Chapter 62 - Bounty Head and Awakening [5] (2/2)

「Aa, it depends on the position of the laboratory… We can expect midnight to be the time limit. 」

I immediately checked the clock in the room.

The current time is twelve o’clock in the daytime.

Only half a day left.

「-Anyway! We can’t even fight until we know where their laboratory is. Allen, please help with the search too!」

「Yes, I understand …!」

Then I rushed out of Thousand Blade Academy to find their laboratory.

「Wait for me, Ria…」

I’ll definitely find it by midnight today…!

■

Then I frantically continued gathering information.

First of all, Paula-san, the dorm mother, and Bons-san, from the Magic Swordsman Association.

After that, Ferris-senpai and Lilim-senpai of the student council.

After that, I called out to passers-by in Orest at random.

I used all my personal connections and searched for the laboratory high and low, but… the result was zero.

「Damn, what should I do …」

The sun has already sunk, and the darkness of the night covers the world.

The time is nine o’clock at night.

Three hours remaining until midnight time limit.

(Even while I’m doing this… Ria must be suffering…)

Thinking about that, I was so agitated and frustrated.

But as long as we don’t know where the enemy is, we can’t do anything about it.

I fully realized the weight of『information』.

(…Maybe Leia-sensei has already found it.)

I dragged my heavy feet to her, as if clinging to my last hope.

I passed through the gates of Thousand Blade Academy and went to the director’s office.

When I knocked on the heavy black door, I got a short reply saying 「…Enter.」

There was a hint of fatigue in her voice.

「-Excuse me.」

When I opened the door slowly, there was the figure of Leia-sensei looking through a thick pile of documents.

「…Allen, how did it go on your end?」

「I’m sorry, I ran around all day, but… I didn’t get any results…」

「I see… I’m also trying to find information, but… the results are not good…」

Sensei said so and exhaled deeply.

Heavy air flowed through the director’s office.

One minute, two minutes after that,

「This is just my intuition, but… I have an idea of a guy… who is sure to know the location of the laboratory.」

Sensei said something ridiculous.

「Oh, is it true?!」

「Aa… She is constantly surrounded by wicked rumors, but her information network is『extraordinary』. First of all, I’m certain she knows where the laboratory is.」

「Who is it!? Please tell me!」

「…But she’s a rotten guy. She absolutely won’t give us the information. To put it bluntly, going to her is『100 percent』a waste…」

「If the chances are not zero, it’s worth a shot! And there’s no time to waste! Sensei, please tell me who that person is!」

After a little hesitation, she spoke quietly.

「The boss of『Fox Finance』that governs the country’s finances from the shadows – Rize Dorahain, one of the Five Wealthy Merchants. The eldest daughter of the prestigious House Dorahain, a witch who is rumored to be connected to various shadow organizations – commonly known as Bloody Fox Rize.」

「Ri-Rize-san…!? You mean Ferris-san’s sister…?」

When I asked,

「Oh, so you know of her, Allen?」

Sensei was a little surprised.

「Y-Yes… No, more than that – does Rize-san really know the location of the laboratory!?」

「Aa… However, that rotten Rize, won’t tell us easily. She is the richest person in this country in both name and reality, and above all, she is famous for her insidiousness. It is almost impossible to get information out of such a guy. Since she already has everything she wants… You would probably be turned away at the front gate…」

It’s about that quirky Rize-san.

As sensei says, she won’t easily entertain my request.

But, I have the power to make it work at least once!

「If that is the case, then it could work…!」

「What? What do you mean !?」

That’s right… I had completely forgotten.

(I have that thing…)

Rize Dorahain, one of the Five Wealthy Merchants that boasts tremendous wealth and influence.

I have the incredible “right” to ask for her help『just once at anytime』…!