Volume 6 Chapter 3 Part 1 (1/2)
This happened before s.h.i.+n and the others met with Lilis.h.i.+la.
Wilhelm was in a certain store in Sigurd.
The store was small, barely lit, and reeked of tobacco.
Magical items of unknown usage lay forgotten on the badly arranged shelves.
”Found you at last.”
Wilhelm was slightly irritated. The informant he counted on had moved; finding the new location took longer than expected.
”Now now, dont give me that after showing up without an appointment.”
The man who owned the store shrugged after hearing Wilhelms words.
In a place like Sigurd, with a high flow of traffic, it was not odd for an informant like him to frequently change locations.
”It stinks here.”
”That's what you say before even greeting me? This incense was made in Hinomoto, you know?”
Muttering about Wilhelms lack of understanding for Wabi-Sabi (The beauty of transience and imperfection), the bearded owner blew smoke from his pipe.
What a pity for the incense.
”Jai. Im sorry but I have no time to enjoy stuff like that. Save it for after our business is done.”
”Thats scary. Youre even more aggressive than usualwhat happened?”
The man, Jai Tret, felt that Wilhelm was different than normal. His aloof expression changed completely when he posed the question.
He too hails from the same orphanage, and left to adventure 5 years before Wilhelm.
Now hes an active informant based in Sigurd.
”They kidnapped Millie. Bulk from the Church is the main culprit.”
”!?Youre sure of that?”
Wilhelm explained the situation in detail to the stunned Jai. After he heard everything, Jai was rubbing his chin, deep in thought.
”Eline, huh. If he got involved, it means theyre really playing for keeps.”
”What do you mean by that?”
”Among the apprentices raised within the Church, Elines the strongest. Using him is testament of how big this thing is.”
Jai then added that when Eline moves the resulting damage is always ma.s.sive, although it never reaches the public.
”Eline comes from some small village, but he has had extreme physical abilities ever since he was a brat, apparently. Bulk heard about it and took him inand here we are.”
When the Church ministers personally requested to take him in, Elines parents happily entrusted him to them.
In exchange for a large sum of gold.
”Misguided knowledge about the Chosen Ones, that was.”
Eline, a Chosen One, possessed physical abilities far beyond his age; the village treated him as a cursed child. Being smarter than other children became a burden to him.
”I couldnt care less about that b.a.s.t.a.r.ds story. What the h.e.l.l does that change? You think Im going to shed a tear or something?”
”Yeah, heres what Im getting at. Bulk took Eline back with him, and poured all his enthusiasm in educating him. Thanks to that, his intelligence spiked in a weird directionnow he cant be handled anymore.”
”Nothing I didnt know of yet.”
They had met and crossed swords already. Wilhelm already knew that he wasnt sane.
”Just hear me out. I heard this information from one of my personal connectionsour guy seems to possess a certain t.i.tle.”
”What t.i.tle?”
”Yeah, youre going to be surprised. Eline was born with the t.i.tle of Hero, they say.”
”Whaaat?”
Wilhelm couldnt grasp the meaning of Jais words right away.
”Weve known each other for a long time, but I never thought youd be the type to spout jokes like that.”
”Dont be like that now. I did think it was a bad joke the first time I heard it too.”
No one aware of Elines true nature would ever imagine using such a word to describe him.
The only thing about him thatd fit the definition would be his appearance.
”So its not a joke?”
”I have information that backs it up. That t.i.tle is supposed to have the effect of strengthening your body.”
”Youre sure of that?”
”Yeah. He is unbelievably strong, thats true. That might be the reason why he tends to talk too much. Someone heard him let that slip out of his mouth. That someone has already been taken care of, thoughonly a few informants know of this.”
”And youre one of those few then. Is that really true? Sounds fishy to me.”
”Shut up. Its a fact that just knowing this stuff gets you erased!”
It seemed like Jai wanted to imply hes too strong for that to happen to him.
”This piece of information alone is worth 100 Jul! Im only talking about it because its you.”
”More like because Millies involved, right?”
Jai had once escaped a mortal situation thanks to Millies predictions.
Despite looking as suspicious as possible, he was someone who always did the right thing in such situations.
”Who cares about why. Theres more important stuff to deal with right now. What you said removed all my doubts. Since Millie has been kidnapped, the Holy Womans definitely involved in this.”
”The Holy Woman?There are 3 women with that name now, arent there. Considering Millies abilities, its about 'Prediction'?”
Wilhelm was aware of three of those Holy Women: the ”Sooth-Saying Holy Woman”, the ”Purifying Holy Woman” and the ”Healing Holy Woman”.
Considering Millies 'Star Reader' ability, the Soothsaying Holy Woman is likely to be the connection.
”Bingo. They say that lately, the Soothsaying Holy Woman is feeling under the weather. Actually, its because Bulks manipulating her though.”
”He can control a Holy Woman!?”
”I heard this from another source, but apparently in a certain cave you can find an item that grants control over whoevers equipped with it. It was found with other cursed gear and entrusted to the church to remove the curse, but they swapped it with a dudand now Bulks been using it.”
Jai explained that a B-rank adventurers party found it inside a yet to be cleared dungeon.
”Stay on your toes. If you end up having that thing attached, even you might not be able to fight it. They say that even some upper cla.s.s Chosen Ones fell under its influence.”
Jais serious expression as he spoke this last warning was one Wilhelm had never seen before.
”Ive heard enough. But theres something I just dont get.”
Wilhelm had received important information, but there was one thing he could not understand.
”Whats that now?”
”How do you know all this inside information? You just said yourself that the church erases anyone in possession of troublesome information, right?”
Jai was not a Chosen One, unlike Wilhelm. No matter how good he was at hiding, he could not stay safe forever.
”Thats because the Church isnt a paragon of unwavering loyalty either. Even ignoring the Millie business, Bulk has his fair share of failures. There are people opposing him. Eline too, he might be an upper cla.s.s Chosen One, but because of Bulk hes a useless Church Knight. Theyd be happy to be rid of Bulk. And one more thing, the adventurer who found the manipulation item is one of my best clients.”
Jai explained how he had a solid source of information for the manipulation item as well.
Wilhelm could not know at this point, but that information had come from Lilis.h.i.+la. She had disclosed it to the informants she could trust.
Yet not even Lilis.h.i.+la knew about the ”Hero” t.i.tle, mainly because the source of the information had been erased.
”I see. So your connections prove usefulsometimes.”
”You could have spared me that last word, d.a.m.n you.”
”Who are these people opposing Bulk, anyway?”
”Fine, ignore me. Theyre the Holy Womans personal guards, people indebted to her. Some of them are high-ranked too, so they know how Bulks been handling her. If killing Bulk could dispel the items effects, rest a.s.sured that hed be six feet under by now.”
Not knowing how to dispel the effect of the manipulation item, they cant make any moves. Capturing Bulk and interrogating or torturing him could be one way, but who knows what could happen to the Holy Woman.
Bulk dies and the Holy Woman goes with himwould not be a happy ending.
Jai also added that itd be hard to subdue him, having Eline as guard.
”The Holy Womans being held hostage, pretty much. Some people have no choice but to obey Bulks orders.”
”Can they be useful to him, though?”
”If you dont want the Holy Woman to be hurtthats all he needs to say.”
”Tch, disgusting b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
Wilhelm clicked his tongue while making a distorted grimace. Jai was feeling the same as well.
”Wilhelm, what are you planning to do now?”
”Im going back to the inn first. Theyve never been more supportive, you see. The ones who went to the Church might even be back, with Millie in tow.”
Thinking that it wouldnt be impossible for s.h.i.+n to pull it off made Wilhelm grin. Seeing Wilhelm like that caused a puzzled reaction in Jai.
”Whod think Id ever see you talking of someone with a face like that. Is it a Chosen One?”
”Nope, but a monster through and through. Im warning you though, dont start getting curious.”
”Must be something else for you to say that. Id love to ask you to introduce us, but Ill stop for now.”
Jai understood that Wilhelm wasnt joking and nodded strongly, albeit a bit comically.
Curiosity killed the cat, as they say. Informants are sensitive to information that should be left alone. Though there are times when they get closer all the same.
”Maybe theres nothing to worry with a guy like that on your side, but let me tell you one more thing. If you plan to mess with Bulk, other than Eline theres one more person you have to pay attention to.”
”The upper cla.s.s Chosen Ones are being manipulated, right? But youre telling me its only one more guy?”
Eline is obviously dangerous, but the upper cla.s.s Chosen Ones are also a threat themselves. Based on Bulks personality, Wilhelm struggled to imagine that hed only had Eline and one more person at his beck and call.
”There are other upper cla.s.s Chosen Ones, thats true. But this guy, like Eline, has abilities far higher than the others. The names Konig Bolt, hes one of the top swordsmen of the Church. Hes being manipulated by that item though. If you can get rid of that somehow, you can avoid having to fight him.”
Apparently he was one of Holy Womans personal guards. He had probably been targeted because of his skills.
Jai adds that he even owns legendary-cla.s.s equipment.
”This is all I can tell you. You better make good use of it.”
”You bet I will. I will definitely rescue Millie. And while Im at it I will settle the score with that twisted b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
”Haha, good to hear thatcounting on you.”
The last words Jai added were filled with his frustration for not being able to go help her himself.
Wilhelm visited another few stores, then headed back to the inn.
It had taken him considerable time to find Jais store, so when he looked up at the sky the sun was already descending.
”.”
Wilhelm walked on towards the inn, in complete silence. On the way he bought skewered meat from a street stall.
He proceeded at a relaxed pace, tasting the perfectly cooked meat in his mouth.
Yet his feet were not heading towards the inn.
”Youve been following me for a while now. What do you want?”
Wilhelm stepped into a deserted alley and interrogated the empty s.p.a.ce before him.
”..”
No answer to be heard, Wilhelms eyes focused. He pointed the skewer he had in his hand towards the alleys darkness and shot it.
Wilhelms muscular strength shot the skewer through the darkness just like a powerful bow would have, sending it piercing the air towards its target.
An instant before the skewer disappeared into the darkness, something emerged from it. Along with a sound of the wall being struck, the scenery of the dark alley appeared to distort slightly before Wilhelms eyes.
The distortion lands on the ground and turned into a person clad in a brown coat.
”You are Wilhelm Avis?”
”What if I am?”
”A certain person wants to meet you. Allow me to accompany you.”
Wilhelm couldnt identify the persons expression or racial characteristics because of the hood. But the voice sounded like a mans.
”You really expect me to just follow you quietly?”
”Well take you by forceis something were not strong enough to say. My apologies for following you. But refusing me will ultimately bring disadvantage to your side.”
”What?”
Wilhelm furrowed his brow after hearing the mans words.
”The person wanting to meet you is someone that detests people that abduct children.”
”so not a servant of some pig-faced priest, huh.”
”If you visited Jai, you should already know. We are not so docile as to just obey without a word.”
Wilhelm remembered what Jai said about the opposing faction. Judging from his words, it was probably this man who pa.s.sed the information to Jai.
”Theres someone I want to contact first though.”
”Apologies, but I cant allow that.”
”You need as many allies as you can, dont you? I can at least guarantee that theres no risk of betrayal.”
”It would inconvenience us for your comrades to be near. We could contact you like this just because you moved on your own.”
”What do you mean by that?”
”This is the only way to avoid being found out. Thats all I can say for now.”
These people would be inconvenienced by s.h.i.+n and the others' presence, which may cause something to happen. At this point in time, Wilhelm did not have enough information to deduce what the reason could be.
Following the man would likely mean not making it back at the time set with s.h.i.+n and the others. This caused Wilhelm to reflect in silence for a while.
(What will they do after failing to make contact with me?)
Wilhelms absence wouldnt cause a serious loss in fighting power. Just s.h.i.+n, Schnee and s.h.i.+baid would be more than enough.
Tiera herself possessed less fighting power than these three, but her partner Kagerou was more powerful.
If something happened to Wilhelm now, from the timing they would surely think the Church was involved.
(They would go after Bulk. If they go to the Church, theres a high chance well b.u.mp into each other.)
Considering s.h.i.+ns partys abilities, they could very well rescue Millie without Bulk knowing.
Directing their attention to Wilhelm instead of s.h.i.+ns party would be good too.
In addition, even if he was manipulated, Wilhelm could not imagine s.h.i.+ns party would be defeated.
”where is this person that wants to meet me?”
”The Churchs Headquarters. I will be your guide.”
”Lead the way.”
As Wilhelm consented, the man moved to a corner of the alley and searched the ground. After a few seconds, his hands stopped moving, holding what looked like a handle-shaped object.