Setup (3)
Layla and I advanced through the monster-infested area. As the sign labeled “Beginner” suggested, it wasn’t too dangerous.
It was more like a walking trail, with the chatter of various students who had co out for teaming filling the air.
“Do you have any experience hunting monsters, Shion?”
Layla asked. She had a relaxed expression on her face, exuding confidence.
“Yeah.”
“Really? I thought you wouldn’t have- What? You do?”
I had caught quite a few monsters in my past life. Back then, it was all about the gear.
Living day to day, earning money by hunting monsters, investing 70% of it in equipnt and consumables, and the remaining 20% in dicine.
“Not in dungeons. Real monsters.”
“I said I have.”
I drew the sword from my waist. Ahead of us was a red wolf, growling fiercely with bared teeth.
A Blood Wolf.
A beast affected by cross-talk, it’s surprisingly tricky to deal with. Like rabies, if it bites even once, it’s a fatal wound.
I asked Layla.
“What should we do?”
“Okay.”
“No, not okay. I an, what’s the plan?”
“What?”
“I an, shouldn’t we co up with a strategy?”
“…Oh, right?”
Layla pondered for a mont.
“You go first, Shion. I’ll support from behind.”
She’s used to operating solo as a hero, so teaming might be awkward for her.
“How will you support? Do you have any formulas or magic you can use?”
“…Wait.”
Layla narrowed her eyes in thought, then snapped her fingers decisively.
“I’ll cast a buff on you.”
“A buff?”
It’s highly likely that buffs won’t work on . My magical immunity is too strong.
“Yeah. Look!”
Layla expelled magic.
Swoosh── It transford into bumpy particles and clung to my body.
“‘Magic Armor’! How’s that─?”
“…It’s good.”
Fortunately, it’s an armor that works on the outside of my body, so it’s useful for too.
“Here I go.”
I took a step forward. In an instant, the Blood Wolf leaped with a push from its hind legs, but I deflected it with 「Eight Swords」.
Clang──!
A similar sound rang out from the teeth and the sword. The wolf, repelled, crouched down and tried to sink its teeth into my ankle.
Crack─!
Layla’s ‘Magic Armor’ instead shattered its teeth. I thrust my sword into the gaping mouth of the beast as it staggered back.
──!
“Oh. That’s good.”
I turned to look at Layla. Layla laughed out loud, “Hahaha!”
“Hahaha!”
“…Why are you laughing?”
“Hahaha! Shion, you might not know, but that ‘Magic Armor’ is still connected to . I’m supplying the magic. As long as my magic lasts, you’re invincible.”
“Is that so? Then let’s keep going.”
“Hahaha! Sure thing.”
* * *
We hunted monsters, and the mafia’s tailing was still persistent.
However, they wouldn’t dare to attack rashly. Even the mafia would know who Layla Hilton by my side is.
“Wow, we’ve already caught nine? Isn’t it ti to head back?”
Disposing of the carcasses from monster hunting is simple. Send the GPS location to the cleaners, and they take care of it.
Yes, that’s what I used to do before my regression.
“Then let’s head back.”
“Okay. Let’s bet on who can get there first!”
“…Ugh, no thanks. I’m tired. You’ve just been standing around.”
“Fine! Let’s go!”
She dashed off first.
“Sigh…”
With no choice, I followed her. At first, we threaded on a ground covered with bushes.
But at so point, it turned into a dirt path.
The trees had disappeared, and the surroundings looked like a desolate wasteland.
“…”
It had suddenly beco like this.
I stood still and looked around.
It wasn’t an illusion. My body would resist any enchantnt.
So, it must be a trap.
Ssssshhhh───!
A sword flew out of thin air towards . I quickly deflected it, but that was just the beginning.
Whooooosh…
To the right. Like a flock of birds being swept away by the wind, countless polearms were hurtling towards .
──! ─! ─! ─! ─!
I swung my sword and knocked them all away. It wasn’t particularly difficult.
Just like playing the piano.
─! ──! ─! ───!
Suddenly, I heard the sound of soone grinding their teeth in my ear. It must be the mafia.
They had separated Layla from and trapped alone…
The worst choice they could make.
────!
All I had to do was buy ti. Swing my sword, stay alive. There was no need to deal with them directly.
Because.
Kwazzzzzzzzzz───!
A rift appeared in the air. Soone from the outside had broken the trap.
I must have held out for about 30 minutes.
A bit cliché and boring, but as expected, a woman dressed in a suit, whom I had anticipated would surely appear, was walking through the rift in the trap.
─Are you okay?
She asked . I pretended to be dazed and answered.
“…Ah, yes.”
─There are criminals here attacking people.
That’s when I belatedly realized.
She had been aware of the tailing from the start.
─Then, I’ll patrol here. Be careful.
In the place where Layla had disappeared, it was Mila who appeared.
I could be suspicious, but it’s better not to be.
Kwaaaa──!
She kicked off the ground and leaped up. Clang──! She broke the core of the trap with a headbutt.
The scenery changed back to an ordinary forest, and the presence of the mafia scattered in an instant.
“…Doesn’t this stand out a bit?”
A small smile tugged on my lips.
Just then, I heard the sound of hurried footsteps coming from behind.
“Hey! Shi, Shion!”
She spoke as if she had just rembered to co back to .
“Where were you?! I’ve been looking for you!”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?! I’ve been searching for you!”
“Really?”
I deliberately put on a clueless expression.
“…Shion. Huh? What happened?”
With an innocent face, she asked naively, and I shrugged my shoulders.
“Uh… Mila just ca and went.”
* * *
Back in the car on the way ho.
Layla mumbled as she turned on the radio.
“…Shion. Do you owe soone these days?”
“No.”
I answered calmly. Layla tilted her head in confusion.
“That’s strange.”
“Why.”
“…It’s nothing~”
She must have noticed the tailing and deliberately helped . She knew that if she wasn’t there, the mafia would attack , so she stepped aside to lure the attack and then drove them off as Mila.
─The next news. The convenience store robbers arrested by ‘Mila’ last night in Trick City…
Just as the radio ntioned Mila, I glanced at Layla.
“Hey. You know Mila, don’t you?”
“…Huh? I an, I know of her. But~ I’m not really into her~”
Layla said nonchalantly.
“Aren’t you both from Trick City?”
“I don’t know~ What kind of woman she is. Always causing a commotion.”
“Oh. Mila is a woman?”
“…”
At my words, Layla’s face suddenly hardened. Her fingertips and toes noticeably stiffened. Even her breathing beca inaudible.
I spoke nonchalantly.
“Her voice did sound feminine.”
“…”
Layla clamped her mouth shut. She ran her tongue over the inside of her lips and then sneakily glanced at .
“What do you think of this Mila person then?”
“She’s obviously a good person.”
That was all I replied.
“…Really?”
“Yeah. She helped when you weren’t there, didn’t she? Why wouldn’t I believe that?”
“No, not that. I an, just her character, you know.”
I pondered what else to say, but I simply conveyed the truth.
“I can only think of her as a good person. Sacrificing herself to help others, I can’t even imagine doing that.”
“…”
Then Layla turned her face slightly towards the window, trying to hide her expression.
─With Mila’s continued heroic actions, the public is now urging for the enactnt of related laws, saying that it’s ti for Trick City to change.
“Mila could certainly call for the heavily ard villains.
“…Is that what you an?”
Layla asked.
“It’s a well-known story. If citizens carry self-defense knives, criminals will carry guns, and if citizens carry guns, criminals will co with submachine guns.”
“…”
Quite a famous hero’s dilemma.
Layla seed to fall into thought for a mont, too.
“But sohow.”
I turned to look at Layla. She t my eyes at an angle.
“It feels like Mila could overco all of that.”
“…”
Layla’s expression wavered slightly, but she said nothing.
The more I thought about it, the less this guy seed like soone who should talk too much.
“Mila seems like she could really beco a true hero.”
“…You’re quite favorable towards her, huh? Did you actually et her today or sothing?”
“She ca and went. She helped out and left.”
“What happened?”
“That’s a secret.”
“…bullshit. What did she help you with? Were you being chased by debt collectors or sothing?”
Layla made a sardonic face and then pressed her cheek against the car window. Her cheeks were already flushed.
I smirked and stepped on the accelerator.
* * *
At the Intelligence Agency of Libra.
As soon as I parted with Layla, I t with Sonya again. She looked even more haggard, as if she had lost all hope.
“Get a grip.”
“…”
She looked up at in response to my words.
“It’s not over yet.”
“…Ha.”
A twisted smile ford at the corner of her mouth.
“Do you have any suspects?”
“Suspects.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the use? No matter whom I suspect, I’ll end up being the criminal.”
“You need to tell so that I have a reason to investigate him.”
I had already given her the hint about the Intelligence Agency.
“…People from the Intelligence Agency ca and went. They said if it ends here, they’ll at least spare my life.”
Sonya bowed her head. I frowned.
“Are you planning to give up like this?”
“I might.”
“You have the blood of Libra in you.”
At those words, Sonya’s shoulders twitched. She quietly raised her eyes.
“Are you, a descendant of Libra, planning to give up your life to be torn apart by re hunting dogs?”
“…”
Sonya clenched her teeth.
“So.”
She glared at with dry eyes and asked.
“Do you think soone like you can clear my na? You want to believe that? You, who are nothing but the youngest’s sole follower.”
I t her gaze.
“Yes. I am trying. Because I believe in you.”
“…”
Unfortunately, I couldn’t show her the fabricated evidence. There were too many watching eyes.
I smiled faintly and scribbled a small na with my finger.
[Benedict]
“Do as you please now.”
“Yes.”
I stood up. I had received a firm answer, and now it was ti to move.
“Hey.”
Sonya called out to . She looked up at with eyes that had beco moist.
“Can I also trust you?”
“…I always act in the best interest of Libra.”
I simply responded that way.
Sonya seed inwardly satisfied, as she quietly smiled.
…
The next morning at dawn.
I received information from Grawl. It was about Benedict’s secret accounts and deposit records.
They were ticulously hidden, but Grawl’s tracking skills were exceptional. It seed he spent all his ti cooped up in the lab studying this stuff.
“It’s certain! He has connections with the mafia! The money laundering thods are all mafia-style! And there’s more, there’s evidence that he’s been selling off Libra’s interests for money!”
Thanks to this, I had gathered a whole pile of dirt that could bury Benedict.
However, I couldn’t be the one to submit this. It’s not an action befitting an internal investigator.
From the beginning, my mission was only to determine the truth behind ‘Sonya’s betrayal.’
Benedict’s corruption was not my concern.
“Right.”
But…
I had soone who could move on my behalf.
There was no need to deliver it to him directly.
Beep-
I unlocked the car door with my key.
A mid-size SUV. A filthy car filled with bugs and wiretaps, a gift from Bell Moore.
I called Grawl on his cell phone.
“Is that information accurate?”
─Yes.
From now on, Grawl would act as if he were my personal informant.
─Team Leader Benedict of the Intelligence Agency.
Grawl spoke loudly enough for his voice to leak out of the phone.
All our conversations now were being leaked to ‘Bell Moore.’
─He’s selling Libra’s internal information to the mafia.
I pretended to be troubled and pressed my temples.
─Furthermore… There’s evidence that he has sold the business rights of the eldest son, lord Derek’s business. He took kickbacks and allowed entry.
“It’s a clear overstep of authority. However, I’ll cover it up.”
─What? You’re covering it up?
I almost laughed at Grawl’s acting, but I clenched my teeth and continued.
“Yes. It’s not related to the corruption involving Sonnet Revil. I am only committed to my duty as an internal investigator…”
…
─I am only committed to my duty as an internal investigator…
“Holy fuck!”
Bell Moore slamd his fists on the desk. He abruptly stood up and paced around his private office.
“Why the hell bury it. Ah, fuck.”
Bell Moore’s blood pressure rose as he listened to Shion’s words.
This guy is too unnecessarily loyal, stubborn, and principled.
It’s corruption that shouldn’t be buried.
“…This is definitely a setup by that bastard Benedict.”
Benedict’s setup.
Bell Moore was already convinced.
With each passing day, his conviction grew, and now it was 100% certain.
Team Leader Benedict of the Intelligence Agency, that son of a bitch, had concocted a sche to screw over Sonya and used him in the process.
“That piece of trash.”
“…So.”
A faint voice returned. Benedict looked in that direction.
“What are you going to do now?”
It was Riley.
He had disclosed the inside story about Benedict to her before anyone else.
Bell Moore told her.
“It’s certain that Benedict is acting unilaterally. Lord Derek doesn’t know about this.”
“…Then?”
“Then what! We have to strike first.”
Bell Moore spoke while eavesdropping on Shion Ascal.
“Shion Ascal has a personal informant. Seems like a capable guy… I’ll get the information from him first. You feed it through.”
Riley frowned slightly with a reluctant face.
“But it’s a bit… I don’t know about getting involved too.”
“You were there with when we arrested Sonya! You’ve been deceived by that bastard Benedict too. If this goes wrong, we could be accomplices. You think that bastard Benedict isn’t going to cut off his tail?”
“…”
Riley, too, had no desire to argue. Benedict’s character was that contemptible, and as a mber of 「Vancheon」, she wanted to get rid of Benedict more than anyone else.
“Alright. I’ll help you this ti. But rember, you owe one.”
“Yeah. I owe you one. Now keep it down. We need to keep listening.”
Bell Moore focused on the voice of Shion Ascal flowing from the earphones.
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