Chapter 33

According to the information from Sheila, not long after Snakebite was captured, the Adventurers' Guild conducted a raid on a building near the harbor, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a wild goose chase.

It must be because the contact with Snakebite was cut off. The criminals at the base must have fled, fearing that information would leak during the magical inquisition.

However, Sheila claims to have information on other suspicious bases where the servants of the Cardiff family have been seen, in addition to the place where Snakebite had been coming and going.

In that case, I should scout those places before going to the Adventurers' Guild. If I want to cooperate with the Adventurers' Guild, I need to share a certain amount of information.

The place Sheila led me to is a tall-walled building in the southern district. I observe it from a nearby street.

"Is that the building?"

"Yes, but there are guards at the entrance, making it difficult to infiltrate."

"If we monitor those guards... could we gather evidence linking them to the Cardiff family?"

"From what I've observed, the guards live inside the building, and there's no rotation of personnel. No servants of the Cardiff family have appeared since then, and it seems no supplies have been brought in either..."

I see. ...It seems there's a summoner or someone with similar knowledge and skills on the enemy side. They must be quite skilled, considering the Adventurers' Guild didn't know about the black transference stone until now.

Even if they fled from the harbor base, they could use teleportation magic to move around the city without being seen, and they could manage supplies and personnel rotations from within the building.

It's unlikely they've been this thorough all along... but the capture of Snakebite must have raised their alert level significantly.

"Alright, I understand."

Caduceus, detached from my shadow, slid into the alley and climbed the wall... entering the premises. I maintain the visual link, which consumes some magic power but is necessary.

"Now...?"

"Is something wrong?"

"...No."

Sheila looked puzzled.

...She has sharp senses. She must have sensed something when I moved Caduceus.

I don't know if I can trust her, so I'll keep Caduceus's existence hidden for now.

I'll have Caduceus infiltrate and investigate that building for now.

I'll go to the Adventurers' Guild to report. If necessary, I can also talk to Rosetta and have her contact Prince Albert through her channels.

When we left, Sheila looked back several times. She seems quite concerned.

Well, a friend might be trapped in that building.

If the previous raid was a failure, it's uncertain whether the Adventurers' Guild can act immediately, and if they use teleportation magic, they might escape again.

Given the magical inquisition, they probably took precautions like not giving direct information to the perpetrators and having multiple bases, so it's not certain that there isn't another base.

"What happened with the Snakebite incident?"

I approached the Adventurers' Guild and, after a brief greeting to Heather at the reception, I brought up the topic. Sheila decided to wait outside.

"Maybe it's better not to get involved in such matters?"

"I understand your concern, and I appreciate it."

I don't want to involve young adventurers in the affairs of bounty hunters.

"I have information about the building where Snakebite's associates were seen. I thought it would be impolite to keep it to myself."

"Really?"

"Yes."

I'll keep the Cardiff family's involvement hidden for now. It wouldn't be surprising if word of my conflict with the Cardiff family has spread, and I don't want them to think I have ulterior motives.

"Understood. This isn't the place for such a discussion, so let's go to a private room."

I glanced at Sheila, who was pretending to look at the request board while observing us, and headed to a private room in the guild.

"I'll call someone higher up to talk to you."

"Understood."

While waiting for Heather's superior, I sat in a chair and focused on maintaining the link and giving instructions to Caduceus.

If they detect us, they might flee, so there are other methods and countermeasures.

After a while, the door knocked, and Heather and an elderly man with white hair and a white beard entered.

"Mr. Oswald, this is Theodore Gartner. Theodore, this is Deputy Leader Oswald Coppard."

Oswald Coppard. Quite a big catch.

He's an NPC who appeared in BFO and is famous enough to be mentioned in books. He's the deputy leader of the Termwillis Adventurers' Guild and was known as a Sword Saint in his prime.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Theodore Gartner."

"Hmm. I'm Oswald. Just relax."

I sat across from Oswald.

Heather seemed quite nervous.

"I heard you have information about the Snakebite incident."

"Yes. I tried to stay out of it, but the investigation based on the information from Snakebite turned out to be a failure. Before I share the information, I have a question."

"What is it?"

"Are there people buying red transference stones? Have you investigated that angle?"

Black transference stones are likely processed from red ones. If they're using them for profit-driven kidnappings, they must be collecting red transference stones, which means there are people buying them from the Adventurers' Guild.

Oswald closed his eyes and nodded, understanding my point.

"We have. There was a person who commissioned multiple adventurer groups to buy red transference stones... but after the Snakebite investigation failed, they seem to have gone into hiding, probably out of caution."

I see. The Cardiff family probably doesn't buy directly. The person giving orders likely knows the situation and might be directly connected to the Cardiff family.

"In that case, here's my information. The building is in the southern district—"

I provided the location of the building. Oswald raised an eyebrow.

"I have a question too. How did you get this information, and from whom?"

Well, I haven't explained the circumstances, so it's understandable that he can't judge.

"I can't answer that."

"Hmm? Why not?"

"To protect the informant. You can infer his identity from this. He is a friend of one of the victims."

"…The Thieves' Guild?"

"I can't say. But because there was an agreement with the Adventurers' Guild, I didn't give the information to him and instead brought it here. Therefore, keeping his identity secret is as important as keeping the guild's agreement."

My role is to act as a mediator.

"…You're quite eloquent. Don't you think I might suspect you and subject you to a magical inquisition?"

"I don't mind, but I think you'll run out of time for that."

Eventually, the source of the information will become irrelevant and be left ambiguous.

"What do you mean?"

"In my opinion, the priority should be finding and rescuing the current captives, not gathering evidence. We can take our time with the evidence after the incident is forced into the open."

I placed my hand on my left eye and checked the situation with Caduceus.

At that moment, Caduceus was slipping into a keyhole, unlocking the door, and helping the captives escape.

A guard, sensing something amiss, reached for his sword but was pinned to the ground with his limbs pierced by a hardened Caduceus, incapacitated but not killed.

There weren't many people in the facility. I'll incapacitate them appropriately, and they'll become witnesses.

In other words, if Caduceus wreaks havoc in the facility, destroying the equipment and helping the captives escape, it will make it impossible for them to hide evidence or escape. The moment Sheila informed me of the location and Caduceus infiltrated and found the captives, we would have won.

The remaining evidence and confessions from the perpetrators will likely lead to the Cardiff family. Once that happens, Maurice won't be able to focus on me or Ashley.

"I've already scouted the facility and found the captives. My familiar is currently helping them escape. We need to arrange personnel who can remove the enslavement spells."

Upon hearing my words, Oswald stood up and told Heather:

"Send skilled people to that location immediately. Hold off on the raid for now, but if there's a clear sign of abnormality, don't hesitate. Support the rescue efforts. The priests of the Moon Temple can remove the enslavement spells. Arrange it quickly."

"Yes, sir!"

Heather rushed out of the room.

Oswald smiled and sat back down.

"You're quite interesting. You didn't plan to mention the familiar if the captives weren't found, right?"

"Well... yes. Additionally, if it wasn't you, I might have just helped the captives escape without mentioning the familiar. I've heard stories about your younger days."

Oswald is a self-made man with many daring stories, even more so than my current situation. He laughed, shaking his shoulders.