Level Eater

In summary, Both Cardina and Jeanne successfully acquired the skill [Dragon Power Recovery Speed Increase], Due to their innate talent as Dragon species (Dragon kin), they quickly reached level 5 in [Dragon Power Recovery Speed Increase] in a short period. During this time, the two, unaware of the special nature of being Dragon kin, did not refrain from expressing their pride in their children's potential genius.

As they observed the growth of Cardina and Jeanne over the past few days, the couple prepared for unforeseen circumstances. It was during their dinner on the day after tomorrow that they received news of the return of the owner of the mansion, Reginald Mac Dermott.

While expressing gratitude to the maid who brought the news, the couple hurriedly followed her to the location where Gillian and others were waiting.

"Quite fast, isn't it? It's only been about two days since they released that messenger bird, right? I remember them saying it would take two days one way." (Ai)

"They mentioned a carriage, so maybe they have other means of transportation. …Ah, here it is." (Tatsuro)

Chasing after the maid to a place they had no memory of in the past two days, they arrived at a particularly large door befitting the room of the head of the household residing in this mansion.

Beside the door stood Neville, the chief of security, an elderly knight, and a woman wearing a robe who seemed to be his deputy.

"We've been waiting for you. Lord Reginald is already inside. Please go in." (Neville)

"Yes." (Ai)

Upon saying this to Tatsuro and Ai, Neville personally opened the door and let them through. Beyond the open door sat a man with an exceptionally muscular physique and a chin beard, comfortably seated in a chair behind a large and splendid desk.

{Huh? Could it be that this bodybuilder-like old man is Gillian's father?} (Ai)

{That Gillian's father is quite a mismatch, so please stop that…} (Tatsuro)

As they communicated through telepathy, Gillian's father, Reginald Mac Dermott, stood up, approached them, and extended his hand.

"I am Reginald Mac Dermott, the head of this household." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"I'm Tatsuro Hasami." (Tatsuro)

"Ai Yashiki." (Ai)

Alternating handshakes, Tatsuro and Ai greeted him, and he responded with a refreshing smile that didn't match his physique.

"This time, my son has been in your care, so I want to express my gratitude." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"No need to worry about it. We did what we did because it benefited us as well." (Tatsuro)

"I see. Well, let's set aside that discussion for now and get straight to the main topic." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Yes." (Tatsuro)

With a serious expression replacing the earlier cheerful smile, Reginald, along with Gillian and Salman in the room's corner, began to provide a detailed explanation of the current situation.

When the topic of Iyaruki came up, Tatsuro took out a box containing the body of the thief leader who wore the heirloom of the Lord of Lyadas.

"In here is the body of the thief leader adorned with the heirloom of the Lyadas Lord's family." (Tatsuro)

"Yes. We cannot verify the authenticity of the equipment, but this man certainly played a central role in the recent turmoil." (Ai)

"I see. Well, let me take a look at it right away. I've been involved in the maintenance of such equipment, so I can definitively determine its authenticity." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

Saying this, Reginald lifted the lid of the box made of compacted soil with his thick arms, as if flipping through pages of a book. He carefully examined the state of the armor and scrutinized the pattern and color of the cloak for a while.

After about five minutes of such examination, Reginald finally raised his face.

"There's no mistake. This is undoubtedly the heirloom of the Lyadas-Bruitt family. You probably already know, but someone infiltrated the Lord's residence treasure vault and stole this entire set of armor." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"So, it's not something their son stole?" (Tatsuro)

"Well, it seems like an inside job. Moreover, the key to the treasure vault is specially made. It can only be opened by someone with the bloodline of the lord's family. To enter through any other means, the door would need to be broken, but it wasn't. What does that imply?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"An inside job!" (Ai)

"That's right. That line of reasoning is strong." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

As Ai played the role of a detective with a triumphant expression, Reginald's cheeks relaxed.

"However, wouldn't it have been better to deliberately break the door so it will look like an outside job? It would seem like you're inviting suspicion." (Tatsuro)

"If they knew that the blood of the Lyadas-Bruitt family was necessary, even if the son of the lord was accused, he probably would have done it. But apparently, only those who have become the lord in generations know that fact." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"…But before we discuss that, why do you know about it?" (Tatsuro)

"Information is a merchant's life. But revealing the source of that information is a matter of life and death." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"So, it's a secret." (Ai)

Tatsuro, smiling at Ai's words, felt the gravity of a merchant working in the first battle. In reality, Reginald, the lord's drinking buddy, remembered the information leaked by the lord when he was drunk.

"Well then, leaving that aside, how many people currently have access to the lord's residence who could open it?" (Tatsuro)

"Right. First, the current lord, Brendan Lyadas Bruitt. Next is the third daughter, Miss Laurence, and the youngest son, Lord Bertram. These three, others have married and left." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Excluding the lord, the potential culprits are only the third daughter and the youngest son." (Tatsuro)

"That's right. But I think Miss Laurence, like the lord, can be excluded. That intelligent young lady does not need such actions. She has already secured that entire set of equipment by silently waiting for it to become hers." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

It seems that Laurence herself is aware that she is almost certain to become the next lord. In that case, there is indeed no need to commit theft and create trouble. Therefore, the only one capable of the crime is the son, Bertram.

"But if you know that much, why not just catch him?" (Tatsuro)

"Well, that's something you should directly discuss with the lord. I'm sure the lord himself knows about it." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"I see. We'll do that. Now, regarding the main topic, could this be evidence for the current situation?" (Tatsuro)

"Hmm, this alone is weak, but soon—oh, here it comes." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

At that moment, a knocking sound interrupted the conversation. Reginald, seemingly eagerly awaiting it, immediately instructed them to enter. From there, Neville walked towards Reginald with a document in hand.

"It seems Reginald-sama's intuition was correct." (Neville)

"Is that so? Well done. It must have been thanks to my subordinates running around and the information network of the Mac Dermott family." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

With a humble gesture, Neville handed over all the documents before leaving the room again. After quickly flipping through them, Reginald, who seemed curious about something, showed it to Tatsuro and the others.

"This is a document about Iyaruki, right?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Indeed. There's a portrait… Wow, he was doing even that. It's amazing he didn't get caught." (Tatsuro)

The document contained Iyaruki's background and his alleged criminal history.

According to the information, in the underworld, as Iyaruki claimed, he was quite a well-known figure.

"Now that we've confirmed that this corpse is not just an unknown one, shall we go?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"If you say so." (Tatsuro)

"Yeah, to the lord's place. Otherwise, there's no point in rushing back." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Can you really meet him so easily?" (Tatsuro)

"I've already informed him." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"When did…?" (Tatsuro)

"A merchant should never act without foreseeing the future, Tatsuro-kun." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

With Tatsuro, Ai, Reginald, Gillian, Salman, Neville, and the robed woman, the group headed towards the lord's residence. Of course, the two were Reginald and Gillian's escorts, so Tatsuro and the others were primarily responsible for their own vigilance. In fact, if there was room for it, they were even told to seek help.

With an increase in the number of people, the journey would attract attention, and disrupting the coordination with Ai halfway would be more troublesome. So, it was preferable to proceed as desired.

After Tatsuro stored the corpse in his [Item Box], they all exited the room simultaneously.

"By the way, Reginald-san." (Ai)

"What is it, Ai-kun?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"How did you manage to return here so quickly?" (Ai)

"Oh, about that? Do you know a girl named Marikka Shurjaniemi?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Sounds familiar… Tatsuro?" (Ai)

After a second of contemplation, she gave up and sought help from Tatsuro. Although Tatsuro was not sure, he salvaged the memory of a person with that name from his mind.

"I think she's a candidate for the next town mayor. Laurence was supporting her or something." (Tatsuro)

"Oh, right. That guy was blabbering about that." (Ai)

"Yeah, that seems almost certain too. So, since Marikka was there, I asked her to bring me here." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Huh? How?" (Ai)

"Hmm? Isn't that person quite famous? Do you know her name but not the person? She's also a Tamer like the Gregory guy rumored to be in that gang of thieves/bandits. And she has a sub-dragon, so she flew here riding on its back. Well, being a Tamer is truly a good class. Every time I see that girl's magical creatures, I can't help but wish I had skills related to that." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"I see." (Ai)

While Reginald's class was unknown, indeed, being able to command magical creatures would be advantageous in terms of transportation.

Though Tatsuro and the others didn't know what a sub-dragon was, the convenience of having a creature that could carry someone on its back was incomparable.

While discussing this, the seven of them walked towards the mansion's garden.

"By the way, how do we get to the lord's residence?" (Tatsuro)

"Well, you'll understand when you get to the garden. With this number of people, it should be fine." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

With puzzled expressions, the two followed along, quickly grasping the answer.

"Is that the sub-dragon?" (Tatsuro)

"Oh, you catch on quickly, Tatsuro-kun." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

In the spacious garden stood Marikka Shurjaniemi, a young fairy race girl who was about 150 centimeters tall, with light green hair, slightly pointed ears, and small cute feathers at her back. And her partner, a small winged creature that resembled an 8-meter-long large snake, a sub-dragon named Yorn.

"Are you ready, Reginald-san?"

"Yeah, with about seven people, is it okay?" (Reginald Mac Dermott)

"Our Yorn is very strong, so that's a piece of cake."

"If that's the case, that's great." (Reginald Mac Dermott)

The six, excluding Reginald and Marikka present here, all turned their gaze simultaneously towards the sub-dragon Yorn, wondering if they would be riding on it.

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