Chapter 5
The dinner was rather delicious, probably because they were trying to accommodate us.
Though because the village only possessed rather simpler cooking methods, there were only various types of fried meat and a bowl of vegetable soup.
But, something like fried meat has always been my favorite, so the fried pieces of chicken in front of my eyes were cleared out in seconds, and then, I reached my hand out for the next plate.
But Mare who was beside us seemed to be a little cautious. Is it because she is eating with us?
I see. So, it was because she had wanted to eat dinner at home, but, because of the invitation by Aliyah and the rest of the girls, she stayed behind. But she should not be this…
“Mare?”
“Ah, yes!”
“You’re behaving rather strangely. Why aren’t you eating much?”
“This… Because… Actually, these meat are all that’s left in our storage.”
Hearing this, I put down the plate in my hands, and asked sternly.
“Why? Aren’t you a hunter?”
“The wild beasts in the vicinity, I don’t know when, but they seemed to have disappeared. Only those demonic wolves are currently prowling around the vicinity. The hunters in the village tried to kill those demonic wolves, but their skins are really thick and hard, even if we were to cook them fully, they’re still hard to chew on. And we can’t leave the village either… This situation had already persisted for a few weeks, so…”
“And you people were unable to contact anyone outside? What about the country’s soldiers?”
“In the past, on a certain date, there would be people coming over to collect materials. However, ever since the depletion of our mines, we had basically not seen anyone else from outside. And, since we’re situated near the borders of two countries, Sirhente Kingdom and Martel Kingdom had wanted to fight for the rights to control our village. However, ever since the depletion of the mines, the soldiers that were mingling around outside our village had never appeared again either.”
“I see, in other words, this place has been completely abandoned.”
“Un. Though, before the appearance of the demonic wolves, some people who called themselves【Country Researchers】once came over to our mines to investigate. After telling us that the resources there were indeed depleted, they disappeared.”
“【Country Researchers】, huh?”
I looked towards the few people beside me.
Ms. Mari nodded, and then, a moment later, she sent a message over.
‘According to Dale’s records, only Sirhente Kingdom dispatched some investigators, because initially, Martel Kingdom was the one who occupied the rights to the largest part of the mines, so they were extremely clear of the situation in the mines.”
“Mare, may I ask? Just how many of these researchers came over?”
“Un, there were two of them.”
“Two…”
It seems like they did indeed disguised themselves as researchers and entered the mines.
As to the reason, it’s definitely related to the demonic wolves in the vicinity.
“Mare, then how much do you know about those two people?”
“Eh? I only got a glimpse of them. Those two seemed to be cautious of one another, and one of them did say he was a researcher from the Sirhente Kingdom, but the other did not say anything about that at all.”
“The other person… Is there anything worth mentioning about him?”
“Eh? Umm… I can’t remember…”
“Is that so… Well, that’s already enough. This is a very important clue, well done.”
“Is… Is that so? I’m very happy to be of help.”
Mare happily smiled.
“Don’t worry, we will definitely make sure to exterminate the person, who caused the appearance of these demonic wolves, from this world.”
Aliiyah looked at me.
“Right?”
“Why are you asking me?”
“I’m just worried you might start spouting things like killing people is against human morals or something.”
“Don’t worry, I will only use things like human morals on good people.”
I shrugged.
“For unique cases, we must use unique methods, right?”
“That’s right, that’s how it is~”
“Then that’s good. Then, let’s not delay any further. Let’s go!”
I’m very curious as to why Tai Shixi and the rest of the girls did not say anything throughout our entire discussion. Only then did I realize…
The plate of meat that I did not manage to eat earlier, was completely cleared out by them!
At this moment, I suddenly recalled what my mother once told me. ‘On the dining table, less talking, more eating.’
Ms. Mari seemed to have leveled up an unique skill which allowed her to contact otherworlders within a very large radius. This was also why she could contact Dale even at such a far distance.
Although I don’t know about the rest of her skills, seeing that she disappeared not long after dinner, this meant that she naturally had her own method to deal with the problem.
And because Tai Shixi knew that it was impossible to take Aliyah and Oyado with her, she grabbed Lois and walked out.
As for the remaining few… Before I could even say anything, in a flash, Oyado disappeared. Even if I tell her not to follow me, it’s probably impossible…
“Alright, Aliyah, what plans do you have?”
“In any case, let’s sneak into some suspicious houses in the vicinity and find any relevant clues. We might even be able to find the enemy!”
“Is that so? If our enemy has such a low intelligence to simply stay inside the village… then he’s probably…”
While saying that, we walked out of the inn.
But, the moment we went out of the entrance, a red dot suddenly began flashing on my mini-map.
……
Oh my G.o.d, did I trip a flag?
That’s right, the hint caused by my skill flashed!
Skill Activated: Famous Detective
Target Found: Quest-related individual.
Quest: Eliminate the Demonic Wolf
Oh my G.o.d, does that guy really not have any intelligence at all?
I did not directly look towards the enemy’s direction. Rather, I immediately confirmed his position from my mini-map, and then, looked towards Oyado.
“My cute little sister, I have a mission for you.”
“Un? What is it, big brother?”
“A seaweed is holding onto a present in front of the smithy’s entrance. Please.”
“Un, alright, big brother!”
After saying that, Oyado retreated to the back, and then, disappeared from her position.
“What did you… say?”
Aliyah asked skeptically.
‘It means ‘follow the man with a long beard in front of the smithy’s entrance’. Because I cannot send her a private message, we decided to come up with codes. Alright, you take the back, I will take the front. We will sandwich him. Let’s go.’
‘How… How did you know about him?’
‘My skill is that overpowered.’
I said with a smile.