I Became the Hero While Paving a Flower Path for My Niece - Chapter 59

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 59: The Hero Who Paved the Way With Flowers
At the same moment.
“Branch Chief, are we really going to the Communal Cemetery?”
Dein, who had accepted Alex’s request, was riding toward the Communal Cemetery of the Brodell Count’s Estate alongside his guild members.
One guild member who feared ghosts trembled as he asked, and Dein laughed lightly in response.
“Then you should have found the information sooner.”
“There’s nothing to find, Branch Chief.”
“That’s right! We really did search hard!”
“But you still didn’t find it, did you?”
At Dein’s words, spoken with a smile, the guild members fell silent. It was true.
“But why are we going to the cemetery?”
In response to Ben’s question, Dein adjusted the reins of his horse and answered.
“You said the people who were dragged out from that underground seemed nearly dead, right? If the culprit didn’t need the bodies themselves, then they must have buried them somewhere.”
Of course, they could have buried them elsewhere, but the first investigation naturally had to start at the cemetery.
“We need to investigate the newly arrived corpses in the cemetery. Where they came from, who sent them.”
Ben and the guild members marveled at this unexpected direction of inquiry. This is why you need a branch chief.
Dein’s party soon arrived at the Communal Cemetery.
A vast expanse filled with gravestones came into view, along with a small cottage where the Gravedigger who guarded and maintained this cemetery lived.
“Mm…”
At the somewhat gloomy atmosphere, even the guild members who hadn’t been trembling before grew slightly pale.
“W-who are you?”
At the appearance of these strangers, the Gravedigger emerged.
Seeing that there were no coffins or corpses, he tensed further—it didn’t seem they’d come to conduct a funeral.
“Ah, thank you for your trouble.”
Dein dismounted from his horse and greeted the man with a practiced, melancholy expression.
“You see, a friend of my father’s met with an accident at the Count’s Estate about a month ago and passed away. We only just found out, so I’ve come to pay my respects on my father’s behalf.”
As he spoke, Dein handed the Gravedigger a bottle of liquor. There was no better bribe than alcohol.
“Would it be all right to ask for your guidance?”
“Y-yes, of course. This way, please.”
While one guild member stayed behind to tend to the horses, Dein, Ben, and the rest of the guild members followed the Gravedigger into the cemetery.
“Branch Chief, don’t you not have a father?”
“Of course it was a lie. I must have investigated the dead beforehand.”
“Ah.”
Naturally, the whispers among the guild members never reached the Gravedigger’s ears.
“Here it is.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Dein tidied the gravestone of an old man who had died several weeks prior—naturally, someone he didn’t know—and paid his respects while exchanging idle conversation with the Gravedigger.
In doing so, he learned the locations of the graves that had appeared within the past month and discovered that their inhabitants were all elderly people who had passed away from old age.
“Well then, we’ll stay a bit longer before we leave.”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
The Gravedigger, bottle in hand, broke into a broad smile, bowed respectfully, and returned to his cottage.
“Wow, that’s exactly what I’d expect from the Branch Chief!”
“It was perfectly natural!”
At the sounds of admiration, Dein, momentarily pleased with himself, refocused on the task at hand.
“Looks like they buried them somewhere else.”
“Yeah.”
The corpses they were searching for were not elderly people who died of old age. They were relatively young men who had died from severe wounds or exhaustion.
“Where should we go next, Branch Chief?”
“Let’s search around here first. They might have buried them secretly.”
At Dein’s words, Ben and the guild members nodded in agreement.
And so the Crow Information Guild searched through the cemetery thoroughly.
“Dein.”
“Hmm?”
How much time had passed?
Ben called out to Dein.
“There’s soil here that’s different from the surrounding earth.”
“Is there?”
Dein’s amber eyes gleamed as he made his way toward the grave Ben had indicated.
There, just as Ben had said, was soil of a deep, dark color—different from the surrounding earth. It looked like soil from deep underground.
“Guild Master! There’s one here too!”
“Here too.”
Discolored soil turned up in the other graves as well.
“What could this be?”
“…It looks like someone dug up the ground.”
“…Dug up the ground?”
Question marks floated above the heads of Dein, Ben, and the guild members. What business did anyone have digging in a communal cemetery?
“We need to ask about this.”
Dein headed toward the cottage where the Gravedigger stayed.
The Gravedigger, who had been drinking merrily, trembled under Dein’s interrogation and threats, begging him not to inform the Brodell family.
“Of course. I won’t tell the Brodell family.”

* * *
“Someone dug up the graves and stole the coffins.”
He told Alex instead.
That evening, they ate at Jake and Milo’s house.
“Congratulations on the job, Milo!”
“Congratulations, Milo!”
“Thanks!”
It was a celebration party for Milo, who had worked his first day.
Alex and Leo, who had saved Milo, were invited, as was Dein, who had helped him find the position.
Jake and Milo had prepared the food, but Alex and Dein, knowing their circumstances, had also brought food and drinks.
Thanks to that, the table was abundantly laden.
“What kind of work did you do, Milo?”
“Did many customers come in?”
The two children and Milo were absorbed in conversation, paying no attention to the adults.
So Alex and Dein could talk at ease.
“They stole the coffins?”
“Yeah. Not just one or two. The Gravedigger alone knows of over dozens.”
A proper investigation might uncover even more.
But how could the Gravedigger, whose job was to guard the cemetery, report such a thing to the Brodell family?
Once he learned that the number of desecrated graves exceeded dozens, he had simply kept his mouth shut.
[They’re trying to make Skeletons, I think.]
Alex came to the same conclusion.
Those bones were probably in some aspiring dark mage’s hideout.
“Did you find out where the coffins went?”
“The Gravedigger saw footprints and cart tracks. So we know the direction. We’ll have to scout that way from here.”
Leaving it to Dein had indeed been the best choice.
“But I don’t understand why they took the coffins. With only bones left, they’d be useless.”
[Dein doesn’t know about Skeletons either?]
[How thoroughly was this kept secret?]
The kingdom had hidden it thoroughly for fear that mages might try to imitate it out of curiosity. There were certainly enough people crazy enough to do it.
“Well, maybe they were experimenting.”
“Right….”
Dein had been about to say “madmen” but caught himself, looking at Alex the mage, and fell silent.
Ibek laughed uproariously.
“Oh, and it looks like the Brodell family almost found the poisoner. They’ve thrown all the second son’s servants into prison. Probably reporting on it right now?”
[You’re starting to seem like the crazy one, actually.]
[How do you even know this stuff?]
That was the thing.
He’d always thought Dein impressive even in the ‘Future,’ but in his own territory, the Crow Information Guild branch chief seemed to operate on an entirely different level of madness.
“What do you think Klaus Brodell will do?”
Dein thought for a moment before answering Alex’s question.
“I don’t know. No matter how much he loves his family, he won’t go soft on something like this.”
[So the second son will get more desperate.]
[He might even make a move tonight.]
Alex thought the same way.
“You said you’d scout tomorrow? Let’s go tonight. I’m coming with you.”
“Tonight? Well, it doesn’t matter. Our guild operates at night anyway.”
Dein set down his drink.
If he was going to work now, it was better to have a clear head.
“Besides, with Alex’s help, we’ll find it in no time.”
And so they decided to search today.
“It could be dangerous, so only call people who can protect themselves.”
[Weak people would just be dead weight.]
Dein agreed with Alex’s words and went outside to send word to the guild.
“I called Ben and two others. Remember the ones we fought in the underground?”
“Yeah.”
[That should be enough.]
The eyes of the two children and Milo, who had been talking animatedly, snapped toward Alex and Dein as they moved about with purpose.
“Uncle, what’s going on?”
“Oh, something came up that I need to handle. Jake, Milo—would it be alright if Leo stayed here tonight?”
Leo’s eyes lit up at that.
Sleeping at a friend’s house was something that happened often back in Belo Village, so there was no hesitation. He understood his uncle was busy with work.
“Of course!”
“I’d love that! You can stay as long as you want!”
Milo answered readily, and Jake nodded brightly again and again.
At that, Alex and Dein laughed.
“When will you come back, Uncle?”
“Probably before morning. Like when I caught that wolf last time.”
“Okay!”
Leo, remembering how Alex had kept his word and returned, beamed and transferred food onto Alex’s plate.
“You have to eat a lot so you don’t get hungry while you work, Uncle!”
[You’re looking after Leo’s meals just like he does for you.]
That’s true.
You’ve grown well, our Leo.
“Leo, I’m going too.”
At Dein’s words, spoken with a hint of envy, Leo quickly placed food on Dein’s plate as well.
“Uncle Dein, you eat plenty too!”
“We have drinks as well!”
Jake chimed in.
Everyone burst into laughter at the sight of the two sweet children looking after the adults.

* * *
At the same moment.
Brodell Count’s Estate.
Klaus Brodell, who had eaten dinner under close watch, sat in his study.
“First, I should send a request to the Mage Tower.”
He had discovered that the mage who created the Incomplete Magic Circle was a “third-rate mage,” but that fact hadn’t been particularly helpful in finding the culprit.
So Klaus Brodell decided to make a request to the Mage Tower.
“I think Blue Tower would be the better choice to request this from.”
Blue Tower, currently the representative of the Mage Tower Federation.
There would be many skilled mages there, so the chances of learning something about the Incomplete Magic Circle were high, but on the other hand, their faction was so large that he worried they might not even take a request from such a small count’s house.
Still, now that Adela, the clerk at Blue Tower’s Magical Tool shop, had reached the Third Circle, perhaps they wouldn’t be completely indifferent.
It was rare for a shop clerk to return to the tower, so word of it would surely have spread within Blue Tower.
“Interesting….”
Klaus Brodell found Alex, the cause of all this, quite remarkable.
Though only Second Circle, his magical knowledge seemed far superior, and he appeared to know swordplay as well.
Especially that movement resembling Body Strengthening—it was still astonishing to think about.
“Recruiting him would be difficult.”
A talent of his caliber didn’t seem likely to remain at a count’s house. And there was also the poisoning incident.
Klaus Brodell regretted it as he finished writing the request to Blue Tower and headed downstairs.
Just then.
Knock, knock—
The sound of a knock came.
“Come in.”
At Klaus Brodell’s word, the door opened and a knight in crisp uniform entered.
Klaus Brodell’s expression stiffened slightly at the sight of the knight. This was the knight he had entrusted with investigating the poison.
“Did you find anything?”
Klaus Brodell had tasked the knight not only with investigating the poisoning incident but also with investigating everyone in the count’s household to root out anyone engaged in suspicious activities.
It wasn’t a difficult task for him. He was the heir to the count’s house, after all.
Moreover, his grandfather, who was currently receiving treatment from a priest, had placed full authority in his hands—there was nothing to hold him back.
As a result, the Brodell Estate had been in chaos since that night, and the dungeons below echoed with the sounds of interrogation and torture.
“…Yes, we found it. We haven’t located definitive evidence yet, but based on the testimonies of those involved… it seems nearly certain…but….”
The knight, uncharacteristically hesitant, extended a report toward Klaus Brodell. He appeared to be breaking out in a cold sweat.
Klaus Brodell, his brow furrowing slightly at the knight’s demeanor, began reading the report.
It detailed the path the poison had taken to the kitchen, the names of the servants who had accepted bribes, and their actions.
Upon confirming that poison had been mixed not only into food but also into the tea and desserts he normally consumed, something churned uncomfortably in his stomach.
The report continued.
A torso discovered through the testimony of a servant acting suspiciously, and a head connected to that torso.
“…Why?”
Klaus Brodell’s eyes trembled.
Domenick Brodell.
His beloved brother’s name was written there.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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