Ch.526526. Tasha Works (2)

“It seems like suspicious people have entered the territory.”

I couldn’t help but fall into deep thought at Tasha’s words.

“They’re a bit strange to just be outsiders.”

People who were deliberately looking around at night in areas that had been covered by the barony’s recent welfare improvement project couldn’t possibly be ordinary folks.

“I wonder who might bear a grudge against me.”

While there might be subtle tensions, I’m not one who particularly favors direct confrontation.

And when I do make enemies, I tend to eliminate them completely to avoid future problems, except when it can’t be helped.

All I’ve done so far is raise Sione and fight Demonkin and Demons. There’s no one openly showing hostility or growling at me.

“Though there are some suspicious elements.”

Noble lords with their blue blood and superiority complex. Among them, some might not be particularly fond of me simply because I’m a commoner by birth, regardless of what I’ve done.

For the sake of relationships with people I’ve joined hands with to better defeat Demonkin and Demons. There are certainly connections that started off on the wrong foot.

‘Given the suspicious timing of this incident, it would be best to handle it decisively.’

Especially since this happened right after receiving the First Princess’s official support. Honestly, I could pretty much see who the culprit might be.

‘Frankly, it looks like the Third Princess is upset and sent people to find fault with me.’

Our family’s strength far exceeds that of an ordinary barony, with two Masters no less. We have blood ties with a count’s family, close relationships with the Kallia and Allenar families, and even connections to the Lephelia Duchy. Furthermore, it’s already widely known in social circles that the First Princess is my backer.

Despite being a commoner as the head of the family, I already have the best connections in the kingdom. This means that not only mediocre nobles but even families heading entire regions can’t easily touch me.

‘Well, they might be making a big deal out of nothing.’

Our territory is an intermediate hub city connecting numerous families’ trade routes, so we have an especially large number of security forces and vigilante groups. With so many eyes and ears in this place, sending people to spy like this either means they’re confident they can cut ties if discovered, or they’re confident enough not to care if they’re caught.

So instead of increasing security forces in the area to reduce their visibility, I decided to borrow the power of our reliable human CCTV.

“Tasha, could you find out a little more about those suspicious people whenever you go out?”

“That’s not difficult! Oh, should I keep quiet about asking around?”

“You always understand what I mean. Then I’ll trust you with this.”

“Just trust me. I’ll definitely bring back useful information. But… in return…”

“Ah, is there something you want?”

The innocent Tasha began to glance at me nervously. It seems she wants something.

When a young child works this hard for me, if it’s not difficult, it’s only right to provide what she wants.

As I waited for her answer, she very cautiously made a small request.

“You’re my guardian, right? Other people say a guardian is like an adoptive father… Could I call you Godfather instead of Baron?”

“Ah.”

“If it’s burdensome, that’s okay…! It’s just my childish wish, so you can ignore it—”

Come to think of it, Tasha is an orphan who lost her parents.

She’s still at an age where she needs parental affection and a strong support system. And I’m the one who brought her in and made her a priestess.

Certainly, calling me Godfather rather than the formal “Baron” would give her more sense of belonging and comfort.

I answered with a playful smile:

“There’s one condition.”

“…A condition?”

“First, try calling Sione ‘Godmother’ and tell me her reaction. How about it? Not too difficult, right?”

“…!”

Tasha’s expression brightened as she nodded vigorously.

Her purpose was singular.

As her current life was already more than satisfying, and even if she held power, she had absolutely no confidence in taking responsibility for it. She had no interest in greater authority than she already had. She believed it was only natural for the next head of the family to be a legitimate child, so much so that…

She, who was nothing more than a stone that had rolled in, only wished to become a truly comfortable family with the parents and siblings she had newly gained.

“I’ll definitely give you a vivid account of the Baroness’s reaction.”

She firmly believed that the titles of Godfather and Godmother would someday change to the comfortable Father and Mother.

“Of course, as a priestess serving my proxy’s will, I’ll do my best with the task you’ve given me!”

And unintentionally, her faith grew deeper.

Without knowing any limits.

* * *

Oscar, the one-armed mercenary who was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the barony’s support program for the poor and mercenaries.

Today too, he approached the young priestess who attended the dirtiest and most squalid places without showing any sign of dislike.

“Ah, it’s Oscar. Have you had breakfast?”

“I see Lady Regine is with you today as an escort. Unfortunately, I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“Escorting is our job, but you’re always coming out to help. You take the initiative in crowd control too. I knew you’d come today, so I brought some jerky for you. Have this as a snack at least.”

“Can I really accept this?”

“Ah, it’s so heavy. Please take it.”

“I accept with gratitude.”

Showing up every day had allowed him to become acquainted even with the soldiers of the barony.

Unlike the days when he huddled in cold alley corners, gnawing his fingernails in fear, who would have thought he would move around again and have normal interactions with people?

Normally, a mercenary with a physical disability would be destined to live in isolation amid discrimination. Typically, he should have been unable to find work due to his uselessness, but recently the Mercenary Guild had been giving him simple requests as charity.

Having received so much grace, he desperately wanted to be of help to the Baron, or if that was difficult, to Tasha the priestess who continued to serve in the lowest places on his behalf.

“Oscar, I wanted to ask you something… Have you heard anything about suspicious people wandering around at night recently?”

“I’m glad. It seems I can finally be of real help to you, Priestess.”

“Really?”

“You mean the strange people who wander around at night with their entire bodies covered in black robes, right? As it happens, I encountered them last night.”

“…!”

He didn’t miss the opportunity that had finally come.

Moving to a place with fewer people, suitable for having a somewhat serious conversation with the escorts, Oscar began his story about the previous night.

“May I ask how you came to encounter them, Oscar?”

“It’s nothing special. Sometimes I feel pain where my missing arm should be in the early morning. When I opened my eyes, I saw a group in strange attire heading toward the church.”

“Oh, if it’s that, I have a potion I prepared…!”

“No, no. The doctor called it… phantom pain, I think. Pain felt mentally because something that was there is now gone. It will resolve once I fully accept my condition. Anyway, rather than that—”

Oscar’s eyes reflected his recollection of the dawn incident.

“The group I saw when I woke up tossing and turning is more important, isn’t it?”

“…So, what were they like?”

“Among the beggars who have seen them, there’s talk that they might be a new criminal organization forming, or spies sent from another family… But from what I saw, they seemed a bit different.”

In Oscar’s memory, these people lacked the characteristics typically found in those with evil natures.

“They had no smell of blood, no hostility, no killing intent, nothing of the sort. Though they concealed their appearances, they didn’t insist on using hidden back alleys. That’s why the beggars were able to see them.”

In fact, they seemed almost proud to be walking around like that.

If they had been walking like that in broad daylight rather than at night, since there are certainly people who wrap themselves up to hide their appearance, one might just assume they were outsiders who wanted to conceal themselves.

“Moreover, I saw them head-on and could see their appearance. If they had been evil, they could have easily disposed of a one-armed mercenary like me the moment they saw me.”

Fortunately, he had been able to partially confirm their identity.

“Pupils that glowed brightly even at night… and something like animal ears poking out from above the hood covering their heads. I don’t know why they came here… but I think they might be beastkin who are more comfortable at night than during the day.”

Tasha was slightly surprised by Oscar’s words.

“Beastkin in the Kingdom, not the Empire…”

It’s fair to say that there are almost no beastkin in the Kingdom except those captured and sold as slaves.

So they wouldn’t be familiar with their existence.

“Haha, it’s not easy to see beastkin with free citizen status in the Kingdom. For that reason, I told you they didn’t seem like evil people to me… But at the same time, I think I understand why rumors call them strange people.”

“Really?”

“It might just be my feeling, but didn’t I say I couldn’t find anything in them? True to those words, despite their confident gestures, the atmosphere and expressions they gave off were like people whose souls had been drained.”

Through Oscar’s help, Tasha could sense that this matter might be more serious and important than initially thought.

And—

‘…My Divine Power is responding to Oscar’s story.’

Through the Divine Power she had gained after awakening as a priestess.

The Divine Power that had been dormant was now spreading gentle waves throughout her body in rhythm with her heartbeat.

Feeling her mind awakening to this, she—

“Like someone’s puppets,” Oscar’s final sentence stuck in her mind.