Evil Black Maria - Chapter 81. The Purple Moonlight Trap

Oh boy, we found nothing again today.”

Roa stopped and stretched lightly, muttering in a slightly fed up manner.

Hawkeye, who was walking beside him, stopped as well and looked down at his partner, who was more than a head shorter than him, and shrugged.

“We have no choice. There is nothing we can do about it.”

“But you know what, Hawkeye? I’ll be damned if I’m going to let them get away with this.”

Roa looks up at the purple moon in the night sky and slumps his shoulders.

It had already been quite a few days since the Fafnir mercenaries had received a direct request from the guild and, relying on the little information they had, had destroyed the 7th Corps of Black Maria, who had been hiding in the Labyrinth City of Labyrinthos.

However, they have not yet been able to obtain any useful information that would lead them to the next step. The situation was not good, despite the fact that they were actively collecting information.

“I can’t decipher any of the material I’ve taken from them. I’m sure they must have been in contact with the head honcho somehow.”

“People tend to come and go in Labyrinthos. It’s not easy to follow the footsteps of a black market organisation in a closed off village, let alone in a huge city like this.”

As Hawkeye said, the labyrinth city is a place where people can come and go, day and night.

Originally, this town was a gathering place for explorers who wanted to visit the Great Labyrinth. Now it was a kind of tourist town, dependent on imports for food and many other goods.

It is natural that there are many unknown faces. Unless they have a very distinctive appearance, they won’t be remembered by the inhabitants.

“I know. Most of the information we find are just a bunch of urban legends.”

“Today I heard one about a  silver-haired beauty with a white cane. They say it is rare to see that woman, who is said to be so beautiful that she makes people forget how to breathe, walking through the town’s fountain square.”

“There’s a limit to how ridiculous it can be! And it’s got nothing to do with Black Maria!”

Today was another day of fruitless efforts, and all they could find was a lot of unreliable and unimportant information.

Roa, who was usually a cheerful and positive person, was tired of the current lacklustre situation, and scratched his head messily, producing a groan.

“Urghhhh……you know, Hawk, we can’t do this on our own. We can’ t even find out where the organization is located!”

“……I’m sure Izuru has told you about it many times.The mercenary guild wants to keep this matter as quiet as possible. Adding more people would be difficult.”

It was humiliating to have a major figure of the guild killed by a little-known assassination group.

In order to keep the matter under wraps, the Mercenary Guild asked the Fafnir Mercenaries, a small group of skilled individuals who are not as well known as most of the others, to help eliminate Black Maria.

It was a decision to save face. It would be easy to dismiss it as silly, but mercenary work depends on trust from customers.

Preserving face is also about maintaining trust. Although Roa understood the reasoning behind it, he still felt like letting out a sigh.

“Well, that’s the point of mercenary work, isn’t it? I know it is important to maintain the face of the guild that manages it, but… no matter how unknown the organization is, there were still a number of criminals involved that even us country folk knew about!?

Isn’t it funny how the guild is still running!?”

The Seventh Unit of Black Maria, whom the Fafnir Mercenaries defeated after a fierce battle.

Among the members of the group, there were some high value targets of ten or twenty gold coins, whose names they had heard at least once before.

And at the head of it all was the infamous Wicker Man, the ” Thousand Slayer”.

As his ostentatious moniker suggests, he was arguably one of the top five criminals of recent times, and was reputed to have killed many people.

His viciousness and skill with the sword are well known throughout the kingdom, and it is said that if it were not for his personality, he would have been invited to join the Royal Guard.

……Certainly, with the Wicker Man’s presence in view, the Mercenary Guild will have enough reason to operate with impunity.

But Hawkeye shook his head quietly.

“The Wicker Man himself was originally from the mercenary guild. It would be a disgrace if it were known that such a man had killed a major figure.”

“Urgh…”

Roa choked on his words as he made a very valid point.

And then Hawkeye, his brows furrowed, continued.

“I really want to finish this one by ourselves. I’m sure Zack and Keith would like that too.”

“Eh? Why?”

He blinked at his partner’s change in mood and tilted his head to ask.

Nonchalantly, Hawkeye replied.

“If we single-handedly took down an organisation that Wickerman was involved with, our reputation would go through the roof.”

As the reputation of the group grows, so will the requests for commissions through the guild.

That way.

“If we make a name for ourselves, we won’t have to make Izuru do anything unreasonable anymore.”

“…ah”

He realized what Hawkeye was trying to say in a very roundabout way.

Roa’s voice went small, and he lowered his head slightly.

–In order to obtain priority in the placement of requests from the mercenary guild, Izuru made several direct negotiations with the guild’s higher-ups.

And each time, they easily got high-paying commissions.

But, What did they want in return?

She stubbornly refused to say, but given her appearance, it’s not hard to imagine.

“If we ask for help from the Guild or any other mercenary group, the credit for our hard work in defeating the Wicker Man will be lost. We have to solve the problem ourselves, no matter what.”

“Ah …… ah, yes. That’s the way it should be.”

Roa nodded gravely, not even a trace of his earlier frustration remained.

It’s true that things are not going well at the moment.

But if they can overcome this, they won’t have to suffer anymore.

They won’t have to curse themselves for not being able to do more.

When you think about it, human beings were extremely resilient, and the enthusiasm that had begun to wane in him was quickly revived.

After rubbing his cheeks with both hands to freshen up, Roa smiled his usual friendly smile.

“Good!　Well, let’s take another look around, and then we’ll head to the tavern to meet up with Clarissa!”

“Yes, I see. I don’t want to keep Clarissa waiting too long, so let’s hurry up a bit.”

Roa and Hawkeye nodded to each other and began to walk again through the deserted night streets.

–It was not long before a voice called out to their backs.

“I’m sorry. May I interrupt you for a moment?”

There is nobody else nearby.

They thought it was them who had been called out, and they stopped simultaneously.

They turned around and saw a woman and a young child standing in front of them.

“Please forgive my rudeness.”

The one speaking was the woman.

But both Roar and Hawkeye, after a while of hearing the words spoken, finally recognize them.

If asked why, the tone of her voice, which resonated in the ear, was  sweet and feminine.

They didn’t immediately recognize the woman, who gave off an impression of cleverness.

“We’re lost, I’m afraid. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask for directions.”

She pulled down the fabric of the blue scarf that covered her mouth and spoke for the third time.

She was a stunningly beautiful white person, unusually tall for a woman, with black hair in a ponytail, and for some reason, she wore a man’s suit.