You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 17

As he walked past them, stairs leading downward came into view. As he approached them, a burly man, built like a mercenary, suddenly appeared and stretched out his hand, blocking Karhan’s way.

“Entry is prohibited beyond this point.”

A rough, unkempt voice came from the man’s thick neck. It was something Karhan had anticipated, so he naturally reached into his pocket and pulled out a pendant engraved with the emblem of the ducal house to show him. The muscular man closely examined the pendant held by Karhan and slowly lowered his raised hand. Then, with a much more polite demeanor, he stepped aside from Karhan’s path.

Karhan nonchalantly passed by him and entered the staircase. The stairs were deep enough to descend to a place where light couldn’t reach. Walking down the lightless stairs without any concern, a flat area finally appeared after a while. As if waiting for Karhan, bright lights were turned on in the corridor extending from the empty space.

‘They put in quite a lot of effort.’

The corridor had numerous doors. He walked slowly along the corridor, closely observing the walls. One could see small stones sparsely embedded in the walls, which at first glance appeared to be mere decorations. Karhan extended his hand and lightly brushed against them. They were mana stones, precious stones imbued with mana.

Mana stones were extremely valuable stones that could serve various roles. Most notably, they could be used for sending and receiving signals, illuminating dark places, and conversely, causing communication disruptions. When multiple mana stones were placed in such a secretive location, their expected role was clear. Communication disruption.

Even for Karhan, a mixed-blood of different races who could enhance his hearing to inhuman levels, such spaces were uncomfortable. They distorted his senses and made it difficult for him to utilize his abilities. As a result, even he couldn’t gauge the number of people present after descending these stairs.

As he walked along the corridor, carefully examining the place he had been invited to, a sound of something heavy moving was heard. Turning his head, he noticed one of the many doors slightly ajar. Karhan headed towards it without hesitation. He pushed the heavy door open and stepped inside, revealing a cozy space.

The room that greeted Karhan was a reception room with a warm atmosphere. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, and wooden bookshelves were filled with books. On top of small drawers, there were stone sculptures and stuffed animals as decorations. He shifted his gaze to the person sitting in a chair. Someone with blue hair was sitting with their back turned.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

The person who had been showing only the back of their head turned the chair around, revealing their appearance. It was a woman with vibrant green eyes that matched her blue hair. Without hiding her smile, she pointed at the chair repeatedly.

“Here! Sit here!”

Her actions were light-hearted and mischievous. Karhan didn’t particularly mind and plopped down on the chair she had indicated. Seeing Karhan sit down, she spoke with a bright smile on her face.

“I received your letter well, Your Grace, the Duke of Barthes.”

Karhan, who had pulled the hood deep over his face, raised his hand and took off the hood. With the dark cloth that had been obstructing his vision removed, he could fully examine the room.

“I did receive the letter, but I didn’t expect you to actually visit.”

“There’s no need for small talk. Let’s get to the point.”

At those words, the woman paused her movements for a moment and then extended her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Segrita, the guildmaster of Trifolium.”

Karhan looked at the confident and assertive hand placed in front of him. Then, he also extended his hand and shook it. After a light shake and releasing their hands, Segrita spoke first.

“I heard about it. But did the little angel not come here with you?”

“Angel? Who are you referring to?”

“Hmm… I was told they saw it at the inn. A white and round child.”

White and round…?The image of Peep vividly appeared in his mind. Karhan narrowed his eyes and looked at Segrita. Her face, which was smiling brightly without any attempt to hide it, was spotless. He tried to focus his senses on his ears to listen to her heartbeat, but the mana stones installed throughout the corridor interfered with the flow. After intently observing her face, Karhan spoke in a low voice.

“It’s resting.”

“I see… I wanted to touch it. Ah, no. You said there’s no need for small talk, so I’ll bring the information right away.”

The woman got up from her seat, searched through several bookshelves, and soon returned with a stack of documents, laying them out on the table.

Karhan unhesitatingly reached for the materials and quickly read through them. All the information was well-organized, starting from when the current lord of the Sabon region took office until now. It included tax records for several years, the financial circumstances of the commoners, complaints, and other minor details. As he rapidly flipped through the pages, Karhan spoke.

“It’s as if he has become a completely different person.”

“Right? We also said the same thing after observing how the village was operating. It’s as if he became a totally different person at some point.”

“It seems like money is being siphoned off somewhere else, and the number of missing persons cases has skyrocketed.”

Cunningly, most of the missing persons were wanderers without next of kin or people without families. Even if they had families, they were marginalized individuals who had nowhere to turn to for help. Having finished examining the documents, Karhan stood up.

Although there was no definitive evidence yet, if the information was accurate, the case was quite significant. For a formal investigation among the nobility, a warrant stamped with the imperial seal was required. However, requesting and obtaining it would consume a considerable amount of time, and the information currently in his hands consisted of illegally obtained materials, so he couldn’t immediately use them as a basis to request a warrant.

For now, he would have to visit the lord’s mansion, assess the situation from the inside, and gather official documents. Having finished his thoughts, Karhan turned around to leave but stopped in his tracks. There was one perfect way to bind their feet. However, it was also illegal, so he was a bit hesitant to use it lightly. Still, he thought it wouldn’t be bad to have an insurance policy and spoke in a low voice.

The guildmaster calmly listened to Karhan’s request and nodded with a “Hmm” sound.

“How long do you think it will take to complete?”

“Well… It won’t take long. I just need to make the paper look authentic, right?”

“That’s right.”

“How should we communicate?”

“I’ll leave a mana stone.”

“Oh.”

Karhan handed a mana stone to Segrita, which he had prepared before coming here. Receiving the small pebble, Segrita examined it from various angles. The glossy and well-textured stone was an extremely expensive mana stone.

“Just to let you know, it’s best not to think about selling it. It’s a special product that only reacts to my mana.”

“Aha…”

Segrita replied in a gloomy tone.

“What a waste. It’s a really high-quality mana stone.”

“If I happen to send a signal, make sure to bring it.”

“But… there will be a hazard pay, right?”

She looked at Karhan with sparkling eyes. It was as if the word ‘money’ was written in her green eyes.

“Of course. I’ll have the amount determined and sent to you later.”

“Understood, sir.”

The woman, with a fake smile on her face, bowed her head. The guildmaster was quite fond of money. That’s why her work was also neat and tidy.

Having finished his business, Karhan thought it was time to return to the inn. Peep might have already woken up. His hand reached for the doorknob, but he suddenly stopped. He narrowed his eyes and turned around.

“By any chance, can you look into a person? Right now.”

Having obtained the necessary information from the Trifolium Guild, Karhan left the building. Looking up at the sky, the sun that had risen at some point was shining its bright light upon the world. Before heading to the inn, he contemplated buying a few small snacks. Although he had never fed Peep human snacks before, considering how well the bird ate meat, he expected it to eat them without much resistance.

He visited various stores and bought a few things that children might like. What was supposed to be a small purchase unintentionally grew into three bags. Still, he had carefully selected each item.

With a light heart, Karhan returned to the inn, carrying the snacks in one hand. Receiving a warm welcome from the innkeeper, he closed the door carefully and tiptoed into the room.

Then he turned his head to look at the bed.

“…It’s gone?”

The white and round Peep was nowhere to be found.

🐤

The thing that came out of my private area flew towards Doel’s face, and he stared at it with wide eyes, missing the timing to dodge. I could flap my wings in midair and see very clearly how my thing flew and where it landed. I couldn’t help but feel regretful when it diagonally settled on Doel’s cheek.

After the poop flew and stuck to his face, a thick silence flowed between us. I looked at Doel’s face, released the strength in my flapping wings, and landed on the ground. I could feel the gazes of passersby. For some reason, they were walking in a circle, avoiding the area around Doel and me.

I raised my head high and looked at his cheek. The white liquid had accurately stuck to it.

“Che… cheep.”

So… sorry.

I think I have an urgent matter to attend to at home, so I should get going.As I mumbled “cheep cheep” and turned around, putting strength into my wings and flapping, my flapping was forced to stop by a hand that swiftly caught me.

“Peep!”

Ah! You startled me!

I was startled and froze while preparing to fly. I could feel my heart pounding rapidly throughout my body. Terrified, I slowly turned my head to look behind me, and Doel, with my secretion on his cheek, was smiling precariously. It was definitely a smile, but it sent chills down my spine. He looked down at me, trembling slightly, and said,

“Where do you think you’re going?”

His voice was so cold that it seemed to lower the temperature of the surroundings. The gaze I met was so chilling that my body automatically shuddered. I barely suppressed the hiccup that threatened to escape. In the grip of the man I had turned into a devil… no, the man whose hand I was caught in, not knowing what would happen, I swallowed my saliva and meekly awaited my fate.

Doel, who had been looking at me frozen still, put me into his jacket’s front pocket. From there, I poked my head out and surveyed the outside situation.

Should I try to escape from here? He might kill me!Although such thoughts crossed my mind, I, who had already been overwhelmed by Doel’s aura, had no choice but to obediently stay inside the pocket.