Reincarnated into a Game As the Hero’s Friend

Translation: Nisarah      Editor:Fleeting

♦

My work was finally finished in the evening. After I confirmed I didn’t have any additional work, I left the palace with Neurath and Schunzel. Both of them have been with me since morning helping me carry the prototype.

By the way, Father, a minister, left the palace riding a carriage with the Zeavert family crest on it, but I felt more comfortable walking, so I decided just to walk. The carriage that Father was riding in was like this world’s version of a ‘bulletproof car’ used by important people in my previous life. The carriage was a necessity for Father, who was a minister.

Such carriages were made using the demon’s body parts, making them very sturdy. Some of them had a glass window as a status symbol, but as long as the window shutter was let down, even an arrow wouldn’t be able to break it. Keep in mind that this world didn’t have guns.

While I was thinking about this, a familiar face approached us. Ah, he was one of the scouts that I hired back at the refugees’ escort mission. I motioned to Neurath and Schunzel that they didn’t need to be alarmed.

“Viscount. It has been a long time.”

“Yeah. I’m glad to see you here.”

He gave me a normal greeting, but since he took his time to greet me, there must have been something else he wanted to tell me. Just as I was about to ask, he whispered into my ears, “I have a message from old man Bert.”

It seemed like that old man Bert had quite a wide range of connections. I wondered if he also had a connection to some strange places. Well, I could investigate that later. The fact that he sent a person to directly give me the information rather than doing it through the guild must mean that the information was quite important.

“Let’s talk over a drink. My treat.”

“I will gladly accept that offer.”

I motioned to Neurath and Schunzel to follow us, then we entered a bar. I gave the bar employee a small tip in exchange for a table in a more secluded place. We then ordered some drinks and snacks.

“It seems like you’re used to doing this.”

“Back when I was a student, I often skipped classes to drink in a bar like this.”

I responded reflexively, but come to think about it, I was actually still a student, so saying ‘back when I was a student’ was a bit strange. Well, let’s not dwell on this.

When the alcohol and snacks were finally served, we toasted just for appearance’s sake. I then put the snack into my mouth. I heard this snack was actually a plant-type demon’s body part. Its appearance was like a peanut but it tasted like corn, so I always felt strange when I ate it. Well, only a person with a memory of my past life like me would feel like that.

“So, what kind of message did old man Bert give you?”

“The man you are looking for… we found his body.”

“You mean you found Puckler’s… corpse?”

That was quite unexpected.

When I mentioned Puckler’s name in a rather loud voice, Neurath and Schunzel exchanged glazes at each other with startled expressions. Although I did say ‘if you find him dead, it’s fine’, I never expected him to actually be dead. 

“Tell me the details.”

“Of course.”

According to him, Puckler’s corpse was found wearing tattered clothes and his body was full of wounds.

“There were a lot of strange wounds on his body. Some of those wounds were almost healed.”

“Hmm… then?”

It was common for Lycanthropes to have a high vitality in a fantasy setting, but I didn’t know if the Lycanthropes of this world were also like that. At least from what I know, the Werewolf and Weretiger in the game didn’t have a high vitality. I really had too little information about Gezarius since he didn’t appear in the game. Honestly, why was a hidden character like him on the enemy’s side? Why couldn’t he be on my side?

As I complained in my mind, the scout continued his explanation. It seemed like Puckler didn’t have anything but his ragtag clothes when he was found and the only wound that was close to the ‘fatal wound’ was a hole found on his chest. 

“A hole?”

“Yes. And that hole wound was also strange.”

Apparently, Puckler was found with his hand covered in blood as if that hole in his chest was something he created himself because he wanted to gouge something out of his chest. Don’t tell me…

“Was he holding something in his hand?”

“No. But from the state of his corpse, it seems like some time has passed since his death, so even if he was holding something when he died, someone else might have taken it with them.”

Did he actually gouge out that black gem from his own body? Then, someone else found that gem, became fascinated with it, and Gezarius took over that person’s body. I never expected that he could actually change his body like that. I let my guard down.

But if that was actually what had happened, it would be almost impossible for me to find him. He might be in the capital, or he might have already escaped using his new body. There were just too many possibilities.

“Welner-sama, this is…”

“Yeah. Schunzel, sorry, but can you go and give this information to Father?”

“Please wait a moment, Viscount. I have one more thing to tell you.”

When Schunzel was about to leave, the scout interrupted, so I motioned Schunzel to stop.

“Alright, let’s hear it.”

When I said this without any hesitation, he gave me a strange look. Why? Weren’t you the one that called us to stop?

“Do you not doubt me?”

“Nah, who would give fake information in this kind of timing?”

I answered his doubt with a casual tone on purpose. I thought, for now, it’s better for me to speak with this kind of tone, rather than in a noble’s way of speaking. The man replied to my question with a bitter smile.

“Well, you are right about that. Alright then, actually…”

… Woah. So things became like that, what a surprise. I needed to discuss this with many people later but for now…

“Schunzel. Go and tell Father about everything you heard here.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Neurath. You go back to the mansion and tell the butler, Norbert, about what you heard here. Tell Frenssen if Norbert wasn’t in the mansion.”

“Understood. Welner-sama, what will you do then?”

“I will return to the mansion after going to the Adventurer Guild and Mercenary Guild first. Once I return, I will have a meeting with Father and others. I’ll tell you two about the content of the meeting tomorrow.”

“I understand.”

Those bastards gave me additional work even though I was already busy, so I didn’t have any obligation to hold back here, right?

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