Chapter 40: Charlotte and a Dangerous Conversation

The second day of the auction ended without incident.

I immediately went to talk with Trishel—well, more like to have her gather information for me—about that bastard. She said I should come to her room in the clan house again, so the two of us headed there together.

Riven and Reynard still had things they wanted to confirm at the auction hall, so we split up.

Once inside the room, I sat down in the chair as prompted. Since this was the second time, I wasn’t nearly as cautious as before. If anything happened, I’d just hit her. I already told her I’d tattle to Reynard afterward.

Trishel didn’t sit down, instead pacing around the room. She seemed to be gathering documents of some sort…

"So, about that scum who tried something indecent with Charlotte-chan, right?"

"Yes. Anything at all will help, as long as you have some information…"

Rustle. A bundle of papers scattered across the desk.

…You’ve got to be kidding. No way, right?

"I’d been meaning to look into him anyway, so I already gathered some things. I’m glad I can be of use right away."

That much? Overnight?

Yeah, this girl’s not normal.

Still, I’ll be thankful for that abnormality for now. Let’s have a look.

"His name is Banfa. Among the upper district, he’s well known as the resident fool of a rich family. Squanders money, can’t think straight, but his pride’s sky-high. Honestly, a random horse would probably be more useful."

"That’s… a bit much, don’t you think? Yes, definitely too much."

The documents were far more detailed than I expected.

Name, gender, age—of course. But also his social circle, recent noteworthy behavior, even records of past blunders.

…This is terrifying. How did she dig all this up?

Sure, the guy’s somewhat well known, but still—investigating upper-district residents isn’t something us adventurers should even be able to do.

Wait. There’s even a list of women he’s been involved with. He’s messed around with plenty of lower- and mid-district girls, huh? So that’s why he thought he could make a move on me too. What a shameless creep.

"So, what do you plan to do with this? Have him… taken out?"

"Please don’t say such scary things. He’s an upper-district resident! That’s not something we could possibly—"

"…………"

"—possibly do, right?"

Could she not freeze up with that smile? That’s terrifying—seriously terrifying!

Let’s not go down that violent road, okay? Let’s take the peaceful route.

"Uh, I was thinking more along the lines of persuading him to back off through negotiation."

"And by that, you mean?"

She looked at me with a face that said she truly couldn’t understand.

Was it really that strange of an idea?

"If the reason he picked a fight was that I hurt his pride, then maybe if I apologize, he’ll forgive me…"

"Nope."

Her words cut mine off with a finality that made any further discussion pointless.

Trishel’s face was expressionless. No—her lips were just slightly curved upward.

"That’s impossible, Charlotte-chan."

"Why is that?"

"See, Charlotte-chan, you might be a little absentminded, but at your core you’re smart, right?"

Uh? I asked for a reason and suddenly got… what, a compliment? Or an insult? I have no idea how to respond to that.

My confused face made her chuckle softly.

"It’s a compliment. But that’s exactly why you don’t really understand how truly stupid people think."

"Truly stupid people?"

What did she mean by that?

I’ve known and interacted with people who weren’t particularly bright, so it’s not like I’m uncomfortable around them.

Trishel gave me a meaningful smile, like a child about to reveal the punchline of a prank.

"In my opinion, here’s what he’s probably thinking right now: ‘She’s just being polite because she’s with another guy, but she must actually want to be with me. So, if I crush that guy’s pride, she’ll naturally come to me.’"

"…Excuse me?"

What? That didn’t make sense at all.

No, isn’t this just about him being humiliated and wanting revenge? Like, if he shows off his wealth, then he can buy women? That kind of shallow thinking?

Her explanation was so far off what I expected that I froze.

Seeing my confusion, Trishel smiled even more.

"He doesn’t even conceive of the possibility that someone could turn him down. From what I’ve observed since yesterday, that’s how he’s been acting."

As she spoke, she pulled out one sheet from the stack of papers and placed it in front of me.

I picked it up and read. What the…?

"‘Help me rescue a captive princess’? ‘There’s a girl who’s being tricked by a bad man’? What the hell is this! This is beyond insulting!"

"Haha. Right? But to him, this is just natural."

Unbelievable. He’s serious?

This isn’t forged, right? …No, it wouldn’t make sense. She never intended to show me these documents, so she had no reason to fake them just to fool me.

So it’s real. Damn it.

I found myself looking up at the ceiling in exasperation. Trishel laughed again, delighted.

Is my exhausted face really that funny to you? Fine. Whatever. I don’t even have the energy left to care.

If this is true, then talking won’t solve anything. I don’t have a manual for dealing with delusional creeps.

If I’d gone to confront him, there’s a real chance he would’ve said, ‘I knew you’d come to me of your own free will!’ and tried to drag me straight into his bed. That was close. Good thing I came here first.

"...I have no words."

"I'm glad you understand. After reading this, do you still think a conversation will solve anything?"

"Well, n-not entirely impossible, but… I wouldn’t actually try it."

"That’s good enough."

Ah—she snatched away the page I was holding.

Pinching it between her fingertips as if it were something filthy, she whisked it away and tossed it aside.

Trishel really seems to hate him. I get that her opinion of him is low, but treating it like a piece of trash? It’s just paper, isn’t it? The paper itself didn’t do anything wrong!

I looked through the others. Seriously, how did she dig all this up?

If she wanted, she had enough here to ruin him so thoroughly he’d never be able to show his face in this city again.

Even the most flamboyant fictional detectives from my past life weren’t this relentless. What is she—part of some intelligence agency?

I glanced at her suspiciously. Ah—she waved at me with a big smile. Definitely trying to play it off.

"So, what’s the plan? If you want him gone by tomorrow, I can arrange it."

"Please don’t say things like that! I don’t intend to take it that far. Besides… if he bore a grudge against me here, who knows what he might do later?"

That’s right—he was an even bigger fool than I’d expected. Even if we dealt with him once, the aftermath would be unpredictable.

Anything that might blow back and interfere with our activities down the road was completely unacceptable.

"Oh, come on. You really think he has a future I’d let him enjoy?"

"…You’re terrifying, you know that?"

She smiled back at me cheerfully. That didn’t fool me. I don’t like dangerous methods like that.

Sure, back at the start of my wandering days, I had dirtied my hands in those ways. But the aftertaste was unbearable. I’d hidden away and vomited afterward, even though I acted tough on the surface so no one would look down on me.

I turned my eyes back to the stack of papers.

Every page was filled with vile things. Enough to convince me that erasing him completely would be easy—and that he had more than enough enemies to justify it.

In this city, it wouldn’t even be difficult. Just lure him into a dungeon, and the cleanup would take care of itself. And with this kind of man, tricking him would be child’s play.

But the more I thought about how feasible it was, the more I realized—I really didn’t want to do it.

Was that weakness on my part? Even if I knew this was a brutal world, was refusing to choose that path just selfishness?

The old me would’ve said yes without hesitation.

Now… I was soft because I had the luxury of being satisfied with what I had.

"What if…"

"What if?"

"What if, because I don’t eliminate him, we lose the auction tomorrow?"

If my softness led to our defeat, that would be my fault.

I didn’t want them to lose. I wanted to give everything I had for victory. Would refusing underhanded methods mean I was being negligent?

I lifted my head. A warm gaze was resting on me. Trishel’s gaze.

"No one would blame you."

"…Wouldn’t they, though?"

"He’s an insufferable bastard, but Riven isn’t the kind of man to push blame onto others."

Maybe Riven wouldn’t say it. But wouldn’t he still think it somewhere deep down? And more than that, wouldn’t I think it of myself?

Could I really just leave that doubt lingering?

And at the same time—was it really right to decide someone’s life or death over something as small as that?

"Ahhh, if only Charlotte-chan were a little more ruthless, I could’ve just gone ahead and disposed of him myself! …Or, you know, if you didn’t know about it."

With that, she dropped herself dramatically into the chair opposite me, tossing me a wink.

Her overblown gesture made me blink in surprise.

"Hey, why not do something bad for once? Stop trusting people so much. No one’s going to care."

"…Maybe you’re right."

Her casual delivery, paired with such outrageous content, made me laugh softly despite myself.

She was trying to lighten the mood—that much was obvious. I’d been sinking deeper into self-blame, and she wanted to pull me out of it.

Really, she was a strange one. She acted carefree, but in truth she was deeply sensitive to the feelings of others. I was starting to see that.

Which only made me wonder about her past actions. She didn’t seem like the type to do meaningless things, so what had been the point behind them all?

…Best not to pry right now.

"But still, I want to live as honestly as I can. Even if that means being called selfish, or cowardly. I’ll accept the scolding."

"Aww. Another lost cause. You’re just way too nice, Charlotte-chan."

"Maybe so. I’m sorry. After you went to all the trouble preparing this, it feels like a waste."

I set the papers I’d been holding down on the desk. A clear signal that I didn’t need to see more.

Trishel gathered up the scattered sheets, her lips pursed in a pout. Obviously for show, just so I’d notice her dissatisfaction.

"Well, at least you’ve decided not to confront him directly. That alone makes this worth it. So, what’s your plan now?"

"I’ll do what I can. I’ve got some ideas for… raising funds."

"If something comes up, don’t go to Reynard. Come to me. I’ll probably be more useful."

"That’s… scary. But thank you."

Borrowing money from her would be terrifying. But considering the kind of information she could provide, maybe that ship had sailed already.

Use what can be used—as long as I don’t cross a line.

Besides, maybe it was just wishful thinking, but Riven seemed like he had a plan of his own. It wouldn’t be too late to hear him out first.

I should stop by his inn later and ask. He might already be back by now.

"Oh, that’s right."

Just as I stood to leave, she stopped me.

"This isn’t about the auction. It’s about his older sister. If my guess is right, then—"

What she said next was a perspective I had never even considered. My eyes widened in shock.