave robbers and bring back the stolen goods, that's the best-case scenario. Even if you fail, you're the one who dies, not us."
Though phrased brutally, it meant he understood their position and accepted the deal. Yohan nodded in agreement.
"Of course, I can't just sit back and twiddle my thumbs either."
Wilhelm suddenly stood up and walked over to a desk in the corner of the office.
"This is the personal information of the grave robbers operating in this area that I've gathered."
"Oh ho."
Wilhelm tossed a stack of worn papers onto the table with a thud. Yohan clicked his tongue in admiration as he scanned the contents.
The Goddess was right. The information Wilhelm provided on the grave robbers was incredibly detailed. It included not only their names but also remarkably well-drawn portraits, likely sketched by Wilhelm himself. At this point, it was practically a self-made wanted poster collection compiled by the town sheriff.
"Wow... I didn't expect you to have tracked them down so thoroughly."
"It's not just the grave robbers. I keep records on everyone associated with this town, including you, Yohan."
"Right, right. Let's see... First off, this guy, Jimmy—I definitely killed him. And this guy, and this guy too."
Yohan began sorting through the list Wilhelm provided, filtering out those who were already dead or irrelevant.
"Take mine off the list too... and Falco, this one as well."
"You killed this many by yourself?"
"Yeah. Don't believe me?"
Yohan smirked at Wilhelm's suspicious questioning. Wilhelm let out a sharp snort.
"No, I believe you. If what you say is true, you'll need that kind of skill to hunt down the rest of them anyway. Most people in this town hide their true strength, after all."
Of course, Yohan hadn't actually been hiding his strength. He had simply borrowed the Goddess's power.
"Alright."
With this, the targets were identified. Since Wilhelm's condition was strictly to exact revenge on the grave robbers who had directly harmed Junk Town, it was well within Yohan's capability to handle alone.
"Can we walk around the town now?"
"Yes. In fact, I was going to suggest it. You'll need to ask the other residents for information anyway."
They had successfully secured a chance to clear their names.
"Great, we'll head out right away."
"Wait, hold on. Let me ask one last thing."
"What is it?"
Yohan was about to slip out of the office, but it seemed Wilhelm wasn't quite finished.
"You keep saying 'we,' but no matter how much I look at the girl next to you, I can't recall ever seeing her face."
Wilhelm stared intently at Falco.
"If she was part of the grave robber gang like you say... was their crew much larger than I estimated?"
"Uh... well..."
How was he supposed to explain this? Yohan glanced sideways to lock eyes with Falco. Falco gave him a firm nod.
"Well, whatever. I guess we can tell him this much."
Yohan reached down and picked up one of the papers on the table. It was a portrait of a figure with their entire face wrapped in bandages, a hood pulled low over their head.
"This is her," Yohan said, pointing back and forth between the portrait and Falco.
At that moment, Falco pulled back her hood, fully revealing her face.
"W-What?!"
The gloomy, foul-smelling creep who reeked whenever they got close was actually an elf? Wilhelm, who had maintained a stern, solemn expression the entire time, widened his eyes in sheer shock.
"It doesn't... seem like a lie. Neither of you has the face of a liar."
Even as he spoke, Wilhelm couldn't help but scan Falco's face repeatedly.
"Right. It wouldn't have been easy for an elf to walk around this town with her face exposed."
Yohan had been worrying about how to explain how Falco had healed her full-body burns, but fortunately, Wilhelm jumped to his own conclusions without Yohan having to say a word.
"So, the two of you were ousted from the grave robber gang."
"At least, that's how I see it," Wilhelm muttered, letting out a soft sigh. He glanced toward the office door.
"Fine, I understand. I'll permit you to stay in town for now. Solve this to the best of your abilities."
"Will do. Let's go."
"Okay," Falco replied, pulling her hood back over her head.
The two stood up together and walked out of the office.
"Heheh..."
The moment they stepped out of the office, Yohan let out a chuckle he had been holding back.
"Pfft, you just don't know that muscle-brained old man yet."
"Hehe."
Falco caught Yohan's drift and let out a soft giggle of her own.
Junk Town's sheriff, Wilhelm, was an incredibly strong and stubborn man. Even though Yohan had been practically forced into this task to clear his name, if he successfully completed Wilhelm's request, the sheriff would undoubtedly reward him. He would get his personal revenge, fulfill the Goddess's goal of 'dispensing justice,' and even pocket some sweet commission money on top of it all.
"Yohan. Don't forget to shake down those runaways and empty their pockets completely when we find them."
"Of course, of course."
Yohan and Falco looked at each other, wearing matching, mischievous grins as they shared a wicked laugh.