ALL NOVEL Chapter 239 - Divine Cat Mii-chan, the Great Detective
Chapter 239: Divine Cat Mii-chan, the Great Detective
We move to the next room. It looks like a library. I’ll leave checking the contents for later and focus on collecting everything. The next room is filled with weapons and armor, cluttered together. I’ll gather everything here too. Among the pile of weapons and armor, there’s one large chest with a lock. The chest itself is an Artifact (AF), known as the “Box of Firm Defense,” but for the sake of testing, I tried using the unlocking necklace—and it opened! Inside were two swords wrapped in cloth. One was a divine sword, and the other, labeled as a national defense sword, also an AF. Looks like I found something impressive.
The divine sword doesn’t seem to be an AF, but it’s described as a sword imbued with divine power. Is it superior to an AF or not? I’ll have to ask King Retsu next time. The national defense sword apparently protects its wielder from a great disaster once in their lifetime, but only if they are recognized as its rightful owner.
I head to the last room, unlock the door, and step into what seems to be a study. This must be the main target. There’s a desk and bookshelves, but after searching, nothing particularly noteworthy turns up. However, my map skill shows a small hidden space behind the shelf next to the chair. Examining the shelf doesn’t reveal anything, but when I check the floor, I find a groove like a rail. I try pulling the shelf—it doesn’t move. I try pushing it—still no luck.
Suddenly, Mii-chan dives toward a painting hanging beside the shelf. She’s clinging to the canvas with her claws. Oh no, I thought the painting would be ruined, but the entire frame tilts, and the shelf slides open. Mii-chan, are you a great detective? Or maybe a misdetective?
“Mii~!”
Mii-chan comes back to me, looking very proud. I’m impressed. As a reward, I’ll give you a little extra red bean paste dessert tonight.
“Mii~!”
Behind the shelf, of course, there’s a safe. Time for the unlocking necklace again. Inside, I find a treasure trove of evidence—orders from the Dark Guild and detailed records of money and valuables transferred to them. There are even documents that reveal the involvement of past magistrates with the Dark Guild. This could cause quite the stir. If the king sees this, it could lead to the dissolution of some noble houses.
Still, the Assassin Guild, Thieves Guild, mafia, and underground financiers—what a notorious group. The corruption among the nobility runs deep. Perhaps only a few nobles are truly honorable.
With the evidence found, I’ll wrap things up for today. I’ll leave dealing with the bureaucracy to Theo-san for now. We need to send a new magistrate immediately; I’ll return and discuss it with everyone.
Back home, I call an emergency meeting of the “First Brocken Baron Strategy Session: What to Do Next.”
“It was really that bad?”
“This is a catastrophe! The princess is not filthy! Perro’s Kotetsu thirsts for blood!”
“Mya.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“We need to send a new magistrate immediately, or things will get worse.”
“But any magistrate we send will likely be targeted for assassination.”
Jin-san’s right. I plan to ask Letty-san to gather information on the Dark Guild in Forte while we wait for the new magistrate to be appointed, but it’ll take time to dismantle the guild completely. It can’t happen right away.
“I’ll go.”
“Are you serious, Glen-chan?”
“I won’t be outmatched by members of the Dark Guild.”
“That would be a great help. If Glenhardt-san goes, the others will probably accept it. Take one of our wolves with you—they’re skilled in sensing danger and will be useful in combat. Having one by your side will be a great advantage.”
“That’s a good idea. It’ll make for a good traveling companion.”
“Well, since there’s a dog involved, I guess I’ll help too.”
“Thank you.”
It seems Rosalinde-san will join them as well. Sieg looks like he wants to go, but he already told Glenhardt-san he’s committed to fighting the Goblin King, so he can’t. It can’t be helped.
“What should we do?”
“What do we do, nya?”
“Lou-san, Jin-san, Perro, Sera, and the Munakata siblings should proceed to Quint as planned. The labyrinth exploration is essential to level up the siblings.”
“Got it. We’ll head there and make preparations.”
“Leave it to me, nya! Ten… hmmmf!”
“Okay, Perro, no need for extra commentary~”
“I can’t wait for the labyrinth exploration. Right, Doctor Kaorin?”
“Indeed, Toshi-kun. Encounters with the unknown lead to new discoveries. It’s thrilling!”
Doctor Kaorin… is that title sticking?
“I wanted to go too…”
Yan-kun, unfortunately, won’t be joining the labyrinth exploration. Ilze-san didn’t give her permission. What a pity.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll go to the royal palace to report, then return to Forte with Letty-san. Perro and the others will head to Quint with Sieg three days later. As for Glenhardt-san and his team, they’ll leave first thing in the morning. Both groups will be traveling by horse, so they should arrive quickly.
I’ll hand Letty-san the documents I gathered today and have her look through them for useful information.
“You’re quite the taskmaster, boy.”
Oh, come on, you need to work sometimes too!
“If you do a good job, Letty-san, we can use the money seized from the Dark Guild’s downfall to build an orphanage for the kids in the slums.”
“Leave it to me, boy!”
Letty-san may have a soft spot for small things and fluffy creatures. Is she surprisingly easy to win over? But even without this situation, I’d been thinking about the orphanage idea. Although it would be hard with just the Divine Cat Company, using noble status, influence, and money, we could help many people. I thought of building an orphanage as a start, to help the children in the slums and other orphans. Mii-chan fully supports the idea too.
“Mii~!”