Side Story: Eris 1

Crossing borders was never something I looked forward to. Having come from a noble family, Sanson was always able to produce the necessary forms of identification to get through the checkpoints with ease, but as an elf, I didn’t have any kind of identification like that. All I had was a mercenary badge from the Gilden Lions. And even if the guards accepted that it was legitimate, that didn’t mean they’d let me in. They were under no obligation to let people through just because they were mercenaries. Depending on the situation within their kingdom, they might refuse entry to mercenaries outright. That went double for a group like the Gilden Lions.

In cases like that, you had three options. The first was just to give up and go home. Depending on how profitable your current job seemed, that was usually the most pragmatic choice. The second was to camp out near the checkpoint and try again on a later day. Just because one official denied you entry didn’t mean they all would. You might end up waiting a while though, especially when you consider that you might get stuck in the same situation on the way back. The third option was to try and sneak across the border.

I wouldn’t recommend going that route. Sure, borders were mostly open, so sneaking across would be relatively easy. If anything, actually going to the checkpoints and country gates was more of a hassle. The problem was what came next. Mercenary bands were only able to operate openly under the assumption that they would file the proper reports to the government for every job they completed. That includes the names and information of anyone who completed the job. If they were from a foreign kingdom it wouldn’t be strange to then check if they crossed the border legally.

It’s not a guarantee that things would happen like that, but when you make as little as we do, it’s not worth the risk.

And as for what happens if you do get caught in a situation like that, well, the penalty varies greatly depending on where you went and where you came from. All in all, just don’t try it.

Oh, and I suppose there’s a fourth option as well. Assuming you were denied entry, a few silver coins will usually change a border guard's mind. Unfortunately, my financial state didn’t make that option worth considering either.

With all that in mind, I was incredibly relieved to be allowed into the Valieris Kingdom without much hassle. I also gave a short thank you to the god of forest for causing Rem to still be missing. I had enough trouble getting across on my own, so I’d been praying day in and day out for Rem to not come back to Ah’Ruh until after we left for Valieris.

Sanson had it easy, so he didn’t realize how difficult it would have been, but how exactly did he think Rem was going to cross the border? She couldn’t even claim her body’s old identity, as her mercenary badge listed her as Remnant. Fortunately, she didn’t come back in time, so Sanson agreed to leave without her.

Besides, we both knew she would find us. Rem was the kind of person you couldn’t get rid of if you tried.

And I’ve tried things that no sensible person would even consider.

And as for Rakki, despite him being even more of a mystery than Rem, I wasn’t concerned about him crossing the border in the slightest. When he learned that Sanson and I planned on walking to Valieris, he let us know he’d travel on his own and meet us there. He said he had somewhere else to visit first.

Listen, I get it. It’s not like I wanted to walk all that way either. That was our only option though. Sanson got kicked out of any traveling party he’d ever been in, and I couldn’t stand dealing with that many people. They’d just talk and talk about their short little lives and why they were traveling.

No, I’d rather walk. The moment I assaulted one of them I’d be thrown out anyway. Why should I pay for a caravan that was eventually going to kick me out?

Ah’Ruh was close to the border, so reaching Valieris only took fifteen days. In another sixteen days we managed to reach the city of Milize. After reporting our presence to a local branch of the Gilden Lions, Sanson and I rented rooms at an inn. Separate inns, mind you. I knew it was incredibly likely that Sanson would get kicked out at some point, and I didn’t want to get wrapped up in that mess.

For similar reasons I didn’t want him showing up at the inn I was staying at, so I went to his rented room for our first team meeting since we entered the city. I got plenty of stares for visiting a man’s rented room right after he rented it, but I’d gladly take their misconceptions over the people at my inn seeing a naked paladin stroll out of my room.

“After coming all this way, I’m really starting to think that this wasn’t worth it. If I don’t end up making a killing on this quest, I’m going to be killing you instead. I’ll have to settle for looting whatever valuables you have on you.”

Sanson was in it for the adventure, but I needed to get paid. I didn’t have any kind of family fortune to fall back on like he did. This job had already taken over a month, and if you factor in the time it takes to complete and the travel time back to Ah’Ruh, I’ll need to make enough to justify spending at least three months on this. I could always just cut my losses and start living in Milize, but that would require some investment as well.

“Haha, Eris, you always know how to brighten my spirits! Don’t worry, this will be our most profitable mission yet.”

“Will it? If it’s so profitable, wouldn’t all of the local mercenaries already have a head start over us? Traveling this far for a single job seems like a bad idea.”

“No, we are the only ones brave enough to tackle this quest.”

Sanson always sounded confident with everything he said, so it was hard to tell how true that statement was.

“Why do you think that?”

I wasn’t just trying to act suspicious, I really didn’t know his reasoning. From what I remember this quest didn’t involve killing anyone, so I couldn’t remember the details.

“Because we’re going to solve a series of murders!”

“How exciting.” I knew Sanson wouldn’t pick up on my sarcasm, but I had to say it anyway. “But why wouldn’t anyone else get involved?”

I know I wouldn’t move a muscle to solve a murder or bring anyone to justice, but even if we ignore the town guards, plenty of mercenaries would.

“Because the primary suspect is a noble!”

Sanson was the only person who would happily shout out that our target was a noble. No sane person would go after someone like that. A noble could ruin your life with a single passing word.

That’s why he was certain it was worth the trip. Even if it took us a month to get here, we wouldn’t be playing catch up. There wouldn’t be any investigation from anyone. The two of us were the only ones in a position to get involved.

Sanson was a disgraced noble himself, and I was an elf without any connection or clan. Neither of us had any social standing to lose, nor did we ever expect to climb any higher.

“Alright, what are the details?”

The idea of potentially getting to kill some rich noble was getting me excited.

“This is what I learned back in Ah’Ruh, so the information is slightly dated, but at that point 34 girls had gone missing from Milize.”

“Thirty-four missing girls in a city this big is hardly indicative of anything.”

Milize wasn’t the Valieris capital, but it still boasted a population of around 200,000. I would guess that more than 34 people went missing every day.

“Unfortunately, you're right. We live in a society where 34 people can go missing without causing a commotion. This situation is different though. All 34 victims either lived or worked in the same district, and they all fit the same description. All female, between the ages of 16 and 25, average to slightly below average in height, slim build, fair skin, and light hair.”

“I can’t imagine that’s a coincidence.”

“Exactly. This isn’t 34 unrelated incidents, this is clearly the result of one person’s actions.”

“And whose actions are we talking about? You already said it’s some noble.”

“Anelace Milize, or someone close to her. Objects belonging to her were found at the last known location of multiple victims.”

“How certain is it that it was actually her stuff?”

“Completely. With no concern for the consequences her head attendant reclaimed those pieces of evidence from the guardhouse himself. He made sure everyone knew who he worked for.”

I didn’t want to, but imagining it was easy enough. A noble wouldn’t care about things like that. I’m sure she wasn’t bothered in the slightest if her actions looked suspicious. No one would take action against a noble for the death of a few commoners.

Unless of course, they had something to gain and nothing to lose.

“Wait, did you say Milize? Is she the lord of this city or something?”

Sure, I had something to gain and nothing to lose, but going after someone in charge of an entire city was too much for me. No amount of gold was worth that risk. I had assumed we were going after a lower ranked noble.

“No. Her grandfather was the younger brother of a previous Duke who managed this region. She is a baroness, but her father is a viscount, so it’s likely she will inherit his title, or perhaps marry up to something higher. It’s also worth noting that these disappearances didn’t start until her father retired and moved to the capital, placing his daughter in charge of managing their house.”

While his common sense was lacking, Sanson’s knowledge on noble affairs was second to none.

“So she’s not actually that big of a deal?”

Sure, a baroness was a noble, but they didn’t wield that much authority.

“Quite the opposite. While having been reduced to a baroness she is still allowed to use the Milize name, something that neither her father nor grandfather were allowed to do. They were given the name ‘Blanche’ instead. The reason no one is willing to investigate Anelace Milize is not because she is a noble, it is because of Anelace Milize herself.”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“Anelace Milize is known as the Saint of Valieris. I met her multiple times when I still lived in the Holy City. Many claim that the divine blood from the founders of the Kingdom of Valieris is thick in her.”

“And is that true?”

“I’m not certain, but to the common man it doesn’t matter. Her angelic presence is enough to convince most people it’s true. The gentry have long since propped her up as a saint, and despite how much they may despise it, the higher nobles can’t act against her. As an elf you may not be interested in this type of thing, but you’d be hard pressed to find a human who hadn’t at least heard of her.”

Things took an unexpected turn in his explanation. She wasn’t safe due to the protection of other nobles, she was being protected despite their animosity.

I was starting to get even more excited. I wouldn’t just get to kill a noble, I’d get to kill a saint.

Well, if she had been going around murdering girls she was hardly a saint. Still, to the rest of the world it would look like I murdered the person closest to the gods in this country.

Could you get any more dark than that?