Chapter 162 (Self Edited) – The Search and the Suspicious Figure
After leaving the guild, Soma turned his foot to the east. Well it didn’t really matter which direction he chose to go, but he was actually concerned what happened to that place after that.
However, the scene which had spread in the destination where he arrived was a situation which was not able to be said that it was not much different from a while ago. There were a lot of angry voices as the adventurer scolded the people who tried to go outside forcibly.
He thought it would be troublesome to go there, but he had no other choice. Soma let out a sigh, but, contrary to his expectation, he was able to escape there easily.
When he showed him the permit, the men made it easy for him to go through them. It was amazing enough to the point that the arguing bunch stopped for a moment.
Right after that, Soma could hear that people were screaming. He wondered whether they were fine, but… it didn’t really matter to him.
“Hmm… even if they talked about it beforehand, it was pretty smooth.” (Soma)
It was a bit of a concern, but that didn’t cause any problems if it was smooth. While muttering whether if everything would be fine, Soma turned around. But, that didn’t mean that he didn’t care about them.
He was actually directing his awareness to what further ahead.
“Come to think of it, I wonder what’s going there…” (Soma)
An unexpected event had happened here from the beginning. There was no denying the possibility that something like that was happening over there.
However, while thinking about such a thing, Soma turned forward. While thinking that the three would be fine even if there was something, he trusted them that they were able to deal with it by themselves. Then, what Soma should do now wasn’t to keep worrying about the other side.
In order to fulfill what he had to do, Soma went further ahead.
—
If he had to say it briefly, it would have been difficult to search in the town.
However, this wasn’t because there was something unexpected. Rather, Steina was expecting that it would be difficult.
In the first place, she didn’t know at all the characteristics of the culprit they were looking for. Moreover, even if she knew, the culprit might have specialized magic tool. There was no way to find it if the culprit secluded himself in a room, and even if he walked outside, there was no way he took out the magic tool in an easy-to-understand manner. In order to understand, the only way to understand was that the culprit had no choice but to hold the spot while using the magic tool. But, if he did that, the search would have ended at that point of time.
If that was the case, the things that could be done in such a situation would be limited. It was about walking around all the way and waiting for a clue.
In short…
“…It’s simply boring to death.” (Steina)
Steina inadvertently muttered that. The buildings to the left and right didn’t change for the better. If she had to say whether it was suspicious, it was true. However, if she had the opposite to that, it was also true. In other words, it was a normal place everywhere.
Since they had been watching this kind of scene ever since the search started, it was justified for one or two complaints to leak.
“Well, it can’t be helped. We have predicted this in the first place.” (Felicia)
When Steina turned to the voice, she saw a little tiredness had been oozing out from Felicia who said so. Therefore, Steina shrugged her shoulders as she replied.
“Well, you’re right.” (Steina)
Basically, when Steina remembered the discussion they had, this plan was actually her plan. In other words, it wasn’t possible to say that this happened because of mistakes, but… if Steina didn’t say it, someone would come out with this plan. There was no fun or ingenuity in what they were doing now. Well, it was a matter of course since they were only walking around.
That was probably the reason why Sheila and Felicia agreed to her plan…
“…Yes, it’s boring but it’s a sure thing. Besides, it’s better than Soma’s plan.” (Sheila)
“Aah… are you talking about his plan of stepping in without asking questions to the place where he thought it was suspicious, and blow it away? He shouldn’t be a brain muscle, but sometimes he is entirely like an idiot, is it?” (Steina)
“I asked him how would he know that it was suspicious, and he said that it would be based on his intuition. Well, that’s Soma-san for you…” (Felicia)
“…Yes, and yet, he solves everything.” (Sheila)
It was scary that they weren’t able to deny that fact.
In fact, Soma shouldn’t know anything, but in matters that could only be called luck that happened several times until now, he prevented the events that would surely be catastrophes if left alone. Steina knew Soma’s intuition as well. There was no way she could make a fool of him.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t likely that she could depend on his intuition. In the end, they had no choice but to continue doing boring things.
“Well then, isn’t this the end of this place?” (Steina)
“…You’re right.” (Felicia)
“…Hmm?” (Steina)
Steina tilted her head because she felt something like a shadow after hearing Felicia’s reply. In fact, when they looked closely to that appearance, it was something that she had been doing earlier… then, Steina shrugged her shoulders.
Although her face remained calm, but they somehow understood what she was thinking.
“It’s no use thinking about it right? Ultimately speaking, it doesn’t relate to us.” (Steina)
From those words, Steina must have realized that Felicia was also enlightened. She felt that Felicia was trying to say something, but in the end, she settled down with a wry smile.
“…I’m sorry. I know that but…” (Felicia)
“You don’t have to apologize. Besides…” (Steina)
She wanted to say that she understood her feelings, but she stopped herself from saying it. It was because there was no point to say it.
Instead, Steina looked around and let out a small breath. As it had been mentioned before, the landscape didn’t change for the better. The buildings were only looked expensive compared to the inn where they stayed. Rather than feeling suspicious, what came into her mind first was the danger of collapse.
However, the problem was that the interior of the buildings was better. On top of that, not all of the buildings, including here, had been abandoned. Someone should live in it at the moment.
If she could choose a word, slum would be the best. If she couldn’t, this place could be called a disposal place. They were at the south of the south side. Moreover, they were going further to the back alley.
However, it wasn’t rare to see such a scene in every town. Perhaps, this kind of place was limited to a size of a village. Speaking of a village, this scene couldn’t be produced.
People, who lived here, were people with low social standing. Therefore, a village wouldn’t have room to support these people. That was why when people like them went out until they reached the town, most of them die being eaten by monsters along the way. Those who were lucky enough to arrive, would go into these places. Eventually, these people would either turned to ashes or climbed to the top, and at that time, there would be another people showed up. Since it continued like that, such a place didn’t disappear.
Therefore, this place is a good place to visit to find those who might hide because of guilt, or planning something suspicious. It would be obvious to search this place first.
However, knowledge and experience were two different things. Although Felicia might have knowledge about this matter, it was hard to imagine that she wouldn’t be shocked to see it for the first time.
Speaking of what Steina did to correspond to Felicia, she merely shrugged. It was Soma or Sheila supposed to do something about this. Steina probably couldn’t be treated as their companion yet, but her current roles were to find a clue and to look for something that the other two overlooked.
“…Hmm?” (Steina)
At that moment, a figure crossed the edge of sight.
There was nothing strange about that. As mentioned earlier, there were a lot of people who she didn’t know their ident.i.ty, but they were people who lived here. The adventurers would live in places better than this place, so it would be rather natural that a person was walking out.
If it wasn’t her imagination, Steina had seen that face before.
“…You guys, come here for a bit.” (Steina)
“Yes? What’s wrong?” (Felicia)
“…Did you find something suspicious?” (Sheila)
Although Steina had a doubt, she bitterly smiled at Sheila, who asked her with confidence. Soma was also scary, but this girl was scary enough.
Well, maybe they should relied on her now. While thinking that, she nodded.
“Yes. I don’t know if it has anything to do with this, but.. at least, I’m sure it’s suspicious.” (Steina)
“I see… so far, I have no other clue.” (Felicia)
“…Yes, I leave it to you.” (Sheila)
It was very helpful since the conversation was quick. She nodded again with a bitter smile, and started to move quickly. Of course, it was a place where the figure earlier headed.
The other side didn’t notice them, but if he did, he would be able to escape. That was why she did it secretly. When she put her face out of the corner and only looked with one eye, there was the same back of body at the end of the street.
“Is that the person? Well, surely, he is suspicious, but…” (Felicia)
“No, I’m sure he’s suspicious.” (Steina)
He covered his entire body with a black robe and even wore a hood. The attire itself wasn’t suspicious, but the person was suspicious.
Moreover, she knew that Felicia wanted to say. Even if the color was white, Felicia and Sheila were similar if it was only the outer appearance. There was a bit hesitant to doubt them.
Nevertheless, Steina had to a.s.sert that he was suspicious. She couldn’t overlook this and considered about Felicia and Sheila. More importantly, she recognized that figure.
“…Well, if you ask me whether he is suspicious or not, is he suspicious? He is probably wary about the surroundings.” (Felicia)
“I don’t have time to talk leisurely, so I’ll leave out the details. Well, I ran into a scene where he was trying to do something bad.” (Steina)
It took only a few seconds to see him, but she hadn’t forgotten. Although she didn’t intend to kill him from the beginning, he easily managed to escape unharmed. There was no way that she could forget him after that. She was certain that person was the same guy.
Of course, that guy was wearing a black robe too. However, that doesn’t mean it was a different person, especially when the height was similar. But, it was that situation in that place. Even if that person was another person, there was no reason to overlook since that he was clearly suspicious.
To be honest, Steina didn’t think that he had anything to do with this situation. Although she felt a bit, it seemed to be a different matter as far as she heard the story.
Anyhow, she couldn’t leave him alone. If he wasn’t a different person, and if she left him alone, that little girl…
“…Well, it doesn’t matter. It’s not related anyway.” (Steina)
“Yes? Did you say anything?” (Felicia)
“…It’s just a monologue, so don’t worry. More importantly, I’m going to follow him.
This place didn’t seem to be a very complicated place. Nevertheless, in order to prevent them from being noticed, they waited until that person turned the corner. However, if they were taking too much time, they might lose sight of him.
“…Let’s hurry.” (Sheila)
Sheila said so as she stared at Steina. She let out a small breath while looking ahead. Then, Steina followed him and was careful not to make a sound.