Chapter 67 – Sinister Movements (1)
In this era, people going missing was a relatively common occurrence.
Most of the time it was demi-humans, abnormal species, or bandits who caused it, leaving no corpses to be recovered, and since it usually happened outside the city walls, there was no real way to resolve it.
Conscripting even more soldiers to guard the entire territory was, quite literally, close to impossible.
And even if it were possible, there was a high chance the nation would appear closed-off and isolationist. Naturally, that would not look good diplomatically.
Still, things were better than in the past.
As the era advanced, so did technology and systems, and rather than simply processing a disappearance as such, greater efforts were made to uncover the cause. To figure out how this person had died, or why that person had gone missing.
Thus the state compiled yearly statistics to assess the overall state of public order. Globally, those statistics were referenced to judge and evaluate a nation.
A safe life had always been humanity's aspiration.
For that reason, the principality too paid close attention to statistics.
In fact, Duke Riviant himself referred to those assessments when judging each territory. With the principality's regency nearly at its end, the lords had to be especially mindful of public order within their lands.
But recently, a very troubling set of statistics had surfaced.
"Disappearances outside the cities have increased fivefold compared to last year. Entire villages of dozens of people seem to have vanished without a trace, as if they had evaporated."
"Was it the work of demi-humans?"
"It could have been humans. Or abnormal species. We can't rule out any possibility. Remember the Soul Tree of Lorian that Sir Asher personally resolved—if left unchecked, tens of thousands could have perished. In times like these, nothing is really surprising, wouldn't you agree?"
Perhaps so.
Compared to that, the disappearance of a few villages was not all that strange.
"But even so, it remains an affair that greatly disturbs the nobility. The cause is being investigated, but given the urgency, they seem determined to use every resource they can. That's why the request has come to us. They singled out Sir Asher, who alongside the famous Bloodied Sword Leira subjugated the Soul Tree."
"The client?"
"Same as before, Count Rodenmeyer. Trouble has arisen in his own domain. Requests also came from other nobles, but we declined. Connections are everything in our field, are they not?"
Pale handed the request letter to Verden.
Written at the bottom was a minimum payment in the hundreds of millions. Additional compensation would be given depending on results.
"In any case, that's the background of this request. What Sir Asher must do is uncover the cause. Furthermore, if you successfully eliminate it and also determine the whereabouts of the missing, up to triple the amount listed here will be paid. Quite the sum, isn't it?"
"Will you accept?"
***
Pale obtained the ongoing investigation records and handed them to Verden. He read through the statistics, each missing person accounted for as a number.
'Looking at it this way, the number of missing is quite large. And spread across multiple domains, too, the scope is broad.'
Certainly enough to disturb the lords.
If disappearances were spiking in their lands, yet no proper cause could be found, their prestige as rulers would collapse.
Judging by how even Gray's information guild, not to mention soldiers, knights, mercenaries, and adventurers were mobilizing, it was clear just how seriously this matter was being taken.
'Or rather, it's the principality's regency that takes it seriously.'
Well, it didn't matter.
Since the request came directly from Count Rodenmeyer, he would move for the reward. Results would change the compensation, but if he achieved the highest, another hundred-million-level sum awaited him.
'It feels like my sense of money is being warped.'
Ever since the Soul Tree subjugation, the scale of his earnings had shifted entirely.
Still, it was a good thing. Thanks to that, Verden's growth was proceeding smoothly. Until he exhausted the last treasures of the magic tower, money came first.
Verden unfolded the map Pale had given him.
It marked villages and towns, all of which had seen increased disappearances or had vanished entirely.
He headed first to the most remote settlement. To avoid wasting time, he intended to proceed from the farthest point and work inward.
"There it is."
Finding his destination, he descended. The village was, as expected, empty.
'The buildings are intact, but there isn't a trace of life.'
Even spreading out mana detection yielded nothing.
There were many footprints around the village, but they were too jumbled to distinguish. According to the records, not only the villagers but also soldiers and adventurers had already conducted a search here.
He had come in case of finding a clue, but it seemed unlikely anything useful remained.
"I never thought it would be simple to begin with."
If it were, the nobles would have already handled it.
With that thought, Verden moved on to the next destination.
Villages and towns. He moved from one to another, eavesdropping with magic on the tales left in the places, but found no real information.
It was like searching for a needle in a desert.
Still, Verden could cover great distances quickly, so time spent was not excessive.
Operating alone had many conveniences. With no one to consider or accommodate, he could act as freely as he wished.
At length, he crossed into another domain and reached a small village in a shallow forest.
This place, too, was empty. The second such village where every soul had vanished. He sharpened his senses and spread mana detection wide.
But as elsewhere, he found nothing.
Then, outside the village, he sensed a trace.
In a thick patch of grass, imprinted in the dirt, a footprint. So small that even Verden nearly missed it. He examined it closely.
'Only a few days old.'
The timing matched the disappearances.
And judging by the size, it belonged to a child. It was not the mark of any search party.
Following the direction of the footprint, maintaining mana detection, he moved on.
Before long he found a gap beneath the base of a tree. From below, faint flickers of life could be felt.
Carefully manipulating the terrain, he widened the opening.
Dust scattered in the air, and a small cough sounded from within.
He cast suggestion, and peered inside.
There, clutching one another tightly, two children with gaunt faces trembled.
"...!"
The frightened children locked eyes with Verden.
***
An empty village.
Children hiding beneath a tree outside the village.
Why everyone else had vanished, leaving only these two, was unknown.
'Which means now I must find out.'
Verden extended his hand into the hole.
The children's eyes brimmed with tears, ready to spill, but they held back and slowly crawled from the corner. Then they reached out their own hands.
Though afraid, they must have felt Verden would not harm them.
Children are innocent. Easily deceived, yet at times acutely sensitive to another's emotions.
Taking their hands, Verden lifted them out one by one.
Then, from his spatial bag, he took out dried meat and water, and handed it to them. He waited, until the children calmed their emotions.
If he rushed to start a conversation, it could make things worse. It was a lesson he had learned back in the orphanage before entering the magic tower.
The children, having hurriedly filled their stomachs, carefully looked up at Verden.
It was time to speak. Verden met the children's eyes at their level, and asked.
"Your parents?"
The little girl hesitated, then answered.
"Th-they're in another village. A place called Leaf Village."
"Another village? Then why are you two here?"
"Um, well..."
"We followed Niles hyung! He's the one who sells milk to other villages!"
The boy said that, then hid behind the girl.
They were probably siblings. The girl the older sister, the boy the younger brother.
The girl continued.
"Niles oppa is our neighbor. He always takes us to see other villages, but then suddenly, everyone... disappeared."
The two children would often sneak out of the village to play outside.
Since it was a shallow forest with almost no goblins or beasts, it could be considered safe. And even if something happened, they believed Niles would show up to protect them.
To the children, Niles was like a real older brother.
But two days ago, when they returned to the village at noon, everyone was gone.
The kind old man, the lady who gave them food, even Niles who always watched over them. Terrified, the children hid themselves in the crevice under the tree.
Because long ago, Niles had told them, if something ever happened, to hide there until he came for them.
And so they had been there, in darkness, for over two days.
If not for the snacks they had packed, if they had been alone, they could never have endured.
"But no matter how long we waited, Niles hyung didn't come. We did hear footsteps above though..."
"My brother's right. We even heard voices, but we were too scared, so we just stayed hidden."
"Voices?"
"Really scary voices. They sounded so angry..."
Voices, huh.
"What exactly did they say?"
"Um, um, let's see... Ah! They said, if we don't guide them quickly, they'll dispose of us? And also... three days? I think I heard that too."
Verden fell into thought.
'Anger, that must mean they're pressed for time. And three days, that suggests some kind of deadline.'
A limited timeframe.
It could have been soldiers sent by a noble. After all, the principality's regency was nearly here.
But if the children heard correctly, it likely wasn't. Even if they were in a rush, noble's soldiers wouldn't go as far as to threaten disposal so bluntly.
'And the word, "guide".'
Verden immediately shifted his perspective.
He began to consider the owner of those voices as the culprits behind the mass disappearances.
He recalled Pale's information in his mind.
The last confirmed disappearances around here were in this very village. Now, factoring in the mention of three days. There was no clear proof, but with no other leads, extracting a conclusion from the little he had was the best choice.
Even if it turned out wrong.
Verden unfolded the map of the surrounding territories.
From this village, there were many possible destinations within three day's distance. Depending on whether one walked, ran, rode a horse, or in the case of a mage, flew.
'But they said there was conversation, so it's a group.'
He quickly calculated the minimum and maximum distance a group could travel.
Then he added the condition that another disappearance was highly likely to occur. With those conditions, one mid-sized town emerged.
'Hopen Town.'
The time left until the three days mentioned was about one day.
At Verden's flight speed, he could arrive in time.
Just then, the children spoke.
"Um, are you looking for the missing people?"
"Yes."
"Th-then please find Niles oppa too! He's about this tall, and he wears a necklace we made for him. It has a bird's footprint design! And... and he also has a scar on his nail from a goblin scratch!"
Verden nodded.
He had intended to anyway. In the process of finding the cause, he would naturally discover the missing people's whereabouts.
But before that, he had to return the children to their village.
With some time to spare, he would not leave the two here in such a place.
Verden extended his hand to the children.
"Take it, I'll bring you back to your village."
***
Verden returned the children to their parents.
Their parents, working in the fields, embraced them tightly, repeatedly shouting their thanks. Verden turned away from them, and immediately headed to Hopen Town.
It was his first time visiting a place with the title "Town", after Combelly Town.
'Where should I begin searching?'
As he pondered that while walking the streets, loud commotion erupted from a nearby inn.
The noise began on the top floor, then escalated into a small explosion and the clashing of steel.
Kwaaang!
The ceiling collapsed, and a figure in a black robe fell to the first floor. Then, through the rising cloud of dust, daggers bound with fine, transparent threads flew in.
Sparks crackled as, from within the dust, humans emerged. Like the first, they too wore black robes.
One of them, standing at the front, shouted.
"Theon! What the hell are you doing!"
But the man who had thrown the daggers did not answer, and instead fled. The pursuers immediately gave chase.
The sudden chaos left the people dumbfounded, staring at the ruined inn. The innkeeper sat collapsed on the floor, gazing blankly up at the fallen ceiling.
Verden's eyes locked onto the back of the black-robed man.
'Theon. And daggers strung with transparent threads.'
A name he had heard before, a weapon he had seen before.
At last, Verden dragged the memory out.
Theon.
The assassin of "Gluttony," who had once tried to kill Verden in Martes.
It seemed he had found a clue.