Chapter 35

After being jostled in a carriage for two days, I arrived at a massive estate looming in the middle of a vast field.

When one hears “estate,” images of opulence and splendor usually come to mind, but this was a simple wooden structure—essentially a mountain lodge that had been scaled up to a gargantuan size.

Though the climate here was colder than in the other three nations, the early summer sun in Pace was still enough to make one break out in a sweat.

Standing before the manor, wiping my brow, I was already starting to regret my attire. I wasn’t just wearing my familiar linen set; because I was meeting an influential foreign noble, I had donned the white silk robe I’d received to commemorate the completion of my court detective training. It was absurdly hot.

Looking at this house, it seemed the Treasure family were nobles who didn’t care much for appearances. Honestly, if I’d known that, I never would have brought this robe.

With a click of my tongue, I entered the manor.

The interior was as simple as the exterior. Just past the entrance was a sturdy-looking hall built of wood without a single ornament, and a large crowd had already gathered there.

There was a giant of a man carrying a massive sword. An archer with red eyes and the pointed ears of an elf. A muscular little man with a long beard—likely of strong dwarven blood. A girl with skin, hair, and clothes that were all pure white. And finally, a warrior with his large frame encased in armor, his bearded face brimming with arrogance.

“Hm?”

That last arrogant expression felt familiar, so I moved closer to confirm the face.

“Oh ho!”

The man called out to me first.

“If it isn’t Van. I heard they were recruiting detectives too, but I didn’t think you’d show up. One of the Seven Detectives himself—‘Van the Reformer’.”

The voice and the bold, brazen look he gave me brought the memory back instantly.

“Mr. Jin.”

It was Jin. The man who had been a Holy Knight in Shark, specializing in the Church’s dirty work.

I’d heard he became—or rather, went back to being—an adventurer after that, but I never expected to run into him here.

And thanks to Jin’s big mouth, the eyes of everyone around us widened in surprise, and their gazes fixed squarely on me.

Seriously, he just had to say it. I have the name value, sure, but I was trying to stay as inconspicuous as possible.

“You’re participating in this too, Mr. Jin?”

I scurried over to him before I could draw any more attention.

“The reward looks promising, and more importantly, it seems the Treasure family is serious about gathering the most skilled adventurers they can find. If that’s the case, there’s no way I could stay away.”

Jin, sporting a smirk that looked down on everyone else, was indeed a top-tier adventurer according to my research.

I’d learned later that long before he became a Holy Knight, he was famous as an all-rounder who had cleared numerous dungeons and could adapt to any situation instantly.

“I heard they were looking for ‘skilled’ detectives, but you’re only the second one to show up. It seems most detectives shy away from this kind of work.”

“The second?”

I was more than a little surprised.

To think there was another detective besides me willing to take on a job that clearly involved violence—one willing to mix in with adventurers for dangerous work. I’d assumed no sane detective would accept a job so far removed from the duty of solving crimes.

“Oi, over there.”

Jin flicked his chin toward a certain direction.

Standing there was a man radiating a bizarre aura, his eyes closed in quiet repose.

He looked like a young man with a slender build, but it was hard to tell for sure. After all, his entire body was covered in a dense layer of vibrantly colored feathers. Not just his clothes, but his hair and even half of his face were hidden by the plumage.

“Wh-what is up with that guy?”

“Huh? You don’t know ‘Kijiitsu the Genocider’? He’s the detective with a reputation for being the most insane among ‘Django of the Wasteland’s’ disciples.”

“Ah, so that’s him.”

Hearing that, it clicked.

Now that he mentioned it, I had heard stories of a man who adorned his entire body in feathers.

Django of the Wasteland.

He was the only private investigator among the Seven Detectives of Pangea.

In this world, where detectives were essentially civil servants, private investigators were rare.

Since detectives belonging to their respective nations usually handled criminal investigations, the cases that trickled down to private eyes were almost always extremely dangerous—delicate political issues spanning two nations, or murders arising from disputes between adventurers deep inside dungeons.

They had to solve these without any government backup.

No matter how high a fee they could freely demand, it hardly seemed worth the risk.

Amidst that, Django was the one who made a name for himself by taking on and solving any case in exchange for an exorbitant reward.

However, his methods were reportedly quite brutal; it was said to be common for him to kill almost everyone involved.

The moniker “Wasteland” came from the saying that after Django passed through, not even a path remained.

Because Django of the Wasteland was a private investigator without state support, he always employed several subordinates to assist in his investigations.

Several of those subordinates had gained enough experience to go independent as private investigators themselves—they were the ones known as Django’s disciples.

The disciples currently consisted of three men—‘Slaughter,’ ‘Unarmed,’ and ‘Genocide’—and of those, ‘Genocide’ Kijiitsu was rumored to be the most dangerous.

He was often said to be the detective who most closely resembled Django himself.

“I see, a private investigator. I hadn’t even considered that.”

While private eyes were major players in the mystery novels I loved back home, they were a minority of a minority in this world, so I had unconsciously excluded them from my train of thought.

“More like Treasure probably put out the call specifically hoping for a private eye. Normally, no one expects a detective employed by the state to apply for a recruitment like this,” Jin said.

Jin’s mocking attitude was irritating, but his logic was sound.

“Oh, it’s starting.”

At Jin’s prompt, I turned my attention to the center of the hall, where a stout middle-aged gentleman and a slender, tall young man had just appeared.

The middle-aged gentleman had his thinning hair neatly slicked back, but his clothes were plain—a simple shirt and trousers made of solid-colored linen or tekito-cloth. Judging by his attire alone, he could have passed for the estate’s gardener or a servant. However, his energetic features, punctuated by bright, glittering eyes like acorns, constantly asserted that he was someone special.

In contrast to the gentleman, the slender youth had refined, cool features and a graceful bearing. His clothes weren’t overly flashy, but they were high-quality garments crafted from silk and silverwork. It felt as though he spent a considerable amount of thought—and money—to maintain a presence that wouldn’t interfere with the older man’s shadow.

“Welcome, everyone.”

A low baritone voice echoed through the hall.

Spreading his arms like an opera singer, the gentleman began to speak.

“I am Bent Treasure. I am the one who summoned you here. I am pleased to see such a large turnout. First, I would like to thank you for that.”

With a flair for the dramatic, Bent looked around at everyone’s faces.

“Among the nobility, there are apparently those who look down upon you adventurers, but I am not one of them. The Treasure family was originally a house that rose from the rank of adventurers to nobility, and my son, Hunt, makes his living as an adventurer as well.”

As if responding to the introduction, the young man beside him gave a slight nod.

So that man was the son, Hunt Treasure.

“I like adventurers. Adventurers are pioneers who do not fear danger; they are the messengers who bring the breath of God into the world of men.”

What Bent said wasn’t entirely off the mark.

In this world, in the narrowest sense, an adventurer is someone who delves into dungeons. It’s a profession where people make their living by entering dungeons and bringing back the items they find inside.

“Now then. Dungeons are Holy Relics. Do you understand the meaning of this?”

“Eh? Me?!”

Bent suddenly pointed his finger at the red-haired girl. Flustered, she scrambled for an answer.

“Literally… that they’re places composed of Holy Relics, isn’t that… I mean, isn’t it, sir?”

“Mhm.”

Bent nodded, looking satisfied.

“Precisely. Holy Relics are the materialization of miracles left in this world by God. They are items that our current technology cannot unravel. They are extremely precious, and every Holy Relic discovered to date is strictly managed by one nation or another. And dungeons are the most common form of Holy Relic found in Pangea. Even with human tools, it would take half a year of labor just to leave a scratch on the building materials that form a dungeon. There are doors that open from only one direction, and monsters and items that spawn infinitely. Places that mankind has studied since before the Holy Spirit Era and yet remain shrouded in mystery. That is what a dungeon is.”

I had done enough homework to know that Bent Treasure himself was deeply involved with dungeons.

As he mentioned, the Treasure family began when an adventurer discovered an unknown dungeon, reported it to the King of Pace, and was granted nobility as a reward.

However, it was the current head—Bent—who pushed the Treasure family from being minor nobles to one of the most influential houses in Pace.

From a young age, Bent had formed close ties with the adventurers that many other nobles looked down upon as low-born. He made his fortune by selling them items necessary for dungeon exploration and buying the loot they brought back.

Using that capital, he then purchased management rights for dungeons and acted as a moneylender for adventurers. By engaging in one business after another related to dungeons and adventurers, he amassed immense wealth. He eventually reached a position where he controlled everything related to dungeons in Pace.

That was this man, Bent Treasure.

“Dungeons are places that provide us not just with danger, but with every kind of happiness. Because you know this, I believe you stand here today as adventurers.”

Bent paused, closing his eyes for a moment before snapping them open—eyes that shone with a restless, glittering ambition.

“In other words, the job I am about to ask of you is no mere task. I want you to think of it as a noble mission to bring new happiness from the dungeons to the world. And if it is a noble mission rather than just a job, then naturally, one must be qualified to participate. To stand on a field of glory, one needs qualifications.”

“Meaning what, exactly?”

Jin, apparently losing his patience, prodded him to get to the point.

It was an unthinkable breach of etiquette, but Bent didn’t seem to mind.

“Hm. Well, if you’re asking ‘meaning what,’ it can be summed up in a single word.”

With his cheeks trembling slightly, Bent leaned back and shouted in a voice that seemed loud enough to echo across the entire country.

“Qualifiers! You will all be participating in a qualifying round.”