“Assuming that’s the case, the problem is ‘who’ Seere is trying to cooperate with, but…”
She had probably reached this stage while trying to solve it; Kaguya glanced at me as if seeking my opinion.
The only thing that might be a clue is… the content of the nightmares I heard from Zeno.
“According to what I heard, the content of the nightmares is that everyone [saw two giant snakes]… but that’s not much to go on.”
When I looked at Kaguya for agreement,
“…—Beast God Worship.”
she muttered with a grim face,
“Beast… what’s that?”
“It is a custom said to have been practiced in the old days when this country was still a village. When I heard about the dream of snakes, it was actually the first thing I suspected, but…”
“Can I hear more about it?”
“Listen well. A beast that has just been born is, so to speak, a natural product; its power to attract mana is extremely high. While inferior to Primordial Species, it attracts sufficient mana. They would worship it as a Beast God and gather as much mana as possible into that individual. And three years later—they would bury the Beast God alive. Then, the mana would circulate through the earth, making the soil rich and abundant in magic… or so the story goes.”
What is that, are you sane? I wanted to say to the people of the past; it was an act that made no logical sense.
“Does that even do anything?”
“There is no basis for it. But after all, it is an old story. No one digs up the past of this now-prosperous country to say this or that.”
It became prosperous as a result… but it’s not a development that has a correlation with that custom.
The Beast Gods who returned to the earth must not be able to rest in peace.
“No, but a beast… If we were to find a connection with the nightmare of the snake, this would be it, but…”
I tried to fall into thought, but Kaguya dropped her shoulders and shook her head to stop me.
“I told you, it was the first thing I suspected. According to the remaining records, the ones worshipped as Beast Gods were four-legged beasts. Puppies, kittens, lambs, foals… and so on. Snakes were not subjects of worship.”
“Are you serious… Hey, we’ve got no lead.”
“That is why I am troubled.”
Kaguya glared at me with half-lidded eyes and spat out, “I’ve been underestimated.”
Well, yeah… if I, who haven’t even been here a week, could solve it, the country would have solved it long ago.
The only other information I have is the strange mana Garm felt in the basement of the Guild… —Ah.
“Kaguya, what’s in the basement of the Explorer’s Guild?”
“A basement in the Guild? I do not know what you are talking about…”
So Kaguya doesn’t know either… in that case, the lead hasn’t completely vanished.
“Actually, I have a subordinate with a very sharp nose. That kid caught the scent of strange mana in the basement of the Guild.”
“…Is that true?”
“Dead serious. And going back to what we were talking about, that Beast God Worship involved burying the Beast God alive, right? That means underground. I wonder if it has something to do with the strange mana my subordinate caught.”
With a very serious face, her hand on her chin, Kaguya nodded many times.
“I cannot say it is impossible. Even if it is different, an investigation is essential to eliminate the possibility. I shall arrange it immediately.”
Kaguya clapped her hands loudly.
Then, the man in the black suit who had guided me earlier appeared.
“Call the captain of the patrol. It is an emergency.”
“As you wish.”
The man vanished instantly.
Kaguya, seeing him off with a satisfied look, straightened her back and let out an “Mmm~” groan.
The pure white skin peeking out from her kimono as she moved was dazzling to the eyes.
“I do not know if we have made progress, but we now have something we can act upon. To think such a development would happen at this point. I thank you.”
“No, I was planning to investigate anyway, and this was meaningful for me too. There’s still time before the auction.”
Hearing that, Kaguya muttered lightly, “Auction…”
“Is there something you are looking for?”
“This might not be a pleasant story for you, but I got some Greater Demon materials. I need some Primordial Species hide to process them.”
“Ho,” she let out a breath of interest. But at the same time, she lowered her eyebrows apologetically.
“It has been a long time since I have shared a moment that made me forget my boredom, but as I have a country to run, I cannot give it to you for free. Forgive me.”
“I had no intention of asking for that in the first place.”
“In exchange… here.”
Kaguya naturally placed her hand on my shoulder and pushed me down.
Because I couldn’t detect any hostile intent from Kaguya, who leaned on me with all her weight, I let myself be pushed down.
Kaguya, moistening her lips seductively with her tongue, smiled enchantingly from her position on top of me.
Then, beneath her, she engraved a magic spell onto my body.
This is…
“You must have noticed when you were climbing the stairs, did you not? I have dabbled a bit in Space-Time Magic myself. Although I am not as skilled as Seere. I have engraved my coordinates onto you. With this, a secret rendezvous is possible at any time. Are you not happy?”
“Is that so…”
Basically, she made it so she can teleport to me at any time, just like Nifl.
She really seems to hate being bored.
But the merits are greater than the demerits.
A collaborator on the Demon side. This is an invaluable gain.
Kaguya, her shoulders shaking with a chuckle at my blunt reaction, twisted her face into a lewdly amused expression.
“What is this? Did someone as great as the Corpse King get expectations after being pushed down? Did you think you could savor the body of a Ruinous Beauty?”
Perhaps as a reaction to the serious talk, Kaguya began to engage me with an incredibly mischievous air.
Kaguya, stroking my stomach with her finger, began to emit an aura that fully lived up to her name as the Ruinous Beauty.
She’s enjoying this, this woman.
“What say you… shall we spend the night together? …Just kidd—”
“—Heh.”
“Hae!? …Wait—”
The tables turned.
In an instant, Kaguya was blinking her eyes beneath me after I swapped our positions.
“A feast laid out by a Ruinous Beauty, huh…”
“Ah… wait…”
“Then, I’ll help myself.”
“Hiu… a-ae…”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
Her form, having forgotten to resist, was completely innocent. Just by bringing my face a little closer, she had already begun preparing herself.
I moved away from Kaguya, whose face was as red as an apple, and gave her a mocking laugh.
“Hey now, Lady Ruinous Beauty, you’re putting your name to shame.”
“Y-You! You teased me!”
“You’re one to talk.”
“S-Stay right there!”
Just after Kaguya, who was flailing her arms like a little girl as if her legs had given out, shouted that—
“K-Kaguya-sama!”
An attendant burst into the room, looking pale.
The red stains all over the man’s clothes told of an unexpected event.
“W-What is it?”
To Kaguya’s question, the blood-stained man reported as calmly as possible.
“A message from the patrol! —The auction participants have all been murdered!”
“…………”
“The auction items have also all been stolen, and the patrol is out investigating. According to witnesses, the ringleaders—claimed to be Helheim!”
The attendant’s voice as he reported clearly conveyed that the situation was extremely dire.
Kaguya looked up at me as if it were the natural thing to do.
Claiming to be Helheim, huh. Without a doubt, it’s the fake Helheim we’re chasing.
In other words, Kaguya is asking me how to handle them.
…First, stay calm. Examine the incident that occurred.
The ones claiming to be Helheim who stole the auction items. Do they have a connection with the Greater Demon Seere who came to visit Kaguya…? Timing-wise, I feel a faint connection. Assuming there is a connection, what is the point of this robbery?
Is it some kind of diversion…? A decoy to draw the patrol’s eyes toward them… that’s a possibility.
“Do you know how long it’s been since they were killed?”
When I asked the man in black, who was waiting for Kaguya’s instructions, he looked at Kaguya with a troubled face. After confirming Kaguya’s nod, he reluctantly answered.
“The blood hasn’t dried. Their body temperature still remains, so it must have been a short while ago.”
The information probably obtained from the patrol indicated that not much time had passed since the culprits fled.
If the patrol spends all their time searching for the culprits here, investigating the Guild’s basement will be delayed. In a situation where it can’t be said the nightmare incident won’t worsen, the sooner we act, the better.
Besides, if there’s a possibility of a diversion, it’s better for us outsiders to move rather than the Sleepless Country’s forces.
Which means.
“Kaguya, let the patrol head to the Guild as promised.”
“Tch, you…!”
“Stop it.”
It wasn’t Kaguya but the man in black who snapped at me. The one who restrained him as he looked ready to grab me was none other than Kaguya herself.
“What will you do about Helheim?”
“You’re asking that even though you already know the answer?”
Has she finally deepened her understanding of me? Kaguya shrugged her shoulders and then—
“I leave it to you. The auction items are precious assets of my country.”
She pierced me with her unwavering gaze.
“Leave it to me.”
I gave a short reply and left the room.
“Garm, you’re probably listening. That’s the deal, so tell everyone—let’s go catch their tail.”
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