Previous Recap: A Dog in a Cage
The incident occurred about ten days ago.
It happened in a Doldia village during the rainy season.
The dried Reinforce Lizard meat stored in the food warehouse had been murdered by someone's hand... no, that's not right.
It had been devoured by someone's mouth.
An immediate investigation was carried out by the Doldia warrior corps.
As a result of the investigation, the suspect who emerged was a single female warrior.
Pursena Adoldia.
She was the daughter of the Adoldia clan chief, who had only half a year ago returned to the Doldia village.
Having come back with the splendid achievement of graduating top of her class from Ranoa Magic University, she proclaimed things like "I came back as a future chief candidate on a mission, and Linia is just a losing cat," and joined the Doldia warrior corps.
The term "chief" here referred to the highest position among the leaders who united the various Doldia tribes — the Dedoldia, Adoldia, and others.
However, it was not something one could become simply by wanting to.
To become chief, one needed sufficient ability and the trust of the warriors, and additionally had to serve as warrior chief until the previous chief retired.
Pursena had the credentials and ability more than sufficient to become warrior chief.
However, having left on a journey before joining the warrior corps and having been away from her homeland for over a decade, Pursena was unfamiliar with the warrior corps.
Therefore, the current chief Gyes granted her a probationary period.
Once she had learned the village duties and memorized the faces and scents of the corps members, she would be made warrior chief, and eventually chief — that was the position she was placed in.
One could call it an elite track without exaggeration.
Pursena, who wielded advanced Healing Magic, quickly won the trust of the warriors.
Gyes judged that this arrangement would work out, and declared that once the rainy season ended, she would take a husband and become warrior chief.
That was when the incident occurred.
On the day of the incident.
The time was deep into the night.
Pursena was on watch duty at the food warehouse.
Since large quantities of food were stored in preparation for the rainy season, pairs of guards were posted at night.
The one sharing the duty with her was a female warrior of the Adoldia clan named Kanaruna.
That day, Kanaruna was feeling a bit unwell.
The wound she had sustained while repelling a monster the day before had become infected.
She insisted she was fine, but the day-shift guards testified that "when she came to take over the watch, her face was completely pale."
In response, Pursena, acting the part of the next warrior chief, instructed her: "You go home and rest. I'll take the responsibility."
Kanaruna followed this instruction and decided to rest in the break room.
She had only intended to rest for a short while, but perhaps out of an instinct to heal her injured body, she fell into a deep sleep.
And then, early the next morning.
A warrior who was part of the rotation arrived at the warehouse.
However, when he arrived, there was not a single guard where they should have been, in front of the warehouse.
Suspicious, he peeked inside — and there he found the ravaged food supplies, and Pursena sleeping with food scraps around her mouth, looking satisfied with her full belly.
Pursena was arrested red-handed.
In this Doldia village, stealing food provisions during the rainy season was a grave offense.
The warriors' evaluation of her changed completely, and talk of making her warrior chief vanished.
Naturally, talk of making her chief also vanished.
She was thrown into the dungeon, so to speak.
However, the suspect Pursena claimed:
"That day, I was hit from behind and knocked unconscious. When I came to, I was inside the warehouse, you know!"
"Someone framed me! You bastard, you know! Boss, please, you know — I want you to find the real culprit!"
"Someone must not want me to become chief, you know! Minitona and Terseena are suspicious!"
"Besides, it doesn't make sense! If I were the culprit, I'd never use a method that would be discovered so easily!"
"Sending Kanaruna home was too obvious, and I would have eaten just a little at a time so as not to get caught!"
Pursena was desperately proclaiming her innocence.
I have experience with this, but beast tribes are adept at convicting someone of an innocent crime based on first impressions.
If she truly hadn't done it, I wanted to help her.
Thinking this, I decided to do a little investigating.
---
The Doldia village was home to a mixed community of Dedoldia and Adoldia clans.
As a village built to raise and protect the Sacred Beast, it had many warriors, but since it also served as a place for raising children, there were many married couples and children as well.
A large community of approximately five hundred people lived in the trees.
During the rainy season, the great forest's floor was flooded with muddy torrents, making it an island on land.
The possibility of outsiders being involved was extremely low.
Someone mobile like myself was unlikely to be common.
If what the suspect Pursena said was true, it was highly likely that someone within the village had framed her.
I immediately had my assistant Yas and Inspector Gyes help me collect testimonies and evidence from those involved in the case.
"Here's the situation. Let's go, Yas."
"Who's Yas, nya?"
"It's you, Linia. In certain countries, the assistant is called 'Yas.'"
"Oh, is that so..."
When Gyes was told he was an inspector, he didn't say anything.
He said it was pointless, but he went along with it.
---
• 'Testimony of Gimel, the First Discoverer'
"So you were the first to find her?"
"Yes."
When I looked at the young man, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
I felt like I had seen him somewhere before.
Let me ask.
Gimel → Ask → Past incident
"Hey, have we met before?"
"Yes, ten years ago you saved me when I fell into the water."
Ah, come to think of it, ten years ago.
During the rainy season in the great forest, Ruijerd and I had saved a boy.
Was this that tail-wagging boy?
How nostalgic.
But let's set that aside for now.
This is about the incident.
"Ten days ago, what did the scene of Pursena stealing the dried meat look like?"
"Um, the box of dried lizard meat had been opened, and Pursena was sleeping right in front of it. She was clutching her swollen belly, full and satisfied, saying 'I can't eat anymore, you know.'"
I could immediately imagine the scene — probably because I had just witnessed something similar.
"So no one actually saw Pursena eating the dried meat?"
"No. However, there was meat stuck between Pursena's teeth, and the half-eaten meat nearby carried Pursena's saliva scent."
The Doldia tribe's investigation methods were unique.
To determine guilt in an incident, they relied on scent.
They had absolute confidence in their own noses.
If it was determined that "saliva scent was detected" among them, the evidence was considered sufficient.
However, this investigation method had a flaw.
"Pursena's stomach was full... but whether dried meat was actually packed inside that stomach is unknown. Isn't that right?"
"No, the smell of her burp was definitely lizard meat. I've eaten it myself, so I'm certain."
There was no flaw after all.
The fact that a smell emanated from her stomach meant that Pursena had almost certainly eaten the meat.
Unless someone had cut her open with giant scissors and stuffed it directly into her stomach.
"Was there anything else?"
"Like... footprints belonging to someone other than Pursena?"
"There were no footprints, no scents, and no fur."
I see.
At the very least, the real culprit's work was flawless.
---
• 'Night Watch: Kanaruna's Testimony'
"Kanaruna, how was Pursena's condition on the day of the watch?"
"Yes, she kept repeating 'I haven't eaten anything since morning, I'm starving, you know.'"
Pursena had apparently been extremely hungry that day.
But wasn't that strange?
The Pursena I knew would eat something even outside of mealtimes.
Dried meat, smoked meat, sometimes even raw meat.
For her to have eaten nothing...
I sensed some kind of intention behind it.
"Why did she eat nothing?"
"The day before, during the monster extermination, there were quite a few wounded."
It was also in the report, but apparently a large group of monsters had appeared the day before.
While there were no injuries among non-combatants, the warrior corps had suffered significant casualties.
"I see."
"Pursena is the village's only advanced Healing Magic user, so she was running around everywhere treating the seriously injured."
"In the end, she collapsed from mana depletion..."
Pursena had run out of mana and collapsed.
I have experience with this too, but when you run out of mana, you lose consciousness and don't wake up for half a day to a full day.
Pursena was no exception and passed out... and when she woke up, it was already time for the watch shift.
She had apparently taken on the watch duty without eating or drinking.
"Weren't there other options? Like giving her something to eat?"
"It's against the rules."
During the rainy season in Doldia village, snacking and meals outside of designated times were strictly forbidden.
They managed things carefully to ensure the three months' worth of food would absolutely be enough.
"And Pursena couldn't simply skip the watch?"
"The day before, the monster numbers had been large, and quite a few warriors were bedridden."
"We were short-handed."
"We wanted Pursena to rest too, but she came out saying 'I'm just hungry, that's all.'"
I see.
There was certainly a sense of duty about becoming chief, but it was admirable.
I wanted to tell my past self, who used to come up with all sorts of excuses to slack off, about this.
"And then, the incident happened."
"Yes. If only I had gone to find her something to eat back then... I still think about it."
Hearing it like that, I felt there was room for leniency.
Well, Pursena was still insisting she hadn't eaten anything.
---
• 'Yas's Opinion'
"Yas... no wait, Linia, what do you think after hearing all this?"
I was getting the assistant's opinion too, just in case.
She was Pursena's friend.
"I would've thought she'd do it, nya."
"Hmm."
"Pursena has always had a habit of stealing and eating whatever's nearby when she gets hungry, nya. When we were in school, she even ate the dried fish I was saving for a snack, nya."
A prior offense, then.
---
When I looked into the matter in detail,
I could clearly see that one person's testimony was suspicious.
There was one person who was lying.
Who could it be?
→ Pursena.
Yes, Pursena.
She alone was refusing to acknowledge her own actions, claiming she was hit from behind and all that.
Let me go back to Pursena and hear her story again.
Moving → Village edge → Dungeon
Pursena → Ask → The incident.
"Pursena. Did you really not do it? Look me in the eyes and tell me."
"I'm telling the truth, Boss. Please believe me, you know..."
Pursena had her eyes sparkling and her hands clasped together.
However, her tail was swishing suspiciously.
Let me try bluffing her.
"I believe I can defend you and get you out of here."
"You're amazing, Boss, you know!"
"But if it turns out after you leave that you were lying, I won't give you meat for the next year."
"O-of course I'm telling the truth, you know!"
"But can you swear to God?"
"I-I swear, you know...!"
Pursena's eyes wavered.
This one was suspicious.
These were the eyes of a liar.
"I will never forgive anyone who insults my God. Will you truly swear before God?"
I grabbed Pursena's head firmly through the iron bars and asked while looking into her eyes.
She knew well enough that I was a devout person.
Her face went completely pale, and she trembled violently.
She tucked her tail between her legs and clutched the tip with both hands.
"Well?"
"I-I did it..."
She spilled the beans just like that.
---
The case was solved.
The culprit was indeed Pursena Adoldia.
Unable to bear the guilt of her own crime, she had fabricated a nonexistent third party and tried to pin the blame on them.
What a sore loser.
But perhaps she too was just a victim who had been possessed by the demonic allure of meat.
"Gyes, thank you for your trouble."
"No... more importantly, are you sure it's Pursena?"
Gyes had been watching the whole sequence of events with a deadpan expression, and once it was resolved, he asked me this.
"What do you mean?"
"The agreement for you to take one Sacred Beast caretaker from our village."
He said it with a face practically begging me to accept.
"No, that's really not necessary."
Of course I didn't need one.
If any more big-chested women ended up around me, I'd be suspected of cheating again.
Besides, I wanted Sylphie and Roxy to have a second child for me — I didn't need someone this clueless.
Plus, Pursena seemed like she'd have a high Engel coefficient.
Eris would probably be happy though.
"Is that so? Well then, should I choose between Minitona and Terseena after all?"
"No, aren't those two chief candidates? Maybe someone else..."
While talking with Gyes, I walked outside the dungeon.
"Hey, wait, you know! Boss, don't leave me behind, you know! Let me out, you know! I want you to take me with you — I can't stand a life without meat anymore, you know!"
Ignoring the voice from behind.
"NYAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Linia, who had been waiting outside, laughed as she entered the dungeon for the first time.
Until now, she had never set foot inside.
Apparently, she had once been locked up there naked,
and the humiliating memories would resurface if she went in, so she had stubbornly refused.
"Well, well, Pursena — look at you now, nya!"
"L-Linia!? I could smell you for a while now! What are you doing here?!"
Linia had at some point put on sunglasses.
The ones she used for work.
To hide the dark circles under her eyes.
"What am I doing? Fufu... don't you understand, nya?"
As she spoke, Linia took my arm and pressed her chest against it.
She was totally doing it on purpose.
Oh no — she was giving off a mating scent...
"L-Linia... you and the Boss...?"
Pursena sniffed the air and her face twisted in horror.
Linia's mouth curled into a grin.
A nasty smile.
"That's right, nya... Ah, I remember now, that passionate night. I was in the bedroom, held like a princess by the Boss... Ah, I can't say any more, nya! But let's just say the Boss made me cry a lot that day."
I did hold her, then tossed her out of the room. Just chucked her out.
After that, she moped around in Eris's room.
She was technically not lying.
"No way, Boss... You never gave us a second look because of Fitz and Roxy!"
"NYAHAHA, maybe Pursena just didn't have enough charm, nya? The moment I was alone with him, it happened, nya. Oh my, the Boreas Greyrat family bloodline was truly wild, nya. That first night, I thought my ribs were going to break, nya."
"R-ribs...?! What kind of vigorous mating was that?!"
The first night with Eris.
She sometimes squeezed her sleeping partner so hard it was like she was trying to strangle them.
I experienced it. Leo experienced it. Linia experienced it.
Linia apparently showed up the next morning in tears, and Sylphie had to heal her with magic.
Yep, she still wasn't lying.
"L-Linia... did you become the Boss's wife?"
"Well, not exactly his wife... but, you know, something like a slave, nya."
"A slave?!"
Pursena's face turned bright red and she clapped both hands over her mouth.
Yep, slave... not entirely wrong.
"It's actually a pretty good position, nya. Even though I'm a slave, I'm given real responsibilities. I have fifty subordinates, nya. I don't end up in a dungeon like Pursena, and I get to enjoy the Boss's household's favor. Ah, but maybe being the Doldia chief is an even better position, nya? Well, Pursena doesn't look like she'll become one anytime soon... NYAHAHAHAHA!"
Her cackling echoed through the area.
"LINIAAAA!"
Pursena's face flushed crimson as she rattled the iron bars furiously.
But gradually, the strength drained from her hands.
Pursena weakly sank to her knees on the floor.
"*Sniff*... it was too much, that day was really busy, you know, I hadn't eaten anything since morning, you know... The amount I ate was barely more than what I'd normally eat in one sitting, and if they processed the monsters I defeated, it would have been more than enough to make up for it, you know..."
She collapsed onto the dungeon floor and began to weep softly.
And then Linia stepped away from me.
"Ahh, I'm satisfied, nya..."
She looked completely content.
What a terrible person.
But I do think there was room for leniency for Pursena too.
From what I'd heard, monster attacks had occurred between late night and early morning.
The significant damage was probably the responsibility of that day's watch.
That burden had fallen on Pursena, the healing magician.
After driving off the monsters, Pursena had desperately used Healing Magic.
Thanks to that, many people should have been saved.
But Pursena too had ultimately collapsed from mana depletion.
After waking up, she went straight to the watch shift without even a moment to eat.
That said, what she did was theft.
Going on night watch without eating for an entire day was not a justification for stealing food.
Even in my previous world, a police officer caught committing a crime was removed from the elite track the moment it came to light.
There might have been grounds for leniency, but a crime was a crime.
She had broken the village's rules.
Not being able to become warrior chief or chief — well, that was just the way it had to be.
"Oh, Boss, and Dad."
Linia turned to face me and Gyes with a serious expression.
"I have a request, nya."
She bowed her head.
A 45-degree bow.
"...Please make Pursena the Sacred Beast caretaker."
Then Linia raised her head and fixed a powerful gaze on me and Gyes.
Her gaze made me straighten up.
"We went to a distant foreign land and worked hard for the sole purpose of becoming chief, nya. I'm confident we worked harder than anyone else. Otherwise, we couldn't have graduated at the top of the class. In the end, I lost to Pursena and stepped aside, but... that was because I believed Pursena was worthy of being chief, and I accepted it. For everything to be thrown away over just one mistake — that's too much, nya."
Linia paused and looked up at Gyes.
"I want to give her a chance, nya. For the next five years — no, ten years. If Pursena can properly take care of the Sacred Beast... if she fulfills her duty and brings the Boss's daughter back safely, please wipe clean her crime this time, nya. I'm not saying make her chief, but give her an appropriate position."
It was a story that didn't follow logic.
Linia herself had abandoned the duty and become a merchant.
Did she really have the standing to ask for this?
Besides, this crime stemmed from Pursena's own lack of self-control.
From what I'd heard, there were grounds for leniency.
I thought so, but what was done was done.
To ask that it all be forgiven because she had worked hard up until now — that was pushing it.
Something like that wouldn't be accepted.
"That cannot be done."
Gyes said the same.
Past actions don't disappear. They can't be erased.
That was only natural.
And yet.
And yet.
If I were speaking from personal feelings alone.
I wanted hard work to be rewarded.
Pursena had worked hard.
Every day, stuffing her cheeks with meat, she diligently attended classes.
We had been in the same Healing Magic class, so I knew firsthand how hard she had worked.
Without a doubt, she had put in more effort than anyone else.
That was how someone from a beast tribe — who wasn't that sharp to begin with — had managed to graduate at the top.
When you work hard, you want to be rewarded.
That was my desire.
I just wanted to be rewarded for my own effort.
That was all it was.
"Gyes, can I make a request as well?"
"Huh? Boss?"
But if I were in a position to give someone their due reward.
I wanted to let them earn it as much as possible.
"......"
Gyes looked troubled.
But he quickly raised his head.
"Understood. Very well."
The old Gyes would have stubbornly said no here.
I didn't think my judgment was necessarily correct either.
It was practically selfish.
"Linia, Pursena — fulfill your duties properly. Understood?"
"Yes, nya!"
"Yes, you know!"
The two of them bowed their heads.
Watching them, I thought to myself.
These two really are better together.
---
On the way back, we took a raft to the Sacred Sword Highway, estimated the location near the stone monument, played the flute, somehow managed to summon Almanfi the Radiant, and returned via the Aerial Fortress.
"What a nostalgic place... the town where I once reached the pinnacle — I never thought I'd return here..."
When the walls of the magic city Sharia came into view, Pursena murmured with deep emotion.
Yes, she had come back.
To the magic city Sharia — one might call it her second hometown.
"Oh, Pursena, I almost forgot to mention, nya."
"What is it? I'm feeling a little sentimental right now, so keep it brief, you know."
"Since I'm the one who saved you, you're going to be my servant for a while, nya."
"Wha—"
As Linia's servant.