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Chapter 444: Supposedly Missing in Action…

「I’m curious what’s the story behind the alias that Jean chose, but for now, are you guys okay with going to Erchica? 」
Hauron returned to our previous topic.

It’s orangutan, known as the sage or wise old man of the jungle.

「Erchica, is that the land famous for its salt? 」
Retze confirmed.

「The place where a pickaxe got stuck? 」
Speaking of salt mines ー I met a ginormous white whale in Erchica when I went to check out the place. The spirit’s name is Elwin and his entire body is made out of salt crystal. A pickaxe was lodged on his body, but we already parted ways without ever figuring how and why it got stuck there.

「Yes, the pickaxe ー what a strange way to remember. Although in a different country, it’s still near the fortress city, and I can gather information through passing spirits. Erchica doesn’t have an adventurer’s guild yet tourists still visit, so people always come and go. We won’t stand out even if we walk around the city. 」

Erchica is separated from the fortress city by a mountain, so folks can’t travel to and fro using horses. Despite the countries’ close location on map, there’s little to no interaction between the two. It’s not a problem for Hauron; he can easily go back and forth directly with his flying carpet. It’s just that the distance is farther than between Canum and Fortress City.

Wait, Hauron seems to know something about the pickaxe. As expected of you, Grand Sage! Ahh, but it would be too insensitive of me if I were to ask right now in this atmosphere, so let’s just ask when we’re on-site, yup, on-site it is.

「If it’s Erchica then I can take you guys there. 」
「Please do, we’ll depart in the morning. It’s cold outside during the night over there in this season. 」
Hauron was right, there shouldn’t be any inn open at this time, and even if there is, we’ll stand out too much.

「Then I’m gonna go back to sleep now that my belly’s all warmed up. 」
Dean stood up then crawled back into his futon. It only took him 3 seconds before he’s asleep.

「I’m also getting some shut-eye for a bit, then. It’s better to hear from the lassie rather than doing guesswork, right? 」
Chris was always bright and sparkling, but it’s obvious that he’s still tired now.

「Dinosso family’s mister will be worried once he hears the news, so let him know we’re safe. 」
Retze was rummaging around, doing some light fixing of his things. He’s probably gonna go to bed soon too.

Oh, he washed Ivy-chan when he went outside, huh. Ivy-chan had been wrapped in cloth, but he’s putting her back to her scabbard.

「I’ll go to Dinosso’s place first thing in the morning tomorrow. 」
I added more firewood to the hearth and the fire blazed stronger. I prepared a bundle of firewood and filled an empty water jug to the brim, making sure everything is ready when they wake up.

「What about you, Ash? If you’re not feeling sluggish, wanna come with me to Canum and take a bath to take a bath at my house? 」
Or course Butler is coming along too ー I signaled to Butler with my eyes.

「It’s a tempting offer, but I’m not confident I can come up with an excuse why I’m all clean when I’m supposed to be shabby and all. 」
Ash glanced at the sleeping lass.

And so ー

I went back to the mountain 『House』and took Riche for a stroll, went to Canum to deliver freshly baked bread to Dinosso’s family, gave Khan had his breakfast, then went back to the forest house to find that everyone already woke up. I then teleported them to Erchica.

「Alright, you wait for us in Canum, okay. 」
Dean said.

「Eh 」

「It would be best if this young lady does not see your appearance. 」
「Mm. 」
Butler and Ash.

「If the royal capital catches wind about you, it’ll spread like wildfire in no time. Dealing with the fief lord ーthe nobles can be a real hassle, you know? 」
Chris has been the one interacting with the nobles in Dean’s place, so he made a pretty convincing point.

「We know you helped us a lot, but just stay put for now. I’ll fill you in later and bring back some souvenirs. 」
Retze.
After waking the young lady from her sleep, we made a quiet exit before she was fully awake—well, you could say we were gently pushed out. They probably think I’m oblivious, which is fine by me.

I quickly left right after waking the lass from her sleep ー well, more like I was pushed out. They probably thought I was clueless, so it couldn’t be helped.

From here on, it’s likely to be a game of negotiation with the lord and the nobility, and they probably didn’t want me to draw too much attention. Not that I mind…yeah, it’s fine…?

Alright, let’s mess with the fief lord’s mansion a bit. Maybe make the fireplace crackle and throw sparks, have the chimney smoke flow back into the room, make the well water taste a bit bitter, and have their meat either undercooked or burntーhmm, what else?

Ah, I’ll also have the deputy guild master’s glasses soak in a slush of mana. Technically, the adventurers’ guild isn’t directly involved— this quest was commissioned because of suspicion towards the fief lord, so I’ll go easy on him.

Oh, and I should keep the lord’s attention away from that sister or whoever. If he tries anything, I’ll make sure there’s a more noticeable prank. I’ll make sure I won’t be late at the appointed time of rescuing everyone.

I need to gather some intel to figure out if this is solely the fief lord’s doing or if the royal capital is behind it too.

So here I am, planning what to ask of the spirits in the fortress city. And yes, some of it is out of sheer spite,an outburst! I’m confident I’m more of a pain-in-the-neck than the nobles!

Or at least, that’s what I thought.

『A fire broke out~ 』
『We made the bearded man’s room explode. 』
『Jean is angry at those people, so nobody helped put out the fire~ 』
『We worked hard to spread the fire~ 』
『The smoke was really all puffy billowing up, you know? 』

Ahh, yes, that’s what happened. The fief lord’s family seemed to have gone to the temple to get treated… But the spirits over there are also slacking off, so I don’t think their treatment would go well.

Ahh, right. I forgot the spirits can read my mind, yeah…