Chapter 47

It was still early in the morning, before dawn.

A man hurried through an empty alley in the imperial capital.

The man stopped at the end of the alley and quietly opened the lid of a wooden box hidden in a corner of a garbage pile.

Inside was a pigeon.

The man carefully caught the pigeon and attached a leg ring from his pocket to one of its legs.

Then, he released it into the air with both hands.

The pigeon determined its direction and flew away from the imperial capital without hesitation—until a hawk suddenly swooped down and attacked it in mid-air.

The hawk pinned the struggling pigeon with its powerful talons and flew off in a different direction.

The man's eyes widened in surprise at this unexpected misfortune.

It's not uncommon for homing pigeons to be attacked by birds of prey.

But for it to happen at this moment...

"Damn... Shit..."

The man cursed.

I called out to him from behind.

"If you're going to release a pigeon, it's best to do it early in the morning."

The man turned around in surprise.

He was a man in his mid-twenties, the kind you might see anywhere. His unremarkable face was hard to remember.

He was the type for this kind of job, I thought.

I smiled and said,

"You're a spy for the demon clan, right?"

"...What are you talking about? I don't know who you are, but do you have something to say to me?"

"I have a few questions. Like the content of the secret letter you attached to the pigeon."

"Secret letter...? That's just a receipt for our branch in Rodnea. Thanks to that hawk, I'll have to send it again. The boss will be arriving soon. Sorry, kid, but I have to go."

The man said this with a troubled look and averted his gaze.

As he walked towards me, he casually pulled a knife from his waist, as if retrieving a tool.

In the next instant, his pace quickened into a sprint.

The tip of the knife was suddenly pointed at me.

"You make things easier for me."

*Wooden Bind—Vine Binding Technique*

Several thick vines burst from the cobblestones and stretched upwards.

As soon as they touched the man, they wrapped around him, hardening and tightening.

With a groan, the knife fell from his hand.

"Damn... How did you know?"

"I overheard a conversation. You were an information broker, weren't you?"

"But... no one was there...!"

"Besides humans. It was quite a task, gathering information from the spirits I released throughout the imperial capital. I'm sleep-deprived and have a terrible headache. But catching you was worth it. Now I can finally take a break."

The man looked at me as if I were something incomprehensible.

"Seika Lamproug... Who the hell are you...?"

"Ah, I guess the faces of the tournament participants are known. By the way, can you tell me what you were about to report?"

The man twisted his lips.

"Hah, who would tell you?"

"Sure."

"Are you going to torture me? I might not talk even then."

"No."

I made a human-shaped figure float in the air.

"I'll ask your soul."

*Summoning—Kaku*

A spirit resembling a monkey was drawn from the phase.

Its face, however, was strangely human-like, with a creepy grin.

The man looked at the suddenly appearing spirit with unease.

"What is this...?"

"What is this monster? Are you a summoner?"

"Wha...?"

"Can it talk? More importantly, did it just read my mind?" *Gehahaha...*

The man's face turned pale at Kaku's words.

That's right.

Kaku can read minds.

"Let's start the interrogation. First, who's above you?"

"Ugh... I won't tell you that..."

*Gehahaha... 'It's Duke Vol Bofis... Black, Lord, Fortress... Forest...'*"

"Hmm? Then who's above that?"

*"...I don't know, don't... know... El, Eaden Trauda, Great Wasteland Duke... Guess. Dangerous, Hero...'*"

"The noise is bad. Try to think in words. Just to confirm, they are from the demon clan, right?"

*"...Yes. Yes. Yes...'*"

I thought so from the name and the unique title, but as expected. Besides, Cordel was also a spy for the demon clan.

"Where was the pigeon supposed to go?"

*"...Luwick. Lu... Demon territory. Northeast, near the imperial border, a city located in the suburbs, commercial resources...'*"

"I get it, I get it. Don't think about unnecessary things."

So, you intended to send it directly to the demon territory. It's quite far, but since it's near the border, it should be possible.

"So, the content... It's about the hero born on the human side, right?"

*"...Yes, yes, why do you know about the hero's birth? Yes, wrong, demon side, spy from? Limited people who know. How much? '*"

"Never mind about me. Tell me the name of the hero you were investigating."

*"...Maybell Crane.'*"

"Why... is she the hero?"

*"...The year of the prophecy and the birth year match. Gender and hair color also match the prophecy. And she's strong. She's from the magic academy, but a year ago, a child who seemed to be the hero and the assassin sent by the spy disappeared. There's a contradiction in the enrollment period, but the possibility of information manipulation...'*"

"Hmm? You suddenly became honest. What else?"

*"...Rumors that Maybell Crane is the hero are spreading among information brokers. The source is the servants of the Crane Baron family, naturally...'*"

I see, I see.

"Is there anything else you wrote about?"

*"...Officially, she became the adopted child of the Crane Baron family half a year ago. The head of the family claims she is the granddaughter of his former teacher, but there's no evidence. In the entrance exam...'*"

The information the man had gathered about Maybell was revealed.

But... it all seemed to be surface-level information.

Probably the kind of information deliberately leaked. Including the rumor that she is the hero.

"Last question. How much do you think the possibility of Maybell actually being the hero is?"

*"...About ten percent. About twenty percent if she wins the tournament...'*"

"Is that all? Or do you think the empire is hiding other candidates...?"

*"...We think so, think... In addition, since humans have already made the hero a thing of the past, the possibility that they are still in the wild, buried and not yet emerged is on everyone's guard. Merchants, farmers, slaves...'*"

Indeed, depending on their birth, they might not even touch a sword, especially if they are female.

If the empire knows about the hero, they are likely hiding them.

If they don't know, they are likely buried somewhere.

The possibility of them conveniently appearing in such a tournament is low, but since they are strong and the conditions match, Maybell can't be ignored... something like that.

It's a reasonable perspective.

"Alright, that's enough. Thank you. Thanks to you, I learned what I wanted to know."

The vines that were restraining the man began to wither.

The man, losing his support, fell to his knees on the cobblestones. His face was pale, but his eyes were wide with determination as his hand reached for the fallen knife.

But just before he could grab it, Kaku suddenly appeared right in front of him.

I couldn't see his face clearly from here, but it must have been twisted with anticipation.

"Good job, Kaku."

I told the spirit.

"It's a reward. You can eat him."

"What...!?"

*What the hell!? Eat!? You're kidding, right?* *Gehahaha...* *Aaauuunnn...*

Kaku's head swelled to several times its size.

With its wide-open jaw, it swallowed the man whole.

The struggling human form passed through its throat and settled in its belly.

The man was still thrashing around inside.

*Stop* *Let me out* *Gehahaha* *It hurts* *I'm scared* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* *Gehahaha* 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