"……Look, I told you I have things to do, didn't I? Why are you still following me?"
I directed the question toward Fuuka, who was trailing right behind me.
"Just because. Don't mind me."
Don't mind you? How is that even possible?
That said, she seemed completely intent on following me no matter what I said. Trying to drive her away would likely cost me a significant amount of effort that I couldn't afford to waste.
Besides, I couldn't predict how the situation would unfold from here. If I could make use of Fuuka's Ability, having her around might actually be a benefit.
...Though I had no idea if she’d actually be willing to help.
"Sigh... fine. But you must swear not to speak a word of what you see or hear from this point on. If you can promise that, you can come along."
"Okay, I understand. I swear."
"On what?"
"On what...? ...In that case, on my Katana."
As she spoke, she manifested a curved sword sheathed in its scabbard.
Fuuka’s sword was a "Katana," a style of blade specialized for cutting that was common among warriors in the East. Even without seeing the steel, I could tell it was a masterpiece. It exuded a unique, unsettling presence that was difficult to put into words.
Most swordsmen believed their blade to be as valuable as their own life, and I had heard that people from Kyokutou held their possessions in particularly high regard. I didn't know if Fuuka personally subscribed to those specific traditions, but her oath seemed sincere enough to trust.
The reason I was going to such lengths to ensure secrecy was simple: what I was about to do would be considered a crime—or at the very least, a grave mistake—by the standards of the general public. If word got out that I was involved, it might even bring trouble to the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky.
However, as long as Fuuka kept her mouth shut, the story would never spread.
◇
The person I had tagged with Marking wasn't the thief from earlier.
That petty theft had been a distraction, staged to draw the crowd’s attention away from the real crime. Before the incident, the thief had been scanning the area, but his eyes had lingered far too long on one specific spot. Even the victimized woman had directed her gaze toward the same location just before the "theft" occurred.
In the shadows where they both had been looking, another group was busy kidnapping a child while the crowd was distracted. I had activated Marking on those kidnappers.
Following the signal, I eventually arrived at exactly where I feared I would: the Flockhart Trading Company Main Store.
"I was really hoping my memory was wrong... but I guess this confirms it."
"You have business with the Flockhart Trading Company?" Fuuka asked.
"In a way."
The Flockhart Trading Company was a massive merchant guild, ranking among the top five in the Nohitant Kingdom. Their market share in Tsutrail was undisputed number one.
And it was also the family home of Luna, the mage from the Hero Party.
Following the path taken by the kidnappers, I reached the store's back entrance. You couldn't exactly walk through the front door carrying a child in a hemp sack, after all. On a whim, I tried the doorknob; it wasn't locked. The door swung open smoothly.
(Were they in that much of a hurry? To be this careless after committing a kidnapping... how pathetic.)
"Make as little noise as possible from here on," I whispered to Fuuka.
She gave a silent nod. I opened the door again and we slipped inside.
(This is my first time entering this building from the rear.)
Just inside the entrance was a staircase leading down to the basement. It seemed the kidnappers had headed straight below. As we descended, the sound of men's voices drifted up.
"—Anyway, well done. As usual, I’ll have the Marquis pull some strings to release the one who got caught."
"Yeah, thanks. But man, hasn't there been a lot of kidnapping requests for brats lately? The pay is incredible, so I'm not complaining, but still."
"It’s a direct request from the Marquis. I don't know the details myself."
"You don't know? You could at least try to find out the reason..."
As I listened to them, I couldn't help but interject.
"Honestly, to assist in a crime like this and not even bother to learn the purpose—it's actually revolting."
Five men were in the room. Beside them was a young girl who appeared to have been kidnapped.
One of the men was Pascal Flockhart, someone I knew quite well. He was the president of this company and Luna's stepfather. The other four looked to be in their twenties, though their ages varied. They were clearly not law-abiding citizens; their demeanor suggested they were well-versed in the underworld.
The girl seemed to have been drugged; she was lying motionless on a bed. While she didn't seem to have been physically harmed yet, her wrists were cuffed to a nearby pillar, making escape impossible.
"Who’s there!?"
"It’s been a while, Pascal-san."
I spoke to him in a casual tone, as if we had just bumped into each other on a street corner.
"...Orun? What are you doing here?"
"A kidnapping happened right in front of me. I wanted to get a handle on the situation, and my investigation just happened to lead me here."
"I see. Well, since you’ve seen this, I can't let you leave alive. Jeffrey, an additional request. Kill the brat."
(A split-second decision... though I suppose that’s the logical choice when someone stumbles upon a crime scene like this.)
Still, it felt uncharacteristic for Pascal. At least, the man I remembered wasn't someone who could order a murder so coldly and quickly.
"Right on. Sorry, kid. Nothing personal, but a client's a client."
The four men dropped into combat stances.
"You're misunderstanding, Pascal-san. I have no intention of fighting you."
I raised both hands to show I was unarmed.
"Who would believe that? Even if you don't fight now, you’d just use this to blackmail us later. I won't allow you to cause trouble for the Marquis. Die here."
I really hadn't planned on a brawl, but I suppose there was no way around it.
"...Fuuka, can you tell what they’re going to do?" I asked, partially to test the limits of her Future Sight. Information on her Ability was a precious resource, and I wasn't going to pass up a chance to gather some.
"They're going to split up. Two will attack me, and two will attack you," she replied, her voice flat and certain.
The advantage that girl had was truly terrifying.
"Then I’ll leave your two to you. I'll handle mine."
"Okay."
"Need a Buff?"
"No. I'm fine."
The moment we finished talking, two of the men lunged at me, exactly as Fuuka had predicted. The room was too cramped to swing a sword effectively, so I activated a Triple Status Up on myself and simultaneously cast Aero Shock directly in front of their faces.
The sudden blast of compressed air staggered them. Before they could recover, I closed the distance and drove a fist into the first man’s solar plexus. As the second man tried to launch a kick, I swept his standing leg, sending him crashing to the floor. I grabbed him by the face as he went down and slammed his head into the stone ground.
That was one.
The man I’d punched was doubled over, clutching his stomach. I followed up with a sharp kick to the jaw, the impact inducing an immediate concussion.
In seconds, the two men targeting me were incapacitated. Fuuka had already finished off her two opponents as well.
(That was fast. Well, at least I got to see a glimpse of how she moves.)
"H-How...? How can you, a failure who was kicked out of the party for being weak, defeat these men!?" Pascal stammered, his composure crumbling into a panic.
This man was supposed to be stoic, yet his emotions were all over the place. I couldn't shake a nagging sense of wrongness.
"...It’s true I was kicked out for a lack of ability, but the idea that I'm 'weak' was always a misunderstanding. I don't mean to brag, but as far as Explorers go, my combat strength is actually quite high."
"Even if you hand me over, Marquis Forgas is backing me! A scandal like this will be buried in an instant! Capturing me is pointless!"
What do you call people like this again? Ah, right. A fox borrowing the authority of a tiger.
Up close, he just seemed like a pathetic small-fry. Perhaps I only realized it now because I had distance from the Hero Party.
"Sigh... like I said, you’re misunderstanding. I have no intention of reporting this incident."
Legally, kidnapping a child was a capital offense. It was a crime heavy enough to warrant the death penalty. But I meant what I said; I wasn't going to turn them in.
I had my reasons. The primary one was that if this scandal became public, it would cause a level of chaos that the city might not survive. Dark rumors had always circled this company and Marquis Forgas. I was certain they were involved in all sorts of filth.
However, there had never been proof. If this incident came to light, it would likely pull a thread that would unravel everything. The lord and the merchant guild that supported the city's economy would vanish simultaneously.
This city relied on the Great Labyrinth. I wasn't an expert on governance, but I knew managing a territory with a Great Labyrinth was infinitely more complex than a normal one. Marquis Forgas had a talent for maintaining the city's delicate balance—a talent that bordered on genius. His leadership was the reason for this city's prosperity. If he disappeared without a successor, the city would cease to function.
At present, there was no one else capable of ruling Tsutrail at his level. I felt for the victims of his schemes, but there was such a thing as a 'necessary evil.' Now that I knew for sure the Marquis was connected to the underworld, the last thing I wanted was for the city to descend into anarchy.
Most people would call me wrong. They’d say I was a coward or a collaborator. But what happened to total strangers was none of my concern. I wasn't a saint, or a Hero, or a champion of justice. I had my hands full just protecting those within my reach.
If they were directing their malice at me or my friends, it would be a different story. But for now, they weren't. For these reasons, I would let the Marquis hush this up.
"What? Then why did you come here?" Pascal asked, his expression shifting to one of deep suspicion.
"As I said before, I just wanted to confirm the truth for myself. Nothing more, nothing—"
"Orun, someone's coming," Fuuka interrupted. "They look like soldiers."
"Soldiers?"
The sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the stairs.
"And the lord is with them."
"...What?"
(Marquis Forgas is here? With soldiers? Why now?)
"Is it the Territorial Army?" I asked.
"No," Fuuka said, shaking her head. "The Central Army."
(He’s with the Kingdom’s Central Army instead of his own private guard? This makes even less sense. What the hell is going on?)
As I stood there in confusion, Marquis Forgas appeared at the entrance of the basement, flanked by five soldiers in the heavy armor of the Central Army.