Volume 2 Chapter 25 The Mastermind Is…
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
*Kent’s Perspective
After hearing Beatrice’s story, we cut short our hunting and returned to the Abyss Vena mansion.
Of course, we will also capture the men who attacked Beatrice.
If we leave them tied up and they get killed by a monster, I can guarantee that I won’t sleep well.
That said, we can’t just let them go free; we tied them up one by one, gagged them, and rolled them into the cart.
On the way back, I compared the information Milly extracted from the leader with the details Beatrice gathered.
As a result, it seems that there is indeed a place referred to as a ‘Spear Room’ within Silver Wolf.
However, it appears that not all of Silver Wolf is involved in such activities; it may only be a few executives acting arbitrarily.
Therefore, upon returning to the mansion, I decided to gather information from various sources, including Milly’s connections and the Dorman family’s information network.
Since Talia and Annabella expressed concerns and anxieties about openly challenging a large-scale Hunting Group, I decided to solidify evidence of violations of Hunter Guild regulations, free the captured female hunters, and have them appeal directly to the Margrave for the guard team to take action.
When we arrived at the mansion, Lina and Lana seemed to be planning to return home and gather information about the Silver Wolf executive, Gruza, who is at the center of the suspicion.
Feria said she would ask about Gruza at the Hunter Guild, and Talia and Annabella decided to accompany her for support.
As the leader of the Hunting Group, Milly decided to first inform Matthew, the leader of the Silver Wolf Hunting Group, about Beatrice’s transfer, and she planned to storm the Silver Wolf base with Beatrice.
I said it was dangerous, but since Milly is a prominent figure in the town and is the leader of a small-scale Hunting Group, if any harm were to come to her, the destruction of Silver Wolf would be guaranteed, so it seems to be fine.
As for me, I decided to keep watch over the captured men with Aurelia, Ines, and Manon.
They might come to finish off the captured men, so I had to keep them alive until we could hand them over to the guard.
While thinking about such things, I sent everyone off to gather information.
*Lana’s Perspective
I quickly returned home with Lina in tow.
It had only been a few days since I left home, but it felt strangely like I hadn’t been back in a long time; was that just my imagination?
When I rang the doorbell, Sebastian came out to greet us.
However, I was a bit surprised when Sebastian saw my face and burst into tears.
”Oh, it’s such a pleasure to see you ladies return home so soon, Sebastian is very happy! Master and Madam is having dinner now, so please join us.”
”Thank you, Sebastian.”
”I was just getting hungry.”
I started walking towards the dining room with Sebastian.
In the dining room, our parents were having a meal together.
Since they were usually busy, it was rare for them to have dinner together, but today they were unusually gathered.
We each took our seats, and Sebastian began to serve.
”Oh? Lina and Lana… could it be that you’re already pregnant! Goff!”
Father Cefiro was hit with a backhand from Mother Laina.
”You, that’s impossible… It hasn’t even been a month since Lina has been by your side, and Lana has only been here a few days.”
”That’s right. It hasn’t been long since you sold me to Mr. Kent.”
Hearing my words, my father and mother made faces as if they had drunk something bitter.
”Papa, Mama. But you know, my sister who’s saying such nasty things is asking Mr. Kent for lots of seeds…Mggh──!”
Lina started to expose my intimate moments with Mr. Kent, so I hurriedly covered her mouth.
Lina was flailing about, but I couldn’t let her speak here.
I was grateful to be made Mr. Kent’s s*x slave, but I didn’t want my parents to know about it.
”Ahem! What Lina said is an exaggeration, but I am fulfilling my duties as Mr. Kent’s concubine, so please rest assured.”
”O-Oh. I see, Lana, don’t cause any trouble… but if you don’t open Lina’s mouth soon, she might suffocate.”
My father was pointing at Lina, who was blue in the face from having her mouth and nose blocked by my hand.
I hurriedly removed my hand.
”Phew, I thought I was going to die… the stories from my sister are dangerous.”
”Well, as long as both of you are being taken care of by Sir Kent, it’s only a matter of time before an heir is born.”
My mother was smiling as she watched our sisterly interaction.
”Let’s keep the updates to that for now; I came here today with a request for Sebastian.”
Sebastian, who was serving, turned his face toward us.
”Is it me?”
”Yes, actually, there’s an executive in Silver Wolf named Gruza, and I’d like you to investigate his conduct.”
”Is it the ‘Treasurer Gruza’ of Silver Wolf?”
”You know him?”
I unconsciously stood up and leaned forward.
”Ah, ‘Treasurer Gruza,’ huh. He applied to establish a female-only magic school at our (magic Guild). The content was a bit suspicious, so we put it on hold.”
I asked again, recalling what my father had said.
”A female-only magic school, you say?”
”Yeah, but since Silver Wolf has mostly physical occupations, the level of the magic instructors is low. Nonetheless, the fees were cheap, around a third of the market rate. It might be popular, but whether it can actually make someone stronger is questionable.”
Perhaps it’s similar to the recruitment of new female hunters at the Hunter Guild.
”So, why do you want him to investigate ‘Treasurer Gruza’?” Is there some trouble?
My mother asked with a worried expression.
”I would like it to remain a private matter, but it seems that an executive of Silver Wolf has been recruiting new female hunters and confining them in a gathering place they call ‘Spear Room’, using them as outlets for the sexual desires of the male executives. Mr. Kent heard about this, and has gathered information suggesting that Gruza is a key figure in this, which is why we are investigating now.”
”I see… then the application for the establishment of our (magicGuild) magic school might also have been a means to secure women to send to that ‘Spear Room’.”
My father wore a look of disgust across his face.
As a romantic who loves and respects my mother, I imagine he finds something like ‘Spear Room’ utterly unacceptable and abhorrent.
”If Mr. Kent hadn’t come, I would have likely been abducted by his underlings and sent to the ‘Spear Room’ myself.”
The expressions on my father’s and mother’s faces changed dramatically upon hearing my confession.
”What! Lana, you were almost abducted! Is that true!”
”Papa, what my sister said is true. The men who came to capture Beatrice, who was associated with Silver Wolf, were trying to abduct her when she came to help.”
”Sebastian… finish the background investigation on Gruza by tomorrow morning. If necessary, eliminate him immediately.”
My father narrowed his eyes even further.
”Wait, Mr. Kent intends to have the guard team intervene. As the Dorman family, we should do some preliminary research on the whereabouts of the ‘Spear Room’ and the ‘Treasurer Gruza’ to repay Mr. Kent’s favor.”
I pulled the reins to prevent my father from going out of control.
My mother nodded in agreement with that.
”Understood. Sebastian, get on it immediately! Show Sir Kent the Dorman family’s information-gathering capabilities!”
”Yes! I will get started right away.”
Sebastian bowed and left.
With this, by tomorrow, we will have the information gathered by Sebastian and the others.
We had dinner, then greeted our parents before returning to the mansion.
*Talia’s POV
I went to the Hunter Guild with Ms. Feria and Ms. Annabella.
Since it was dinner time, hunters returning from their hunts were discussing their respective hunting achievements at tables in the hall.
The official reason for our visit was said to be settling the accounts for today’s hunt, but the real purpose seems to be gathering information on the Silver Wolf.
First, we went to the counter to report the completion of our quest to the guild staff and settled the accounts.
The young woman in charge of settling accounts seemed suspicious about the presence of ‘Rainbow Tongue’ among the items.
”Ah, um…? Is that ‘Rainbow Tongue’…? Could it be that you defeated King Toad? The quest was a star, right…? And you have 2 hundred and 26 ‘Frog Tongues’… The quest was this morning, so to gather that many in one day… It’s an F-rank quest, right?”
Following the confused young woman at the receptionist desk was a woman in her early thirties, wearing glasses and giving off a vibe of being very capable at her job, who joined the conversation.
”Oh, Ms. Suzy. Feria did it! I hunted King Toad as a Maid Warrior of the Blackdagger family!”
This woman seemed to be an acquaintance of Ms. Feria, listening to her with a strained expression on her face.
”Feria! It’s not ‘I hunted’, it’s ‘I have defeated’! As a Maid of the Blackdagger family, you should speak properly!”
Ms. Feria was being corrected by Ms. Annabella regarding her choice of words.
”Ah, uh, yes. I have defeated King Toad!”
I also agree with Ms. Annabella; as someone who serves Sir Kent, who is to become a Noble, I believe etiquette and language are necessary.
”Ah, Ms. Annabella. Regarding Feria, since she holds the lifeline of our (Hunter Guild) arrangements, I kindly ask for your guidance.”
The woman referred to as Suzy bowed her head apologetically to Ms. Annabella.
On the other hand, when I looked at Ms. Feria, she was chatting happily with the young woman from the accounting department who had been her first point of contact.
”Did you defeat the King Toad? You’re still an F-rank hunter, right?”
”‘Crimson Bride’ was able to hunt it because Ms. Miriallia is there, my weapon couldn’t penetrate its skin.”
”But, the King Toad is a boss monster, so it’s a C-rank monster. There don’t seem to be any major injuries, right?”
”We have a healer, and besides, almost everyone came out unscathed, so it was a complete victory. We managed to hunt it quite comfortably.”
It seemed that the conversation between Feria and the young woman from the accounting department could be heard throughout the hall, causing a stir within the Guild.
Listening to the chatter coming from the hall, I heard things like, ‘I’ve never heard of a hunting group called Crimson Bride,’ and ‘It’s the women-only hunting group founded by the S-rank solo hunter, Black Dagger’s Miriallia,’ and ‘How strong do you have to be to bring an F-rank to hunt the King Toad?’ and ‘I want to join too,’ to which someone replied, ‘But you’re a guy,’ among other comments.
I too was basking in a sense of superiority as a member of Crimson Bride.
In the meantime, it seemed that Ms. Suzy had finished settling the accounts, as she took out the settlement money and put it in a bag.
”Thank you for waiting. As for King Toad, since there was a subjugation quest, I will add the rewards for that as well. The breakdown is that defeating 226 ☆frogs gives a reward of 5 copper coins per frog, amounting to a total of one thousand and 30 copper coins. Now, regarding King Toad, the subjugation of the ☆☆☆☆ marsh lord King Toad gives a reward of 5 large silver coins. Additionally, the ‘Rainbow Tongue’ that was purchased is worth 3 large silver coins. Would you like to exchange the copper coins?”
”Well then, please exchange them for large silver coins and silver coins. I don’t want to carry around a thousand copper coins.”
Ms. Annabella smiled brightly and replied.
”Understood. So the payment will be 9 large silver coins, one silver coin, and 30 copper coins, correct?”
”Yes, please do that.”
Upon hearing the amount for the settlement, I was taken aback.
In just one day’s hunting, even if divided among 8 party members, it was an amount that an ordinary person could live on for a month.
Considering that, plus the salary as a dedicated Healer and the payments for Hunting Group members, I thought I would accumulate a fortune in a few years.
”Ah, by the way, Ms. Suzy. Silver Wolf has been often looking for young female hunters, hasn’t it? Are they still doing that recently?”
Ms. Feria started gathering information about Silver Wolf as if she just remembered.
”Huh? Silver Wolf? Oh, they are still recruiting. It seems they’re also inviting girls who graduated from our (Hunter Guild) training facility. They started enthusiastically scouting young women about 2 years ago.”
Ms. Suzy spoke quite normally.
I thought that Silver Wolf must be one of the most prominent large-scale hunting groups in Abyss Vena, known even to me, and they are also a valued client of the Hunter Guild.
”Hey! Isn’t that Feria and Annabella? I heard you took down a King Toad with Milly, was Kent with you too?”
A bearded man called out from the back of the counter.
”It’s been a while, instructor. Mr. Kent dealt the finishing blow.”
”Oh, I figured Milly set it up, right?”
”Well, yes, that’s true.”
”But, Mr. Kent was so cool!”
The man called instructor laughed heartily at my words.
”By the way, I heard you guys were asking about Silver Wolf. Is there some trouble?”
”It’s a somewhat complicated matter, so I’d like to borrow a private room to talk to you both. Do you have some time?”
The two who heard Ms. Annabella’s offer were looking at each other.
It seemed they both had some time, so they agreed.
Without further ado, we headed to the private room.
As everyone settled into their seats, Ms. Annabella began to speak.
”The reason I called you both here is that we have received information suggesting that Silver Wolf is in serious violation of the Hunter Guild’s unified regulations.”
”W-what did you say! Silver Wolf is violating the unified regulations?”
”Hey, hey, don’t joke about that. One-tenth of all hunters from Abyss Vena belong to Silver Wolf. Besides, it’s a long-established group, and the current Hunting Group leader, Matthew, is a stickler for the rules.”
It seems both of them couldn’t believe that their trusted Silver Wolf was violating the unified regulations.
”By the way, Ms. Suzy, do you have confirmation on the whereabouts of the new female hunters that Silver Wolf has recruited or solicited? Have they taken any quests after joining?”
Ms. Feria, who seemed a bit absent-minded, made a surprisingly sharp remark.
”W-well, I can’t know that without investigating. In the past 2 years, we have facilitated quite a few recruitments from our side (Hunter Guild), so I think we could find out if we look into it.”
”It would be a bit strange if there were many new female hunters who joined a large Hunting Group and haven’t taken any quests.”
Ms. Feria was skillfully guiding Ms. Suzy and the others.
”By the way, was Silver Wolf a Hunting Group that was enthusiastic about training newcomers?”
I asked a question about something that suddenly crossed my mind.
”Hmm? Come to think of it, that idiot Matthew only admitted members with an HR of 20 or higher, who were no longer beginners. But it seems the hiring manager has changed recently. Oh, that was 2 years ago. Since then, they have started recruiting in our group.”
The hiring manager has changed?
Currently, it’s not Matthew, the leader of the Hunting Group, who is hiring, but someone else is in charge instead.
If that’s the case, Ms. Beatrice’s sexual harassment might be a separate issue.
I decided to check the name of the hiring manager.
”By the way, who is the current hiring manager of Silver Wolf?”
”Um, it’s Gruza from Majin clan who’s handling it.”
It seems that Gruza is indeed the main culprit as the information suggested.
”It’s very difficult to say, but it seems Silver Wolf is imprisoning female rookie hunters in a gathering place called ‘Spear Room’ to satisfy the sexual desires of the executives. I believe this falls under significant detriment to the members by the Hunting Group as stated in the unified regulations.”
Ms. Annabella reported Silver Wolf’s misdeeds to the two Guild staff members.
”Ah, but without evidence, we can’t decide on a course of action. Even someone like Ms. Annabella can understand that. The opponent is Silver Wolf, after all.”
”That’s right, if we’re not careful, we could be putting ourselves in danger.”
Indeed, if what we are saying is completely unfounded, there’s ample possibility that Silver Wolf will take private retribution or pick a fight with us.
However, we were convinced that Gruza was almost certainly guilty.
So, we decided to shake up the Guild a bit.
”When this matter reaches the ears of Lady Miriallia’s uncle, the Margrave, can we really assert that the Guild knew nothing about it?”
”Wha, are you threatening me?”
”Threatening? Oh no, that’s not my intention at all. Since the Guild seems to be filled with competent people, I believe they will definitely provide the necessary information. If they do so, the Guild won’t face any charges.”
We offered the two members of the Hunter Guild an escape route.
”Well, yes. It would be good if there’s nothing upon investigation, but if there is something, it will tarnish our (Hunter Guild) reputation. I’ll confirm whether the girl they recruited and the one who graduated from the training facility have taken any quests after joining. Should I deliver the findings by tomorrow morning?”
”Well, that would be fine.”
”What’s your name?”
”I am Talia, a Garuda Fox. I am a disciple of Lady Lana. Please remember my name.”
I bowed and took my seat again.
”Well then, I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning.”
When Ms. Annabella concluded, the two guild staff members leaped out toward the counter in a hurry.
We left the Hunter Guild and returned to the mansion.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply