Seeker 364

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Chapter 364. Interrogation

We listened to the boy and Count Holmlund’s kidnapped daughter, Elvira.

Summarizing what they said, it went something like this.

The main perpetrators in this kidnapping case were three men. All of them were part of the underworld, and they used to be adventurers. The boy had been following them for certain reasons, and this incident was no different.

The whole ordeal began when Ove, the butler of the Holmlund family, approached these underworld figures and suggested kidnapping Elvira. In exchange for facilitating the crime, Ove demanded a portion of the ransom as his cut.

It's unclear why the butler, who had served the Holmlund family for years, would do such a thing. However, the boy said he heard Ove muttering, with a crazed look in his eyes, “It’s all their fault,” while staring at Elvira.

The crime proceeded more or less according to plan. Under the pretext of seeing the roc bird, Elvira was restrained and taken to a secluded area outside the town. 

They then dragged her into a cave near the foot of the Monster Mountain. Before heading to the cave, they fired an arrow with a note into the Holmlund family mansion.

However, once they reached the cave, one of the men began to abuse and assault Elvira. Although the boy didn’t think it was wrong to take money from nobles, he couldn’t stand by and watch a child being abused.

Seizing an opportunity, the boy rescued Elvira and escaped from the cave. But things didn’t go perfectly, and they ended up being pursued by the men.

While fleeing, they inadvertently entered the roc bird’s domain in Monster Bird Mountain.

Just as the men were about to catch them, the roc bird appeared. It attacked the men, slaughtered them, and devoured them.

Of course, the roc bird wasn’t on the boy and Elvira’s side. It’s just a monster that kills humans indiscriminately. Soon enough, it spotted the two of them and was about to eat them as well.

The boy used himself as bait to let Elvira escape, which is when we arrived on the scene. That’s more or less how things went down.

Just beyond the bushes where Elvira had been hiding, there was a grotesque sight that made us nauseous.

Scattered in a pool of blood were broken human bones with pieces of flesh still attached. Unable to bear the sight, we quickly averted our eyes and left the area.

As for the truth of the matter, Elvira seemed to trust the boy, and their stories didn’t contradict each other, so I assumed it was all true.

When we asked why the boy had been following those underworld men, he, who had been honest until then, hesitated.

“Do I really have to tell you?” he asked, and while we exchanged uncertain glances, Elvira cut in.

“I want to know too. You’re a good person who saved me, so why were you with those kinds of people?”

The boy interrupted Elvira’s words and responded.

“My name’s Nils. And I’m not a ‘good person’ at all. I’m a certified scumbag. But I didn’t want to sink to the same level as them. That’s all.”

“I see, Nils. I’m Elvira. But, Nils, I don’t understand. You’re definitely a good person. But they were calling you a ‘murderer’.”

At those words, the boy—Nils—visibly flinched. He avoided Elvira’s gaze and began to act nervously.

But soon, he clenched his fists tightly and let out a big sigh. Then, looking as if he had made up his mind, he said...

“If it’s come to this, I guess I’ve got no choice but to tell you.”

Nils said he needed a bit of time to gather his thoughts, so we decided to focus on the treasure chest the roc bird had left behind.

The chest was massive, and though it was larger than usual, there were no particular issues. After Kazane used [Trap Detection] to confirm it wasn’t trapped, we opened it without trouble.

Inside the chest was a giant egg. It was so big that I had to lean back to hold it, and it was at least a meter and a half tall.

When Yuzuki used [Item Appraisal], the item name came up as ‘Roc Bird Egg’, and the description said, “Can be used to make a delicious egg dish.”

Food coming from a monster’s treasure chest was unheard of, but is it really safe to eat? Well, I guess someone must have eaten it before, which is probably why there’s talk of a legendary omelet.

Since the egg was too big to fit into the [Item Box], I decided to carry it back myself. I stored my armor and helmet in the [Item Box] and carefully cradled the egg.

After finishing up, we began to descend the mountain, and along the way, Nils and Elvira had the following exchange.

“Nils, carry me on your back!”

“Why? I’m not your servant. Walk by yourself.”

“Ugh… It’s your fault that I made a mess! If you’re going to help me, take full responsibility!”

“You’re still saying whatever you want, huh? Fine, fine, hop on if you want.”

“Yay♪ Nils, I like you!”

“Yeah, yeah. If that’s how you feel, hire me as your servant. Make sure to pay me, though.”

“Understood. I’ll ask Father to hire you as a replacement for Ove the butler♪”

“… I was joking. Geez, you’re hard to deal with.”

And so, Nils ended up carrying Elvira on his back as we descended the mountain. 

As we began walking down the untrodden path, he started speaking bit by bit.

The first thing he told us was this...

“…What they said was true. I have killed someone in the city before.”