The Back-Alley Fixer, Allen Inarius
Whoosh, thud!
Queen Wednesday hurled Bail by the scruff of his neck in front of the ruined bakery.
Bail, soaked in blood, crawled forward with desperate effort.
As if there was something he had to do no matter what—even if his life ended right there.
Scrape, drag.
“Ugh… hic…!”
Gritting his teeth, he crawled until he finally stopped.
The place he halted, leaving a thick trail of blood on the ground, was right beside a smashed cake that had fallen onto the dirt.
From the collapsed bakery, another pool of blood gathered as if to mock the tragedy.
“Ah… this is… the carrot cake I liked the most…”
“Hey, what the hell are you—”
Queen Wednesday couldn’t understand. Was he trying to replenish sugar in a situation like this?
But Bail reached out anyway.
With trembling hands, he began tearing off pieces of the ruined cake and stuffing them into his mouth.
His throat kept clogging, yet he forced himself to swallow.
He wanted to taste even a little more of that sweetness.
Because soon, he would finally get to see the daughter he had missed so terribly.
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
Bail sobbed out his apology.
It was his first and last apology—to Queen, to his daughter, and to everyone, including the bakery owner.
Queen approached the pitiful man who kept tearing at the cake.
“One question. Who exactly gave you the power of the Successor?”
“That person can go anywhere. Hngh… unbound, free.”
“What…?”
“But that’s not what matters. There’s someone even further behind… the family… kuh, kuhk!”
Bail coughed.
It also meant he didn’t have much time left to breathe.
Strength drained from his hands.
His vision blurred, and even the sweetness of the cake he loved so much faded away.
The last thing that surfaced in his mind was his daughter’s face.
—Dad, whenever you miss me, eat something sweet and cheer up, okay? Geez, I’m so jealous of you. You don’t even gain weight from sweets!
Her cheeks puffed up in envy, yet she had always cherished her father more than anyone—his precious daughter, Justitia.
As if she had come back to life and stood right in front of him.
Bail shed tears and nodded.
“It’s really delicious, Justitia. Can we meet now? When we do… will you eat a cake with this old man…?”
His breath slowly faded, and at last he buried his face into the ground.
Without the slightest movement, he quietly drew his final breath.
Queen clicked her tongue as she watched.
“So that’s the end of it.”
She turned her back, waiting for the notification that would appear soon.
What exactly had Bail been trying to say?
Who gave him the power, and what family stood behind them?
‘For some reason, I feel like this connects to the family Alonzo trusted and followed…’
Just as that thought crossed her mind—
Clip-clop, clip-clop!
The urgent sound of hooves rang out.
She thought the lord and his soldiers had finally arrived, but only one person appeared.
Even his attire looked far too shabby to belong to the lord’s soldiers.
Thud!
The man who dismounted glared at Queen, like a local rejecting an outsider.
“Who are you? A hero?!”
Emergency Quest ‘As My True Self’ Cleared!
Reward: 100000 SP Obtained!
Random High-Grade Item ×3 Obtained!
Her points had skyrocketed in an instant. Wow, with this much she could spend without holding back. Jackpot.
On top of that, she had secured items to use for raising her rank in the future. With this, there was nothing to fear!
But first, she had to deal with the man standing in front of her.
He had suddenly dismounted and pulled out a badge. He looked exactly like a sheriff straight out of a western.
“What’s that?”
“I’m someone hired by Baron Womchester. The name’s Allen Inarius. I’m no knight, so don’t bother with titles.”
“Queen. I’m a hero.”
“A hero? A woman?”
Allen tilted his head as if he couldn’t comprehend it.
Queen ignored him.
He was deliberately trying to dismiss her.
‘Now’s not the time for this.’
Allen’s gaze toward her had changed.
“You really went and did it, Bail. I’ll have to arrest you on the spot. The magistrates are going to be disappointed.”
“Why do you have that badge? That’s the Womchester family seal.”
“I already told you. I was hired.”
Allen widened his eyes, wearing an expression that said “don’t question it.”
Queen disliked him from the very first impression.
Why would a noble house overflowing with talent send someone like this?
She didn’t even remember this guy appearing in the original story.
Allen gave a hollow laugh.
“Wondering why I came? It’s only natural.”
“What’s natural about it?”
“This incident could become a weakness or a flaw for Baron Womchester. So if someone connected to the family handled it, it might damage the family’s name.”
“Are you out of your mind? Look around. How many residents are dead? Monsters even showed up!”
Bail had probably opened the underground passage.
Then he lured the monsters in and caused this disaster.
He had even nearly stolen the Life Tree.
From Baron Womchester’s perspective, it was enough to drive him mad.
Right before the Life Tree struggle, he had shown a weakness.
Yet Allen merely laughed lightly, as if it didn’t concern him.
“So what if they died?”
“What…?”
“We’ll just say they died protecting the World Tree, the symbol of the territory. That way, no one has to feel wronged.”
Queen let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
Was this bastard seriously saying that with a straight face?
Reading her expression, Allen calmly explained.
“See? Now you get it. I’m not a family member—I’m just a hired fixer. I’ll report that the residents died fighting sudden monsters while trying to protect the Life Tree. That saves the Womchester family’s face, and since I’m not officially connected, there won’t be any suspicion of report tampering.”
“What are you talking about? You said you were hired.”
“Being part of the family and being temporarily hired are two very different things. I’m always a disposable pawn. What would you do if you were a noble?”
Allen Inarius spoke with self-mockery.
The point was that both he and the Womchester family could come out as winners.
Queen sighed and shook her head.
“Unbelievable. Baron Womchester… I didn’t think he was like that.”
“Did you think he was some righteous hero? There’s no such noble in this world. They’re all parasites who only look out for their own rice bowls.”
“Oh? You can say that?”
“Worry about yourself instead. You look like some nobody hero.”
Allen had been needling her from the start. He crossed his arms.
“A passing hero suddenly subdued and killed Bail? That doesn’t make sense.”
“It’s true, though.”
“Who knows? Maybe you were his accomplice and betrayed him when your opinions clashed. Am I wrong?”
“Wow, you’re a full-blown bureaucrat to the bone.”
Allen nodded.
“If that’s the case—or even if it isn’t—it gets complicated. You’re not a resident here, are you? But Bail was.”
Queen felt the situation turning strange.
She heard someone approaching from behind. Turning around, she saw Winz.
“Um, what’s going on?”
When Winz appeared, Allen pointed at her.
“A companion? And she’s even an elf. This is something—an outsider woman and an elf causing trouble in someone else’s territory?”
Queen was dumbfounded.
What was he trying to pull?
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“An unknown hero from outside fought and killed a former hero who lived here, even if he was after the Life Tree. You weren’t even officially commissioned, right?”
“That’s true. There was no commission.”
Originally, she had met Bail because Renoir asked her to. It wasn’t an official request. The guild had also treated this incident as unofficial.
“See? Then you only had the authority to subdue Bail, not the right to kill him. That’s the job of magistrates or the lord.”
“…Isn’t that the ‘Resident Illumination Law,’ one of the empire’s evil laws?”
“Hah, even a hero wannabe knows about that? Correct!”
Allen clapped back like a professor who had gotten the answer he wanted.
Queen glared at him.
‘Is he really just a fixer who plays detective? What kind of fixer knows the law this well? Was he a former magistrate?’
No. A magistrate who just banged his gavel and took money wouldn’t bother becoming a fixer.
Something felt off.
Just then, Winz stepped forward.
“Wait a moment! If we—Ahem, if Lady Queen hadn’t stepped in, the damage would’ve been much worse! Why are you doing this to us?”
“Save the emotional appeals for the courtroom. This is a serious matter on its own, so I’ll report it immediately. No hard feelings, but understand. I’m just a hired man.”
Allen smiled as if to say he was only doing his job, so deal with it.
Winz turned to Queen, watching the irritating man grin.
“Miss, what do we do? Who exactly is that guy?”
Queen gave her a rough explanation.
After listening, Winz tilted her head.
“But why do you look so relaxed?”
Because she had something to rely on.
She was glad she was the eldest daughter of the family and had sorted out the hierarchy before coming here.
Because there was one more evil law in this empire.
Well, there were plenty, but—
“By the way, Allen, there’s something you don’t know.”
“What? Don’t tell me you’re planning to weasel out of this.”
“Unfortunately, it’s funny that a fixer wannabe is acting like he knows everything about this incident for his report.”
“I already told you. I was hired. Only temporarily, though.”
Allen shrugged. But that wasn’t what mattered.
What mattered was another evil law Allen needed to know.
Queen pointed at him and sneered.
“I can do whatever I want. I have every right to. So get lost.”
“Huh? Did you hit your head or something?”
“Imperial Law, Resident Illumination Law, Special Clause: Participants in the war for the Life Tree—family heads and heirs—shall be granted privileges equivalent to an officially recognized imperial field commander when necessary. It’s a system born from the aftereffects of the empire pushing the war for the Life Tree, but still.”
Allen’s mocking expression crumbled.
That’s right. Under this evil law, she could rampage here without consequence.
“W-Wait, don’t tell me…?”
Queen burst out laughing at the dumbfounded Allen.
How’s that, you idiot?