The Capital City of the Kingdom Part 4
Translators: Frostfire10, Skythewood
The next day.
Someone had knocked on the door, and Sebas walked towards it. He lifted the cover of the door's peephole.
He could see a plump man outside, and Royal Army soldiers waiting for orders behind him on either side.
The plump man was neatly attired, and he wore well-tailored clothing. He had a weighty badge on his chest which reflected a coppery light. His sweaty red face was also packed with fat and had an oily sheen to it, probably from too many rich meals.
At the back of the procession was a strange-looking man.
His pale, sallow skin looked like it had never seen the sun before. His eyes were keen and his scrawny face looked like some predator — a corpse-feeding scavenger, in fact. His dark clothes hung loosely about him, and he must certainly have weapons about his person.
He radiated a scent of blood and malice, which prickled on Sebas' sixth sense.
—An assassin?
Sebas believed so, but he could not make a decision with just this. So he asked the natural question.
"…May I know who is calling?"
"I am a government official, Bloom Havish] (Burumu)
The fat man at the head of the group spoke in a whiny high pitched voice and introduced himself—As Bloom.
Why an official? Is he not an assassin? While Sebas was confused, Bloom continued.
"I trust you know that the Kingdom's laws prohibit the trafficking of slaves… That law was proposed by Princess Renner herself and put into effect after being reviewed by Parliament. The report I received indicates that the inhabitants of this domicile have violated that law. Thus, I wish to investigate the matter."
Could you let me in. Bloom ended the conversation with those words. Sebas was confused, but at the same time he was strongly aware that something dangerous was about to happen.
Several excuses such as 'his master was not home' floated around in his head, but it had a high chance of being found out.
There was no guarantee that Bloom was actually who he said he was either.
The Kingdom's public servants all had to wear badges like Bloom did, but there was no telling if he was a legitimate state employee. For all he knew, it might be counterfeit — though the penalty for doing so was very severe.
There would be no problem should several people enter the mansion. Sebas could easily take care of them.
There was no telling what Bloom thought of Sebas' pensive silence, but he opened his mouth to speak.
"If I may, could I have an audience with the master of the house? While it cannot be helped if the master is not in, we are here to conduct an investigation. Things will go poorly if we return empty-handed."
Bloom smiled. There was no sign of humility in that smile. It concealed undertones of intimidation through the abuse of power.
"Who is that man behind you?"
"Hm? His name is Succulent. He represents the establishment which reported this incident to me."
"I'm Succulent. Pleased to meet you."
Succulent thinly laughed like an assassin.
After seeing that cold smile, Sebas' felt a sense of defeat creeping up on him.His cold smile was like that of a cruel hunter mocking his prey as it stepped into his trap. He must surely have made all the proper arrangements with all the appropriate parties before strutting up to him, bold as brass. That being the case, Bloom was most likely a proper official. This was as they would avoid bringing over a fake official which could expedite the problem.
They would surely be prepared for any refusals on his part. That being the case, he ought to see what they had in store for him.
Sebas decided as such.
"…I understand. I shall inform the Young Mistress forthwith. I hope you will be so kind as to wait here for a moment."
"Very well, we'll wait, we'll wait."
"However, please be swift about it. We do not have all day."
Succulent sneered at him, while Bloom shrugged.
"Understood. Then, please excuse me."
Sebas lowered the cover of the peephole and turned towards Solution's room. Before that, however, he had to tell Tsuare to hide inside the house—
The two that were guided in showed faces of extreme surprise when they saw Solution. Since the soldiers were waiting outside, only the two of them had entered the room.
Their faces said that they had not expected to see such a beautiful woman. Bloom's expression slowly turned lewd, his eyes roving between her face and her ample bosom. There was a dark look of lust in his eyes and he swallowed multiple times.
In contrast, Succulent's face gradually tightened up, unwilling to relax. It was clear which of them was more worthy of caution. Sebas bade them take a seat on the sofa opposite Solution.
Solution, who was already seated, exchanged names with Bloom and Succulent, who were just settling in.
"Then, what is the matter?"
Bloom coughed annoyingly.
"A certain establishment reported that someone had taken away one of their workers. At the same time, I heard that the person responsible had paid a great deal of dirty money to another worker. Our country prohibits the trafficking of slaves… doesn't that sound like breaking the law to you?"
"Oh, really?"
Her tone nearly made the two of them surprised. They were clearly trying to intimidate her, but they had not expected a response like that from her.
"Sebas will handle all the troublesome bits. Sebas, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Is, is that alright? If things go poorly, you might become a criminal."
"Ooooh, I'm soooo scared. Inform me when I'm about to become a criminal, Sebas."
Solution showed a full faced smile as if greeting them, and stood up. Nobody could stop her as she left. In that instant, they realised exactly how powerful a beautiful woman's smile could be.
Before the door's latch could slide home, they could hear gasps of surprise as the soldiers outside were startled by Solution's good looks.
"—Then I shall hear you two gentlemen out on the Young Mistress' behalf."
Sebas took a seat before them with a smile. Bloom shrank back as he saw his smile, but Succulent decided to speak up on his behalf to help retain control of the situation.
"Just as well. I'll tell you then, Sebas-san. As Havish-san told you at the door, one of the people at our… establishment has gone missing. We questioned a man, and he said that he had handed her over for money. I thought; was this not slave trafficking, which is forbidden in the Kingdom? I was unwilling to believe that one of our employees could actually do such a thing, but I had no choice but to report it."
"Just so. The crime of human trafficking is not forgivable, just as Renner-sama says. And so, I am unable to say anything but that Succulent-kun who reported someone who worked for him is extremely commendable!"
"Thank you, Havish-sama."
What kind of farce is this, Sebas thought. Meanwhile, his mind worked. The two of them were clearly in cahoots. That being the case, it was almost certain that they had taken ample precautions before launching their campaign. That being the case, his defeat was certain.
What was Sebas' victory conditions.
Sebas had to suppress his brows from twitching.
As the Land Steward of Nazarick, Sebas' win condition was eliminating the problem and not letting things pile up. Protecting Tsuare was definitely not part of that.
However—
"I believe the man who claims to have taken the money may have borne false witness. Where is he now?"
"He was arrested on suspicion of slave-trading and is in custody now. After questioning him, we managed to learn—"
"—The identity of the person who bought our employee, who would be you, Sebas-san."
Sebas pondered whether he should act dumb, lie, or deliver a stern and upright rebuttal.
What if he said she was not in the house? What if he said she were dead? Numerous lines popped into his head, but none of them sounded like they would work, and the opposition would probably not give up easily.
"Still, what led the two of you to me? What proof do you have?"
That was what baffled Sebas. He had not left any trace of his name or identity. They should not have been able to find any evidence pointing to him. However, the two of them were here. How had they found him? He was always very careful during his excursions and wary of being followed. He did not think anyone in this city could follow him without being spotted.
"It was the scroll."
Hearing Succulent's answer, Sebas' immediate response in his head was a question. But he then understood.
—The scroll he had bought in the Magician's Guild.
The workmanship of that scroll was exquisite, and it was certainly no ordinary scrap of parchment. Anyone who could recognize a scroll like that would be able to tell that it was purchased from the Magician's Guild. From there is was a simple matter to investigate what sort of man he was.
Especially for someone who stood out like Sebas, who wore a butler's outfit.
Still, that alone would not prove that Tsuare was here. He could also insist that there was someone else who happened to look like him.
However, he would be in trouble if they said they were going to search the house. Indeed, they would discover that only three people lived in this home, including Tsuare.
That being the case all he could do was come clean. Sebas decided as such.
"…I did take her away. That is a fact. However, she was heavily wounded at that time, and I was forced to do so because I feared her life would be in danger."
"In other words, you admit to buying her."
"May I speak to that man you mentioned?"
"Unfortunately, we cannot allow that. Things would be bad if you were allowed to match up your stories."
"You could always—"
—Listen in while we were talking. Sebas wanted to say that, but he shut his mouth.
In the end, they had planned the whole thing out. Even if he did find that man, it was not likely that the situation could be made to favor him. Continuing with this approach was only a waste of time.
"…Before we go into that, do you not that think that allowing her to sustain such severe injuries while working is more problematic in the eyes of the nation? Are there not laws against that too?"
"Conditions in our establishment are harsher than most. Injury is unavoidable. Consider that working in mines and the like also includes the risk of occupational hazards. It's the same thing."
"…I doubt they are the same thing."
"Hahaha. We're in the service industry. You meet all sorts of clients there. We do pay attention, you know. Alright, I get your point. We'll be more careful next time— Yes, a little more careful."
"Just a little?"
"Ah, yes. Worrying too much about details costs money, you know. Causes problems too."
Succulent sneered at Sebas' question. In turn, Sebas smiled.
"—Alright, that's enough." Bloom interrupted Sebas' rebuttal with a sigh. It was like he was handling a fool. He then explained his thoughts to Sebas. "My duty is to verify that slave trafficking was going on. Employee welfare is another matter entirely. All I can say is that it has no bearing on the case."
"…Then, can you tell me who are the people who specialize in problems like these?"
"…Hm, I'd like to tell you, but there are some difficulties in doing so. Regretfully, sticking one's nose into others' business will only earn you resentment."
"…Then, please wait until I find the relevant people first."
Bloom grinned evilly, as though to say, "I was waiting for you to say that."
Succulent had the same sort of look as him.
"…Ah, I would like to wait for that, but the business has already filed a case, so I must arrest you and begin investigations. It's out of my hands."
In other words, he was out of time.
"Given the situation and the circumstantial evidence, you're clearly guilty, but the plaintiff has said that they're willing to go easy on you. Compensation will be needed to smooth things over, of course, and destroying the documentation related to the slave-trading offense will also require a bit of money."
"What exactly do you mean by smoothing things over?"
"Well now. We'd like you to return our employee."
Sebas expected the answer and nodded in his heart. And as if that was not all, he shook his head.
"In addition please make up for the loss of income incurred while you were holding on to her."
"I see. And how much is that?"
"In gold coins….Yes." Succulent looked around at the room, "300 of them."
"….That is an extremely high price, but how did you determine it. How much does she earn a day?"
"Hang, hang on a bit," Bloom interrupted. "That's not all, Succulent-kun."
"Ah, I almost forgot. Since I've already made a report, you'll need to pay to destroy that as well, even if you settle the matter with us under the table."
"That's right. How could you have forgotten, Succulent-kun?"
Bloom smiled wickedly once more.
"…yet?"
"Hm?"
"No, it's nothing."
Sebas quietly said as he smiled.
"Hm, forgive me, Havish-sama." Succulent bowed to Bloom. "Destroying the documents costs a third of the compensation fees, so that'll be 100 gold coins. That's a total of 400 gold coins, I believe."
"Does the money I paid when bringing her here count against that?"
"How could that be? Listen, mister. When you reach an accord with the other side, that means you didn't buy a slave. In other words, the expenses of buying that slave are written off. Just imagine that you lost the money somewhere."
To think they would actually expect Sebas to assume he had lost 100 gold coins. In all likelihood, most of it had already found its way into their pockets. Sebas thought so, and in actuality it was true, but he did not know this.
"….However, her body has not fully healed. If you take her back, her wounds might act up again. And the treatment in future might not be enough and still kill her. Can I pay for her in coin?"
Succulent's eyes gleamed in a bizarre way.
When he noticed this, Sebas realised the depths of his mistake. He had allowed them to realise how much Tsuare meant to him.
"….It would be difficult to handle it with money. This is as we would like to take her back after all."
Hearing that Bloom made a strange face at Succulent. This was as they had wanted money, but this was a sudden change.
"I see, I see. You do have a point. Her death notwithstanding, we'll need you to pay for the money which would have been spent on her. While she's recovering, how about letting us have some fun with the lady of the house?"
"Ohhh! That makes a lot of sense. If you make a hole, you have to fill it!"
The smile faded off Sebas' face, and it turned impassive.
Succulent was probably not serious, but he would probably press the attack if he showed any weakness. Thanks to his exposing his attachment to Tsuare, the possibility still existed that the situation might deteriorate further.
"…Aren't you afraid of your desires getting you in trouble?"
"How dare you talk to me like that?!"
Bloom's face was bright red as he shouted.
Sounds like slaughtering a pig, Sebas thought. He stared at Bloom without a single word.
"What do you mean by my desires? All this is to uphold the law passed by the glorious will of Princess Renner! How dare you call it base desire! Show some respect!"
"Yes, yes, don't get worked up, Havish-sama."
Once Succulent cut in, Bloom calmed down immediately. His anger had faded too soon, a sign that this was merely a scare tactic and not genuine anger.
What terrible acting, Sebas mused.
"But I say, Succulent-kun…"
"Havish-sama, we've said everything we came here to say. I was thinking about coming back the day after to see what he thinks. Is that alright with you, Sebas-san?"
"Very well."
With that, Sebas brought the four of them to the main door. As he sent them off, Succulent, who had stayed until the end, smiled at Sebas, and left him with these words.
"Still, I have to thank that slut. To think a piece of trash could actually turn out to be a goose that lays golden eggs."
With that, the door closed with a thud.
Sebas quietly stared at the door. There was no particular expression on Sebas' face. He looked as calm as always. However, there was a distinct emotion in his eyes.
That emotion was anger.
—No, the word "anger" was far too mild to describe how he felt. "Furious" and "wrathful"; those words would be more suitable.
"Solution, you can come out now, no?"
Solution oozed out of the shadows in response to Sebas' voice. She had melded into the shadows with abilities from the assassin-type classes she had taken.
"Did you hear all that?"
Sebas had only asked as a formality. Naturally, Solution nodded to say, "of course."
"What do you plan to do now, Sebas-sama?"
Sebas could not answer that question immediately. As she saw that, Solution glared coldly at him.
"…What about handing that human over to them?"
"…….."
"If I expose a weakness, they will seek to capitalize on it until they suck us dry. That's the kind of people they are. I do not think handing Tsuare to them will solve the problem."
"Then, what do you intend to do?"
"I do not know. I wish to take a walk outside and think."
Sebas pushed open the front door. He then disappeared into the middle of the bright sunlight.
Solution stared at the receding back of Sebas. She then raised her left hand and opened it.
Something protruded from it, like it was floating on water. It was a scroll which she had stored inside her body. It had originally been given to her for communication in an emergency — although, thanks to Demiurge's hard work, there was now a way to manufacture low-level spell scrolls. . Still, Solution did not know of this before she set out, and so she believed that this scroll was only to be used in a dire situation — and Solution believed that this qualified.
She opened the scroll and activated the spell bound within. Once used, the scroll crumbled and fell to the ground as dust, and then even the dust vanished.
As the spell took effect, Solution was connected to the other party. She asked.
"Is that you, Ainz-sama?"
[Solution — hm? What happened? Since you're contacting me, does that mean there's been an emergency?]
"Yes."
Solution paused at this point. She had stopped because of her loyalty to Sebas and because she had considered the possibility that she might have been wrong.
However, her loyalty to Ainz overrode all that.
In addition, they should have considered the greatest benefits for the 41 Supreme Beings in every move they made. However, everything Sebas had done until now could have been said to have violated that precept.
Therefore, she decided to commend the decision into her master's hands.
"Sebas-sama may have betrayed us."
[Wha! …Ah? … No, how could that be… mhm… Do not joke with me, Solution. I forbid you to accuse others without evidence… do you have proof?]
"Yes. Although, it might not quite count as proof—-"
◆
Sebas walked. He had no destination. His legs just moved.
On one of the roads was a huge crowd.
The sound coming from them was either vicious cursing or mocking laughter, accompanied by the sound of something striking something else. Cries along the lines of "Someone's going to die" and "Better get the guards" rose up from them.
The crowd blocked his line of sight, but he was certain that some kind of violence was in progress.
Sebas thought that perhaps he should change his path and take another path.
He hesitated for a moment — and then he continued straight onwards.
His path took him into the center of the crowd.
"Excuse me."
Sebas wove through the onlookers with those words and reached the center of the crowd. The sight of an old man moving with a bizarre, fluid grace shocked and unnerved the onlookers, and the people who saw Sebas passing before them were stunned with surprise. There seemed to be someone else trying to get to the heart of the crowd other than Sebas. Said person went, "Excuse me", but he could not advance through the throng of humanity and was stuck, unable to advance or retreat.
Sebas stepped into the center of the congregation with no difficulty.
And there he saw what was going on with his own eyes.
Several unkempt-looking men were kicking and stomping on something.
Sebas moved on without a single sound, stopping only when he was within arms reach of the men.
"Fuck you doing, old man?!"
One of the five men had noticed Sebas approaching and snarled at him.
"This place seemed a little noisy so, I came to take a look."
"You want a piece of this?!"
The men ran over to surround Sebas. As they left their original positions, they revealed the object they had been kicking around all this time. It looked like a boy. He was curled up on the ground and bleeding from his face. It was unclear if the blood came from his mouth or his nose.
Apparently the boy had passed out after being brutalized for so long, but he still looked like he was breathing.
Sebas looked at the men. The smell of alcohol hung about their mouths and bodies. Their faces were flushed red, but not from the exertion of physical activity.
Had they lost control of their violent impulses because they were drunk?
Sebas had a blank expression on his face as he asked.
"I don't know why you're doing this, but don't you think it's time to stop?"
"Hah?! This punk got his food all over my shirt! How could I let that slide?"
One of the man pointed to a spot on his shirt. It did look like a stain. However, the men's clothes were filthy to begin with. That being the case, the stain was hardly obvious.
Sebas looked at the one who seemed to be the boss of the five young men. The difference might have been too subtle for an ordinary human being to detect, but Sebas was able to pick him out.
"Still… public safety in this city is quite bad."
"Ah?!"
Sebas spoke as though he had just confirmed something he had observed from afar. The men thought he had trivialized them and made noises of displeasure.
"…Begone."
"Ah?"
"I'll say it again – begone."
"Damn geezer!"
The boss-like man flushed red and clenched his fist — and then he collapsed limply to the ground.
Sounds of shock came from all around them, including the four remaining men.
What Sebas had done was simple enough. He had simply formed his hand into a fist and struck a blow at the man's chin. That had given the man a high-speed brain concussion. He could also have sent the man flying with imperceptible speed, but that would not have served to frighten the others. Thus, he had held back in his strike.
"Do you still wish to fight?"
Sebas quietly said.
His calm and strength cut through the men's intoxication. One of their friends, the strongest, was easily defeated. There was fear as well. And there were many people around and they did not have any room to maneuver.
"A, ah. W, we were. S, sorry."
They backed several steps off and chorused an apology. Sebas thought, you're apologizing to the wrong person, but he did not actually say it.
The men grabbed their unconscious colleague and fled. Sebas did not bother watching them and instead went over to the fallen boy. However, he stopped in his tracks halfway.
What was he doing? A calm part of head spoke. What he had to do was handle Tsuare's situation. He could not handle other dangerous things. In fact he was in this trouble because he had stuck his nose in where it did not belong.
Sebas shook his head, looked away from the boy, and began walking. He pointed to someone who happened to meet his eyes.
"…Please take this boy to the temple. His ribs might be broken, so please take care when loading him onto a board for transport, and don't shake him too much."
With just that, Sebas walked away. There was no need to make his way through the crowd. This was as they separated where Sebas was.
Sebas began walking again, and he noticed.
There was someone tailing him. Of course, it may just be someone walking in the same direction as him. However, after turning several corners, Sebas was wondering what to think of that person.
"Now…."
Sebas was lost. Just what was the person tailing him.
It was neither Tsuare nor Solution. The footsteps and the stride lengths belonged to an adult man. There was one person.
Sebas tried to recall but he could not place the man anywhere. It might be one of the unhappy men from earlier, or it might be someone related to Bloom or Succulent.
"Should I capture him?"
Sebas turned a corner into a dimly-lit region. His followers remained on his trail.
"…Still, are they really hiding themselves?"
They had not concealed the sounds of their footsteps. Did they lack the ability to do so, or was there some other reason? He decided not to think overmuch on the matter. Just when the presence of people was thinning out, and just when Sebas was about to begin, a hoarse—But young voice could be heard from behind him.
"—Excuse me."