Chapter 65: Poar (1)

The carriage stopped.

We got out, pretending nothing was wrong, hiding our flushed faces. Alice breathed raggedly but maintained a nonchalant expression, while I adjusted my pants belt and gazed at the distant mountains. The coachman sat on his box, a cigarette dangling from his lips, with a sack of carrots placed before the horse.

“Nice weather.”

“It really is.”

Alice nodded at my words and looked around. The large hills were covered in grass, and livestock grazed sparsely, like decorations scattered across the landscape. I brushed off my pants once and said to Alice.

“Alice. How are you feeling now? You’re officially a law firm employee.”

“…..I’m so nervous.”

The reason her face was flushed and she took a deep breath wasn’t just because she had been sucking my cock moments before. I chuckled, stepping slightly away from the musty smell emanating from the open carriage. Alice placed one hand on her chest and held her suitcase with the other.

It wasn’t long after the letter arrived that we decided to head to the village of Poar.

It was the result of combining Alice’s eagerness to start working quickly with my own desire for conquest, wanting to add more women to my roster. After exchanging cheerful goodbyes and promising to buy souvenirs, we found ourselves waiting before the village of Poar for our next encounter.

I recalled Isabel, clinging to me tearfully, looking disappointed.

“Um… when did they say the contact person here would arrive?”

“They should be here any minute… Ah, there they are.”

Where Alice’s hand pointed, a man in a suit stood, sweating profusely. He wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead with a handkerchief and walked towards us.

“Miss Flancia Alice, correct? It’s unusual for a newcomer to be assigned a case already. My apologies. I’m Allen from the Charlotte Law Office. A more critical case came up in Ithaca, which is why this happened. And what is your relationship with Miss Alice here?”

Allen’s thick fingers pointed at me. I thought his fingers looked just like sausages. I gave a slight bow in greeting, and Alice pointed at me, saying.

“He’s my father. He was worried about me coming alone, so he came along. He’ll be heading back once my work in Poar is done.”

“Ah, I see. Allen.”

The man swept his brown hair back and sported a bushy mustache. His thick mustache almost completely obscured his mouth. I accepted his handshake and said.

“I’m Evan. It’s a pleasure. Please take good care of my daughter.”

“Oh, no, no.”

Allen noticed that Alice and I didn’t look that far apart in age, but he wisely refrained from asking any awkward questions. He gave us another sharp look and got down to business.

“So, Alice. Have you heard the details of the case?”

“No. Not yet…”

“Then let’s discuss it at the office. What are your plans, Mr. Alice’s Father?”

I had no desire to get involved in complicated legal matters. Finding the beauties residing in this village took precedence over silently listening to tedious discussions with Alice. I shook my head and said.

“I’ll head to the lodging first. Where is your accommodation, Miss Alice? I can take your luggage and get things settled.”

“Ah, yes. The lodging is right next to Mr. Hanson’s ranch. Mr. Hanson’s ranch is marked on the signpost over there, so you can head that way. Well then, let’s go, Miss Alice.”

“Okay! Ah, see you later, Dad.”

Alice replied with a voice full of energy and followed Allen. I slung Alice’s suitcase and my own luggage over my shoulder and looked at the signpost. Poar village, with its many ranches, often hosted field trips from Ithaca and saw many traveling merchants.

Because of this, a signpost was installed at the village entrance, and Hanson’s ranch was located quite close to my current position.

“Does Mr. Hanson have a daughter?”

I picked up my luggage and started walking towards the ranch.

“Well hello there! You must be the ones here for the case, right?”

Hanson was burly. His arms were as thick as logs, and his face was imposing, like a lion’s. His solid shoulders and thick neck gave off an intimidating aura, as if he could withstand an arrow strike without falling. I set my luggage down by the door and shook my head.

“My daughter is the one here for the case. As a father, I was worried about her coming to a strange place alone. So I came along. Any parent would understand, right?”

I said this while giving a meaningful glance. It was to find out if Hanson had children or not. Usually, the children of physically imposing people like him were often beauties or handsome individuals. Hanson nodded at my words and said.

“Ho ho, you must have gotten quite the lecture from your daughter. I have a son myself, and this rascal isn’t listening to me at all lately. Maybe it’s puberty? He never helps with the farm work, just swings a stick around pretending to be a knight… Oh dear, the worries never end.”

He sighed deeply as he spoke. Apparently, he had a tanned kid, now in his teens, who was disobedient and always causing trouble. I clicked my tongue and chuckled, finding it quite unfortunate that the child was a son.

“They all act like that when they’re growing up. Didn’t you and I, Mr. Hanson, dream of becoming knights or mighty warriors ruling the continent when we were young? He’ll grow out of it.”

“Ah, thank you for the kind words. Are you moving your luggage now?”

Hanson said this, rolling up his sleeves. I stopped him from touching my luggage and said.

“I’ll handle it myself. My daughter dislikes others touching her belongings.”

“Oh, I see. Yes. My apologies.”

I pushed the luggage inside and came back out. Perhaps he had finished his farm chores for the day, as Hanson leaned against the fence, waiting for me to emerge. Since I couldn’t just barge into a stranger’s town looking for women, I approached him and asked a question.

“So, what kind of case required calling a law office all the way out here? Don’t these things usually get handled within the village? Like, by the guard post or the local guild?”

Hanson shook his head at my question and said.

“The scale of the incident is quite large. It’s a complicated story.”

Hanson said this and put a cigarette in his mouth. He offered me one, but I declined with a shake of my head. The cigarette emitted a subtle aroma, reminiscent of damp meadow grass. Hanson gestured with the smoke and said.

“There’s been a series of livestock disappearances.”

“You mean things like pigs or cows?”

“Yes. Pigs, cows, horses, chickens – no farm was spared. Several animals vanished from each. The whole village is in an uproar. When guards were posted, they vanished like ghosts, only to be stolen the moment the guards looked away or got distracted.”

“That’s bizarre. Have they identified a suspect?”

“Yes. The local guild and the guards suspect a knight named Jack, who recently moved here.”

“Jack?”

“I heard he was a renowned knight in the capital, but after being framed and exiled, he fell into a life of heavy drinking.”

“What a shame.”

The mention of Jack being a famous knight in the capital piqued my curiosity. Someone who could be a knight in the capital must come from a good family, and daughters from wealthy families are usually beauties. I wondered if Jack had a daughter.

“It seems Jack’s continued drinking and gambling have completely ruined his finances. That’s why he moved from the capital to Ithaca, and then settled here. But recently, Jack started buying expensive liquor and betting large sums of money on gambling. Interestingly, the timing of Jack suddenly having money coincides with the livestock disappearances.”

“That’s certainly suspicious enough.”

I thought the local guild and guards’ suspicions were justified. How could a disgraced knight with no money possibly be pulling in such large sums? Hanson nodded and said.

“However, this Jack fellow insists, desperately, that he’s not the culprit. He even filed a request for investigation himself with a law office in Ithaca, which led to this situation.”

“If he’s innocent, where did the money come from?”

“He claims money just appears by his bedside when he wakes up.”

I let out a disbelieving laugh. It was such a shameless excuse that even a child wouldn’t fall for it. I said.

“This is quite the absurd case. Do you, Mr. Hanson, believe this Jack fellow is the culprit?”

“The investigation isn’t over yet, so everyone’s being cautious, but honestly? Yes. Who would believe a story about money appearing by their bedside?”

“You’re right. But with his fondness for gambling, his family must be having a tough time.”

I said this, watching Hanson closely.

“Tell me about it. His daughter is quite kind, though…”

“…He has a daughter.”

Jack has a daughter.

Whether she was a beauty or not was something I could verify later.