TFHITS Chapter 10

While walking through the estate, a crowd began to gather around us.

“Huh? Isn’t that Mr. Grey?”

“He’s tied up. Did he do something wrong? Haven’t seen him around for days.”

“No way. Mr. Grey’s always been so kind.”

“Who are those people with him?”

It seemed Grey had done a decent job of building a reputation. The crowd wore expressions of shock and concern.

One man even stepped in front of us and asked,

“Excuse me, but why are you dragging Mr. Grey around like that?”

At that moment, Grey had been gagged again, so all he could do was groan and mumble to express his frustration.

I calmly replied,

“He committed a serious crime.”

“That can’t be. No, seriously, who are you people? Are you from the Inspectorate?”

“We’re just mercenaries hired to investigate.”

“Mercenaries?”

“Yes. My name is Mide Mohan.”

“Mide… I feel like I’ve heard that before. Wait—”

Soon, the man and the people around him started to change expressions.

They whispered among themselves.

“Mide? That’s the Swordmaster of No Killing.”

“That eccentric mercenary who wanders the continent?”

“I heard there are only ten top-class mercenaries even in the entire guild registry.”

“But still, he’s just a mercenary. What authority does a mercenary have to make arrests?”

“Even if he was hired… no, he wouldn’t be able to do it so openly like this.”

That last whisper struck at the heart of the matter.

The man seemed to think so too, as he questioned me.

“No matter how famous you are—Sir Mide, was it?—it’s strange to be dragging off an innocent man like this.”

“I told you. He’s not innocent.”

“That can’t be. Mr. Grey has helped so many people in this estate. Then who exactly hired you?”

I answered gently,

“Baron Frank de Levant.”

“…”

“Do you have anything more to say?”

“N-No. I apologize for stopping you.”

Once I mentioned the name of the lord of the territory, no one else stood in our way.

Good. Now the rumors about me will start to spread.

Perfect fertilizer.

By the time I finish this job, it’ll bloom into a fruit called ‘reputation.’

Trail spoke nonsense in my head.

[Excellent. There is nothing more I can teach you.]

Of course, I had never received any request from the lord.

But I still walked confidently toward Baron Frank’s mansion.

Naturally, no one opens the doors for uninvited guests.

As expected, the guards stopped us.

“Halt. Who the hell are you?”

“I’d like to speak with the lord.”

“What? Pfft. One of these nuts pops up every few years. Hey, you think the lord is someone just anyone can meet? You must’ve lost your mind, boy.”

Neril clenched and unclenched her fists, visibly annoyed.

I lightly patted Grey’s back.

Thump.

“Urgh.”

One of the guards frowned.

“What’s up with him? Huh? Isn’t that Mr. Grey?”

“That’s right.”

“You bastard… under what authority did you tie him up?!”

“Seems you know him well?”

“Mr. Grey supplies utensils to this house. He’s been a business partner for years. Release him at once!”

The guards began to surround us with menacing expressions.

Before they could make a move, I spoke first.

“Maybe a long-time partner—but not a good one.”

“What?”

“Hasn’t the lord recently lost a treasured heirloom?”

Freeze.

The guards, who looked like they were about to charge in, stopped cold.

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the jewel box we found in the basement.

I gave it a light shake and said,

“This came from that bastard’s tool shop.”

“…!”

“If you’re wise men, you’d know that no matter how long a business relationship lasts, no one could easily steal from the lord.”

“Y-You mean—?”

“Yes. There’s an accomplice on the inside. And I know exactly who it is. So…”

I licked my lips slowly.

“Let me speak with the lord. Privately.”

Thirty minutes of frantic commotion later, Neril, Grey (still bound), and I were granted an audience with the lord.

Baron Frank wore a stern expression as he spoke.

“A top-class mercenary, you say?”

“Yes. I apologize for requesting an audience so suddenly, but the matter was urgent.”

“Hmph. A top-class mercenary should be more than capable of leading a knight order. Considering the information and skills you brought, I’ll overlook the breach of etiquette.”

Neril let out a faint snort, as if to say what if he didn’t forgive us? Fortunately, Baron Frank didn’t seem to notice.

“Now tell me everything. How did you find this jewel box?”

I began to talk, just as I’d prepared in advance.

“Let me begin with the background. Grey is quite close with Tobian Petton, your head butler. Years ago, when Tobian’s only daughter was kidnapped by thugs, it was Grey who found her and reported it.”

“I remember that.”

Well, that was a setup by Grey himself.

Among Grey’s victims was a man named Tobian Petton. Wanting to cozy up to the head butler, Gray had his men kidnap the daughter.

Too complicated to explain, so I left that part out.

“It started as a good relationship, but Gray slowly began seducing Tobian.”

“…”

“He said, ‘Surely the mansion has many valuable trinkets—nothing important to the lord. If you pass them to me, I can sell them for a high price through my own channels.’”

“…”

“He started small, with teacups and ornaments. But he got bolder. Eventually—”

I didn’t finish the sentence and instead nodded toward the jewel box in the baron’s hand.

Their greed, bloated like an overfed belly, had led them hand-in-hand to the lord’s heirloom.

The baron, having pieced things together, wore a somber expression.

“Tobian, that bastard…”

“Tobian committed a serious offense. But it was Grey who first suggested the idea.”

“Hmm…”

“There’s one proposal I’d like to make.”

The baron’s expression hardened.

He leaned back in his chair and growled in a low voice.

“Are you under some illusion?”

“Pardon?”

“Sure, I admit you did a great service in this matter. But that only deserves an appropriate reward. It doesn’t give you the right to make suggestions to me.”

Crunch.

Hm? I think I just heard the sound of veins popping somewhere?

I glanced sideways and my eyes landed at Neril’s forehead.

‘Still, she’s holding it in well. She’s grown since seven years ago, Neril.’

「What an incredibly contradictory statement.」

‘The flow of time really is scary. It even managed to tame that temper of hers.’

「Which is why I’m saying it didn’t flow—it reversed.」

Well, anyway.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“I would like Grey to be put on public trial. This isn’t the only crime he’s committed, after all.”

“You. I clearly said I could not approve such a thing.”

“I’ve compiled everything here. Would you like to take a look?”

I dropped a book onto the table as if casually tossing it aside.

During the two days I waited for Neril, I had looked into Grey’s secrets through the eye of omniscience.

It was a notebook summarizing all that.

Trail muttered:

「This book contains all the heat and passion of my youth. Hoo… I was only able to pull it off because I was young. I couldn’t do it again.」

‘It was just a few days ago.’

At any rate, Count Frank surprisingly didn’t yell immediately.

That was because, right before he could, he was stunned by the densely packed list of crimes in the book.

Stroking his beard, he slowly went through the notebook.

Raping and selling off the girl next door.

Staging a fire to take out a rival tool shop.

Poisoning the neighborhood well so his own herb shop could sell at higher prices.

And more.

Of course, I hadn’t included the part about him murdering the caretaker of the Enerika family cemetery, but even without that, it was a list of truly detestable acts.

“This—this is all true? A single person committed all of this?!”

Grey could only hang his head now, his face showing he had given up on everything.

Let me answer for him.

“There are many people in this world so wicked you’d suspect they were the Demon King reborn. Of course, Grey went especially overboard.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be best to reveal all of his crimes to the domain through a public trial? The lord will be remembered as the one who discovered a criminal no one else even noticed, with his keen insight.”

Count Frank seemed tempted—he swallowed his saliva.

I spoke again.

“In return for uncovering all this, please just attach my name to it, even if only a little.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s nothing grand. Just say that it was I who reported Grey as suspicious. You can take full credit for the thorough investigation. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, wouldn’t you say?”

“Haha. An arrangement, huh. But why bother? I could just say I uncovered it all myself from the start.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

I sighed lightly and spoke to Trail.

‘Deploy.’

「Huh?」

‘Show him the lord’s secret. I want to see the truth about Aeria Emel and the lord.’

Aeria Emel was the top name in the lord’s blood-written list.

Trail must’ve liked the word “deploy,” because he quickly activated his power.

And the secret I found out about the Count was…

Snap.

The vision cut off. I opened my mouth.

“If it’s too difficult, then I’ll have no choice but to go ask Mr. Todman.”

“Who’s Tod—guh!”

“I’m not sure what the circumstances were, but it seems that your former housemaid, Aeria, is currently raising him. But still, as your son, wouldn’t he have some authority?”

The Count’s face turned pale.

Neril, seemingly piecing things together, glanced at me with a look of amazement.

A few seconds later, the Count, after barely calming his pounding heart, spoke.

“You brat. If you dare mention that to anyone…”

“If you don’t trust me, then at least trust my reputation. To become a top-tier mercenary, I’ve seen countless things across many domains. Frankly speaking, your matter is so minor it’s hardly worth mentioning.”

“……”

“And don’t even think about sending soldiers after me. You yourself said earlier that a top-tier mercenary would be comparable to a knight commander.”

In other words, don’t foolishly try to apprehend me.

The Count nodded with a grim expression.

“Then will you grant my request?”

“So be it.”

“Thank you. Ah, and just one more thing.”

“Another request?”

“It’s not much. Just… don’t execute Grey. He won’t be escaping a life sentence anyway.”

“And why is that?”

I glanced at Neril.

Her mouth was slightly open in surprise.

“Because someone’s already claimed him.”

---

One week later.

A public trial was held in the domain.

The quick resolution was largely thanks to Head Steward Tobian.

Perhaps he decided he couldn’t go down alone—he readily admitted that Grey was his accomplice in the recent incident.

Furious, the lord unleashed the entire military force to dig up the rest of Grey’s crimes, and within a week, they were all exposed in broad daylight.

Rumors had already spread throughout the domain after Grey was dragged away in chains a week prior.

So with a public trial now happening, it was no surprise that the place was overflowing with people.

‘This brings back memories.’

Of the public execution I hadwitnessed in the place I used to live in.

That one wasn’t a trial, but an execution, yet the overall setup and the crowd’s scale were more than enough to stir up the past.

“Grey Palm. The charges against you are as follows. First, conspiring with the Head Steward to steal the lord’s heirloom. Then, raping and selling Aria Krezen, daughter of Taylor Krezen…”

“You bastard! Where’s my daughter?!”

Someone abruptly stood up during the trial.

The presiding judge made no effort to calm him.

Murmurs filled the air.

“Poor Mr. Taylor… what a tragedy.”

“I can’t believe it was Grey… that monster.”

“In the end, Lord Mide saw right through him. You’ve heard the rumors, right? About Lord Mide dragging Grey off like a dog?”

“I thought they were just exaggerating, but turns out it was all true. He really caught that monster under the lord’s orders.”

“No, I heard he was the one who first reported Grey to the lord.”

“Wow. I thought he was just a skilled swordsman…”

“Not only skilled, but what a noble heart. If he comes to our tool shop, I’m giving him everything for free.”

That was the general sentiment.

I hear it. I hear it.

The sound of my fame rising.