Chapter 106

“Did you sleep well last night?”

Quilbion smiled while looking at Kuhard sitting on the opposite sofa.

“Yes. I spent the night comfortably. The inn your son recommended was very pleasant.”

He hadn’t actually slept, but he’d spent the night comfortably regardless. Watching Idril snore enthusiastically was entertaining in its own way. The part where he stopped breathing while coughing was also worth seeing.

“The guards discovered two charred bodies this morning. Strangely enough, only their arms were burned.”

“I see.”

“Since they’re villages adjacent to the castle, we pay quite a bit of attention to public order, but there are parts of human nature that can’t be governed by law.”

“That’s true.”

“Thank you for cleaning that up.”

Quilbion smiled after drinking his coffee and asked.

“What if I killed the wrong people?”

“That couldn’t be. They were guys entangled in various affairs in the back alleys. It was a bitter relationship where I knew they needed to be dealt with but had to leave them alone.”

“Then I suppose that’s how it is. Though it wouldn’t really matter either way.”

Quilbion looked into Kuhard’s eyes. Facing him made it certain. Those two bugs that had suddenly appeared were sent by Kuhard.

“Regarding the wanted serial killer, we need to investigate a bit more on our end, but since the face resembles him so closely, it’ll be difficult to immediately withdraw suspicion.”

“You don’t need to be mindful of me. There must be rules for the territory.”

“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.”

“Ah, but I also need to find things out through that friend, so would it be alright if I keep him with me for the time being?”

“As long as Lord Quilbion is holding onto him, we won’t make it an issue.”

“It’s embarrassing to say this after telling you not to be mindful, but.”

“As long as we coordinate beforehand, it’s fine, so please speak freely.”

Kuhard gestured. A woman who’d been standing hesitantly by the office door approached.

“She’s a friend who worked as a librarian at Nata’s Royal Library. She’s interested in all sorts of things and lives with a lot stored in her head.”

Quilbion extended his hand while looking at the woman wearing large glasses.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Quilbion.”

“I’m Elcoco. You can call me El or Coco, whichever is more comfortable.”

“I’ll call you Coco.”

“Okay.”

Elcoco stepped backward and lost her balance, swaying greatly. Fortunately, she didn’t fall.

“You seem to have no athletic ability—watch where you’re walking.”

“Do that.”

Only after Kuhard’s words fell did Elcoco turn around and leave the office.

“You should be able to obtain what you need through her.”

“The debts in my ledger keep growing. What are you planning to ask of me?”

“It’s about the frontier land I mentioned before.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Kuhard spread out a rolled map.

“This is the territory I govern, and this is where we’ve been conducting the settlement project. The first wave of settlers found suitable land and settled for now, but……”

Kuhard pressed his index finger firmly on the map while trailing off.

“What kind of problem occurred?”

“About half of them died.”

“The cause of death?”

“We can’t figure it out. It wasn’t bandits attacking, nor was it a pack of beasts covering the village. There are no traces on the corpses.”

“That’s peculiar.”

“I tried to hire a competent spirit mage to assess the situation, but things got tangled and the spirit mage who was supposed to visit went to Nata instead. It’s a common occurrence. Many people in need, limited resources.”

Kuhard smiled bitterly.

“Are the fleeing settlers survivors from that place?”

“Yes. I called them to the territory to observe the situation before sending them back, but they chose to flee during the return journey.”

Kuhard paused briefly while looking into Quilbion’s eyes.

“Does this situation and my decision make you uncomfortable?”

“Are you trying to gauge my disposition?”

“Yes. Misunderstandings could arise, after all. I know that ways of treating people differ by region. Some places prohibit slavery while others like this one keep it legal. If you feel uncomfortable about executing a few territory residents who don’t follow orders to set an example……”

Quilbion shook his head.

“I don’t particularly like people. I also understand killing them if necessary. Like those things last night.”

In some cracks, ordinary citizens elected national rulers.

But in some places, only those of noble blood could exercise voting rights, and commoners faced execution the moment they made political statements.

Still, places where intelligent beings led politics were relatively decent.

In some cracks, they lit ducks’ tails on fire and decided national matters based on how long the ducks survived.

Having experienced all sorts of things, he’d become able to accept most anything.

Humans killing humans and using fear as a political tool?

That fell on the very acceptable side.

“That puts my mind much more at ease.”

He saw the tension drain from Kuhard’s shoulders.

“You want me to go and find out what’s happening?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“There’s a very high probability the results will differ from expectations. I’m not that impressive a guy. I might also return without discovering anything.”

“Then we’ll have to find another method. But I believe Lord Quilbion will resolve this matter.”

“I’m curious about the basis for that belief.”

“Intuition. My intuition is quite accurate.”

“Intuition. I also have fairly good intuition.”

“What do you think, Lord Quilbion? Do you think this matter will be resolved well?”

“Mm.”

Quilbion sent his gaze to the map and spoke.

“I think I’ll know once I see it.”

“I’ll form an inspection team. When would be convenient?”

“Let’s depart in two days.”

“Understood.”

Quilbion stood up after finishing his coffee and spoke.

“Did that verification about me finish with those two yesterday?”

“Yes.”

Kuhard answered firmly.

“Now I completely understand what kind of person Kuhard is.”

“I also think I finally know what kind of person Lord Quilbion is. From now on, I’ll interact with you with a bit less tension.”

“Do that.”

Quilbion left a nod of greeting and departed.

*

“Ms. Coco.”

“Please speak comfortably. The head of the household emphasized several times that you’re a very honored guest.”

“Alright.”

Quilbion leaned back in his chair while looking at the books filling the room.

“You must have a lot of money. Books are expensive.”

“I’m investing most of my salary here.”

“Investing?”

“Yes. Even if books lose their form, knowledge is eternal. Since it’s a commodity that doesn’t lose value, you could call it an excellent investment.”

Even so, isn’t this too many?

He had the vague thought that if he sold all the books here, he could build an enormous garden.

Elcoco’s voice was brimming with pride. Looking at her slightly raised chin, he spoke.

“Do you know what goblins are?”

“Goblins? Those things that appear in folk tales and fairy tales?”

“Yeah, those goblins.”

“I know of them. Mystical creatures.”

“Do you think they actually exist?”

“Not at all. Nobody’s ever met a goblin.”

“Among the books you’ve read or rumors you’ve encountered, anything about goblins? Someone who met them, or someone who spent time in a strange place and returned.”

“As far as I know, there haven’t been stories like that.”

Quilbion changed his question.

“Dogma. Ever heard of it?”

“I know about dogmas. Demons that spread curses.”

“Demons?”

“Yes. Ah, come to think of it, there are a few organizations that call dogmas goblins too.”

Elcoco looked around at the books stacked across the wall before saying ah and bending down.

“Just a moment. I need to pull this out.”

She was struggling while gripping a brown book. Quilbion formed hand seals and moved his pupils.

“Wh-whoa!”

As the books floated up, Elcoco made a dumbfounded sound and stepped back.

“Is this the right one?”

Quilbion asked while gripping the brown book.

“Yes, that’s it.”

The books that had floated settled back down. Elcoco fanned away the rising dust with her hand while speaking.

“How did you do that?”

“Just think of it as magic.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘just’ in the world.”

“There is. Since it exists, finish your explanation.”

“……Okay.”

She wore a sulky expression for a moment but soon completely fixed her complexion and spoke.

“There are a few organizations that hunt dogmas. Since they work so quietly, ordinary people don’t really know about them. Some people even call them fraudulent groups.”

“Really?”

Elcoco opened the brown book. She flipped through pages before her finger stopped.

There was a drawing. It was in human form but painted entirely black.

“This is a dogma. A demon that hates humans.”

Quilbion read the explanatory text. It was the most common story about mythology. A demon that hated humans escaped the god’s hand and so on and so forth.

“I roughly understand the origin of the name, but what about organizations that hunt dogmas?”

“The only one I know is ‘White Wagon.’ As I mentioned beforehand, they work very quietly, and their achievements aren’t the kind that show outwardly either, so there’s almost no information. Actually, just knowing the name White Wagon is fairly impressive.”

Coco raised her chin again.

“Calling it an organization means there are quite a few humans hunting dogmas, and people moving means costs are incurred—who covers the operating expenses? Do individuals make money on their own to do activities? You’re saying they voluntarily step forward to do work that isn’t even socially recognized? Using their own money?”

“……Shall I look into it for you?”

“No. Looking at how you’re talking, you don’t seem confident. No need to spend time on meaningless things.”

He could get answers about dogmas and organizations that hunt them by asking Idril. He’d tried to find out in advance for cross-verification, but since there’s no publicly spread information.

“A-anything else, just say it. I’ll find everything for you.”

“Do you know where dragons live?”

“Th-that’s……”

“You don’t know.”

“……Are you interested in a mysterious and slightly sad story about shamans who see the future? I’ve been saving this story.”

“No. It’s fine. If it’s about seeing the future, I’m absolutely sick of it.”

“Huh?”

“Not that kind of thing—tell me stories about how the world works. Trivial things are fine too.”

“Gossip is also my specialty!”

Elcoco smiled brightly while continuing her words.

*

Idril opened his eyes while clutching his throbbing head.

Outside the window was bright.

He sat on the edge of the bed staring vacantly at the sky before standing up with an ah sound.

He remembered.

He’d drunk heavily and poured out all sorts of words before passing out.

He drank water while smacking his lips. As the stuffy taste in his mouth washed away, his mind cleared a bit.

“I owe him.”

A silly laugh came out for no reason. Meeting someone who fits well is a joyful thing.

He gathered his clothes and was about to go outside when something suddenly came to mind. Before losing his memory, he thought he’d seen something blazing.

“You’re up.”

The door opened and Quilbion showed his face.

“Ah, yes. I drank heavily for the first time in a while and lost consciousness. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You had something that upset you, so you had no choice but to drink. I really was sorry about yesterday.”

The apology reminded him of the gloves that had departed to a place they could never return from.

Right, they turned to powder.

He became slightly depressed but brushed it off with a smile.

“When I’ve made a connection with a good person, what do those gloves matter?”

“For someone saying that, your expression doesn’t look good.”

“I am worried thinking about getting hit by my senior. Ah, Mr. Quil can get hit together with me!”

“Let’s do that. Since I promised to greet those people.”

“It’s a promise. Getting hit together.”

“That senior’s hand must really sting.”

“Don’t even mention it.”

He smiled contentedly before lowering his gaze. A signal came from his stomach.

“……Shall we go eat?”

“Yes!”

Never refuse an invitation.

Idril hummed while heading outside the door.