Chapter 16: The Live Bait’s Poison
Following behind the Madam like an attendant, I entered Count Lingan-sama’s office, where the butler introduced him, saying, “This is Count Heinz Lingan-sama.”
The moment he said that, Fran swiftly knelt, so I reluctantly bent my own knees.
The Madam was exchanging greetings with the Count-sama… but I definitely heard the words “Guild Master.”
“You must be Shinya and Fran. You may rise.”
A voice, rich and deep, called out, and I stood up with a sigh of relief.
Standing before me was a man of imposing physique, a far cry from the bloated old man from the Moran Trading Company.
“The bandits who attacked you, they said the Guild Master of the Zandra Adventurers Guild was their leader, correct?”
“The one we captured confessed as much.”
“And, you captured nineteen of them, yet not a single one is alive?”
“Yes.”
“I hear you command bees… Killer Bees. Couldn’t you have captured them without killing them?”
“That’s slightly incorrect. It’s not that I’m commanding the Killer Bees. My Tamer ability is the lowest, a 1, but thanks to the divine blessing of the Tamer God Tina-sama, the bees help me. I can’t give them specific orders, like ‘kill so-and-so.'”
“Can you summon them here?”
“The bees, you mean?”
“Yes. I heard that when you went to rescue Miss Mina, the bees were constantly accompanying you.”
So that’s what this is about.
It seems he wants to know about my abilities as a Tamer, and how freely I can control the Killer Bees.
“Summoning them is easy, but I cannot guarantee the safety of you, Count-sama, or those around you.”
“What do you mean by that!”
“If you wish to summon the bees, you need only attack me. As I mentioned earlier, I am helped by the bees. It’s not through orders. The reason the bees went wild at the Moran Trading Company was because violence was inflicted upon me and my companions. Milene-sama wasn’t attacked because she didn’t attack us. However, because I didn’t want Miss Mina’s family to perish, I asked them to stop their attack.”
It’s a request, you see. I can’t order them, so if you attack me, I won’t be responsible for the consequences, you know.
“Well… very well. I had you come here because I believe there are collaborators besides the Zandra Adventurers Guild’s Guild Master. The ones who tried to abduct you said, ‘They’re a young pair worth good money, don’t let them escape,’ didn’t they? That indicates there’s someone who buys abducted individuals. Besides the nineteen you killed, there were six other bandits, correct?”
“The wet nurse, Hanna-san, said so.”
“Hmm, so the Guild Master and adventurers are colluding in slave hunts. And there’s an organization or a slave trader buying them. That means there are people buying illegal slaves. And then abducting Miss Mina for ransom. For it to be this large-scale… I don’t even want to think about it. I’ve reported it to His Majesty the King, but I want to catch these bandits by the tail.”
“That’s where this comes in.”
The old man who had been nodding beside Count-sama spoke up.
“I’ll have you meet the Zandra Guild Master.”
“And you are?”
“Oh, I’m Brunx, the Guild Master in the town of Holm.”
“From the way you’re talking, you intend to use us as bait, don’t you? Let me tell you, Fran and I are G-Rank adventurers who’ve barely been registered for a month. You can’t issue us a compulsory quest.”
“I understand. This isn’t a quest, it’s a request.”
“We refuse. There’s no guarantee if we’re used as bait and killed. No matter how generous the compensation, it’s meaningless if we’re dead. We helped Miss Mina and Hanna-san by chance, but the Guild Master’s crimes should be handled responsibly by the Guild. Whatever the Count-sama was alluding to has nothing to do with me, a displaced person. We’ll be taking our leave.”
“It can’t be helped. We can’t force you.”
“Lord Brunx!”
“Count-sama, if they were D-Rank, we could issue a compulsory quest, but unfortunately, they are rookies who have just become adventurers.”
Hmm, he’s a Guild Master who understands reason, it seems.
“Ah, from now on, be careful when you’re on dark roads at night or outside the town.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, no, you said it yourselves, didn’t you? The ones who came to abduct you two attacked under the Guild Master’s orders.”
“But they’re all dead.”
“So you said. Neither you nor your subordinate adventurers returned. Then Miss Mina and the others disappeared. They demanded a ransom from the Moran Trading Company, but if there’s no reply, what will they do? It’s a big job worth 5,000 Gold Coins; they’ll definitely investigate the Moran Trading Company. If they find out Miss Mina has returned, it’ll be easy to find out who rescued her.”
Damn it! I should have naturally considered the Guild Master’s words.
“There’s no evidence, and all the witnesses are dead. That means we can only sit back and watch. If we’re lucky, we might be able to apprehend the ones who attack you.”
As I glared at him, he spread his hands and shrugged.
“If we meet the Zandra Guild Master, what do you intend to make us do?”
“Oh? So you’ll go?”
“That depends on the details of the plan and the reward. You’ll expose corruption and make a name for yourself, and if things go as Count-sama expects, you’ll gain the King’s favor… We’re adventurers too, so we’d like to say a reward commensurate with the danger, but we’re not willing to weigh our lives against a reward.”
“Then it’s fine. You won’t be killed on the spot.”
On the spot, huh… If we leave things as they are, there’s more than a good chance our lives will be targeted.
And there’s no doubt they’d resort to assassination.
If they find out we rescued the young ladies, even if we don’t know about the Guild Masters, we’ll definitely be targeted.
Even if Bee-chan and the others protect us, if we’re hit by a long-range magic attack or something, it’s game over.
Bee-chan and the others sleep at night too, and what about poisoning… I wonder if Poison Nullification is effective.
When I looked at Fran, she completely deferred to me, saying, “I’ll leave it to Shinya-san.”
It’s not like I’m always with Fran, so if she’s targeted when she’s alone, she’ll definitely be killed.
“Tell us what you want us to do when we meet the Guild Master.”
“It’s not like we’re sending just the two of you. Our Guild’s Sub-Master will accompany you. The three of you will request a meeting with the Zandra Guild Master and tell him that slave hunts and kidnappings are being carried out by a large number of adventurers. You two will explain the circumstances of when you were attacked.”
“It’s a bit much for me to say it myself, but will he believe such a tall tale?”
“He’ll believe it if you show him your ‘friends.'”
“And then, after we part ways with the Sub-Master, we’ll be attacked, is that it?”
“We can’t provide you with escorts. If you go outside the town, you’re susceptible to long-range attacks, but within the town, it’ll be close combat, and your ‘friends’ will find it easier to help. We need at least one living witness.”
“If you head to Zandra, my subordinates and His Majesty’s envoy will visit Viscount Olcott.”
I see. So we’re live bait, huh.
Perhaps I should let them know that even bait can be deadly poisonous.
《Bee-chans, can you call your friends who are nearby?》
《We won’t know unless we search~》
《Then, Numbers 41 to 50, search the surroundings, and if you find any, can you call them over?》
《Okay~》
《Leave it to us!》
《Gather friends and attack~♪》
《Ah, hold off on attacking, okay? Numbers 1 to 40, come to me.》
《Coming right away!》
《Charge!》
《The Master is calling!》
《Let’s gooo!》
“Let’s trust the Guild Master’s words. However, let me say just one thing. If we die, then you, Guild Master, and you, Count-sama, will also die.”
“You bastard! Are you threatening me?!”
“Threaten Count-sama? Heavens, no! I’d be cut down by the people behind you, after all.”
The guard knights, who were already glaring at me with bitter expressions, had their auras change completely when I said the Count would also die.
But then, that aura wavered, and their expressions turned to astonishment as they looked at the window.
One knight was pointing at the window, trembling.
Well, of course.
One or two bees had started landing on the large window, but in no time at all, their numbers swelled, and the deep buzzing of their wings began to fill the room.
Hearing the buzzing, the Count and the Guild Master turned around, and upon seeing the window, their faces instantly paled.
“The reason the bees attacked at the Moran residence was because they got angry when Chairman Moran’s guards hit me. Milene-okusan wasn’t attacked at that time because she helped us. The lives of Chairman Moran and his guards were spared because I asked the bees not to kill them, you see.”
“B-b-but… this is, y-you, the Tamer, you!”
“Count-sama, it’s true I’m a Tamer, but my ability is 1, so I can’t even Tame a slime. Besides… as for whether bees can be Tamed, please ask the Guild Master right in front of you.”
Stared at by the Count, the Guild Master, shaking his head vigorously, had turned deathly pale.
“My ability is 1, but I have received the divine protection of Tamer God Tina-sama, so I believe I’m protected by that, but I can’t give them orders. At most, I can only ask them to protect me or stop.”
This part is important, so I’ll explain it as many times as it takes!
《Everyone, I’ll give you meat, so don’t attack, okay? Absolutely not.》
Amidst a grand chorus of 《Yes~!》, I could also hear dissatisfied voices like (Tch, too bad) or 《Eeeh~》.
They’re a combat species, aren’t they~.
Taking advantage of the guards being frozen, I went to the window and unfastened the lock.
“W-Wait! What are you doing!”
The Guild Master let out an anguished cry, but I just smiled brightly and opened the window wide.
With a deep buzzing sound 〈Buuun〉, the bees all flew into the room at once, but they just circled overhead.
Taking advantage of everyone cowering with their heads in their hands, I opened all the windows and started arranging strips of meat on the window frames and sills.
《Thanks, everyone. Go ahead and eat the meat.》
《Meat~♪》
《Thank you, Master.》
《That one’s mine!》
《There’s some over there too, isn’t there!》
Since the Count and the Guild Master were dumbfounded, I also arranged some strips of meat on the table in front of the Count.
《Everyone, there’s some over here too, but don’t sting them, okay~?》
《Yes~!》
Along with their reply, the Killer Bees swarmed the table.
“Please don’t move. If you swat at them or try to drive them away, they’ll sting you.”
At my words, the Count’s and the Guild Master’s cheeks twitched, but since this was the second time for the Countess, she was calm.