Chapter 16: Where is the hero?

Franbel IV’s Palace

Right now, we are inside the castle.

A soldier enters the royal court and salutes Franbel IV.

「Your Majesty! It looks like the adventurers have succeeded in subjugating the basilisk! 」

「Are you sure?! Good, that’s really good to hear… 」

The King quickly tries to prepare the document to give the reward.

「…Ano. 」

「What’s the matter? 」

As I fill out the paperwork, I heard him trying to say something.

「Did the adventurers really the one who defeats the basilisk? 」

King Franbel’s hand stops.

「What do you mean by that? 」

「An unnatural hole was left in the recovered basilisk’s skin.

However, there are holes in the ground from a battle. 」

「Hmm? 」

「And I don’t think the adventurers who reported this has the skills to subjugate a basilisk. 」

「But they found the corpse, right? 」

「There’s not even a kilo of basilisk meat except for the head! 」

「They ate it as food for the trip, didn’t they? 」

「They said as much.

The leftover meat was thrown away because it would rot.

Even though the guild asked for the meat as the subjugation proof. 」

「What are you implying? 」

King Franbel could somehow predict what the soldier was going to say, too.

「The one who defeated the basilisk is probably a different adventurer.

And isn’t affiliated with the guild. 」

「Are you thinking that they’re lying?

Or stealing from the people who defeated it? 」

「We’ll see if we can find out by torturing them. 」

「Those people are being welcomed and treated as heroes in the town. 」

If he did that, the King’s reputation would be tarnished.

And if it’s not done right, it could lead to a coup.

「They’re not used to deceive people, sooner or later they will slip up.

Five people claim to have defeated the basilisk.

Call them separately and try to find more information about them.

If you call them officially, they would be alarmed, so use the soldiers that you can trust, ask them to meet for a drink and listen to what they have to say.

If the conversation goes wrong, I’ll call them to the palace and ask them about the basilisk skin.

If they still refuse to tell the truth, you may torture them. 」

「U-umm… Do you have to go that far? 」

「The scammer, who tries to cheat the kingdom’s money must pay for what they deserve. 」

◇　◇　◇　◇

The King trusted the adventurers.

For this reason, he asked the five adventurers about the subjugation’s details.

His fear would be unfounded anyway.

Unfortunately, they were not very forthcoming.

Their lies were unravelled immediately.

The soldier was right, they just stole everything, then admitted it was them that defeated the basilisk.

The reward for subjugating the basilisk blinded them.

The news that the five adventurers had deceived the King and his people soon became a major event that greatly discredited the Adventurer’s Guild and the kingdom appointed an auditor to the Adventurer’s Guild.

「So, have you found the tent’s owner? 」

「We haven’t found anything yet, we don’t even have a clue. 」

「I see. By the way, how is our heroes training? Is it going well? 」

「Ha! Now that the basilisk’s threat has passed, I’m going to bring them in the forest to train them for subjugating magical beast. 」

「Hmm. 」

If the King ever found out who defeated the basilisk, he’s going to reward them and add them to the Demon Lord’s subjugating party.

If they were that powerful, sooner or later, he would find out. Their name will eventually be known to the world.

「Who in the world was it? 」

Thanking the nameless hero in his heart, the King resumed his work.

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