I'm Not a Bad Person (2)
"From now on, the management of this city is entrusted to that man. On the surface, at least. Of course I'll be watching from behind the scenes—and so will all of you."
"Yes, Master."
"Stick to his side every moment and monitor his every move. What he does, who he meets—everything. Learn it all so you can report back to me."
"Yes. Understood."
"If an emergency arises, inform me without delay. No matter the circumstances. Clear?"
"Ah—yes... yes..."
Click. Click. Between the sharp strike of her heels, Lia's voice landed in crisp, measured beats. The maid trailing after her pitifully couldn't match the pace; her ankle twisted and she stumbled.
Just as she was about to fall, Lia—without so much as glancing her way—caught her by the shoulder and set her upright again. While the maid pressed a hand to her startled chest, a dry voice settled on Lia's lips.
"If something's bothering you, say it now."
"Pardon? I..."
"It's fine. Speak."
"...Honestly, Master, I'm not sure this is all right."
Only after being asked twice did the uncertain answer finally come out. Once the dam broke, her worries poured forth without restraint.
"That man is a spy for the knights, isn't he? I've even heard he has ties to the White Knight. Is it really safe to bring someone like that into the heart of our organization?"
"It doesn't matter. There's nothing left worth hiding anymore. The moment I faced the White Knight that day, the cold war ended. From here on, we're essentially in open war with the kingdom."
"But..."
"That's exactly why that man is valuable. The fact that a figure from the knights is operating in our city will make excellent propaganda—whether his intentions are sincere or not."
She had spoken to her master of the possibility of winning him over, but in truth she didn't care that much. No one knew better than she how hard it was to turn a person's heart.
What mattered was only this: staging a situation that made it look as though someone from the knights had turned his back on the kingdom. Public distrust of the knights would swell, and the organization's standing would rise in equal measure. Of course, if they could actually convert him, so much the better.
And above all, she rather liked the idea of holding the White Knight's lover hostage and humiliating her. By now the woman was surely waiting for news of him with a burning heart.
"From now on, assign key members to him whenever he goes out. That way the citizens will clearly register that he belongs to us. Be obvious about it if you like. Make people believe he is one of ours."
"But won't the knights push back if we do that?"
"They might. But deploying a large force will be difficult. This entire region is our territory, and that lizard won't tolerate an army crossing the mountains. At best they'll send a small elite unit."
"And if the White Knight comes herself..."
"...Then I'll welcome her."
In truth, that was exactly what Lia was hoping for. Another chance to face the White Knight she had failed to cut down that day. In raw strength she couldn't win, but in speed the woman hadn't even managed half of hers.
Perhaps this time she could finally claim that white helmet. And if her old lover happened to be present for the spectacle, that would be ideal.
"I wonder what that man is thinking right now. Whether he truly believes he can win me over—or if this is nothing more than a knights' operation."
"I hope it's the former."
"Hmm. But the latter would be dreadfully boring. It's far more interesting if a man that clever actually believes, out of his own good nature, that I must feel the same way."
"My lady..."
"Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
My lady. At the title that had slipped out unbidden, Lia's eyes wavered for the briefest instant. Whenever the maid sensed the faintest stir of emotion in her, she found herself using that form of address without thinking.
And she hadn't been wrong this time either. But the Master of the organization never let such shifts of feeling show for long; she recovered her composure at once.
"Of course it isn't without risk. That man is a walking variable. But the same is true of us."
"And right now, the one whose thoughts are most tangled is probably him."
Of that she was certain.
I liked this place far too much.
Beyond that, I had no particular thoughts at all.
"A private room..."
...
"A private room..."
I couldn't believe it, so I said it twice. No one to cook for, no old man to run errands for, no master to live piled on top of me—just a room of my own. As a bonus, no roommate who would ramble on about the old days whenever he had a spare moment.
...
"In the end it's that old bastard who's the problem, isn't it."
Somehow every factor seemed to collapse into one, but the moment I threw myself onto the plush bed, every stray thought flew out of my head. Of course, every freedom comes with responsibility, so it wasn't long before a knock sounded from beyond the door.
"May I come in?"
"Huh? Ah—of course."
"Pardon the intrusion."
I answered in a bright voice, but the second I saw his face my mood plummeted. It was that dark-skinned, scarred bastard from before. He still wore that scowling expression as he bowed his head to me.
"Apologies for disturbing your rest. But it is time for your inspection."
"Inspection?"
"One of the duties you'll be performing every day from now on. You survey the state of the city and resolve any problems that arise. Of course, accidents almost never happen, so you can think of it as a stroll."
"Hmm. Not difficult, but so this is the sort of thing that would be nice to have help with. You mean Lia did this every day?"
"How dare you take Her name so lightly—!"
Was this really something to get so red-faced and vein-throbbing angry about? I jutted my lip and looked right back at him. Of course, I held the upper hand in this situation, so he immediately lowered his tail and apologized.
"My apologies. I was careless."
"It's fine. People get like that sometimes."
"Shall we head out? I'll explain the details as we walk."
"Let's. Lead the way."
When I nodded at a slant, he shot me a still-sharp look, as if he hadn't fully swallowed his anger. Third-rate thieves, the lot of them. Even if they belonged to a wealthy house, that shabby nature of theirs was impossible to hide.
With subordinates like this, I could almost understand why Lia couldn't just leave them and go. The moment we stepped into the street, another half-dozen black-clad figures fell in behind me.
"Hmm... this doesn't look great, appearance-wise."
"Please consider them an escort. It's also by order."
"Lia told you to do this?"
"...I'll start with the explanation."
As if he still couldn't shake his discomfort, a crease formed at the corner of his mouth. While the gray cityscape drifted slowly past, the dry explanation of the ill-mannered thief continued.
"The city is broadly divided into four districts. You don't need the fine details—just know that all of them connect by this main road. Even at a leisurely pace, you can cover everything in about two hours."
"So that means the patrol runs roughly two hours."
"Exactly. In that time you only need to check whether anything on the streets looks like a problem. As I said earlier, that almost never happens."
"And beyond that?"
"Nothing. We'll handle the rest ourselves."
Almost no responsibility for the authority granted—on paper it sounded so easy it bordered on a scam. Well, for an incompetent like me, it was also the perfect kind of work.
Still, I had a conscience of sorts, so I looked around the street just in case something was wrong. The buildings still wore that gloomy air; the merchants beneath them, keeping their stalls going without much life, offered awkward greetings the moment our eyes met.
"Ah... hello."
"You've been working hard."
"Nice morning. Yes..."
Their manner was so deferential that the one receiving the greetings almost felt guilty. But the thieves beside me—true to form as third-rate punks—only jerked their chins and walked on. This clearly wasn't the first or second time something like this had happened.
"Business going well?"
"Yes. Thanks to you... more importantly, the gentleman beside you..."
"He's the one newly appointed. That's all you need to know."
"Ah—yes. I'll keep that in mind."
"...Ahem."
They even dragged me into their circle and introduced me to people. With companions like that, every passerby subtly steered clear of us.
Then, suddenly, I locked eyes with a little girl. She looked at my face, seemed surprised, and reached out a hand.
"Oh—an oppa I've never seen..."
"No. Don't look. Come behind Mommy."
"Haaah."
I'd expected it, but the reaction still stung. Of course, my dear band of thieves paid such gazes not the slightest mind.
"As you can see, it's simple work. Just walk the circuit every day from one to three in the afternoon."
"Still, this is odd. This should be when people are out and about the most, and yet there's barely anyone."
"Most of them work at the harbor."
"Even so—isn't that a school over there? It's lunchtime and not a single kid."
"They're diligent students. They'll be in the classrooms even during break."
Logically nothing was wrong with the answers, yet every one of them left a sour aftertaste. Even so, could a street where people actually lived be this empty?
Compared to our village, where kids ran around every day and adults shouted themselves hoarse, this place might as well have been a dead city. Being in that atmosphere was enough to make even me start feeling depressed.
"So is there nothing else for me to do?"
"Not at present. For now, simply focus on becoming acquainted with the citizens."
"They're all avoiding us. How am I supposed to get acquainted?"
"Word travels fast here. If you keep patrolling like this, everyone will know soon enough."
I might as well have been the clown in a parade formation. Of course, that also made it easy. Where else in the world would you find a job that paid room, board, and wages just for a two-hour daily stroll?
But sitting still like this pricked my conscience. And if I only stayed in a place this gloomy, my personality might twist to match theirs.
Lia spending long stretches in an environment like this couldn't be good for her either.
"Hmm..."
Taking money while ignoring problems that exist is something only thieves do. After a moment's thought I hit on a good idea and lifted my head.
"Come to think of it, you lot came here to help me, didn't you?"
"Yes. That's correct. Though more precisely—"
"Then give me some paper and a pen."
"Pardon? What do you need those for?"
"Less talk, more giving. Hurry up."
They hesitated a little but soon brought pen and paper. Having reconfirmed their place, I began writing out a list.
By the time we reached the vicinity of the school I stopped walking and handed over the finished list. The man read it, then looked up with an expression of pure disbelief.
"What... is this?"
"The list of things I'll need starting today. I wrote them in order of urgency, so take note. Especially the one at the top—I need that right now."
"Why would you need something like this?"
"It's obvious just looking at it. Don't tell me you don't know?"
The moment I finished speaking I strode straight through the school gate. Then, still in a brusque tone, I tossed the words at the thieves who were still hanging back.
"What are you doing? Go get a ball. Quickly."