Chapter 171: Infiltrating the Marquis’s Estate
I could sense the presence of Ivan and Phonia coming from within the mansion. It was clear they were already here.
“The real question is whose mansion this is,” I muttered.
“Indeed. I can definitely feel their presence from here, but…”
Glancing at the entrance, I noticed two guards eyeing us suspiciously. If this wasn’t the House of Marquis Ragloi, we wouldn’t be able to enter based on the designated request we received. If we were to intervene, we would have to ask the Marquis’s household why their slaves were here, accompanied by the request. It felt unnecessarily convoluted.
“Should we just ask the guards directly?”
“That would be the quickest way…”
Rio agreed. I considered gathering more information first, but we couldn’t afford to waste time. If a fugitive slave was caught, the only future I could envision was one filled with brutal punishment. I didn’t want that for Phonia, at least.
As I gently petted Nil’s neck, we approached the mansion’s gate.
“What do you want?” one of the guards asked.
“We’re here on a request. Is this the House of Marquis Ragloi?”
“Yes, it is… but who are you?”
So it really was the House of Marquis Ragloi. I sighed inwardly and presented the designated request from the Marquis’s eldest son.
“I am Shuu, an adventurer who accepted the designated request. We had secured the two fugitive slaves, but it seems they were snatched away.”
“Hmm… It does appear to be a request made by Mellow.”
The guards exchanged glances.
“I received information that those two fugitive slaves are here, and I wanted to confirm whether anyone else had also made a request.”
As a pretext, I claimed that the requester might have issued a double request to someone else, and it would be troublesome if we were deemed to have failed. Nobles, unlike us, could have private soldiers and connections outside the Guild, which could complicate matters if someone else succeeded in the task.
“Please wait a moment.”
One of the guards said before running into the mansion. I had expected to be turned away, but it seemed the staff here were not as twisted as the nobles themselves.
After a short while, the guard returned with someone who looked like a butler at first glance.
“Thank you for your patience. Please, come inside.”
“Is it alright if my tamed monster comes with me?”
I asked before stepping inside. The butler raised an eyebrow at Nil but quickly nodded.
“That’s fine. Please proceed.”
We walked through the meticulously maintained garden and entered the mansion. Once we reached the reception room near the entrance, we settled onto the sofa.
“I will prepare the completion certificate, so please wait a moment.”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t help but voice my surprise as the butler bowed deeply and began to exit the room. Our objective was to retrieve Ivan and Phonia, so merely receiving the completion certificate would be problematic. However, if the reason for our visit was to confirm the completion of the request, I couldn’t complain about avoiding unnecessary questions…
“Is there something…?”
The butler asked dutifully, prompting me to scramble for words.
“…Wait, what?”
As I searched for something to say, I felt a shift in the presence of Ivan and Phonia. Ivan’s aura seemed to be fading… What was happening?
“Shuu… is this…?”
Rio, sensing the same disturbance, grasped my arm anxiously.
“I have a bad feeling about this—”
Before I could finish, Phonia’s presence suddenly surged, followed by a loud explosion.
“Wh-What just happened!?”
“It seems something occurred where Ivan and Phonia are…”
I pointed toward the wall, and the butler’s expression changed dramatically.
“M-Mellow!”
He shouted the name and hurriedly opened the door, rushing out. I recalled that Mellow was the name of the Marquis’s eldest son, and also Ivan and Phonia’s master.
“Should we follow him?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“Alright, Nil, let’s go.”
This was actually turning out to be quite convenient. We slipped through the open door and into the hallway, chasing after the butler. After navigating several corners, we finally spotted him dashing toward the garden.
“Outside!”
With Ivan’s fading presence and Phonia’s growing aura, I was certain of it. We followed the butler out into the garden. The first thing that caught my eye was—
“…A fox?”
“Phonia…?”
Before us stood a beast—a fox, about two meters tall. Its reddish-brown fur bristled as it writhed in agony, five tails standing erect. A black collar was fastened around its neck.
“What in the world is happening?”
Nearby, a well-dressed man was sitting on the ground, pale-faced, scooting away from the fox. The butler helped the man to his feet, but that was the least of my concerns.
Where was Ivan?
“Ivan!?”
As I searched, Rio called out and dashed toward the back of the fox. There lay Ivan, collapsed in a pool of blood.