He then finished by asking if he could step inside.
Although Sebas thought of various words of rejection, denying them entry could escalate into a bigger problem. There was also no guarantee that Stafan was a real civil servant. Despite the fact that the Kingdom’s civil servants did indeed wear the same crest as the one on Stafan’s chest. However, that still was not an absolute guarantee. There was still a chance —although it was a great crime— that it was a forgery.
With that said, allowing a few humans into the residence would not pose too big of a problem. If it came to blows then Sebas could easily take care of it. In fact, it would better if they were imposters.
Gleaning something from the silence that formed while Sebas was thinking, Stafan opened his mouth a second time.
“May I speak to the master of this residence? Of course, if the master is not present then it can’t be helped. But I don’t think investigators going back empty-handed will be a favorable outcome.”
Stafan smiled with a face that did not carry even a hint of apology. Hidden behind that expression was a threat backed by the power of the law.
“Before that, I have something I’d like to ask you. Who is the man standing behind you?”
“Hmm? His name is Succulent. He’s a representative of the store that filed the report.”
“My name is Succulent. Pleasure making your acquaintance.”
Seeing the faint smile on Succulent’s face, Sebas understood that he had lost.
His smile was that of a cruel hunter mocking his prey for falling into his trap. It was safe to assume that he had come after perfect preparations. In that sense, there was a good chance that Stafan was indeed a real civil servant. He most likely also had a plan prepared should Sebas refuse them. Then at the very least, Sebas had to try and figure out the opponent’s intentions.
“…I understand. I will deliver the news to the lady. Please wait there for a while.”
“Of course, we’ll wait.”
“But please make it quick. We don’t have the leisure of dallying.”
Succulent smiled and Stafan shrugged his shoulders.
“Understood. Then if you will excuse me.”
Sebas closed the cover and turned in the direction of Solution’s room. But before that, he would have to tell Tsuare to go hide deeper inside—.
With the soldiers left out by the door, the two people who were guided inside— Stafan and Succulent each wore an astonished face from seeing Solution.
They had not expected to meet such a beauty. Stafan’s expression slowly loosened and his eyes traveled back and forth between her face and chest. He swallowed his saliva, eyes filling with lust. On the other hand, Succulent’s face gradually grew hard.
To Sebas, it became obvious who he needed to be vigilant of. He offered the two the sofa opposite from Solution.
Solution who was already sitting and Stafan, who was just seated, Succulent introduced them.
“So, just what exactly is going on?”
At Solution’s question, Stafan faked a cough as he spoke.
“According to a report from a certain store, apparently, a certain individual dragged away their employee. As he did so, the individual unduly handed over money to a different employee. Buying slaves is outlawed in our country… don’t you think that what this person did was illegal?”
Stafan’s shoulders grew increasingly tense, as if he was slowly becoming angry. Solution replied in a bored voice.
“Is that so?”
The attitude behind her response left the two men blinking. Although they were applying pressure, her behavior was completely unexpected.
“I leave all complicated matters to Sebas. Sebas, take care of the rest.”
“A-are you fine with that? Depending on how it turns out, you may be branded as a criminal.”
“My, how scary. Sebas, if it seems likely that I will become a criminal then do tell me. Then everyone, I bid you well.”
Solution said her goodbyes and left them with a bright smile. No one could say anything to her as she left the room. The power of a beauty’s smile was confirmed in that moment.
Before the sound of the door closing could ring out, they heard the astonished voices of the soldiers from seeing Solution.
“—then I will listen to what you have to say in her place.”
Sebas smiled and took a seat in front of the two men. Stafan’s behavior was awkward, still entranced by her smile. However, as if to cover for him, Succulent broke in.
“Alright, then mind if I ask you some questions? Like you’ve heard from Hevish–sama at the entrance, our… well, our employee has gone missing, you see. I interrogated a certain
someone and he says that he handed her over after receiving money. Though I don’t even want to imagine one of our employees doing something like that, I had no choice but to call the authorities.”
“That’s right. A dirty crime like slave trading will not be tolerated!”
He slammed down on the table.
“That’s why Succulent-kun here who called it in without fearing the store’s bad reputation spreading is quite the exemplary citizen!”
“Thank you, Hevish-sama.”
Succulent lowered his head to Stafan, who was speaking with such enthusiasm that he was spitting at the mouth.
What is with these theatrics?
Thinking so in his head, Sebas began to ponder. The two men in front of him were definitely working together. Then without a doubt, they made thorough preparations before commencing their attack. As such, his defeat was certain. The question then was how to minimize his losses.
And on the flip side, what was Sebas’ condition to emerge victorious in this situation?
The victory condition for Nazarick’s butler, Sebas, was to solve this problem without drawing further attention. It was not to protect Tsuare.
However—
“I suspect that the man who claims to have received money could be lying. Where is he now?”
“He’s been arrested for dealing in slavery and is currently locked up in a cell. And the result from his testimony and our careful investigation is—“
“—that the one who purchased our employee is you, Sebas-san.”
It meant that the man was caught and had confessed to everything. There was a good chance that he was pressured to change his testimony so that it would benefit them.