Laws differed between countries and lands, but one common rule was that hiring someone to commit murder was worthy of imprisonment. If that involved hiring outlaws to do the dirty work, then the adventurer’s guild wouldn’t sit idly by and allow its authority and trust to be jeopardized.
“E-Enough of this nonsense! Where’s your proof?! I don’t know a thing! Nothing!” the orc-like Hallabey roared at us.
We had taken the outlaws back to Esma with us, and based on their testimonies we were able to capture Hallabey without much effort. Esma’s local guard and the guild’s own staff would work together to investigate things, and once his crimes had been proven, he would be punished. Whether he received capital punishment would be decided in the days to come, but as the one whose life had been on the line, I wouldn’t give a toss if he rotted in a cell for the rest of his days.
“Thank you for your hard work, Hakura,” Erifell said.
“Yeah, you too,” I replied.
The person who’d taken charge of everything had been the proficient guild receptionist, Erifell. We had returned from Esartella Gorge, handed over the outlaws, explained everything, then headed home.
I’d been thinking that we’d done all we could for this whole debacle, and I was considering when to apologize to Leen when I fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up the next day, I found Erifell at our inn, and she’d asked me to accompany her. That was where I was now.
Erifell had questioned me about the finer details of the events as well as verified the identities of the outlaws, among other things. Leen was still fast asleep this early, and Tiesel (who normally would’ve been the one to come) needed to prioritize Sharney’s wedding, so being the only one with free time, I was chosen to be questioned.
“I think we should be able to sort things out smoothly now. Thank you again,” Erifell said in a quiet voice as she glanced over at Hallabey’s back (who was nearby and still whining loudly).
“Hey, there’s something I wanna ask,” I said.
“Which is?”
It was Erifell who had asked me (or more specifically, Leen) to help with Tiesel’s situation. Tiesel himself had also claimed that Erifell had told him about Leen when he came to her about his problem.
“The guild was worried about the whole Carbuncle Stone market crash, weren’t they?”
“Yes, that’s true,” Erifell stated, as if this were public information. “The guild’s responsibility is to ensure that adventurers complete their goals.”
An adventurer might be lucky enough to acquire a Carbuncle Stone as a trophy after a difficult quest. I had heard stories from my seniors, people at the tavern, and even the person in question about how obtaining one and the subsequent riches had changed their life. Everyone prayed they’d be lucky enough to find one for themselves. That was why the guild couldn’t stand to let such treasure be devalued by this whole affair.
“Tiesel didn’t come to you, did he? You’re the one who worked out that Tiesel was the source of the Carbuncle Stones in Esma.”
“That’s correct. He didn’t do anything warranting punishment, but I had to make several requests in order to convince him to stop what he was doing.”
Capturing a carbuncle and raising it wasn’t against the law, which meant that no one could forcibly prevent him from what he was doing. However, Tiesel was an adventurer. If the guild opted to fall out of favor with him, then his future career would be impeded. And if the guild really did get angry with him, then he was well aware that there wasn’t much he could do to stop them. Fortunately Tiesel had just completed the tiara for his sister, so it had been the perfect time to weigh up everything on the scales. Or at least I imagined so.
The problem had been with that stupid orc’s plans and tenacity.
“One condition was that Tiesel wished for someone to take care of the carbuncle. But I didn’t realize just how...plump it had gotten,” Erifell said before bursting into laughter. She’d been laughing that day when she gave me the request too. The scene of the chubby carbuncle must have really amused her. Erifell coughed before lowering her head. “Excuse me. Maybe I should have told you everything at the start.”
“Nah, it’s fine. At any rate, Leen’s the one who decides things, not me.”
Erifell cocked her head as if she’d suddenly realized something.
“About Leen... Have you managed to patch things up with her?” she asked.
“I’m just about to try...”
Yeah, I still hadn’t done it. I’d spent enough time here, so Leen would likely be waking up soon.
Erifell sighed. “Is that right...”
She looked at me as if asking what the hell I was doing while I headed back to the inn.