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chapter 59




After capturing everyone that was in Kabino’s mansion, I went out to call Shia and the district manager. Shia had captured five men and the district manager had caught three. That meant that we had arrested thirty-three men in all.
The district manager became speechless for a second after seeing the twenty-five men that Serulis and I arrested.
“…You were able to take on this many?”
I looked at him with a serious expression.
“Miss Serulis is Lord Morton’s daughter. And while she doesn’t have much experience as an Adventurer, her combat ability is the equivalent of a B Rank.”
“Is that so. Then it must be in her blood. As they say, the child of a dragon will be a dragon.”
“Exactly.”
I nodded.
Serulis stood next to us and was looking very red.
There were things that she likely wanted to say, but suggesting that I had done most of it could lead to my identity being exposed.
And while I hadn’t said anything that was a lie, I thought I should apologize to her later.
“Both Mister Locke and Sister Serulis are amazing!”
“Grr!”
Milka and Grulf looked very happy.
Serulis made a report of the situation to the district manager.
After that, we went around the mansion with him to search the place.
I would use magic to search for hidden passages.
We found safes that I was able to open with Unlock magic.
They contained documents that were evidence of their crimes, on top of lots of gold bars and money.
“Grooff-grooff!”
“Hm? Is there something over there?”
Grulf had been sniffing around in the area and was now barking at what looked like an ordinary shelf.
I checked inside and saw an assortment of food items. They all looked expensive.
And in the far back was a locked box.
When I opened the box with a quick spell, out came the most luxurious-looking ham.
“Grulf. You wanted to eat this?”
“Grrr?”
Grulf tilted his head as if he had no idea what I was talking about. However, his wagging tail betrayed him.
He clearly barked because he had smelled something delicious. Ah, well. He was a wolf.
However, the district manager’s eyes widened when he saw the ham I was carrying.
“Mi-mister Locke. That thing!”
“It was inside of this shelf. It’s not surprising. Villains always seem to eat well.”
“No-no, that is not what I meant. Is that not a prohibited ham?”
Prohibited ham? I have never heard of such a thing.
“There is such a thing as prohibited ham?”
“Yes. It is called ham, as it resembles normal ham. However, it is a cursed tool made by the blasphemous cursing of the meat of a holy beast.”
“What would you use such a thing for?”
“I am but a humble man who does not know all of the details. But according to the rumors, it is used in rituals that allow you to take over a person’s mind.”
If even the district manager did not know, then it must be a highly kept secret.
One of the district manager’s subordinates continued,
“I heard that it is used with sacrifices when summoning devils.”
“Regardless, it a terrifying thing.”
“Yes. I do not know much, but just owning these can get you the death penalty.”
It was clear that the men in power were trying desperately to control these.
“Mister Locke. This is wonderful. The mere fact that it has been discovered here means that this man will never walk free again.”
“That really is wonderful. However, it wasn’t me. It was Grulf, here.”
“Oh my. Mister Grulf. Thank you so much.”
“Grooff-grroof!”
Grulf looked very smug as he sat down and puffed out his chest.
And I had assumed he was only hungry. Perhaps I owed him an apology.
In any case, I might as well praise him for now.
“Very good, Grulf.”
“Grr.”
“Goood-goood-good.”
“Grr.”
Grulf wagged his tail happily.
After that, Grulf was quite excited as he continued the search.
“Groof-groof!”
“Oh, did you find something again?”
“Groof!”
He was barking at another shelf.
I inspected it, and out came a ham.
“District manager. Grulf found another ham.”
“Good gracious! …Ah, that is just a ham. I am sure it was from a pig.”
“It’s not forbidden?”
“No, I am sure you will find that it is sold at any meat shop.”
“I see.”
It was just a normal ham.
However, Grulf was sitting down with a smug expression and a wagging tail.
“…Good boy!”
“Groof!”
I hesitated for a second, but Grulf was trying his best. And so I praised him with a good petting.
After that, Shia looked towards us and said,
“Mister Locke. There is a suspicious smell coming from over here!”
“I see. Let’s take a look.”
“Yes!”
For some reason, Shia’s tail was wagging furiously.
The place that Shia had indicated did not look particularly suspicious.
However, after searching the area with magic, I saw that there was a hidden door.
“It’s shut tightly. Very strange.”
“Yes! I agree.”
I opened the door with magic and saw that behind it was countless weapons.
“Its a storage for weapons…”
“This is an incredible amount. Did they mean to start a coup?”
“Or they meant to sell them to someone who was going to start a coup.”
“I see, yes.”
So saying, Shia’s eyes brightened. Her ears flapped and her tail wagged vigorously.
Understanding what this all meant, I patted her on the head.
“Ehehe.”
She laughed happily.