"So, what should we do...?"
"The original plan was to punish the lord, right?"
"You said there was a big scene where you made a big pose, right?"
As they walked down the starlit road, everyone scolded her.
"No, no, we have various circumstances here as well..."
Mile desperately tried to explain, but the situation was not looking good.
"Well, it's good that you were able to rescue them safely, but what about accusing the lord?"
Mile was being blamed so much that Mavis noticed that Shurana looked uncomfortable after being helped, so she changed the topic a little.
Certainly, now that they were moving away from the city, it was something that needed to be decided quickly, and it was a natural and appropriate topic to discuss.
"That's it though..." (Mile)
And like a blessing, Mile jumped at the offer.
"I think it's fine the way it is..." (Mile)
"Eh?" (Reina + Pauline)
Reina and Pauline cried out in surprise, but Mavis didn't seem surprised. Perhaps she had expected Mile to say that, or perhaps she had thought the same thing...
"No, our mission this time… it was a request I made… to ‘rescue the beast girls,’ right? I thought there was no need to go out of our way to confront the noble lord head on and cause so much trouble for the people of the territory…
The person who carried out the kidnapping was caught, and the middleman merchant, well, that should have been enough to take down the business...
Well, just to be sure, we'll stop by that town on my way back to check, and if by any chance they manage to get away with it and are safe, we'll crush them again and finish them off...
With this, at the very least, this criminal route has been completely eradicated, right? After all, everyone except for the final 'purchaser' has been wiped out.
I'm sure the buyer knew the situation before purchasing, but they treated her as a 'live-in servant acquired by paying an advance payment of wages,' and they weren't abused or treated like slaves, and were treated the same as regular servants..." (Mile)
"A respectable third party, then?"
"Well, if you insist on saying that, I can't really deny it..." (Reina)
A third party in good faith did not necessarily mean a "person with good faith." It meant a "person who was unaware of the specific circumstances," and refers to a person who was not involved in criminal activity and was unaware of the circumstances, such as a person who purchased stolen goods without knowing that they were stolen.
Therefore, even if the person in question was a scoundrel or a lowly noble, if they were unaware of the existence of any criminal activity and were simply involved as an ordinary customer with no ill intentions, then they could only be called "in good faith." The Count who had taken in Lilia in the previous article was an example of this.
So, as Mavis and Pauline said, there was nothing illegal about "paying money and accepting indentured children."
"But what if it wasn't just through a middleman that he ordered the beast child in advance?"
"If he gave the order to ‘kidnap’ then he would be an accomplice, but I think it would be difficult to prove that… If he simply said, ‘If you know of any young beast girls who want to become indentured servants, introduce them to me,’ and says he had no knowledge of kidnapping them, then that’s the end of it.
In fact, the only ones who got it for free without paying for it were the perpetrators; the middleman and the nobleman all paid their money, regardless of the amount, even if it was an abnormal amount that was clearly far above market value.
Both 'the merchant who arranged for the servant to be employed without knowing the circumstances' and 'the nobleman who took him in after paying him several decades' worth of wages' can be argued to be a respectable third party.
Well, a kidnapping perpetrator caught red-handed has no way to deny the crime, and since he was caught in our country, there's no problem.
However, since it is clear from the interviews with the perpetrators that the middleman is guilty, he would be caught if he came to this country, but there is nothing that can be done in this country. He has no connection with the judicial system of this country, and there is no extradition agreement for criminals...
Well, they know that the middleman merchant is guilty, so there's no problem with punishing him without being found out..." (Mile)
That's what Mile answers Reina, but it was actually "personal punishment."
It was an arbitrary act of retaliation by individuals or private groups without legal basis. It was a so-called lynching. It was clearly illegal and a criminal act, even if it was what the people wanted.
"I feel like there's a big problem..." (Mavis)
"If you get found out, you know." (Reina)
Mavis, not wanting to compromise justice, questioned Mile's argument, but Reina didn't seem to mind.
...Well, knowing Mile, even if she called it sanctions, it would probably mean exposing their wrongdoings in public or making sure they get what they deserve, and maybe they wouldn't do anything unreasonable.
"It's fine~, it's just a small detail!" (Mile)
"That's not a small thing at all! It's very serious!" (Mavis)
Mavis pointed this out, but Mile didn't seem to care.
Mile usually tried to follow the rules of the country or place in which she lived.
And when Reina was about to get out of control, or when Pauline took a sinister approach that went beyond her limits, she was the one to stop them.
Furthermore, even when there was no need for such things in this world, she tried to take unnecessary steps that did not make sense to Reina, such as "meeting the requirements of self-defense" or "clearing the Rules of Engagement (R.O.E.)."
...And even though Reina and the other two didn't understand the meaning, they tried to act in accordance with Mile's wishes as much as possible, as long as it didn't become a major problem.
Normally, it would be unthinkable for a country like Mile to approve of private sanctions.
Yes, normally...
"She's just a little girl..."
"Yes, and what's more, she has fluffy ears..." (Mile)
"Ah, I guess there's no other way..."
But that's not surprising.
The reason for this was, Reina, Pauline, and Mavis knew all too well...
"But, since that Mile said that she would let the lord of that area off the hook, I don't really mind." (Reina)
"Yeah, I have no objections." (Pauline)
"Likewise, Isaka Juzo[1]!" (Mile)
All of her friends accepted her selfish opinion, and Pauline even went so far as to use a standard line from the folktale to make it sound like a joke so that she wouldn't worry too much about it. Mile was grateful for her friends' consideration.
"Well, let's keep it vague this time..." (Mavis)
Shining!
Mile's eyes lit up at Mavis's closing words.
...It's a sign that "I found a new story!"
Mavis realized this and looked shocked.
And…….
"Ai! Mai! Mairu! I can kill them all by myself![2]"
"Yes, yes..." (Other 3)
And a young girl (Shurana) was there, completely unaware of what was going on, standing there dumbfounded...
"Well then, let's continue on and head to the town where the merchant who bought the third Salisha-chan is located."
"Ohhh!" (Other 3)
In proper Hunter style, the three of them raised their right arms in acknowledgement.
"And so, I took up lodging in this city and investigated the merchant in question... The result was..."
"Pitch black!!" (All CV)
…Yes, their reputation in town and the results of their scouting of the store while posing as a regular customer showed that he was nothing but a typical "unscrupulous merchant."
Mile and her companion had encountered many honest merchants, and many unscrupulous ones.
A merchant they met soon after graduating from Hunter Training School, who had requested the delivery of a rock lizard.
On the way to hunt the rock lizard, a merchant tried to parasitize "Crimson Vow".
A merchant who tried to take down the small shop "Aritos."
...And then there was the merchant who betrayed Reina's comrade, the "Red Lightning," and the one that had Pauline's father killed and took over his store.
Just like those merchants, he was a merchant who exuded a "Bad guy aura."
"...So, what's bad is..."
"Yeah……"
"So, after the investigation, there have been no sightings of the beast girl at all..."
That's right, the reason for buying young beastkin was to "tame and make them obedient from a young age so that they won't rebel," not to overwork them while they're still young and killed them quickly.
That's why they had thought that while she was still young, she would be treated as an indentured servant and would work as a regular servant, just like his second child, Shurana...
And yet, there hadn't been a single sighting of the beast girl.
It was hard to imagine putting a young girl in charge of physically demanding tasks such as unloading goods from a warehouse or doing behind-the-scenes work that was akin to a battlefield.
There's no way she could do laundry, as she had no strength and small hands and couldn't even reach the clothesline. At best, she could do cleaning or preparing meals for the meal... peeling potatoes or chopping onions... that's about the limit.
And, if it was that kind of odd jobs, she would likely be working together with the other servants, so her existence should have been recognized among the servants, and also by some of the guests.
...However, there was no testimony of anyone having seen anything like that, either from the customers or from the young female employees whom Mavis had deceived and spoken to.
"No way, after we've already been toyed with, it's now buried somewhere..." (Mavis)
Mavis turned pale as she said this, but Pauline shook her head.
"Mile-chan is calm, so that's not the case. Mile-chan is always saying, 'It's stupid to act so confident and not make it in time by a small margin,' I think she's probably using a detection spell or something to make sure that her vital signs are good, and that she's not in a state where she's about to die from injury or illness.
So, it's probably not a situation that requires immediate action, but... there's a very high probability that her situation will be different from that of Lilia-chan and Shurana-chan.
Isn't that right, Mile-chan?" (Pauline)
"…………" (Mile)
Mile nodded seriously at Pauline's words.
Seeing this, Shurana looked worried, so Reina gently patted her on the head Reina.
Then, Shurana looked up at Reina's face with teary eyes.
"Ahh, Reina-san, why are you getting the best part?!" (Mile)
"Mile, you're ruining this supposedly serious scene..." (Mavis)
Mavis, who loved cool scenes and famous moments, was left dejected.
Author's Note
...
Translation Note
[1] 井坂十蔵
[2] 「曖（アイ）！昧（マイ）！まいる！ ひとりで殺（や）れるもん！」