Chapter 261

The deal with the trading partner had been safely finalized, and just as everyone’s tension eased with a sense of relief, Jeanne, who had been quietly standing behind the sofa, extended a thin vine created with Tree Magic from the tip of her horn, tapping Tatsuro’s shoulder lightly.

“Hm? What’s up, Jeanne?” Tatsuro asked.

When he turned toward Jeanne, she pointed with her vine at a fragment of a molar that Sanjiv had spat out, left lying in the corner of the room. Curious if it meant something, Tatsuro used his [Spirit Eye] to examine it and saw a thread-like strand of Magical Thread extending from it, stretching outside.

Focusing his Spirit Eye further, he traced where it led. The Magical Thread extended about a hundred meters to a slightly hunched human who seemed to be a Lightning Magic user. Upon closer inspection, it appeared the Magical Thread was connected to the person’s ear.

(From their height and the degree of their hunch, it feels like Sanjiv. And this thread being connected to their ear is concerning… Is it some kind of eavesdropping skill?) Tatsuro thought.

He silently signaled to Beverly, who was watching curiously, to stay quiet. She nodded in acknowledgment, so Tatsuro took out paper and a pen from his [Infinite Item Field] to communicate in writing.

<there’s a="" thread-like="" strand="" of="" magical="" thread="" extending="" from="" that="" tooth="" fragment="" toward="" the="" outside.="" do="" you="" know="" what="" it="" is?=""></there’s>

“—!?” Beverly exclaimed softly.

Startled by Tatsuro’s note, Beverly quickly turned her head toward the fragment and stared intently, likely using a skill like [Magic Vision]. Tatsuro waited as she gestured for the pen, which he handed over without hesitation.

<you can’t="" see="" it?="" can="" i="" have="" it="" analyzed="" from="" our="" side?=""></you>

<sure, go="" ahead.=""></sure,>

Tatsuro leaned close to Cardina and whispered, asking her to analyze it using her level 14 Dispel Magic. In sync, Tatsuro began investigating the information as well.

(This is… a highly concealed eavesdropping skill. You’d need at least level 10 Magic Vision to see it. The skill isn’t actually on the tooth but on the blood and saliva. Even if the tooth is cleaned up or the floor is wiped, the invisible Magical Thread remains, allowing eavesdropping. The range is wide, too—it can pick up sounds within dozens of meters even if moved to another location… This is troublesome.) Tatsuro concluded.

He had Cardina chirp as if he understood her, nodding to play along, then wrote the results on the paper.

<we’ll call="" our="" dispel="" magic="" user="" to="" neutralize="" it.="" if="" there’s="" a="" skill="" like="" that,="" i="" want="" our="" people="" to="" learn="" it="" as="" well.=""></we’ll>

<understood.></understood.>

Beverly left the room, and the sound of her climbing the stairs echoed shortly after. A few minutes later, an elderly reptilian, likely past sixty, arrived with a staff in hand.

“Maybe that’s the guy I fought?” Tatsuro whispered.

“—What!? He’s totally an old man now!” Cardina replied.

“Same species, same skill set, but a different person… doesn’t seem likely,” Tatsuro mused.

The elderly reptilian seemed slightly surprised upon seeing Tatsuro, confirming his suspicion. Ohanze, now much older but with even more refined Dispel Magic skills than when he fought Tatsuro, investigated and nodded to Beverly, likely affirming Tatsuro’s findings. Tatsuro observed the seasoned Dispel Magic user’s technique closely with his Spirit Eye.

“This should be fine now, Beverly,” Ohanze said.

“Good. Thank you. How does it look from your end?” Beverly asked.

“Peewee!” Cardina chirped.

“…Looks fine,” Tatsuro confirmed.

Using his Spirit Eye and Cardina’s Dispel Magic, Tatsuro confirmed the Magical Thread was completely severed. He also saw, with his Spirit Eye, a Sanjiv-like figure about a hundred meters away hurriedly fleeing.

“I thought that party had a lot of info for not diving deep, but this was the trick,” Beverly remarked.

“Yeah. I’ve memorized it now, so spotting it next time should be easy,” Ohanze replied.

“Good. Relying on you, Ohanze. And if possible, teach it to your successor,” Beverly added.

“Got it. I’ll probably retire in a few years anyway,” Ohanze said.

“Such a shame—oh, sorry. Do you remember this guy?” Beverly asked, noticing Tatsuro and his group watching them.

Beverly directed the conversation toward Tatsuro, who spoke hesitantly.

“You’re Ohanze, who I fought… right?”

“Yeah. You haven’t changed a bit, but I’ve aged quite a lot,” Ohanze replied with a joking tone.

For Tatsuro and his group, who had only met people they didn’t know or those who hadn’t aged visibly since leaving the dungeon, Ohanze’s words brought a sudden sense of the passage of time.

“But you seem healthy, and that’s what matters,” Tatsuro said.

“Healthy? My body’s not listening to me anymore,” Ohanze chuckled.

As they exchanged light greetings, the door opened again, and a familiar figure entered.

“Well, looks like something odd happened, but it seems fine now,” the newcomer said.

“You’re… um—” Tatsuro started.

“Mirowsz. It’s been a while,” the figure replied.

Mirowsz, now about 170 centimeters tall with completely white hair, stood there. Though visibly aged, he exuded a stronger life force than before.

“Then we’ll have these three hear you out. Did you bring the paper, Mirowsz?” Beverly asked.

“Yeah, brought plenty,” Mirowsz replied, placing a stack of paper over thirty centimeters thick on the table with a thud.

Tatsuro gave a wry smile, wondering if there was really that much to discuss, but decided the other side was ready and began.

“Before we start, can we receive the promised items?”

“Of course,” Beverly replied.

While Ohanze and Mirowsz settled on the sofa, Beverly began placing the prepared items on the table.

“First, a coin worth 400 million Shis. Then, a magical tool to reduce weight, three types of wooden dolls usable with Spirit Magic, a Fairy Fossil, a stringed instrument that’s a diffusion magical tool for Curse Magic, and a raw Dragon Eye Jewel. Any issues so far?” Beverly asked.

Tatsuro checked the coin’s authenticity and glanced at Leah Schleiermacher to confirm the magical tools, which were harder to assess. She gave a subtle nod, indicating everything was fine.

“No issues,” Tatsuro said.

“Good. Then all that’s left is the information. First, these documents cover the current status of the people involved. These summarize major events in this country. And finally, these detail the past thirty-six years regarding ‘Leah Schleiermacher,’” Beverly explained.

“Can we take a quick look inside?” Tatsuro asked.

“Sure. I’d be troubled if you read it thoroughly here, but skimming the contents is fine,” Beverly replied.

“Then I’ll take a look,” Tatsuro said.

Tatsuro handed Leah the documents about herself, took the ones on major events in the country for himself, and gave Ai the ones about the people involved to skim through.

Tatsuro opened his documents and found a broad timeline on the first page, with references to detailed content on specific pages. His attention was drawn to an event from the national calendar year 1026—two years ago—about the first successful creation of an Artificial Magic Stone.

Opening that section, he found the names of the former and current lords of Lyadas, the town mayor, and Heathcoat College, who had established a method to cultivate a special moss used as a raw material, achieving significant results. (T/N: This guy was referred to as Doctor, Check chapter 150. The Author just mentioned his name here if I am not mistaken)

It also listed researchers who extracted components from the moss to create the Artificial Magic Stone and described the impact on the country.

Ai’s documents covered the current status of involved individuals, though only up to about a month prior. However, it only included those closely connected to Tatsuro’s group since arriving in Lyadas, missing people like Zendo or the beastman siblings they parted with. Still, it seemed no one had met an unfortunate fate, so Ai sighed in relief.

Leah hesitated to open the documents about herself, her hand trembling with fear. Nana, sitting beside her, gently squeezed her hand, using Life Magic to calm her. Encouraged, Leah resolved to face whatever was written and flipped through the pages.

“—!” Leah gasped.

The good news was that Moritz Holbein had been ousted as the guild leader of the Liushten<spantext-decoration:" underline;"="">merchant guild and arrested for suspected involvement in multiple murders. However, due to insufficient evidence, only one case led to charges for four murders.

The bad news was a list of eighty-seven people, likely killed on Moritz’s orders, including women who cared for Leah at his mansion, possible lookouts she vaguely recalled, and scholars she knew from research.

All had been thoroughly eliminated. The realization made Leah nauseous, but Nana quickly used Life Magic to suppress it, though tears still fell.

Leah hadn’t imagined that her pursuit of freedom would lead to so many deaths. While the killer was clearly the worst, she couldn’t simply blame Moritz and move on. Nana gently took the documents to prevent tears from smudging the ink, skimmed them, and told Tatsuro they were fine.

“All three documents seem fine. So, we can consider the payment complete,” Tatsuro said.

“Good. Then we’ll step out briefly—forgot something. It won’t be long. Can you wait?” Beverly asked.

“Yes, we’ll wait here,” Tatsuro replied.

To Beverly, Leah appeared as a small girl shrouded in black mist, her appearance and expression unclear.

But the sound of sniffles and faint sobs prompted Beverly to give them space to calm down, using the excuse of forgotten items. Tatsuro bowed lightly as Beverly left with Ohanze and Mirowsz.

About thirty minutes later, when Leah had calmed, Beverly and the others returned. Now it was Tatsuro’s group’s turn to provide their side.