Chapter 68: Poar (4)

“I checked everything.”

“How was it?”

“Each ranch used a different symbol. They marked inconspicuous fences, seeming to distinguish things in their own way.”

As soon as we confirmed the markings on the fences, we checked all the other ranches and livestock pens. Traces of letters carved with magic were found in inconspicuous places on most ranches. It wasn’t a coincidence that my magic reacted to the letters. The demon had marked the entire village of Poar with a purpose.

“So, what about the money left by Jack’s bedside?”

This solved the reason why money suddenly appeared by Jack’s bedside. A person wouldn’t have a reason to suddenly place leftover money from selling livestock by Jack’s bedside. But a demon?

“It must have been to frame Jack, right? If you put money by the bedside of a gambling-addicted human, they’d naturally go out to spend it.”

Hearing my guess, Alice raised a question.

“That requires knowing Jack very well, doesn’t it? A demon couldn’t possibly grasp the tendencies of a stranger so accurately. If they had just randomly left money at any house, there would have been someone to defend Jack, saying they’d done something similar. But the case records didn’t mention anything like that. They only found the money by Jack’s bedside, didn’t they?”

“……That’s right.”

I nodded. She was right. You can’t understand everything about a person just by looking at their appearance. Only prolonged observation and conversation can reveal a person. Alice nodded and said.

“Perhaps the demon was someone Jack met recently? So many outsiders come and go in this village. It’s not suspicious to consider an outsider.”

It was a plausible statement. This speculation, which couldn’t be discussed publicly yet, had to remain between just the two of us. The only evidence supporting this guess could be confirmed solely through magic.

“Let’s go right now. To Jack’s.”

In front of Jack’s house, a certain dark-skinned little boy was arguing with Lorena. The boy, holding a stick and wearing a cape around his neck, was playing a prank on Lorena.

“Hah! Take this! Demon King! Hero Slayer!”

He swung the stick around with a practiced air, but Lorena laughed and lightly deflected the boy’s stick. Then, clutching her chest, she collapsed onto the floor and said.

“Ugh…! How tragic. To die like this…!”

And as she flopped down, the little boy triumphantly raised his ‘sword’ and shouted.

“I won! I defeated the fearsome Demon King!”

Was the game over? I cleared my throat and called Lorena’s name.

“Lorena.”

“Huh? Huh? Evan?”

Lorena, who had been lying on the floor, looked up at me, stopped playing dead, and sprang up. The little boy looked displeased at Lorena’s sudden movement and said.

“Aw, what! Lorena! We were playing!”

“Charlie. I’m sorry. We have a guest right now. Let’s play later. Okay?”

But the little boy, called Charlie, yelled with a face full of dissatisfaction despite Lorena’s soothing words.

“No! No! Lorena! We were playing! You promised to play with me today!”

“Charlie. They’re important guests. If you keep throwing a tantrum like this, I won’t play with you.”

“Tch…!”

As Lorena scolded him sternly, Charlie seemed to understand and took a step back, looking at us. I greeted Lorena again.

“Hi Lorena. Were you playing with the kid?”

“I’m not a kid.”

Charlie replied to my question in an even more brusque tone. Lorena awkwardly tried to soothe Charlie.

“Charlie. You shouldn’t talk like that. Okay?”

Charlie’s face turned bright red, and he mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Kids act like that when they’re being stubborn. I thought Charlie was living in a pretty good world. When I was young, slaves who showed pride like that would have their bones broken and be fed to the dogs.

Surprisingly, watching slaves get eaten was quite a popular show in the black market.

“Do you know him?”

“He’s a friend. A close friend.”

Lorena nodded awkwardly at my words. Her golden eyes shimmered like a stream whenever she moved her head.

“Ah, hello. Are you perhaps… Evan’s daughter? Ah… What should I call you…?”

Titles can be awkward in situations like this. Alice gave a wry smile and extended her hand to Lorena.

“Flancia Alice. Please call me Alice. I’m from the Charlotte Agency. I’d like to speak with your father briefly today. Would that be alright?”

Legal matters make anyone nervous. Lorena nodded with a stiff expression at Alice’s words, then turned and opened the way to the door. I took Lorena’s hand and said.

“Lorena. Don’t worry. I’m here.”

Lorena smiled as if reassured by those words alone. Just as Alice reached for the doorknob, and we were exchanging a heartwarming glance.

“Hah!”

“Sh, shit!”

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my shin. The burning sensation, like being seared with a candle, gradually pierced my skin and spread through my entire bone, making me curse uncontrollably. As I hopped around clutching my shin, Charlie ran off with the stick.

“Charlie!”

Alice stared at Charlie with a bewildered expression. Lorena, looking flustered, held onto me while watching Charlie. Charlie looked at me and Lorena, stuck out his tongue, and said.

“Nyah! Nyaaaah!”

And then he ran far away.

“A-are you okay?”

Lorena said with a worried look. The pain was momentary, but the scent lingers forever. I savored her skin’s scent, pretending to be in pain a little longer. Alice came back beside me and said.

“That kid. He’s Mr. Hanson’s child, right?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“I’m sorry. He’s not usually this naughty. He’s just a bit mischievous and playful…”

“It’s okay. It’s okay. Kids can be like that.”

As I said that, I casually brushed off my pants. There was a small bruise where the stick hit, but a demon’s body can recover from such injuries quickly. I lightly shook my leg to show I was fine, then went back into the house with Alice.

“Dad! We have guests! They’re from the Charlotte Agency!”

And Lorena disappeared into the kitchen. As soon as I entered the house, the smell of alcohol made me scoff, and Alice’s expression soured. Empty bottles littered the floor, and a rather fine sword lay in the living room. Was he drinking, using his past as a knight as a chaser?

Faced with his miserable reality now, perhaps the sword and medals shining quietly were his only means of self-consolation?

“W-welcome…”

A cowering posture and eyes full of shame met us from the top of the stairs. Alice and I exchanged greetings with awkward expressions at his pathetic state. Lorena was preparing tea, but in this poor house, tea would surely just be warm water.

Alice said to Lorena.

“Ah, tea isn’t necessary. And, Mr. Jack. We’d like to talk upstairs for a bit. Could you go up first?”

“Ah, yes. Understood.”

Jack, who had descended the stairs silently, quickly scurried back up them. As soon as Jack opened the door and disappeared, Alice said to me.

“How is it?”

“I don’t feel anything. He doesn’t seem like a demon worshipper.”

We checked with the possibility of Jack being in league with the demon in mind, but if he were allied with the demon, he wouldn’t have put himself in a position to be suspected like this. We didn’t sense any magic either, so we decided he was definitely a victim in this incident.

“It’s, it’s humble.”

As he said, his room was messy and shabby. It smelled musty, unbelievable for a room that once belonged to a knight, and the bed looked like something homeless people would sleep on. Alice accepted the chair Jack offered and quietly sat down, while I stood beside her like a sturdy bodyguard.

“Jack. Among the people you met in town, was there anyone particularly memorable?”

“Huh?”

“While gambling or drinking, was there any outsider you got somewhat close to?”

“W-why are you asking about things like that…?”

Jack asked Alice again, struggling to recall faint memories. Alice pressed him with a stern expression.

“This is important, Jack. Try to remember. Among the people you met at drinking places, someone you confided in, or friends you gambled or drank with. Think of someone you met very recently.”

Jack was trying hard to recall. His mind, once sharp enough to solve bribery cases, was now so steeped in alcohol and gambling that even memorable encounters were lost in a drunken haze.

“Ah, um…!”

After pondering for a while, he suddenly opened his eyes wide and shouted.

“Ah… Ahh…! Y-yes! There was! There was a fellow who acted particularly friendly. We got close over drinks, and I remember confiding in him. When I told him how hard it was to quit gambling and drinking, he patted me on the shoulder and encouraged me.”

“When was the last time you saw that friend?”

“It was before the incident.”

Jack said that and then frowned, as if finding it strange himself.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that friend since the incident.”

Alice asked urgently. Her expression was like a hound spotting a fallen duck.

“Do you know where that friend lives?”

“He never told me where he lived, but… I remember seeing him head towards the forest at the edge of the ranch when we parted. I tried to stop him, saying it was dangerous, but I was tired and just went home.”

Alice and I exchanged a knowing glance.

“This is the bastard.”