My Reincarnation Skills Are “Playing With Dolls” and “Playing With Clay”, but What Am I Supposed to Do With These? C202

Episode 202 Civilian

They attack prostitutes in the middle of the night, put them to sleep, load them onto freight cars, and transport them out of the capital on the locomotives that leave at dawn...If you think about it that way, it makes sense. 

It's definitely a crime. 

But who, where, and for what purpose? 

“Then all you have to do is report it to the civil servant.”

As Thornton said, the client for this investigation quest is a civil servant, so it makes sense for him to go and report as an adventurer who received the request. This may be the end of the "investigation" quest. 

From now on, if we actually have to reload the freight cars or arrest the culprits, that's not the job of another adventurer's party, but that of a certain government authority. 

Melone, the prostitute who had accompanied us all this way, said goodbye and we headed to the tribune's office in Thornton. 

　

At the far end of the prime location where the palace of the marquis who ruled Garis was located, there was a tribune office with a small signboard. 

Although it is a government office, it is mainly for the common people, so it is easy to understand that it is positioned at the lowest end of the city. 

The tribune was a baron named Efmont Dirk. 

He is a slender, middle-aged man with a short beard, and seems to be a civilian rather than a military officer. 

<Efmont Dirk Human Male 38 years old Civilian LV13

Skills Governance (LV2) Negotiation (LV2)

Character appraisal (beginner level) Service (LV1)

Language knowledge (LV1) Intelligence increase (small)

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Contract

Ride (Lv2)

Sword technique (Lv2)>

"Baron-sama, it's been a long time."

"I remember, you were Thornton. Are you a guild employee now?"

It seems that he knew Thornton a little when he was an active adventurer. 

Thanks to that, even though I showed up without making an appointment, I was able to meet him easily. 

He listened intently to the story, telling me that the case of serial disappearances of prostitutes, which had not shown any progress up until now, had suddenly been solved. 

However, as soon as I mentioned the freight train, his expression stiffened. 

"You've done a good job of investigating...but is there any solid evidence?"

Is it evidence? I wonder if there are even trials in this world where physical evidence is piled up. Thornton didn't seem to be able to answer, so I explained. 

Maybe it was because he was a knight of the Elzark Kingdom, but he listened intently to what the young adventurer monk had to say. 

At the very least, he seems to be someone who faithfully fulfills his job of protecting the people as a civil servant. 

``...Unless we capture the scene, we won't have solid evidence, but tonight, if there's someone hiding near the freight car and trying to load suspicious cargo, we should be able to arrest him.So, the prostitute was forced to sleep. If it comes out, that's irrefutable evidence, isn't it?''

"Hmm, that's the only option..."

The Baron is deep in thought. 

``That railway was built with the help of the Marquis of Foote, Lord of the Engineering Department, and it still partly belongs to the Marquis.If it is true that it is being used for a crime, it will be a big problem...・”

Of course, that's the story. 

“Lord Shiro, I can say that this is a useful report for the ``investigation'' mission that I requested from the guild, but that is only if it turns out to be true.If it turns out to be wrong, it will damage the reputation of the Marquis and make people like me. It's a big problem that can't be solved with just one. In other words, I can't say it's complete until I confirm that. Could you please do one more job? 

　

　It was to be expected that he would say something like this. So, I'll give you the reply I had prepared. 

"I understand that it needs to be confirmed, but if it's a crime, it's not something that just an adventurer from another country should investigate, right? Besides, he's also in danger... ”

"Okay. From here on out, I'll just have to cooperate with the official investigation as a civil servant and as an adventurer. I also have to make arrangements with other appropriate authorities, tonight. I'll take my subordinates with me to the scene.Also, I'll get paid again, so I'll ask for something...''

I responded that I would cooperate as much as I could, keeping a low profile. 

Then, if the aristocrats were watching, criminals would be wary and not approach, so we decided to have the barons stay in a nearby building overlooking the station. 

Then, he stepped outside for a moment and introduced Lina, saying, ``I've brought a fellow wizard with me.'' In order to be able to connect with the baron using the magic of "long distance" when I meet him, I have a little conversation with him on the spot to get him to recognize him. 

What does it mean that Lina, who only looks like a teenager, is a high-level magician? was written on the Baron's face, but of course I won't explain that. 

Late at night, I visited the tribune's office again and met up with them, and as agreed, I had the baron and his guards spend the night on the upper floor of the public hall building overlooking the station. 

We also inconspicuously patrolled the streets where there were many prostitutes, secretly watching for anyone suspicious. 

However, the harvest was zero. 

At dawn, the station began loading cargo onto freight cars, so I moved there. 

I met up with Thornton from the Adventurer's Guild and watched the loading process from the shadows, but I couldn't find any particularly suspicious packages or people. 

Well, isn't it true that criminal groups diligently kidnap people every day? 

After watching the freight train depart on time with a vain feeling from afar, I headed towards the barons who had been keeping an eye on the station. 

"There was nothing. The soldiers say they didn't see anything suspicious while you were out on patrol."

“Are you sure they are kidnapping you this way?”

Both the Baron and Thornton seem to be half-trusting. 

At the moment, there is no solid evidence that ``prostitutes who have been put to sleep are loaded onto freight cars and carried away,'' so if we are suspected, we will lose confidence. 

"I can't stake out every night.Also, I actually have some night work that I'd like to ask an adventurer to do.Lord Shiro, I'm going to reorganize things for now, so please come to the office at dusk. Is it? The reward will be great.”

The baron hinted that he would give us some jobs that were a bit more lucrative. 

"Well, Shiro, I'm glad you asked for another job. Either way, you'll make money with this."

"Well, Thornton...then I guess I'll let you do that."

It's quite difficult to work all night and not see any fruit. 

"I'm grateful that adventurers from other countries worked so hard."

We parted ways with Thornton and returned to the inn, dragging our feet. 

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Then, the next day, around twilight on the 13th day of the waxing quarter. 

At the freight train station building, loading work was in progress. 

The amount of cargo itself is overwhelmingly larger from the regions to the royal capital. 

Only steam locomotives can transport heavy objects such as the wood and stone that support the capital city of Gallipoli, which is experiencing a boom in construction, as well as the iron used in the workshops. 

As the convenience and reliability of rail transportation has become well known, it has recently become useful for transporting foods such as vegetables and dried meat. 

On the other hand, although the amount of unloaded cargo is relatively small, it still includes clothing from brand-name stores mass-produced in factories in the royal capital, books that are surprisingly heavy, as well as woodwork and weapons made by top blacksmiths. This is a representative example of recent unloading. 

Among them, there are two freight cars dedicated to the Marquis of Foote, who can be said to be the person in charge of this railway. 

Although Galis is a technological powerhouse, the first long-distance railway line was finally constructed two years ago from the capital city of Gallipoli to the port city of Terzante. 

Although we pass through several towns on the way, passing through the Marquisate of Foote is actually a bit of a detour. 

However, since he was the proponent of the railway project and most of the construction costs were being borne by the marquis himself rather than out of the national treasury, this was considered a natural right. 

That's why regular freight cars loaded with cargo entrusted to the Garis Railway Corporation by shippers are subject to strict checks from the standpoint of safety and taxation, whereas freight cars exclusively for marquises are approved by the person in charge of the marquis's family. If you do that, you can effectively get away with no checks. 

On this day as well, cargo was transported in several carts and was loaded onto freight cars one after another under the direction of the person in charge. 

The special freight car is parked in a dimly lit area a little away from the station building, and the workers are different from the other freight cars. After loading, it will be moved and connected to other freight cars. 

The last thing loaded was a large wooden box with a picture of alcohol on it. The marquis' love of fruit wine is famous among the aristocrats. The box was so big that it seemed like there was an entire barrel inside. 

However, the people who brought it were men who didn't look like merchants or brewery employees, their faces hidden behind hooded cloaks. 

There are two wooden boxes. In the first case, four men lifted the four corners at the same time and slowly loaded them. 

And one more thing. Although the size was the same, this one was a little lighter and loading was quicker. 

Then, when the men came out of the wagon and tried to close the door, someone appeared to block them. 

"Huh? Hey, hey, what are you doing? No, who are you? In a place like this."

"I'd like to take a moment to review that load."

The young man was the one who put his hand on the door and prevented me from closing it. Black hair, black eyes, not Garis' human. The words were pronounced in an exotic way. 

"Here, outsiders are not allowed to enter here! In the first place, I was so upset when I found out that this was a private vehicle for the Marquis-sama."

"Huh? Is this the Marquis Hut's luggage? I didn't know that. What should we do? Your Excellency, Civil Servant."

“What!?”

When I turned around, there was a thin nobleman with five fully armed soldiers following him. 

Baron Efmont Dirk, a civil servant, is not a high-ranking aristocrat, but almost everyone living in Gallipoli knows his face. 

"I'm sorry, but I'm investigating a crime that threatens the safety of the citizens. I don't know that this is the marquis's wagon, and I'm sorry to say that, but with the investigating authority of the tribune based on the Duchy Act, I'm going to ask you to change the contents of this wagon."

With that declaration, three soldiers quickly raised their spears, and the remaining two stepped into the wagon without asking. 

"How intangible! I didn't ask you anything beforehand!"

A man who seemed to be a retainer of the marquis's family who was supervising the work, but he was not a nobleman and was dressed more like a servant, barely making a sound of protest. 

But the baron doesn't care. It is natural that investigations into fraud and crimes sometimes involve surprise investigations. 

The men in hooded cloaks carrying the cargo retreated, hiding their faces, but when the leader suddenly turned around, he saw three young women who looked out of place behind him, holding bows and hammers and trying to escape. was blocking the Before I knew it, the young man who had called out to them had drawn his sword and joined them. 

“Baron-sama, I found it, it’s a woman!”

The moment a voice rose from inside the wagon, the men realized that they could no longer pretend, so they all pulled out daggers from under their cloaks and tried to break through the encirclement. 

The Baron is a civilian official and can barely use a sword. In that case, the men tried to break through head-on, but three bodyguards stopped them and cut down two of the escapees. 

However, the remaining two seemed to have succeeded in breaking through. 

One of them fell down with the sound of an arrow, and a girl suddenly appeared from the darkness and pinned down the remaining one. 

"Carmilla, don't kill me, just catch me."

A young man shouted. 

A young man and a baron rushed to the spot and removed the hood of the leader-like man who had been arrested. 

The Baron spoke in a chilling voice. 

“Would you like me to tell you more details, Thornton?”

There, there was the face of an employee of the adventurer's guild who was supposed to be investigating the incident along with the baron and the others.