Chapter 91

With a single punch from me, I immediately had the slave trader ghosted by Abinion and made him spill all the information he had.

Now, I think he understands the reliability of information disclosure through ghosting.

Is it too late now?

Well, he's already been ghosted, right?

Oh well.

With this, I've eradicated the slave organization that had infiltrated the Centaurian capital, and the world has undoubtedly become a little better.

Given the scale of what I did, I'll have to report to the king as well.

For that, I confiscated and compiled all the evidence that remained in the slave trader's mansion.

...Before that.

There was a place I needed to go first.

◆

"Really... really did such a thing...!?"

"The slave organization has been completely eradicated from this town. You can now live in peace."

I returned to the orphanage and told Zeta the truth.

She seemed relieved, and the strength left her legs as she slumped to the ground.

She had been pretending to be calm, but she must have been under constant tension all along.

"Why... why would you do so much...!?"

Huh?

"Because we looked down on you and abandoned you, didn't we? Just because you were given a skill, you abandoned the companions who had lived with you. You must have hated us...!!"

"..."

"Why are you so kind to someone like me? It's normal to say 'you deserve it!' You're weird. Even after being treated so falsely...!"

"I'm not trying to be a saint."

With Riber, who had a similar conflict, the confrontation escalated to the point of killing each other.

The reason we were able to reconcile was that Zeta had regained her kind heart from the past.

If that happened, we could return to the good times we had before.

"Ryuya doesn't overlook people in trouble, that's for sure."

"Noem!?"

Why are you speaking here?

"Because when you come across someone in trouble, you can't help but help them. You have to be prepared for that. Ryuya is a very good person. If you're childhood friends, you should know that."

"That's right, that's right...!"

And for some reason, Zeta was convinced.

"That's right, Ryuya has always been like that since childhood, leading us as the leader of the four of us. He was always expected to get a good skill and lead us."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"It's okay, it's our fault for being disappointed in you just because you didn't have a skill..."

Wiping away her tears, Zeta stood up and changed her expression.

"Ryuya, I'm really happy that you fought for us. But even if you eradicate the slave traders in the Centaurian capital, that's not enough..."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

After disposing of the last major slave trader, I gathered a lot of evidence, and I found out something.

"To infiltrate slaves into a country that originally has no slavery, they have to bring them in from somewhere else. The ones hiding in the capital came from abroad. Of course, there must be someone who sent them."

"That's not all."

Zeta said.

"Being from the church, I know. The slave traders are connected to the church."

"..."

While I felt uncomfortable with this confession, I wasn't surprised.

If there's a connection between heretics and heretics, it makes sense.

"The church's greatest concern is to monopolize as many strong skill holders as possible. They are in a very advantageous position for that."

"After all, they are the ones who give skills."

The blessing ceremony that grants skills to young people at the age of fourteen.

If the ceremony is performed by a church priest, a church official will always be present at the moment the skill is given, and the information will be leaked.

"While they can take excellent skill holders on the spot like we were, if the target is a child from a noble family or if the community of a village or town opposes it, they can't do that. The church is, on the surface, an organization for the world. They can't act so arbitrarily."

When they can't take a highly skilled and very desirable person because of opposition from guardians.

What do they do?

"When they can't act openly, the underground people come in handy."

"Crime...?"

In other words, the slave traders.

"Kidnap children with excellent skills who can't yet use them properly and make them slaves. If you buy them, you can get talented people for the church."

"No way..."

What I remembered was my encounter with Noem while she was being transported by the slave traders.

Why did they notice that Noem, who was born in a remote village, had an exceptionally excellent skill?

Moreover, right after the blessing ceremony.

I had imagined that Noem's family or someone had done something, but if that was just a random guess.

The only other person who could have known about Noem's skill on the spot was the church priest who performed her blessing ceremony.

If he hired kidnappers to take Noem and then the church bought her...

If that's happening all over the world...

"Indeed, that sounds very plausible..."

"The slave traders might have come to me because they received some information from the church. My background and circumstances were recorded, so they might have found out I was from this orphanage..."

"That would require a lot of persistence...?"

"My skill was of low value, so it wasn't a priority. That's why it took so long to find me."

If that's the case, the slave traders can find excellent skill holders quite efficiently with information from the church.

The church and the slave traders.

What a truly terrible combination.

"But, that makes me even more motivated."

I had just sworn to do anything that would hinder the church.

I never intended to allow the existence of slave traders on this earth, so if I can deal a blow to the church by eliminating them, it's even more worthwhile.

"In that case, we should take action immediately. There's a place I want Zeta to come with me."

"Huh? Where are you going? I don't want to leave the orphanage because of the children!?"

I think it's admirable that Zeta now considers the children first...

"But I really need you to come with me to testify about what happened. If necessary, we can bring all the children from the orphanage."

"Where are you taking me?"

"The royal castle."

◆

We went to the royal castle to report and requested an audience with the king.

Since the scale of what I did was significant, I thought it would be impossible to let it pass without saying anything.

The smoothness of the subsequent developments would differ greatly depending on whether or not we had the approval of the authorities.

"......Well done, I suppose."

After hearing my report, the king let out a heavy, long sigh that didn't seem to be just out of relief.

"In our country... especially in the capital, the slave organization was active, which is a serious situation. To destroy it in a day... no, to completely eliminate it without leaving a single member, you are indeed the usual Ryuya."

"I'm flattered."

"However... couldn't it have been handled more peacefully? Even if they were serious criminals, all of them dead...!?"

"I immediately used the full authority of an S-rank adventurer."

One of the powers given to me as an S-rank adventurer is the right to punish criminals, and with Abinion's ability, it was faster to kill them than to keep them alive to extract information.

So, I did my best to eliminate them as quickly as possible.

"By the way, Ryuya, who is this unfamiliar woman?"

"She's Zeta, who was involved in this incident."

Suddenly being introduced to the king, even Zeta was trembling. Like a borrowed puppy.

Behind her, the children from the orphanage, who had come along, were excitedly exploring the castle.

"...Ryuya."

"Yes?"

"Adding a new concubine so quickly is a commendable trait for a man, but a nun? Isn't that a bit too much?"

"It's not like that!!"

We explained to the king the danger of the slave traders who had infiltrated the Centaurian Kingdom and the possibility of their connection to the church.

Zeta also joined in the explanation, making it smoother.

"By the way, Zeta is being targeted by the church and is forced to live in hiding. Can you help her with your power?"

"Sure."

Frankly.

"Our country has long severed ties with the church. Even if they request her extradition, we have no obligation to comply. I will use my royal authority to erase the 'church escapee' charge on her guild card."

"Thank you!"

If she can get a guild card, Zeta can join various guilds and take on quests to earn money.

Her skills, "Holy Wave" and "Healing Hands," are not extraordinary but are convenient and will be very useful for daily quests.

With the guild's rewards, the operation of the orphanage should become easier.

"If Zeta's safety is secured, I can move on to the next step without any worries."

"Hmm?"

"While investigating the evidence in the slave trader's mansion, I found out that there is a base sending slave forces from abroad to our country. I would like your permission to destroy it in the name of the king..."

"That's fine... but, I already know that if I give you permission, you'll do more than I imagine. I'm entrusting you with this within the scope of my responsibility."

You're so worried.

After investigating the slave trader's mansion and comparing the testimony of the ghosted slave trader.

It was revealed that the base of the slave traders is in a small country.

The Republic of Bluebalm.

The country itself operates the slave industry and is a slave state.

I'll take a short break. The next update is scheduled for March 9th (Tuesday).