98. Information Gathering
After receiving the request to search for Nea-chan from Shiro and the others, Takuma first met up with Lena at the inn and headed to the adventurer’s guild.
“Rorraine~” “Oh, it’s been a while, Takuma-san.” “Yes. You’re as beautiful as ever today.” “Thank you. Now, what brings you here today?” “Actually…”
Takuma explained the matter of Nea-chan to Lorraine.
“I see. So that’s what happened…” “Yes. So I came to check if there were any quests involving kidnapping or abduction recently in this area.”
Even though the possibility that Nea-chan had been kidnapped was low, it wasn’t zero. First, he had come to the adventurer’s guild to see if similar quests had appeared.
If a similar request or incident existed, Nea-chan’s chances of being caught up in it would rise sharply. From what he had seen yesterday, Nea-chan was smaller and more childlike than the surrounding women, so she would be easy to take.
“Well, it does exist…” “It sounds like you’re having trouble saying it?” “Well, it’s not something recent.” “Then what is it?” “Before you started coming here, there was already a quest to exterminate a group that was kidnapping women from small towns and villages.”
“What kind of quest is that?” “Wait a second.”
Lorraine took a paper from the quest board and handed it to Takuma. At the top, in large letters, it read:
“Extermination Request: Hell Prison Gang…”
The name Hell Prison Gang immediately told him they were not a charity group. The wording was not “capture” or “repel” but “extermination” — to kill every last one. A chill ran down his spine.
“The Hell Prison Gang is a group of dog beastmen thieves and kidnappers. They sell the women they capture to slave traders.” “Then why haven’t the adventurers… I mean, why haven’t they been defeated yet?” “It’s not that simple. The group has no fixed base, so it’s difficult to locate them. And since they have dozens of members, even if adventurers form parties, the numbers are overwhelmingly against them, making extermination difficult.”
“Then if multiple parties form…” “That’s right. But there are problems with that…”
“Problems? What kind of problems?” “The reward split.” “…Lisa.”
The answer to Takuma’s question came from behind. He turned around and saw Lisa standing there.
“Long time no see, Takuma. I heard you had a child without telling anyone.” “In this world, does a child grow up that fast in less than a year?” “Just kidding. It looks like you’re not even in a party…” “Lena. She’s my bodyguard, though she fights like a slave.” “I see. Nice to meet you, Lena-chan.” “Nice to meet you…”
Lena stood in front of Takuma’s body, hiding herself a little as she looked at Lisa.
“Speaking of which, what exactly is this reward split?” “As I said. If multiple parties form, the reward is naturally divided among them. But if one party finds the hideout and another kills the boss, how do you think the rewards will be split?” “That’s for them to decide.” “Right. But what are the rules? And if the first party to reach the hideout gets the lion’s share, what about the reward when a party member dies because of the quest?” “Ah, so in other words…” “That’s right. It’s complicated. There are many issues.”
Takuma could understand Lisa’s point just from the example she gave. The example alone was complicated enough. If the enemy had dozens of members, the party would also have to be large. The more parties joined, the more complicated the reward split became.
Adventurers would never willingly take on a quest with a high risk of death if the reward wasn’t worth it.
“Exactly as she said. That’s why this quest is still untouched.”
Takuma understood why the Hell Prison Gang extermination quest was still open. But the problem was whether the Hell Prison Gang was connected to the Nea-chan he was searching for.
It was painful, but the person he wanted to save right now was Nea-chan.
“Lorraine-san. Is it possible that the Nea-chan I mentioned could be taken by the Hell Prison Gang?” “I’m sorry, but I can’t say for sure. However, there have been recent sightings of beastmen who look like members of the Hell Prison Gang.”
“Is that true? Where?” “You should know this place, Takuma-san.”
Takuma had some places in mind from Lorraine’s words, but when she named the exact location, it was one he had become most familiar with in this world.
—
“How are things going?” “Oh? It’s Takuma.”
The place Takuma and Lena had gone to was the Fountain Tavern run by Botas — the bar that was now Takuma’s main source of income.
“Collecting taxes? That seems a bit early for that…” “No, I didn’t come here for that today.” “Taxes? Takuma, what are you doing?” “Well, whatever. By the way, why is Lisa here?”
Lorraine had told them to come to the Fountain Tavern for information on the Hell Prison Gang, and Lisa had followed them anyway.
“I just finished all my quests, so I’m killing time.” “Then you could just take a new quest…” “I haven’t slept properly since yesterday and the day before, so it’s okay to rest a little, right?” “Then just sleep…” “It’s not like I asked you. Or is there something you’re hiding?”
There was a small amount of guilt, but it wasn’t exactly there. What Takuma was doing was simply looking for a person.
Even if that person was the loli huge-breasted beautiful girl he had met at the brothel, he had no intention of doing anything wrong. He just wanted to see her again. That was righteous.
Lisa could monitor them if she wanted. It didn’t concern Takuma.
Besides, Lisa was a genuine adventurer and he knew her strength. As far as he was concerned, having Lena as his bodyguard was already lucky enough.
“Fine, do whatever you want. I’ll do whatever I want too.” “Yep.” “Um, so Takuma. Why are you here?”
Takuma turned his gaze back to Botas and moved on to the main topic.
“Actually, I’m looking for someone on a request. The person I’m looking for might have been kidnapped, and the kidnappers are supposedly…” “The Hell Prison Gang, right?” “Yeah. Do you know something about them?” “I can’t say I know anything, but if you run a bar, you can’t help hearing about the Hell Prison Gang. If people are being attacked or dragged off by their members, you hear about it every day.” “Then, is there any mention of a succubus being taken?” “A succubus?” “What? The succubus you’re looking for?” “Yeah. Does that make a difference?” “No, of course it does…”
All at once, Lisa’s cheeks flushed red and she started fidgeting. Takuma felt an immediate sense of déjà vu.
It was the same reaction a woman would have when a man brought up something erotic in front of her.
“…As men, we shouldn’t talk about such things in front of women…”
Coming to this world and seeing all kinds of races, Takuma had thought it was fine to mention succubi or orcs. But he finally understood that in this world, succubi were creatures of that kind.
“Ah, sorry. But the fact that I’m looking for a succubus girl is real. Botas, do you know anything?” “I’m sorry, but I have no leads. I’m mostly in the kitchen during work, so maybe the people serving might know something.” “I see. I’ll ask them.”
With Botas’s permission, he listened to the girls who were serving as much as possible about Nea-chan, but no one had any information about her.
Even when he asked about the Hell Prison Gang, there was nothing special — it was just one of the daily events in the town.
“So it’s no good…” “Yeah, no one knows anything.” “That’s too bad. What if we try another bar? Maybe something will turn up?” “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”
Takuma had decided to come to this bar because of Lorraine’s words. If it didn’t work here, he would go to another bar. He had thought about that before coming here.
“If the Hell Prison Gang is active around here, they’re probably using one of the bars. Or maybe they go to the same bar every day. I don’t know how many bars there are in this town, but there’s no choice but to visit them one by one.”
“Hey, Botas-san.” “What is it, miss?” “You’ve been peeling those things this whole time. Are those potatoes?” “Yeah, but what about it?” “No, there’s an awful lot of them, but what are you going to make with so many?” “What do you mean? Obviously fried potatoes.” “Eh!? You sell fried potatoes here!?” “Didn’t you know, miss?” “I heard about it a lot at the guild, but I didn’t know the shop was here… I’ve wanted to try one for so long!” “So you’ve never tried fried potatoes yet?” “Yes.”
While Takuma had been feeling down, the two of them — Lisa and Botas — suddenly got excited.
“That’s terrible. Hey, Takuma.” “What?” “How about asking this girl to help us stake out the bar?”
It was Botas’s suggestion after seeing a new customer, but it was actually a good one.
They didn’t have to look for people; the people would come to them.
Takuma didn’t know how many bars there were in the town, but among them, this was clearly the most lively right now.
That was thanks to the fried potatoes he had introduced to Botas.
People gathering made it lively. Gathering people meant more sources of information.
For now, he decided to go with Botas’s plan.
“That’s fine, but what do we do until then…” “Oh, there are plenty of things to do~”
With those words, Botas had a mountain of potatoes — no, potatoes — piled up.
“I’ll help too.”
Following Botas’s order, Takuma peeled potatoes for several hours.