“Shadow of the Eagle, huh… bold, very bold.”
Haval, the guild master of the Pesengwigel Adventurers’ Guild, chuckled with one gleaming eye at the report of Daniel’s death.
“It might be a lie. After all, it’s just words without any proof, isn’t it?”
“Whether it’s true or false, that beast Lakan will go wild. That’s enough. Just that… is enough…”
For Haval, it was an incredibly pleasing situation. Like receiving an early birthday gift or something.
Now that the killer of Daniel claimed to be the Shadow of the Eagle, it was obvious that the Bagest bastards would rampage through the slums.
With Lakan, a notorious savage, there was no way it would end without substantial bloodshed once things got rolling.
In that sea of blood, not only would there be the blood of the ‘Eagle’ and the remnants of the Abandon group, but also the blood of the beastfolk, mixed in.
It was the perfect opportunity to deplete the strength of Bagest, the biggest rival of the Adventurers’ Guild.
For Haval, who had missed the chance to expand his territory due to a delicate balance of power, there was nothing more delightful than this situation.
Whether Lakan from Bagest or Krimhilde, who called herself the ‘Eagle,’ it didn’t matter who won. He could just ambush the winning side and sweep through the entire southern district for the guild!
“…I wonder if things will go as smoothly as expected. In the worst case, Bagest’s power might just grow stronger.”
The guild’s deputy expressed concern over Haval’s overly optimistic expectations, but Haval had confidence that everything would proceed as planned.
“If we fan the flames from this side, it’ll ignite on its own. If that’s not enough… we can add more kindling.”
That was precisely what he intended.
“Gather a few of those scoundrels and dress them up like beggars.”
Haval had it all planned out. It wasn’t a highly sophisticated scheme—just an impulsive idea.
“Provoke the beasts into clashing with the slums, and if it looks like Bagest is about to win, torch a couple of buildings in Fountain Square.”
“Oh, so you’re planning to rope in the vigilantes?”
“Exactly. Yuron, that guy, may not even come close to matching my father… but that’s precisely what makes him suited for this job. Too strong would just complicate things.”
If the beggars disguised as Abandon caused significant damage in Fountain Square, the vigilantes would have no choice but to step in.
Whether for a warning or for revenge, they’d inevitably end up involved in the slum issue. And then, naturally, they’d clash with Bagest.
“Lakan holds a grudge against the vigilantes. There’s no way he’d just stand by watching them loiter in front of him.”
The gruesome scars on Lakan’s body and cheek were marks left by the retired knight Albert Frederick, the first head of the vigilantes.
When Lakan Krakel was still a young man, he had recklessly charged in, relying only on his own blood and rage, only to be utterly defeated by Albert, barely escaping with his life. A humiliating reminder.
The current leader of the vigilantes, Yuron Frederick, was Albert’s only son.
With the long-standing enemy Albert deceased at sixty, the chance for vengeance had slipped away, so naturally, he would set his sights on that son.
At least, that’s what Haval was certain of. The Lakan from Bagest would be hunting for Yuron Frederick to finally resolve his long-held grudge.
“What about Ashel? Isn’t that girl in the slums too? Shouldn’t we secure her before the slums turn into chaos?”
“Oh, that rabid girl? How much was the request for her?”
Haval asked, as if it suddenly came to his mind.
“Fifty gold coins. It’s not a small amount,” was the reply.
“Fifty coins for abducting a beastfolk girl… looks like our client has quite a fortune,” he mused.
Fifty gold. An outrageous sum for a rebellious, untamed beastfolk slave, even taking into account the costs of abduction.
“Well… if we can tame her, she could be useful not just for nighttime work, but even as a combat slave. She’s definitely got talent.”
“That’s true.” Haval nodded. He secretly acknowledged ‘Mad Dog Ashel’s’ talent.
For a teenage girl with no connections to survive in the slums is quite remarkable without extraordinary skills or luck.
Not only did she survive, but she was also making a living as a fixer; Haval had to give her credit for her abilities.
In fact, he had even seriously considered bringing her into the guild as a useful asset.
Perhaps because they were of the same beastfolk kind, Bagest openly coveted her, forcing him to concede in the end after some profit calculations.
Of course, given that the abduction request had come for fifty gold, there was no longer a need for debate.
Abducting her was the obvious conclusion, and the only remaining question was when and how to do it.
That problem had somewhat resolved itself with this incident.
“Tell the guys going to the slums beforehand. Before touching the Bagest bastards, they need to grab that girl and bring her in. That should do.”
Disguised as Abandon, they’d abduct Ashel, and then involve the beggars and the vigilantes to weaken Bagest’s forces.
Haval’s orders were communicated through the deputy to the guild’s adventurers, and a few capable higher-ranking adventurers were also summoned for a smooth abduction.
Thus, a group of adventurers disguised as beggars set foot into the forsaken slums.
======[ Yuron Frederick ]======
At the same time.
Yuron Frederick, the second leader of the vigilantes, was secretly meeting with someone in the reception room of his mansion.
“Dan Furb is dead. He and his closest associates were slaughtered.”
“I didn’t do it.”
The reply came out before Yuron even finished speaking. The person seated across from him raised their shoulders in a nonchalant manner.
“Hmm, I heard you had a private chat with Dan Furb around dinner time…”
“Eh? Are you surveilling me? How did you even find that out?”
With sharp eyes, the blue-eyed individual shot a glare at Yuron. The canine-like sharp teeth peeked out.
“Less than two hours after that, he was murdered. Can you tell me what happened?”
“…Nothing much. He said his subordinates have been getting out of line lately and that he needed to tighten discipline, so I told him to do whatever he thought was best.”
Her voice was rough and edged, as if she deliberately lowered it. A girl with a fierce gaze laughed lightly at the stern-faced leader of the vigilantes.
“But then, he got caught instead? Did he end up getting stabbed from behind? I always thought that punk would go out like that someday.”
With beastlike ears jutting out from her gray bob, she kept twitching them.
“If that’s the case, does that mean you have no idea about this at all?”
“Of course! That punk Furb, as scummy as he is, is one of the few people who pays me to do a job. If he kicks the bucket, that’s just more trouble for me!”
“That’s quite strange…”
Yuron tapped his fingers on the table and tilted his head slightly.
“What’s so strange about it? Are you getting paranoid again?”
“Who knows… Maybe it’s just an unfounded suspicion.”
Stopping his fingers, Yuron shot a look at the girl across from him, replying in a sarcastic tone.
He had his reasons for inviting her to his mansion for this late-night conversation.
“Do you know? The killer who murdered Dan Furb, the ‘Krimhilde,’ was searching for a beastfolk girl named Ashel, with gray hair and blue eyes.”
After thoroughly interrogating the perpetrators who burned down an inn late at night, he had gathered that information.
The murderer of Dan Furb, Krimhilde, had been looking for Ashel in the slums. The reasons were unknown.
“Isn’t that a funny coincidence? Ashel Kazaar.”
Ashel Kazaar.
The filthy beast in the sewers, Mad Dog Ashel.
The beastfolk girl that Hilde tried to purchase through a slave auction was now standing before Yuron, without any shackles or brand marks.
“…Wait, what the hell is that girl? I’m hearing that name for the first time ever!”
Finding out that a name he had never heard before was somehow linked to him left him bewildered and annoyed.
His main request source was crumbling because of the boss’s death, and now he was being suspect of some connection to the culprit?
It was infuriating for Ashel, who couldn’t help but think of going over and giving that Krimhilde a solid smack for even being in this situation.
“Hmm…”
Yuron narrowed his eyes, closely watching Ashel’s reaction. He was trying to determine whether her look of annoyance was genuine or an act.
“If you truly have no connection, I’d like to ask you to investigate. It might be useful to know exactly who she is.”
After a momentary deliberation, Yuron decided to request Ashel to investigate Krimhilde.
Not because he trusted her words, but merely to see if there was any connection between the two by bringing them together and keeping an eye on the situation.
“Investigate? It sounds a bit risky… So, what’s the reward?”
“The orphans you entrusted to us… Recently, two decent adoption slots have come available. That should suffice, right?”
“Just two? Seems a bit stingy. Can’t we aim for more?”
“…I’ll try to find one more. Anything more than that would be difficult.”
“So three, huh? Tch, no choice then. Fine, I’ll do it.”
As always, Yuron proposed that this time, his reward for helping raise the orphans would be having Ashel take on various requests that the vigilantes found challenging.
The orphans, who had been abandoned in the slums, would have died or been sold by now if it hadn’t been for Ashel, who found and cared for them.
Ashel felt it was impossible to completely care for them on her meager income in the perilous slums, so she asked Yuron for help regarding their upbringing.
Raising multiple orphans, as the numbers kept growing, was a bit of a burden for Yuron, the leader of the vigilantes.
That’s why, in exchange for raising the orphans and finding good homes for them, he handed various difficult tasks to Ashel.
Some might say he was exploiting her by holding the orphans hostage, but in reality, this was Yuron making a rather large concession.
The total amount of money spent on raising the orphans could easily hire three adventurers like Ashel for life.
It was also why “Mad Dog” Ashel maintained a modicum of decorum in front of Yuron.
Despite her protests about it being unfair, it was an undeniable fact that Yuron had treated her with a certain level of kindness.
