âAudience with the Demon King? You. What the hell is happening?â\n
I had wanted to learn more from the man first, but that wasnât going to happen now.
âShut up.â
I gave him a murderous look, and then his silhouette began to blur.
He looked like he would melt and disappear, and so I slapped him.
But instead of hitting something solid, my hand felt like it had been thrust into some kind of sticky fluid.
âWhat theâŚ? Itâs sticky.â
As for the manâŚhe went flying into the wall, where he was now stuck. He was spread out like an amoeba. It was quite disgusting.
âSir Golan. That is a Gelman.â
âHuh? Iâve never heard of that. What kind of race are they?â (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
It seemed like I was learning about a lot of rare races today.
âI heard that while they do have a proper shape, they can use their special ability to change into others.â
âthey must be a relative to the Slimes. âŚSo that face he was using earlier was the result of his special ability.â
If he had a special ability that allowed him to shapeshift, it was no wonder they were good at detective work.
Long ago, I had read a comic book about a man with seven faces, but these guys were able to do it without using anything.
âThey say that normal attacks donât do much damage to them.â
âIt looks pretty effective to me.â\n
Surely he was unconscious now?
âThere must have been mana in that attack. Regardless, what was this man trying to do?â
âHe told me that he was searching for a tactician called Seitry. A Nanakei of this country. And I was supposed to assassinate this person based on the information.â
âA tactician. I have also heard rumors⌠Well, there are rumors in the army as well. But Iâve never heard of anyone actually seeing this tactician.â
âTheyâre probably leaking rumors and half-truths on purpose. Anyway, I still want to question this guy. But how can I bind him?â
âThere are all kinds of binding tools to restrain people at the guard house. In this case, perhaps you should put him in a basin and tie him up? Even though he can shapeshift, there must be a limit.â
âWell, Iâm only going to question him, so perhaps that will do. Iâll go and ask the innkeeper for something.â
The Gelman was still stuck on the wall, and hadnât even twitched.
And so I went downstairs and asked for a basin.
The old innkeeper practically flew out to the back and grabbed one of the basins that was used for washing.
I took it up to the second floor and then peeled the thing off of the wall.
âItâs so disgusting⌠There was a rope among our belongings, wasnât there? Bring it to me.â
I tied the rope over the basin so that it looked like the top area was divided into eight.
âIs this good enough?â
âI think it is. I doubt heâll be able to escape from the gaps. And if he tries to resist, you can just attack him while unleashing mana.â
âI see. âŚAlright then.â
I tried hitting him with just a little bit of mana and he started muttering, âhmm. Iâll have seconds.â How predictable. \nI hit him again. This time with a little more mana, and he woke up.
âThere you are.â
âYou! What is this! Hey! Why am I tied up!â
âAye, and youâll stay that way for now. And be careful. You donât want to know what Iâll do to you if you try and escape.â
âYou! So youâre a traitor then. Why? Donât you know that youâll be targeted for life? Traitors all meet a brutal death eventually.â
He was finally up and now he wouldnât stop talking.
âIâm no traitor. I never had anything to do with you all. Itâs you who just made a mistake.â
âHuh? A mistakeâŚno, thatâs ridiculous! You had the bag hanging upside down!â
âThatâs not mine. Our baggage carriers used them to carry food. I just washed and dried them because they were dirty.â
âAnd what about you being an outsider?â
âI have my own reasons for being in this country. Iâm in this town to meet the Demon King. It has nothing to do with your assassinations.â
âTh-thenâŚwhy did you say you were a merchant? How did you know the secret word? It doesnât make any sense.â
âWell, you should have thought of a better secret word then. It was just a coincidence. I donât start fights, but I donât shy away from a challenge.â
âYouâŚ!?â
He groaned.
âNow, itâs time for me to ask the questions. Such as your origins, your plans, and how you contact Nehyor.â
\nMost of them didnât know how to live outside of the battlefield.
Once the army said they didnât need them, they would eat through their savings very quickly.
Of course, that meant they would have to take from others. But they couldnât be too open about it, or the military would notice them.
To put it simply, they abducted, robbed and assassinated. They started making a living through accepting jobs that were against the law.
As for the important part, which was Nehyorâs location.
âI donât know. Honest. As if someone like me would be able to contact Lord Nehyor. He just appears out of nowhere, tells me what to do, and then disappears.â
Thatâs what he said.
Apparently, even if I waited in the Gelman settlement, I was unlikely to be able to meet him.
âI see⌠Well, I heard what I needed to hear. Stomel.â
âWhat is it, Sir Golan?â
âWould you mind running an errand for me?â
âTo the guard house, sir?â
âYes, if you donât mind.â
ââŚVery well. I will go again.â
âYou heartless fiend!â echoed from the basin, so I punched him again.