Chapter 71: Poar (7)

“What brings you here so urgently?”

Alice and I made our way to the Guild Master’s house. Alice glared at the Guild Master with a determined expression, while I scanned the guild certificate hanging on the wall of his office and the documents spread across the table. Most of the documents were supply contracts.

As I stared blankly at the papers, the Guild Master waved his hand and said.

“You shouldn’t stare too hard. They’re just trade agreements. So, Alice-yang. What brings you here?”

Alice glanced around once more. It was early, so people were bustling around each of the ranches. Through the Guild Master’s window, Lorena’s ranch was visible at a glance. Watching Lorena diligently carrying bundles of straw outside the window, Alice said.

“It seems the evidence is pointing towards Jack being the culprit.”

“…..I see. Indeed, we shouldn’t have accepted him in the first place……”

The Guild Master subtly began bad-mouthing Jack. Though he didn’t show it on his face, he seemed quite pleased that Jack was about to be caught. Alice tilted her head and played along with the Guild Master.

“The evidence presented in the materials you provided all points to Jack being the culprit, and his own testimony wasn’t exactly convincing either. In this situation, I believe it’s nonsensical to accuse anyone else.”

“That’s a very wise point. So, how about we grab a club and give him a good thrashing right now? Usually, in villages like this, they handle criminals themselves.”

The Guild Master grinned broadly and gestured with his eyes. In the corner of the room, a large, gleaming wooden club stood leaning against the wall. His delight in beating and expelling Jack seemed greater than any anger over lost livestock.

“However, there are many things holding us back from punishing him right now.”

Alice calmed the Guild Master’s excitement. The Guild Master, who seemed ready to bolt outside, scowled at Alice’s addition of the word ‘however’. He asked while tidying the papers on his desk.

“What exactly is holding us back?”

“It’s Lorena.”

Alice pointed to Lorena, who was working hard outside the window. Amusingly, the Guild Master could observe Lorena working just by turning his head. The Guild Master looked at Lorena, then back at Alice. He asked.

“Is there some problem with Lorena?”

“If Jack is punished, he’ll naturally have to compensate for the livestock he stole. How will Lorena make a living all by herself now? It pains me to think that an innocent, good child like her would fall into such a pit, so I just can’t bring myself to say it.”

Alice was truly a good actress. She wiped away tears and sniffled, perfectly mimicking the image of a sensitive rookie lawyer. The Guild Master burst into hearty laughter and said.

“Ho ho ho! Don’t you worry about that! I’ll take our Lorena in and raise her like my own daughter. She’s had a hard time with that good-for-nothing father, so I’ll take good care of her.”

“…That’s very kind of you.”

Alice said that, lowering her head. It must have been because she couldn’t control her expression. I also had to turn my head away to hide my smirk. The Guild Master continued.

“Isn’t this what they mean by the kindness of country folk? Ho ho ho! I adore our Lorena! Don’t worry, you can head straight back to Ithaca. Just create the paperwork stating Jack is the culprit back in Ithaca, and I’ll handle everything here!”

The Guild Master’s voice couldn’t have sounded more trustworthy. He nodded vigorously, a wide smile on his face, and parted ways with us. The moment we stepped out of the Guild Master’s house, Alice’s face, which had been stiff and professional, contorted.

“Animal.”

Our reasoning for suspecting the Guild Master was simple. He was the one collecting guild fees, the most powerful figure in the village, and the person who knew the situation of every ranch like the back of his hand. The Guild Master we met was an old man with a friendly smile, but his sturdy build and eyes gleaming with desire couldn’t be fooled.

“How was it?”

“It’s him, alright.”

And crucially, the Guild Master was using the same seal he’d used on the contract with the Imp for his own administrative work.

“…Is the bastard fucking stupid? Using his office seal for a contract with a demon?”

“Maybe he did it out of habit? Or perhaps the contract situation was a bit rushed.”

Alice shook her head and looked back at the Guild Master’s house. Then, lowering her voice, she asked me.

“But Dad. What now? How do we frame him? We don’t have any proof.”

As she said, we had suspicions about the Guild Master and demonic evidence, but no concrete proof to report him to the guards.

“Just report it to the temple. He stamped that contract with the Imp using his seal. If we take that, the temple will handle it.”

Of course, it wasn’t like there was no way to take down the Guild Master. After all, the Guild Master had contracted with a demon using his own seal, and the proof remained in his lair. All we had to do was hand that contract over to the temple. I told Alice.

“I’ll bring it here tonight and leave it in your room. Tomorrow morning, take it to the temple and say someone left this paper in front of your house. You couldn’t read the writing, and it felt a bit unsettling, so you brought it.”

“Will that work? There might not be any demonic items inside the house.”

“Oh, please. There’s a real demon right here, isn’t there? I can just sprinkle some of my magic around.”

Alice nodded, finally understanding what I meant. If there’s no evidence, you just make some, right? The contract was merely a pretext for a search.

“Are you suggesting we fabricate evidence?”

“It’s not fabrication. It’s aiding the search. Besides, didn’t that guy sign a contract with an Imp?”

“Right.”

Alice nodded and smiled. She was my daughter, after all. Like any close father-daughter pair, we had a lot in common. We walked home, laughing. After watching the Guild Master’s house recede into the distance, we both gave him the middle finger while he was busy.

The next morning.

In front of the Guild Master’s house, just as he was starting his day with good cheer, a stern-faced priest and knights clad in armor appeared. The Guild Master, who opened the door while yawning, greeted the priest with a look of utter confusion. He had been exhausted just moments before, but upon seeing the priest, he acted as if all his sleepiness had vanished.

“W-what is this?”

The priest and the knights ignored the Guild Master’s question. Large knights seized the Guild Master, while the priest and his companions began searching the room. The Guild Master shouted urgently.

“N-no, what are you doing! You need to explain!”

The priest yelled at the Guild Master.

“Shut up! Guild Master! We’ve obtained the contract with the Imp bearing your seal! You filthy devil-worshipping bastard! Did the demons do this because they didn’t know what people are capable of?!”

The Guild Master’s face turned deathly pale. His face, paler than a corpse, drenched in cold sweat, he cried out in a voice close to sobbing.

“It’s a, it’s a misunderstanding! Th-there must be some misunderstanding! I didn’t do such a thing!”

“You didn’t?”

The priest gritted his teeth, looked around, and then unleashed holy power from his palm. A pure white light formed a circle, enveloping the entire house. The Guild Master looked around with a face full of fear, as the priest, standing with his eyes closed, suddenly raised both hands and shouted.

“Found it!”

The priest abruptly walked towards the Guild Master’s backyard. The Guild Master’s expression turned questioning as he watched the priest. He hadn’t hidden anything in the backyard. However, the priest was digging into the ground with an expression of firm conviction. Reinforcing his body with holy power, the priest dug into the ground in an instant and pulled something out as if harvesting potatoes. Clumps of dirt fell away, and what had been a mound of earth gradually took the shape of bone.

“Will you still claim innocence after seeing this?!”

What he held in his hand was a cow’s skull. The skull, covered in dirt, was held in the priest’s hand. The Guild Master couldn’t sense it, but the priest could feel the faint demonic magic emanating from the cow skull. It had an unsettling texture, as if the Imp had melted directly into the skull.

“W-what is this? What on earth is this! I’ve never hidden anything like this! I swear to God! I never hid it!”

The Guild Master shook his head frantically and shouted.

“It’s a frame-up! Someone did this to frame me!”

A knight who had gone into the inner room emerged, holding a thick book and a contract.

“Priest! We found a demon summoning grimoire and a contract in his room!”

“Ah, ahh……!”

The Guild Master, who had been desperately trying to explain, collapsed to his knees. Looking at the Guild Master whose legs had given out, the priest said.

“We’ll hear the full story in the temple’s basement. To think that a filthy devil worshipper like you has been deceiving us all this time, it truly sends shivers down my spine.”

“Ah, ahh……!”

The Guild Master was dragged away like a rag doll. I had brought a rocking chair to a small hill overlooking the Guild Master’s house and was enjoying the natural scenery with Alice. Alice handed me a glass filled with fruit juice. I clinked my glass against hers and said.

“Hooray for justice.”