Chapter 57. Was a Conspiracy Theorist.

“Calm down. There’s no way someone like me would have a relationship with Sir Liatro.”

“Huuuh? Why would you say that. We just came from talking with Sir Liatro……”

Pol threw a wrench in my attempt to talk my way out of it.

This was why I didn't enjoy drinking.

He probably didn't even know what he was saying right now.

‘Should I kill this bastard?’

A murderous intent welled up for a moment.

Just try to drink in front of me again.

“I-I can tell. You are definitely Sir Liatro’s disciple!!”

“You said it yourself just now, didn't you? That I didn't look like a knight or a squire.”

Why the sudden change of tune?

“A secret disciple!! Sir Liatro was raising a disciple in secret!! That’s why you were pretending to be a mercenary to hide your identity!!”

“Do you think that makes sense?”

Why would a member of the Imperial Central Knight Order need to raise a disciple in secret?

“That must be... to make you a secret agent! This is the shadow of the empire! Of course...! I heard there were rumors that they were secretly forming a special forces unit!”

There was no getting through to him.

“You saw the swordsmanship I just used, didn't you? And you're still going on about being Sir Liatro’s disciple?”

I had clearly returned the attack with Peter's swordsmanship.

Simon was also a disciple of the Sword Saint, and it would be known that he had learned the Celestial Sword.

“That’s also evidence! You even learned other swordsmanship to hide the fact that you're Sir Liatro’s disciple! What do you say? Am I wrong?”

Yes.

You're wrong.

There wasn't a single thing right from one to ten.

...Except for the fact that we had a relationship with Simon.

“Don't worry! I will keep this secret for the rest of my life!”

“After shouting it so loud that everyone around can hear?”

It was absurd.

It might have been different if the inside of the tavern was noisy, but because the menacing Peter and his gang had taken their seats, everyone was holding their breath and watching.

Peter's dozen or so subordinates, plus the dozen or so other customers in the tavern, had clearly already heard the talk about a secret agent.

“Huhu. The fact that you're worried about the secret leaking out proves that you are a secret agent.”

“No, that's not it-”

“I will make sure these guys' mouths are kept shut! If you just introduce me to Sir Liatro……!”

He heard what he wanted to hear.

He was no different from a conspiracy theorist.

Logical persuasion was impossible.

Pointing out the contradictions would only add more delusions to patch them up.

A fanatic gleam in his eyes.

It seemed that the desire to believe in the hope presented right in front of him was just that strong.

I could see that even if I had shut Pol's mouth, my excuses would not have gotten through.

“Brother. I-I saw.”

One of the subordinates who had been standing like a folding screen suddenly opened his mouth.

“Saw what?”

“This morning, I saw those—those gentlemen getting into a fancy carriage and going somewhere.”

Uh…….

Right, it was a rather conspicuous scene.

“Did the carriage have Sir Liatro’s crest or flag on it?”

“That, I’m not sure……”

“Try to remember! It looked something like this.”

Peter quickly took out a dagger and carved a crest on the table.

It was an excellent skill that drew admiration.

With that skill, why not just be a sculptor, why did he have to make things difficult for others by trying to be a knight?

“I feel like I saw something like this.”

“The conclusive evidence is out!”

No, he said he wasn't sure.

How could that be conclusive evidence when the witness wasn't sure.

In any case, it was only confirmed once again that communication was completely impossible.

“...That's enough. I'm leaving.”

“Wait!! Please-”

I threw Pol onto my back and shook off the hand that was trying to grab me, and ran away.

* * *

The next day, when I took the hungover and ailing Pol outside, Peter was waiting.

Even when I tried to chase him away by lying that I had no relationship with Simon, Peter continued to follow me.

My attempts to shake him off were repeatedly seen through by the man who was well-versed in the local geography, and even when I managed to lose him for a moment, he quickly found us through his information network of subordinates.

Pol was just a burden, and with Peter's interference, there was no way the search could be conducted properly.

The fact that we wasted a day without finding a single clue was, in a way, a natural result.

And so, when we returned to our lodging, exhausted, there was an uninvited guest.

“……”

“I did ask you to cause a bit of a commotion for the information exchange. Since you didn't call, I came myself.”

Simon said with a sly smile.

He had even brought a tea set and seemed to have been enjoying teatime.

The luxurious tea set and utensils did not match the shabby scenery of the inn room at all.

“Greetings……”

Pol weakly hung his head.

Simon, as if puzzled by Pol's reaction, tilted his head.

“This friend, he's not in a good state, is he?”

“It's because he drank too much yesterday.”

I answered in Pol's place.

If anything, he was in a better state now.

When he had just woken up, he could barely control his body.

“Oh my. To spend a day like that. A single bottle of potion would make a hangover disappear in an instant, you know.”

Who in the world was the madman who would use a potion for a hangover.

I barely suppressed the urge to punch Simon in the face for getting on my nerves as soon as we met.

“How did you get in?”

I had definitely locked the door when we left.

At my question, Simon pointed to the cut-out window.

He had cut it out so neatly.

That, he would pay for the repairs, right?

“You could have just sent a carriage like last time.”

Since it was Simon, I didn't even expect a normal method like just waiting in front of the inn.

Weren't there at least a few better methods than the criminal act of secretly sneaking into a room?

“If I use the same method every time, you won't be surprised anymore. I was so eager to see your surprised face that I inadvertently came in.”

Inadvertently, my foot.

A man who would ponder day and night about how to make people dislike him.

“Look here too! I’m here too!”

The Queen, who had been lounging on the table, flapped her arms and shouted.

“Ah, right.”

“Giiit!! What is it! That reaction! Be a little happier to see me!”

Were we that close?

“This one, was she of any use?”

Just yesterday, the image of her being dragged away by Simon, terrified, was still fresh in my mind, but today's Queen was overflowing with confidence.

It was easy to guess that something had happened to restore her self-esteem.

“Of course. We found two more devils. We didn't dispose of them right away, but since their existence has been confirmed, we will prepare to respond immediately when something happens.”

While we had come up empty, Simon's side had shown clear results.

“Hufufu. Even that human, Simon, has acknowledged my outstanding ability. Look! The tribute offered to me!”

The Queen proudly held up a cookie.

Seeing a creature that was supposedly a devil or something similar to a devil being happy over a piece of cookie made my heart ache a little.

It looked more like she was being trained with snacks rather than being offered tribute.

“Then are there three devils in the Imperial Capital?”

“More than three. The Imperial Capital is not a city small enough to be looked around in a day.”

The Queen's detection range wasn't that wide either, so they had to go around one place at a time.

In the Imperial Capital, each district had its own guard, and there were over a dozen district headquarters alone.

And since he said he also had duties to attend to as a knight, he probably couldn't have invested a long time in searching for devils.

And yet, that number.

“Were devils this common?”

It was just surprising.

Were the ones who had secured the devils amazing, or were devils a more common existence than I thought?

It was highly likely to be both.

“Devils are more numerous than you think. You can rarely see them in the Imperial State, but in the vassal states, almost every country has three or four. Subjugating them is the main job of each country's knight order.”

It was just that I hadn't realized it because I had never left the Imperial State, the suzerain state of the empire.

Even the Arachne Queen was a being that could devastate an entire territory.

To think that devils, who were more evolved than her, were crawling around.

This world was more dangerous than I thought.

“I explained yesterday that devils resemble humans, didn't I? Devils are strong, but they don't often engage in slaughter without gain. They usually stay in one place and just spread corruption. Because they know that if they cause trouble, the knight order will come and subjugate them.”

Simon added, as if he had read my thoughts.

It looked like nothing more than living with a bomb that could go off at any moment…….

I suddenly remembered that on Earth, I hadn't cared even when I was bordering a country that was evaluated as being able to start a war at any time.

It was good for one's mental health to ignore each other until they became a direct threat.

“That's right……. A devil once appeared in my hometown, but it wasn't that big of a deal.”

Pol chimed in with a dying voice.

He was tired from walking around outside with a hangover, and now with Simon here, he couldn't even lie down comfortably.

He was being considerate in a strange way.

“Don't devils form groups? If they are similar to humans……”

“As if. They are guys who live in their own self-importance. These guys can't form groups. Just like dragons.”

Dragons, powerful from birth.

Devils, who had reached the pinnacle of monsters at the end of their evolution.

It seemed that since they were similarly strong, their dispositions also had overlapping parts.

In that case, they were not that great of a danger.

“Anyway, securing devils must be difficult for them too. That's why they would have pulled a stunt like trying to create a devil.”

That was true.

If they could easily capture devils, there would have been no reason to go through the trouble of something like an Arachne breeding ground.

“At most, they would have no more than 10 captured devils.”

“……”

In truth, it was not a matter to be taken lightly.

By the standards of a vassal state, it would be a level where they would have to gather the entire nation's military power to defeat one devil.

But the empire was different.

Simon alone seemed to be able to handle one or two devils with ease, and there was the Imperial Central Knight Order, which was a collection of people on the same level as Simon.

Ten devils or so were more than enough for them to handle.

“So—let's wrap up the devil story here, and how was your side? You must have at least caught a clue as to what those guys are plotting, right?”

“Uh……. Um.”

I was at a loss for words at the sudden blow.

“Oh my? You didn't find out anything? I achieved results while carrying out other duties. Nah, no way.”

Damn it.

It was frustrating.

This was all because of Peter.

The fact that Pol had lost it was also a problem, but the person who had bought Pol the drinks was also Peter.

“This may sound like an excuse, but in fact-”

* * *

I briefly explained to Simon what had happened yesterday and today.

From the fight that had broken out, to the fact that he was a guy who dreamed of returning to being a knight, and to the fact that he was endlessly chasing us and getting in the way after finding out we had a connection with Simon.

“...and that's what happened.”

“That's an excuse.”

It was an excuse.

To attack so cowardly with the truth.

“To think you received a solicitation as if you were something.”

Simon said mockingly.

It wasn't wrong.

Right now, I was a mere mercenary.

I was not in a position to receive solicitations.

This had happened entirely because of Simon's prestige.

“Anyway, that's how it is—so it's a bit of a difficult situation.”

“Hmm? What's difficult about it?”

Simon, tilting his head as if he didn't understand.

Eh.

Did I say something wrong?

“From my perspective, he seems like a good person to use. He'll be helpful.”

“...What? He wants to return to being a knight, you know?”

“Yes. Arranging a knight position is not a difficult task. If we can recruit him and make him work for us with that, it's a cheap deal.”

Was that a problem that could be decided so simply?

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