Chapter 7-37. Side -Houen- The Mystery of Lequam

Three people are surprised at my sudden shout.

Yet, I could not help but shout.

Finally, one more clue was formed in my mind.

Lequam’s body had been taken over by a demon.

Or maybe he was possessed.

Since I did not actually confront him, I do not know what he looked like, but according to Ouren’s story, he was the same as when I saw him before.

That means that his consciousness may not have been hijacked.

Then one possibility emerges.

Lequam may have been in some kind of cooperative relationship with the devil.

Although it is impossible to say exactly what it was, we can make a prediction.

The magic crystal.

It was Vasti Ruckle, the prince’s personal butler who had been brainwashed, who scattered it.

But it’s impossible to make.

If they were made somewhere in this country, it makes sense that there were so many of them.

Of course, it is possible that the devil had prepared them in advance.

Since we do not know how much magic power and how much time it takes to make them, there is no proof that Lequam made them.

However, if Lequam was conscious, it would not be surprising if he knew something about the magic crystal.

He used to be called [Lequam the Experimentalist].

There was no way that he would not investigate when he saw a magic tool that he had never seen before.

Besides, he also remembered the previous incident.

The Ramleys, the nobles who employed Lequam.

There was an incident in which there were several prisons in the basement of that house, and dozens of dead slaves were found in them.

Those were laboratory facilities that were completely designed for human experiments, and when the Adventurers’ Guild found out about it, they immediately went around handing out a wanted list, didn’t they?

But as I recall, there were only torture chambers and prisons in that place.

Now I finally realized that that was obviously not right.

It seems unlikely that they would place only that much stuff in a laboratory.

There should be a reference room somewhere.

If we followed up on what Lequam was doing, we might be able to get some information about his relationship with the devil, and even about the magic crystal.

“W-what’s wrong?”

“I’m indebted to you, Yurie-kun! Thanks to you, I think I’ve solved one of the riddles!”

“Eh!? Y-you’re welcome I guess?”

I grabbed her hand and shook it a little wildly.

I finally found a new clue!

I’d like to go investigate immediately, but I don’t know where to start …….

Ah, but I’m not even ready to report back to Bamil territory yet …….

I’m starting to think it would be faster if I went there and reported back.

For now, I’ll just look into Lequam for now.

There’s still time, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

I’ll figure something out later.

“Ah, um…!”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“How are Nii-san doing? I haven’t seen him since he left in a hurry…”

Ah, come to think of it, we were rushing to the Oni’s village before.

I see, did Jigal meet with Ouren at that time?

Now, what was my excuse this time?

I’m not sure I can say that he is a monster.

“He’s doing some investigation, just like I am. He’ll be back before long.”

“Is that so ……”

“Hmm? You don’t look happy. What’s wrong?”

“Ah, no! It’s nothing…..”

Is there something he wants to talk about?

I’ll tell him when I meet up with Ouren and instruct him to head to Jigal’s place.

Then, I looked at Jigal again.

For some reason, he is a little sad, but I don’t know why.

Children’s thoughts are often incomprehensible.

That’s simple.

Hmm, it’s a coincidence that we met here.

I don’t know when we’ll see each other again, so I’ll just have to finish what Lize asked me to do. ……

“Jigal.”

“Eh, ahh- yes. What is it, Houen-san?”

“Do you know about the Duke of Isright?”

“Yes.”

“Meryl Isright wanted to see you. You should go and see her when you are free.”

“Eeh-!?”

This way, even if Ouren is not there, he will make contact with her on his own.

I will leave the rest to Lize, who will be over there.

“Then I should get going.”

“Let’s have dinner sometime.”

“Maybe when I’m in the mood.”

Spreading my wings of flame, I soar through the air.

Since the destination had already been decided, I headed straight in that direction.

The two remaining people, Yurie and Roze, looked at Jigal after seeing Houen off.

He was frozen and not moving.

“Hey, Yurie-“

“I know, you don’t have to tell me.”

“…… what? W-what is it, both of you?”

“”You want to go to see Meryl?””

“No, thank you!”

He shook his head and opened his arms to deny it, but they both laughed inside, thinking that he was not being honest at all when they saw his face turning red.