Chapter 27 The One Who Desires Gold
"Someone stole money from your guys party?"
"Yes..."
In a separate room at the tavern.
Me, Maia, and Teti were listening to the client's story.
By the way, Fran said, "I have to gather information, so I'll excuse myself," and left.
――The client this time was a group of three adventurers.
It's not uncommon for requests to want their stolen money back and make the thief pay compensation.
However, there was something a little different about this request.
"I can't forgive that woman!"
"Just because she has a cute face, she stole our money!"
"Darn it, that was money we all saved up together!"
"..."
The adventurers who were the clients were all men, and it seemed they were all stolen from by the same person.
They were in separate parties, each led by a different person.
"I see. So, it's a repeat offender targeting adventurer parties' money. And to think the culprit is a woman."
According to what I heard from the client, there were four common points in this theft incident.
First, all the clients are members of relatively high-ranking adventurer parties.
Second, only money was stolen, and there were no other damages like harming party members.
Third, the person suspected to be the culprit is a new female adventurer who recently joined the party and committed the crime shortly after joining.
And the fourth point - according to the clients, this female adventurer is very beautiful.
...
Well, the last point doesn't really matter.
"But, all of you are leaders of high-ranking parties, right? So, even if money was stolen, does that mean this female adventurer is quite skilled too?"
Maia, who was next to me, voiced her doubts.
It seemed like a reasonable assumption, but...
"""Th-that is..."""
The clients, adventurers themselves, all fell silent.
It seems very difficult to talk about how their money had stolen."
――The clients are all men with skills. They could easily be leaders who manage money. And the culprit is said to be beautiful.
....
"I see. Fell for some seduction, huh?"
"Oh no! Executor-sama, please don't say that!"
"Even if you say that..."
I sighed as I watched the adventurers scratching their heads.
"Hey, Maia, what does 'seduction' mean?"
"It basically means a honey trap, Teti-chan."
"Honey trap?"
"...Teti, you don't need to know."
Stopping Maia and Teti's conversation, I sighed again.
――Well, I see.
So, that's why the clients couldn't consult the Adventurers Guild and came to me instead.
Reporting that 'My own greed led to my money being stolen' would be difficult.
Even though they're in charge of managing their party's money, I can't help but feel like they've been completely swindled.
But it's true that the money was stolen, and from what I hear, they seem genuinely troubled.
"Got it. I'll take on the request."
"""Th-thank you so much!!!"""
The three of them bow their heads together.
"But, not to sound too high and mighty, if you're managing money, you should be a bit more cautious. Especially when it's your friends' money."
"""Y-yes..."""
Seeing the adventurers looking truly remorseful, I decided to ask for more details about this matter again.
"So, any idea where that woman might be?"
"W-well, actually. After the money was stolen, she disappeared without a trace..."
If we don't know her whereabouts, this is going to be quite challenging.
"Can you remember anything about her? Like any distinctive physical features?"
The adventurers each respond to my question.
When I gather their answers, here's what I got:
- She has long red hair.
- She's about the same height as me and Maia.
- She looks like she's in her late teens.
- The names she gave them were all different, probably all fake names.
――It seems like there are many people who fit the same criteria, so there's still a lack of information.
Even if I ask the informant Fran, it'll be tough to search with just these clues.
When it was Teti, she could find her because she was a rare beastman, but it seems difficult to identify based only on the characteristics mentioned by the adventurers. What should I do...
"Hey, Adel."
"Hmm?"
As I was lost in thought, Teti tugged at the edge of my clothes.
"Hey, those people all smell the same."
"Smell?"
"It's the same as the flowers in the tavern. Maia explained that it smells nice and is sometimes used in perfumes."
"Oh... could it be (Iris Rosen) then, Teti-chan?"
"Yeah, I think that was the name."
"If all three of them have the same smell..."
When I checked, all three of them admitted, "Come to think of it, that woman was wearing perfume."
In other words, the female culprit regularly wears a perfume called (Iris Rosen).
Additionally, according to Maia, that flower is very rare, so only a few people wear it.
This could be a big clue.
――I never thought Maia's training would come in handy... I'm grateful to Marie for delivering the flowers.
"By the way, Teti, you have a good nose to notice the scent even after all this time from the lingering fragrance of the three."
"Yeah, beastmen have a keen sense of smell. If it helped, then that's good."
When I pet Teti, she happily twitched the ears growing from her head.
Anyway, if Teti works hard, we might be able to track down the female culprit.
I informed them that I would start tracking down the culprit the next day and bid farewell to the adventurers who hired me.
――And then, the next day.
"We're close. This way."
Guided by Teti, we found the woman.
――The appearance matches the description we heard. That's the culprit.
As I, Maia, and Teti observed from a distance behind some objects, a woman was entering a certain facility.
"That is..."
Looking at the facility, I unintentionally muttered.
It was an old orphanage, and the female culprit was being welcomed by the children.
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