LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 246 - The Divine Cat, Mii-chan, felt a chill run down her spine.
Chapter 246: The Divine Cat, Mii-chan, felt a chill run down her spine.
A few uneventful days passed. Although they were uneventful, there was still plenty to do. Nero spent time glaring at paperwork alongside Lucas and Katia. When he got tired, he would practice his lightning skill with Mii-chan.
During this quiet period, Lucas’s youngest brother, Berti, his wife, Efa, and their cousins, Franz and Teresa, arrived. Berti was ten years younger, and Efa, who was skilled at cooking, would be entrusted with the kitchen since her family ran a restaurant.
There was also some good news—Katia had discovered she was pregnant. Nero told her not to overexert herself. Mii-chan seemed especially delighted and rubbed her face against Katia’s stomach. Though there was no visible change yet, it would soon become apparent.
Amidst all this, Glenhart and his group arrived in Forte.
“Why is Nero here?” Glenhart asked.
“I had a connection of sorts…” Nero replied, dodging the question. Luckily, they seemed to accept the answer without further inquiry.
Nero introduced Glenhart, the new magistrate, to the local officials and informed them that more staff would arrive in a few days. Since Glenhart and his group were tired, they only had a brief introduction, after which Nero took them to the mansion where Glenhart would live.
“It’s magnificent!” Glenhart’s wife, Rosalinde, commented.
“Quite the mansion…” Glenhart added.
“This was the residence of the previous head of the local office,” Nero explained, noticing their slightly complicated expressions. Inside, they were greeted by four maids and Paro-kun. Cornet, the cat, walked majestically in front of them.
“Who’s this?” Glenhart picked up Cornet effortlessly. Nero was impressed by his skill.
“This is Cornet, the cat who lives here,” Nero replied.
“I see. I’ll be living with you from now on, Cornet,” Glenhart said.
“Myaa~,” Cornet meowed in response, which shocked Nero. Cornet had never let Nero or Mii-chan pet him, nor had he ever meowed for them. Was Glenhart more important than the lord of the town? Nero found it hard to accept.
“Mi…,” Mii-chan whimpered.
Outside, Glenhart’s white wolf growled. Nero stepped out to see Letty petting the wolf. Letty would be based here from now on, so she had vacated her previous lodging.
After Glenhart and Rosalinde unpacked their travel gear, everyone gathered in the living room for tea.
“So, Letty, what’s the situation?” Nero asked.
“We’ve identified most of the dark guilds’ locations. We’re in the process of confirming them,” Letty replied.
“What’s the composition of these dark guilds?” Nero inquired.
“About thirty in the Thieves Guild, ten in the Assassins Guild, twenty in the Dark Finance Guild, and two Mafia groups with a combined strength of a hundred. There are smaller groups, but they aren’t worth dealing with individually,” Letty explained.
“That’s quite a lot. How many can we call from the righteous guild?” Nero asked.
“About twenty,” Letty estimated.
“That puts us at around a hundred when we include the hunters.”
It was going to be tough. Should they call in hunters from Setimo? No, it would take too long. They would have to manage with the current forces.
“Should we split into two groups, me and Rosa on one side?” Glenhart suggested.
“No, let’s split into three—Glenhart, Rosalinde, Letty, and me. First, we’ll take out the Thieves Guild, Assassins Guild, and Dark Finance Guild. After that, we’ll confront the Mafia. The operation will be at night. We’ll need to station people to block all exits besides the main gate. Letty, how many escape routes are there in this town?” Nero asked.
“There are three,” Letty answered.
“Are any of them non-essential?” Nero continued.
“One leads to the sewers, so blocking that is a bad idea. One is used by the slum dwellers, and the last one was an old escape route that’s now forgotten. Those two should be fine to block,” Letty said.
“Okay, I’ll block those two before the operation.”
“When do we carry out the operation?” Letty asked.
“How long will confirmation take?” Nero replied.
“Two more days,” Letty said.
“Then we strike three nights from now.”
“Understood.”
Nero then visited the Hunter Guild and requested a meeting with the Guild Master, Helda. He was promptly shown to the Guild Master’s office.
“What brings you here today, Baron Brocken?” Helda asked.
“Three nights from now, we’ll need every combat-capable hunter in this town. And we need to keep this operation secret,” Nero explained.
“Mii~” Mii-chan added.
“Hoh hoh hoh! What kind of mischief are you up to now?” Helda said with a mischievous grin.
Nero explained that the dark guilds’ locations had been identified, and with the arrival of the new magistrate, they would carry out a secret operation to eliminate the dark guilds.
“That’s quite the task,” Helda remarked.
“Please gather as many hunters as you can,” Nero requested.
“At most, I can gather about a hundred and fifty in this town,” Helda estimated.
“That’s more than expected. That should be enough. We’ve also asked the righteous guild for reinforcements, and Glenhart and Rosalinde will join the fight. Oh, and please arrange for healers as well,” Nero added.
“Rosa is coming too? That old hag?” Helda asked.
“You know her?” Nero inquired.
“She’s my mentor,” Helda said.
Nero realized that while elves don’t live as long as high elves, high elves like Rosalinde had long lifespans. He shuddered at the thought of how old she might be.
“M-mii…” Mii-chan trembled as well.