Ossan Saikyō Chapter 8 Part 14
After the shrine maiden outfit-clad girl was taken away, no further commotion broke out, and under the village chief's orders, work began on clearing away the destroyed walls and damaged houses.
I had been thinking of helping out with the heavy labor, but the chief told me, “I cannot possibly ask the greatest contributor to saving the village to do such work”, while Guild Receptionist Mylan added, “I'm sorry to trouble you when you're tired, but we'd like to hear the details of the incident”.
As a result, our party was taken to the Adventurer's Guild to give a full report regarding the golem subjugation.
“As for this incident, we will organize the information and then provide compensation.
…
Of the three golems, two will be recorded as having been defeated solely by Soushi-san's party, while one will be recorded as a joint defeat with another party. Is that acceptable?”
“I think that's fair.”
After that exchange, we returned to the inn.
“Ahhh, today was exhausting. This might be the first time I've actually felt tired since becoming an adventurer.”
The moment she entered the room, Rani flopped onto a bed.
Freynil also let out a sigh and sat down on one of the beds.
“So adventurers must deal with situations this severe as well. There was so much happening during this assignment that I still haven't fully processed it all.”
“But I think you did really well, Fray. Especially against those golems. Without your magic, they would've been a serious threat.”
“Do you really think so...? But I was only following Soushi-sama's instructions.”
Freynil placed a hand over her chest and looked at me.
Seeing that, Sphenia smiled.
“Fufu, being able to accurately follow your leader's instructions is also a very important ability. There's no doubt that your own strength is exceptional, Fray.”
That was certainly true.
What this battle had taught me once again was just how important a party was.
Especially this party.
Every member possessed extraordinary abilities, which only made the responsibility of being leader feel heavier.
“Still, I'm inexperienced, so I don't really know. Are attacks by large monsters like this common?”
After thinking for a moment, Sphenia answered.
“They aren't unheard of. In the past, there have been towns attacked by herds of Mount Lizards and castles destroyed by Sky Dragons.
…
However, incidents like those are usually preceded by sightings and warnings. Having three appear suddenly without any warning, like this time, is quite unusual.”
“I see...”
That said, hearing the word dragon couldn't help but excite me a little.
The king of fantasy creatures.
I'd like to see one someday.
“And that's why the person they arrested seems suspicious.”
“Information about Ozu is limited, but it is true that the country is said to use golems and undead to run its affairs. So it is certainly possible that she was responsible for these golems.”
“According to Mylan, the timing of that girl's party arriving matches when the undead started appearing. They're probably interrogating her right now.”
All I could do was nod at Rani's words.
But despite that, something about the whole situation felt wrong.
In fact, it felt too perfect.
Almost as though circumstances had been deliberately arranged to make her look like the culprit.
“Soushi-sama, is something troubling you?”
I must have looked deep in thought because Freynil asked with concern.
“No, it's just that I don't think we should conclude that the adventurer from Ozu is the culprit. There are too many pieces of circumstantial evidence lined up against her.
…
If anything, it makes me wonder whether someone deliberately set her up.”
“The circumstances... are too perfect? I hadn't thought of it that way. As expected of you, Soushi-sama.”
“Isn't that just because you thought she was cute?”
At Rani's comment, Freynil suddenly looked at me.
(E/N: Man, Rani's a menace 🤣!)
“That's not it. When we saw that party, you said they smelled like the slave hunters, remember? That means the party members could have been people from Mekalinan.
…
An Ozu citizen forms a party with Mekalinan men and causes trouble in this country. But only the Ozu citizen gets arrested. The Mekalinan men vanish. No matter how you look at it, that's suspicious.”
“Hm. Now that you mention it, it really is suspicious.”
“So, Soushi-san, you believe the girl from Ozu may have been framed by those Mekalinan men?”
I nodded at Sphenia's question.
“I think it's possible. Though I have no idea why they'd do it.”
“I see... Actually, after hearing the way she spoke earlier, I wondered whether she might belong to Ozu's nobility. If that's the case, this situation could develop into something quite serious.”
“You mean politically?”
“Yes. Vermilion Kingdom, Mekalinan, and Ozu maintain a rather delicate relationship.”
“Hm...”
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed possible that Mekalinan had orchestrated all of this to drive a wedge between Vermilion and Ozu.
If the incident at the undead castle from before had also been Mekalinan's doing, then the conspiracy theory seemed even more plausible.
While I was entertaining these amateur deductions, Rani sat cross-legged on her bed and spoke up.
“But whether that girl actually did it or not should be easy to figure out, right? I heard there are magical tools that can tell if someone is lying.”
“There are things like that?”
Freynil nodded.
“Yes. The Aashram Church in the royal capital has one. I'm fairly certain the royal family possesses one as well.”
Seriously?
In some ways, this world might actually be ahead of modern Japan.
But if such convenient devices existed, then framing her shouldn't be possible.
Maybe I really was overthinking things…
“...No, wait...”
At that moment, a rather unpleasant possibility flashed through my mind.
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E/N:
Detective Righteous Ossan at work!
Stay tuned!
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