Volume 4 Chapter 10 Investigation Request
Leda was amazed by Al's magic and kept asking him how he did it, but no matter how much she tried to copy him, she couldn't. They continued their patrol, and Al kept defeating goblins and lizardmen effortlessly. Al's Magic Missile spell was shocking even to the guard team, and they couldn't hide their surprise.
When Al's shift ended and he reported to the next guard, one of them spoke up.
"Wow, that's impressive. You're the magician who was with Barbara when you took down that bloody bandit group about 3 months ago, right?"
"Eh? How do you know that?"
The guard's name was Plasida. He explained that he was part of the guard team that came to collect the captured bandits after Al and Barbara had rescued Russ and the others.
"You might not remember, but I was with Captain Ives back then. On the way to the ruined village, Barbara was praising you a lot. I thought she was exaggerating, but now I see she was right. You're amazing."
Al scratched his head, feeling shy. He didn't think he did anything special.
"Back then, it was Ms. Barbara who was incredible, and today I just did well because our position was solid. I just attacked the careless Barbarians from the hilltop, that's all."
"Well, I think there's more to it than that... After defeating the bloody bandits, what happened next? You went to the same school as Sir Naresh, right? I thought you'd get a recommendation from him and serve the Viscount, maybe even become the boss."
"No, no, I'm not that important..."
Al replied, but then he suddenly realized something. The two people he felt he recognized looked a lot like the men who had been watching Russ' wife, Louren, when they arrived in the border city of Lester with Russ.
"Hey, Mr. Placida, um, what happened to the members who got away from the bloody bandits?"
Al asked quickly.
"The ones we caught are probably working in the barbarian processing facility, chained up for forced labor. But the others who escaped... we never found them."
Al described the events when they reached the city of Lester. Bandits captured Russ and demanded a ransom. They also watched his family. When Al tracked them, he was attacked. He noted that two attackers looked like two men from the group following their caravan.
"Wow, that's an interesting story. But do you have any proof? It might be okay if it's about nobles, though."
Al shook his head. There was no clear evidence. Of course, the hidden chest could be solid proof because of the 'Conceal' spell, but Al didn't want to explain its existence. Hearing that there was no evidence, Placida fell deep in thought.
"Okay. I'll report to Captain Jonas about the man suspected of being a thief. I trust Al if he says so, but it will be up to Captain Jonas to decide, so keep that in mind."
Al nodded, feeling relieved he could finally share his concerns. He had even considered giving an anonymous tip. Now, the guard team would be more alert, and Al could watch without raising suspicion.
"Well then, I'm going to switch out."
"Yeah, good night."
Waving to Placida, Al headed towards Eric's carriage. Leda had already returned to the carriage and seemed to be starting the handover with Fitz, who was next on duty.
"Al, I need to talk a bit more with Mr. Fitz, so please go ahead and sleep. You can use the seats in the carriage."
Al nodded and agreed. Leda likely had important details to share. She figured sleep during camping was important, so he shouldn't stay awake. Al sat in the carriage, took a blanket from his backpack, and spread it out. The ground was wet from the rain, so he was thankful for a dry place to rest.
"His magic is strange..."
Leda seemed to say that to Fitz by the campfire outside, but Al was tired from his first day as a guard and fell asleep without paying attention to it.
* * *
The next morning, while getting ready to leave, Kane came to Al with guard Placida. Eric bowed to Kane. Al thought about the power dynamics for a moment but kept his thoughts to himself.
"Good morning, Alfred... I mean, Al. It feels a bit strange."
"Good morning, Sir Kane."
When Al replied like that, Kane shook his head. He looked like he disagreed.
"Please, no 'Sir Kane.' Mr. Eric talks politely even to someone like me, a lowly Internal Affairs Minister apprentice. I've asked him not to treat me like that. Anyway..."
Kane changed the subject. He mentioned that Al did well in the morning meeting and that there was a report about a suspicious man among the thieves. Baron Hawthorne, the leader of the caravan, wanted Al to gather more information.
"His Excellency Hawthorne is a bit arrogant, but he has a lot of power in the Internal Affairs. He's also close to Sir Naresh. I'm trusted as a friend of Sir Naresh too."
"Yeah..."
Al nodded slightly, thinking about Kane's words. He wondered if there were groups like Naresh's in the Viscount family that ruled Lester, the border city. Naresh was the second son, not the heir. Al remembered when Naresh said in middle school that he would support his older brother and become a great knight.
"When I explained that you were in middle school with Sir Naresh, he decided to let you and Mr. Placida investigate the 3 people you mentioned."
Not bad, but it feels like things are getting a bit complicated... Al thought this, but he also wanted to investigate the 3 of them himself. For now, he nodded.
"I see. What about Mr. Eric?"
"Yeah, I explained to Mr. Eric that Al would handle that investigation. Mr. Fitz looked a bit unhappy about it, though. For now, I want you to talk to Mr. Placida and think about what you want to do. After that, I'll coordinate with Mr. Eric and Captain Jonas of the guard team. Is that okay?"
Al had no choice but to nod. Then he turned to Placida. He made a fist and gestured like he was ready to give it his all. Maybe he saw this as a chance to rise up. Al felt a bit of a headache from this unexpected turn of events.
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