Chapter 37: The News Roxy Brings Back, a Missing Person's Bounty and an Assassination Contract
Allen stared, snapping back to reality from his captivated gaze into Roxy's eyes.
"H-How... How is this possible? How did you come back?! This doesn't make sense—mmph."
Roxy immediately slapped a hand over Allen's mouth, looked around frantically, and then placed a finger to her lips.
"Keep your voice down! Everyone is still asleep."
Allen blinked, his gaze shifting down to Roxy's hand. She met his gaze, blinked back, and then quickly withdrew her hand. She subconsciously tugged at her bangs and said in a whisper.
"...Well... I just came back to see if you were all okay. It looks like everything is fine now, and you've successfully sought refuge with the Greyrat family... Congratulations. Just don't shout. I'll be leaving here shortly..."
Allen looked at Roxy's face, still unable to process it.
'Why? Why did Roxy suddenly come back? The plot up until tonight was still manageable, but what is this? What does she mean, 'see if we're okay'??'
"But... even if it's just to check on us, you didn't have to travel in the middle of the night, right? And you're leaving as soon as you've seen me? You're not going to see Paul, Zenith, or Rudeus? That contradicts what you just said."
Roxy scratched her cheek, not minding that Allen had dropped the honorifics this time. She thought for a moment and decided it was best to tell Allen the information she had learned, even if he seemed fine now.
"I came here because when I was passing through the Adventurer's Guild in Rigate, in the Donati territory, I discovered..."
She took out a carefully folded, high-quality document from the pocket of her magic robe, glanced at Allen's expression, and handed it to him.
Allen took it with a frown, unfolded it, and his expression turned to one of surprise.
It was a missing person employment notice. The paper was old, clearly having been posted for some time. The writing had a distinctly aristocratic tone.
To All Adventurers: My name is James Boreas Greyrat. My beloved son, Allen Boreas Greyrat, recently disappeared without a trace near the Upper Jaw of the Red Dragon on his way to his studies. I am greatly distressed. To date, the search parties I have sent out have not found any trace of him.I hereby issue this employment notice, hoping that adventurers can help me find my beloved son.My son Allen is only nine years old, but he is already the height of a young adult woman and has a sturdy build. He has brown hair and grey eyes, his hair is slightly curly, his eyebrows are upturned, and his gaze is sharp. He often slicks his hair back. When conversing, his eyebrows will unconsciously rise in a challenging manner. He is sharp, yet not without composure.If anyone sees a person of a similar description, please provide clues to the Boreas residence in the capital.If the clue is verified, a reward of two hundred gold coins will be given.If my beloved son can be brought back to my residence, a reward of one thousand gold coins will be given.I apologize for the trouble.
Allen squinted at the letter for a long time before looking up at Roxy and saying carefully, "I'm sorry. When I suddenly ran into you back then... I subconsciously hid some things from you. It was also to cover my tracks."
Seeing Allen instinctively raise his eyebrows, Roxy blinked, feeling a little embarrassed herself.
"Well... um... I can understand that an adventurer wouldn't tell the truth... Actually, you did tell the truth. You just never said what kind of trouble you were in from the beginning... I was the one who guessed in a strange direction. Um... sorry."
Allen looked at Roxy, still very confused, and so he probed further.
"But even so, you don't need to come back specifically to question me about this, right? A letter would have been fine... So there must be something else, right?" Roxy hesitated for a moment, then took out another piece of paper from her magic robe. It was rough and had curled edges. She handed it over again. Allen took it, unfolded it, and his expression instantly darkened. It was a bounty order. The wording was concise and crude, a stark contrast to James's missing person notice.
Night Lion Bandit Group Bounty Order:Target: Allen Boreas Greyrat.Features: Brown hair, grey eyes, an annoying-looking face.Bounty: One thousand gold coins.Swordsman rank is Water God Style—Advanced. Killed nine of my good men at the Upper Jaw of the Red Dragon. If interested, it is recommended to specifically arrange manpower for a 'hunt'.Special declaration: Only the corpse is required.Upon success, contact the local Night Lion Bandit Group. Cash on delivery.This bounty is valid long-term.Night Lion.
Allen stared at it for a long time, then a cold smile spread across his lips.
'I see... no wonder Roxy rushed back. A one-thousand-gold-coin bounty from a bandit group... tsk tsk, James, oh James, you never disappoint when it comes to being a disappointment. Killing someone is obviously much faster than bringing them back to the capital, isn't it? And the wanted poster is so blatant... But how come Paul never mentioned this? Philip did ask him to help gather information...'
Allen looked up at the somewhat helpless-looking Roxy.
"Was this wanted poster also found in the Adventurer's Guild? To be honest, Uncle Paul has also been secretly helping me gather information, but it seems he hasn't heard that I'm wanted yet."
Roxy had looked at these two vastly different 'missing person posters' many times on her way back. She had already realized that this must have been ordered by the Boreas family in the capital. Looking at the information from the employment notice and the bounty together, it was clear that James wanted Allen dead, and the 'beloved son missing' was just a facade to maintain the family's dignity. She didn't know how to bring up this situation of being targeted for death by his own family with Allen. After all, she herself had run away from her village just because she couldn't use telepathy and was treated coldly. But she had only been treated coldly, whereas Allen was being targeted for death by his own father.
'This child is only nine... I wonder what kind of trouble he got into in the capital. Murder? Arson? He doesn't look the type... No wonder he was so careful and fearful on his journey. He probably had some idea of the future he was facing. But even so, he still gave me the only money he had on him...'
She took a deep breath and answered.
"Actually, when I was on my way to Rigate... I was stopped by three bandits who suddenly jumped out of the forest. I got this from them. This bounty is probably only circulating in a small grey area. I only found the missing person employment in the Adventurer's Guild and didn't hear any other information... Speaking of which, the Adventurer's Guild in the Asura Kingdom is really deserted. There are hardly any commissions, so I saw it right away."
Allen's brow twitched wildly.
"On the way to Rigate city, bandits suddenly jumped out of the forest?? Were they looking for me?"
Roxy nodded.
"According to them, it seems a group of bandits is searching for you eastward along the forest of the Lower Jaw of the Red Dragon."
Hearing this, Allen's face turned grim.
"...This... shouldn't be. The trail I left pointed north. Why would someone be searching in the southern foothills of the Red Dragon's Spine?"
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