Heinz’s point of view.
The wall behind me made a loud noise and crumbled. Louis stared at me as I fell to my knees involuntarily.
“To think you would let a person that would eventually get dismissed in charge of the barrier. What if they were a spy?”
“… F, forgive me.”
Shit, if that fellow hasn’t been dismissed all of sudden, I wouldn’t have to get exposed this disrespectfully.
However, there is no way I can oppose Louis, who is second in power only to the king, so I can only bow down to him on the ground.
Louis let out a tired sigh and turned away.
“The fact that it was working normally until yesterday means that they were dismissed just today, right? Bring them back right away to let them manage the barrier. It would take at least a week to prepare a replacement wardstone.”
“Yes, understood. We will bring her back. Oy, let’s go.”
Suppressing the shuddering in my body, I left the room with Freig, who stood up with tears still in his eyes.
I will definitely slap you with magic when I find you. You better prepare, commoner.
When I arrived at the office while fed up with Freig’s sobbing, the gazes of everyone in the silent workplace turned towards us.
I told everyone to pay attention while feeling irresistibly annoyed for some reason.
“I and a few others will be going out to search for Emiel. The barrier got altered because we were forcing the management of the barrier onto her all this time, so we lost the ability to supplement the wardstone. We can also push the paperwork onto her, so it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”
Five people stood up and cheered, and several people who seemed to be unwilling to rely on the commoner turned their eyes to the documents with no interest.
This many people should be enough. Since it affects the security of the entire country, that old man will have the Knights Order search for her too… although it’s annoying that we have to rely on the commoners.
While gulping down on the sigh that came from humiliation, I left the room with my supporters who created a cheerful atmosphere as soon as they saw hope.
——Without considering the fact that Emiel might have already left the Capital.
☆
Three hours into the search, I was sitting on a bench in the center of the town with my head in my hands.
I asked for information from the commoners passing by and knights on patrol, but even if witnesses were found, they didn’t know what she was doing or where she was going afterward, and in the end, we couldn’t find her.
The knights joined us in the search halfway through just as I thought, but there were no definite testimonies from the witnesses.
Thus, the deadline for the barrier and the neglected paperwork was approaching. If we don’t find her, it will be us that get dismissed this time.
Then, I saw Laura rushing over in a hurry, and I stood up, having a bad feeling about it.
“There seems to be a child that saw Emiel get on a stagecoach! There’s a good chance that she might not be in the town anymore.”
“… That fucker.”
That bitch, did she run away somewhere in fear of this happening?
No, it’s more important to inform everyone involved in the search as soon as possible and find out which town she was most likely to escape to.
Then, Laura raised her hand timidly.
“Umm… she should have close to no money in possession after getting dismissed, wouldn’t the place she decided to escape to nearby?”
“Definitely. Alright, gather everyone and search the nearby towns.”
“Y, yes, sir.”
What is she so afraid of? Laura replied with a frightened voice and took off.
I couldn’t help but smile at the unexpected progress.
As for the military parade, considering that we can rub more false accusations on Emiel, it has gotten surprisingly manageable.
Just wait and see, bitch. I don’t know why you got dismissed, but the crime of causing trouble for us is a heavy one.