Previously: A woman from the underground guild, mistakenly believing Zenos to be the ruler of the slums, was approaching him.
“So, did you find the hideout of the slum’s ruler, Gaion?”
Liz, sitting on a black leather sofa in a cold corner of the underground waterway, asked her large subordinate.
“Uh, well, probably…”
Gaion nodded, looking somewhat troubled.
“Probably…? I hate indecisive men, you know.”
“P-Please don’t hate me.”
“You did exactly as I told you, right?”
“Y-Yes.”
Gaion nodded his head repeatedly.
“As I instructed, you waited for the orc’s comrades to find him unconscious, and then you followed them, right?”
“That’s right. If their comrade was unconscious, they’d rush to take him back to their hideout. Did they seem to remember me?”
“N-No, they didn’t seem to remember very clearly.”
“Well, when my blood is involved, memories tend to become hazy. And then?”
“And then, I followed them and first reached the orc’s hideout.”
He said that the orc’s dwelling was in an area where rocky mountains stood in a cluster.
“Hmm, I expected as much, since gemstone mining is the livelihood of the orc tribe.”
“I-I couldn’t go inside, of course, so I hid outside.”
“During that time, the information that a comrade had fainted during patrol should have reached the orc leader.”
“Y-Yes. So, I was waiting outside for a long time, and I got bored, so I watched a line of ants and tried to count them, but I can only count to ten.”
“I don’t care about that.”
“S-Sorry.”
Liz narrowed her eyes and exhaled a damp breath.
“Around the same time, the information that their subordinates had fainted during patrol should have reached the lizardmen and werewolves as well.”
“Y-Yes.”
“It seems that those three races, who were once in conflict, are now cooperating, so the information that their respective subordinates were knocked unconscious would be shared.”
“Th-That’s right.”
“Naturally, they’d think it was strange.”
“Y-Yes.”
“That’s where the ruler comes in.”
Liz said, crossing her long legs.
“They would think to report the information that the three races were targeted to the ruler.”
“As expected of you, Lady Liz.”
“However, only those of the leader class can probably have a direct audience with the ruler who controls through fear.”
“S-So, I waited for the orc leader, Reve, to come out, and if I followed her, I should have reached the ruler’s hideout.”
Gaion said enthusiastically.
“You understand, at least. You remember Reve’s appearance, right?”
“Y-Yes. I think it was the big woman who was in front during the attack at the festival.”
“That’s why I sent you to attack them. I’m relieved you have enough brains to tell them apart.”
“Th-Thank you!”
“I’m not praising you, though.”
Liz stood up slowly.
“So, you were successful in following Reve?”
“Y-Yes, she was a perceptive woman, so I had to be very careful, but I used several of my men and somehow…”
“Then, you were able to locate the ruler’s hideout, right?”
“I-I think so…”
Liz squinted at Gaion, who was scratching his head.
“I told you I hate indecisive men.”
“S-Sorry! I did find it, I think…”
Gaion said, lowering the corners of his eyebrows in distress.
“It’s just that, it doesn’t feel like the ruler’s hideout…”
“This is the hideout…?”
That evening.
Liz, who had Gaion guide her, muttered in a daze.
The location was a town that had once been destroyed by an epidemic. A ruined town located between the city district and the slums.
“Are you sure this is the right place?”
“Y-Yeah, it’s strange, isn’t it…?”
Liz’s eyes, hiding in the shadows of the dense ruins, were fixed on a single, leaning house. The windowpanes rattled in the wind, and the exterior walls were completely faded.
Looking at the mansion that seemed about to collapse at any moment, Gaion said anxiously.
“I-I’m sure I saw Reve enter here, but… c-could I be wrong?”
“This is bad…”
“B-Bad?”
“Gaion. When you hear ‘ruler’s hideout,’ what do you imagine?”
“W-Well… big, dangerous-looking, with lots of guards…”
“That’s right.”
Liz focused her vigilant eyes on the mansion.
“But, look at this. He’s set up his hideout so inconspicuously in a town that’s already been destroyed. Do you know why?”
“I-Is he short on money?”
“Are you stupid? It means he’s committed to being a ruler in the shadows.”
“I-In the shadows…”
Gaion gulped, and Liz bit her thumbnail.
“This might be a tougher opponent than I thought. I wonder how much malice is swirling inside that mansion.”
“Zenos, good work today. Tea is ready.”
“Oh, thank you, Lily.”
In the clinic that Liz and her group were watching, Zenos and Lily were sitting around the dining table in a relaxed atmosphere.
A moment of relief after work. Lily blew on her cup.
“By the way, what was that talk with Reve-san about?”
“Ah. Apparently, her subordinates were fainting during patrol. Zofia and Ringa came to tell me the same thing.”
“I wonder what happened?”
“Who knows… But they all ate lunch here before going back. I think they’re under the impression that this is some kind of restaurant.”
Zenos lifted his cup and looked around.
“By the way, where’s Camilla? She usually appears right away at tea time.”
“She said she had a premonition and would be waiting on the second floor.”
“I bet she’s thinking about something ridiculous again…”
Zenos took a sip of his tea and looked up.
“Hmm? This tastes different than usual.”
“It does. I tried a new tea leaf, what do you think?”
“Yeah, it’s good. It’s refreshing and easy to drink.”
“Hehe, yay!”
Inside the ruler’s mansion, the atmosphere was endlessly cheerful.
A/N: Overwhelming peace…!