Chapter 31 – Beastfolk Thief Sheila

“Thank you for your business!”

I exited the magic tool shop with the shopkeeper’s voice at my back.

…There were no magic staves that met my criteria of being suitable for staff martial arts while also having excellent durability during magic activation.

I thought I’d be able to get a staff easily enough if I went to Termwills, but… it seems battle mages themselves are a rare breed, with no peers to be found. Naturally, as a result, there doesn’t appear to be anything that satisfies my needs.

Either I’ll have to search through treasure chests in the lower levels, or gather materials myself and commission the crafting.

On the other hand, I did find a coat for magicians. While it being a coat rather than a robe doesn’t quite meet my preference, it seems to be made from thread spun from Lunaworm cocoons, so the quality is good.

It can be temporarily enhanced with additional magic and costs 400 kirig. Considering the price, it should have sufficient performance.

I immediately put on the coat and left the shop.

I was thinking about exploring the town a bit more when I felt a vibration through the soles of my feet. It was a signal from Caduceus, whom I had hidden in the shadows.

…That beastfolk from before, I suppose. I don’t know where they were tracking me from, but they must have made some suspicious movement when I left the shop. They seem to have been caught in Caduceus’s surveillance net.

Without looking around, I pretended not to notice and started walking.

I closed my left eye and linked my senses—my vision—with my familiar.

With my right eye, I saw the scenery ahead. With my left eye, through Caduceus’s senses, I saw what was behind me.

Amid the crowd, I could see a hooded figure walking at a slight distance, keeping their head somewhat lowered.

First, I should create a situation where they can’t easily make excuses.

Pretending to wander aimlessly through the town—I guided them to the same old streets I remembered from Kagehisa’s memories.

I turned the corner leading to an alleyway, and the moment their line of sight was cut off, I activated my magical power circulation. Kicking off from wall to wall, I swiftly leaped up onto the roof of a building.

The person who had followed me to the corner froze for a moment beneath me, then appeared slightly flustered at having suddenly lost sight of me and ran deeper into the alley.

“—Well then.”

Now it was my turn to chase the one who had been tailing me.

But this wouldn’t turn into a game of tag or stealth. That’s because this path led to a dead end.

Having made Termwills my home during the BFO era, I knew this area inside out. I used to enjoy walking around the intricately designed streets.

I was particularly familiar with the older streets closer to the central area.

Given that they were constructed by repurposing parts of the labyrinth, they probably wouldn’t change much in the future either.

Sure enough, the pursuer—in an open space surrounded by buildings with no exit—was looking around, wondering where I had disappeared to. They looked up at the high walls, checked if there were any passable gaps between buildings.

“Who are you looking for?”

When I spoke to their back, the beastfolk turned around as if startled.

“…I’m a little lost.”

A woman’s voice.

I had intended to decide my response based on their approach, but it didn’t seem like they were going to attack me outright. In that case, I could respond somewhat peacefully. Though I wouldn’t let them escape by playing dumb.

“Is that so? You were lost behind my house last night too, weren’t you?”

I could tell they gasped beneath their hood.

“Could it be that you’re actually looking for someone?”

“…How?”

How? How did I notice the tail? Or how did I get behind them? Or perhaps how do I know about yesterday’s events?

“Magicians tend to have various preparations in place. First, could you show me your face?”

When I said that, the beastfolk shrugged their shoulders slightly. There was an air of resignation about them. When they removed their hood, a woman’s face was revealed beneath. Large triangular ears twitched.

“I can’t say I’m not suspicious—but I have no intention of harming you.”

“If I hear your purpose and find it convincing, I’ll believe you.”

She didn’t seem to have been watching my house from the beginning, so I could probably trust her to some extent.

“My name is Sheila. I’m searching for friends who have gone missing.”

“And so—why come to me?”

Sheila narrowed her almond-shaped eyes at me.

“Snake Bite.”

…So that’s it. I thought it might be related to the Count’s family.

Missing friends, huh. I had speculated that Snake Bite might be involved in abduction cases.

I maintained as much of a poker face as possible in response to her probing. As we stared at each other in silence, Sheila spoke again.

“I made inquiries and learned that you were the one who captured Snake Bite. I also heard you had trouble with Count Cardiff’s family. I thought if I stuck close to you, Cardiff’s private soldiers might appear.”

Hmm? …What? Are you suggesting there’s a connection between Snake Bite and Cardiff?

If she knows about me and has been lurking around, she’s probably heard about the incident with Cardiff.

There’s also the possibility that she listed both to pique my interest or to confuse me. Information about Snake Bite, which should have been suppressed by the Adventurer Guild, would be hard to obtain… I should probably assume that’s her main objective and that she reached me through that.

“Will you hear me out? We might be able to cooperate.”

Sheila tilted her head without changing her expression.

Once she can no longer operate secretly, make contact and recruit as an ally, huh. Well, that’s reasonable enough.

“I’ll listen. But there are things I won’t be able to answer.”

I’ve been asked by the Adventurer Guild to keep quiet about Snake Bite, and I’ve received payment for it too.

Since I accepted the money, I consider it a contract. Such matters are built on trust, so I can’t just blabber about everything simply because I’m “interested.”

“I’ll give you just the facts. I know my friends were talking with Snake Bite at the Adventurer Guild regarding a labyrinth map creation request. And that members of Count Cardiff’s household were seen entering and leaving the building that Snake Bite frequented.”

“…So you’re saying Cardiff—or someone connected to him—is guiding Snake Bite and involved with your missing friends?”

Count Cardiff’s family was having financial difficulties, and when considering how they filled the gap left by Talcott’s failed marriage arrangements… it wouldn’t be strange if they turned to illegal activities out of desperation.

“That’s how I see it. But I don’t have enough information.”

“Have you told the Adventurer Guild about this?”

Sheila shook her head.

“They turned me away. I knew the Adventurer Guild wanted to keep Snake Bite’s information quiet, and if they became suspicious of me, undergoing a Magical Inquisition would be problematic.”

“Why is that?”

Sheila closed her eyes. She seemed to be hesitating about whether to speak.

Eventually, she opened her eyes and spoke clearly.

“Because I’m a member of the Thieves Guild.”

“…Um. You’re saying it would be problematic if that came out during a Magical Inquisition?”

When I asked this, she nodded.

So she can disclose information as an internal matter here, but she can’t undergo a Magical Inquisition, huh.

Steal but do not kill. Train your skills daily.

…That’s the general feeling of their numerous rules. They might appear like righteous thieves, but they’re definitely not heroes of justice. Their leadership might be closest to chivalrous yakuza.

Actually, I dislike thieves. I understand the difference between bandits, robbers, and the like versus thieves and scouts… or at least I think I do.

There are lower-ranking Thieves Guild members among adventurers too, who should be active as scouts and such.

Among their rules was one about not letting others know you’re a member. I know this from game knowledge, but as an outsider, I shouldn’t know about their rules. That’s why I had to choose my words carefully when responding to Sheila.

Actually, just by talking to me, Sheila is taking considerable risk.

“What about speaking to the Thieves Guild leadership?”

According to information from BFO quests… there were Thieves Guild members who operated slave traders as their public fronts. I imagine those connections probably still exist now.

If you ask what they do with abducted people… the first thing that comes to mind is disguising them as criminal slaves, casting enslavement magic on them, and selling them off. That would definitely be picking a fight with the Thieves Guild.

There are roughly two types of slaves.

First, there are debt slaves, who become slaves as collateral for debt, like indentured servants. These can potentially buy back their freedom with money they earn themselves.

On the other hand, those who become slaves after committing serious crimes have enslavement magic cast on them and can never gain freedom.

This enslavement magic is tricky—it can restrict the words and actions of those it’s cast on.

So if you abduct someone and disguise them as a criminal slave… it becomes difficult for the victims themselves to protest their innocence. Then you can just sell them off overseas or somewhere.

“There are those in the upper ranks who operate slave traders as their public fronts. I don’t know if they can be trusted, and without knowing for sure if Snake Bite is really involved, I can’t go to my superiors with mere speculation. I need to gather some evidence myself.”

So the information about the black transference stones hasn’t leaked, then.

Without knowing their methods, she probably can’t be certain about the connection between Snake Bite and the disappearance cases.

So she was waiting for Cardiff’s operational teams to appear, intending to track and investigate them to either gather evidence or search for her friends’ whereabouts.

“I see… I understand what you mean about possibly cooperating, but—”

“Then—”

“That’s a separate matter. It’s a question of trust between me and the Adventurer Guild. I can’t pass information from me to you.”

Sheila frowned and her shoulders slumped. Disappointment was written all over her face.

“However—there’s no problem with me going to the Adventurer Guild to offer investigative cooperation or information provision. If that works for you.”

At my continued words, her eyes widened and she lifted her face. Indeed, this would be beneficial for me too.

If this takes care of the Cardiff matter, I have no complaints.

Fortunately, thanks to Beryne, I have some credibility with the Adventurer Guild too.

Whether Cardiff is truly involved in the incident—I should be able to find out relatively easily if I go to the Guild.