The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason - Chapter 54

54 – Cloud City (4)

I’ll be honest.

I had a careless thought that if I scattered hundreds of beetles, wouldn’t things just solve themselves?

No matter what anyone says, being a bug manipulator is a scam skill, and the beetles have a considerable level of mobility and stealth.

I thought the top executives of the Guerriere would reveal their true colors and could be easily captured. But no.

There haven’t been any instances of the beetles being discovered, but the creature was more careful than I had expected.

It has been five days since coming to Cloud City.

During that time, I diligently searched and explored the city, but I couldn’t find all traces of it.

Of course, I did find some. After all, a whopping 190 reconnaissance soldiers went to that town. No matter how skilled the creature’s control ability is, it can’t hide its tracks.

For example, not eating for several days in a row, or when it stays at home, it just stays there like a disconnected doll, and so on.

Based on that, I was able to deduce that nearly 60 people were practically brainwashed.

In five days, a total of 60 people. This is almost equivalent to the entire reconnaissance team being affected.

In fact, there was more than enough evidence to support our suspicions, but we did not take any action.

Why?

“Because it is also watching us.”

Just as I used the binoculars to observe with my eyes and ears, it would also use the dolls as its eyes and ears.

In short, the moment we move, it will notice any changes.

What if it’s mistaken?

If we were to confront the 60 people and provoke the other 130, there would be significant civilian casualties.

So if we’re going to act, it should be when we are absolutely certain.

It had to be like a typhoon, hitting all at once.

In the first place, we couldn’t even find the whereabouts of the 190 people that the Lord mentioned.

Even with over a thousand binoculars, it was not enough to fully monitor an entire city. It was not like CCTV surveillance that could be done at all times. The insects would come to me directly, walking on their own.

There were temporal and spatial differences. As a result, even if we found something once, we would quickly lose it.

Especially in the case of Rikby, Nelby, and Kelvin who first went on reconnaissance, they didn’t even show up on the radar… It caused various problems.

That’s not all. It has been a whopping 5 days since we arrived in this city.

And in about 5 days, the fact that there is a party of heroes in the city would have spread.

And the fact that these heroes have some issues.

“No, this hero is… I don’t know.”

As a result, the videos reproduced by the binoculars had various ‘noises’ appearing.

It was already a headache to have to watch hundreds of videos a day, and now there were additional noises causing even more stress.

“Phew, let’s take a break.”

After watching the videos for a while, I finally raised both my hands and feet.

The information was coming in too excessively, and it was giving me a headache.

I needed a rest.

Of course, I didn’t just sit still while taking a break.

Even while resting, there were things I could do.

I infused magic power into the magic circle that appeared in the air.

Except for the magic power that resonates with the binoculars, I poured almost all of my magic power into the magic circle.

Not only that, I also offered the insects in the jar as sacrifices, and spent my own fortune to replenish the insufficient magic power.

Surprisingly, the power of sacrifice accepted materialistic things such as jewels or money as trade items. Fortunately, I had earned a lot of money before, so I could afford to offer them like this.

She strikes the gathered magical power onto the magic circle in front of her. It is truly an enormous amount.

Even though she released a meteor, it was only a fraction of the amount of magical power that she used, and nothing happened to the magic circle in front of her.

But she didn’t have any doubts about that.

“Of course.”

After all, this magic circle was not activated by such a small amount of magical power.

The status window disappears from her sight, revealing the completion rate of the magic circle.

[Completion Rate: 3.7%]

Summoning circle of solitude.

It was a magic circle that summoned a catastrophe that once plunged the continent into despair. A creature like a kitchen utensil.

Summoning a creature like that, it’s not surprising that it wouldn’t even budge with this amount of magical power.

Still, thanks to spending the past few days pouring in magical power, it had reached 3.7%.

It was fortunate that the Summoning of the Great King had been prepared for a long time and almost all the bugs that were in the vicinity had been sacrificed in order to summon it.

Considering that, it was fitting that it was filling up quickly.

After pouring in the magical power, she took a moment to breathe.

Thinking that she had rested a bit, she immersed herself in the investigation work again.

To be honest, not only was I mentally exhausted, but also the stress that had built up from the long hours of work was overwhelming. On top of that, the intense recoil caused by using a large amount of magical power.

But I couldn’t give up.

“I have to find it.”

I have to find it. Before it does something. We have to take the initiative.

Still, fortunately, the mafia investigation was progressing relatively smoothly.

Due to the time difference, the confirmation was delayed, but in this state, we would be able to capture all 190 people within a few days. It would be over when we go there and strike all at once…

Knock knock.

While I was thinking such thoughts, I heard knocking sounds from outside the door.

After a while, Ulysses von Uglassia entered.

She noticed me sitting and communing with the bugs and immediately frowned.

“Are you doing this again?”

She seemed somewhat displeased.

“I told you yesterday. You’re going to burn yourself out like this. It’s good to be passionate about your work, but you need to take care of your body, right?”

“hahahaha…”

(Translated by AI, so there may be inaccuracies)

I simply smiled awkwardly.

Since a few days ago, she had occasionally come to find me and scold me like this.

I didn’t know what she was thinking, but it didn’t feel so bad to hear my mother’s nagging after a long time.

And ultimately, her visit meant that my workload would decrease.

“It won’t work. Please send some exterminators to our inn as well. It would be faster to have more than one person handle it.”

“Don’t you dislike bugs?”

“I’ve experienced worse at the training ground. Is this the best you can do? Enough with the small talk, just send them. Otherwise, I’ll come back here and complain again. I’ll even have others see it, so hurry up.”

“hahahaha, alright…”

In the end, I had no choice but to send some bugs her way. Honestly, I felt good about it.

I was hesitant to suggest it first, but she came and took away some of my work.

Thanks to her, I could relax a bit…

*

“Really, people can be so stubborn…”

After some time had passed, Ulysses returned to my inn and complained for a long time. Thousands of videos to be reviewed.

He should have known that it was too much for one person to handle, but he was a stubborn human being.

Of course, I understood his feelings.

If he had asked me first, there was a high probability that I would have refused, even because of the curse. He probably wanted to finish it himself even if it was a bit of a stretch. It was a predictable thought.

And the saint didn’t like that thought.

“If he had asked me, I would have naturally helped him…”

Is it because I still haven’t earned that level of trust?

Even though she had approached him several times, his heart still seemed closed off.

That fact left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“…”

Well, someday it will open up.

With that thought in mind, she started working just like him.

She even shared some of the bugs with her party members. If it was a warrior’s request, they might hesitate, but they would listen to her.

The party members reluctantly took on the task.

Having completed such a simple task, the saint immediately began her work.

She held the extermination bug in her hand and resonated with her magic power. And then, images started flooding into her mind.

“Goddess has quite the discerning eye. To choose someone like him as a warrior.”

“It’s not because of the goddess’s discernment, but because there is no talent on the continent.”

“Even so, how did they pick someone like that? Their personality is also terrible. Who knows if they will run away when they fight against the Demon Army in the future?”

“Heh heh heh, that’s true. Maybe the previous veteran heroes would have been better.”

······ Finding the brainwashed scouts was like finding a needle in a desert.

There were too many people in the video, and there was too much unnecessary information.

Such conversations were always included in the investigation without any help.

It has been 5 days since the hero party arrived here.

The rumors have spread among the townspeople, and there has been a lot of talk.

Most of the content was gossip due to the curse, but even that conversation was excessive. It was obvious that there were additional content for other secret agents as well.

Everyone thinks that the saint is admired for a lifetime.

Absolutely not.

There are always twisted people in the world, so she has heard rumors about herself several times.

Nuns who were eliminated as saint candidates, arrogant nobles who tried to bring down the authority of the church, and even beggars living in the back alleys.

When she hears the gossip from such people, her heart hurts. Even if she tries not to care, those words keep playing in her head.

That’s what gossip is.

She feels bad listening to a few of those words, but the hero is hearing them dozens or even hundreds of times.

Thousands of videos, to be exact.

It is something that cannot be done with the mental strength of an ordinary person.

It was clear that stress was accumulating whether he realized it or not.

But until this matter is resolved, he can’t stop…

In the end, there is only one thing she can do here. Help him and finish the investigation as quickly as possible.

With that thought in mind, she focused on her work again.

*

And so, on the 8th day.

The hero party was finally able to capture all the puppets. With the cooperation of the lord, they attacked all the scattered locations in the territory at once.

The captured puppets included 190 scouts, including Ricky, Nellby, and Kelvin…

And 6 civilians.

A total of 196 people.

“Damn it.”

I felt that something was seriously wrong.

Why are civilians involved here?