LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 200
Chapter 200. The Bumpy Family And The Foundation Of Truth
The zebra villains, resigned, hang their heads in defeat.
The leader of this group, seemingly bearded, is interrogated by Kyuraisu.
“First, this time’s Lalaila… was it you who kidnapped the elf girl over there?”
“…No. It’s a new organization that recently flowed into this city.”
“Newcomers?”
“Yeah, normally we wouldn’t deal with their type, but their money flow is good…”
Kyuraisu growled as if spitting out the words.
“But you came here to receive Lalaila, right?”
“…Hmph. You’ve come this far. You must have investigated. That’s right.”
Confirmed.
The blonde dreadlock elf, Yaralai, twitched one eyebrow.
“Why?”
“…”
“Yaralai. What should we do? If they don’t talk… we could just kill them?”
“…Villains, speak, then, we’ll hand you over to the guard, that way, I’ll tolerate you.”
“Ugh…”
Yaralai spoke quietly, but his eyes were screaming that he could tear you apart at any moment.
“…Alright. The elf girl… we were planning to sell her to a noble named Dezion Sundel.”
“What did you say?”
Wait, that’s not what we heard.
“Was that the contract?”
“No… but Dezion’s fondness for elves is well known. Or rather, should I say his bad taste in women… So we figured he’d definitely buy if we offered.”
“Is Dezion’s reputation that bad?”
“He walks the fine line of illegality. The fact that he’s connected to a talent agency should tell you enough.”
“But then, doesn’t that seem odd? You bought the elf from that talent agency, right? Why not sell directly?”
“…”
“Human… speak.”
“This time, it’s completely illegal. Buying directly from the agency would cause various problems. Our organization has a considerable debt to the agency. This time, we arranged to secretly sell the elf to settle the debt. For them, it’s also better since it leaves no trace.”
I’m starting to get a grasp of the situation.
But there’s still a lot I don’t understand.
“What’s the relationship between the talent agency and the kidnapping organization?”
“The kidnapping organization is a new supplier for the talent agency. The previous suppliers were all taken out by the kidnapping organization.”
“You’d deal with such a place…”
“Though not a kidnapping organization, small groups that barely legally sourced people from the countryside were all wiped out. They probably had no choice but to team up.”
These villains…
Let me summarize.
“So, the talent agency buys people from the kidnapping organization, and then you buy from them, right?”
“That’s right…”
Should I hit him one more time?
No, the conversation is important.
“I understand about Lalaila. Regarding previous ‘merchandise’… tell me anything you know.”
“What? I told you they’re newcomers. I don’t know the details.”
“Then when did they arrive?”
“About two months ago…?”
That coincides with the Goblin Hazard period.
“Did they connect with the talent agency immediately after arriving?”
“Of course not. You can’t just accept newcomers like that.”
“I see. Then do you have any idea who their first client was?”
“Well…”
Kyuraisu cut off his words and started thinking.
“Now that you mention it… no, it couldn’t be…”
“What? Spit it out.”
“This is… just a rumor.”
“Go on.”
“There’s talk that the reason the kidnapping organization entered this country was because they were called by the Three Elders Council.”
The Three Elders Council?
Ah, the top political organization of this country.
“Why would the Three Elders Council’s name come up?”
“How should I know? There’s just talk that after delivering goods to the Three Elders Council, they changed their base to this country.”
“Credibility?”
“None at all… but.”
“But what?”
“There’s one strange thing. Those kidnapping organization guys do whatever they want in this slum, but they never get caught. We’ve been careful not to cross certain lines, but they easily step over them.”
“Couldn’t it just be that the enforcers are incompetent?”
“No, they clearly go too far. Despite that, the guard doesn’t move… it’s been suspicious for a while.”
Could it be that they’re using the fact that the Three Elders Council bought their ‘merchandise’ as leverage…?
“Anything else you know?”
“Nothing more.”
“I see… Yaralai. What should we do with these guys?”
If Yaralai insists on not forgiving them and wants to kill them all, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything this time.
I can make any excuse. Like we were attacked and fought back.
“…Hand them over to the guard.”
“Are you sure?”
Yaralai slowly nodded.
As for Lalaila… no need to ask.
“Then tie them up and load them into the car. Stacking them is fine.”
“Understood.”
Yaralai efficiently packed the villains into the car. Even though it’s a large camper, 30 people are too many.
They were forcibly stacked to prevent any movement.
Looking at the rear tires, they were flattened from the weight.
We’ll have to return slowly to avoid a flat tire.
“Akira-sama, may I have a moment?”
“What is it?”
Cherina came over and whispered in my ear.
“There’s a possibility that the Three Elders Council has been buying up young women.”
“What did you say?”
I gathered the members except Yaralai and had Cherina explain. Yaralai is on watch.
“This is just a possibility, so please listen with that in mind.”
“Understood.”
“First, let me briefly explain the structure of this wilderness country. Unlike the eastern countries, most countries here don’t have borders.”
“Ah, it’s a place with many city-states, right?”
“Yes. However, it’s not entirely unheard of for one city-state to take another under its control. Towns without walls or city walls sometimes become subordinate to neighboring city-states.”
“I see.”
“This is a rumor, but I’ve heard that Sebites has territorial ambitions and is gathering military strength…”
“Is that so?”
“When I heard it, I thought it was just another baseless rumor, but my first impression upon arriving in this country was that the military is indeed well-equipped.”
“You just got here, right? How can you tell something like that?”
“There are tricks to it. The economic prosperity might also be influenced by gathering mercenaries and such.”
“So if people gather, the economy rises, huh?”
“Exactly.”
“Well, I understand they’re gathering military strength, but how does that connect?”
“The village of Hanson that Akira-sama saved, although it doesn’t have city walls, considering its location, it has high potential to grow into a large town.”
“It was pretty devastated, though.”
“They had already started rebuilding. It’s a town of a scale that can recover quickly without being abandoned.”
“I see.”
We’ve been sending a lot of funds through the Adair商会, but even with money, without people, recovery is impossible.
“Also, it’s not too far from Sebites, so it wouldn’t be strange if Sebites desired it.”
“Meaning?”
“I don’t want to think about it, but… what if Sebites caused the Goblin Hazard to push Hanson village into a corner?”
“…What did you say?”
“Subordinating to a state means being in a position to be protected. If this incident was a condition for military support in exchange for subordination…”
Cherina herself frowned as she spoke.
It’s clear she’s also wondering if such a thing could be possible.
“If that’s the case…”
No good. I can’t just let that slide…
“Kukuku… what would you do if that were the case?”
Faf asked with a gleeful tone.
“Expose… the truth.”
“Kukuku… interesting.”
“I’ll help too!”
“I shall assist as well.”
Hagg silently nodded. As for Yaralai… well, no need to ask. He’s a passionate guy.
And so, we headed back to Sebites to investigate this matter.