Chapter 67

Immediately, I decided to start the surveillance of the orphanage with Lumina.

We were just watching the entrance of the orphanage from a back alley...

"Still, Lumina, what's with that outfit...?"

No matter how you look at it, Lumina's outfit makes her look suspicious.

"Well, I just came in something that wouldn't stand out..."

Lumina's outfit is just her usual bikini armor with a hood that covers her head, but the color is off.

Why is she wearing a conspicuous pink color at a time like this...?

And there are unnecessary frills attached. I'm more curious about where she bought it.

Passersby glance at Lumina and look away.

If I were a passerby, I would look away too.

"...So, where did you get that hood?"

"Well, I got friendly with a girl at the tavern, and when I asked for something that wouldn't stand out, she told me about this... Is something wrong with it?"

While suppressing the urge to lecture the woman, I turned my gaze to the entrance of the orphanage, and Lumina rummaged through her bag and brought out a piece of bread.

"What's this...?"

"Well, I was told that this is essential for surveillance. Look, there's milk too."

I want to point out that this isn't how detectives operate, but I took the bread.

Of course, there are no anpan in this world, so it was a sandwich.

I took a bite, and it was quite delicious.

I also took the milk, but it was a bit warm. It seemed Lumina was thinking the same thing, as she pushed the bottle of milk towards me.

I cooled it with magic, of course, including my own share.

After confirming it was cold, Lumina took a sip and nodded in satisfaction.

"Indeed, both ale and milk taste better cold."

"True..."

I agree with what she said, but I want to question the person who unnecessarily taught Lumina this knowledge about surveillance.

A few days into the surveillance, a man who looked like a merchant entered the orphanage.

"Hey, Lumina, he's gone in."

"Finally... I thought it would take longer."

If we could hear their conversation, it would be decisive, but we can't sneak in, so we continued to watch. About an hour later, the man came out with a priest.

"Well, Father, as usual, please take care of it tomorrow."

"Hehe, of course. I'll arrange for the children to be separated in their bedrooms tomorrow."

After the man left, the priest went back into the orphanage.

It seems we were right. There should be some kind of transaction tomorrow. I thought it would take longer, but it might be resolved sooner than expected.

"Lumina, it looks like there will be a transaction tomorrow. We'll be on surveillance day and night."

"Alright, I understand. I'll bring my weapons, but I'll wear the same outfit as today."

"No, don't wear that hood tomorrow."

Wearing that pink hood all day would make her stand out too much.

"...Is something wrong with it? Well, it is easier not to wear it."

I'm relieved she agreed so easily. Now, what kind of transaction will there be tomorrow...

I stared at the entrance of the orphanage for a while before heading to the guild.

At the Adventurer's Guild, I explained the situation to Grusia and arranged for a team of adventurers to be on standby for communication.

We need to contact the guild and, if necessary, the guards.

I think we can handle any combat with just the two of us, but we can't deal with the aftermath.

I left it to Grusia, but the team introduced to us was a trio of young adventurers.

They were about my age...

Two men and one woman, all E-rank. The two men blushed when they saw Lumina and were hit with a staff by the woman.

"I'm Lumina, B-rank. I'm a swordsman."

"Thank you for taking the request. I'm Touya, a healer, and I'm A-rank."

When they learned that I, who is about their age, am A-rank, they opened their eyes wide.

That's a normal reaction...

After everyone introduced themselves, I explained their roles. The three of them nodded in understanding. The adventurers seemed relieved that there was no possibility of combat.

We hid in a back alley and waited. A carriage stopped in front of the orphanage, and several adults got out and entered the building one by one.

"It might be them. Are you all ready?"

"Of course, we're ready."

The three of them nodded and were ready to move at any time.

"Lumina and I will attack when they come out and gather evidence. Then we'll report to the guard station and the guild."

"Understood."

We waited, ready to move at any time, and a man came out carrying a large bag on his shoulder.

He threw the bags into the back of the carriage one by one.

"Alright, Lumina, let's go."

"Right!"

Lumina and I quietly ran towards the carriage. Lumina climbed into the back, and I waited at the front.

As we waited, a man came out carrying a bag on his shoulder.

When he noticed me, he changed his expression and shouted.

"Y-You guys!"

I pointed my Buster Sword at the man.

"Let's see what's in that bag. If... it's children, you know what that means, right?"

"...What!?"

The man threw the bag carelessly and pulled out a knife from his pocket, pointing it at me.

"Touya! The bags contain children. They seem to have visited other places too, and there are children in there! As expected!"

"Figures. What did you plan to do with the children? You'll tell us everything."

I struck the man, who was about to attack with the knife, with the flat of my Buster Sword. He lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

I signaled the adventurers hiding to report to the guard station and the guild, and they ran off.

Now we just need to catch the ones who came out... and the priest.

Four men came out, and finally, the priest appeared.

"...What is this...? You...!"

"Father... We know what you've been doing. The guards will be here soon."

"What...? Kill this guy!"

"I know. Surround him."

The four men threw the bags containing children and moved to surround me.

"Die!"

I easily dodged the simultaneous attack from the four men and knocked them out one by one with my sword.

It took less than a minute to take them all down.

"Y-You... How...? Huh."

The priest picked up a knife that had fallen and approached the bag.

"Are you okay with what happens to the children?"

"...What do you mean, using the children the priest is protecting as a shield?"

"I'm not involved! They just asked me to do it... Gah!"

While I was focused on the priest, Lumina silently moved behind him and struck his neck with a hand knife.

The priest lost consciousness and collapsed.

"Alright, that's everyone. Lumina, tie them up with this rope."

"Got it."

I took out a rope from my timed storage and tied up the men. I tied their wrists behind their backs and their ankles to prevent them from escaping.

After tying them up, I opened the bags containing the children.

Sure enough, they were all children with their mouths tied. They were all unconscious, possibly drugged to sleep.

They had scrapes from being thrown around, so I cast healing and status recovery spells.

As they recovered, the children started to wake up.

If they woke up from a status recovery spell, they were probably drugged to sleep.

"Why are we outside...?"

The children, who looked like they were on the verge of adulthood, rubbed their eyes and woke up.

"Are you okay? Do you have any pain? Can you tell me what happened before you went to sleep?"

After a moment of hesitation, the children slowly began to speak.

"Well... Father said we should sleep in a different room tonight... I think the room had a sweet smell..."

I glared at the unconscious priest.

So the priest was involved too.

"Lumina, I've tied them all up. What's next?"

"Let's wake the priest and make him tell us where they were going to take the children."

"Got it. Wake up!"

Lumina started slapping the priest's cheeks. After a few slaps, he groaned and regained consciousness.

"Ugh... W-What...!?"

He realized he was tied up and couldn't move, and when he saw the men were also tied up, he frowned.

"Do you know what you're doing...? You adventurers, do you know who you're dealing with—"

"—Shut up. No matter who you are, you can't deny that you were trying to sell these children into human trafficking...?"

I released a little killing intent, and the priest trembled and backed away.

I took a step closer to the priest, and I could hear the sound of many footsteps approaching from a distance.

"Over here!"

The adventurers who went to report had brought the guards. I saw about ten guards running over.

When the guards arrived, they glanced at the tied-up men and the priest, then looked at me.

"Are these the human traffickers?"

"Yes, I saw them stuffing the children into bags and loading them onto the carriage. There are other children from different orphanages in the carriage, so please check."

"Understood. Check the carriage."

"Understood."

Some of the guards climbed into the carriage, while others started to wake up the unconscious men.

"Are you the ones responsible?"

"Hmph, we don't know anything. We were just here when these guys attacked us."

"Are you really going to use that excuse?"

"It doesn't matter. I work for the Sween Guild. We were just told to bring the children to work as apprentices. Right, Father?"

"Y-Yes, that's right. We haven't done anything wrong."

The priest, surprised by the absurd explanation, nodded vigorously in agreement.

The guards looked at me, but I had other evidence.

"Check the room where the children were sleeping. There should be a sweet-smelling sleeping incense. Also, check inside the bags. Some of the children were injured. There might be blood inside. Do you really think the children would be loaded into bags and transported in the middle of the night if they were being taken to work at a guild?"

The man was speechless at my words.

No matter how he tried to explain, the circumstantial evidence spoke for itself.

The man, with a resentful expression, was made to stand by the guards.

"You don't know what will happen to you. We have the backing of Viscount Maggler."

"...What!?"

The guards' expressions changed.

It seems they might not be able to handle the situation with a noble involved.

But it doesn't matter to me.

"So what? If this human trafficking is being done by Viscount Maggler, we'll report that to the guild. Do you understand the consequences of using a noble's name without permission?"

The man clicked his tongue, thinking he had failed.

"We'll handle the interrogation of these men. Would you like to accompany us to the station?"

"Of course."

We confiscated the carriage and evidence, woke up the staff, explained the situation, and left two guards and the three adventurer helpers to watch over the children. We then escorted the men and the priest to the station. Lumina and I went with them.

I told the three adventurers that they could report the mission as completed in the morning.

While walking with one of the guards, I was told that we might have to face off against the Sween Guild.

It's a large guild in the capital that deals with trade and other businesses.

I was secretly told that Viscount Maggler is likely involved, but it's not certain.

Still, a noble... Honestly, I could just reveal my identity, but if I do, there's a high chance the evidence will be destroyed.

I need to stay as the adventurer Touya until the last possible moment.

I hope they fall into the trap...

With that thought, I followed the guards to the station.