Chapter 312 – The Viscount and the Assassination Guild

　Three months have passed since Viscount Saissi’s “suicide” in prison.

　Regarding the issue of his succession, the Marquis Haragura faction was pushing fiercely for the immediate installation of Viscount Saissi’s eldest son.

　Of course, Viscount Saissi’s only crime at present is the attempted assassination of Count Graunewald’s adopted heir, but it is also true that he is suspected of assassinating other nobles, and the Prime Minister’s faction had suggested that considering this, the confiscation of his lands would be appropriate.

　On top of that, Marquis Van Dyne, a leading figure in the neutral faction, and Count Graunewald, Tauro’s adopted Father, also supported the confiscation of his lands, which caused a great deal of trouble at the royal palace.

　The Haragura faction’s defending opinion was,

“Suspicion is not a crime. There is a great possibility that the suspicion itself is just a conspiracy. We must not let the blood of the Viscount Saissi family die out because of this conspiracy.”

　This was their case.

　The opposition from the Prime Minister’s faction and the Neutral faction was,

“It is a fact that the contract for the attempted assassination of the eldest son of the Count Graunewald  family remains, and the assassination of other noblemen also has a written contract, although the encryption is still being analyzed. It is pointless to raise the question of succession when the whole family could be executed if these issues were exposed in the light of day.”

　This is what the two sides were saying.

　Both sides were refusing to back down from their claims.

　For the time being, the issue of Viscount Saissi’s lands would remain in limbo.

　And there is still the issue of the assassination guilds that would accompany it.

　This was a dark area that neither the country nor the nobiles wanted to touch, but the name of the assassination guild, including this incident, had come to the fore too often.

　If one unravels the history, it is rumored that the royal family had also used it in the past, and as for the nobles, it went without saying, but it was only spoken of with suspicion behind the scenes.

　However, the attempted assassination of the only daughter of Marquis Van Dyne, the attempted assassination of Count Daredar, a leading figure in the Prime Minister’s faction, the alleged assassination of several nobles in the Prime Minister’s faction, and the attempted assassination of Tauro, the adopted son of Count Graunewald, all occurred in rapid succession, and the situation was no longer at the level of secret maneuvers.

　In addition, the Prime Minister’s faction has been investigating this assassination guild behind the scenes.

　This includes the behind curtains activities of the Haragura faction.

　Then, one of the victims, the eldest adopted son of Count Graunewald, provided information.

　Yes, it was Tauro.

　The dragon tribe had not stopped gathering information about the assassination guild that had targeted Tauro.

　After all, there were hints that some of the secret techniques of the assassination guild might have been leaked from the Dragon People, and Tauro, who had saved their lives, was being targeted.

　As of now, Tauro does not seem to be targeted, but the Dragon People have begun to move in the direction of destroying the assassination guilds.

　A survey team traveling south from the north to the royal capital, gathering information, has already discovered the assassination guild’s branches and training facilities, and has destroyed them with their own strength alone. 

　With that information, a dragon person who had confidence in his legs quickly went south, and brought it to the attention of three members of the dragon tribe who had arrived in the royal capital earlier, Malak, a red-haired, tall, beautiful woman who had temporarily joined the “Black Golden Wings” and was playing the role of leader; Zumei, who had blond hair and looked boyish because of his short stature; and Reva, a beautiful woman with long blue hair in a ponytail and a slender figure, and from there it found its way into Tauro’s ears.

　With this information as a souvenir, Tauro was now visiting Count Daredar’s private residence in the royal capital.

“As I mentioned briefly the other day when we had dinner together, there was one large branch and one training facility that existed in the northern part of the kingdom. It seems that some of my acquaintances brought it down.”

“…… What! It was a lot of trouble to destroy the branch in my territory alone, but to destroy two in such a short period of time, who are these acquaintances of yours, Tauro-dono!?”

　It was no wonder that Count Daredar was surprised.

　Even with all the elite of his viscounts, the A-rank adventurer team, and the B-rank adventurers of the territory, they struggled, Tauro said they easily crushed two of them, but he would have had to mobilize his troops at the military level.

　However, no such report has been received from the nobles of the Prime Minister’s faction in the north.

　In fact, this information was probably not even heard by the royal family.

　It was hard to believe at first hand, but Tauro had provided him with detailed information on the “ruined site” of the branch and its facilities, so he’d have to send someone to that location to confirm the facts.

“My acquaintances don’t want to be too public about it, so I will refrain from speaking out about it. But I can assure you that they very good at what they do.”

　Tauro could not say so much about the fact that the Dragon People were working for him.

“…… I see. Well, I don’t think that Tauro-dono, who was actually targeted by the assassination guild, would lie, and I believe that information. We are working on our own to find out, but the Haragura faction is also on the lookout, so we are being very cautious as well. We suspect that the Haragura faction may have a very close relationship with the assassination guild. ……”

“According to my acquaintance, when they tried to divulge specific information from the assassination guild members contract-based self-destructive magic is activated, I am told that it is not possible to take much information, but according to the information they have been able to extract from the situation, There’s a large base in the royal capital as well, and it’s spread out over a number of locations.”

　Count Daredar is surprised when Tauro tells him about the information provided by the Dragon People.

“Tauro-dono! Is that all from that ‘acquaintance’!?”

“Yes. I think the information from my acquaintances is reliable, so I decided that it would be best to inform you, who is a leading figure in the Prime Minister’s faction.”

“…The information that we have arrived at after so many years …… so easily. It is true that we have information that there is a large base in the royal capital. However, we have not been able to identify all of them. Even when we do find them, it is quickly detected and they disappear like smoke. ……”

　Count Daredar informed him with a sigh.

“That’s about it, but I’ve just been informed by my acquaintance that he was able to identify  several locations..”

“What?”

　Count Daredar was astonished at the information provided, which surpassed the information they had obtained with great difficulty

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