Investigator Attack

“Here it comes! The Caravan!”

“Report to ! Hurry up!”

Spotting several horse-drawn caravans appearing in the distance from the top of the city walls, a member of the Seat Order immediately sends out a messenger.

The messenger rides his horse through Seat Village, which has become much larger than it was at first, and many buildings have been erected.

In front of the lord’s mansion, Van happened to be outside.

His eyes blinked for a moment, but soon Van also noticed the frantic expression on the messenger’s face and opened his mouth.

“They’re here!”

“Yes, they’re here! It’s a caravan!”

“Good! Report to the Belrango Chamber of Commerce! And get the ballista ready! And get the catapult ready!”

Van gives the order, and Camsin and Till jump up in surprise.

“!”

“Are you going to attack the caravan?”

Van nodded with a mysterious look on his face as they paled.

“The Commerce Guild investigators didn’t come. If we pretend that’s the case, how can that be?”

Van laughs in annoyance as he says it.

“I thought it would be better to disclose everything from the beginning to avoid any misunderstanding than to hide it. Seat Village is proud of its ballista and catapult, so we’re going to show the power of them as evidence that we are hunting large monsters and beasts.”

Hearing such an explanation, Camsin and Till were relieved.

“We’ve been at war so much lately, I thought had turned into a fighting maniac…”

“I’m relieved to see that you are the same as before.”

Van’s cheeks twitch at such words from the two of them.

“…I have a lot to say, but right now, the Commerce Guild investigation is more important. I’ll head that way.”

Letting out a sigh, Van led the way, taking the two of them to the investigation team.

[Van.]

I sometimes forget that I am a nobleman. Most of the time, even when I’m in the lord’s mansion, I’m busy like a joke. The hardest worker in the world must be Van, a fragile, beautiful boy.

Poor Me.

Thinking of such an idiotic thing, I arrived at the front of the castle wall.

The gate to the city wall had already been opened, and right outside was a group of investigators standing in front of the drawbridge with blank stares on their faces.

However, I did not know who they were. However, there was a caravan that looked like the Mary Trading Company and many adventurers surrounding the caravan, and middle-aged men who looked like merchants were sitting at the governor’s table.

He looks around at the group staring up at the ramparts in amazement, then opens his mouth.

“Hello, I am Van Nay Fertio, lord of Seat Village. May I ask where you all belong?”

I ask, but there is no response. Or rather, they don’t even notice me.

I wonder if they don’t notice Van Nay Fertio because he is so small. He has grown five centimeters taller in one year. If he continues to grow at this rate, he will be about two meters tall by the time he turns twenty, and two meters and fifty centimeters tall by the time he turns thirty.

While I was thinking about this and escaping from reality, Dee, who was following me, shouted out.

“Baron Van Nay Fertio is my vassal, the Commander of the Seat Knights, Dee! And this is Baron Van Nay Fertio, Lord of Seat Village!”

A loud, gut-wrenching voice causes the entire group of investigators to turn their heads toward us.

I cleared my throat and introduced myself once more. Then a tall man emerged from a large carriage in the middle. He is a smartly built man who looks to be about forty or so. He was dressed in a black outfit similar to a suit.

Two women get out of the carriage after the man. One is a girl with red hair. She appears to be in her mid-teens, dressed in beautiful clothes, with intelligent and confident eyes. She looks young, but she must be an investigator or a senior officer of the Mary Chamber of Commerce.

And then there was the other one. This was a familiar face. She was Rosalie, a female merchant who worked in the Mary Chamber of Commerce store in the first city of the Marquis of Fertio’s domain.

As Rosalie quietly bows at the back of the room, the middle-aged man leading the group puts his hand on his chest and smiles like a tired salesman.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Commerce Guild, I am the investigator in charge of the Kingdom of Scuderia, and my name is Apollo.”

A polite greeting. The red-haired girl immediately behind him also bowed.

“My name is Diane Triumph. It is a great honor to meet you.”

What a surprise, he said, he is the chairman of the Mary Chamber of Commerce. The Mary Chamber of Commerce is too big to be a family business. He must be a very talented man.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Apollo-san, Diane-san, and Rosalie-san. I was hoping you would be here by now.”

When I said this, Apollo and Diane opened their eyes slightly. Rosalie, whom I had already spoken to several times, smiled happily.

“I look forward to working with you.”

I said again and smiled at the three of them.

[Diane]

Baron Van offered us a place to stay because we were just finishing our trip. To be honest, I really wanted to take him up on the offer, but Apollo, the investigator, turned me down softly.

As I looked at Apollo’s back with resentful eyes, Baron Van backed down easily, as if he had expected it.

Then, taking care of Apollo and us, he led us to the top of the ramparts first.

I looked at Rosalie with some confusion.

“…Is it true that is not even ten years old? Or did he actually have the blood of a long-lived species, and his actual age is fifty or something…”

“No, is definitely as old as he looks.  was not normal from the first time I met him more than two years ago. Ever since that boy soldier was bought as a slave, it has never ceased to amaze me.”

Hearing Rosalie’s words, I sigh back.

“I heard about it in the report, but hearing about it and seeing it are entirely different… There was a time when I was said to be a genius, and I felt good about it, but I am ashamed of myself.”

I muttered and looked at Baron Van walking in front of me.

He had indeed seen it in the report, and he had reported the same to Apollo.

He is a genius who understands everything from an early age just by teaching it once, and furthermore creates new things with unexpected ideas. Although he was not a gifted magician, he was able to make his village prosper and receive a knighthood in the place where he was driven out.

And the village has become a city so developed that it is hard to believe that it is a village.

I thought I understood that. I wondered if a true genius could be that great.

But the reality easily exceeded my imagination.

In front of us was a rampart that looked, to say the least, mightier than the Royal Capital, and Baron Van was climbing the stairs as if to introduce us to his home.

“This is the ballista. It is the key to the defense of this village. I will test fire it, so please take a look.”

He said lightly and gave instructions to a young soldier standing next to the ballista. Not expecting to be introduced to the weapon, and tilting his head along with Apollo, the huge bow and arrow was fired.

The intense sound and vibration that makes my ears hurt makes me brace myself.

I followed the ejected arrow with my eyes, but could hardly recognize it.

However, I was surprised to see several trees fall in the far distance.

“It’s wonderful, it can reach that far away.”

I said and turned to see Apollo exclaiming. It’s a very different reaction than mine and Rosalie’s amazement.

“…This…this is a hell of a thing…”

Apollo’s little mutter made Rosalie and I look at each other.