TENKEN 407 (1287 words)
Reunion in an Unexpected Place
As we left the Adventurer's Guild, we immediately went to Count Olmes's villa. We erased our presence and look at the mansion from a distance.
(Master, that's its)
『I see, so that's a scorpion lion』
Fran is pointing to the gate pillar of the mansion in front of Count Olmes's villa. Certainly, it was the mansion of Count Bailleys.
As expected, the gate of the residence of an aristocrat is quite large. The gate pillar alone was over 10 meters high. And a majestic statue of a manticore set up on the top was staring at the street as if protecting the gate.
If we follow that statue line of sight, it certainly seemed to be facing the villa of Count Olmes. And then, it would be perfect if there was a valkyrie in front of that line of sight.
We can't look inside because of the high wall. I thought we can sneak in a little bit, but it's too risky so i hesitated. This is because i could already feel the magic barriers even from the outside. Moreover, its strength is mid rank. And it seems, Count Olmes's villa has stronger barrier than Marquis Ashtner.
Fran was really eager to go. I stopped her with all of my might. No way, are your talk with Eliante before was a lie.....That was close.
『...Let's take a look from the sky. I'm going for a while. So, don't move a step from there will you?』
「Nn」
Fortunately, it's night. Even if i make some flashy move, i won't stand out. Even more so if it's just me.
I moved to the sky by teleporting. I teleported a little higher because i have to take a great care to not touch the barriers of the mansion. I can feel the barrier magical power, it seems to have covered the mansion in a spherical shape.
While i were stationary in the sky. I turned my gaze to the garden of Count Olmes's villa. I utilize all my skills to observe every corner of the garden, and i found it.
『There! It's the statue of a war maiden』
There was a stone statue of a war maiden installed on the center of a fountain. Dressed in armor, and have the appearance of a maiden, there's no doubt about it. It also coincides with the line of sight of the stone statue of manticore.
I have confirmed it, and i teleported to Fran again
『I'm back』
「Okaeri, how was it?」
『It's a bingo, this is the right place』
「Great」
But it is not possible to tell what's going on inside the mansion just by looking at it from above. Of course, i can't even confirm where Gallus was.
『There's not much can be seen from the outside, but there are quite a few people inside』
「Nn」
By sensing the presence, it was clear that there were too many guards. Moreover, most of the guard are facing inward rather than outside, as if they were guarding to prevent something to escape.
『Urushi, can you smell him?』
(whimper...)
『No good huh』
(woof)
It seems the mansion also has a wind-type barrier. This may be blocking the sound and smell.
(What will we do?)
『I hope i could locate where Gallus was confined』
We decided to walk around the Count's residence to find any clues. I can sense considerable number of guards are patrolling the mansion. But they shouldn’t be aware of us yet.
However, when we were walking around, Urushi reacted to something. He is eagerly sniffing around our surroundings.
『Is it Gallus?』
「woof」
He is shaking his head, maybe it's something different.
(woof!)
Urushi started walking to lead us. What's more is he seems to be reminding us to erase our presence with dark magic. We didn't mind our magic consumption, and we used our magic and skills and went into covert mode. We are confident that even if we pass in front of ordinary people, they won't notice us.
We followed Urushi while keeping our distance from Count Olmes's villa. From there go through a back alley and follow the route around the main street that runs in front of Marquis Ashtner mansion.
(woof)
Then, just before the exit of the back alley. Urushi suddenly stopped. Urushi slowly puts his head out and looks at the street. We also followed Urushi and slowly looked into the main street.
『That is, a vagrant huh?』
(woof!)
Urushi is staring across the street as seen from the alley we were lurking. There was an entrance to an alley slightly closer to Marquis Ashtner mansion. There was a vagrant wearing a large rag cloth. It's not uncommon for a big city like the royal capital. In fact, we've seen a lot of them.
But it was unusual for one to be in the noble district, but it's in a blind spot in that place. it's possible that patrolling guards may not even notice it.
However, after watching for a while, I noticed the strangeness of the vagrant.
『I can't feel his presence』
「Nn. That magical power is strange」
『....Are he used a skill to hide his presence』
It seems to be not your everyday vagrant. He is quite a talented person. At the very least, the covert skill of his can be comparable with C rank adventurers.
『From there....maybe he's monitoring Marquis Ashtner residence』
The vagrant's line of sight is facing the front gate of Marquis Ashtner residence.
Even so, Urushi can notice this vagrant from such a distance. Did he feel the faintness and unnaturalness? When I was wondering so, the vagrant turned around. He goes into the back alley. Did he notice us?
For the time being, we decided to follow after him while erasing our presence. We didn't take the alley where the vagrant went in.
We used the alley next to it, and following him along while maintaining a certain distance. Even if we lose sight of him, we can still find him with Urushi's nose.
And because of it, we were able to trail around without being noticed by the vagrant. We continued to trail him through the alleys of this noble district.
Perhaps he didn't think he were being watched; he took off his robe he was wearing from his head. It seems he stopped pretending to be a vagrant.
From under it, a surprisingly firm body emerges. He clearly has a trained muscle and appearance of a warrior honed in combat. I felt that the man's ability was about C rank scout, but it seems that was a mistake. Obviously, scouts are not his main job, but the poise of those who live with battle.
But, his face was familiar. Why is he here?
(Colbert?)
『Yeah, without a doubt』
(woof!)
He is a B ranked adventurer who helped our stalls in Barbra, and we confronted him as a strong opponent in the fighting tournament. A fighter who crushes a demon beast with his fist. He is the Iron Claw Colbert.
Probably Urushi reacted because he remembered Colbert's smell. And also, because we fought together hand-in-hand against Linford.
(What now? Call him?)
『...hmm, what to do?』
Although he is not a stranger, doesn't mean we are always an ally now. We should be careful while we didn't know who hired him as an adventurer. I don't think he would personally watch over Marquis Ashtner unless he has his own circumstance.
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