Chapter 92

The guild employee, groaning in shock, still tried to fulfill his duties, staggering to his feet and once again approached the trenchworm.

"The victim here is..."

"Ah, it was an unfortunate accident. It looked like they had just eaten something when I saw them... a human, it seems."

Leighton answered with a nonchalant expression.

His face showed no trace of pity, only a smile.

"Someone... get a healer..."

"It's no use. They're already dead."

Leighton cut off my words, which I had blurted out without thinking.

Indeed, it had been quite some time since they were swallowed. Even if I were to attempt resuscitation, it would be futile.

So, what should we do? I asked the guild employee.

"In such a case, what happens?"

"...Well, we should probably contact the victim's family... The body rarely comes out of the collection, so there are no guidelines..."

As he spoke, the guild employee rolled the body over to get a better look at the face.

The face, though partially peeled and decayed, was still recognizable.

Looking around, it seemed that few people were composed enough to look directly at the scene; most averted their eyes from a distance.

However, some had made up their minds. A few voices rose as they identified the face.

"Isn't this the mayor?"

"Y-Yeah, it's Mayor Shigan, I think."

"Huh?"

I was surprised and turned to confirm the face.

I had never seen the person before, but this was the culprit who had used Helena to evade taxes.

When alive, he had apparently had smooth skin and a plump body, with no waistline.

His face was still firm, slightly puffy. His short, blond hair was painfully disheveled.

Looking at his left hand, the fingers were swollen like thin grubs, clearly untrained.

Turning to the other hand, it seemed to have been digested and was missing.

Though not a particularly handsome face, he must have had some charm. That was my thought.

However, Shigan. I had heard the name somewhere before.

No, I had seen it! I remembered the large number of letters with that name on them in the mayor's house when I killed the mercenaries.

So, were all those letters addressed to the mayor? But were they mostly unopened...?

"Then, are we good to go?"

As I was thinking, Leighton suddenly spoke to the guild employee.

He showed the request form to the employee and said,

"I want you to sign off on the completion of the hunt. This trenchworm is dead, right?"

"Ah, yes! But, the body is still inside..."

"We've donated this body to the guild. At that point, it's the guild's property. Whatever comes out from there is none of our business, right?"

The employee probably wanted to conduct a detailed examination of the body. But as he tried to argue, Leighton continued,

"Or what? Does the ownership of the body revert to us, including the body inside? The guild wouldn't return something they've already taken and damaged, right?"

Leighton pointed to the throat wound as he spoke.

However, there were many other wounds. It didn't seem to make much of a difference.

After hearing Leighton's words, the employee lowered his gaze and hesitated before speaking. It seemed to be a reasonable point.

"...I see. Then, ... 'Human remains found in the stomach contents.'"

"Hehe, I'll leave it to you. See you."

Reluctantly, the employee signed the request form.

Leighton nodded at me, and we began to walk through the crowd.

The crowd, which had gathered around us, watched us with puzzled eyes as we left.

"So, what was that all about?"

Walking alongside Leighton, who was slightly ahead, I asked.

I had a general idea, but I wanted to confirm.

"Hmm? Oh, the mayor had an accident. Unfortunately, he encountered a monster that had been lurking around the town for years and was bitten from the head."

"Was it really just an unfortunate accident?"

As I asked, Leighton laughed and closed his mouth.

Returning to the Explorer's Guild and calling out to the reception, it seemed the news of the request had already spread.

No, it was probably different. In this world without phones, it was impossible for the news to have spread from Elain, which was four hundred miles (about two hundred kilometers) away, in less than an hour.

It was likely that the details of the request had been kept secret until now.

"Yes, it has indeed been completed. Here is your reward in gold coins."

"Thank you."

However, neither of us mentioned the details, and the report of the completed request was concluded smoothly.

It felt anticlimactic.

"Regarding the reward, minus the guild's fee, we can return it to Miss Hedron..."

Leighton tossed a few gold coins into the air and caught them again.

"Is she at Helena's place?"

"Yes. She went to Helena's hut earlier."

By the way, what did it mean that she would be sad?

This should be the end of it.

If there was something to be done, we could take precautions.

"Is there anything else we need to do?"

"No, not really. We can leave the town after leaving it to Miss Hedron."

"Then, one last thing."

It seemed there was nothing else. But what did those words mean? As I was about to ask, Leighton interrupted me.

"Regarding Miss Helena's actions, it will likely happen today, at the latest by tonight. There's nothing you can do, and it's too late to take any precautions. So, don't worry about it."

"What exactly is going to happen..."

"Regarding Miss Helena, the only thing you can do is to keep Tera quiet about the monster killing and keep your own mouth shut."

After saying this with a blank stare, Leighton suddenly smiled.

"Don't misunderstand. This is a well-intentioned warning. If you do this, the damage will be minimized, and it will be more convenient for me."

"Does that mean when Helena goes to the mayor's house to collect the reward tonight?"

"Yes. If Helena weren't so lazy, it would happen sooner."

"Can you just... be more straightforward?"

I could feel the irritation in my voice.

His roundabout way of speaking was frustrating, and I wanted him to be clear.

However, Leighton deflected my anger with a gentle smile.

"Alright. But it's better to see it happen rather than hear it from me. If you can't wait, let's go to Miss Helena's place now. Let's move the clock forward."

"Is there no way to prevent what's about to happen?"

"Well, that's inevitable. It's part of my goal, and it's an unavoidable situation."

As we walked quickly towards Helena's hut, Leighton continued to speak, but he didn't reveal what he was going to do.

"Tera! If you're there, come out!"

Outside Helena's hut, I called out to Tera. Even if I asked to be let in, Helena wouldn't allow it. If we needed to communicate, we had to do it through Tera.

As I called out, the sound of footsteps echoed from inside, and Tera soon appeared.

"You two... Are you done?"

"Yes. The monster is dead."

As I said this, Leighton spoke from beside me.

"I've come to return your reward."

Reacting to the outstretched hand, Tera reflexively caught the gold coins. She looked at them with a complex expression.

"Thank you. Is there anything else?"

"No, nothing else. But there's something I need to tell Miss Helena. I think she can hear us from here, right?"

"Yes."

Then, Leighton raised his voice slightly and said,

"Shigan Sheffield was eaten by the monster and died. What will you do, Miss Helena?"

I tilted my head at Leighton's words.

Even if she knew, what could Helena do?

As I was about to think this, a woman rushed out from inside.

I knew who it was without thinking.

The woman with messy blond hair, flawless white skin, and slender limbs. She was short and had just come out of the hut. It was undoubtedly Helena.

As she rushed out, she stumbled and fell.

"What, what's going on!? Why him!?"

Helena struggled to get up with her weakened limbs, but her gaze was strong, fixed on Leighton.