Chapter 87

I, Alice, was with my seniors after Ryu’s barbecue party had come to an end.

Ryu had said he was going to wash and return the camping gear he’d borrowed along with Aoi, so we parted ways after that.

Regardless, it was delicious.

Both the giant boar Ryu hunted and Aoi’s cooking were wonderful.

“Alice, you’re drooling.”

One of my seniors pointed toward the corner of my mouth, and I hurriedly wiped it away in a panic.

My seniors are amazing; they always manage to pull information out of thin air.

I tried to learn their methods, but I don’t think I’m cut out for it.

Most of the time, my seniors extract information from adventurers by working as waitresses in guilds or tavern districts and keeping them company while they drink.

Sometimes, when nobles visit incognito, they take jobs pouring drinks while wearing beautiful dresses to gather intel.

Compared to my style of hiding and quietly listening in, it’s a much more difficult and demanding job.

Ryu’s ideal woman must be someone like my seniors.

After all, I look like a child and I’m terrible at small talk.

“Still, I have a feeling that man, Ryu, is sitting on some good information.”

“What do you mean by ‘good information’?”

“Something… outrageous. His familiars are rare dragon hatchlings, for one, and then there’s what he might know about the Great Forest.”

I… thought she might be right.

Ryu apparently lived in the Great Forest for a while, and based on the conversation I overheard between him and my senior earlier, he seemed to know the whereabouts of the Fenrirs.

“But I have a feeling he won’t just tell us. I saw his familiars for the first time today, and he seemed to dote on them quite a bit.”

“That’s the problem~. We’re currently investigating the habitats of Fenrirs and Garudas, too.”

To have a weapon forged that can “cut through the sky,” the fangs of a Fenrir and the flames of a Garuda are required—securing this information is one of the tasks entrusted to the Intelligence Department.

Basically, our job is to look into the information the Hero needs, and then the Captain verifies its authenticity.

If Ryu has information on the Fenrirs, it’s something we desperately want.

Since they’re legendary magical beasts, the success reward would be high.

“That’s what makes it tricky. That man doesn’t look like the type to spill information for honey traps, and he doesn’t seem to be hurting for money either. At this rate, we probably won’t get anything unless we take our time to earn his trust.”

My senior let out a sigh as we walked.

While we were talking, we arrived at our meeting place.

It was a location we were using only while staying in this country—the basement of that dilapidated inn where we were originally supposed to stay.

As soon as everyone entered the basement, they started speaking up.

“Man~ that giant boar was tasty!”

“It certainly was a flavor I’d like to eat again.”

“I… I’m more interested in Aoi…”

“Did you fall for that beauty!?”

My “older brothers” suddenly started chatting.

I call them the eldest, second, third, and fourth sons for my own convenience, but they all have proper codenames.

“Alright, alright. ‘Jack,’ ‘Thomas,’ ‘Charlie,’ and ‘Jacob,’ shut it. The Captain will be here soon.”

Names common throughout the world—those are our codenames.

They say these codenames were born because common names are easy to call out in town and allow us to blend in easily.

The only downside is that unrelated people sometimes react to them.

“What gives, ‘Laura’? You were the one getting seconds of that meat over and over!”

“That’s not the point. I’m telling you to settle down before the Captain gets here.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway; that guy always arrives without letting anyone sense his presence. More importantly, it looks like Charlie has fallen head over heels for Aoi!!”

“It’s not like I’ve fallen for her. I just thought she was a very beautiful person.”

“That’s exactly what falling for someone means. In that case, we need to investigate which country she’s from.”

“Nah, give it up. She’s definitely a flower on a high peak.”

The four brothers continued to get worked up over Charlie’s love life.

I agreed—she was definitely a flower on a high peak for someone like Charlie.

“Ho. So Charlie finally found a woman to fall for.”

Without a hint of warning, a man of medium build and height entered the room and naturally joined the conversation. It was the Captain.

“”“Captain!”““

We hurriedly snapped into military salutes.

“Yeah, no need for such stiff greetings. You all did well on this job. This incident was a real pain, wasn’t it?”

“Captain, if you’re going to say that, then please dispatch more people next time.”

“He’s right, Captain. We’re exhausted because of this.”

Everyone voiced their complaints, but the Captain simply brushed them off.

“I get it, I get it. I’ll make sure to write in the report that this was solved quickly despite the small numbers. You’ll get a hefty bonus, so go eat something good and cheer up. So, who was the collaborator this time?”

“Alice, you tell him.”

“Y-Yes!”

I gave a detailed account of our collaborator, Ryu.

I answered the Captain’s questions immediately, so it should have been fine.

“…I see. A freelance adventurer named Ryu, huh.”

“Captain? Ryu is a mysterious person, but he isn’t a bad man.”

“That’s not it. This has nothing to do with the country, but the name caught my attention.”

“The name? True, Ryu is a rare name, but…”

Was he doubting the possibility of him being from another island or continent?

But Ryu said Light-Light was his home…

“Is this a personal request for you, Captain?”

“Something like that. Though that ‘individual’ is Lady Thea.”

He said it casually in response to Jack’s question, but it was the first I’d heard of it, and she was the most important individual of all.

What on earth could the Hero’s request be?

“And the details?”

“Just a search for a person. She wants me to find a childhood friend who suddenly vanished.”

“A childhood friend? You don’t mean the Sage?”

“That’s right. Apparently, there was one more in the town where the Lady grew up. His profession was the common ‘Tamer.’ The Lady went into a total panic when a guy like that suddenly disappeared.”

I see. So that was the true identity of the Hero’s recent mental slump.

It was caused by the disappearance of a close childhood friend.

“Alice, did that guy Ryu say anything about the Lady?”

“Um, nothing in particular…”

The only thing I heard from Ryu regarding the Hero was about the Hero’s policies.

Moreover, he was asking for my opinion, so there was too little evidence to make a judgment.

“Is that so? Then go ask him. If he’s the real deal, he’ll say something. If he’s not, we’ll just look again.”

“…Will he really talk to me that easily?”

“From what I’ve heard, he seems willing to talk about things he considers trivial. Even if it’s trivial to him, it’s important to us. Go ask. I’ll be staying in this country tonight as well.”

“Understood. I’ll try to ask him discreetly.”

“Then we’re dismissed for today. Good work~.”

“”“Good work, sir!”““

And so, we disbanded.

For now, I have to go ask Ryu about the Hero.

“Huh? Alice, are you leaving already?”

“Yes, it’s better to get the job done early.”

The Captain asked as he saw me heading for the exit.

That was when Thomas had to say something unnecessary.

“Well, she’s staying at a different inn, after all.”

“What? Just Alice?”

“Yes. She’s been staying at a different inn the whole time as a treat from that Ryu guy. In the same room, no less.”

In that moment, a strange black aura erupted from the Captain.

That was the aura he gave off whenever he was in a foul mood—everyone knew it!

“…Alice, on second thought, I’ll go ask him directly. You wait there. Also, I might be a little late getting back.”

“Captain? You’re acting kind of scary?”

“I’m just going to ask for some information, then assassinate him.”

“You can’t do that! He might be the Hero’s precious friend!”

Thomas’s unnecessary comment ended up costing a lot of time, but I somehow managed to soothe the Captain and decided to wait for Ryu at the inn.