Leave a comment

That was the first day, the next day the two snuck into the establishment to investigate. Before long, they found a room where Johann was being held. While they could see him, taking him out would be hard.

So they devised a plan.

First they made contact with Johann, to let him know they were there, and to ask if he could do anything to distance the guards. In response, Johann decided to tell the people there that if he had the tools from the mansion, he would be able to start working right away. The people there had wanted him to start working as soon as possible, so those words had an instant effect.

Since they did not want the establishment to stand out too much, there were only a few guards overall, and most of them left to carry the things from the mansion. That made an opening for Sasori and Hebi, allowing them to successfully extract Johann undetected, and returning with him to the hideout. There, Johann was able to reunite with his wife Angelique and daughter Anne after five years. Mira arrived not too long after that.

「They’re probably freaking out like crazy right now.」

Those were Sasori’s last words, spoken with an entertained smirk. Hebi’s face remained unchanged like always, but it was obvious she was in a good mood too.

「Good job, you two!」

When Sasori was done telling their tale, the voice of someone not present in the room rang loudly. It was Uzume, her voice carried through Piisuke sitting on Mira’s head. She had listened to the entire story through him. A moment later, Uzume appeared there in Piisuke’s stead.

「What?! The bird turned into a person?!」

Johann’s eyes widened seeing that. But Sasori and Hebi did not seem bothered, they had already seen that happen before. They knew it was Piisuke sitting on Mira’s head, and they knew Uzume could exchange places with him. That meant that Sasori knew she was likely listening to her proud tale as well, reporting to Uzume and Mira at the same time.

「So you’re the Johann I’ve been hearing about. Nice to meet you, I’m Uzume. I’m basically these girls’ manager. I’d like to ask for your help with anything that could lend a hand in destroying Chimera Clauzen, be it through your knowledge or skills.」

After her greeting, Uzume held her right hand out. Johann’s documents were already being worked on in the Fifty Bells’ headquarters, but if the author of those papers was there, the process would be sped up even more, so obviously she would seek as much help as possible.

Johann was still recovering from the shock, his eyes going to Uzume’s hand, then to Mira, Sasori, and Hebi.

「Of course. I already owe Mira, Sasori, and Hebi a lot, for not only rescuing me but my family as well. I’ll do anything in my power to help.」

Johann nodded vigorously and shook Uzume’s hand. His eyes were filled with determination to use all his skills and knowledge to help, not concealing anything.
There was no hesitation at all. Uzume was slightly taken aback by such a reaction, but she quickly smiled without worry and said 「Thank you very much」 with a bow.

With that out of the way, Mira told them what happened during her time in Sentopolly. 「I should’ve expected that much,」 said Sasori with a forced smile. Mira had only left to deliver some documents, but somehow she had managed to uncover the truth behind the entire country in a single day. There really was nothing else to say.

Once everything had been talked about, it was time to discuss how they would transport Johann and his family. Most victims and people wanted by Chimera Clauzen were hiding in the Fifty Bells’ headquarters, so they decided that was the best place for Johann, Angelique, Anne, and Mylene, at least until everything was over.

Uzume was also concerned that Anne was still too small to live in such a confined basement for too long. The means to get them there were easy to figure out too. There was an easy way. The Fifty Bells would first send an envoy that would carry Johann’s family, and Mira could use Worthramble’s camouflage to hide them during the trip.

With that decided, Uzume said she would start the arrangements to receive Johann, and switched places with Piisuke again. Uzume was like that, acting as soon as she had a plan. While she was always hurrying like that, Mira still smiled seeing she had not changed after the years.

「Well, I think this takes care of the matters to a decent extent. Can we do something to bring down the Melville Trading Corporation or whatever it’s called with what we have?」

Their original objective in Roseline was to find ties between Chimera Clauzen and the Melville Trading Corporation, revealing both their crimes. They had to find some sort of proof for that to happen. All they had so far was only Johann’s account. He had been involved with both groups for many years, so his words should carry some weight.

「I think it’s still difficult. It would be easier if I still had those documents I promised in exchange for my family’s freedom…」

But Johann himself said it would not be convincing enough. Now that most of his written proof had been lost, it would be difficult for him to speak against one of the three biggest trading corporations and be believed.

「So we really need solid proof then.」

Mira began pondering what to do, but then Johann spoke again. 「I have an idea,」 when asked about it, he said that after he was taken from the mansion, they stopped at a certain establishment momentarily. A place with many weapons and tools built from black mist stones.

Since it was only momentarily, they took him from there to the place where Sasori and Hebi found him. That made Johann think that his abduction had been a hurried matter, and they were still deciding where to take him at that time. So they left him in a provisory place until they knew where his final destination was.

「So far only people in Chimera are using black mist stones like that. And if that place I was taken to belongs to Melville, then its existence itself could be a link between them and Chimera.」

After some thought, Johann proposed that idea. Finding multiple items used exclusively by Chimera in an establishment belonging to Melville. While that alone would be no definitive proof, coupled with Johann’s testimony it would put Melville in a complicated position and force them to respond.

「Hmm, it might be worth looking for it.」
「Yeah, if we can find it, it could become a useful asset.」

Mira and the others could see that working. But the issue was still the location of that establishment. Johann had been knocked unconscious that night, so he was unable to give any directions. When he awoke he was already there, surrounded with those items.

At least he knew it was not too far from where he had been found.

「It felt like it was only half an hour away by trotting.」

Johann said while thinking about it, 「I wish I had paid more attention just in case」 he added with a sigh.

「It’s fine, don’t worry. That’s already a good starting point, and it wasn’t your responsibility to think about it.」.

While it was a vague hint, it still gave a radius to search in. Sasori swiftly procured a map of the surrounding areas, looking happy to be in action again. The map already had marks from their earlier search, the location of buildings related to Melville highlighted. They circled one of them in red, the place where they found Johann, and then looked for any suspicious spots around it.

There were three other establishments nearby, but Mira and the others focused on only one of them. A warehouse that was located between Johann’s mansion and his final destination.