Chapter 476

I Said Make My Abilities Average!

Annihilation [ 3 ] #

“Here is the Count Greinark’s territory.”

The group of the “Red Blood is Good!” had arrived at their first destination.

“For now, let’s find an inn.”

They weren’t foolish enough to barge into the Lord’s mansion without doing any research, especially right after arriving in town.

“Huh? Are we not going straight to the lord’s mansion?”

“We’re not idiots. Well, probably not…”

“Idiot! We need to check the lord’s reputation and gather information before we do anything! What if it turns out that it was the work of a foolish son or a bad retainer, and the lord is not a bad person…? And what if we find out about it only ‘after everything is over’…?”

“Oh…”

Mile, who couldn’t resist anything related to cat-eared girls, was finally convinced by Rena’s explanation.

And so, the “Crimson Oath” went to the Hunter’s Guild to gather information after getting an inn. However…

“The receptionist is not a cat-eared girl…”

“How many inns like that do you think there are?!”

Mile continued to grumble, but Rena finally snapped.

“There was only one inn like that, right?”

“But…”

Mile was persistent.

“If there were so many cat-eared girls around, their rarity value wouldn’t be high enough to be kidnapped!”

“Ah, y-yes…”

Mile finally understood Rena’s explanation.

After checking the information board and request board, which had nothing special, they didn’t greet everyone in the room with a loud voice, as it wasn’t a training journey or a journey of disguise. Besides, most outsiders who visited the Hunter’s Guild were either on a mission or traveling for some reason. It wasn’t something unrelated people could intrude upon lightly.

If they were clearly a group of newbies, some people might have pestered them, teasing or inviting them to dinner without any ill intentions. However, judging from their way of checking the boards, their familiarity with equipment, and their confident attitude, it was impossible for anyone to misunderstand them, even if they were young girls.

Therefore, no one tried to talk to them.

“Hey, girls, is this your first time in this town? If you want, we can teach you a lot of things. Lots of things, haha!”

Only fools and heroes approached them.

Then, Mavis showed off her skill of dividing a copper coin into four pieces, Mile folded a coin in half with her finger, Rena showed off her explosive fire magic, and… Pauline just smiled. That was enough to impress the five men who had become more understanding and teach the “Crimson Oath” various things. They treated them to light snacks and drinks at the food and drink corner, with their faces twitching.

While being stared at by other hunters in the vicinity and guild staff on the other side of the reception counter with similar expressions…

The “Crimson Oath” didn’t care at all about those gazes.

They were used to it.

That was all.

And fortunately, they achieved their goal, except for the expense of being treated by lucky men. They gathered information from the men who had unwittingly spilled the beans.

“The lord is greedy for money and likes women…”

“The tax rate is the maximum within the range set by the country, 60%…”

“He is arrogant and discriminates against social classes…”

“He readily uses violence against his people…”

“Isn’t he just an ordinary nobleman?”

Yes, he was just an ordinary, typical nobleman.

“I understand that the lord is a typical, ordinary noble… in other words, a scoundrel!”

“No, no, no, in the previous conversation, it was only said that he’s a typical, ordinary noble, not necessarily a villain or a criminal… not to the extent where we can condemn him as a noble. If we break into his mansion like this, we’ll become the vicious criminals committing a home invasion!’

“Well, that’s true… but he’s not a good guy, just within the range of a normal noble. We still don’t have enough information to crush him without question.”

“That’s true… but we can’t do investigations like the ones in Mile’s made-up stories, like the ‘Spy Operation’ or the ‘Three Sisters with Cat Eyes’…”

“We don’t have too much time to spend on this either. What should we do?”

The three of them, Pauline, Rena, and Mavis, were pondering over their options.

“Well then, let’s go to the lord’s mansion and confirm things directly with him!”

Mile suggested this.

“Mile…”

“Mile-chan…”

“Mile, that’s…”

“What a great idea!!”

… Did they really think that rushing into the lord’s mansion without proper investigation was a good idea?

“…So, we’ve arrived at the lord’s mansion…”

“Let’s knock on the door for now!”

Rena responded to Mile’s explanation and knocked on the door.

There were no gatekeepers in front of the mansion of a local noble, unlike in the royal palace. Although there were security personnel, there was no point or benefit in having a decorative gatekeeper standing there all the time just to show off. The security personnel were waiting inside the mansion, and it was the job of regular servants to handle visitors.

Therefore, those who were not regular visitors, such as contractors or those who had business with the servants, would visit through the backdoor. Of course, those who were there now, the “Crimson Blood is Good!” party, had business with the lord himself, not the servants. So naturally, they would use the regular entrance for visitors, the front door. There was nothing strange about this… at least not according to the common sense of these four.

Then, the door knocker made a sound, and a slightly older male servant appeared. He was probably the butler. Those who visited through the front door were varied, such as messengers from the royal palace, messengers from other noble houses, contact persons from commercial guilds or hunter guild branches, and suspicious people. Therefore, knowledge and judgment were required to avoid offending important guests and completely shutting out suspicious people, making it a job that couldn’t be left to just any maid.

And then…

“May I ask who you are? If you are not here by appointment…”

Of course, he knew that they were not clients with an appointment. There was no way a butler would not know such things. And…

“We are hunters who were commissioned. We have some questions to ask about the slave girl that the earl purchased…”

As soon as Mavis said this with a smile, the sound of a handbell could be heard. Apparently, the butler had rung the bell behind his back.

Of course, it was a signal to the security personnel.

“I will confirm with the lord and be back shortly. Please wait…”

The butler spoke to buy time until the security personnel took their positions inside the mansion and from the backdoor.

(Alert mode!)

Mavis signaled this with a hand sign behind her back, but of course, everyone was already on guard against a surprise attack.

They were still “Crimson Blood is Good!” who had formally requested a visit and an audience. If they were turned away at the gate, there would be no problem. However, if they were suddenly attacked or captured just because they mentioned the “slave girl,” it would be game over. Even if he was a noble, it would still be a complete criminal act.

Normally, this would promise a miserable future for the visitors, but this time it was a little different… since the visitors were the mysterious party known as “Crimson Blood is Good!”.

(The conversation is moving quickly… good!)