Seeker 161

Test

Chapter 161. Incident Occurs

The next morning.

Until our return to the original world, there are 91 days remaining.

As we headed to the Adventurers' Guild, 3 muscular men were waiting in front of the guild.

They were Eslyn-san's attendants.

These large men seemed somewhat agitated, but when they spotted us, they hurriedly approached.

"Daichi-aniki! We can't find Ane-san!"

One of the muscular attendants said this, grabbing my shoulder and shaking me vigorously.

Wait, big brother?

Confused by the sudden events, I decided to pull the man aside and listen to the story.

"Please wait. I don't understand what's going on. So could you explain things to me step by step? Has something happened to Eslyn-san?"

The men began to speak one after another, recounting the events that had taken place.

"It was last night. While we were drinking together at the tavern, Ane-san said she was going to 'get some fresh air' and left, but she hasn't returned since."

"We searched for her, but she's nowhere to be found."

"However, we found this... Ane-san's glasses were lying in the back alley."

Saying that one of the men presented the glasses that undoubtedly belonged to Eslyn-san.

The men continued.

"It's likely she got involved in some incident. We went to the constables to report, but those guys said finding people isn't their job, that we should ask adventurers for help."

"They're neglecting their duty! Bunch of tax thieves!"

The conversation was turning into dissatisfaction with the knights—similar to our world's police officers—so I calmed them down and summarized the situation.

"In other words, Eslyn-san disappeared last night. Considering the circumstances, there's a possibility she was kidnapped, right?"

When I asked this, all 3 men nodded vigorously as if my words had hit the mark.

Well, what an unexpected turn of events.

The client of a quest suddenly went missing.

And then, just like that, a notification sound played, and a message board appeared.

───────────────────────

Special Mission: Locate the Missing Female Merchant Eslyn!

Experience Points for Mission Completion... 15,000 points

───────────────────────

Yes, it's undoubtedly an incident.

And the experience points reward is quite high.

Could this be a mission with unexpectedly high difficulty?

Regardless, we can't just let it go.

By the way, when I looked at Kazane-san and Yuzuki, they nodded toward me.

That's right.

"Understood. We'll assist in searching for Eslyn-san as well. Without the client, there's no one to pay the quest reward."

"Thanks!"

"You're truly dependable, Daichi-aniki!"

"We're counting on you!"

The muscular men cheered.

In a way, I had a feeling these 3 wouldn't be very reliable as search personnel.

Apart from physical labor, they seemed quite useless.

That's how we found ourselves tasked with finding the missing female merchant, Eslyn-san.

"But how are we supposed to search for people? Any ideas?"

Yuzuki voiced a fundamental question.

That's the thing.

"Well, I guess it would involve some 'investigation'?"

"Is that what we're supposed to do? In detective dramas and mystery shows, they often say, 'We've asked around a hundred times at the scene.' or something."

Kazane-san tilted her head, and I gave her a vague response.

I only knew how to search for people from entertainment works.

"Maybe we could try approaching some 'suspicious individuals'... oh!"

When I said that, I was reminded of a certain person.

Yesterday morning, before heading to Griffin Mountain, there was a person who had confronted Eslyn-san.

Kazane-san, Yuzuki, and even Eslyn-san's attendants had all reached the same conclusion.

And the instigators were those three muscular attendants.

"I see. It must be that Goldo's doing!"

"That jerk! Because sister won't pay him any attention, he's finally crossed the line!"

"I'm going to his mansion right now and beat him up!"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on!"

I managed to calm the raging muscular men by grabbing them by their collars.

Despite their physical appearance, they were just regular people, and as a level 32 Seeker, it was easy for me to prevent them from going overboard.

"Why are you stopping us, Daichi-aniki!"

"Yeah, aniki! Let's storm in and make him spill where sister is!"

"That jerk, I'll beat him to a pulp!"

"Please wait... no, I mean, hold on. We don't have definitive proof that this merchant named Goldo is the culprit yet. And even if he is, barging in like that might make us the criminals."

"I-I see..."

"What a situation..."

"We were about to do something dangerous. You're truly something, Daichi-aniki."

For now, it seemed the 3 of them were convinced.

These 3 seem older than me, but are they okay in various ways?

It's a glimpse into Eslyn-san's usual hardships.

But regardless, what should we do?

These three don't seem very capable in terms of intellect, so we'll have to figure it out ourselves.

However, the only thing I can think of is to diligently inquire around the scene.

Perhaps we could secretly keep an eye on Goldo's mansion or trading post.

But unlike detective dramas, we're not part of the police force, so we can't use methods like casting a wide net—

"Oh!"

At that moment, I arrived at an important realization.

Wind Sound looked at me curiously.

"What's wrong, Daichi-kun? Did you think of something?"

"No. I just remembered that we have a powerful contact in this town."

"A contact? Oh, I see."

"I get it now. You're shining, senpai."

Kazane-san and Yuzuki seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

We immediately headed towards the residence of this person we could call a "contact".