Chapter 479

I Said Make My Abilities Average!

Infiltration [ 1 ] #

Even though last time ended on a happy note (except for the family of Lilia and Sherry, and the villagers), Mile had actually imagined and written out the scene of “rescuing a young Kemonomimi girl who was being bullied as a slave, being hugged and cherished by her in joy” dozens or even hundreds of times as a novel.

When Mile rescued the Kemonomimi girl who was working as a receptionist at the inn from the cultists, she had planned to get revenge for having all the good parts taken by the “servants of the goddess.”

That was supposed to be it.

That was supposed to be it…

That was supposed to be it!!!

So for Mile, just like Pauline, she strongly hoped that “this time, let it be a bad nobleman!” And of course, Mavis, who admires knights, also wants to play the role of a “knight of justice who rescues a young girl from captivity by villains.”

Pauline and Rena are also similar, and in the end, the four of them are all like-minded individuals.

Otherwise, no matter how much Mile said “I’ll make the request,” they wouldn’t just agree without a second thought.

And then…

“I will conduct the infiltration investigation!”

Rena and the others nod in agreement with Mile’s declaration.

“Last time, the count was in a good mood and you were able to talk with him, so he let it slide. But luck won’t always be on our side, and this time it’s a minor nobleman. If we make a mistake like that again, it could be a big problem. But if it’s Mile, and the mission is clear, she’ll definitely do it well.”

As Rena said, Mile needs to be watched closely when given free discretion, but when the task is clear, she is a highly competent hunter who will definitely get the job done.

Mile has the ability to accomplish things. The ability to accomplish things…

Also, Rena and the others are well aware of Mile’s “invisible field,” so they weren’t worried at all.

They know that they would become a hindrance if they went along, so they trust Mile’s abilities in infiltration missions completely. In other words, they “trust in the power of their comrades,” which is why they can entrust the task to Mile with peace of mind.

“Okay, I’ll be going now.”

Nodding at Mile’s words were Rena and the other three.

It was just before the first bell of the night, and they had had dinner a little earlier at the inn.

If they were going to steal something, it would be pointless to do it after everyone had gone to bed. So they decided to infiltrate the mansion during the time when most of the servants finished their work and had free time after dinner.

By the time most of the dishwashing and kitchen cleaning staff, pantry maids, and security personnel had finished their duties and had free time, it was the time before they went to bed - a short period of relaxation and interaction for the servants.

Mile had put on a maid outfit that resembled the ones worn by the mansion’s maids, which she had obtained and stored in her item box.

…Why did Mile have so many maid outfits?

It was of course because of “Ladylike Pursuits.”

And she wasn’t wearing her usual leotard-style thief outfit because if she were to be seen by someone from the mansion, there would be a huge difference in their initial reactions between an “unusual and suspicious person in a strange outfit” and an “underage girl wearing a maid outfit who might have come here as a messenger from another household or who has just arrived and hasn’t been assigned a proper uniform yet.”

The former would immediately raise an alarm, but the latter might prompt thoughts like “Is she a messenger from another household? Or has she just arrived to work here and hasn’t been given her uniform yet?” and wouldn’t lead to immediate suspicion.

Well, more importantly, if she had the opportunity to talk to the young Kemonomimi girl, she thought she would be too suspicious in her thief outfit, and wouldn’t be able to have a proper conversation… That’s why she chose the maid outfit.

And then, Mile wrapped her body in her invisible field and infiltrated the lord’s mansion.

Although she had said she “infiltrated,” she just walked in normally, since she was invisible to others…

(Now, where could the young Kemonomimi girl be? Although she was considered an illegal slave due to her abduction, she would likely be treated as a “live-in apprentice whose parents were paid in advance” on the surface… Since she’s an illegal slave, especially being a Kemonomimi, if any conscientious servant found out, they would report it to the authorities. If there were no conscientious servants, they would sell the information to hostile nobles.

Anyway, there’s no way such a fatal secret would be entrusted to the servants. So, Mile would probably make up something like “you were sold by your parents” to the young Kemonomimi girl, and treat her as a normal servant until she grows a little more…)

There are also people in the world who “don’t have to wait for a young girl to grow up,” but Mile wasn’t very familiar with that sort of thing.

(Since she’s a young girl, she wouldn’t be doing things like serving food or washing dishes…)

It wasn’t because she was highly valued, but because her body and palms were too small to carry dishes with food on them, and it would be too dangerous for her to try. Additionally, her efficiency in washing dishes would be too low, and she would get in the way of others or even break dishes.

The adults among the servants would be scolded if the food was ruined, and the tableware used in noble households was expensive. They wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility for damaging it.

So, where would they put a young girl during meal times…

“I found her! It’s a young fox beastman girl!!”

Mile found the young girl in the servants’ quarters where the younger servants were assigned.

Although they were called “young,” there were no others as young as the beastman girl. The youngest were around 12-13 years old. Any younger than that would not be suitable as labor or socially acceptable.

(But even though it’s not suitable, why would someone pay a large sum of money to obtain a young beastman girl? It’s because they’re like-minded with our enemies! …However, even if she’s treated well like Lilia-chan, if she’s just given the same treatment as a regular servant, that’s fine, but if she’s being abused…)

…Unforgivable.

That’s what Mile’s eyes were saying.

The others were still working on the dinner related to the lord’s family, and there was no one else in the room but the young girl. When the lord’s meal was over and it was time for the servants to eat and drink tea, she would probably be called there as well.

(If she’s not called and this child is only given hard bread or no dinner at all…)

…Unforgivable!

God knows, the earth knows, chilchil michil!

That was the phrase that came to Mile’s mind…

Even if she approached her now, there wasn’t enough time. The servants’ meal time would start soon, and she didn’t know when the other inhabitants of the room would return.

The meals were probably not taken together, and they would finish quickly. It was also unclear whether this girl’s turn was early or late.

Maybe they would put her last to give her a chance to eat slowly, or maybe they would let her eat first because she was a child and let her rest early. There might even be kindness to let her eat as much leftovers as she wanted.

For now, it would be best to continue observing and gathering information.

Mile was frustrated because she couldn’t get any information.

It had been several months since the beastman girl had come here, but there was no way that conversations like “Oh, by the way, what kind of treatment is that beastman girl getting?” or “What’s her employment status?” would start just to suit Mile’s convenience.

And the lord’s family didn’t seem to bring up such topics at this point. At most, they might boast about having a rare beastman child when they have visitors, but even that wouldn’t be the real situation. It would just be talking about the “setting,” and it wouldn’t mean anything.

(As expected, I’ll have to ask the girl herself…)

Even if the treatment was not good, if the girl herself judged that it was “much better than living in that village,” there would be no need to intervene.

This was not a request from the parents of a kidnapped child, but a free request that Mile had made herself with her ad-hoc party “Crimson Blood is Good!” Because of this, if they forcibly took her away against her will, it would be just a case of kidnapping and a criminal offense…and a serious one at that.

Furthermore, since it was a “free request” that did not go through the Hunter’s Guild, and “Crimson Blood is Good!” was not a registered Hunter party, but just a group of friends, they could not receive any support from the Guild. This was completely different from the situation when their regular C-rank party, “Crimson Oath,” received an official request through the Guild.

To act in secret, there were disadvantages that corresponded to the advantages…