The girl from the Chokugen Faction, Sen, gracefully descended from the rooftop just like a cat, standing expressionless in front of me.
The expression was basically asking, “Why are you here?”
I was the first to speak up.
“What are you doing here?”
“I got a tip that Tudogs are in Bethel.”
“Hmm?”
There was something somewhat off, but as I nodded in understanding, she asked me in return.
“What about you? What are you doing here?”
“I stopped by on my way back from Yggdrasil. I was planning to leave today, but I can’t anymore.”
“Can’t anymore?”
Seeing her tilt her head expressionlessly felt like looking at a broken doll, but I didn’t mention it.
“I think I’ve got a lead on the Tudogs.”
“…Is that why you just grabbed a guard by the collar?”
“Yeah, it seems that the hotel he recommended is owned by people connected to the Tudogs.”
“I want to go too.”
Well, I expected her to immediately say she wanted to join if I uncovered something about the Tudogs.
Returning to the hotel with Sen, the atmosphere felt strange.
Hayun and Rin greeted Sen with fake pleasantries, asking what was going on as if it was just a bizarre coincidence.
“What’s wrong with them?”
The hotel’s robbery crew was just blankly staring into space.
I waved my hand in front of their eyes, but they were alive, just staring at the ceiling without responding.
“Answer me well.”
Rin, who moved next to me, smiled as she asked the elderly lady.
“What’s your identity?”
“Johannes. 61 years old. I’m a Corpse Supplier for the Tudogs and have received the power of the Death Spider.”
“Look at that.”
“…”
This felt somewhat like the Army of Death from a past life, but I hadn’t died. Rin seemed to be using some kind of magic.
“I feel comfortable now.”
If I could handle the power of the Army of Death like it was my own, I could see it positively. Back then, Rin seemed to be in a rampage state.
Being able to control meant I had some sort of power over it.
It had become easier to gather information, so it wasn’t a major problem.
“Should I try pulling everything I can?”
I brought a chair and sat in front of them. Rin came with a mug of tea and handed it to me, while Sen and Hayun stood beside me.
“Who’s the highest authority in the Tudogs?”
“I don’t know.”
The answer came back in unison.
Well, I didn’t expect a mere corpse transporter to know anything.
“What’s the purpose of the Tudogs?”
Sen chimed in, but again they claimed they didn’t know.
After that, I asked about their base, numbers, and whether there were any hiding in other cities, but they only replied with “we don’t know.”
“Do you have anything you know?”
Hayun looked at the four of them with a fed-up expression. She seemed tired of these four who lived without any purpose other than making money.
As I sipped my tea, feeling the warm warmth going down my throat, I asked another question.
“Who’s your direct superior?”
“Mikael Portren.”
“Finally, an answer.”
As I smiled, Sen frowned and added.
“Mikael Portren is the current head of the Portren family. He’s still young, but he’s renting out the lands and buildings his parents left him in Bethel, making a fortune in the lodging business.”
“So that’s how a hotel like this exists?”
The puzzle was starting to fit together.
I had mentioned to Sen that we were supposed to investigate Zavalanco’s information last time, so it felt like she had thoroughly done her homework.
“It seems the Portren family is somehow related to the Tudogs.”
“Are you guys doing this in other hotels too?”
If they had said yes, I would have immediately thought of dealing with them, but fortunately, it seemed this Murder Hotel was the only one.
“Can you explain this?”
“My head hurts. What kind of organization is the Tudogs?”
Thinking back, neither Rin nor Hayun knew about the Tudogs. I realized I had been discussing things centered on myself and Sen, so I briefly explained the situation to them.
Since they had previously been caught in the illusion of the Cockatrice that Hare had used, they understood the content without much issue.
At that point, the two looked at Sen as if questioning how she knew anything.
“…”
Sen remained silent, intentionally ignoring them. I also hinted that I wouldn’t say anything about her identity, so they didn’t push further.
“Um, is anyone there?”
While we continued to interrogate, a woman’s voice came from outside.
Since I had clearly hung a sign that said the hotel wasn’t open today, I thought maybe it was one of the Tudogs.
Suddenly, the voice belonged to someone I recognized.
“Heini?”
“D-Daniel McLean?”
It was Heini Rosales, the inspector affiliated with the royal family, with whom I had begun an unfortunate relationship that was still not very good.
She looked puzzled as to why she was here, but it was the same for me.
“Why are you here?”
“No, I want to ask you! Why are you here?”
We both eyed each other for a moment like we were in a battle of wills, but in the end, Heini conceded first.
“Ha, thanks to your testimony, I now have a delay on that murder charge for Fenil Leiros.”
“A delay?”
“I needed evidence, you know? Evidence that the organization called the Tudogs actually exists.”
“Aha.”
It was definitely unlikely that the Leiros family would let her go just based on my testimony.
I hadn’t revealed everything and had mixed truths with lies when I spoke.
“While all this was happening, I got a tip that the Tudogs are in Bethel, so I came to investigate. Now, why are you here? Did you come looking for the Tudogs?”
With her eyes sparkling, Heini Rosales looked at me, and I scoffed.
“No? We’re just here for sightseeing.”
“……Then why are you at the counter?”
“The elderly lady who runs this place is feeling unwell, so I’m taking care of her.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Heini looked at me suspiciously, but as I stood my ground, she could only grunt and back off.
“Uh, if you find out anything about the Tudogs, please! Even if our first meeting was unfortunate, we caught Zavalanco together, so we’re allies, right?”
“Please leave quickly, or I’ll sprinkle salt at the entrance.”
“Eeek.”
I distinctly remembered her as a cold and sharp woman, but it seemed the pressure from the false accusation had made her quite timid, and her personality had softened visibly.
I personally thought it was probably growing pains.
“It seems something really is going to happen.”
Seeing Rin mutter beside me, I nodded quietly and turned my body.
It was strange.
‘Is it that information about the Tudogs is leaking out like this without knowing their true identity?’
From when Sen noticed that communication with the Chokugen Faction had been cut off, to Heini Rosales coming to seek out information about the Tudogs and arriving in Bethel.
‘Something feels off.’
After pondering, I led Rin inside the counter again and pointed to those still staring blankly into space, asking,
“Can you make them move?”
“If they regain a bit of consciousness, it’s possible.”
“……”
I was taken aback by what that meant, but when Rin snapped her fingers, the guys suddenly came to life, breathing roughly as they shook their heads randomly.
Seeing them panic at Rin instead of me, I thought, “So this is what it means to train someone with fear.”
“You’ve got work to do.”
This actually made it more convenient to use them.
*
Stepping out onto the streets of Bethel, we decided to do a little reconnaissance.
In truth, it was just a fancy way of saying we were hungry and came out for lunch.
“There are more types of restaurants than I expected.”
“Well, since it’s a city right near the border, many tourists and people crossing the border visit. There’s nothing too touristy, but it’s optimized for relieving travel fatigue.”
Nodding at Sen’s blunt explanation, the two girls agreed.
“What should we eat? I didn’t have breakfast, so I’d like something a bit more filling.”
“Um, if it’s okay, can we skip the meat? The breakfast I had wasn’t too good.”
Hayun raised her hand to voice her opinion.
It seemed she had witnessed some horrific sights in the hotel’s basement while I was outside. I nodded in agreement.
“Is it okay for you, Rin?”
“Hmm? It’s fine with me.”
Rin smiled without any care in the world. It felt even creepier, but I didn’t mention it.
“Then what should we eat?”
Having an overwhelming number of restaurants was a problem.
And perhaps to survive in this harsh competitive environment, each place seemed to have its unique dishes, making it even harder to choose.
While I was wandering for what felt like a long time, a girl caught my eye in the busy street and it felt like I was hit on the head with a hammer.
She looked about 8 or 9 years old?
With somewhat uniquely colored bluish-grey hair, she was happily looking around while clutching a doll.
The little girl, who was literally dashing around the streets, seemed well-liked by the city’s people, returning their casual greetings with bright smiles.
She spread her cheerful vibes like a brush dipped in vibrant paint everywhere she passed by.
“Wow, there are really pretty ladies!”
She suddenly stopped in front of us, her eyes sparkling as she exclaimed while looking at the female students.
Rin and Hayun smiled at her, patting her head and asking her name, to which the girl introduced herself as Michelle.
‘So her name is Michelle.’
I felt a twinge of guilt for not even knowing her name after a long night. Her absence weighed heavier than I had expected.
‘Hah, hah! A-a person? How did you get here?’
I first met her in the forest.
She looked about the same age as I am now, but back then, she was in tatters and injured when she first encountered me.
‘T-thank you.’
I brought her home, healed her, changed her clothes, and fed her.
I had picked her up like a cat, and for a brief moment, her innocent charm disarmed me, as she approached without any hesitation.
At that time, I thought it was just me saving her, but now I can see she had a cheerful nature.
‘Why does uncle live here?’
She boldly stepped into my personal space, but I didn’t dislike it. Instead, I felt she wanted to get closer to me.
‘A-uncle…’
That’s why when she turned into a cold corpse, I couldn’t fully grasp my emotions, and eventually, I had no choice but to kill all the members of the Chokugen Faction that followed me.
“Wow! Your hair color’s so white! That’s unusual! It’s beautiful like snow in winter!”
Michelle bounced up and down, catching the attention of the girls while Sen stood there, at a loss for how to react.
In our past lives, Michelle had died at Sen’s hands, and Sen ended up dead at mine.
It was the moment when a bizarre fate gathered in one place.
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