In Search of Clues
The innkeeper, who had been listening to the conversation from a distance, approached and muttered as he hefted a heavy sack.
“Aigoo, you folks brought quite a lot.”
“Could you divide it up for us, sir? If we go door to door ourselves, everyone’s already so wary—they’ll probably just slam their doors and run. They’ll know how to grow the corn, and this is taro root.”
“Got it. Either way, if the yield is good, that’s all that matters. I’m sick of cooking with the same ingredients every day myself.”
Raphael, unlike the day before, gazed at the gently simmering pot and asked,
“Innkeeper. You did put out the fire last night, right? And changed the contents, washed the pot?”
“……”
The innkeeper grinned beneath his beard and silently began moving the sack without answering.
Meanwhile, true to the saying “husband and wife are one,” the innkeeper’s wife brought over a spice jar and pretended to sprinkle something into the pot.
Raphael cried out alone.
“Why… why won’t anyone answer me when I speak!”
Everyone except him burst into laughter, loud and soft alike.
The next day. They had already been here for three mornings, yet found no clues at all.
They had informed the palace they would be gone at least a week, but aside from Lucia, the other three were nobles of high standing even within the capital.
‘Especially since Her Highness the Empress must be waiting anxiously for the Crown Prince’s return.’
Cassel and Raphael, though noble, held knightly positions, so a slight delay in their schedule would be acceptable. Still, thinking of Empress Ranya who only had eyes for Astain, it would be better to return even a day earlier.
‘Is there any good way… Ah.’
When she lifted her gaze, a pair of eyes sparkling like grains of sand filled her vision.
It was Astain.
“Uh…”
“Lady Pay, what are you thinking about?”
She couldn’t very well say she had been worrying about the Crown Prince’s return. After all, the man standing before her had earnestly learned swordsmanship and even carried a short sword—wouldn’t that shatter his illusions too cruelly?
Knowing what it felt like to be treated like a child or ignored, Pay smiled and shook her head.
“It was nothing, Ast.”
Because Astain’s full name was special, they had agreed to call him by the first two syllables. Pay hesitated, then tried it. Astain grinned broadly before getting to the point.
“The innkeeper said he’d share the seeds, but it won’t be easy for the villagers to open their hearts to us right away, correct?”
“Well… yes.”
The carefree crown prince who had been so excited at departure was gone; the man before her was quite serious.
“To get them to tell us anything, we’ll need to produce more visible results.”
“Did you have something in mind, Ast?”
Astain’s eyes curved playfully before he dropped something astonishing.
“A little ways from here lies an old hideout where several bandits have been holed up for quite some time.”
“…Pardon?”
Lucia, sensing the suspicious turn in the conversation, quietly drew closer.
Whether he sat behind Pay and glared or not, Astain earnestly spilled the information he had gathered.
“They’ve apparently been settled around here for over thirty years. Whenever active bandits grow too old and weak, they replenish their numbers with new swordsmen who drift in, maintaining their strength. Shouldn’t we verify this?”
“Where did you hear that?”
There was no guild here, and the villagers were busy avoiding them—who could have told him?
“The innkeeper!”
Oh no, my head.
Pay clutched her throbbing temples.
From the moment the word “bandits” appeared, Lucia’s gaze had turned sharp. He spoke.
“Isn’t that the sort of matter the local lord should handle? If it’s truly difficult, he could hire outside mercenaries. We haven’t been provoked, so poking around unnecessarily will only drag us into troublesome affairs.”
“Lucia is right, Ast. I hope it gets resolved, but how many times have people jumped into matters no one else would touch only to be left cleaning up the mess afterward?”
Be the first to step forward for unpleasant tasks and become a kind neighbor. Help others and live virtuously, and you’ll be blessed.
Adults taught children such words as lessons to manage them, but if one followed them literally… Pay smiled bitterly.
What it felt like to have the beliefs one had been taught as right denied—better that no one else knew but her.
“…Lady Pay, what kind of life have you lived?”
A quiet, worried voice came from the side.
Oh. Lord Cassel… Was he nearby?
Pay’s throat tightened and she pressed her lips shut.
Even when she dwelled on her gloomy past, tears no longer welled up every time, but she honestly had no confidence she wouldn’t cry if she spoke aloud. In front of Cassel, her emotions would likely stir even more.
Lucia, noticing the shift in her feelings, stood and blocked her view.
Then, in an uncharacteristically gentle tone, he chided,
“Why ask something that sours the mood?”
“……”
“Bandits, you say. It’s certainly negligence if the lord’s side left it unattended as they should have. To leave them alone for decades, allowing them to grow their forces and replenish their ranks—it’s hard to believe.”
When Pay hesitated to answer, Cassel quickly changed the subject, though his eyes remained filled with concern for her.
The very person who had been watching the situation from afar—the innkeeper—approached and confessed.
“By law it may be so, but it’s no easy matter, dear guests. Our territory lies on the empire’s frontier, and outsiders come and go frequently, making complete eradication difficult. There are at least two knights over there, aren’t there?”
“If they’re knights, they’d be at the lord’s residence.”
The innkeeper shook his head at once. Even though the only guests were them, his voice lowered further as he spoke the truth.
“They’re only concerned with the bare minimum of guarding near the lord’s residence and the borders. They have no interest in what those who’ve already slipped inside are doing! Even when groups leave the territory and commit crimes, or bring in suspicious cargo wagons, they do nothing.”
“They leave the territory freely without any restrictions?”
“Exactly. So it’s no wonder rumors spread that they receive bribes from behind and keep quiet.”
Cargo wagons? Then they were venturing deeper inland to plunder?
“Now is the perfect time to eliminate them. Their forces were much larger before, but they haven’t taken in young recruits for a long while. And it seems they’ve caused trouble again recently.”
“What did they do, and where?”
At Cassel’s question, the innkeeper pulled over a chair and sat down fully.
“If you go a bit further west from here, there used to be the Viscounty of Caris. Not long ago, the entire place burned down overnight. If it weren’t for the accompanying priests who happened to be staying here, no one would have even collected and buried the remains. Everyone was too busy with their own affairs to care.”
“…The Viscounty of Caris?”
A noble house reduced to ruin by fire in a single day?
“Mm. Want to hear more?”
The innkeeper was seasoned, as expected from his years.
Pay, knowing nothing, nodded.
“Yes.”
“Those bandits I mentioned earlier number at most around ten. Their forces have dwindled greatly compared to before! If you wipe them out and return, I’ll tell you everything I know without holding back. Besides, those priest guests stayed at our inn, so no one knows more than I do.”
“Enough. Let’s just go there ourselves.”
When Lucia curved his lips in a chilling smile, the innkeeper’s gestures grew frantic.
“Hey now, such a hasty temper. You guests look like capable fighters—wouldn’t it be good to deal with those fellows while you’re at it?”
The innkeeper spoke as if making an outright demand.
“It was a while ago, but as you said, the lord’s residence even put a bounty on them. Earn money, do a good deed, and get information—what could be better?”
“Don’t tell me you tried dangling the same bait in front of those priests who stayed here and failed?”
At Lucia’s question, the innkeeper wore an awkward expression.
“Well… I did ask, but they said they must refrain from killing as a matter of principle.”
“……”
“What do you want to do? Think only about whether you want to or not.”
Lucia said, looking at Pay.
Around ten bandits, or fewer… Could I handle them with my skills?
Pay pondered inwardly.
She had practiced magic countless times by now. Yet she had never cast lethal spells against actual people, so the sudden prospect of real combat was undeniably daunting.
‘Capturing them alive won’t be easy. And… I need to decide whether I want to do this without relying on Lord Cassel, Lucia, or Sir Raphael—whether I can stand on my own. Mm.’
“……”
‘What is it?’
Cassel noticed that Lucia’s gaze as he watched the pondering Pay was far from ordinary.
He knew the man was Pay’s colleague from the Magic Tower.
Though details hadn’t been shared, it was clear he ranked higher than the Drakan Pay kept by her side.
His magical prowess was said to be that of a 7th-circle master, so he would certainly be helpful when near Pay, but—
‘Why is he looking at Lady Pay like that? Surely not?’
Was he seeing her as a woman?
The dark, deep eyes that pretended to be calm endlessly searched Pay’s light-green ones.
Though not a sticky or sinister gaze, Cassel felt a quiet anger rise.
And he was flustered.
‘Why… am I arbitrarily judging Lady Pay’s relationships and getting angry?’
He had long since recognized that he cherished Pay.
His feelings toward her were not romantic; he simply wished for her well-being and wanted to protect her from all danger. That was why he had tried to prevent her private meeting with Raphael.
Was it because he had once nearly mistaken Lucia for a dragon?
‘No, an ancient dragon described as arrogant dozens of times wouldn’t disguise himself as a mere 7th-circle mage.’
Cassel had come close to the truth only to veer away.
‘If it were the former Tower Master who once broke a mana measuring device, that would be another story. But this Lucia couldn’t possibly be that Lucia.’
“Mm, I’ll do it.”
His thoughts were interrupted by Pay’s resolve.
When she made her decision, the innkeeper’s face brightened considerably.
“Oh, guest. Truly?”
“If we count and there turn out to be more than ten, did you think about what you’ll do then, old man?”
At Lucia’s question, his eyes saying “I knew you’d say that,” Pay’s eyes widened.
“Pardon? Do I need to think about that too?”
“Of course. Do you think there’s only one or two bandit dens where they hand you a cheap commission with lousy pay, only for you to find the place swarming with monsters when you actually go?”
She lowered her voice.
“Have you ever been through something like that, Lucia? When?”
“Hmph.”