A man wrapped in a dirty cloth called me boss and spoke softly. He had a terrible haircut, and although you could see his face clearly, he didnât appear clean at all.
âLong time no see, though I guess it hasnât been that long yet. Have you been well?â [Ryouma]
âThanks to you. Ah, heh heh, thanks.â [Man]
âHow have you been recently? Anything troubling you?â [Ryouma]
As I poured the man a drink, he walked behind me to avoid congesting the queue.
âNot at all. Itâs rather peaceful around these parts, actually. You gave us a house to stave off the rain and the wind, and itâs too cold anyway, so people canât really loiter much.ăYou donât really hear a lot of complaints either⊠Of course, when you gather these many people together, petty quarrels are bound to break out and relationships can become strained, but Boss Revel makes sure none of that becomes an issue.â [Man]
âI see. Itâs good to hear there arenât any major problems then.â [Ryouma]
âItâs all thanks to you, Boss.â [Man]
The man took a mouthful from his cup, then exhaled deeply, a breath dyed white by the cold. Before it vanished completely, the man continued.
âActually, something did happen, but itâs not around here.â [Man]
âOh, what happened?â [Ryouma]
âItâs that store we talked about last time. That tavernă»ă»ă»ă»ă»ă»ă»ă»ă»ă» thatâs always closed. Theyâre never open, but theyâre always throwing out bottles of liquor and food waste. And these past few days theyâve started throwing out even more. It used to be just once every few days too, but now, theyâre throwing trash everyday, the scavenges are really happy. Theyâve been stocking up frequently lately too, so they might be planning to reopen.â [Man]
âI see. Iâd love to drop by if they do.â [Ryouma]
âYeah⊠Well, thatâs about it as far as noticeable events go. Everyoneâs just talking about the snow these days.â [Man]
âThatâs only natural, the snow is this heavy everyday, after all. Ahh, right.â [Ryouma]
We ran out of shirozake, so I informed everyone and put away the barrels, then I took out a package Iâd prepared beforehand from my Dimension Magic.
âItâs just leftovers from lunch, but if you donât mind, please have some. Itâs âhardâ though, so do be careful.â [Ryouma]
âThanks, but donât worry, weâre ratmen, our teeth is our life, âhardâ is a staple favorite. Youâre always so generous, Boss. Thatâs why I like you. Until next time.â [Man]
He took the package, then after emptying his bowl, walked away swaying.
By then, the hot wine also ran out, so the shelterâs drinking session was over. I too headed for the north gate to go home.
Along the wayâŠ
âI know itâs a bit late to ask this, but boss, have you always been handing out liquor there?â [Yurdum]
âThat really is a bit late.â [Ryouma]
He helped without saying a thing, so I thought he knew.
âWell, I did hear rumors.â [Yurdum]
âAh, you mean from your investigations? I have been doing it for awhile now. There are a number of reasons for it, but one reason is to get rid of the excess liquor.â [Ryouma]
The goblins at my place are devoted to their desires. Ever since theyâve had a taste of liquor, theyâve been making as much liquor as the ingredients permitted. Moreover, they could make Fatma Territoryâs shirozake in a short time, so they could make a lot of wine quickly.
The drunk slimes consume liquor too, but thereâs still a lot left of the wine I bought for them, so I was having a hard time disposing the excess liquor.
âIt would be a waste to just throw them away, and the goblins did do their best to make them⊠So theyâve just been piling up.â [Ryouma]
âSo youâre like a parent that keeps all of their childrenâs drawings?â [Yurdum]
âI donât know about that, but anyway, thatâs one of the reasons why. Also, do you remember that guy I spoke with?â [Ryouma]
âOf course, protecting you is my job, after all. I didnât say anything since you seemed to be acquainted, and he didnât look like an amateur too.â [Yurdum]
âYeah, that guyâs an information broker. Revel-san, the manager of the slums, introduced him to me when we were starting out. He was starting to get busy too, so Revel-san told me I could learn most of the happenings in town through him. As it turns out, the man has a lot of clout in Gimuru, and he can gather all sorts of information when needed. His basic rate is a glass of wine and a meal. There could be extra charges depending on the information, though.â [Ryouma]
âSo thatâs why. Are you giving out liquor to the others too to hide your deal?â [Yurdum]
âThereâs that too, but the slum people are indirectly helping gather information. They pick up trash and do odd jobs downtown, and in the process pick up various information. Information that the information broker goes through carefully before passing to me. I donât know if theyâre aware or not, but thereâs no doubt that they play a vital role in gathering intel, so giving them liquor is partly thanks for that.â [Ryouma]
When I said that, Yurdum-san finally understood.
âDid you learn anything new today?â [Yurdum]
âYes. As was mentioned earlier this morning, the enemy may be on the move.â [Ryouma]
âSo you know the enemyâs movements enough to think that.â [Yurdum]
âWe donât have a complete grasp of their movements, but there have always been suspicious people in town. We may be trying to maintain the situation, but thatâs no reason to leave them unchecked.â [Ryouma]
âIsnât that generally referred to as âletting the fish swimâ?ăYou might actually be better suited at being an investigator than me, Boss.â [Yurdum]
âIâm just good at the administrative side of the job. Youâre much better at communicating with people. Weâve been together recently, and I can see just how well you get along with just about anyone.â [Ryouma]
âReally? Iâm just talking normally, though. Itâs a lot easier than talking to nobles⊠Besides, there are plenty of people way better at socializing and understanding people than me among the nobles. Actually, itâs a basic skill as far as the nobles are concerned.â [Yurdum]
âUwaahâŠâ [Ryouma]
Just thinking about living a life like that makes me sick⊠Is Elia alright?
By now, she shouldâve already made an appearance in the party with the duke and the duchess⊠She mustâve worked hard.
Inadvertently, I pressed my hands together in a prayer for her.
As Yurdum-san and I continued to chat, the atmosphere gradually became darker. We should change the topic.
âYou came from a noble house, right? Are you familiar with rumors or circumstances surrounding the nobles?ăIâm completely clueless in that regard.â [Ryouma]
âIâm not really all that different from someone who ran away from home, so I canât really say anything about the happenings these past few years. If itâs about my days in the academy, though, I can answer to some extent. It would depend on what you want to ask, though.â [Yurdum]
âWhat to ask, hmm⊠I think just about anything would be new information to me. Oh, how about this, would you happen to know about a family that has a grudge with the Jamil family thatâs related to a fire?â [Ryouma]
ââŠâ [Yurdum]
For a moment, Yurdum-san didnât know what to say.
âWhy all of the sudden?â [Yurdum]
âA continuation of this morningâs topic. If the enemy wants to cause trouble in Gimuru, why would âarsonâ be the first method they would try? Itâs a question thatâs been on my mind for awhile now. Of course, itâs entirely possible that anything wouldâve done as long as they could cause a commotion, itâs not as though, it has to be related, but still⊠Anything come to mind?â [Ryouma]
ââŠI donât know if they hold a grudge or not, but there is one family that has had an incident with the duke related to a fire, the former Marquis Volcano.â [Yurdum]
Thatâs a new name. AndâŠ
âBy âformerâ, I take it heâs not a marquis anymore?â [Ryouma]
âYeah, due to some complicated circumstances the marquis was demoted to a count. Itâs a long story, but the Jamil familyă»ă» was involved andââ [Yurdum]
Yurdum-san spoke about the former Marquis Volcano until we made it to the northern gate.
It mightâve been because of that that the wind tonight felt colder and⊠lonelyâŠ
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