Young Master, Please Put Some Pants On! - Chapter 86
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 86
‘This is driving me crazy. Really.’
At this point, Mellis was on the verge of tears. She shook her head vigorously and widened her eyes, steeling her resolve.
‘Get it together, Mellis. You came here to work!’
Now was not the time to be leisurely indulging in such fantasies.
After walking for some time, Mellis spotted a sign pointing to the auction house and called out to Kermanomon, who was heading in the opposite direction.
“The auction house is this way though?”
“We’re not here to look around the auction house.”
“Then what?”
“We’re here to search the office.”
“What?”
Search the office? What was he talking about? Malcolm had clearly said…
‘We’ll disguise ourselves as customers to get a feel for the atmosphere. It won’t be particularly dangerous.’
…hadn’t he? Even so, Malcolm wouldn’t have lied to her about something like this. As she pondered for a moment, Kermanomon’s reliable figure came into her view. Could it be?
“Does Malcolm know about this decision?”
“…That guy would just nag if he knew, so why would I tell him.”
At his answer, which confirmed her suspicions, Mellis could only gape. Even so, an unplanned solo operation! Only now could she understand his attitude of emphasizing the danger several times.
Fortunately, unlike the heavily guarded exterior, the inside of the building where customers came and went was relatively lightly monitored. The two people disguised as customers searched for the office while avoiding the guards’ attention. Soon, Kermanomon discovered a tightly locked door and frowned slightly.
“This door is locked.”
“There must be something on the upper floor.”
“What do you sense?”
“Yes. Magical power is flowing only from this door. It seems like security magic has been cast.”
At her mention of security magic, Kermanomon’s instincts sent even stronger signals. Usually, places that merchant caravans protected with security magic weren’t ordinary offices but warehouses with many valuable items. If there was nothing suspicious, there would be no reason to go through such trouble.
‘Should I just bring the Knight Order and settle this right away?’
As he pondered while rubbing his chin, Mellis looked around behind him. Soon, a window at the end of the corridor came into her view.
Suddenly remembering something, Mellis grabbed Kermanomon’s arm and headed to the lower floor. When she triumphantly opened the corridor window, Kermanomon, finally guessing her intention, asked with a dumbfounded expression.
“What? Don’t tell me you want me to climb the wall with my bare hands?”
“You can do it!”
When Mellis clenched both fists and made her eyes sparkle, Kermanomon was at a loss for words. Of course, it wasn’t impossible, but he was simply amazed by her shameless attitude.
“You know this is the 4th floor, right?”
“Come on, someone like the Grand Duke can easily climb up. You have such a good body! With those muscles, this would be a piece of cake.”
“…Right.”
When did she treat him like a cat, and now she was telling him to climb up a building. It seemed that seeing him roll down a cliff with his bare body in the western mountains had brought about some change of heart.
As Kermanomon was about to step on the window frame to climb up, he felt something strange and raised his eyebrows.
“But how do you know I have a good body?”
“How do I know? Last time at the grand bath…”
Startled, Mellis belatedly covered her mouth, but it was already too late. At her reaction, Kermanomon snorted as if he found it absurd.
“The grand bath? Ha, don’t tell me you peeked at me bathing?”
“Huh?”
Mellis, who had instantly become a sinister woman secretly intruding into the Grand Duke’s bathroom, panicked and frantically waved both hands.
“P-peeking! S-strictly speaking, you’re the one who dragged me in there, Grand Duke! I didn’t want to either… Ah.”
“I dragged you? What do you mean…”
At that moment, a scene flashed through Kermanomon’s mind. His eyes widened belatedly as he blushed and began to piece together the whole story.
“…I thought something was strange. Don’t tell me it wasn’t Noel who collapsed back then?”
“Th-that was an accident! I accidentally ate some strange candy…”
In the end, Mellis, who had to confess everything, received a flick on the top of her head. Although the spot stung, since it was something that happened due to her own carelessness, there was nothing she could complain about.
“That hurts!”
“Be grateful nothing serious happened. Don’t ever pick up and eat strange things like that again. You’re not Garulus, so how could you fall for such a primitive trap?”
“Yes…”
Kermanomon clicked his tongue briefly and stepped back onto the window sill, and Mellis naturally clung to his back as if it were obvious.
“What are you doing right now?”
“You have to take me with you.”
“…Why have you become so shameless?”
“I’m a weak sheep beastkin. You absolutely cannot drop me!”
In the end, Kermanomon supported Mellis who was clinging tightly to his back and went out the window together. It was only a one-floor difference, but since it was already quite high up and the spacing between floors was wide, it wasn’t an easy path.
‘Hmm…’
Meanwhile, Mellis, who was clinging tightly to his back, suddenly realized from the warmth touching her that she was being carried on his back. Every time he moved his body, she could feel his brick-hard back muscles and well-built shoulders moving through his thin clothes.
‘He certainly was solid like a sculpture…’
Moreover, perhaps because of the conversation they had just had, the scene she had witnessed in the grand bath suddenly floated up in her mind.
“If you’re imagining my naked body right now, I’m going to drop you.”
“Wh-what! How can you say such ridiculous things!”
“How lewd. This is exactly like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
From her stammering voice, Kermanomon shook his head as if he could see right through her. Soon reaching the upper floor, he pointed to the window with his chin and asked.
“What about the window side? Is there magic here too?”
“No. This is just an ordinary window.”
As expected, no particular magical power was felt from inside the window, and the interior was also empty. Confirming this, Kermanomon opened the window and entered with light movements.
Searching around, he examined several ledgers stacked inside. Among them, a pile of simple receipts spilled out. They were all records of money exchanged from unclear sources.
“There’s more than one or two suspicious things. As expected, they seem to be moving after receiving money from someone.”
“Grand Duke, please take a look at this.”
Mellis, who was searching the opposite side, was also turning through a document file with a serious expression. It was a list with the names of people who had received items from previous auctions and the items they had taken.
“Perten herb… That’s a plant with hallucinogenic effects, right?”
“Yes. They’re really selling off all the bad stuff.”
That wasn’t all. From the magic amplification potions they were looking for, to various herbs that induced hallucinations, to artworks whose trade was prohibited. The list contained all sorts of items that violated the law, and the people who purchased them were also from various social classes.
It was the moment when his instinct, which had felt danger from the beginning, proved exactly right. This was also the reason why he proceeded with the search immediately, contrary to Malcolm’s opinion to assess the situation first and then clean up this place later when solid evidence emerged.
His actions were always far from his aide who pursued stability, but it didn’t matter. His sharp instincts had never led him to failure.
“This should be enough pretext for a search, so once the auction is over…”
At that moment, his ears, which had been focused on the list, twitched slightly. His sensitive hearing had caught faint footsteps coming from the end of the corridor.
“Damn, someone’s coming this way.”
“Yes?”
The security magic was still active on the only entrance, and it was impossible to climb down through the window and return to his original position in such a short time. Just as he was about to frown at the approaching footsteps.
“Grand Duke!”
With an urgent cry, Mellis quickly grabbed him and pulled him into a cabinet in the corner of the office. Kermanomon, who had been trapped there unexpectedly, staggered as he regained his balance.
“What are you doing all of a sudden? I almost fell.”
“Shh, be quiet!”
The moment Mellis covered his mouth with one hand, the sound of the door bursting open was heard and two men entered.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————