Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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Chatty Weri understood his role well.
The information he revealed was almost identical to what we had suspected, with only slightly more detailed information added.
“Pa…Pavera originally led a small mercenary band, taking mercenary jobs when there were any, but otherwise resorting to banditry. Those were the typical actions of low-quality mercenaries, but Pavera differed in that he was more diligent about saving money and had more cunning.”
“Although Pavera had essentially bought the Count’s title with money and was employed in that position, he was good with numbers and had various connections, which allowed him to work as a close aide.”
Anyway, Pavera’s real name was Vera.
“Why did he add the ‘Pa’ in front?”
“Well, he believed a name needed at least six letters to sound noble-like…”
“That’s an exceptionally stupid idea beyond imagination. Doesn’t the two-letter name Cheryl sound far more noble than that, Weri?”
[T/N: Cheryl in Korean is “셰릴”]
“You’re absolutely right! In the end, that’s the level of thinking one can expect from someone who intends to purchase a noble title with money!”
Weri responded with enthusiastic agreement and a smooth flow of words that felt genuinely charming.
Regardless of his stupid idea, it seemed Pavera’s financial acumen and business skills were indeed above average compared to his peers.
Through steady mercenary work, plundering, and thievery, Pavera never squandered the money he earned and diligently saved it.
He eventually achieved the feat of purchasing a Count’s title from a declining noble, a mansion, and even a winery.
The kid was honestly so diligent that if you only looked at that aspect, you’d think he was an impressively hard worker.
If only he had applied that diligence to proper mercenary work instead of evil deeds, he could have made a name for himself respectably.
“He could have been quite successful, but…his greed was greater, it seems. He began seeking illegal methods to gain fame, just as he had with thievery.”
So from our perspective as adventurers, the overly risky tasks he proposed made sense, as to him, they were similar to the plundering and thievery he was already engaging in.
As long as he left no evidence and didn’t get caught, just like before, it was all the same to his shockingly criminal mindset.
This had been going on for several months now.
His actual actions were meticulous, and he had diligently constructed alibis as well.
Most disturbingly, there were even unidentified individuals assisting him, which left both Cheryl and me quite taken aback when we heard about it.
“They helped with that? Even though that bastard didn’t hire them?”
“Yes, Pavera always had private meetings with them, so I don’t know their identities, but…”
“The world has really gone to shit, huh.”
Sensing my sincerity, Weri flinched a bit, so I waved my hand to indicate he shouldn’t worry about it.
What could possibly motivate investors to back such an illegal and unprofitable venture?
Unless their goal was to nurture a villain, there were too many uncertainties to rely on Pavera’s gratitude.
I considered whether someone was truly grooming him for political purposes, but it was beyond my ordinary intellect to predict.
It almost made me wonder if I had inadvertently kicked down an evil mastermind who was still in the midst of forging a villain, like some diabolical demon.
In the end, I concluded that there must be an extremist somewhere trying to spread evil throughout the world.
Since Weri maintained his silence out of fear, I patted his shoulder and spoke up.
“Don’t be so scared, Weri. I think you’re being extremely cooperative right now. Eldmia Egga is generous to cooperative fellows.”
“Oh, I wasn’t worried at all! I was just pondering whether there was any more information I could provide, which must have shown on my face! Hahaha!”
“Oh, our Weri! I can’t understand why you were working under such a bastard, you’re so quick-witted and silver-tongued! It’s really fortunate that you can’t use a sword!”
“Haha…pardon? A sword?”
“Yes, a sword. If you had swung a sword at me, you’d be lying there with those guys right now. I would have hated to lose our amusing Weri like that.”
As I mixed in a slight threat with my laughter, Weri’s expression visibly stiffened before easing back into a forced smile.
Not bad.
If I let him live, as long as he doesn’t suddenly retire to a farm, he’ll definitely be useful in some capacity.
Even if he did retire to a farm, having another person indoctrinated with my beliefs would still be a net gain after obtaining all his information.
“Is there any value in letting such a guy live?”
While gazing at Weri with a disapproving look, having guaranteed his life in exchange for his full testimony to the guild later, Cheryl asked me from a slight distance.
“Who knows?”
“Who knows?”
“I simply made a deal to spare his life in exchange for him divulging all information and testifying. His value may become apparent later, or it may never be known – isn’t that normal?”
He did lead many adventurers to their deaths while being aware of the whole situation.
But that’s not for me to judge.
This whole incident was simply a matter of sheer coincidence, not something targeted at me or anyone around me.
In a world where a 15-year-old girl could satisfyingly execute murderous techniques in actual combat, I had not a shred of inclination to decide who lives or dies based on good and evil standards.
It was simply a matter of whether or not they messed with me directly.
That’s all there was to it.
“But he is undeniably complicit in a crime, is he not? How could you…”
My judgment seemed to really bother the noble Cheryl, as she momentarily let her true thoughts slip through in a remarkably easy-to-understand tone.
“If you find it unacceptable, then just kill him later.”
“…Huh?”
I didn’t think I had said anything particularly strange, but Cheryl seemed quite taken aback by my response.
“If you end up thinking killing him is the right thing to do, then find him separately later and kill him. All I’ve done is trade his immediate life for information – I’m not going to keep protecting him or anything.”
Unless he had extended me sincere goodwill first, I obviously have no interest in his future affairs.
After all, it’s still uncertain how this unidentified sponsor he mentioned will react.
For all we know, he might get killed on his own if left alone.
“But not now. He made that deal with me, and he’s honestly fulfilling his role more reliably than expected.”
“You intend to keep using him? Even though he’s just an evil person?”
“I don’t particularly intend to keep using him, but who knows, maybe I’ll find a use for him again somewhere down the line? More importantly, good and evil aren’t so simply distinguished in this world, Cheryl.”
However, I don’t think there’s any need to make hasty judgments.
Who knows, maybe that guy has some convoluted backstory that’s keeping his mouth shut out of fear of retaliation.
But I can certainly understand thinking that way.
In fact, harboring such thoughts in pursuit of goodness can never be seen as wrong.
Even if the previous owner of this body had been brutally killed for being too kindhearted in his past life, I still believe the goodness of his intentions was admirable.
Since it was an admirable attitude, I reached out to ruffle her hair as I added one more remark:
“Of course, that doesn’t apply to everyone, as should be clear from the guys I killed here. The most basic requirement is that they haven’t directly harmed me. Beyond that, anything goes.”
“What if a kind person harms you?”
“I’d weigh the severity, but if they cross the line, they’d have to be killed to become kind again.”
The only ones who can remain kind after inflicting that level of harm on me are the dead.
After summarizing the discussion and the adventurers who had cleared out Pavera’s forest soldiers disguised as thieves returned one by one to learn the truth of the situation, outrage erupted briefly until the incident was settled.
While the number of casualties was not that high, it seemed due more to the soldiers withdrawing upon sensing the abnormal situation rather than any lack of skill on the adventurers’ part.
In fact, the number of heads the surviving adventurers had collected was less than half of the expected 40.
Pavera died from excessive bleeding while we were paying little attention to him.
Since we didn’t particularly need him anyway and were already in a situation where we could secure documented evidence through Weri, no one felt too bad.
Well, the adventurers who couldn’t cool their anger might have felt bad.
Still, it was certain that some of Pavera’s assets, which would be reported to the guild and disposed of, would come to us in the form of compensation for the guild’s lack of management and additional rewards, so it wasn’t such a bad outcome.
Of course, my true intention was to take everything, but that’s the way of adventurers.
If it had been just me and Cheryl, we would have immediately gone and taken everything of value, which was extremely regrettable.
However, it was evident that even a portion of the assets distributed by the guild would be a considerable profit.
So, the adventurers, with minds that cooled off from the heat of battle, genuinely rejoiced at the unexpected gains and boarded the wagon.
But Garun wasn’t among them.
That was a bit disappointing.
He was a kind person.
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What are the odds of this garun is the mysterious guy that met the lord?