* * *
“Then… then.”
My head spins.
I was never particularly smart, but now I have to come up with schemes like this?
“What happened to the criminal? Execution?”
“No. He’s in prison.”
“He killed someone, though?”
“Looks like they tried to downplay the incident to avoid making a big scene at that gambling den. A bad reputation wouldn’t be good for business, and if regulations came down on them, they’d only end up losing money.”
According to the explanation, it wasn’t a targeted armed robbery but rather a brawl at the gambling den that resulted in someone’s death.
That would only make the hero more suspicious.
It was obvious someone had coordinated their stories.
The only question was: whose influence was behind it?
The situation had become so layered and coincidental that the misunderstanding had only deepened.
But if the culprit was still alive, that worked in my favor.
“Then I just have to make him confess with his own mouth that he really did it.”
“What if they think he was bribed into saying that?”
“I have a truth serum.”
Not on me right now, of course—it’s in Swindlin.
“A truth serum? You actually got one? How?”
“It… just happened.”
Truth serum.
Even just saying the words felt a little shady.
This wasn’t something that was legally distributed.
Black mages used to make small batches and sell them secretly on the black market.
But with the large-scale crackdown on black magic, they’d become so rare that they were nearly impossible to find these days.
I had gotten mine when I raided a group of fleeing black mages.
I remember selling it to the black market, and the merchant had grumbled about how it hadn’t sold yet because I had priced it too high.
There was no way that expensive potion had sold in such a short time—it was probably still there.
It wasn’t something to be used lightly, considering its side effects.
But if it was just for a criminal, then it should be fine, right?
Yet, Gaspar didn’t look reassured at all.
A truth serum would provide proof and force a confession—so why was he hesitating?
Was it because of the side effects?
The person would have a high fever for a few days, but with potions, they wouldn’t be in any real danger.
“You don’t like it?”
“It’s… reliable that you have a truth serum, but…”
Gaspar glanced at me.
“Do you really think Bati would willingly go visit a prisoner? He doesn’t even like being in the same room with me—there’s no way he’d go along with this.”
Ah, that.
Of course, he wouldn’t go to the prison.
I wouldn’t want him to, either.
Why should a hero personally step into some filthy, unpleasant dungeon?
“I’ll smuggle him out.”
“…What?”
Why is an adventurer so surprised?
“I’ll smuggle him out. It’s not like he’d be in great condition in there, anyway. We just need to swap in someone with a similar build, dress them up to look scruffy, and we’ll fool them for a while.”
“Wait, wait! Hold on!”
He waved his hands frantically.
I was doing all this for his sake, so why did he look so troubled?
Shouldn’t he be grateful?
Did he have a guilty conscience or something?
“That’s a crime! You’d be sneaking a prisoner out!”
Hmm…
It’s not murder or anything.
Don’t all adventurers do a little something like this once or twice?
“I—I don’t want to be a criminal mentor to Bati! And explaining things by committing a crime defeats the whole purpose, doesn’t it?”
“I’ll commit the crime alone, then. I’ll take all the blame, so you stay out of it.”
“Why are you so confident?”
“A crime is only a crime if you get caught.”
I wasn’t going to get caught.
I’ve done this kind of thing before.
Objectively speaking, adventuring isn’t just about hunting monsters.
If a client makes a request and it’s doable, we do it.
It’s not exactly a clean profession.
There’s no need to act all righteous now.
Besides, I’m not even doing something bad—I’m trying to clear up a misunderstanding.
“Ugh… this is… a bit much.”
Gaspar was sweating.
What the hell?
I was going this far to help him, and he couldn’t even muster a decent thank-you?
“What’s the problem now?”
“Everything…”
He mumbled helplessly.
I had put so much thought into this plan, so why was he acting like this?
“Then tell me your idea. If we get the chance to talk to him, you must have thought of something, right?”
“My idea?”
Gaspar smiled innocently.
Damn it.
That expression, the one that’s gotten him out of countless tricky situations before.
It’s infuriating.
Did he pull this on the hero, too?
Did the hero fall for that pretty-boy face?
I may not have the same rugged look as the hero, but I’m not some delicate pretty boy—I’m more on the “handsome” side.
…No, the hero followed him because he was his teacher.
What the hell am I even thinking?
“Don’t smile until you come up with a proper plan.”
It’s just pissing me off!
“But Bati is actually kind, so if we just explain it well, won’t he understand?”
The hero is kind—that’s true.
He gave me plenty of chances, too.
But it was Gaspar himself who pissed him off so much that he cut ties.
Isn’t he being way too laid-back about this?
If he were trying alone, fine.
But he asked me for help, made me set up this meeting, and now he’s acting all nonchalant?
If this fails, Bati will think I wasted his time and hold it against me, too.
This is way too reckless.
It’s really pissing me off.
“You do realize I’m involved in this, right? If this goes wrong, it won’t just be you—both of us will end up getting cut off by Zerbin!”
“Ugh…!”
Gaspar flinched at that brutal truth, twisting in discomfort.
Then he suddenly perked up.
“But isn’t this your fault?”
“Mine?”
“You’re not taking this seriously either.”
What?
I’m putting everything into this!
He doesn’t even know how important this is to me!
“Think about it. I’ve known Bati way longer than you have. But instead of trusting what I say, you’re weighing the situation based on your own thoughts.”
…Was that true?
It was. At 17, Gaspar had taken the hero out of the temple, raised him, and wandered with him as his mentor.
That was who he was.
Compared to that, I only met the hero much later, after I became an adventurer.
In my past life, I never even had meaningful interactions with him, so technically, I’ve only been close to him for about a month.
So it would make sense… that Gaspar’s insight would be more accurate.
Had I been too self-centered in my thinking?
Maybe.
I had dismissed Gaspar as useless and hadn’t seriously considered his perspective.
That much was true.
I should reflect on that.
Besides, my goal was to make Gaspar and the hero form some sort of bond—something like love.
If I wanted to keep pushing my plan forward, I had to stay on Gaspar’s good side.
…Even though he was the one acting like a damn fool?
Alright. Calm down.
“Still, charging ahead recklessly without any preparation isn’t exactly a good choice.”
“Are you still starting with doubt first?”
Gaspar said, sounding hurt.
That made me feel a little guilty.
Maybe I had been too harsh.
I did kick him and curse at him a lot.
Hmm.
“That’s not it… Just because your idea is reasonable doesn’t mean I can trust it blindly. Even when we go on missions, we always prepare for things not going according to plan.”
I answered more carefully than before.
“If it were that easy, you would’ve already arranged a meeting with Zerbin. If the simple solutions haven’t worked until now, then obviously, we need to change direction.”
Gaspar stared at me silently with his sharp blue eyes.
“So in the end, you’re saying I’ve been wrong all this time, and that’s why you can’t trust me?”
“What? That’s not it. I just—”
“Haah, Florenti. I don’t understand why you’re being so uncooperative.”
Me?
“Didn’t you fight with Bati too? Then shouldn’t you also be trying to ease the tension? Wouldn’t it make more sense to work with me since we have the same goal?”
“Well, yeah, that’s true, but…”
But is this really something to get worked up over?
* * *
