episode_0136

“… I don’t want other people to hear it.”

As I leaned my chest against the backrest and looked straight ahead, the customer seemed conscious of me and said that. With the hood pressed even deeper. Lowering your voice completely.

What is it, steam is leaking out? Are you going to avoid it like this?

“Hmm, although he was a regular customer with a lot of secrets. It wasn’t this thorough, was it? Why are you like this today?”

“There are circumstances. If not, go to other information sources.”

“Ah, okay. Come inside. I will guide you to the inner room. Is that okay?”

“… Uh, go ahead. Walk ahead.”

After hearing the customer’s quiet command, the store owner shrugged his shoulders, stood up, and walked inside. The customer twitched his butt and followed suit.

There are some things you can’t hide no matter how much you wear a tattered hood. It’s the body shape. The pelvis and height cannot be hidden even with a hood.

Jumble-jump-.

Hmm, is it a woman? It’s the same with the faint moans I often made earlier, and the deliberately lowered voice. I’m sure it’s a woman.

Anyone who has only seen me at the academy should be afraid of Aru, not me. But the previous customer was clearly afraid of me.

Do you know that I am a demon? Put aside the question of how, and think about it.

There are two possibilities. The possibility that he knew that I was a demon from the demon world, and the assumption that he knew that I was a tyrant who terrorized the demon forest.

Common sense suggests that the former is difficult to achieve. Many demons in the demon world know that I disappeared without a word one day, but that happened 500 years ago. In the human world, as many as five ‘centuries’ have changed.

Even Beatrice, who gave me a new identity, doesn’t know that I came from the demon world. There is no way to make a connection. Unless you have regressed like me.

So, is that customer related to Masurim? I didn’t know that there were people other than our group living in Masurim. Let’s leave aside how we know the connection between Masurim’s Oscar and Academy student Evans.

“Hey, Aru. Take a good sniff of that person.”

“Woof?”

“I mean the smell, the smell. So that we can recognize each other when we meet again later.”

“It’s hard. I can’t smell it anymore.”

He gave orders to Aru, promising to move forward, but the answer he received was unexpected. I blinked.

“What does that mean? You don’t smell it? Is there something that doesn’t fit your nose?”

“It hasn’t happened since a while ago. As soon as I said it was the smell I had smelled, I erased it myself.”

“What? Well, then you should have said it sooner! Why didn’t you tell me!”

“I never asked you to speak! Kkkk!”

Ha, you bastard. Anyway, there is no time when it really helps.

I sighed and touched my forehead. Aru was still tearing, chewing, and tasting the meat.

“But you still remember the smell you smelled earlier, right? I will believe it.”

“Woof? I didn’t tell you to remember. I already let it go?”

“What, what? You can just think of it again! I can’t even do that!?”

“Krrrr… ! How much can you expect from a wolf’s memory! Don’t ask for ridiculous things!”

“Shut up! You useless, stupid son of a bitch!”

“Grrr! I’m not stupid! I’m smart enough!”

There is nothing more to talk about. The customers and the store owner have already disappeared inside, so it’s impossible to just attack them.

I left the bar with Aru. Unlike the day when the sun was shining, a drizzle was falling outside.

*****

Cold sweat ran down Frey’s neck. I wanted to get up right away, but I couldn’t because I thought it would attract more attention.

It was a challenge. The reason Frey came to the intelligence service in the first place was to request an investigation into suspicious people within the Academy, and Evans and the dog Aru were included in the category of those suspicious people.

‘Why, why are you staring at me like that… ! I wonder if he recognized me… ? no… Judging by Joker’s words earlier, I don’t know that much… ‘I can’t say for sure that he’s the Joker, though.’

The subject of the information request is watching, so how can you say, ‘Please investigate Evans and Aru’ in front of him? Frey chewed his lips, unable to do either this or that.

‘still… I got something. He, Evans doesn’t know about the narrow-eyed teacher. So, I visited Sunspot and requested information. The problem is that I don’t know either… Then who really is Mr. Squinted Eyes?’

Meanwhile, my mind was racing. In front of me, a woman with long black hair was urging a request, and behind her, Evans was staring with his eyes open and blue.

The situation was complicated in many ways. My mind was quite confused.

Plus, my stomach hurt. My stomach was itchy. It was because I had been in a state of tension for a few days and my physical condition was not good. Also, wasn’t the book almost caught by Evans just now?

Pa-an.

It was as if the watching eyes were penetrating into my heart. It seemed as if he was standing before him naked, with his hood torn off.

Evans’ eyes were so creepy that it gave me goosebumps.

My heart sank. If Evans, who is now presumed to be ‘him’, is discovered, and if Evans finds out about his plan and the circumstances behind what happened to him.

That future should never have come to pass. Because ‘he’ who found out the inside story will not move as he wants in the future.

Frey closed his golden eyes tightly. And then, he bravely spoke out.

“… I don’t want other people to hear it.”

The store owner, who heard that, looked a little surprised.

“Hmm, although he was a regular customer with a lot of secrets. It wasn’t this thorough, was it? Why are you like this today?”

“There are circumstances. If not, go to other information sources.”

“Ah, okay. Come inside. I will guide you to the inner room. Is that okay?”

“… Uh, go ahead. Walk ahead.”

I was slow to speak because I was nervous. Fortunately, the store owner didn’t ask any more questions, and Frey stood up and followed the store owner into the back of the bar.

Stepping slowly inside, she began to feel a sense of relief. Even though Evans and Aru were no longer in sight, there was no telling where they might be eavesdropping.

Fortunately, the presence of Evans and Aru was no longer felt. It meant leaving the bar. Frey breathed a sigh of relief and settled into the inner room that the store owner had guided him to.

“Okay, you probably don’t need the car anyway, so shall we talk about work first? What did you need?”

“… Character investigation,”

“Like the customers who just visited? How many people do you need?”

“Five. and… .”

“And?”

“The two people who just visited, including those two.”

At Frey’s words, the store owner was silent for a moment. Her red lips twitched thinly.

“It’s not the first time a customer becomes the target of a request, but it’s the first time a customer who just visited like this becomes the target.”

“In principle, there is no problem.”

“That’s right. however… Is your wallet okay? Five is a pretty big amount. At first glance, the customers just looked like they weren’t ordinary people.”

A somewhat suspicious question from the store owner. Frey wordlessly took out the check from his pocket.

‘I’m glad that I was able to make a lot of money through secret investments with the knowledge I gained. If it weren’t for Joker’s eyes, I would have invested in a sunny place… It is fortunate that we live in an era where the value of currency fluctuates so fluctuatingly.’

“Gasp. It’s a check with a lot of zeros, isn’t it?”

“The information must be that accurate. Otherwise, I won’t be able to entrust you with requests like this in the future.”

“That means if I do well this time, I’ll come back often in the future, right?”

“That’s because there is a lot of information to know. You guys are the most accurate.”

“Okay, good, good. It’s just good for us. So, do you know the exact names of the people you want to entrust the request to? I don’t even know the names of those who just went there.”

The store owner smiled brightly as she skillfully inserted the handed check into her cleavage. Her face was full of color.

While quietly staring at the store owner, Frey called out the names of the subjects of the investigation.

“The two who just visited are Evans and Aru. The boy is a student at Eden Academy named Evans Grant, and the beast dog is also a student at the academy named Aru. However, there is a high probability that a pseudonym was used.”

“Hoo, that’s fun. But they are both students? Even students use black dots these days?”

“… The name of the third request subject is Isaac. I’m a teacher at Eden Academy. His characteristic feature is that he has a slim body and narrow eyes.”

“Huh? Isn’t that what the customers just requested?”

“That’s right. So, complete their request and let me know as well. There’s nothing to lose to you, right?”

“Okay. It’s not that difficult. So what next? There are two left now, right?”

“The other two are also teachers at Eden Academy. Physical education teacher Johan and swordsman Beatrice. You know Beatrice well because she’s famous, right?”

“Okay then! I’ve had a few requests come in! We still have information about the Iron Blood teacher!”

“… You gave me a lot of money. Work as much as you get and bring it back. Find out more, more closely, about his recent activities and personal relationships. Only then does it make sense to write that kind of check.”

“Okay, okay. Don’t worry, I’m writing it down. It’s our sunspot. Beatrice, John, Evans Grant, Aru, and Isaac. Right?”

Crunchy-.

Frey nodded briefly, listening to the gentle sound of coal carving on paper.

“But this time, the request fee is a bit large. Much more than usual.”

“Because it’s important. Please investigate more closely, especially regarding Evans. Even the chef of yesterday’s dinner.”

“… Indeed, you are not wasting your money? I didn’t give you a lot of money for nothing.”

The store owner said with a smile. Even though she received a complicated request, the smile did not disappear from her mouth.

Rattling-.

“I’ll just get up.”

“Oh my, are you going already? Do you have any more questions? As I am a regular customer, I can provide some service.”

“No need. You know.”

“Hehe, I’m being reticent.”

Frey turned his back on the smiling store owner and walked straight outside the bar. She was very alert and did not let down her guard until that moment.

After opening the wooden door, Frey did not throw himself out right away. First, she stuck out her head and turned her head to both sides to look around.

There was no one in the narrow alley. There was a quiet atmosphere that felt like a bitch.

Confirming the scene, Frey sighed in relief.

“Whew… You went.”

“Huh? Who’s going? Me? I haven’t gone yet?”

“… !”

Quack-!

The moment Frey was about to rush into the tavern, something standing above the door grabbed the back of her neck. Then, a powerful force crushed her, Frey’s resistance was easily overcome, and her face fell to the ground.

“Ahh!”

“Ahaha, I was just going to go, but I’m wrapped up so tightly that I should be able to hold back my curiosity. Okay, shall we take it off now? Let me check to see who heard it inside?”

“Stop it! Don’t do it!”

“Ah, if actions were stopped with just a few simple words like that, there would be no such thing as crime in the world. Don’t worry too much though. Because it won’t cause any harm. Maybe?”