The Demon territory in the northern part of Leitche, commonly known as the swamp, was far from a good place to live.

A wide, muddy marsh stretched out, with very little solid ground, and the hilly areas that extended beyond the swamp looked barren at a glance.

It was so desolate that it was hard to understand Leitche's plan to make it a pioneering site.

“That’s because it’s the place with the fewest Demons.”

Regina answered my question clearly.

It was a reasonably logical reason that there would be less conflict since it was barren and there were fewer Demons.

However, from my perspective, knowing that a conflict would break out between the pioneering group that advanced into the swamp and the Demons, it didn't feel very logical.

When we arrived at the edge of the swamp, the Raven agents quickly set up tents and moved the supplies.

“We’ll make this our base and start the investigation from here. It's not too far from Leitche and is close to the largest Demon tribe.”

“Do you think the Demons will leave us alone?”

“At least they won’t attack us right away. The human merchants who come to their land are important guests, after all.”

That meant they might attack later, but I decided to move on for now.

After all, finding the traitor was Regina's job, not mine.

My goal was to find out why Leitche’s pioneering project was related to Valheit’s death.

And also, I wanted to take this opportunity to check the skills of Noah’s party.

“Before we start the investigation in earnest, I want to make one thing clear.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the Demons.”

Regina lowered her voice.

She still seemed uncomfortable moving with the Demons.

“I understand that we have to move with the Demons to avoid unnecessary problems, but we want to have control.”

“Whatever you do, it's up to you, the client, Ms. Regina. However, the control you just mentioned doesn’t seem to be control over the operation.”

“It would be more efficient for the Demons and your subordinate to follow our orders. It’s better to have one head than two.”

In short, she wanted them to move as she commanded.

If I were only planning to observe Noah’s party’s skills, it wouldn’t matter, but I had my own things to investigate.

“Even if the Raven and the Eight Council are close, they are not the same organization.”

“Should I take that as a refusal?”

“Yes, it’s a refusal. The personnel provided by the Eight Council will follow my command.”

Regina didn’t show much of a reaction, as if she had expected my answer.

Did she ask just to see what would happen?

“We’re going to send two of our agents to investigate the area around the swamp. Please designate which Demons you’ll send as guards.”

“Of course, we must do that much. Do you have any other requests?”

“I’ll leave it to the Count to inform the surrounding Demons that we have arrived, as we decided last time. As for me.”

Seeing Noah approach, Regina turned her head.

She still seemed to have a strong aversion to Demons.

“We’re ready to go to the nearby tribe. Hillia will be the guide, and Ede will be disguised as a merchant.”

“Did you decide on the gift for the Tribe Head?”

“Hillia chose it.”

“Good. You can leave as soon as you’re ready. The news that humans have arrived is probably already spreading, so we need to announce that we are friendly merchants as soon as possible.”

Noah, who seemed to have more to say, hesitated, glanced at Regina, and then strode away.

“It seems you’re not used to working with Demons.”

“I guess not.”

Regina nodded.

It didn't look like this investigation would be a smooth one.

***

Four days later we settled in the swamp.

Nothing happened.

That meant we had smoothly obtained permission from the surrounding Demons, and it also meant that the investigation had yielded no results.

“There were no witnesses from the Demons in the hilly areas who saw a human acting alone.”

“Instead, there were quite a few witnesses who saw a human lurking around the swamp.”

“There were no signs of people living around the swamp. However, we did find a few human footprints.”

Everyone recited their investigation results.

The atmosphere inside the tent gradually became gloomy.

The results of the past few days of investigation were simple.

“I guess we have no choice but to investigate the center of the swamp.”

I spoke the answer that everyone was thinking.

It was certain that a human was wandering around the swamp.

But the place where that human was staying was not found.

Assuming there were no errors in the investigation, the only remaining place was the center of the swamp, which was the witch’s territory.

“Do we have to go there?”

Wilhelm looked left and right nervously and asked.

No one answered with words, but their expressions were a sufficient answer.

“I guess we’ll have to go in and check for ourselves.”

Noah said with a tone of resignation.

Literally, there was no other way than to go in.

“Sighing won’t solve anything. The longer we stay, the higher the chances of a conflict with other Demons, so we have to act fast.”

Everyone reluctantly nodded at my words.

There was nothing bad about me going to find the witch in the center of the swamp.

If anything, it was good.

It was nice to have a chance to see Noah’s party’s skills, but there was something more important than that.

‘The clue to Valheit’s death is definitely in there.’

I visited every single tribe around, even bringing Hillia, just in case they were related to the Demons.

But the results were all the same.

They were just closed-off tribes that didn’t welcome humans, and it was difficult to link them to Valheit, let alone the Eight Council.

If that was the case, there were three remaining possibilities.

The swamp witch, the traitor from Leitche, or the pioneering project itself.

By investigating the center of the swamp, I would be verifying all three possibilities.

Because if the witch and the traitor had nothing to do with Valheit’s death, it meant the pioneering project was the problem.

“Then the problem is deciding who will go.”

“I’ve already decided on the personnel.”

Everyone tensed up at my words.

Some looked as if they were begging me not to pick them, and others tried to avoid my gaze.

“Mr. Wilhelm, you’ll stay here and maintain contact with the Eight Council, and Mr. Yenoki, Ms. Hillia, and Mr. Karl will be in charge of guarding the area. The rest of us will go with me.”

There were no objections, except for Ede letting out a long sigh.

I turned my head to look at Regina.

“Who will you send from the Raven?”

“I will go myself.”

That’s what I expected.

She wouldn’t be able to catch the traitor from her family if she backed out now.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll depart in two hours.”

While the others were leaving the tent, Regina remained seated, fidgeting with something.

I was going to leave her alone, but I decided to talk to her just in case she was too nervous and would act out.

“Are you alright? Are you worried about the witch?”

“No. A witch is just a Demon, after all. What I’m worried about is meeting the traitor.”

“You seem to have complicated feelings for your brother.”

“It’s a personal matter.”

Regina, who answered bitterly, looked at the necklace in her hand.

“I just want to hear why he did what he did.”

“Hmm.”

Regina couldn’t hide her emotions well, which was unfitting for an intelligence agent.

It was obvious that what she just said was an excuse.

“Is there anything else you want to ask? It’s not every day you get to meet him after all these years.”

After fidgeting with the necklace for a long time, Regina finally answered in a small voice.

“Well. I just want to ask him if he’s doing well.”

“That wouldn’t be a bad thing to ask.”

I decided to stop there so I wouldn’t touch a nerve.

From what I could see, this operation was more than just capturing the traitor.

I would find out what it was when I met the traitor myself.

Leaving Regina alone, I turned my head abruptly.

“That’s a pretty bad habit, Mr. Yenoki.”

“There’s no law against eavesdropping.”

“So, do you have something to say?”

“If that human she’s looking for didn’t die among the witches, you’d better be careful.”

Yenoki lowered his voice, briefly glancing at Regina inside the tent.

“There’s no way he survived among those monsters with his sanity intact.”

***

The swamp was much more muddy than I had thought.

It was a time when we should have already reached the boundary where witches were rumored to appear, but we were delayed by the deep mud.

“Ugh. I should have packed lighter.”

“I told you to leave some of the food behind.”

“What if the witches like it?”

“Stale, shriveled bread? I don't think so.”

Regina, who had been struggling to move her feet while listening to Ede and Noah bicker, stopped.

“Shh.”

The two, who were bickering, quickly crouched down and held their breath.

When it became quiet, I wondered why Regina had told us to stop.

“A regular vibration. It seems to be a vibration made by someone walking.”

“At this size, it must be something bigger than usual. Could it be the witches?”

I didn’t answer Noah’s question.

There was no need to.

A black form slowly became visible through the fog that lay over the swamp.

While we held our breath, the form gradually became clearer.

The rough, green skin, the irregularly protruding fangs, and the short fingers all matched the witch Yenoki had talked about.

“It’s a river troll.”

As Regina whispered, it opened its mouth wide and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

We prepared to respond to an attack, but we soon realized that it was a kind of burp.

“Do you think it noticed us?”

“Well, trolls are known for having dull senses.”

Thump!

The river troll slammed the staff it was holding onto the ground.

It looked more like it had uprooted an entire tree, but judging by the mana I felt, it seemed to be a weapon that served a similar purpose to a mage’s staff.

“Don’t hide, and come out!”

The river troll shouted in a clear voice.

Judging by the direction it was looking, which was far from where we were, it seemed it didn’t know exactly where we were hiding.

“Or I’ll send the mosquitos to tear your flesh off!”

When it slammed its staff down again, hundreds of large insects flew out of the swamp with a buzzing sound, forming a black swarm.

Noah and I got up almost at the same time.

The river troll turned its thick neck and looked at us.

“Is it you? The ones who invaded the swamp?”

“That’s right.”

“Get out.”

When the river troll waved its hand, the swarm of insects gathered around it, forming a black mass.

“Or I’ll rip all your flesh off.”

“We came to find a person. A human, to be precise.”

The river troll’s face distorted strangely at Noah’s shout.

Seeing the yellowish liquid dripping from between its open fangs, it didn't look like it was in a good mood.

“Why did you come to find Benjamin?”

“Because he’s my brother.”

At the name Benjamin, Regina stepped forward.

“So there are three of you.”

“There are four of us.”

When Ede also stood up, the river troll’s expression changed subtly.

It was still dripping the yellowish liquid, but it wasn’t scowling anymore.

“Follow me.”

We exchanged glances with each other as we watched the river troll stomp away.

We soon realized that there was no other way but to follow it.

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