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In cities, under the jurisdiction of the city lord, a city guard unit was organized to maintain law and order.

In densely populated cities, it’s only natural that there would be a higher rate of crime, and thus, an organized and effective law enforcement system involving many city guards was required.

On the other hand, in small rural villages, there was generally less crime. Even if a crime did occur, the residents may prefer to handle it within the community without causing a disturbance, sometimes not even treating it as a crime.

The duties of the city guards included mediating disputes, guarding against outsiders, and serving as a liaison to the city.

It wasn’t uncommon for a stationed guard from a neighboring city to handle these duties alone, just like in the case of Corti Village.

The guard station in the village hardly differed in appearance from the surrounding houses. The spacious entrance area with a dirt floor served as both a reception room and an office, equipped with tables and chairs. This was where they listened to the concerns of those who visited or dealt with the cases of suspected criminals.

However, it seemed that very few visitors came to this room, and apart from the primary stationed guard, there were few signs of anyone walking on the floor or touching any objects. Although not entirely absent.

“I’m Dovelo Gajunak, a member of the Gartbera City Guard. I’ve been dispatched from Gartbera to be stationed here in Corti.”

Dovelo was a typical dwarf, with robust muscles and a magnificent beard. He was dressed in a uniform that was almost black but closer to navy blue, a hallmark of the city guard.

In the corner of the room, a massive axe leaned against the wall. In the city, guards carrying weapons was crucial for deterring crime, but in a quiet village like this, there were likely very few occasions to wield an axe other than during training or the occasional monster hunt. Carrying such a weapon regularly in a place like this might even raise eyebrows.

“I’m Ivar McGregor, representing the McGregor Adventurer Support Office. I’m presently collaborating with the adventurer party, Golden Helmet.”

Ivar reciprocated the greeting while carefully observing everything. He tried to deduce Dovelo’s personality from his every move. Well, that wasn’t too important, really.

Next, the furniture. It was as old as the building itself, probably there since the guard station was established. It had been here before Dovelo arrived in the village. If that was the case, it might be a risk.

Ivar took out his pocket watch and pretended to check the time. The red gem embedded in the watch face was shining brightly. As expected. In an instant, Ivar scrutinized every possible location for it in the room, like the shelves and gaps.

There didn’t seem to be any ‘eyes.’ If that was the case…

“Oh, excuse me.”

Ivar pocketed his watch and intentionally dropped his fountain pen on the floor. It rolled skillfully and came to a stop in front of the document shelf.

“May I pick that up?”
“Huh? Oh, um, sure, go ahead.”
“In that case…”

Ignoring Dovelo, who was tilting his head, Ivar…didn’t pick up the fountain pen. Instead, he lifted the shelf and shifted it against the wall as if to graze it. There was a crunching sound; the moved shelf seemed to have run over something hard and crushed it.

When he opened the pocket watch, the gem on the watch face was no longer glowing.

Ivar shifted the shelf more significantly this time. Behind the exposed shelf, there was an object that looked like the crushed remnants of a brooch.

“What were you talking about here? Someone was listening.”
“What…!”

It was a half of a magic item called the ‘Twin Ears.’ This item had the power to transmit sound like a Caller, but it was one-way and primarily used for eavesdropping.

Someone had planted it in the guard station.

“This, how…?! Who, or when…”
“It’s not like someone is always here, right? There are plenty of opportunities, like when you’re sleeping or patrolling the village. Or perhaps it was set up from the beginning, maybe even before you came to the village.”

Dovelo was visibly shaken. However, Lucella didn’t seem as surprised.

“It seems your intuition was spot on, Lucella. …The tactics are devious, but the execution is amateurish. Probably the work of someone in the village.”
“What should we do?”
“Pretend you haven’t noticed a thing. There’s no point in questioning, they won’t spit a word. We’ll let them swim free.”

Being treated as an outsider and being alienated in a closed-off village was not an uncommon occurrence for stationed guards.

However, being bugged to this extent was indeed unusual.

While the bug had been crushed, it was intentionally left unclear whether this was accidental or if Ivar had suspected it and taken action. The aim was to make the perpetrator feel pressured by the uncertainty, placing a psychological burden on them. That was Ivar’s intention.

“What we were discussing here was the possibility that the villagers are giving false testimony to the guild’s investigation, and Dovelo’s opinion on the matter.”
“Understood. Now, Mr. Dovelo, can you tell us your side of the story again?”
“O-Oh…Yes.”

Dovelo still seemed overwhelmed, but he nodded. If the villagers were involved in some conspiracy and viewed Dovelo as an adversary, his safety couldn’t be guaranteed, and he had no choice but to seek help from outsiders.

“First, the facts from your perspective about the incident.”
“A month ago, a villager who was working in the fields was attacked and killed by a monster that came over the defensive wall. It happened early in the morning, and there were only three people in the fields at the time… and all of them were right there.”

“What was the condition of the body?”
“It was gruesome. Torn apart by claws and fangs, with their thighs and entrails devoured. Since it was early in the morning, no one saw the monster. I went to the scene, and there were large cat-like footprints in the trampled rice field. But I didn’t know how to tell monsters apart so I didn’t investigate the type of monster further… I thought if it was a monster, it should be left to the adventurers.”

“Hey, Lucella…”
“Yes. According to the investigation report, the footprints had been smoothed out and erased before the Adventurer’s Guild’s investigation began.”

Both of them nodded.

Whether it was the aftermath of a monster rampage or evidence of a crime committed by a person, it was common for vital evidence and traces to be inadvertently erased due to the presence of onlookers or the actions of local residents who didn’t understand the situation.

However, in this case, one couldn’t help but suspect malice.

“…Could you please tell us what happened afterward one more time?”
“Yes, of course.”

Dovelo, urged by Lucella, hesitated for a moment and then began to speak.

“The victim’s funeral had somehow concluded before we knew it….”
“What?”
“I wasn’t told anything. It happened at night, two days after the incident, as if they were deliberately hiding it while I was asleep.”

Dovelo spoke with a weary expression. He had likely found it eerie, but with the emergence of the listening device, any sense of calm would have vanished.

Normally, stationed guards were also invited to ceremonies such as funerals. It made one wonder if the villagers disliked him or if there was some other issue at play.

“Do you enjoy a drink, Mr. Guard?”
“Huh? Y-yes, moderately…”
“Do you have a drink every night?”
“…Well, yes, I do.”

When a dwarf said they enjoyed drinks ‘moderately,’ it meant they drowned in alcohol that was as strong as raging flames.

And it was easy to suppress a drinker’s movement. After all, not everyone had mythril-silver anti-poison tableware.

“You were drugged, huh.”
“Huh?”
“On the night of the funeral, did you perhaps sleep more soundly than usual?”

Alcohol was used to disguise the taste of mixed-in drugs and accelerate their effects on the body.

Dovelo had a pained expression, repeatedly twirling the tips of his beard with his thick fingers.

“I…don’t remember, but I did have a slight headache that morning, as if I had a hangover…”

The sweat trickling down Dovelo’s cheek was not solely due to the heat.

In a small village, the stationed guards not only upheld order but also served as a gateway to the rule of law, symbolizing the country’s governance.

Yet, beneath those watchful eyes, the villagers were secretly up to something.

“I hate to say this, but… the villagers don’t seem to be showing much sorrow for the victim. He wasn’t just an ordinary person; he was a hardworking fellow, a young man who had just recently gotten married and was beloved by all.”

Rather than scared, Dovelo seemed to feel eerie. His assessment was based on his perspective as an outsider. The villagers might have seen things differently when it came to the victims.

Nevertheless, Ivar thought it was something to keep in mind.

In this village, something unreasonable was happening.