CH 164

Chapter 164 – Whereabouts of the Curse

“Captain Ivan, a fast horse from Roses.”

When I saw the official postcard brought by Sembeck, my second-in-command, I instantly wanted to go home. It had been less than three days since I had sent the “Demon King of Casemaian” off from the town of Sarz, where I was in charge of the Guard.

It had been a little more than two full days since they had left Sarz by horse-drawn sleigh. We were told that they were headed for Lafan, the fiefdom, and Roses was a stopover halfway between the two towns.

If Takifu or Mir (or both) caused a disturbance in Roses, it would take about two days for word to reach Sarz.

Just about now.

“Hey, give me a break…”

I thought of the faces of the people who had left town with them.

The ‘Battlecry’ who was one of the best adventurers in Sarz, and the veteran Calmon, whose party was full of scum but who had a good reputation as an individual. There should be nothing to worry about. They are all very smart. They are strong-willed, but they also have a certain amount of patience.

But they are not strong enough to hold the “Demon King” and the others. That’s right. No one has that kind of ability.

In fact, I heard that they were beaten to a pulp by Mir alone in a brawl at the Adventurers’ Guild. It was a story about a party that was fighting against the ‘Battlecry’ and the ‘Heroic Spirit’ Kiel and the others. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but even if I heard it half-truth, I was certain that she was no ordinary person.

The “Dusk” led by the former Imperial Army mage Maig, and the “Mole” mining fortress holed up by the female dwarf Cofina, Peyblois, and Beynan, who tried to commit a large-scale crime in cooperation with the bandit guild, and the breath of the bandit guild… And the shady characters who were working with the bandit guild.

All the people who had been involved with Takifu and Mir had vanished. No bodies, no equipment, no money, no supplies, no witnesses, nothing. It was as if they had never been there in the first place.

It is not normal for people to disappear without leaving any trace. Whether they were killed, kidnapped, or banished, they would have left behind some traces and information if you traced them back after they disappeared.

“That’s what happens when you fight with the Demon King…”

If the other members of the ‘Battlecry’ and I had made a mistake, we might have been included among them. It’s a lucky thing that we survived.

Sembeck, who had good instincts, looked at me with a strange expression on his face.

“Do you know anything about this?”

“Even if I did, I wouldn’t do anything about it. I’m busy. Just handle it properly.”

When I tossed him the mail from Roses, Sembeck made a blatantly uncomfortable face.

I’m the one who wants to look like that. What are you going to do, clean up after this?

Since the last time I spoke to Takifu, the ‘Heroic Spirit’ party of adventurers led by the red-haired Kiel has disappeared from the town. So did Helgin, the exclusive watcher for the bandit guild, who had to be let go due to a lack of evidence.

I don’t know where it all went down, but I’m sure it will never happen again. The trash of the town is gone, and the seeds of trouble have been swept away, only to be replaced by another problem.

A bigger, more mysterious problem.

Sembeck, who was opening the official mail, looked at me with a bitter expression.

“It’s a distress call from Roses.”

“Heh, don’t be ridiculous. The captain there is Edgar, a money-grubbing bastard. He’d rather die with the whole town in his arms than ask me for help.”

“Captain Edgar is missing. The only guard is Tafur there.”

Who’s that? Noticing my gaze, Sembeck shook his chin. A young messenger was standing at the entrance of the guard station.

“You’re Tafur…? Does that mean the town of Roses is currently without a guard? I don’t know what your business is, but how are the town’s defenses going?”

“The retired ex-guards are taking over on a temporary basis. The request form was written by the retired captain, Otes-san.”

“The “rock wall” Otes, huh? When I was a kid, he used to smack me around a few times.”

It is unsettling to have such old men guarding the town, but the Roses Guard was decent until the captain was replaced by the scum Edgar.

…Well, to a point, anyway.

“What happened? Was it an accident, an incident, a bunch of magical beasts running amok, or even a bandit attack?”

I snickered at last, and the new recruit Tafur’s eyes swam. The Roses Guard is rumored to be in cahoots with the bandit guild. There may or may not be guild hideouts all over town.

It’s not important, though.

“I don’t know. The church in the center of Roses was blown to pieces, and countless corpses were scattered throughout the town. The number of missing persons is estimated to be over a hundred.”

“Oh?”

Over a hundred, that’s almost half the people in town, isn’t it? And all of them were blown away… by the accident?

That can’t be right.

“Do you need a search?”

“No.”

The point is, it’s not a “missing persons” case at face value. It’s just that there are a lot of corpses, but they’re not in any condition to be identified.

The situation was probably determined by the previous captain of the guard (and current acting captain), Otes, not this incompetent greenhorn.

“The rest of you will take care of the bodies. You go report to Lafan. Even a rookie should be able to make that kind of decision. Why did you come all the way to Sarz?”

“That’s…”

It is about fifty miles from Roses to Lafan, but it is nearly seventy miles to Sarz. In all likelihood, the first place to go would be Lafan.

The new recruit Tafur is mouthing off and looking at me as if he has made up his mind.

…Oh, I don’t want to hear it.

I don’t know why, I thought from the bottom of my heart.

What the hell did you do, Takifu?

“According to Otes-san… the survivors, including us, seem to be cursed.”