76 – Count Ash 7
“Sepia, what should we do now?”
“Shouldn’t we walk around and ask the people in the village?”
Sepia took a bite of the sandwich she had just picked up and said.
“That’s too inefficient. How about doing it like this?”
“Huh? How?”
“Like this.”
I fantasized a huge teddy bear much taller than me to attract people’s attention.
[Anyone who knows anything about the villain Cardinal, please come this way!]
A cute voice repeatedly flowed from the teddy bear.
When a huge teddy bear appeared in the middle of the village, the people nearby looked over with surprised eyes.
“If we do this, won’t people come looking for us even if we don’t talk to them and just walk around the village?”
“It’s embarrassing, so walk away!”
As everyone around us stared, Sepia seemed embarrassed, shouted at me, and started running away from me.
“Let’s go together, Miss Sepia!”
Calling out Sepia’s name as she distanced herself, I ran towards her.
“Don’t call my name out loud!”
“What else should I call you if not Miss Sepia?”
[Anyone who knows even a little about the villain Cardinal, please come this way!]
And the large teddy bear clumsily followed us as we ran.
“Isn’t the teddy bear cute?”
“It’s cute when it’s the right size! That one is too big!”
Perhaps because it was the first time the people in the village had seen us running around, or maybe it was because the large teddy bear was clumsily walking, the gazes on us increased as we ran.
Sepia also realized that no matter how much she tried to run away, the gazes of the villagers only increased, so she grabbed my hand and led me to a corner.
“Get rid of that thing quickly!”
Sepia pointed her finger at the clumsily walking teddy bear.
“I put a lot of effort into making it, you know.”
“Quickly!”
[Anyone who knows even a little about the villain Cardinal…]
I stopped the illusion, and the teddy bear made a sound and disappeared.
“Because of you, seriously!”
“But even after saying this, do you think anyone will come?”
“If it’s you, would you go talk to someone carrying such a suspicious teddy bear?”
“Out of curiosity, wouldn’t someone come?”
“Sigh……….”
Sephia sighed in frustration, but honestly, from my perspective, it wasn’t good that someone who had seen the villain Cardinal was coming.
“…Did we enter here, right?”
“Well, we did, but do you really want to say it? They look like really suspicious people.”
Someone approached Sephia and me. Judging by their voices, they seemed like children.
“There they are.”
“I saw the villain Cardinal!”
A child looked at me and Sephia and said.
At that moment, among those who saw me, there seemed to be no child.
“Can I know when you saw him?”
“I saw Cardinal sneaking into the mansion a week before he invaded Lord Marquis’s mansion! I saw him sneaking into the mansion with my own eyes!”
A week ago……
It was the day I stole drugs from Lord Ash. It was my first time here.
It seems like this child is mistaking someone else for the villain Cardinal.
At that moment when I was about to give them something to eat and send them away.
“Are you sure the person you saw was definitely the villain Cardinal?”
“That’s not it… but… clearly, the black clothes with a strange pattern!”
I paused at the child’s words.
Strange pattern on black clothes.
No way…
“It’s obviously suspicious. If that person isn’t the villain Cardinal, there’s no reason for them to sneak into the mansion.”
The child wanted to ask more about the pattern they saw, but didn’t because Sepia was next to them.
Hardly anyone in the Empire knew that the necromancer was still alive.
Sepia would eventually fight the necromancer for revenge, but for now, it might be more dangerous for Sepia to know about the necromancer with her current power.
So, I just played along with the child’s words, gave them something to eat, and sent them away.
After parting ways with the child, Sepia and I asked around other villagers, but we didn’t get any meaningful information.
Soon, it would be time to meet with the special class students.
“Shall we start heading back now?”
“Yes, let’s.”
When Sepia suggested going back, I spoke as if suddenly remembering something urgent.
“Why?”
“When we were eating sandwiches with Sepia earlier, I think I left something behind. I’ll quickly go and get it. You go ahead, Sepia.”
“Should I wait here?”
“It’s okay. There might be others waiting, so if you go first and let them know.”
I said to Sepia and immediately ran into the village.
As I ran through the village, turning my head around, I was able to find the child I had seen earlier.
The child who was next to me seemed to have parted ways, as they were walking alone.
“Huh?”
“I have something to ask, so I came back.”
I spoke directly to the surprised child, getting straight to the point.
“Was the pattern on the clothes something like this, by any chance?”
Hoping it wasn’t, I conjured an image of the skull pattern symbolizing Death Heaven.
“Huh? Yeah, that’s it.”
“…I see.”
The person the child saw probably wasn’t a necromancer. Most likely, they were a subordinate of the necromancer. If the person the child saw was a real necromancer, the child would have already been dead.
After cautioning the child not to tell anyone, I walked towards the place where the special class students were waiting.
“Why are you so late?”
“I was looking for something for a moment. Did you find out anything about the rogue cardinal?”
“No, I didn’t find anything useful. How about you?”
“I didn’t get any helpful information either.”
As we pondered about what to do next,
Lord Ash came personally to inform us that the meal was ready.
Usually, such tasks are assigned to servants, but here, with marquises, dukes, and nobles present, Lord Ash personally took care of it.
“I already had a sandwich earlier, so I’m fine.”
I naturally excused myself from the dining area and headed to the assigned room.
– Swish.
Confirming that there was no one around, I took out the communication device.
And made a call.
After a while, the face of the person I contacted appeared on the communication device.
“Your Majesty.”
From Noble mtl dot com
[You’re supposed to be on a mission right now. What’s happened?]
Originally intending to exchange simple greetings before engaging in conversation, I went straight to the point due to the seriousness of the issue.
“I believe someone has been supplying drugs to Lord Ash.”
[Who might that be?]
The Emperor, hearing my words, spoke with a chilling gaze.
“The Necromancers. It seems they have supported Lord Ash with drugs.”
[Is this information accurate?]
As the words “Necromancers” came out of my mouth, the Emperor furrowed his brow.
“I saw someone from the village wearing attire symbolizing the Necromancers entering the mansion.”
[Is there a possibility that the information is false?]
“There isn’t. The person who saw it was a child, a normal child born and raised in this village.”
[…………………]
The Emperor seemed momentarily lost in thought.
He said nothing.
Perhaps there is some contemplation on how to handle this.
If we capture Lord Ash right away, we might entirely miss the necromancer.
Not capturing him also has its own risks.
“Your Majesty, I have a good idea.”
But for the idea I just had to translate into action, several conditions were necessary.
“Professor Elysia, do you know that the stolen item from Lord Ash by the rogue Cardinal is drugs?”
[I am aware.]
With this, almost all conditions were more or less resolved.
Since Professor Elysia is the most crucial in my plan.
“Your Majesty, although the necromancer himself may not be near Lord Ash, he will undoubtedly be close by. “
If drugs were stolen, the necromancer wouldn’t stay silent.
There’s even a possibility that Lord Ash might unknowingly have someone hiding nearby.
[…… No way.]
The Emperor, as if roughly guessing my plan, looked at me with slightly widened eyes.
“If the rogue Cardinal who stole the drugs reappears, do you think they will stay silent?”
* * *
I don’t know how long the mission will take, but for now, we’ve all decided to stay at Lord Ash’s mansion today.
Even if they are nobles in the borderlands, nobles are nobles.
The mansion, large enough to give each special class student their own room, was indeed owned by a noble.
‘I’ve already told Professor Elysia. It’s time to start moving.’
Just moments ago, after a conversation with Professor Elysia, I secretly slipped out.
Now, all the conditions necessary for the plan have been resolved.
“Are you watching from there?”
As I muttered to myself in the empty air, two figures shrouded in shadows appeared before me.
Earlier, before ending the call with the emperor, I mentioned that I might need the emperor’s shadows monitoring Viscount Ashe, and the emperor readily agreed.
“I’m counting on you.”
“………………”
They bowed their heads in silence.
Just like when I stole drugs from Viscount Ashe last time, I disguised myself as the rogue cardinal.
“Shall we go see what kind of reaction Viscount Ashe will have when I reappear with the drugs?”