The picturesque rice cakes are delicious today

Episode 18: Not a sword, not a shield * 2

When I heard about the arson, when we rushed to the scene, one of the exterior walls of the barn built for the farmers was a little burnt.

"He was doing something suspicious here, so I peeked into it and there was a fire."

Arrest of the arsonist.... looks like the Knights. If I hadn't found this, I'd be in trouble.

"Shit, let go!

"Who will let go?... Mr. Corn. What do we do with this guy?

"Um... what should I do?

I'm in a bit of a hurry, and I'm going to ask Mr Crowe, who was coming with me.

"Really... let me talk to you for a second. I don't think it's going to work like this. Either way Sayonara, hey......"

... I wonder if there's a kind of goodbye. Mm-hmm.

"Now, shall I take you to the Knight's quarters? So the interrogation....."

Interrogation, huh? I don't think it's my turn. [M] For the time being, I will stand by, but I don't think it will help. Because I'm not good at talking to people.

"The interrogation will be between me and Laocles, and, yes, about two more about the knights. Sorry about the other knights, but please take a look around. I wouldn't have gotten caught if I had burned somewhere else at the same time."

Mr Crowe said that a little angry and quickly headed for the knight's house.

... I'm a little concerned about Mr. Crowe's interrogation.

So the interrogation began. Crowe said, "I don't think you need to look at the corn," but I'm a little worried, so I decided to take a tour.

"Yes, well, can you tell me your name first?"

Mr. Crowe entered the room and said so at the beginning, staring at the killer's man.... ah, I'm fascinated.

"... no, my name is Hao Miss."

The killer said his name lightly with a slightly loose face. Wow. I'm already fascinated. I am a prisoner of Mr Crowe.

Claire smiles as if she is satisfied with the magic effect, and then continues to ask questions.

"You were about to set fire to our village barn, weren't you? Is there a mistake?

"Ah, ah. Definitely...."

"Oh, why did you set it on fire?

"That's because... I was ordered to do it. Tell him to do it."

"Yes, who ordered you? Who ordered you to set fire?

... but the question that was going well was cut off as soon as I talked about "who". The killer's mouth is pounding, but no words come out.

After seeing it, Mr. Crowe frowned... and ordered the killer to do one thing.

"Hey, open your mouth. Yes, let me see your tongue."

Do as the killer is told. Then, on top of the tongue that came out... there was a picture of something I didn't quite understand.... eh. It's on my tongue!?

"Ah... that's right. Well, I'll leave it at that."

When Crowe sighed, he stopped and glanced at the killer looking up at Crowe... thinking a little bit... and then smiled and switched to another question.

"Well, let me ask you another question. Did you know about me long ago?

"Ah, ah. I heard there's a beauty."

"Oh, thank you. So, what were you going to tell us?

The killer had a little trouble answering Claire's question... but Claire's eyes sparkled and he stared at the killer, so he decided to answer.

"I was out. I don't know why, but I want to get you somehow...."

However, it seems that the killer also slapped his mouth and couldn't speak anything. Claire sighed again and shook her neck slightly.

And then... Mr. Crowe looked at me and asked me.

"Hey, do you have a sketch of the bastard's crest?

Eh, ah, yeah.

The bastard is probably a bouquet of flowers. Then there is a note and a sketch. I rolled up the sketchbook and gave it to Mr Crowe. [M] Mr. Crowe thanked and then took the sketchbook and approached the killer.

"Is this crest house your employer?

... and as soon as you do,

"... uhh"

The killer moaned.

And then the killer pressed his mouth painfully... and then he put his hand in his mouth and started something.

"Ah, I knew it would happen....."

Crowe sighed at it and pulled into the sketchbook. Then the killer, uh, starts breathing.... um, what do you mean?

"... for now, I don't have any more information. Shall we go outside for a while?"

In my wonder, Mr. Crowe urged me to go out of the room, just me, Laocles and Mr. Crowe.

"I can't help it. There's a curse on you so you don't give us any information."

Curse.... it sounds kind of nasty.

"You know, tongue patterns."

"Yeah, that's right.... it's an incredibly simple curse that won't give you any information to find your employer. Maybe if you try to talk, your tongue won't move, or if you try to give information other than talking, your tongue will choke on your throat.

Wow, I'm scared. That's how it is...

... I thought this world was such a nice place to draw and have fairies, but it wasn't just nice. Scary.

"Well, I don't know for sure who his employer is."

You must be the man with the bouquet of flowers.

"I see. I'm not thinking about anything else. I was suffocating when I showed my crest, so I guess so. But that's enough to get away with it."

Well, that's the curse, isn't it? Hmm, it's getting kind of tough...

"... so, Mr. Corn. What should I do?

Then Mr Crowe looked at me in a little trouble.

"Eh, what do I do..."

"What about him?

What do I do... uh, uh...

"Become a farmer."

"It's not enough crisis, it's..."

I see. I don't want to be set on fire again... and then, uh...

So, do you want to build a prison or something?

"... that might be good. I'm sorry I let you use your power for him."

"I'm fine."

I had to build a cell somehow, so I set up a cell in the neighborhood of the knight's house. Once I painted a picture that I dug up to the basement, I made a basement with floors and ceilings, and a cell with iron bars fitted into it.

Then the knights take the killer there, lock the cell door firmly, and it's over.

"If you keep quiet, you won't be able to live."

According to Laocles, the culprit was malicious, but he was too generous to go to jail.

... but from that day on, there have been a number of incidents.

There was another arson attempt, or if anything, it was just a little bumpy. In addition, the fields have been vandalized, crops have been stolen, and huge amounts of salt have been scattered...

The Knights look around hard, but if they continue to do so frequently, there will be incidents that cannot be stopped beforehand. Still, there's nothing I can do about it. The farmers are also working together and going around in turn... but they still can't catch up.

Incidentally, all the people caught were under some kind of curse to keep the information from leaking. Therefore, the number of jails is only increasing, and there is no progress at all. We're just being hit unilaterally.

"You used to say it was easier to break than to make."

"Yeah."

Now I'm redrawing a field that's been vandalized.... this is still the way to go back, though. Even in the fields that the farmers have been taking care of for days and days, if they are ravaged, they will all be useless overnight. I don't think that's much.

"... are you depressed?"

"Mmm...."

Somehow, I don't like it. Wow.

It's easier to break than to make it. Really. I wonder how those who break it can do this. I wonder if it has ever been made. Or don't you have the idea that someone made something that you broke?

"... I've made it look like I caught them, and most of the people who send them in won't feel any pain."

"Mmm...."

... I also thought about making the people I caught suffer a lot of cruelty. No, not me, but Claire and Laocles.

But somehow... that's different, isn't it? In the first place, I wondered if it would work... I think it might be sweet, but if it doesn't work, I don't want to hurt people in the dark. Because it's easy to break, but it's hard to make.

"It's embarrassing to attack from here. If we attack them as Red Gard territory, Fay and the others may be blamed. And when you attack from the forest, it puts the forest in a bad position. If you suck at it, the forest may be endangered and the royal family may intervene."

"Nh...."

Just thinking about it makes me feel better.

No matter how much they do, they do bad things. But that's why I can't do anything bad... I hate this.

"That's irrational. The opponent can attack us as much as they want. We can't attack them because they're anonymous."

"Mmm...."

If this is going to be a fair fight, it's fine. But we're not seeing each other clearly, and yet we seem to be seeing each other clearly, so they let us do it unilaterally.

"I don't know why. I don't suppose it's not about making us feel bad...."

"... if you're doing this for no purpose, I hate it even more."

"... well, yeah."

Somehow, I'm wondering myself, but now I'm being harsh. [M] Wow. Laocles seemed to rare it, but more than that, he hit me lightly on the back like he was trying to work me.

"I wish I could at least see what they're after."

"Mmm...."

Then, if you can see the other person, it's better. If that bouquet of flowers was the main one, if only it were clear, we could do as much as we wanted.

... that's how the area around the woods got a little rough.

Every time I fix it, the farmers fix it, and so on, but things didn't get better, and the way things were getting dirtier and dirtier, and we got tired of the boulders.

Such a day.

I was visiting a confectionery shop to consult with Mr. Crowe. [M] The confectionery store continues to operate unchanged. If I close the shop because I was harassed, I think that's what the other person thinks it is.

"... that's right. It's almost time for the prison to be full, and we need to build more... oh"

When I was talking to Claire, Karan, the doorbell rang. Mr. Claire and I each corrected our posture to serve our customers...

"Hello! Long time no see! How are you?... no, I'm not feeling too well, am I?

... a bouquet of flowers came with a smile.

"Oh, it's been a really long time. Were you busy?

I'm scared of Claire's eyes. Eyes that use magic. But I don't think it's the magic of charm. More... stuffy stuff.

"Oh, I see. Just a little bit, huh?

However, the person with the bouquet doesn't seem to have endured it at all. I wonder why. I think Claire's magic is really strong...

"Yes... I wonder if you've been busy sending criminals here?

Criminals? What are you talking about? You don't understand!

Crowe looks at the bouquet again and says so, but the bouquet just laughs and says so.... nasty guy.

"Yes, that's right. It seems like things have been tough around here lately. Arson or desolation of the field. I hear people are being attacked! What a shame! Who the hell would do such a thing!

And the man of the bouquet mourns greatly, saying so. I really hate that again.

... both I and Claire have a really bad feeling about it, but they don't seem to care about it at all, so the bouquet person approaches Claire and laughs and says,

"It's dangerous for you to be here, too. How's it going? After all, what do you mean you're coming to my territory?

"... that's been denied many times. Why don't you give up?

When Crowe says that, the flower bouquet person laughs and says again.

"Can you reconsider? Hmm... that's right. If you're going to be mine, we'll help the guards around here! I'm sure the criminals will be gone soon!

"... hey. Does that mean if I become yours, I'm not gonna do it anymore?

Claire's eyes glowed like a blade. Even though there are magical signs of horror, the flower bouquet man was only scared for a moment, and then he stopped looking as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, what a horrible thing to say. I didn't mean to! Because I have nothing to do with criminals!

I wonder if this is what you're going to say, but I can't stop seeing the fairies holding their noodle sticks and butter knives.

"... so, come on. Don't you want any more damage around the woods? Well, don't you think it would be nice to have my help?

"I see. I certainly like this forest, but...."

"Sure, sure. You must love this forest! Of course I did!

When the bouquet says so, he comes closer to Mr. Crowe and tells him to whisper.

"... I already know who you are."

And the flower bouquet man, without even slightly moving, just stared at Mr. Crowe with cold eyes, laughed and said.

"Right, Spirit of the Forest?

... that's it, this way. Not Mr. Crowe, this way.