Chapter 78

Tetra's request was accepted without any issues.

With this, Leighton would accept the request posted directly tomorrow morning and set off for Clarisent.

Given that Leighton hadn't mentioned anything about the request application, it seemed there was no interference around here.

Perhaps the Clarisent branch didn't bother to confirm every single request.

Turning my gaze back to Tetra, who had returned, we both let out a sigh.

"Well, let's think about how to solve the tax evasion case."

"…Right."

Even so, nothing came to mind at the moment.

"By the way, do you have any ideas, Tetra?"

"Unfortunately, I've already tried everything I could think of. Reporting to the tax collectors, exposing the false reports of the guards and the magic guild, and requesting the withdrawal of the exploration guild's request. That's about all I could come up with…"

She muttered regretfully, but none of it seemed to have worked.

"Everywhere was blocked by bribes… I see."

Money is powerful.

"Hmm…"

What should we do?

Normally, appealing to the law enforcement organization, as Tetra did, would be effective.

However, this time it's difficult because the law enforcement organization is complicit in the crime.

Then, perhaps we could buy them off with money…

No, that won't work. We don't know how much it would cost.

Even if we combined the money from selling the Full Seal and what we have on hand, it wouldn't be enough.

Besides, even if we had the money, we wouldn't have the connections.

Someone like Mr. Gustav…

Right, Mr. Gustav might have some clever ideas!

…No, that won't work.

Leighton is associated with the Stonehouse. If Mr. Gustav inherited Leighton's way of thinking, he would likely reach the same conclusion.

If it were efficient, Mr. Gustav wouldn't hesitate, even for someone important.

Just like how he easily abandoned Riko.

In the end, we need to come up with a new plan ourselves.

We need to do it ourselves.

Let's organize the problem.

Why does Helena need to be eliminated?

It's because she is being used as a reason for tax evasion.

So, by eliminating her, we remove that reason.

This would make it impossible to use that method for a while, and if we kill Helena, it would be impossible forever.

Until a new reason for tax evasion is created, they would have to pay taxes honestly.

"Oh, that's it…?"

"Did you think of something!?"

Tetra's face lit up as if she had jumped.

A glimmer of hope appeared on her previously dejected face.

"No, I haven't thought about what happens after that."

"After… what do you mean?"

"There are other ways to evade taxes, right?"

Indeed, there's a flaw in Leighton's plan.

Even if we solve this issue for now, tax evasion will happen again. It will definitely happen.

No matter how much they benefit from it, once people taste the good life, they can't forget it. That's just human nature.

So, they will definitely do it again.

They might not be able to use monsters anymore, but they will find new ways, change their methods, and do it again.

So, even if we kill Helena this time, things will revert to the way they were.

It's not a fundamental solution.

"That's true. But…"

"Yes, this is just a counterpoint to Leighton's plan."

"He would probably say, 'So what?'…"

Tetra called Leighton "that guy" with a resentful tone. I can understand her feelings.

"Yes. I can't answer how to solve it, though."

Killing Helena would solve the problem for a while, but Leighton's approach is more practical, even if it's only temporary.

Tilting my head back, the backrest of the chair, covered in fabric, fit perfectly behind my neck.

Looking up at the ceiling, I arched my back.

The sound of my shoulder blades cracking was satisfying.

"Maybe we should kill the Trenchworm and forcibly bring Helena here…"

"Like kidnapping and confining Helena to prevent her from returning to the city?"

"Kidnapping and confining… Well, yes. But wouldn't that be enough without killing her?"

"True, we could do that if we can get her away from the city…"

Something feels off.

Leighton also said, "It's better if she doesn't die."

There must be a reason why kidnapping isn't enough.

"By the way, he said, 'It's not her will.' What does that mean? If she's doing it unwillingly, it should be easy to persuade her."

Tetra also said, "We should bring her here forcibly." So, Helena must be unwilling to leave the city. And if persuasion has failed, Helena must be actively cooperating, not just passively.

"That's… I don't understand."

"You don't understand?"

"She used to be afraid of touching monsters. She only used small creatures like flying squirrels or animals."

She probably dislikes reptiles and insects.

"But now she uses Trenchworms."

"Maybe she got over her fear of touching them?"

Actually, it's more common for people to become afraid of touching things they used to touch as children.

Will I become afraid of insects someday? It's hard to imagine.

"No, that's not it. The last time I saw her, she was still afraid of touching Trenchworms."

"There must be a reason she's using them, then."

Tetra nodded.

"But she wouldn't tell me. She looked like she was about to cry and refused to speak."

Tetra was probably remembering that. She looked like she was about to cry.

If it's not her will, it must be someone else's. And she's been silenced.

So, the most likely scenario is:

"She's doing it unwillingly but won't stop or explain why. …She's being threatened…?"

"Probably. She's being threatened by the important people in the city."

That's the most likely scenario.

Tetra has had opportunities to contact her, so she must have some freedom. Therefore, it's not her life that's being threatened, but something important to her. Her property, her family, or something else. We don't know what it is.

"If that's the case, even kidnapping and confining her won't solve the problem."

To resolve the threat, we need to identify the perpetrator and recover whatever is being held hostage. If she's being threatened with a secret, we might need to silence the perpetrator, or even kill them.

"Until we resolve that threat, Helena will continue to do it."

This means we need to deal with the influential people in the city.

However, we lack a just cause.

On the surface, there's no tax evasion case.

Moreover, since we can't rely on the law enforcement organization, which has been bribed, it's difficult to legally punish the influential people.

We could use illegal means, like assassination, but that would make the law enforcement organization our enemy.

However, illegal means might be effective for Helena.

In another city, where even Leighton didn't know about the magic user Helena, this could work.

Helena's existence is evidence of tax evasion.

Since the influential people in Clarisent have been hiding Helena to avoid contradictions, they would likely cover up her death.

And if they adopt new tax evasion methods, we can find the flaws and interfere again.

Until we can solve it once and for all.

Leighton's guild card was adult.

If the guild were to condemn Leighton, who is relatively important, for Helena's death, it could expose the tax evasion.

If that happens, we might be able to reach a fundamental solution.

…This is bad. This is really bad.

The more I think about it, the more effective Helena's death seems.

Tetra's expression also worsened as she reached the same conclusion.

The discussion continued, but we didn't come up with any new ideas.

And the morning of the agreed day arrived.