A little later.
“Is he not here?”
Sybil stood in front of the Roach mansion with a distraught face.
“Yes, he left just a moment ago.”
The gatekeeper guarding the mansion entrance replied.
Sybil’s shoulders slumped in exhaustion.
‘Of all times…’
Sybil felt the anxiety inside her grow.
Yesterday, she heard an ominous word from Serf.
She didn’t think they would attack Frondier right after saying such a thing.
But she thought she should inform Frondier in advance.
Initially, she pulled out her SagePhone, then changed her mind. Texting or calling would be too risky.
‘Serf intentionally told me that Frondier is the target. Why?’
There’s only one reason I can think of.
Serf wants it to be known. He wants to broadcast across Constel and its surroundings that Frondier has become a target of ‘Indus’.
Though Frondier’s reputation has somewhat improved recently, that comparison is meaningless.
You can’t escape being the worst in Constel by adding a few points to the worst reputation.
Fake Mistilteinn, dungeon, golem.
The incidents involving Frondier are either unknown to the general public or not understood by them.
Instead, his actions seem eccentric, causing some reputations to further decline.
‘So, is that why he’s the target? Does ‘Indus’ aim at the ‘incompetent noble’ Frondier?’
But behind Frondier lies the colossal Roach family.
Is Indus an organization that can touch Roach? Or do they have assurance that they would be safe even if they did?
‘…An organization seeking to empower the commoners.’
Indus wants to increase the influence of the commoners. To do that, they need to sway public opinion to their side.
Then, they won’t attack Frondier outright. That would make them nothing but a criminal group.
If being designated as a ‘target’ doesn’t simply mean they intend to attack, then Sybil can’t carelessly share what she has heard elsewhere.
If a call or a message from Sybil to Frondier gets leaked and becomes known in Constel.
Indus would greatly embellish that leak with various additions.
Since Indus operates under the guise of ‘for the commoners’, the general public has a very favorable perception of them.
If Frondier becomes a ‘target’, that is, if Indus starts proclaiming that Frondier is a problematic noble.
The citizens will come to view Frondier as a ‘villain’ deserving of becoming Indus’s target.
That’s why she came all the way to the mansion.
“So, where did he go?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“I am a friend of Frondier. Can’t you make an exception?”
“Mr. Frondier has requested not to be disturbed by anyone.”
The gatekeeper’s words were polite and kind, but it seemed unlikely that he would divulge anything.
Sybil bit her finger.
…It was the first time she realized that she had a habit of biting her finger when anxious. She had never been anxious in her life before.
Sybil knew she couldn’t rely on luck in this situation.
Her ability to manipulate fate is extremely personal and selfish. It only improves her situation and has no concern for others.
So far, that had been fine. Just as fate had no interest in others, neither had Sybil.
But now.
Replaying the past in her mind, Sybil was not the same as she was before, her eyes were cold and biting her nails as she thought deeply.
‘… I need to think.’
She just met Frondier, that’s why she didn’t know much about him.
It was impossible to know where Frondier is right now. Where could be the place where he could rest without anyone disturbing him?
… That’s right.
Sybil didn’t know.
If that’s the case, the one who might know is—
‘… Elodie.’
She didn’t know if Frondier and Elodie were close or not.
However, the rivalry between the Roach family and the Rishae family was well known. She even knew that they were regularly meeting each other to confirm their friendship. It looked like they were showing off to the other families.
In that case, it was natural for Frondier and Elodie to have some kind of interaction.
‘Even so, there’s no guarantee that Elodie knows where Frondier is right now.’
The chances are very slim.
She had never done this kind of desperate gamble.
“… Alright.”
Sybil made up her mind and turned around.
She went to the Rishae mansion to gamble with low odds.
──However, is she really a child favored by fate?
That choice was definitely the correct answer.
* * *
The car stopped.
It was almost evening, the sun had set.
“We’re here.”
When the knight spoke, I got off without saying a word.
On the left side of the car, there was a long path. It seemed like a cottage would appear if I followed this path.
… I hope so.
Grudgingly.
This small path crossing through the dense forest definitely showed traces of people passing by.
This path seemed to have been around for quite a long time. This was probably a path that only the Roach and Rishae families used.
Fortunately, there was no problem walking alone, and the path was flat.
However,
Caw!
The occasional cry of a crow in the forest was noisy.
I walked for a while, and fortunately, I saw a cottage in the distance.
I grabbed the door handle of the cottage.
The door handle and my hand glowed blue, and the locked door handle turned smoothly.
‘A password?’
It seemed like the door handle had an identification system.
I entered and let out a silent sigh.
The cottage smelled like wood.
When I turned on the light, I could see the inside.
A wooden bookcase and a table filled the wall, and a fireplace was embedded inside.
Is this the Roach family’s separate house?
I lightly brushed against the wall.
‘… When they were young, Frondier and Elodie were in this place.’
I indulged myself in the moment and walked around.
A place that could never be reached just by playing the game.
It felt new to look around the game’s boundaries that I loved.
“… Huh?”
As I was walking, I felt something strange under my feet.
There was something in the carpet that my feet got caught in.
I lifted the carpet on the floor.
Beneath the rolled-back carpet, there was a door with a handle that could be opened.
“……a basement?”
* * *
Indus is an organization so vast that no single individual can grasp its full extent.
Serf, too, is unaware of its specific scale or even who the leader of Indus is. Serf simply does his job.
“Frondier left the mansion?”
“Without a doubt.”
Serf received the report from a crow at his residence.
Literally, a crow perched on the windowsill chattered away to Serf.
This afternoon, Frondier had slipped out of the mansion, accompanied only by a single chauffeur.
The car traveled a considerable distance to a remote forest, and after Frondier got out, it returned to the mansion.
“You weren’t followed, were you?”
“You know my magic, don’t you?”
Said the crow.
The true identity of the crow was Gregory, a member of Indus.
His specialty is taming.
He can train animals to see through their eyes. The magic used for this is so minimal that it’s erased by the animal’s innate magic. Even those with keen senses could never detect it.
And he can choose an animal to lend its voice to convey his own words, just like now.
For espionage, it is the best skill.
“There are plenty of crows in that forest, too. Impossible to notice.”
“Hmm. Frondier is alone right now.”
Serf stroked his face with his hand, a smile peeking through his fingers.
Initially, he only wanted to scare Sybil.
He was aware that they had become acquainted after the dungeon exploration.
Sybil Forte is friendly to everyone. That would have been the same for the human sloth, Frondier.
But that acquaintance was merely formal.
Serf thought that if he probed just right, Sybil would contact Frondier by text or call. That alone would have fulfilled her obligation.
“Any contact from Sybil’s side to Frondier?”
“None. She hasn’t had a call record with anyone since yesterday.”
“Hmm.”
So, does that mean Sybil didn’t even think to contact Frondier?
Did she completely ignore my warning?
Or did she catch on that I was conveying information and decided to protect Frondier… no, she wouldn’t go that far.
‘Maybe she thought it too much of a luxury to contact the ‘human sloth’ separately.’
Well, good.
That means I have my own way of doing things.
Serf smiled.
The original plan was to start later, but I can’t pass up the opportunity with Frondier being alone.
Serf made up his mind.
“The plans have changed. It’s time to bury Frondier.”