Chapter 197
Chapter 197
The Sahel Region was uninhabitable for ordinary people — overflowing with monsters and venomous insects, a place where water was nearly nonexistent.
But that’s only true for “ordinary” people.
Outside the domains of nobles, without a guide you could hardly make headway. Add the Sahel Region’s notorious reputation and the adventurers and mercenaries who came hunting dungeon spoils…
It was the perfect place for bandits to run rampant.
“So that’s probably where Jack the Ripper came to.”“Having escaped the Roberc household, there wasn’t really anywhere else for him to go.”
It wasn’t hard to guess that Jack the Ripper — nominally a fugitive — would naturally join one of those bandit packs.
‘…Well, whether he’s truly being hunted is another question.’
Even the file in my hands suggested as much.
[The Bloody Jack the Ripper][Origin: Central Region][Charges: Serial murder][Notorious killer who targeted only noble maidens][Soldiers and officials who investigated him were also killed; after capture he was transported to the West][Often isolated targets by summoning mist — exercise caution even while imprisoned]
“The Robercs, too. Couldn’t they at least give us an expected route? All this worthless info.”“Sure. It’d be useful in a fight, but right now searching is the priority.”
Saying “Sahel Region” in one breath was misleading — this place was huge.
Even the Academy had dorms, faculty housing, dojos and amenities strewn about; if we just started wandering, we’d be hunting for a needle in a sandstorm.
“First, let’s find the thieves’ guild.”“…There’s one here, apparently.”“There’s no place where people live that lacks a thieves’ guild.”
Information is precious — even more so in a lawless zone where lives are at stake.
“Come, come. Let me guide you this once.”“…It’s strange. The dungeons you took us to — that underground tomb too — you seem to know this terrain inside out. As if the Sahel Region were your parlor.”
I shrugged at Camilla’s question.
“I used to come here often.”“Oh? As Hans Byron, or as ‘Frost Mane’?”“Well… Lady Roberc can imagine as she pleases.”
Whatever she imagined, she’d be wrong. Neither was the case.
Only the saintess — the one who knew my past life — frowned, showing she’d guessed correctly.
“By the way, everyone, always carry your weapons.”“Hm? We’re going to gather information, not start a fight, right?”
You’d have to be naïve to think that.Elizabeth was a merchant-minded noble; of course she’d think that way.
“Lady Frontal, we are not here to negotiate or trade.”“Then what?”
Elizabeth tilted her head with her pink hair, evidently not quite understanding.
‘True. Since becoming acquainted with Wolbaek, you’ve often traded with him.’
As a merchant and a noble, she’d be used to buying information.
But that applies to Wolbaek as a special case — their true nature was criminals, something she’d temporarily forgotten.
“In lawless lands, the basic rule is plunder.”
Might is order and logic alike. Like in the Ilbedon Empire, the Sahel Region followed that rule.
“Don’t go thinking you can just buy information with coin. If they see you have money, they’ll plan to pick those pockets clean from the start.”
Scammers would fleece outsiders; pickpockets would target wallets during the ‘transaction’.
That’s the mild stuff. The thieves put on the guise of trade.
Nine times out of ten they’d swarm like hyenas and act like true robbers.
“Then what are we supposed to do? If we go there we’ll only start trouble.”“Oh, you were pretending not to know? Good catch. We’re going to steal the information.”
I smiled at Elizabeth, who gaped at my answer.
“Trading with ignorant, muscle-reliant criminals? That’s too generous for them.”
When in Rome… follow Roman law. We intended only to adhere to the Sahel Region’s rules.
“Easy. We burst into the thieves’ guild, smash things up, and take what we need. Easier than a dungeon clear.”“…You’re insane.”
She no longer tried to hide her opinion; she left a harsh one-line review for her fiancée.
Even a harsh desert without an oasis had places where people could rest.
These tents were one such place — a tiny shelter formed by clustered outlaws.
To that single refuge — a godsend under a hostile sky — we were intruders.
“So? Is that all?”“Yes, yes!”
A gaunt man with a twitching mustache knelt before me and prostrated himself.
“Hm. You aren’t hiding anything? That’s a small haul.”“N-no! We scraped every scrap from our branch’s store!”
Freesia’s eyes softened at his groveling.
“Hans… he’s begging like that. Be a little kind.”“Lady Freesia. Have you forgotten how they greeted us when we first entered?”
I recalled our first moments in the tent.
“Huh? Who are you looking for? Outsiders with nerve, demanding info without payment.”“We do have money.”“Oh… ahem. That won’t be enough. You think we’re running a charity?”
Rudeness unbecoming of merchants was the least of it.
“You came in and looked green around the edges, wrapped in fine cloth. If you come here you must bet your fortune. Don’t want to? You’ll get a bitter taste.”
They even threatened us with several heavily armed thugs.
So we taught them a little manners.
“What? What woman has this power?!”“You should pick your targets carefully. You're just a lowly thieves’ guild branch.”
Only after their hired guards were trounced and strewn about the ground did the man shiver and realize the situation.
“Now then, shall we restart negotiations?”
That was the result — deservedly so.
‘If the branch chief had been present, he’d have handled this more gracefully and we would’ve left. But thanks to their lackey’s mistake, things went smoothly for us.’
I was a low-level member, Elizabeth a noble from another region, Freesia a different race — aside from that, Camilla stood out even among the Roberc heirs for her prowess.
And we had the saint of the Nepisa faith spread across the Empire.
It would be stranger if they didn’t know our faces.
‘No wonder the face seemed unfamiliar.’
This was definitely a West thieves’ guild branch. In the original, an old veteran branch chief would have greeted us — but a bumbling threat from an ill-fitting fellow had left us amused.
‘Well, it did make things easy.’
The branch chief would have been a pain to seat properly; now his subordinate had made the mistake, so he’d cough up the info to save face.
“So? Has the chief been contacted?”“W-well… he’s been away for several days…”“I see. We came with a reliable introduction, and yet the welcome was poor. How regrettable.”
Since the chief would take time to arrive anyway, I pried the seal off the document the man had brought.
[Jack the Ripper][Top secret — Level 1][Handle with extreme caution]
“Huh. He’s bigger than we thought.”“Level 1? What does that mean?”“It means be careful in dealings. If mishandled, it could harm the thieves’ guild — so choose your dealings carefully.”
I frowned at the warning.
‘That serious?’
No matter how the thieves’ guild focused on information and lacked brute strength, it still had history and organization.
It wouldn’t collapse over one criminal.
But Level 1 — excluding dukes or royals of special rank, this declared him the most dangerous thing the guild had to fear.
“We’ll need to be careful during the arrest. Don’t isolate yourselves — travel in pairs at least.”“That’s for the best.”
The Robercs had also given warning information, so caution couldn’t hurt.
“Everyone heard that, yes?”Ahem. “May I go with Hans?”
She lifted her hand timidly, and all eyes turned to the High Elf.
“I don’t know this terrain well. I want Hans to explain things to me…”“Unfortunately, this isn’t a sightseeing trip.”
I cut off her personal plea outright.
“He’s tougher than expected. We should split the party based on roles.”
If the assassin is the target, leaving only Rene and Elizabeth together would be dangerous — Rene has no proper attack means, and Elizabeth has no close-combat option.
Only I, who wield aura, and Freesia, who can handle some close combat with spirit magic, must be split up.
“That won’t do…”“Give up, Evergreen. Come with me or help the saint.”
Typical merchant instincts — Elizabeth tried to set aside her fiancée in favor of indebtedness to the saint — so I rubbed my brow.
“So be it.”“Your combat ability is unquestionable; if only you’d keep that gaping mouth shut, you’d be perfect.”
Whether praise or insult, Camilla’s remark passed by. I peeled off the warning label and read the contents.
[Jack][Served as a mercenary in the West; after murdering comrades he was expelled][Drifted into the Sahel Region; built a career in the assassins’ guild]
Huh? He was originally from the West?
…A bad feeling rose.
Especially in this West, cleaning up identity and moving regions was an all-too-familiar pattern.
We’d already seen this case before.
[Took a Roberc contract and traveled to the Central Region in exchange][But having drunk of slaughter, he murdered there too and returned to the West as a prisoner]
At that point it was an easy inference.
“…Is that so?”
Camilla’s eyes flared into flames as she read the same documents I had.
Even I had understood — when it comes to tracking criminals, she was seasoned; she wouldn’t miss such hints.
“Lady Roberc. Your mana is unstable. Calm yourself.”“Do I look calm to you right now?”
I sighed, trying to contain her rage.
‘…No wonder it was Level 1.’
His strength was a worry, certainly. But more likely they feared provoking the Roberc household’s ire.
There was no time to fidget politely.
Scarcely had her rebuke finished when white smoke began filling the tent.
“What is—?”“Oh, everyone! Don’t leave each other’s sides!”
When did it begin? The fog, invading this waterless place, seeped in slowly.
“…The branch chief’s child. They left one subordinate as bait and already spilled our info.”
They’d set a meticulous trap, knowing we’d need information to chase him. We weren’t the only ones after him.
“…Anyway. Where have you been wandering about, showing up only now?”
From the mist stepped a man exactly like the face in the montage.