It was late at night.

Although it was late, I didn't rush my steps.

I just walked slowly through the moonlit forest, listening to the chirping of the crickets.

I could also hear the hooting of an owl from time to time.

Shushruta also matched my pace without saying anything.

When I walk through the dark forest, old memories sometimes come to mind.

Most of them were not good memories.

But there were some good memories among them.

For example, the night walks I used to take with that guy.

Hud would sometimes come secretly and watch me when I was swinging my sword in the forest.

And then, when he got bored, he would blow a wind and make a bucket of leaves fall, and then he would giggle and run away.

And when I chased after him with my sword, that became a night walk.

Of course, even if I swung my sword with all my might, he would never get hit.

Something invisible would always block me.

Hud explained that it was a spirit, but to me, who couldn't see anything, it was no different from a ghost.

[A spirit? What is that?]

"I don't know either. I can't see it, so how would I know what it is?"

[Hmm. There are all sorts of things here.]

That spirit guy didn't seem to like being called a ghost or a phantom, because he would always give me a flick on the head at times like that.

Of course, I couldn't see it, so there was no way to avoid it.

Suddenly, Shushruta said.

"It's a good thing Schmitt was out on another request."

When I looked at her, wondering what she meant, Shushruta shrugged.

"Because I don't think that guy would have been able to handle it as calmly as you did."

I let out a small laugh.

Because it was absurd.

It seems that to Shushruta, Schmitt looks as innocent as a kid who doesn't know the ways of the world.

Well, he does have a rather innocent impression.

Just by looking at his face, it would be hard to imagine that he would beat a magical beast to death with his bare hands.

I lightly flicked Shushruta's head.

"Boris keeps calling Schmitt a kid, so do you really see him as a kid?"

Shushruta looked up at me, rubbing the spot where she had been flicked.

"Isn't he a kid?"

"That guy would have kicked that half-man, half-beast around like a ball until it turned to dust."

"What?"

Shushruta looked at me with a surprised face.

I think she's saying this because she's never seen Schmitt beat someone up.

It's not a sight you can easily see, a person's limbs being torn off and flying away with a single kick.

Of course, he's on the soft-hearted side within the mercenary corps, so he's reluctant to kill people.

But that's a different story from not being able to kill.

That guy also swings his fist without hesitation when he has to.

You can't get a platinum tag just by killing a few magical beasts.

It means that you have to have the experience of going through all sorts of hardships, seeing all sorts of terrible things.

Requests like the one just now are countless. It means it's a common sight in Maia.

Of course, it was the first time for me to see someone suddenly drink a black potion and turn into a half-man, half-beast.

"Our Schmitt is a platinum-rank mercenary who is extremely experienced. He's not an innocent kid who doesn't know the ways of the world like you."

Shushruta glared at me.

"Who are you calling an innocent kid who doesn't know the ways of the world?"

"How old are you?"

"Older than Schmitt."

"I'm sure you are."

I thought that if Shushruta were in a situation where she had to choose between the worst and the second worst, she might panic and end up facing the worst situation.

I'm not worried about Schmitt, but I'm worried about our new member, Shushruta, so I started her education on the spot.

"Hey, Shushruta."

"What."

"Things don't always go as planned. In that case, you have to be able to make a quick decision. What if a request goes wrong? Then what's the first rule to follow?"

"Hmm... secure the request target?"

"Nonsense. Survival."

"The client's survival?"

"What kind of nonsense is that? Of course, your survival. Run away before you get into danger too."

"Umm... what's the second rule?"

"If you have some leeway, if you're confident you can survive... then complete the request."

"That's obvious."

"But when you're actually in that situation, it might not seem so obvious. Throw away cheap sympathy and focus on the details of the request. You went to grant the client's request, not to listen to the pleas of others."

The world is a place where all sorts of interests are intertwined.

You have to make a cold decision. Otherwise, it could lead to a situation where things just get more complicated.

...This is also something I'm telling myself.

Shushruta stared at me blankly.

"It sounds like you're speaking from experience. Have you ever been swayed by cheap sympathy?"

...She's so quick to notice things like this.

"Be quiet."

"Are you calm enough to say that?"

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that everyone lies. The oppressed weak are not always good. If you don't want to be swayed by them, you have no choice but to analyze the situation calmly and make a judgment."

"Hmm."

"Of course, it's not an easy thing to do. Because there are many times when the situation is so chaotic that it's difficult to make a cold, rational judgment. If that's difficult or annoying, then just follow the request as you received it in the first place. Because at least when you received it, you were calmer than you are now."

This is why I mainly took on magical beast-related requests.

Because with magical beasts, you don't have to think complicatedly, you just have to track them and hunt them.

"And, if they offer you food after the request is over, saying thank you. Never eat it."

"Why is that?"

"It could be poisoned."

Shushruta blinked her wide eyes.

"Poison? Do they poison the food?"

"From their perspective, if they kill you, they don't have to pay the request fee. It's like they got rid of the magical beast for free. They got rid of the magical beast, and they saved money. How great is that?"

Shushruta looked at me with a disgusted face.

"...Did you go through something like that?"

"Anyway, be careful."

I didn't want to recall the memory, so I just brushed it off.

Shushruta walked silently for a while and then said.

"You said Schmitt would handle a chaotic situation well. Even though he looks so innocent, he's an experienced platinum-rank mercenary."

"Of course. I'm not worried about Schmitt."

"Then what about the fox?"

"Miho? That one is lazy and doesn't move much."

"But what if she's forced to take on a request?"

"Hmm."

Miho is not a human, she's a magical beast.

She just followed my sister because she liked her, and in the process, she became friends with us.

Come to think of it, there's no one as fair as her.

She doesn't discriminate between people and magical beasts, she just sees them as a single entity.

She doesn't distinguish between species, and if she likes something, she likes it, and if not, she doesn't.

The problem is that she's frighteningly ruthless to things she doesn't like.

Miho is a magical beast.

Therefore, she has no human morality or ethics, no reluctance to kill without reason.

It means she has no hesitation in killing.

Human morality is not an obstacle to her. She's not interested.

Miho is someone who could wipe out a city without batting an eye.

She's a girl who would yawn and groom her fur after such a massacre and then take a nap.

"That one is an exception. She wouldn't take on such a troublesome request in the first place, and even if she were forced to, she would kill both the villagers and the ruffians without distinction and then come back yawning."

"...She's a scary one. She looks so fluffy and cute."

"You shouldn't be fooled by that fluffy, cute appearance. That's not even her true form, and she's a vicious magical beast."

"For a vicious one, she's too soft."

"That's true. Miho is as fluffy as a cotton ball."

As I was talking about the mercenary corps members, I remembered what Shushruta had said before I beat up those guys.

"By the way. You said you found out some information?"

Shushruta nodded.

"That's right."

"Spit it out."

"I heard that there is a spirit user named Hudmilla Everett among the former Sherwood Mercenary Corps members."

"That's right."

The smart member who was in charge of dealing with clients for designated requests and handling office work.

Although she was a fallen noble, she was still a noble, and she was a member who could wield a pen better than anyone else.

A member who stood out in a mercenary corps full of idiots.

The housekeeper of Sherwood.

Her name is Hudmilla Everett.

She is a girl who is called the spirit user who brings disaster.

[Ho... disaster. That's interesting.]

'I'm sure you are.'

[Does a spirit user mean a person who commands those invisible ghosts?]

'That's right.'

Shushruta explained.

"While I was investigating, I found out that there is another noble with the name Hudmilla."

I replied nonchalantly.

"Isn't it a common name?"

"It could be. But the possibility is low."

"Why?"

"Because there are so few nobles. And nobles are people who care more about their reputation and face than anyone else. They are a race that cannot stand having the same name. The possibility of it being a common name is extremely low."

"Hmm."

"So I dug into it... and I found out that their approximate age, gender, and even appearance are similar."

"Who is it?"

"Hudmilla Richtiello."

Shushruta looked at me.

"She is the eldest daughter of the Richtiello Count family."

"...What?"

***

I stopped in my tracks and blinked my eyes.

"A count? The eldest daughter of the Richtiello family?"

"The Richtiello family. Have you heard of it?"

"No?"

"...? Then why are you so surprised?"

"The name sounds so high-class."

"...."

I touched my lips and muttered.

"A count? The family that was said to have fallen was a count? I thought it was a viscount or a baron."

"What are you talking about? The Richtiello family has not fallen. They are still going strong."

"They're fine?"

"That's right."

"That girl told us she was from a fallen noble family. That her family had fallen and she had become a mercenary while wandering around looking for a way to live."

"It could be that she's not, or it could be that she is. She could have hidden that fact, or it could be that she's a completely different person."

"Umm."

"It's just a possibility. But isn't it worth checking out?"

"...Definitely."

But, if that's really true, it means that the leader already knew a long time ago.

I understand that he kept it a secret.

Because Hud must have asked him to.

But when I came back and asked about their whereabouts, he should have told me what he knew.

It just delayed things and made me go around in circles.

If Shushruta hadn't found out the information, I might have found out much later.

It was a matter that made me angry anew.

"...Damn it."

"You, why are you angry again?"

"Before I go to that Richtiello or whatever family, I have to go to the leader first."

"Why?"

"I have to check if it's true or not."

If Hudmilla Everett is really Hudmilla Richtiello, then I have to question him.

This damn leader.

How dare he play with me?

Conceal information?

Am I that easy?

Since we had run a long way to the southeast, if we ran a little to the north, his base would appear.

I immediately created a wind.

Hwoooong!

My hair and clothes fluttered violently in the fierce wind.

"Let's go!"

As I used my lightness skill, Shushruta sighed and followed me.

Right now, I'm going to question him.

***

A quiet night with only the chirping of crickets.

Flicker.

Linda opened her eyes.

A deep green light flashed in the darkness.

Linda sat up and stared blankly for a moment, and then she shot up and jumped up and down.

"The devil is coming!"

And then she went to the window and looked out, and then she ran downstairs and ran around.

She jumped up and down, spun around in place, and then ran around again, unable to hide her excitement.

"The devil is coming! The devil is coming!"

Thanks to that, Gustan, who had been woken up, frowned and came out of his room.

"...Why is she making a fuss in the middle of the night?"

The moment he was looking down at the rampaging Linda from the second floor.

Crash!

Ashuban broke in through the window.

Linda, who had been waiting, smiled brightly and raised her two hands as if she had seen a surprise show.

"Wow! It's the devil!"

(End of Chapter)