Bear-san, Brings Mylene-san
After parting with Jade-san and the others, I repatriated Swaying Bear and rode down the mountain on Hugging Bear. Soon after, I was able to return to Lurina-san and Gil at the foot of the mountain. Lurina-san and Gil seemed to be with the man I had captured earlier, who was acting as a lookout.

“Yuna-chan? What about everyone?” (Lurina)

I briefly explained the current situation.

“I see, they got away.” (Lurina)

“Since you caught the main culprit, then there’s no problem.” (Gil)

Lurina-san made a troubled face, but Gil followed up.

“Then Yuna-chan, are you going back to Crimonia and ask Guldmaster to decide?” (Lurina)

“I’ll be right back, so please wait for a while.” (Yuna)

“Roger that” (Lurina)

The Hugging Bear ran at super acceleration and returned to Crimonia in much less time than usual. I thanked him for running faster than usual and sent him back. Then I entered the city, ran to the commerce guild, and went inside.

As usual, there were many people in the commercial guild. While I was thinking about how to get to Mylene-san, Liana-san, who was sitting at the reception desk, noticed me and slightly bowed to me.

Then, when Liana finished with the customer she was dealing with, she excused herself for a bit and came over to me.

“Yuna-san, are you here because of the bandits?” (Liana)

“How did you know?” (Yuna)

“I heard from Guldmaster that Yuna-san and the others were headed for bandit subjugation. We were expecting an official report from the Adventurers’ Guild.” (Liana)

Apparently, the Adventurers’ Guild was supposed to contact them to report the completion.

“I have a report for Mylene-san about that, but can I see her?” (Yuna)

When I said that, Liana-san understood and immediately guided me to Mylene-san’s room.

I thanked Liana-san and entered the room. In the back of the room, Mylene-san was sitting on a chair and working.

“Yuna-chan, what’s wrong? Have you already finished subjugating the bandits, by any chance?” (Mylene)

“Yeah, I have a report about that…” (Yuna)

I reported what happened and took out the bag containing the stolen cotton from the bear box.

“If there are merchants behind the scenes, we have to catch them, or they will repeat the same thing. Once people get a taste of sweet nectar, they won’t be able to turn their backs on it. Making others steal and sell them. That’s not acceptable as a merchant.” (Mylene)

I don’t think it’s an acceptable act, even if you’re not a merchant. Of course, I didn’t say that.

“We have to catch that merchant Redent!” (Mylene)

“Even though it’s just a man’s testimony?” (Yuna)

“If he says that man is lying, then that’s it.” (Mylene)

I guess she means that that if we want to catch that merchant, we need to have damning evidence.

“What are you going to do then?” (Yuna)

“Yuna-chan. I’m sorry, but can you take me to that man?” (Mylene)

“Is it okay to leave your work?” (Yuna)

I look at the work on the desk that has been bothering me since a while ago. There was a tremendous amount of paper on it.

“I’ll do it when I get back. Besides, this is part of my job.” (Mylene)

I can’t say anything when she says that. Besides, it would be a great help to have Mylene-san.

“Oh right, by the way, I haven’t reported this to the Adventurers Guild, should I?” (Yuna)

“This whole thing is also the commercial guild’s issue, and we need to avoid any conspicuous behavior right now. As Jade said, the fewer people who know about it, the better.” (Mylene)

Mylene-san told me to put away the cotton bag, so I put it in the bear box.

After confirming that I had finished, Mylene-san called a staff member.

“I’m going out for a while, but don’t let anyone know. I’ll take care of the urgent work when I get back, so please leave it as is.” (Mylene)

“I understand.”

The staff nodded without asking any questions.

“Now then, Yuna-chan, let’s go out the back door.” (Mylene)

“The back door?” (Yuna)

“You’ll never know whose eyes and ears will be there. We need to avoid even the slightest conspicuous behavior.” (Mylene)

With Mylene-san’s lead, we exit the commercial guild through the back door.

“Let’s get this over with quickly and get back. If we don’t, the work will just pile up.” (Mylene)

“Please don’t push yourself too hard.” (Yuna)

I heard that the guild receptionists are so busy these days that they don’t even have time to sit at the reception desk.

I hope they weren’t overdoing it.

Then when we got outside the city, I summoned Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

“Hugging Bear-chan, Swaying Bear-chan, it’s been a while. You’re still cute.” (Mylene)

“Ku~u ~ n”

When Mylene-san patted Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, they squealed happily. I let Mylene-san ride Hugging Bear and I got on Swaying Bear, and we started running toward the mountain where Lurina-san and the rest were waiting for us.

And I made Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear run at the same speed as when I returned to Crimonia so that Mylene could get back to work as soon as possible.

While I was expecting Mylene-san to be screaming right now, she was surprisingly calm.

Thanks to Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear’s efforts, we were able to return to the foot of the mountain where the bandits were hiding sooner than expected.

“Mylene-san, you came.” (Jade)

Jade-san and others gather around Mylene-san, who arrived on Hugging Bear.

“Jade, thanks for reaching out to me.” (Mylene)

“No, it’s what we all discussed.” (Jade)

“I see. Thank you, everyone. So, is he the one who knows Redent?” (Mylene)

Mylene-san looked at the bound man. The watchman was dressed in comfortable clothing, and the man who supervised the bandit group was dressed a little more exquisitely.

Mylene-san looked at the man’s face.

“You look familiar.” (Mylene)

The man wanted to say something, but he couldn’t say anything since his mouth was covered.

“Did you get any new information out of him?” (Mylene)

“According to the watchman over there and the paper that was left behind, this man was the merchant’s directing agent. The man admits that too. Also, the guy over there had a guild card, but this guy didn’t have a guild card or any other proof of his identity.”

Jade-san looked at the watchman and then at the man.

“Also, they said that they had already given the stolen items to Redent, except for the cotton that Yuna had secured. In the meantime, we checked the hideout and the surrounding area but found nothing.” (Blitz)

Blitz, who did the search, adds an explanation.

“I thought other bandits might be hiding nearby, but we couldn’t find anyone. We tried to get information from this man about his friends who had escaped, but he said he didn’t know who they were or where they were. They were using fake names it seems. In fact, the guy over there was using a fake name himself.” (Blitz)

Fake name. Of course, you would use a fake name when you’re doing something bad. I also use the alias “Yuuna”, but not because I did something bad; I didn’t want people to investigate me. If you think about it, it’s the same thing, isn’t it?

“Alright. Thanks, everyone.” (Mylene)

Mylene-san approached the man and took off the cloth that was covering his mouth.

“Let’s make a deal.” (Mylene)

“A deal?” (Man)

“Yes, if you help us catch Redent, I’ll lighten your sentence for cooperating with us.” (Mylene)

“Quit bullshitting! A little girl like you has no right to do that!” (Man)

That’s a valid point.

Ordinary people have no right to do so.

“I am Mylene, guildmaster of the commercial guild in Crimonia. How do you do?” (Mylene)

“Stop lying! I’ve seen you sitting in the reception area of the commercial guild in Crimonia. How come a guildmaster sits in the reception area?” (Man)

“Ara, you know me? No wonder you had seen me before. By the way, sitting at the reception desk is a hobby of mine.” (Mylene)

Mylene-san sometimes sits at the reception desk. However, I have heard from Liana-san that she has recently been too busy to sit at the reception desk because someone has built a tunnel leading to the town of Mereera.

“This is the proof that I am the Guildmaster.” (Mylene)

Mylene-san showed her guild card to the man.

“Is that real?” (Man)

The man looked at the guild card, Mylene, and those around him, as if checking us out.

“It may be hard to believe, Mylene-san is the guild master of the commercial guild.” (Lurina)

Lurina-san, who was the most knowledgeable about Crimonia, spoke.

It’s not easy to believe, isn’t it? When I first met her, I thought she was just a receptionist at the guild.

Because Mylene-san is young, so you can’t help but think of her as a regular receptionist.

“What do you want to do? Will you accept the deal?” (Mylene)

“……”

The man looked down and pondered.

“If I betray Redent-sama, I will lose my future as a merchant.” (Man)

“The moment you get caught, there’s already no future for you. But if you help us catch Redent, the future will open up for you.” (Mylene)

“If I betray my master, no one will ever believe me again. Business is a matter of trust.” (Man)

“But you are sorely mistaken. Those who criticize your behavior don’t want to get close to you because they are aware and guilty of the same crime. Of course, they think that way if you ever find out how bad they are. On the other hand, in the eyes of those who are genuinely honest with what they do, they’ll think you’re an honest man who denounced your masters of wrongdoing.” (Mylene)

“……”

“However, if you betray those people as well, your future as a merchant will disappear completely.” (Mylene)

Sure, if you didn’t know the details, you might think he was an honest man. But from the point of view of a wrongdoer, they would be too afraid of being snitched at and won’t get close. In other words, bad guys stick together with other bad guys.

Because they hold each other’s weaknesses.

Hearing Mylene-san’s words, the man pondered hard and made up his mind.

“…Alright. I will cooperate.” (Man)

A deal was made with Mylene-san.

=====

Author’s Note:

We’re back with Mylene-san.

Let’s catch him quickly.