The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 2 - Chapter 94

Chapter 94:

To Destroy the Organization…

“IT’S A RACE AGAINST TIME NOW,” I said. “I want the captain and the others to arrest all of the moles in their group as soon as they set foot in the forest.”

“Huh? But if they do that, won’t the fugitives in the cave escape?”

“I’m guessing that Mira’s tail will go to the mansion first to tell their allies about the hunting party. We’ll detain Mira and her friends with us, so nobody will be able to go to the cave to warn them. And what matters to the organization is the evidence in the mansion.”

“Makes sense.” Bolorda nodded a few times and smiled at me.

“Mr. Rattloore, do you think you can keep Mira and the others in one place?”

“Mm, I’m sure I can manage,” he replied. “What happens next?”

I turned to Bolorda and continued. “Once the turncoats have been removed from the hunting party, please find an excuse to shepherd the civilians around the base to somewhere Sora can 

assess them one by one. Any reason is fine, as long as Sora can inspect them. Bolorda, I would appreciate having you with me when that time comes.”

“You mean my fake magical item, right?”

“Exactly. Umm…is there any way of putting everyone in the building to sleep?”

“Yeah, there is…” Seizerk’s answer was hesitant. “We’ll need to do it to capture all the criminals hiding out in the cave. But…you’re not thinking of knocking out friend and enemy alike, are you?”

“Umm, well, we don’t have many people, and we need to make sure they can’t run away. If we want to protect the few allies we have, then I think it would be best to put them to sleep.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense…”

“The last step will be dealing with all the criminals in the cave. Umm…that’s about it.”

This plan depended on perfect timing, but if it succeeded, the organization would be cornered.

“Incredible,” Seizerk said, clearly surprised. “That’s such an ambitious plan.”

“Huh? Is it ambitious? Sorry.”

“No, don’t apologize! We can handle it if it means cracking down on those kidnappers once and for all. Besides…” Seizerk chuckled.

Huh? Why’s he laughing? He can’t be enjoying this, can he?

“Sounds like fun to me!” Sifar crowed from behind me.

Whoa, that scared me! I didn’t sense him there at all. Huh? He seems naught—I mean…lovelier than ever today. Why?

“Arresting the moles in the guard and the organization’s watchers near the base…” Sifar smirked. “Is your plan to make them think their own people are leaking information back to us?”

“Precisely, Mr. Sifar. I think it would be more credible if we could detain some of the turncoat adventurers, too.”

“Yeah, good idea. If we succeed there, the organization will find it hard to maneuver. They’ll be so worried about information leaks that they’ll be paralyzed. That’s when we leverage the evidence and finish them off, right? Beautiful.”

Sifar and Seizerk’s smiles sent chills down my spine. Rattloore…wasn’t exactly acting normal, either. He had this huge smile…er, that is a smile on his face, right? I quietly took a step back and looked away. The veterans’ vicious grins were too much for me to handle. Umm…I had something else I needed to say. What was it, again?

“Oh! I’d like to leave lots of organization moles inside the base. Also, there’s one thing I’d like Lord Foronda’s help with.”

“Lord Foronda?”

Rattloore looked at me quizzically. Phew, he’s back to normal now! I’m…just gonna forget what I saw.

“Yes. Yesterday, Bolorda said that the names of certain nobles were found in the documents. What if those nobles try to destroy that evidence on their own? I don’t think it’s likely, but just in case. Nobles tend to run roughshod over guards and adventurers from what I’ve heard, so having another noble with us would be helpful.”

“Yeah, there were plenty of nobles listed on those papers. Pretty important ones, at that. I don’t wanna believe it, but some of them can be real idiots.” Seizerk smiled humorlessly.

“Um, my plan might not work out perfectly in the moment. If at any point you think it may be pushing it too much, you’re free to use other methods.” If we succeeded, it would be a huge blow to the kidnappers. But I was honestly scared of what would happen if it failed.

“It’ll be fine,” Sifar assured me. “Your strategy ought to hit the organization where it hurts. And honestly, it sounds like a good time!”

“Hey now, Sifar. You don’t have to say that last part out loud, y’know.” So Seizerk said, but he looked more excited than ever. Marcreek and Rickbert’s eyes were bright as well. Why are they so happy? I was ready for them to be against this plan, but they all seem to be on board!

“Heh heh. You’re the best, Ivy. We’re gonna be able to avenge years of misery today.” Bolorda’s face frightened me. Yikes. Where did the kind Bolorda go? “The more I think about paying them back for all the crap they’ve done, the more I wanna do this. How many people have suffered while they got off scot-free? And they’ve even dragged our comrades into it…”

His words brought sadness to Rattloore’s face especially.

“We’re gonna pull this off!” Bolorda declared, changing the mood all at once. “The kidnappers know we’ve seen the wanted list, but given the state of things, it wouldn’t be implausible to check it again. Rickbert and Lowcreek, go ask for the list at the adventurers’ guild again. ‘There’s no doubt about it! We’d better go tell the captain to muster some hunting parties.’ Make sure people hear that nice and clear, got it? Say…” he turned to Rattloore and me, “when were your plans with Mira?”

Rickbert and Lowcreek frowned when they heard Bolorda’s orders, but they understood the importance of every move here. They nodded acknowledgment. By the way, should they be speaking at a normal volume? I looked around warily, but strangely, nobody seemed to be paying attention to us. They were being kinda loud, though…

“One hour from now, right?” Rattloore answered. “Hey, Ivy, didn’t they tell you?”

Tell me what? He fished something out of the bag that Seizerk was carrying. It was the sound-dampening magical item.

“Is that active?” I asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I did find it a little weird that you were whispering this whole time…”

I sighed. “You could’ve told me sooner…”

Here I was fretting that people might hear us! I groused mentally.

“My bad, my bad! I thought you knew.” Seizerk clenched a fist in front of his face. That was the adventurers’ symbol for apologizing when they couldn’t speak.

“It’s okay. So we can speak normally, then?”

“As long as you don’t shout, yeah.” Rattloore reached a hand out to mess up my hair. He must’ve thought my grumpy expression was funny.

“Okay, let’s continue,” Bolorda said. “Marcreek, Gnouga, and Sifar, you’ll head to the base at the mansion. Tell the captain there’s a problem and he needs to pick some people from the guard to form an expedition party. Don’t go into more detail than you have to. They’re pros, so they ought to be able to read between the lines. Actually…if you casually mention that some people ‘might not make it back,’ he ought to get that.” 

The captain will understand that? Whoa. They’re not experienced for nothing.

“What about me?” Seizerk asked Bolorda.

“Seizerk, brief the GM on our strategy. Make sure the remaining turncoat adventurers are included in the party, too, while you’re at it. We’ll remove them from the playing field now; they’ll be a pain if we leave them at large. Oh, but tell him to keep this all hush-hush for now.”

“Got it.”

“I’ll stand by outside the guild. When Rickbert and the others finish their business there, we’ll head to the base together. Rattloore and Ivy, you meet Mira as planned and tell her about the criminals and the expedition. Rattloore, you can figure out how you want to drop it into the conversation. We’ll go to the base, finalize the hunting party, and set off for the woods.”

Incredible. That’s Bolorda for you! I can safely leave the rest to him.

He turned to me. “So, Ivy. How’s that sound?”

I don’t know if it matters what I think, but it sounds fine?

“That sounds good to me.”

“Ivy, how should we tell Mira?” Rattloore asked.

“Good question,” I replied. Why’s he asking me? Seizerk and Bolorda are right there. “Let’s start off by probing to see if Tort and Marm have any debt or if they’re having any problems with friends.”

I’d heard that when people fell in with a bad crowd, it was often because of money. Other reasons might be…because people knew their secrets?

“I see. Make her feel she’s in danger, right?”

“Yes. Once she realizes we’re trying to dig up information on her brothers, she’s going to react emotionally. If we can cloud her judgment, it’ll be easier to stop her.”

It was essential to make Mira panic by hinting to her that we doubted Marm. Then, we would capture every organization member around her except one. We’d let one slip the net so they could alert the watchers near that mansion that the hunting party was already on the move.

Bolorda chuckled. “I guess I don’t have room to speak, but you could’ve figured that out yourself, Rattloore.”

“Shut up, Bolorda! You keep checking with Ivy too because you’re so worried.”

“…It’s a difference in importance, okay?”

Whoa! He doubled down!

“Pot, may I introduce kettle,” Sifar cut in, making everyone laugh. He always seemed so eager to bully—I mean, tease his friends. Still, his glib comment cut through the tension weighing on everyone. Was that his intention? What a guy.