Ch.208208. Why are you blocking it? Just let me listen.

“Why are you coming out so late?”

“Well, Village Chief Loris kept insisting I stay at his house, so I was delayed trying to refuse.”

Jawil Wilson showed a curious expression.

“How did you refuse?”

“I told him that since Jawil Wilson’s friend still lives in Pandera territory, I’d stay there for a day or two.”

Jawil Wilson carefully looked around.

Then, as if sensing something, he flinched and whispered quietly to me.

“I think we’re being followed?”

“Oh… so you can notice such things now?”

“…Isn’t that beside the point right now? Anyway, what should we do? It seems like Village Chief Loris set someone on us.”

“It’s fine. At least they’re not openly monitoring us like when we first arrived.”

“But if they happen to overhear our conversation with Wortman, won’t that cause problems?”

I straightened my back at Jawil Wilson’s worried gaze.

“Actually, being followed is good.”

“If we try to prevent eavesdropping, won’t Village Chief Loris become more suspicious?”

“Why prevent it? Just let them listen.”

“…Pardon?”

“It won’t matter if they hear. I’ll use hypnosis to make whatever they hear useless.”

Jawil Wilson stopped walking and looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“That ‘hypnosis’ magic… you’ve never used it on me, right?”

“Ahem!! Do I look like that kind of person!?”

“Hmm… I have suspicions but no evidence.”

We arrived at Wortman’s house.

With a nod of my chin, Jawil Wilson stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Knock knock-!

Creeeak-!

The door opened immediately as if someone had been waiting.

Wortman’s face looked much more haggard than when I last saw him.

His unshaven beard and greasy hair suggested he hadn’t washed for days.

“W-why have you gained so much weight…?”

“I’ve been eating more comfortably, that’s all.”

“Who is this…?”

“This is Young Master Selden Alphonse. The person I serve.”

“Come in first.”

Creeeak-! Thud-!

As Jawil Wilson and I stepped inside, Wortman immediately closed the door and spoke.

“You’re being followed?”

Just as Jawil Wilson was about to speak, I walked confidently toward the table and sat down casually.

“I know we’re being followed, so sit down first.”

Wortman made eye contact with Jawil Wilson before slowly lowering himself into the chair opposite me.

“Hello. I’m Wortman, Jawil Wilson’s childhood friend.”

“Yes, I’ve heard everything from Jawil Wilson already.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Jawil Wilson mentioned that he asked you to investigate Village Chief Loris. How did that go?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Wortman’s expression hardened.

“…That’s caused a big problem. Berik has been captured.”

“I know. I saw this Berik fellow earlier while going to Village Chief Loris’s house. But why exactly was he captured?”

Wortman nervously bit his nails as he continued.

“I have no idea why he was captured.”

“Huh? You don’t know why?”

“Yes, Berik went out last night saying he would confirm something for certain, but then he got caught.”

Something to confirm for certain…

I wondered if Berik had discovered some clue about the case.

I adjusted my posture to begin the conversation in earnest.

“What did you discuss with Berik before that?”

“…But is it okay to continue talking like this when we’re being followed?”

“It’s fine. We’re being followed, but they’re not close enough to eavesdrop on our conversation.”

So it is Village Chief Loris after all?

He must be cautious because if the tail is discovered, there’s a possibility my contract with him could fail.

“H-how do you know that…?”

Jawil Wilson spoke to Wortman, who was looking bewildered.

“Our young master is much stronger than you think. His sensory abilities are exceptional.”

Reassured by Jawil Wilson’s words, Wortman continued the conversation.

“I was tasked with following Village Chief Loris, while Berik was investigating the people who disappeared from Pandera territory. But last night, Berik said something strange.”

“What did he say?”

“He said the missing people might still be alive.”

“…The missing people are alive?”

“Yes, he said there’s a high possibility that all three people who recently went missing are still alive.”

I stroked my chin as I responded to Wortman’s statement.

“What was his reasoning?”

“According to Berik’s investigation, all the missing people had no family. Additionally, all the houses where the missing people lived were demolished by Village Chief Loris’s orders.”

“Demolished? Wasn’t there any pushback from other territory residents? The missing people could return home.”

“You know that Pandera territory is smaller than other territories, right?”

“Yes.”

“The area where territory residents live is even smaller.”

I nodded, acknowledging the logic in Wortman’s words.

“I know that people live clustered together at some distance because monsters could emerge from the Silver Forest.”

“Exactly. So they demolished the houses claiming they couldn’t waste space. In exchange, they promised to build new houses at no cost if the missing people returned.”

“So they secured both justification and practical benefit. But how does demolishing houses connect to the possibility that the missing people might still be alive?”

Wortman swallowed hard.

“Berik is skilled in tracking magic. But tracking magic requires the person’s hair, bloodstains, or clothes with their scent to work.”

“Ah… so by demolishing the houses, they eliminated all traces that could be used for tracking magic?”

“That’s what Berik suspected.”

It wasn’t definitive evidence.

However, I could understand why Berik was suspicious.

Considering the unique circumstances of Pandera territory, demolishing houses might be explainable, but they wouldn’t immediately incinerate the missing persons’ belongings too.

After all, who knows?

Since no bodies had been found, the missing people could still return.

“If they even incinerated all the missing persons’ belongings, people would become suspicious, yet they still erased all traces…”

“Berik said exactly the same thing as you, Lord Selden Alphonse. He also said there would be no reason to dispose of belongings if there was nothing to hide.”

“Berik’s suspicions might be correct. If the missing people were dead, tracking magic would be impossible anyway, so there would be no need to go to such lengths to dispose of their belongings.”

“…The problem is that Berik has been captured now.”

The situation was more serious than I thought.

We didn’t know why or how Berik was captured, and we only had speculations about the missing people without any concrete evidence.

I crossed my arms heavily and crossed my legs.

“You said you followed Village Chief Loris?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Did you notice anything unusual while following him?”

At my question, Wortman’s expression grew even more rigid.

“Apart from official activities related to the territory, he never left his house at all.”

“Not even once?”

“Ah! I did see him heading toward the Silver Forest once, but the security was too tight for me to follow him all the way.”

Village Chief Loris going to the Silver Forest was obviously because of the magic grass…

But he never left his house otherwise?

That would mean he has a space inside his house to make the remedy…

Is that even possible?

Village Chief Loris’s house was filled with luxury furniture and decorations.

However, perhaps to avoid drawing attention from the territory residents, the house wasn’t particularly large.

‘Unless there’s a hidden space…’

Wortman failed to follow Loris just once, when he entered the Silver Forest.

But could there be a secret space in the Silver Forest?

Well… what madman would make remedies in a place crawling with monsters that can smell humans exceptionally well?

‘Especially someone as cautious as Village Chief Loris would never even attempt it.’

I sighed involuntarily at the situation, which wasn’t progressing as much as I’d hoped.

“Hah… Did Village Chief Loris ever meet anyone new?”

“No, I’m certain of that.”

“Tsk…”

I had told Village Chief Loris I would stay in Pandera territory to think for at most two days.

I felt like time was running out.

As I sighed deeply while racking my brain, Wortman leaned toward me.

“Perhaps Berik knows something? Village Chief Loris must have captured him because he was concerned about something.”

“Yes, if Berik hadn’t obtained any information, there would be no need to capture him.”

“Then shouldn’t we go meet Berik?”

I froze with wide eyes at Wortman’s question.

“Do you know where Berik is now?”

“Of course. There’s only one place in Pandera territory where criminals are kept.”

I looked at Jawil Wilson, who nodded in agreement with Wortman’s statement.

I rose from my chair.

Then I nodded at Wortman.

“Let’s go see Berik.”