Chapter 40

Sakuya, having received instructions from Dick, the guild master, headed towards the headquarters of the Garamdoor Trading Company on Tenth Street.

Her profession is that of an "explorer." While it is not a job specialized in covert infiltration, her ability to investigate concealed information is sometimes even superior to that of intelligence specialists. At the Silver Water Bottle Inn, although she is not a specialist in intelligence, she belongs to the information department, where she organizes the information coming into the guild and sometimes conducts field investigations herself.

The lifespan of a moon rabbit person is longer than that of a human, but her appearance and age do not differ much. Her age is unknown, but that is because she stopped counting after a certain point.

Four years ago, she met Dick through a certain incident and, for certain reasons, decided to join his guild. Until then, Sakuya had not been interested in ranks, but after registering with the Adventurer's Guild, she learned about the strength of adventurers. Her combat evaluation, based on the self-defense techniques she had learned to protect herself, was nearly ten thousand. When combined with her moon rabbit person's special abilities and her explorer skills, her total strength was 32,384, placing her in the S-rank category.

Those who possess this level of strength make up less than one in ten thousand of the capital's population, and the number decreases even further for SS-rank, with SSS-rank being comparable to a god. Sakuya is aware of this, but the members of the Demon King's extermination team and Verlene do not abuse their power, so people do not fully grasp their strength.

(That said, it's not as if we can leave everything to them.)

Silently eliminating her footsteps and concealing her presence, Sakuya, wearing a gray cloak to hide her revealing outfit, passed by the noisy bar that was open late into the night without a care, heading towards her destination. No one noticed her.

Eventually, she left the bustling area and entered a district lined with shops. The Garamdoor Trading Company occupied about a quarter of this district.

Surrounded by a high wall, there was a courtyard inside, and a two-story luxurious mansion stood there. Sakuya looked at the documents in her hand and noticed a section stating that the company had recently grown rapidly by dealing with rare animals.

(Master's prediction seems to be correct. I can faintly smell the scent of beast people from this mansion...)

After confirming that no one was watching, Sakuya firmly planted her feet on the ground and leaped up, performing a backflip to clear the wall, which was easily twice her height.

After landing inside the wall, Sakuya noticed that dogs were let loose in the yard. While rabbits consider dogs to be natural enemies, moon rabbit people do not particularly fear them. Sakuya extended her hand towards the approaching dogs and whispered a small spell.

"Phantom"

This basic illusion magic took effect—there was no resistance from the dogs, and the ones that had been running fiercely stopped, lay down, and showed their bellies.

Seeing the dogs looking comfortable, Sakuya smiled.

"If your masters leave from here, I will return them to nature where they belong. They should be able to survive in a pack."

Sakuya does not like the smell of other beasts. Therefore, she did not get too close and left the dogs, which were trapped by the illusion, as she headed towards the mansion.

She can only tolerate other races if they have a "blood bond." When such a bond is formed, beast people no longer repel the scent of their bonded partner.

However, the union of beast people and humans is not easily accepted by either race. Despite sharing a common origin and differing only in the blessings of different gods, dark elves and elves are in conflict, and wolf people and dog people are incompatible. The difference in appearance between humans and beast people leads to contempt rather than conflict.

Sakuya believes that Dick was considerate, anticipating that she would think about such matters. However, she does not turn a blind eye to such issues.

If "bad humans" are exploiting beast people for their own benefit, she cannot overlook it.

Sakuya dislikes "bad humans." At the same time, finding "good humans" is a small joy for her.

(And in doing so, I am also distinguishing between people. If the world were equal and average, I would see a different landscape.)

While thinking, Sakuya had already circled around to the back of the mansion, spotted a tree near the building, and silently climbed up, easily reaching the roof.

From the exterior, she knew there was an attic. Approaching the small window of the attic, Sakuya noticed something abnormal.

Someone had already entered from here. The window, which had been locked and sealed from the outside, had been forcibly opened by someone who had torn the lock off.

Only a beast person—or a human, though it would be difficult without using enhancement magic like Dick—could have the strength to tear a steel lock with bare hands.

(...There is a possibility that the intruder is still inside. However, it is not a human... so...)

Sakuya felt the risk but was prepared for a fight. To counter the enemy's attack, she cast the magic "Mist Veil," which nullifies physical attacks. This is not an explorer's technique but a unique magic of moon rabbit people.

She opened the window and descended inside. Sakuya's red eyes could see in near-total darkness, and her sharp hearing allowed her to accurately grasp the space from the subtle echoes of sounds.

Her race is sometimes mocked as being born to be thieves. However, Dick praised her as being reliable when exploring dark labyrinths or ruins.

—And now, her abilities were helping her detect the presence of a beast person, who was concealing their presence, nearby.

"...You've noticed me, huh. But that's fine, since you didn't attack immediately, it seems our goals are the same."

The one hiding in the darkness was a beast person—a male from the wolf people. He was not young, but not old either. His appearance could be mistaken for a thief, but Sakuya judged that it was not his profession. Thieves typically use short swords, but the male wolf person was skilled in martial arts, which was unconsciously reflected in his posture.

"I didn't expect to have a visitor. It doesn't seem like you're here to steal, though."

"No, I've already found what I was looking for. Just knowing that 'they were here' is enough... You should leave now. I'm going to kill everyone in this mansion. You don't want to get involved, do you?"

What the man was looking for—Sakuya scanned the room and found clues to deduce it.

In the attic, there were several discarded blankets that seemed to have been used by someone.

Considering other traces, it was easy to imagine what had happened here. Several beast people had been imprisoned here.

"Can I have a moment to talk? I have a purpose for being here, so I can't just follow your orders."

"You seem smart, so you probably figured it out. The goods this trading company deals with are 'beast people' themselves. The one I'm looking for... my daughter, was here. She's either been sold or moved to avoid being caught. Either way, the Garamdoor people need to be punished."

"The Garamdoor Trading Company is supposed to deal with 'rare animals,' not slaves... at least officially."

"Officially, yes. But they buy beast people captured by adventurers or thief groups to be sold as slaves. That's a fact."

From Dick's reasoning and the reality she saw here, Sakuya drew a conclusion. However, to prove it, there was one piece of evidence she absolutely needed to obtain.

"If you kill the people in this mansion, you can't guarantee the safety of the one you're looking for."

"Are you telling me to calm down? Choose your words carefully. The incident has already happened, and I have a reason to seek revenge. My daughter was kidnapped by these people when she became interested in human towns."

"No one is saying that. I will make sure they are punished for what they did. They shouldn't be allowed to die easily. There is such a thing as a living hell in this world."

The male wolf person's eyes widened. He had imagined this woman to be a pacifist based on her calm demeanor and appearance, but her words contained a deeper hatred of humans than he could ever have.

"...If I listen to you, will it increase the chances of my daughter returning safely?"

"Yes. At least, it's better to let them continue for a while rather than provoke them with violence here. The crimes of the Garamdoor Trading Company should be made public and they should be judged. For that, we need evidence."

"Evidence... If they are selling beast people, there should be plenty of traces in this mansion."

"No, they are only officially dealing with 'rare animals.' Your daughter, does she have the ability to transform into a beast?"

Some beast people with the ability to transform tend to keep it hidden.

Those with the ability to transform are considered to have reverted to their ancestors and are regarded as having the same bloodline as "purebloods." They are respected by their own kind, but their blood is also coveted, leading to conflicts between villages of the same type of beast people.

"...Are you saying that humans see value in pureblood beast people?"

"No, that's not it. When a beast person transforms, they become the same as a 'rare animal' to them. This increases their value as a commodity..."

"After transforming, my daughter can return to her original form at any time. It's impossible for them to treat her like an animal. Even if she were sold, they would realize she's a beast person..."

The man stopped speaking, as if he had realized something.

"They should have realized it, but they didn't. That's why the false sign of an animal trader can continue. The method that makes this possible must be hidden here."

Sakuya stated this with certainty. The man picked up one of the discarded blankets, which must have belonged to his daughter, and placed his fist on his forehead as if in prayer.

"...What's your name? I'm Gustave. Gustave Wolfgang of the wolf people."

"I am... Sakuya."

"I see. A strange fate, it seems. We have the same goal. I'll follow your lead here."

"Yes. We need to investigate without being noticed. Do you have stealth skills?"

"Probably not as good as yours, but I won't be noticed by humans. I might look unreliable, but..."

Gustave, who had introduced himself, had the strength equivalent to an A-rank. Sakuya judged that it was not a problem to have him as a partner and decided to start the investigation inside the mansion. Before doing so, she asked one last question.

"What did you do with the dogs outside?"

"I just glared at them, and they ran away. Domesticated dogs can't stand up to a wolf."

The man, who had been filled with anger and killing intent moments ago, smiled. Sakuya thought he must be a kind father at heart.

(I hope his daughter is safe.)

Sakuya placed her hand on her chest and touched the necklace under her cloak.

For all beast people to live peacefully without being persecuted is her heartfelt wish.

And she was grateful to Dick for giving her the opportunity to help the beast people. She felt once again that his foresight was never wrong as she left the attic and descended to the second-floor corridor of the mansion.