Even if it Means Giving Up your Honor
"It seems that a person named Eul is missing... is that true?"
"It looks like the members of the kingdom's knight order are desperately searching for her."
"It was also said that a monster appeared on the same day..."
The school building exclusively for aristocrats attended by the children of the Shirsodi Kingdom, and a gorgeous garden in front of it.
There, Tigaro, who attends the school, picked up such rumors.
He quietly opened his mouth to Kenna, who was following behind Tigaro.
"Although information is controlled to a certain extent, rumors seem to be spreading among the nobles."
The monster appeared in the capital and the day after Eul disappeared, it seemed to have spread to some of the nobles, but it seemed like it had spread a lot in just a few days.
It can't be helped either.
Even though Eul transformed into a monster in a place close to the commoner's district, it was still an aristocratic district.
There were also large burn marks left by the breath of flames over a wide area, and it would be impossible to disguise these large marks.
Eul disappeared, and she was attracting a bit of attention as an exchange student in the Empire, so now that Eul herself is no longer seen at the school, there are various speculations going around.
"I don't think we can get much useful information at the school anymore."
Kenna's opinion was the same as Tigaro's.
When rumors spread too much, false or inaccurate information is often mixed in.
Tigaro was also troubled by this.
"Hmm, what should we do then?"
While the two of them were thinking about it, Kenna seemed to come up with something and suggested it to Tigaro.
"Why don’t we ask the people at Mikikonis?"
"...Yeah, it might be a good idea."
If the Company is alert to changes in the country's situation, it may have more information than Tigaro and the others.
At the very least, merchants wouldn't make statements based solely on speculation.
Checking information for accuracy and limit inaccurate information to speculation. Merchants are a group of such people.
It's probably a little better than gathering information at the current school.
"By the way, if Muira is in the capital, let’s call her."
"Yes"
――Tigaro-sama~! I want to be Tigaro-sama's concubine! K-Kenna-chan, don't look at me with such scary eyes. O-of course, I can go after Kenna-chan, okay?
Tigaro left the school with Kenna in tow, remembering the sweet voice of the slave girl he entrusted to the Mikikonis Company.
---
Tigaro went to the commercial district located to the west of the royal capital.
As he was crossing the bridge over the river flowing into the royal capital, a scene suddenly caught his eye.
The water flowing through the river is so clear that you can even see the bottom of the river.
It is one of the royal capital's proud aqueducts and is a famous tourist attraction.
Fish swim in the river, and birds riding on the railings of the river enclosure are hunting for them.
Several holes that drained water into the river―― one of the underground waterways had stopped the flow of water.
"...Is it clogged?"
"Maybe there's a possibility of inspecting the underground waterways."
He crosses the bridge while talking to Kenna about this.
As he entered the commercial district and was on his way to Mikikonis Company, he saw a boy wearing an imperial military uniform bending toward the ground.
When Tigaro glanced around, he saw one person nearby wearing the robes of the Holy Water Knights.
Furthermore, there were two people, no, three people, who were casually worrying about the boy in military uniform, blending in with the crowd.
Kenna next to him was sniffing and looking in two other directions, so there might be at least two more people hiding there.
Tigaro approaches the boy wearing the person with military uniform, thinking that the security net is quite strict.
Along the way, he makes eye contact with the nearest soldiers guarding him.
――I know. I won't interfere too much.
He said that implicitly.
Since they are accompanying Machen as bodyguards, they probably don't want a third party to poke their necks into it.
Then, Tigaro calls out to Machen who is crouching on the ground.
"Hello, Machen-dono."
"Ah, ah…Tigarokent-san…!"
Machen, who had been crouching, turned around, his eyes wide and a surprised expression on his face.
Tigaro smiled, as if to soothe Machen.
"Haha, what's going on here?"
"W-well..."
Machen stood up and was at a loss for words, his eyes rolling, as if he wants to say something.
Tigaro sensed something and spoke those words first.
"Ah, I heard about Eul-dono from Brelin-dono. I also hope that you can find her as soon as possible."
Machen, who was at a loss, seemed a little relieved by Tigaro's words.
By showing that Tigaro himself knew the information that was being controlled, Machen seemed to be able to talk a little more comfortably.
"Y-yes. Thank you... I, too, was wondering if there was anything I could do to help search for Eul-sama... I was thinking about heading to a place like this."
In Machen's hand, he held a map of the royal capital.
"I see, is that a map?"
In order to prevent an enemy country from acquiring it and attacking based on it, important points near royal castles and aristocratic districts are whitewashed on the map.
However, the commercial districts and residential areas for commoners were described in detail, making it the perfect map for a wide-ranging stroll around the capital.
"Ah, yes. Ah, if it's a viewing permit, I need to get permission from the Knights..."
Although it was a friendly country, Machen looked around in a panic, probably thinking that it would be bad to look at another country's map without permission.
When Machen found the guard who had made eye contact with Tigaro earlier, he felt a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Tigaro saw another piece of paper turned up behind the map in Machen's hand.
Tigaro noticed this and asked to see the paper underneath.
The second piece of paper Machen had was an old map of the royal capital.
"Not just the current map, but also the old map?"
"I-I thought if I looked at old maps, I would be able to understand the origins of the current maps, and I would be able to search for even the slightest loopholes…"
Tigaro was impressed by Machen's words.
The current cityscape of the royal capital exists because of the old topography.
He seems to have thought that by comparing the map with the old map, he could find out about roads and buildings that were missing from the current map.
It was a very reasonable method to investigate the royal capital in detail.
"Haha, Machen-dono is young, but you are very knowledgeable."
"I-I’m honored to receive the compliment from Tigarokent-san…"
Machen said that, tightly clutching something other than the map.
Machen noticed Tigaro's gaze and opened his palm, his eyes rolling.
"Eh, um, this is something to investigate the properties of soil... I thought I'd use it to find the traces of Eul-sama's use of magic..."
What Machen showed him was an ellipsoidal magic tool.
The surface of the object, which looked like an egg, had several curved lines and decorations, and Tigaro knew that it was a valuable magic tool.
It seems that the reason why he was bending down towards the ground and doing something was because he was using this.
I see, Tigaro nodded.
The mages in the kingdom are all users of water and wind attributes.
Therefore, Tigaro doesn't know much about earth-attribute magic, but Machen says that the magic tool is indispensable for the search for Eul.
"So, do you know where Eul-dono is?"
"I-I don't have any clues so far, but I think she's hiding in this commercial district."
"……Hoh?"
Tigaro was a little surprised at the unexpected answer.
Eul is currently being captured in the basement of the Noros family's detached house, so there shouldn't be any traces of her here.
There are no such traces left in the aristocratic town where they fought against Eul, who had become a monster.
In that case, what is the basis for Machen's idea?
Thinking so, Tigaro showed a questioning expression, and Machen himself told him the reason.
"Well, I don’t know what happened to Eul-sama. But, Eul-sama is the daughter of the Flame General, so if she were to hide out of her own will, the commercial district would be the most likely place."
"…Is there some connection between the Flame General and the commercial district?"
When Tigaro asked that, Machen, who was nervous, asked back modestly.
"Tigarokent-san, do you know about the [General's Civil War] that took place ten years ago?''
"Ah, in that case. I remember that it was a big conflict in which you lost the Emperor, the highest authority in the empire, and two of the Six Generals."
The Asurora Empire rules the northeastern part of the continent.
The emperor who is at the top of the hierarchy, and the six generals who can be used by the emperor―― the [Six Generals].
They became the center of attention, killing each other, deceiving each other, and engaging in bloody conflicts over and over again in a short period of time.
That was the [General's Civil War] ten years ago.
In terms of the result, the emperor at the time and two of the [Six Generals] on the losing side lost their lives.
The emperor was replaced, and the territory ruled by the two deceased [Six Generals] fell into disrepair.
Moreover, among the ruined territories was the territory of the [Insect General] which produced 40% of the empire's food.
As a result, the Empire suffered from a temporary food shortage, which even affected the Kingdom of Shirsodi, which had been trading with them through a friendship agreement.
Nowadays, the country's domestic affairs seem to be stable enough to send students to other countries, but in the two or three years after the [General's Civil War], there seemed to be quite a lot of changes in the people around the emperor who was replaced.
When Tigaro said what he knew, Machen nodded in affirmation.
"Yes, yes. In that [General's Civil War], the method used by the Flame General who was cornered by the Insect General was to hide in the commercial district of the city ruled by the Insect General."
At that time, the Flame General was facing the Insect General who controlled insects with mana.
The Insect General, who was formidable by the amount of living things he could control, was formidable, and the Flame General, cornered, hid in the city's commercial district, where supplies were abundant, and healed his wounds.
Then, while the Insect General was looking for the Flame General, he secretly gathered weapons and used a large amount of oil stored in the commercial district to come up with a plan to burn down the insects that the Insect General was using.
Even though the insects were flying all over the city, they were not compatible with the Flame General who had oil in his hands, and every one of them was burned down, and in the end, even the Insect General who was the master of the insects was burned down. became prey to the flames.
Thus, after a fierce battle, the Flame General achieved victory in the [General's Civil War].
"I see. Because the Flame General took such an action, you think that his daughter, Eul-dono, would also take a similar action if there was any danger to her own life, right?"
"Y-yes."
Pretending to be convinced, pretending to be objective, Tigaro uttered an opinion that seemed to be on everyone's mind.
"However, I think there is a possibility that Eul-dono was taken away by someone."
"――Hoh. I never expected such a simple and straightforward option to come out of your mouth."
A man's voice interrupted Tigaro and Machen's conversation.
When Tigaro turned to look at him, his eyes reflected a man with the same hair color as his childhood friend.
The man had distinctive thin eyes, and the robe he wore belonged to the Holy Water Knights, and among them, it was a decorated robe that was a mark of being a captain.
"...Rogienor-dono."
The name Tigaro spoke was the name of the man who appeared in front of him.
Rogienor Asur.
Aifie's older brother and the son of the current head of the Asur family―― an excellent mage who is said within the kingdom to be the next head of the Asur family.
His water attribute magic is first-class, and he rose to the rank of captain of the Holy Water Knights at a young age.
He is the core of the Asur family, whose future is said to be secure, including his younger sister Aifie and younger brother.
Even though Rogienor was smiling, he approached Tigaro in a somewhat intimidating manner.
"You said she were kidnapped, Tigarokent Noros. Of course, we are investigating, including those heinous and insidious choices."
Rogienor, who was slowly walking towards him, stopped three steps away from Tigaro.
"However, Tigarokent-dono. I think that you may have kidnapped Eul-dono, but would you mind telling me your thoughts?"
Rogienor's thin eyes as he smiled at him certainly caught Tigaro's attention, and it seemed to convey his intention that he would not allow him to refuse an answer.
Tigaro, who was aware of this and who was being looked at with suspicion, returned a cheerful smile to Rogienor.
"Haha, just kidding. I was fighting a monster that night, so it's impossible. As the older brother of Aifietouka-jou, who fought alongside me, you also know that, right?"
Tigaro maintains the attitude that he is fighting a monster.
Aifie, who will be the witness, is also a relative of Rogienor, so there is no way he doubt her.
It would be impossible to sneak into one of the Fonedao family mansions and kidnap Eul, an exchange student from the Empire, during the same night.
Although Tigaro insisted so, Rogienor's suspicious gaze did not clear up.
"A monster has appeared in the royal capital, my sister has been involved, and Eul-dono is also missing. This is a major incident that has never been seen before in the Kingdom of Shhirsodi... But I believe that all of this is according to your scenario.”
"……What do you mean?"
"A monster has appeared in the capital, and my sister is being attacked by it. By drawing attention to these things, they reduced the number of hands needed to protect Eul-dono. That’s more than enough reason to go to where she is.”
Having said that, Rogienor pointed at Tigaro with his finger.
"And you―― no, the Noros family has the cunning and foolish option to make that possible and carry it out."
Even though there is no evidence that Eul was kidnapped, the Noros family has a motive.
The Noros family enslaves women and absorbs the Odo they get from them to strengthen their manifestation magic.
In particular, Eul, who can use magic with the same two attributes as Aifie, will probably be able to produce a good quality Odo.
On top of that, everyone in the Noros family likes women.
Whenever they see a beautiful woman, they have the desire in their heart to violate them.
There was ample reason for the Noros family to target Eul.
Then, Tigaro remembered that Lapeia had also said the same thing.
She also said that at first, she thought that Tigaro had kidnapped Eul in a premeditated crime.
Apparently, the members of the Asur family or the Holy Water Knights were suspicious of members of the Noros family, including Tigaro.
"Haha, Rogienor-dono is good at joking."
Tigaro managed to laugh and pretend, but inside he was a little upset.
Although the means and purpose Rogienor envisions are probably different, the fact that Tigaro captured Eul is correct.
Although they wouldn't forcibly investigate the Noros family mansion based on suspicion alone, Tigaro's ease of movement would still change based on whether or not he was suspicious.
From now on, he'll have to be careful not to reveal anything when investigating Eul or the monster.
In addition, Tigaro noticed that Machen, who was next to him, was also starting to look at him with a little bit of skepticism.
Regardless of Rogienor, if Machen is turned to that side, Tigaro will be in a very disadvantageous situation.
Tigaro could tell from the atmosphere that things were getting worse.
However, it is difficult for the current Tigaro to clear up Rogienor's suspicions.
If that happens, Tigaro has only one option.
He gave up on trying to clear up the suspicions at this point, deceived them appropriately, and left for the time being.
Tigaro smiled at Machen and said in a gentle voice.
"Machen-dono. It seems like he doesn't like me. I'm sorry, but I'll leave for now."
"...Y-yes. Thank you for your concern."
"Haha... Rogienor-dono, I hope you have a good day, too."
"Ah, good day. ――Also, if it was you who turned the monster against my sister, I swear that I will cast you into hell, even if I have to renounce my honor as the captain of the second squadron of the Holy Water Knights Order."
Tigaro ignored Rogienor's words and left the place with Kenna.
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