Spirit Migration - Chapter 12

After Alice returned to the mansion, she had told both Sebas and Halbad about the information she had obtained today at the executive meeting. She had told them about the person called Viscount Kutol.”You mean viscount Kutol Glas Kolden, do you not? If I do not remember wrongly, he is someone that moved here from the capital.”

“You mean viscount Kutol Glas Kolden, do you not? If I do not remember wrongly, he is someone that moved here from the capital.”

“Now that I think about it, isn’t that the name that pops up a lot when you hear about donations to military facilities.”

Alice tilted her head at Halbad’s words. She was wondering just why a gardener like him would know about donations to military facilities, or rather, the regular army of the Capital.  Halbad, who read the question from Alice’s expression, said, “‘Cause I’mma former soldier,’ with a smile.

The plains surrounding the town of Kurakaru are the more beautiful ones among the cities in the Grandal region, a city that thrives on agriculture and livestock as its main income. In times of emergency, the first thing that will be aimed for, is the land and livestock. The soldiers from the Capital were stationed here without informing the lord of the town about it beforehand, the city’s guards had also been increased. In order to protect the important livestock, they fight with a lot of mutated animals and monsters. That’s why this town is known for being a safe and peaceful town in the Grandal region. Halbad revealed that he was a former executive of the regular army that is stationed there, and after he retired, he got hired by count Bamist to work as his close aid.

“S, so it was like that?”

“Tis a secret so dun’ tell anyone about it, ok?”

‘I had already thought that he didn’t seem like just a gardener, however, to think he would be a former executive of the regular army,’ Alice thought, not being able to hide her surprise.

It has become evening. When the count had returned, Sebas, Halbad, and Alice gathered at the count’s study in order to talk about today’s results. In the middle of work, the count had tried to find leads in anything viscount Kutol was involved in, however, he was not able to find any suspicious points.

“Well, he wouldn’t leave any evidence like official documents around.”

“However, if you were to try find out the viscount’s movements then it will be necessary to send in a skilled spy…..”

Of course, since he will also be on guard for our movements, it will be hard to gather it secretly.”

If viscount Kutol were to be the mastermind, it would be important to have a trusted spy at hand. Someone who would keep him under observation and find out the needed evidence.

It is needed to find someone skilled, it will be even harder since that person will need to be fast so his or her movements won’t be noticed. If the range of movements were to be outside the executive committee, it would be possible to prepare the preparations in another town, however, Viscount Kutol is a noble who is also part of the executive committee.

Furthermore, he is in the top of the general affairs department. The only useable option available would be to steadily investigate him, thinking that, the count and the others let out a heavy sigh. At that moment, Alice, who had been left out of the discussion, opened her mouth.

“Umm, Father…… I have a good idea however.”

“Hmm? Viscount Kutol is married, so it won’t go the same way as baron Richi you know?”

Furthermore, this isn’t something that only involves the executive committee alone. They will also need to investigate other nobles who are abusing their rights. You won’t even have to think twice whether danger will follow if they were to investigate it all. The Count doesn’t want to expose his daughter to such dangers.

“No, it isn’t like that—-”

In the afternoon, Alice consulted with Kou and they had made the promise that it was alright to use Kou’s ability in order to resolve this case without any problems. In order for that to happen, it is needed to talk about a part of it with the count and the others.

She was worried that if she told them too much, that they might try to obtain Kou because of how useful his ability is. While telling some half-truths she explained what Kou could do to the count and the others. She used Fausta’s body in order to do that.  

“Th, this is….”

When his daughter’s pet, the small dog Fausta, was put on the table, Fausta began to erase the cups on the table and pulled out a memo paper with a greeting written on it. One day, an existence suddenly appeared from within Fausta. Able to understand human speech and possessing the ability to pull out objects from his own place to another.

“If it’s this child, he will be able to work inside the executive committee without alerting anyone.”

Alice was telling them that because of Kou’s abilities, possessing another animal or insect, he would be able to tail anyone and go into any room in order to gather evidence.

The count was convinced that his daughter was trying her best in order to make the situation around the mansion better, so she had gathered all this information in order to capture the mastermind behind the ‘allusion’. When he turned his sight to Sebas and Halbad, it seemed like neither of them had been informed of this either, and had been staring at them with the same expression as him. For now,  the Count, who is her father, was a little relieved at the fact that he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t informed about this.

In order to make it easier to move within the executive committee, Halbad had gathered small insects and different kinds of lizards from the garden while he had also prepared messenger birds. With that, count Bamist headed to his workplace. Alice was taking a walk with Fausta, who had returned to normal. They started with Landon and Seldo, who had been informed of the Count’s innocence, then they gathered all the workers inside the mansion in front of the Count his wife, Suria, and young lady Alice. Then they apologized to them. Furthermore, in order for them not to leak information about the Diretoss families’ movements, a lockdown decree was issued to the whole Diretoss household.

“However, it is an exciting thing ain’t it. I may not be good in all of them political affairs an’ all, but yeah, let’s just say these kinda fights make me excited.”

“Now that I think about it, it seems like you have gathered a lot of fun looking insects haven’t you.”

Alice, who was letting Fausta play in the garden, shrugged her shoulders after hearing Halbad’s explanation while he was taking care of the flower bed. ‘This insect doesn’t make a sound so it’s handy for stealth’ or ‘if it’s about movement speed, then this small spider is the best’ seeing him like that, Alice thought he was like a small child. It was a blunder to let Halbad laugh at her after she screamed from seeing a small lizard jumping of his hand.

“I wonder if Kou will be able to do it well.”

While holding the happy Fausta, who had come to her after rolling and running around, Alice looked towards the sky where the executive committee was.

Count Bamist was walking towards his room in the hall after the meeting of the executives of the executive committee meeting, within the salon where multiply executive nobles were relaxing he had found Viscount Kutol and walked towards him. Behind the collar of his clothes was a small insect hidden that was being possessed by Kou.

“Well, if it isn’t count Bamist. Might you also be taking a break?’

“Well, I was lead by a nice smell. It seems like Viscount Kutol has good taste in tea.”

“Well now, I am honored. Actually, it is something my wife had purchased.”

“Hm, it seems like your wife has bought some good tea leaves.”

While exchanging pleasantries with each other, the Count, who got close to viscount Kutol, saw the insect Kou jump from his collar to that of the viscount’s and hid himself inside his clothes. There might be a clue among the conversations of the executive nobles.

“What do you think? Do you wish to try a sip.”

“I want to do just that, however, I still have a mountain of work left. Even though it’s me, it doesn’t seem like work will end.”

Saying that, the Count left this place.

“Since the count is a serious person, it’s alright if I just stuff the roots.”

“Exactly. However, there are also some soft spots.”

“It seems like he brought his daughter along just the other day, I have heard that she had taken a liking to baron Richi.”

“…..Well now, isn’t that just interesting.”

While continuing to exchange pleasantries with others, Viscount Kutol was secretly thinking about the Count’s movements. Was there a reason why he spoke to him, or was it just a mere whim. Yesterday it seemed like the Fezad family -one of the families that usually donates money -had made an extraordinary donation. It seems that the girl that was thrown in as an extra for the farmland he obtained, though it seems like the girl was the main prize, and the farmland was the extra to baron Richi, however, it seems that that girl’s brother was tossed into the Diretoss family with the job to observe the daughter of the house.

[If I just look at it from one perspective, he seemed as a half-baked gardener that had another purpose for being there, is something that wouldn’t be unthinkable of however…..]

He cannot be certain whether or not baron Richi will say his name to anyone. Right now it is an important time, since he had now used his connections to issue a demand to a high ranking official in the Capital; that he would be nominated as the next head of the town of Kurakaru. He doesn’t want to make a wrong move and mess up big time. Once he becomes the head he, will have the highest seat within the executive committee, he can just do away with most problems using his power then.

Just to be sure, I guess I’ll order the documents that would be bad if come to light. Viscount Kutol, who cut off his exchanges with the other executive nobles before his veil got broken, headed towards his own room. Cut off the ill feeling at its bud, this is the Viscount who didn’t have any backup plans if the plan would fail—-

[Documents that should never come to light hmm, I guess I will be able to gather evidence faster than I thought?]

—- For the small insect that was hiding in his clothes, who picked up his thoughts, everything was out in the open.

Viscount Kutol once had set up his family in the Capital and was of the upper aristocracy, rather than rising through the ranks among the many nobles gentlemen as a bureaucrat of the palace, he wanted wanted to become the ruler of some random land with a big town. He came to the town of Kurakaru with the mindset that he would be able to rake in the money while doing nothing. One of the reasons was also that the current ruler of the town is count Bamist, a ‘good man’. He determined it by choosing easy looking prey.

If he were to be pushed off the seat as the next ruler, he would give orders out to the top of the executive committee and bribe the mid class nobles and the top of the regular army in the form of donations. Of course, he has a large amount of black money within the Capital. He could also just use  confiscated land and others things in order to bribe them, just like he did with baron Richi, he can just donate like that until a certain degree, where it doesn’t become too much of an burden.

Rounding up the documents that had the earnings and spending of the funds inside his own room, once he leaves the executive committee building, he went to his own mansion and left his own room after he had made sure that the ‘barrier vault’ tightly closed those documents. He finally left his room after he hid the key and safe key in his drawer.  

“Hmm? milord, are you going out again today?”

“Yes, I still have some unfinished work left.”

After having said that to the head maid the viscount had once again left the mansion and went to the executive committee building.

[Have a safe trip.]

Just now the appearance of a small insect at the window flopping around while seeing the Viscount could be seen. The grain-like insect Kou was possessing, was going towards the barrier vault where the Viscount had locked up his documents. This vault is a vault that makes use of the barrier magic, that magicians can use as a base, and is a magic type safe, though it may be ridiculously expensive, its ability is worth all of it. It won’t even budge from just any attack, unlocking it without the key is virtually impossible.

Whether you throw it off the top of an castle, bath it in the flames of fire magic or trample it with an golem, as long as the right amount of force isn´t used the barrier won´t break. Once upon a time, it had became famous since the king at the time tried to see whether what the Eioan merchant said was really true and tested it out, because of that it became famous and also it had become the merchant´s catchphrase when he was selling it.

[I wonder if I have to put a stone in a certain hole upon this desk?]

I tried to put in the spiritualists amulet to test it out, but there wasn’t any response. The real key , which is a pendant, is in the drawer of the desk on the other side of the room. Kou went to take the key within the drawer, then he passed through the barrier of the safe without any problem

[Hmmm I passed through?]

When he tried to take a look by putting his head inside, he saw a lot of documents as if they were thick books bunched up. It seems like the spirit form itself doesn’t get affected by the barrier at all Once again, while thinking that he was getting tired of what he had become, Kou summoned the documents that were within the barrier safe to his hand.

Since Kou didn’t have the knowledge to know which documents are important and which aren’t, so bacuase of that ‘for know I’ll just take it all’ is what he ended up doing. Because there wasn’t any trace of someone trying to open the barrier safe, since viscount Kutol was busy doing underhanded dealings and such he wouldn’t notice that the contents of the safe were gone until a much later date.

After leaving viscount Kutol’s mansion Kou was fluttering through the air as a bird and moved close to a man who was standing close by, then he possessed the bird that was sitting on the shoulder of the man who seems to be Halbad’s subordinate. That man was just doing as he was ordered to, after making sure that the messenger bird that was on his shoulder flew away, he quietly left from where he was.

[Oh, as expected birds are amazing. But this is, flying for myself is harder than expected.]

Since it was a properly trained messenger bird, it could just take him to where he wanted to go if he told him. Kou didn’t have any experience in flying except for that time when he possessed a bat in the dungeon in the town of Barss, he could only be entranced by seeing a real bird gliding elegantly through the sky. Since the insects he possessed that could fly felt more like floating rather than flying, so it was exhilarating to move at a speed at which ground animals couldn’t compare to. Eventually he was able to see the Diretoss house which was his destination. He could see the form of Fausta that was running around the garden within the mansion grounds.

[Birdy, please take me over to that doggy.”

“Tweet!”

With a flutter of his wings he descended in one fell swoop. When Fausta saw that a bird was descending at him from the sky, Kou possessed Fausta. He could feel happy emotions from Fausta. It seems like he was warmly welcoming Kou. When the messenger bird had finished its job of delivering Kou, he once again soared into the sky and flew away.

“Fausta?”

Fausta who had been happily running around the garden until just now, looked into the sky as if he was quietly sending of the bird that had come flying over just now which Alice found strange. However soon after that she had thought that Kou had returned.

“Kou? You returned?”

“Woof wooooof” [Yeah, I’m back.”

Toward Fausta Kou who looked back at her with human like gestures and answered her, Alice welcomed him with a smile.

On this day, count Bamist who had returned earlier than normal met up with Sebas and Halbad inside his personal room and were busy sorting out the documents. At the beginning Alice was also in the room, however after Kou began to put the documents on the table, after changing his face thrice the count prompted her to return to her own room, noticing that there was something up with the way her father, Sebas and Halbad were acting, Alice quietly returned to her own room.

“However, how to say….”

“He excels exceptionally as an spy, there it no doubt about it, about Kou-dono that is.”

“Before you start saying things like that, something like this….. it’s impossible.”

What Kou brought back was without a doubt an extremely dangerous mountain of treasure, it was also a mountain of dangerous drugs. What’re we gonna do bout this, saying that he smashed the documents on the table. Since not only many of the executive committee members of the town of Kurakaru which are mid-class and high-class nobles, Those that work in the palace within the capital former higher ups from the regular army also the current higher ups within the regular army, it had the secret dealings with black money of all of these people within these documents.

“If this was used wrongly, it’d be the downfall of this country…..”

“Before that would even happen our Diretoss family might be crushed.”

“We can act as if we hadn’t seen most of the documents. It is also dangerous to keep it at hand. I think it is for the best to let Kou-dono to be entrusted with them.”

The documents needed to prosecute viscount Kutol and the documents that can help out the the Diretoss family with their problems will be kept, the other dangerous documents shall be disposed of. Even though they said that it would be regrettable to lose those documents, so they called Kou to the room and told him ´do be careful with how you handle it´ and thus entrusted an ridiculous amount of black money to him. After Kou had put a ´handle with care´ paper on the documents he stored them in a corner of his dimensional storage.

A few days have passed since a rapport and the documents concerning the evil deeds of viscount Kutol had been sent to the government of the capital, the viscount who had received an invitation from the capital thought that he would finally receive his letter of recommendation in becoming the next ruler of the town of Kurakaru and left for the journey in a joyful mood. By the way, concerning what would happen with the documents concerning the evil deeds and such of viscount Kutol, the government of the capital had sent them a letter saying ´we shall take care of its disposal´ so we don’t have to worry about that.

Count Bamist who wanted to take care of everything in one go, waited until viscount Kutol had left the town and performed a check on all the activities of the executive committee members. From the beginning they were already aware of when, where, what and who they were meeting at what time of day.  The rounding up investigation truly went without any hitches, a lot of evil deeds had come to light and a lot of nobles were punished for them.

However, the only punishments they were given was that they parts of the lands they owned and that they had to pay a fine, also the number of nobles that committed evil deeds wasn’t that large, so the impression the PLEBS had wasn’t that bad. In reality, the plebs who weren’t actually influenced by this, it felt like it was just someone else’s problem. .

Since the evil deeds had come to light, some of the servants that served the Diretoss family retired because they had received their land back. The servants that had received their land back and left the Diretoss family after thanking and apologizing to them from the bottom of their hearts, they had promised to give the Diretoss family a certain percentage of their earnings after they were back on track with their business.

“Young lady, this is my little sister Lima.”

“I am called Lima. It seems that my brother has been a bother while being in your care.”

The day after Seldo had left the mansion, he had brought over his little sister that was trapped in the Fezad’s mansion. If you had to say it than baron Richi would be a small fry, it seems like he was just all talk since he hadn’t done anything in order to obtain the Caster family’s farmland and daughter. Returning the farmland to the Caster family and paying them a fine. He also had to release their daughter and he parted with her in tears. Although it seemed as if he truly had feelings for Lima, after Alice had seen the reaction he showed when he had misunderstood that she liked him, it could be said that he was an individual of whom much couldn’t be expected.  

“Seldo, will you stop being a gardener?”

“Yes, since I need to help take care of thee farmland that has been returned, so I think I need to help my parents and little sister with it.”

“I see, good luck.”

Because of various reasons a lot of servants had gone back to their home after their assests or money had been returned, those who had stayed in service of the Diretoss family completely changed their attitude. They were working in order to thank and repay them so the air within the mansion had become warm. Even the count’s wife Sumia who had stayed locked up within her room began to recover little by little because of the new air around the mansion, from time to time she even attends tea parties within the garden.

“It’s really comfortable isn’t it.”

“WOO Woff.”  [Good for you.]

Alice who was holding Fausta to her chest was full of joy within her heart.