Gluttony Demon King with the Swampman ~A Man with No Magic Power Who Dreamed of Magic, Wielding Knowledge from His Past Life Through Steady Research and Hard Work to Become the Most Vicious Final Boss~ - Chapter 37: The Hero and the Puppeteer

Chapter 37: The Hero and the Puppeteer

The guild was as rowdy as ever.

The meeting hall buzzed with adventurers shouting. It felt like a pain to push through.

“Sorry, coming through! We’ve got a report about trouble in the streets!”

One of the adventurers carrying puppet scraps yelled that, and everyone shrank back from the bizarre sight, clearing a path straight to the reception counter.

“…Good thing someone here knows how to take charge.”

“Yeah.”

Normally Zaria handles that for us, but this time the adventurers we met on the main street were the pushy type, so it worked out.

Noiche and I just stood there watching while the guild procedures flew along smoothly.

I started wondering if we were even needed, but the receptionist called us over right away.

“Haro-san, Noiche-san. Branch Chief Dordwin says he’d like to speak with you immediately…”

Of course he would.

We agreed and headed up to the second floor, into the staff area we’d visited before.

The receptionist opened the door, and there sat little old Dordwin in his chair, waiting for us.

“Oh, Haro my boy! I’ve been waiting. Sorry to drag you all the way up here.”

Same laid-back grandpa as always.

But after greeting us kindly, his face quickly turned puzzled.

“…Were you two always this clingy?”

Noiche had me sitting on her lap, and I just let her hold me.

I’d already given up, but Dordwin’s confusion was totally fair.

Since we said nothing, he muttered “Ah, right…” and moved on.

“Well, straight to the point. That puppet you two took care of… it’s connected to something the guild’s been talking about lately.”

“…Talking about? This isn’t the first time?”

“Nope. In the past few weeks we’ve had three similar reports.”

What the heck.

A monster appearing in town once is bad enough—three times is ridiculous.

Reading my thoughts, Dordwin corrected himself.

“More precisely, it doesn’t even seem to be a monster. It looks like a magical tool that moves on its own when supplied with magic power.”

“…A magical tool?”

They do exist.

Highly skilled mages engrave spell formulas or magic circles beforehand, and the tool produces magical effects—like fire or water—just by channeling mana into it. Those are called magical tools.

Still, something that elaborate isn’t something you see every day.

Noiche, silent until now, spoke up.

“…So someone is releasing magical puppets into the city and letting them run wild? For what purpose? That makes no sense.”

Dordwin nodded at her question.

“Exactly, it makes no sense. A thing like that would fetch a fortune if sold, yet they’re wasting them like toys.”

Fair point.

Even if this were some kind of “terrorism” like I’d heard of in my previous life, selling the puppets and hiring top-tier mages with the money would be far more effective.

Anyway—Dordwin continued.

“There’s no doubt someone is behind it. And we have a suspect in mind.”

“You’re already that far along?”

“Yep. There’s a woman who’s been spotted near every scene.”

…A woman?

“She wears a black dress and hides her eyes. We’re calling her the ‘Puppeteer’ for now.”

I looked up.

My eyes met Noiche’s as she gazed down at me.

We were probably thinking of the same woman.

“So, Haro my boy… if you happen to know anything, I was hoping to ask you two to—”

Dordwin started hesitantly, but Noiche cut him off.

“No. Don’t drag Haro into anything weird again.”

“Now listen here, Noiche. The guild didn’t send you on that last job out of malice—”

“Don’t involve him.”

Her flat refusal made Dordwin look awkwardly at my right shoulder—or rather, the empty space where it used to be.

He clearly felt bad.

Thanks to this missing arm, everyone had gone full overprotective mode.

Feeling a little sorry for the old man, I gently scolded the glaring Noiche.

“…Shall we take the investigation request?”

“O-oh! You’ll do it!?”

“I was planning to look into it on my own anyway, even without a formal request.”

Noiche double-took at me in shock. Fair—she hadn’t heard that yet.

Magical puppets suddenly appearing in town? I’m interested.

I’m also worried about the woman called the “Puppeteer.” The guild thinks she’s the culprit, but I’m not so sure. At least I don’t have a bad impression of her.

There’s no way I’d let this slide, and getting paid for it is just a bonus.

“…No doing anything dangerous.”

After thinking a moment, Noiche squeezed those words out and hugged me tighter.

I shouldn’t worry her too much. Safety first this time.

Watching us, Dordwin added,

“Well, you two won’t have to carry the whole burden this time. A hero has already taken the case.”

“…A hero?”

“Yep, haven’t you heard? Six heroes have been found so far. One of them accepted this job as part of his training.”

Huh. I knew from Noiche they were gathering heroes, but I didn’t expect to work with one.

And he’s already in town?

“He used to be a lowly member of the Magic Association, but ever since being chosen as a hero, he’s been rapidly growing stronger under his master. I’m sure he’ll be reliable.”

…Is that really a reliable background?

Noiche and I exchanged slightly uneasy glances at Dordwin’s vague explanation.

*

Meanwhile, around the same time—

On a corner of Dura’s streets, a carriage was heading toward the guild.

A large, gorgeously decorated carriage.

Inside lounged three people. One was a dignitary recently welcomed by the kingdom as a “hero.”

“Still no sign of that Puppeteer? Tch, she causes trouble the moment I look away.”

A slightly irritated blond man.

This eighteen-year-old youth, celebrated as the “Golden Hero,” was named Luek.

“You’re absolutely right, Lord Luek. She must be so terrified of you she can only skulk around committing crimes.”

The woman agreeing with him was a marquess’s daughter who had wormed her way into Luek’s circle the instant she heard of his awakening as a hero. Now she traveled with him as his aide, supporting his training journey.

The last person—an enormous old man sitting across from the oddly twisted pair—watched them with a small sigh.

He was gigantic.

Muscular armor covered his body, and he had to hunch so his head wouldn’t hit the ceiling even inside the spacious carriage.

This was Larksi Witruwius.

Grand Elder of the Magic Association, one of the kingdom’s seven strongest mages known as the “Seven Saints,” and currently the instructor for the “Golden Hero.”

“This is worrying,” Larksi muttered under his breath.

His worry was Luek’s behavior.

Luek’s skill wasn’t bad.

His fundamentals were solid, and his signature transmutation magic as the Golden Hero was steadily blossoming.

But it still worried him.

It was because of mental immaturity.

Luek had complained about the Puppeteer causing incidents while he wasn’t looking—but to Larksi, any mage worth their salt could just develop a spell to detect anomalies themselves.

The proactive depth of thought—the greed of a true researcher—was still sorely lacking in the boy.

“Please, you two, I’m counting on you. I’ll be tied up investigating the Demon King of the Sword a while longer.”

When Larksi warned them with an exasperated tone, the hero and his aide answered insensitively, oblivious to their teacher’s concern.

“What are you saying? We’ll be fine, teacher.”

“Exactly, Lord Witruwius. You know Luek-sama’s strength better than anyone.”

That overconfidence is the problem, Larksi sighed again.

But saying so wouldn’t help. People like this only learn after eating dirt somewhere.

In front of the silent Larksi, Luek continued.

“This might be my first job involving a Demon King—I’ll definitely see it through. This hero Luek will take down the Puppeteer!”

…The Puppeteer.

Her activities began almost simultaneously with the prophecies of Demon King manifestations reported from the observatory.

In other words, she might have been born from the influence of a Demon King’s appearance—

That suspicion was why this case had been assigned to a hero.

Luek was fired up.

It was his first Demon King-related incident, and he was raring to go.

Luek would surely kill the Puppeteer.

“…Jeez, be careful, okay?”

Well, nothing to be done. He had real skill despite the worries.

Larksi himself was swamped with the guild’s recent reports on the Demon King of the Sword and couldn’t babysit the hero forever.

Suddenly Larksi pulled a document from his pouch and scanned it.

He had read it many times already. It was a report sent in advance by Branch Chief Dordwin, whom they were about to meet.

It detailed the desperate struggle of young mages.

The exploits of boys who had brilliantly resolved the trouble involving the Demon King of the Sword and the blacksmith Zilmoza.

“This side worries me too… Haro Swampman. This kid’s definitely stronger than me.”

One of the Seven Saints, counted among the seven strongest mages in the kingdom—

Larksi Witruwius, the world’s foremost authority on water-attribute magic, gave that evaluation to a boy he only knew from paper.