Chapter 143 (1/2)

Volume 2

Atelier Tanaka Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part 4

Witch

It was decided that Allen and Ester-chan would join in on the investigation. However, I thought Id be more effective working on my own. Although, having a member of the nobility working with me will certainly have its advantages. An ugly foreigner like me would be lucky to get the time of day from the citizens of this country.

So, I told them I had other things I needed to get done and began my initial solo investigation. After leaving the cafe, I immediately began gathering information in Kalis. I want to get this done as quickly as possible.

“she’s not here.”

The first place I visited was the city square.

As usual, I came to my personal guide for information.

However, I couldn’t find her.

“.”

Have I gotten too greedy and abused the little girl’s guidance one too many times?

That’s right.

I can’t rely on other people to do the work for me.

No, that’s not actually why I came here.

It was just fun talking to the little girl. I’m a useless adult.

“what should I do?”

If I think about this like a quest, I should be able to get the information I need by just asking random people.

However, when I consider what kind of first impression my face will give, I don’t expect to have much luck. It would be the same as asking for directions on the road. The number of people that would respond to this strange middle-aged man would be rather low.

As I was thinking about this, I spotted someone I knew amidst the crowd of people.

“Oh, Mercedes-san.”

I called out to her unconsciously.

But she didn’t hear me.

She was dressed in full armour, rushing through the crowd without noticing me. Her eyes were serious as she ran forward. They were locked on to a certain point in front of her. It looked like she was chasing someone.

Is it a woman?

It’s definitely a woman.

This scene of her chasing someone evoked a sense of curiosity in me.

I felt it only natural to follow Mercedes-chan.

***

It didn’t take the lesbian long to reach her destination.

We arrived at one of the many slums located in the capital city. To be more exact, it was an abandoned house. What business could the lesbian have here?

Perhaps she woke up today craving something only a man can give her and she’s come here looking for fresh meat.

A beautiful woman being taken by a group of homeless men is the best. I love it.

“I’m coming in.”

The knight entered the house that looked as if it had been abandoned for decades.

After seeing her figure disappear inside the house, I wondered what to do.

My life will never be complete if I’m unable to witness the lesbians group scene.

“Should I go in too?”

I prepared myself to enter and stealthily approached the entrance.

This area of the city was sparsely populated and the few that were around to see me were the homeless that spent their entire days wasting around on the streets. Because there were many shady people in this area, it was the perfect place to commit a crime.

I really want to see Mercedes-chan take on a group of homeless men.

“.”

I entered the open doorway.

The dilapidated house was around fifty to sixty tatami mats in size. The floor was entirely made of stone. The number of rooms also seemed rather large. Even though I had only just entered the building, I could see there were several doors lined up along the walls. It almost resembled an inn.

This neighbourhood is densely packed with buildings giving it a small resemblance to Tokyo. Thanks to this, there was a severe lack of light in the house. The dark hallways made this place look like a haunted house. Considering the large amount of dust that accumulated all over the place, it must’ve been years since someone has lived here.

“Gyaaaaaa!?”

After moving through some of the house a sudden scream echoed throughout the building.

It was a human’s voice.

Unfortunately, it was a man.

“I guess I should find the source.”

I gave up on being stealthy and ran towards the sound of the voice.

I went down a corridor then turned into another before spotting an open door. From my spot in the hallway, I could see a pool of blood forming outside the door. That must be where the scream came from.

I slowly made my way to the open doorway.

Inside, I could see the figures of a man and woman.

“Tell me! Otherwise, I’ll take your left foot next!”

“D-Damny-you actually cut off my foot.”

Mercedes-chan was calmly holding her sword out at the man. There was a fresh stain of blood dying her chest piece red but it didn’t look like she was injured. I could tell at a glance that she was angry.

The man was a bit older but handsome. He had short brown hair and was about as tall as me. Based on the shortsword on the ground and light metal armour he was wearing, I’m guessing he’s an adventurer.

His foot had been severed just below his left ankle. He was rolling around on the ground trying to cover the wound with both of his hands. Blood was pouring out of his wound and I could tell he’d be dead by the end of the day if he was left like that. My recovery magic would easily heal that wound but I don’t dare enter the room after seeing how angry Mercedes-chan is.

“Aah, is someone out there?”

“Damn it, is it one of your friends!?”

They noticed my soy sauce face poking into the doorway at the same time.

It almost seemed like they were getting ready to fight together.

“Oh, is that Mercedes-chan? What a strange place for us to run into each other.”

“I see. You’ve also found out about this place.”

What does that mean?

“What’s going on here anyway? You look quite serious.”

“I thought I had found their hiding place, but they managed to escape thanks to this man’s betrayal. Ah, but that’s never going to happen again, now is it? This man will never be able to betray anyone else. That is, of course, only after he’s told me what I want to know.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Great Thief responsible for the prison breakout.”

“So it’s about that.”

Mercedes-chan was a part of the prison escape as well. I guess she was also looking into the escape just like me. She’s a great knight with the powerful title of ‘Imperial Knight.’

If I have her with me, this search may be easy.

“By the way, who is that man?”

“He’s an information broker I hired, but it seems he was secretly working for them.”

“So this man betrayed you?”

A so-called double agent.