The Wanderer

CHAPTER 9-THE FRAUD

The other one also threw the kid that he held in his hand to the ground after he saw his companions die. That's why he managed to escape, but still, the constable shooter managed to scratch the masked man's left upper arm with the arrow before he got away. For the record, this constable shooter was once an imperial soldier. That's why he was quite an expert at using arrows. But for some reason, he was dismissed from his duty as an imperial soldier and later joined the constabulary. The fellows in the constable also don't want to ask too much about his past. Since then, he has become a member of the constabulary. The constable fellows also relied on him so much, since only he, in the team, could shoot arrows. On the other hand, the other masked man who had fought with Haruto had been put unconscious. The masked man also tried to take his own life, but Haruto succeeded in knocking him down first. Of the three of them, one was caught, one was dead, and one escaped. The result wasn't good, but at least they still got one. The constables took the one who was unconscious back to the constable's prison for interrogation. At the beginning, he didn't want to admit anything, so the constables tried to torture him to confess. Even after torturing him, that man still sealed his mouth tightly. It seemed like it would be easy to let him talk, even if they tortured him to death. Haruto suddenly has an idea by telling that man that if he is willing to cooperate and confess everything, Haruto will negotiate with the magistrate officer to let him go by making his death fake. Just said that he died after the process of torture, and they will bring him away and free him in the forest by giving him a new identity, “a new life”. Then he can go anywhere he wants, as long as he is far away from the capital city. If somebody recognizes him, then his “new life” will be over. He must go far away and never set foot back in the capital city, if he still wants to live. After thinking for a while, that man decided to accept Haruto's offer. Now the constables had got witnesses, but they also realized that without the evidence, they still couldn't arrest those priests. After the man confesses, Haruto and some of his fellow constables depart for the temple with the warrant to find the masked man who was scratched by an arrow earlier. As long as they can find this man inside the temple, then those priests can't deny their crime anymore, whether this masked man was accomplished or someone they hired to do the crime. So, whichever one this is, the priests will be found guilty in the end. They search around the area, but they can't find that man. When the constables were about to give up, suddenly, Haruto found something when he and some of his comrades searched inside the warehouse. At first, nothing was wrong with that, but later, he found something weird at the corner of the warehouse where some barrels were being put. On the barrels, there is no dust, but around them, there is so much dust on the left and right. It seems like someone moves the barrels often, which is why there’s no dust. Then he tried to move the barrels away, and indeed, there was a hidden door on the floor. After opening it, they saw an underground chamber. However, they did not dare to get inside, afraid that if the masked man was hidden there, he might attack anyone who jumped in. So the constable made a campfire outside and fanned the smoke into the chamber, so if anyone inside the chamber can't withstand the smoke, they will come out no matter what. After waiting for a while, there’s no movement. They noticed the chamber must already be empty. So Haruto decided to go down there for a check, and it was true, nobody was there. He was still looking around in case there was a tunnel that led to the other side; meanwhile, he had already informed his fellows above. One of them quickly went outside and informed others about what they found. Then the shooter constable was coincidentally there, so he tried to scare the masked man. For the record, the shooter has lubricated some ointment on the arrow's head, so anyone who is hit by the arrow on their skin will get swollen and skin irritation. At a glance, it looked poisonous, but actually it wasn't. The shooter constable shouted out loud in the main hall of the temple to alert that masked man.

Shooter constable: “Come out now…!!! You were poisoned by my arrow. Only I, who has the antidote. If you don't believe… Just take a look at your scratch wound…!!!”