40 – Auction (5)
40th Episode
Thrown a taunt at the Spirit King, what is this…
It was hard to distinguish whether the story of the Spirit King was real or a joke. However, soon the Spirit King himself lightly burst into laughter and told the story as if it were a joke.
“hahahaha, still a good response to tease.”
“…What?”
…What, did he just tease me?
“It was a joke. Since you’re the only guy here at the party, isn’t it natural that you’re the only one who would make such a joke?”
Those words sounded real, unlike a mere joke. Moreover, I could sense that Letitia, who was next to me, was a bit surprised.
It was something subtly ambiguous to call it a joke, but I couldn’t argue or say anything because I had no recollection of it.
“…Is that so?”
“Stop with the jokes, Elysia. I have something else to ask of you.”
Letitia, the Elemental Queen, pointed to the people and made a request.
“Please check if there are any elemental mages here.”
“Hmm, I don’t like getting involved in matters concerning the commoners’ contracts.”
“Even if they’ve been used for evil deeds?”
“Evil deeds, you say.”
“The spirits were used in the theft of auction items.”
Observing Letitia quietly, the Spirit King spoke.
“I see.”
She glanced at the people and then approached a man among the laborers with a light smile.
“There has been a reason for your displeasure since I appeared.”
“…!”
“This person made a contract with the land’s inhabitants.”
“Damn it!”
The man immediately took out something from his embrace and sharpened it.
“How can there be a Spirit King…!”
“It must be a smoke bomb.”
It seemed like a plan to set off a large amount of smoke bombs and escape through the gap. However, the man couldn’t even throw the smoke bomb he took out from his pocket onto the ground.
Because one of his arms was completely frozen. The man looked at the Spirit King in front of him with a startled expression, and she smiled wickedly, seemingly enjoying his reaction.
“Not a pretty sight when you’re struggling.”
“Argh!!”
Even though no skill activation message appeared, his arm was frozen in an instant.
“So this is the power of the Spirit King….”
From witnessing that, there was one fact he came to know. The difference in power between summoning the Four Spirits and summoning the Spirit King was significant.
I knew it wasn’t electricity, but I never expected there to be such a difference…
Can I really assist them within a month and a half?
Thanks to the domination of the Spirit King, we immediately began interrogating the suspect we apprehended.
“I don’t know anything!”
“Even if you cover up all your crimes and end up dead, is that okay with you?”
“Don’t say ridiculous things. Just because I’ll share the blame doesn’t mean I won’t die!”
However, the man was more resilient than I thought. Whether he was trying to uphold loyalty or if he believed that even if he died, his remaining acquaintances or family would be rewarded, I couldn’t tell…
“…He’s not opening his mouth easily.”
“It’s getting a bit frustrating.”
“What?”
When I asked, Caecius said.
“Isn’t it a simple matter to solve by inflicting pain?”
“…Torture, you mean?”
“Wasn’t that a method humans often used anyway?”
In this world, it may be a common method. However, having led a life distant from things like torture, I did feel a slight reluctance.
So, as I hesitated for a moment, Erin, who was standing beside me, spoke up.
“What the dragon says is right.”
“…Erin?”
“Since I lost it, I’ll take responsibility and figure it out~?”
Erin grabbed the back of the man’s clothes and dragged him somewhere, bigger than himself.
“Where are we going?”
“Allen, then let’s explore this area. Aria and Clara have searched it but, just in case. There’s something that said the criminal will come back to the scene?”
“Oh, okay.”
“Elysia, please go home now.”
At Letitia’s request, the king of the spirits spoke as if he were too much.
“You summoned me for the first time in a long time, and you’re asking me to leave in less than an hour.”
“My magical power is low.”
“It’s just exaggeration since you don’t even fight and only stay in the real world. What’s the problem?”
“Don’t I have to listen to what my contractor says?”
The spirit king let out a sigh at Leticia’s firm attitude.
“You’re pushing too hard.”
Although he expressed regret, he didn’t seem to have any intention of not listening to Leticia, who was his contractor.
From the tips of her hair, Leticia began to transform again into particles of light, and soon her figure completely dispersed into small particles and disappeared.
However, if it was as the spirit king said, it didn’t seem like such a burden just to be in the human realm, so Leticia was curious as to why she had to return so firmly.
“Is it that difficult?”
“Pardon?”
“I was curious whether just being in the human realm consumes a lot of magical
Leticia’s magical stat is on par with that of a warrior. I found it strange that even with such a high magical stat, maintaining it seemed difficult and inefficient.
However, Leticia’s response was unexpected.
“It’s bigger than the four major elemental spirits.”
“Well… I guess so? But that’s not what I wanted to ask.”
“Just because summoning me to this world made my magical power insufficient? Of course not. It’s different when I enter battle.”
“Then why bother…?”
She seemed to want to stay outside like that. I wondered if I could grant her that request.
In response to my question, Leticia answered as if it were obvious.
“I can’t whip the Elemental King.”
“……?”
I recalled a fact that I had momentarily forgotten. She had been showing a normal appearance recently, so I hadn’t realized it for a moment.
“Elemental reinforcement doesn’t work on the Elemental King. Swinging the whip is meaningless. So, she can’t even use the whip.”
Letitia was a severe sadist who became an elemental mage because she enjoyed whipping. There was no preference for an elemental that couldn’t use a whip.
“…Crazy woman.”
It meant casually weakening her power for her own preferences. For the first time in a while, I thought she wasn’t in her right mind.
“Let’s go outside for now.”
“But can we leave it just to Erin?”
“…There shouldn’t be any problem.”
Upon hearing Leticia’s response, Frey nodded slightly.
“I probably won’t be able to endure it if it’s anything serious.”
Is it really that bad? It’s hard to imagine a child like her tormenting someone, even if she acts tough…
“aaahhh!!!”
Suddenly, a scream echoed from inside the auction house. Startled, I turned to look in that direction, realizing it was the same way Erin had taken the man a while ago.
“Am I right?”
“…Seems like it.”
Just by hearing that sound, one could roughly imagine the expression on the man’s face. The image of him contorted in pain and groaning automatically came to mind.
…There were only truly terrifying women.
Frey continued to calm and monitor the people whose feet were bound inside the auction house, while Letitia and I stepped outside.
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s explore the area connected to the underground passage.”
That doesn’t seem like a bad idea. After a few steps, we found a place where Imperial soldiers were gathered. As we approached, a passionate soldier blocked our way.
“Do not approach there! It’s off-limits!”
“Oh, it’s okay. They are my fellow warriors.”
“Oops.”
The soldier bowed deeply, apologizing.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know!”
With a young and vibrant face, and a strong air of military bearing… He felt like a soldier who had recently joined.
“No, that’s not it. Actually, I wanted to see the scene for a moment. Is it alright?”
“Yes, of course!”
The soldier made way, and I quietly spoke to Letitia.
“I guess I’m a rookie.”
“That’s true.”
Letitia said lightly with a smile.
“Usually when people start something new, they’re passionate.”
“…Was I like that too?”
“What?”
Letitia looked slightly bewildered by my question. Why would she be flustered?
“…It seems like Alen was, maybe.”
They all react differently when it comes to talking about ‘Alen’ as if there’s really something there. Letitia, of course, and other people too, myself included… actually, people’s reactions become subtle when talking about ‘Alen’.
As I observed such a reaction, there was only one possibility that came to mind, along with what Cassius had mentioned.
“Changing souls….”
The possibility of party members swapping the souls of the baggage carrier ‘Allen’ and myself.
Although it seemed unlikely that they would know about secretive magic that existed in places like the forbidden area of the royal library…
Then why did the party members react this way? Even when they saw me unable to remember something that should be obvious, they acted as if nothing was wrong.
…As soon as this matter is resolved, I will need to ask about it. It bothers me and I can’t just let it go.
Letitia looked around, including the exit of the underground passage, but she couldn’t find any significant clues. She raised her body as if feeling frustrated.
“It’s hard to find anything other than traces of elemental power being used. I think it would be better to wait until Erin’s questioning is over.”
“Is that so?”
“Allen, Leticia!”
There was a person calling for us at that moment. Bright and lively, yet… I could immediately tell who it was from the voice that carried a hint of alcohol.
“Aria? Already here?”
“hahahahaha, I rushed right back!”
It was Aria, who had gone out for external tracking. However, she came back quickly, empty-handed.
“What did you bring?”
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“Oh, I put it in my pocket!”
She rummaged in her pants pocket and took something out.
“This!”
“This is…”
What on earth is that? It was a decoration with three black stars hanging on a white stick.
Unlike me, who couldn’t recognize it, Letitia narrowed her eyes slightly and said,
“…It seems to be associated with the underworld.”
“The underworld?”
The underworld. It referred to the violent criminal organizations commonly known as the dark world. It seemed that the badge Cesaria had brought belonged to a member of the underworld organization.
“I’m sure there was a quest related to the underworld.”
So it wasn’t strange, but it felt like the timing of that quest had been moved forward a bit. Perhaps because a variable named Yongok had appeared.
And this ties were to an organization of the underworld, which I did not know. I knew from quests, and from one place that I tried to get hidden pieces. There were a total of three places.
None of the three wore a symbol like this.
Even if I don’t know where, it seems easy if it’s an underworld organization.
“It’s a criminal organization in the underworld. Just clean them up and bring the treasure.”
“But…it could be annoying if we mess with them.”
“Huh? Why?”
Are they a giant organization beyond imagination? The true rulers of that underworld that go to hell if they mess with them?
“They are rumored to be an organization that the Shazar Kingdom, the enemy of the Bastian Kingdom, is looking out for. The size of the organization is not that big.”
“…The kingdom is looking out for an underworld organization?”
“It’s a shadow of the royal family that covers all the dirty work for the organization in the darker parts of the city.”
Letizia concluded her speculation.
“This incident… The duke who stirred up trouble to prevent the hostile Bastian kingdom from selling dragonstones and making a fortune. ”
I was slightly taken aback.
“Then, if we touch the dragonstone and try to retrieve it…”
“It could develop into a diplomatic issue between the Duren Empire and the Shaz Jars Kingdom. Of course, the Shaz Jars Kingdom would not recognize their association with them, but we cannot exclude the possibility of getting involved somehow.”
“But we can’t just give up the dragonstone. If we give up the dragonstone…”
I looked over to my side.
“There’s no reason to spare Caius, is there?”
When I said that, Caius snapped and said, “Wait, I kept my promise! It’s not my fault that humans can’t take care of what they are given. Why am I being blamed for it?”
“It was a joke.”
“…Don’t make such a scary joke.”
He seemed to be a coward in a subtle way.
“Of course, I can’t give up. In that case, I have a few robes… No, I don’t mean that I’m going to buy a robe.”
It seemed like his true feelings had just come out.
Sera-Aria also strongly agreed with Letitia’s opinion.
“Well, I can’t give up! How many bottles of alcohol is that?”
Hide your true intentions.
“But you said not to mess with it. What are we going to do?”
“Well, we’ve got some pretty useful cards up our sleeves.”
“What?”
“Our party is all part of the Empire, so if we touch it, it could turn into an Imperial diplomatic problem. But…”
Leticia looked at Caesius next to me.
“If a dragon in its prime wiped out a dark organization that was bothering it, could that be a problem for the kingdom and the empire?”
“…Ah.”
Leticia is quite smart as expected. There was a reason why she had the highest intelligence stat among the party members.
“However, finding the source might make that possible.”
“…If that’s the case, it’s fine.”
“What!?”
Before I knew it, Clara was behind me. Couldn’t she at least give a signal when she comes over…?
“Huh? What’s this, Clara?”
“I chased him down and caught one.”
In her clutches was a man being dragged along, his eyes rolled back and unconscious… It seemed like he had been through something terrible.
“If we ask this guy, maybe we can find out.”
“I’d appreciate it if you could guide us!”
…Do you mind if I ask a favor?
Anyway, the fact was that the trap had been activated. There seemed to be a glimpse of a possibility to find the lost gem.
“There’s no reason to delay.”
“Yes, as soon as Erin’s interrogation is over, I will talk to the Duke and arrange for us to come.”
“The Duke’s side lost it, but we’re the ones who have to find it.”
When I said that, Ser-Aria laughed heartily and said,
“That’s just how adventurer parties work!”
“Catching thieves?”
“Yes! hahahahaha!”
It was a story that I didn’t know whether to laugh at or not.
“Caesius.”
“Speak up.”
“You’ve heard the story. Can you do it?”
“Are you asking about the possibility?”
“There’s that too.”
Caesius glanced at him with a slight squint in his eyes before nodding lightly and saying, “If that’s an order.”
“Good.”
Trying to sell off a dragon pearl requires even looting the dark underworld organization… It’s really not easy to make money.
“Let’s get our money back quickly.”
“Okay!”