It was the night after I had defeated the Evil God head, and I was drinking with Eric and Goran.
Serulis, Shia, Milka, Luchila and Lord Gerberga had all gone off to bed.
As they were my apprentices, Milka and Luchila would, of course, stay in the mansion.
Serulis and Shia also tended to sleep here.
It was nice and lively.
“You can go to sleep too, Grulf.”
“Grrr.”
Grulf yawned sleepily as he lay down next to where I was sitting.
I patted him on the head as I drank.
It wasn’t so much a fun drinking party, but a discussion with alcohol.
There was a lot of information we needed to share.
And so I told Eric and Goran everything that I knew in great detail.
And then I asked,
“So by making this privy council the center of operations, does that mean that you are going to lead the investigation yourself, Eric?”
“No, that will not be easy. I have my duties as king…”
“That’s true.”
“Still, I intend to be aware of everything that is happening as much as possible.”
Then I asked Goran,
“About the Evil God and the vampires, how much resources can the Adventurers Guild spare?”
“Three parties of A Rank Adventurers have been put specifically on this case.”
“That’s incredible.”
The pay would be enormous.
“But it is that serious. And of course, I am commanding them myself.”
“You must be very busy.”
“Yes, I am. On top of that, we’re creating a system so that all information concerning vampires will come to me.”
“Won’t that result in more fake information?”
“If we checked everything thoroughly beforehand, most of that information wouldn’t reach me for a whole week. It can’t be helped.”
“I suppose so.”
As we talked about this, Eric said,
“Ruck. Do you have any space left in this house?”
“What do you mean? Rooms?”
“Yes, rooms.”
“I have rooms. Why?”
“Hmm. I was wondering if you couldn’t build a laboratory for Philly.”
Philly Mastafon.
She was the fifth daughter of Marquis Mastafon and a genius Alchemist who had succeeded in making the Fool’s Stone.
“I don’t mind, but shouldn’t you protect her in the palace?”
“The Palace Alchemists might find out how to create the Fool’s Stone. I want to avoid that.”
Goran heard this and said,
“You mean to say that these Palace Alchemists cannot be trusted?”
“I do trust them. But you never know where the hands of the dark ones might stretch.”
“I see.”
Goran nodded.
The dark ones had lost Philly and were no longer able to make the Fool’s Stone.
That meant they couldn’t make the idols necessary to summon the Evil God.
Not only that, but they couldn’t make the medals needed to open the gate to the place inbetween dimensions.
“The dark ones will desperately want to acquire an Alchemist who can make the Fool’s Stone.”
“They could be abducted, charmed or turned into thralls.”
“Ruck is right. Philly should be kept away from the Palace Alchemists for their own protection as well.”
“If that’s the case, then good. Send Philly here.”
“Thank you.”
This mansion was connected to the palace by a secret passage. That’s why Eric felt comfortable with the arrangement.
We continued to talk about all kinds of things after that. And then suddenly, I thought of something.
“I am pretty good at fighting. I can also sneak into houses.”
“I won’t argue with that.”
“But I don’t think I am very good at gathering information.”
“Really? I would have thought it would be easy with your skills?”
Eric said, but Goran shook his head.
“Yes, sneaking into houses is a good ability to have when gathering information.”
“Right?”
“However, that’s really just a skill that comes in handy during the last phase, don’t you think?”
“In other words, you’re saying that it’s inefficient to go around snooping in one house at a time?”
“Exactly. It’s only when you know for sure that the house has evidence, that you enter it to get that evidence.”
Goran was right.
The majority of information gathering was more simple work like questioning people.
And it was also important to have friends and connections to gather information from everyday conversations.
It required a very different skill set than what was needed for combat.
“After all, invading someone’s house is breaking the law. You cannot do it without being sure.”
“That’s true. I will have all the information acquired by the privy council sent to you, Ruck.”
“Thank you. That will help.”
“I’ll ensure the information gained by the guild goes to you as soon as possible, as well.”
“Thank you. And when the time comes to fight, you can count on me.”
There were other things to discuss after that as well.
It wasn’t until it was quite late that we decided to go to sleep.
Eric and Goran would stay tonight.
“Grulf, let’s go.”
“…Grrr…”
He looked like he was already half asleep.
It might be better to just let him sleep here.
And so I headed to my room alone.
“Grrr.”
Grulf pushed himself to get up and follow me.
“You can just sleep over there.”
“Grooofff.”
Apparently, he would sleep in my room. Maybe even wolves slept better on a bed.
And so Grulf got onto the bed after me.
“Grrr.”
Grulf put his chin on my stomach.
He was still a pup after all. I petted him on the head.
It was so soft and comfortable. This wolf had high quality fur, I thought.
Grulf fell asleep very quickly then.
And so did I.