* * *
It had been a few days since I asked to be contacted the moment a mental fortitude artifact popped up and we headed to Swindlin.
Finally, just as we arrived at our destination, we were blocked by guards.
“…Um, sorry, but we’ll need you to come with us.”
“What? Why?”
They sighed, looking genuinely troubled, and turned to Bati.
“Adventurer Bati Zerbin, there’s been a report accusing you of assault, kidnapping, and unlawful confinement.”
What the hell?
What kind of ridiculous crap is this?
They’re saying Bati committed a crime?
And not just one — the whole set of assault, kidnapping, and confinement?
You’d believe it if it were even remotely believable, but this is just absurd.
Considering how guards usually ignore conflict between adventurers, this must’ve come from a civilian…
Does that even make sense?
Even if he seems emotionally distant, Bati is one of the kindest, gentlest people I know.
Would he really mistreat a civilian who couldn’t even fight back?
More importantly, he’s been with me the entire past two months — when would he have done any of that?
If anything, he helps people.
Assault?
Sure, we were apart for a bit.
But even then, Bati was in the same town as me.
If a report was filed, it would’ve been from there.
It doesn’t make sense that something would blow up only now that we’ve arrived in Swindlin.
“Explain. Now.”
Bati commanded.
His voice was calm but heavy with authority, and the guards flinched and stepped back.
They must’ve been just as thrown off.
After all, there’s no way they could drag Bati anywhere by force.
Frankly, they’re probably just hoping he doesn’t send them flying for talking nonsense.
“A-apologies…”
They’d been treating him like a criminal, but now they were caving under pressure. It felt oddly satisfying.
They’re scared of Bati, yet they still came out to do this?
Let’s be honest.
No guard wants to pick a fight with someone like Bati.
So if they still came out, that means there’s evidence strong enough they couldn’t just ignore it.
But what kind of evidence could there even be…?
They exchanged glances like they were silently pleading for one of them to die in their place, and eventually the youngest got pushed forward to explain.
“D-do you perhaps know an adventurer named ‘Gaspar Ballone’? He claims to be your mentor, Bati Zerbin.”
Ah!
Damn it.
That bastard?
“Should’ve just killed him when I had the chance.”
I muttered darkly, making one of the guards flinch.
“You really did it?”
It was someone I was on speaking terms with.
Actually, I’d buttered up the guards with drinks and expensive food to stay on their good side.
Except the rookie, they’d all had at least one nice meal on me.
Did I do it?
Yeah… I did.
He tried to exploit Bati, so I beat him up to make him understand his place, kidnapped him to give him as a “gift,” and locked him up in an inn room.
Now that I think about it, I was the one who pulled off the crime trifecta.
Wait a second.
So why is Bati being accused instead of me?
“That bastard’s an adventurer too!”
This kind of thing happens between adventurers all the time!
I didn’t break his arm or stab him or anything!
I just knocked him out and tied him up for a bit. Isn’t this a bit overblown?
And the confinement?
Sure, I tied him up and left him in a room… but I was so excited to see Bati afterward that I didn’t even lock the door properly.
He probably got out the moment he woke up.
Can that even be called confinement?
At most, it’s assault and kidnapping!
“Well… technically, yes…”
Jack — my guard friend — looked incredibly awkward.
Bati stood in front of him, his usual cold expression somehow exuding intense menace, and I gave him a “C’mon, we’re friends, help me out here” look.
“Ugh, I really didn’t want to be part of this!”
Jack dropped his spear with a defeated thud and clutched his head in frustration.
“If it’s a false accusation, I’ll get ripped apart later, and if it’s real, there’s no way I could actually arrest him. You think I wanted this job? Huh?!”
“Then why didn’t you refuse to come?”
“Like that’s up to me! That adventurer — or con artist, whatever he is — came with an official cooperation request for investigation… with a lord’s seal on it!”
What?
“Hah.”
Bati scoffed.
The exasperation in his voice made all the guards recoil slightly.
‘A noble’s involved?’
Why?
“Whose seal was it?”
“Well… it wasn’t just one. If it had been only one, I’d have thought it was a forgery too. But there were several. You’d have to be insane to fake that many noble seals — that’s straight-up noble defamation. And he claimed he was of noble birth himself.”
Wait — multiple nobles requested cooperation?
I was at a loss for words.
This was a bigger problem than I thought.
Normally, adventurer-on-adventurer conflict is ignored unless it harms civilians.
But once people with power get involved, it’s a different story.
The lower ranks have to move as ordered.
‘Damn it. This is why you don’t mess with nobles.’
Did Gaspar go crying to the nobles he knows?
We were only gone to Grid for a few days — and he really used that time to stir up this mess?
Still, something doesn’t add up.
If Gaspar had noble friends, why didn’t he go to them for help in the first place?
Why did he latch onto Bati so desperately?
Even if he was kicked out of his family, he’s still of noble birth — and I had no qualms about handing him over as a “gift” precisely because I figured he had no noble allies left.
If he did, he would’ve used his connections to get a job and pay off his debts by now!
‘There’s something going on.’
Especially the part where he named Bati as the perpetrator instead of me — the one who actually beat him up.
Why go after Bati, someone he should be trying to appease?
All this just makes it less likely that he’ll get any money out of Bati.
What’s Bati thinking?
My head started to hurt, so I stopped trying to make sense of it and turned to look at him.
As always, he looked like a handsome statue, expressionless.
But I could tell — behind those cool gray eyes, there was anger.
If there’s any silver lining…
“Bati, what now? Should we go grab Gaspar and beat him up?”
“You know that won’t solve the real problem.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Now that nobles were involved in this matter, it was only right to assume that the bastard was under their protection.
Why those high-and-mighty types, usually so busy with their own political games, had suddenly taken an interest in a dispute between adventurers—I had no idea.
Whatever the reason, they probably wanted Gaspar alive and well until they got what they wanted.
Weren’t these guys supposed to be guards? Shouldn’t they know a bit more?
“…Bati?”
“Did you just call him Bati?”
“You answered right away…?”
They didn’t bother explaining anything—they were too busy whispering among themselves.
Well… I guess it is surprising!
* * *
