1096: Esmeralda's Request

「Getting down to business, I want you to search for Raydoss spies, as well as any noble families suspected of committing treason.」

「Nobles too?」

Old lady Esmeralda suddenly started explaining her request, which left Fran a little puzzled.

Searching for spies was fine, though barely within the scope of an adventurer’s job. But should you really be asking adventurers to take down nobles committing treason?

「Yeah, but don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not asking you to take the lead or anything. We just don’t have enough manpower, so we need any help we can get. Besides, we won’t need to hide anything from you.」

「?」

「Remember this? You’re the source, right?」

Esmeralda took out a sheet of paper, which appeared to be a rather long list.

After taking a closer look, I realized that it was quite similar to the list we found from the slavers.

Of course, now it makes sense. This list contains all of the clients who are nobles or merchants within the Kingdom of Kranzel.

「Hyah-hyah-hyah, you really turned it in at the perfect time. All of the idiots who might have made it disappear are long gone, and your name backing it gives it more credibility. You might not look like it, but you really know your stuff, eh?」

She’s overestimating Fran! It seems Esmeralda thought Fran purposely hid the list until her adventurer rank rose high enough to make her credible.

「The timing truly was perfect. Kukuku… National law prohibits the trade of illegal slaves, and anyone ignoring the law is asking to get their asses kicked. Now we have our pretenses.」

「However, removing too many noble families will also cause chaos…」

Esmeralda scoffed at the maid’s argument.

「Hah! So what? It looks like our agents have gotten soft while I was sipping tea in retirement. This is exactly why the nobles are getting full of themselves. Look, you need to keep them scared. They should be terrified of the consequences of going against us. That’s the only deterrent that will lead our country to stability.」

「…But…」

「No buts! Annihilate your enemies, and crush the guilty! If something looks suspicious, you investigate until you find something! Otherwise, what’s the point of our agents! In the first place, why is a little girl like you trying to talk back to me!?」

「…Ahh!」

「!」

In an instant, Esmeralda emitted a tremendous amount of killing intent. It was both dense and deep, like the pressure one would feel at the bottom of the sea. Even this maid, who seemed to be a high-ranked agent, turned pale and started trembling.

Fran, too, almost went into a combat stance. Esmeralda definitely had a powerful aura befitting the former head of the intelligence division. The fact that she looked so weak must be because we could not perceive through her disguise.

「Sorry you had to see that, missy. These young ones have gotten so ill-behaved. I guess I’ll have to re-discipline all of them.」

「Nn. That’s all right.」

「Hyah-hyah-hyah! I’m impressed that you didn’t even flinch!」

「So, what about the request?」

「Oh, yes, of course. Us old folks tend to go off on tangents a lot. After the incident with that Ashtner fool, we took down most of his crew too. But there are still a number of nobles in the capital connected to Raydoss. It’s very likely they’re covering for Raydoss’s spies. You with me so far?」

「Nn.」

「So we want to take down all these traitorous nobles, but investigating them takes too much time. In that case, why not get them on a different set of charges? That’s where this list comes in handy.」

Makes sense. Arrest them for slave trading rather than the alleged connection to Raydoss.

「You’re a good fighter who can sneak around, and you already know about the list so there’s no confidentiality issue. That’s why I want you on the case. How about it?」

Esmeralda handed us a request paper, which looked fine to me.

（Master, can I?）

『Yeah, might as well take them out.』

Nobles involved in the slave trade are as bad as Raydoss in Fran’s mind. If she can crush them with the government’s stamp of approval, then she would not hesitate to do so.

Fran accepting this request was inevitable.

「…Okay. I’ll take it.」

「Great! You’re a big help!」

Wait, hasn’t it only been a few days since we provided the list? Did they really have the time to double check if everything was accurate? Fran asked about that, and Esmeralda smirked.

「We found the traces of a proper contract on that list of names, making it a magical document. Well, they probably kept it in case they ever wanted to blackmail the nobles.」

We never noticed anything like that, but it seems like their alchemists managed to find out more than us.

Moreover, the signatures and seals found on the documents were identical to those on previously found slave contracts. Kranzel determined that the documents were authentic as a result.

In addition, all the nobles on the list had previously worked for Marquis Ashtner’s faction, and the government was searching for any excuse to investigate them. Even if the evidence wasn’t solid, ridding themselves of the nobles was a higher priority.

「Why are you telling me so much?」

「Because you’ve pretty much been involved since the beginning, and already took the job. Better work hard, alright?」

「Nn. I’ll take care of it.」

Esmeralda seems to want us to start immediately. She threw some kind of object at us.

「Put that on, missy.」

「What’s this?」

「A mask with a recognition blocking effect.」

The mask was the type to cover her eyes rather than her mouth, slightly resembling a masquerade mask. It was completely black with gold on the edges, which made it seem a bit edgy.

「It doesn’t provide any defense, but it makes your face hard to recognize. Grudges from the nobles are rather annoying, so keep it on.」

「Okay.」

『This is a pretty high-quality item.』

I was wondering how Fran should disguise herself, but this solves the issue.

「Give it back when you’re finished with the request. That thing can be dangerous in the wrong hands.」

『Aw, of course!』

We weren’t allowed to keep it, since assassins and such would do anything to get their hands on something like this.

「First, we’re sending you to the mansions of some nobles who have been acting suspiciously.」

「Nn.」

「Their fate has already been decided, so feel free to go all out.」

「Got it.」

『Wait! You need to hold back!』

（?）

If Fran really goes all out, the surrounding region will get blown to smithereens too!

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