Chapter 38

The kingdom had a special division called the royal investigators. In the past, one of the great dukes rose in rebellion against the crown. While the royal family successfully protected itself, the rebellion caused a large amount of destruction. As a result, the king at the time formed a special organization called the royal investigators.

These people were tasked with investigating nobles, making sure they acted in line. When there was no issue, they helped the regular security forces with investigating crime.

Isak More Cofferenhien from the Cofferenhien family was one of them. The Cofferenhien family was famous for producing top-quality members. High-ranking members were given a special noble rank to allow them to investigate other nobles.

“You can consider Isak here as a duke,” Ellie said at the end of her explanation. She looked twice as exhausted compared to before. Had they not been here, she would definitely be asleep by now.

John and Leyla stared at Isak, speechless.

“Wait, does that mean…”

John recalled seeing a symbol of a bird on Isak’s shoulder. He thought it was just a regular tattoo.

“That bird symbol?”

“... Bird symbol? Oh, you mean this?” Isak pulled the neck opening of his clothes to the side, revealing the bird symbol John had seen before.

“You really didn't know?” Ellie asked, surprised. “Despite already seeing that symbol before?”

The two could only shake their heads. They hadn’t spent more than two months in this world, after all. John remembered seeing some symbols when he studied at the library, but he wasn’t expecting those symbols to be relevant, so he didn’t pay them much attention.

“So that's why you were asking those questions… I thought for sure you would have noticed, John.”

They already had a suspicion, but they weren't expecting it to be as high as a duke.

“Wait, aren't you super important then?”

Dukes were among the highest of nobles.

“Not really. You see, us being dukes is not because we have land, but because we have power over other nobles. So in this case, I'm really no different from either of you.”

Having power over nobles pretty much meant a high-ranking person, no matter how one sees it. If anything, shouldn’t this give him the right to investigate the count personally?

“So you were serious when you talked about the heist?”

“Yep.”

The count had been suspected of illegal activities. Many believed that he had used something illegal to seize control of Tettorokata from the academy, so not many liked them. Count Karejo had also increased the taxation, which was not an order from the king. The rumors reached the king’s ears, thus, Isak was sent to investigate.

“So far, there has been no definitive proof that the count is actually collecting taxes more than usual,” Isak murmured. They were talking in the guild building, and in that short amount of time, Ellie had fallen asleep. She truly didn’t care.

“But… The count’s treasury had been increasing. There were rumors of him buying a great deal of things that weren't supposed to be within the realm of his budget.”

“Like?”

“This guild.”

John and Leyla looked at the guild building.

“As in the building?”

“No. The guild itself.”

This wasn’t something that should have happened. The guild always operated independently. Its leader came from its most reputable members, and they worked to make things better for their affiliates. A guild shouldn’t be owned by a single person. That defeated its purpose.

“Yet the count managed to get it under his control.”

The treasure hunters’ guild had been struggling. With the passage of time, fewer new dungeons were discovered, thus less treasure to be taken. Without quests, there was no reason for its members to continue operating within the guild. Many changed jobs. Without members to explore dungeons and treasure chests to uncover, less money would flow through. As such, the guild could no longer support itself.

“But then… The count swooped in and saved the guild. Isn’t that intriguing?” Isak mused. John didn’t know the man, but he doubted he did it out of the kindness of his heart.

“Is there something he wants?” Leyla asked. Isak nodded.

“And he can detect the treasure hunter hiding deep within the dungeon, despite every single chest in the floors above containing nothing. Don’t you think that’s suspicious?”

John and Leyla couldn’t deny the suspicion. Had Ellie not insisted they continue their exploration, they wouldn’t have continued the quest.

“Here’s the thing. The kingdom kept a warehouse full of gadgets from a bygone era. No one knows what these gadgets are for. They’re under investigation. A couple of months ago, several treasures disappeared mysteriously.”

“And that’s Count Karejo’s doing?”

Isak shrugged his shoulders. “That’s the thing, no one knows.”

“Can’t you investigate his mansion directly?”

As a duke, Isak had a higher rank compared to Count Karejo. Considering the special rights given to him, he should be able to ask for an investigation into the count’s mansion. That said, the count might hide it well enough that the investigators couldn’t find anything.

“We have, but all of our investigators came back saying that they found nothing.”

“... So you want a heist?”

Isak nodded. “Sneak in, grab everything important, get out. That way, we’ll know if there’s some kind of foul play involved. If there’s none, we’ll just say it’s the work of thieves. If there is, we can use it as evidence in court.”

It sounded very risky. Way too risky. What if they got caught?

Wait, is that why he tried to get Leyla on his side?

Leyla could teleport. If they got caught, Leyla could teleport them away without trouble. It wasn’t a one-way teleport, either. Much like how she could get them out, she could get them in. The count would be none the wiser.

“So, what do you think? I can promise good rewards.”

“What do you think?” John asked Leyla. Leyla pondered the situation.

“Come with me for a moment.”

Leyla brought John up to their room.

“You’re not supposed to be asking about me,” she said after closing the door.

“Why? You’ll be involved, right?”

Leyla was the core of this mission. Without Leyla, the heist would be much harder. They would need to plan an entrance and an exit. John didn’t have the black chair, so he couldn’t use advanced magic. His role would be to help carry the things they recovered. That’s all.

“Well, I am, but I’m returning after this, remember?”

John paused, only then realizing he had completely forgotten about it. Once they completed the quest, Leyla would return. She wouldn’t be facing the consequences of their actions.

“So, will you be taking this quest?”

“... Well, we need to grab that chair, don’t we?”

“Guess so.”

“Do you think he’s using the chair?”

“I doubt it.”

John let out a sigh of relief. If the count really did use the chair, then things would be much harder, since neither of them was immune to its effects.

“So, we’re doing this?”

“Let’s get this over with.”