Me, a priest? How could that be!

Chapter 182 Chris, the Wanted

The day after the smugglers were caught.

Charlotte and the others enjoyed a good drink at the guild. With the crisis resolved, he happily invited every adventurer to drink, which earned him a lot of cheers.

I feel incredibly relieved to have solved the problem.

The Corona Stone wasn't stolen, Commander Arubert was resurrected, and even the replaced Saipan was found in the town's abandoned warehouse—it was a happy ending for everyone.

"I'll talk, I'll talk! Charlotte, what's wrong with you? Did you secretly add extra points behind someone's back? You were incredibly smart last night, completely unlike yourself!"

"—Huihui, I have a feeling you're deliberately calling me stupid?"

"I don't!"

Huihui tilted her head, and it certainly looked like that.

Charlotte rolled her eyes in displeasure, then smugly snorted, "You think I've watched countless episodes of Detective Conan or played countless mystery games, including Ace Attorney?"

"I understand, I understand, me too," Kazuma Sato quickly chimed in.

He wasn't a yes-man in this respect.

When Commander Albert was assassinated, Kazuma Sato said, "I thought he was a smuggler." In fact, Commander Albert was indeed a smuggler in disguise at that time, so in a way, he was right.

The two looked at each other, then clapped their hands in the air.

This is a joke only reincarnated people would understand.

"I still think we were a bit reckless," Darkness said with a slight sigh of worry. "We should have been more careful back then. What if that reporter Saipan wasn't a smuggler in disguise? It would be bad if there was a misunderstanding."

"That's a simple matter," Aqua waved her hand dismissively.

"----Simple?"

"Ah, if he really is from Saipan, all he needs to do is apologize. Whether he bows his head or kneels, it's a small matter."

Oh, big sister, here's another eight glasses of sparkling wine, please!

These are actually minor matters.

Darkness was exasperated by Aqua's shamelessness, and even Charlotte and Kazuma Sato couldn't help but wonder where this goddess's bottom line really was.

"But Aqua is right. It doesn't matter if we guess wrong. We can just apologize afterward. Although it might alert them, I have prepared the necessary measures, so there's no need to worry about that."

"Really? That's good."

Darkness didn't press further, but since Charlotte said it was true, it was probably true. Besides, the real smuggler had been arrested, and that was enough, wasn't it?

"Speaking of which, how's that smuggler doing?"

"This morning I heard from Lieutenant Loris that he confessed to everything, including disturbing the dragon's nest, stealing the corona stone, and assassinating Captain Arubert. Of course, with the magical artifact that can detect whether someone is lying, there's no way he could lie."

"That's true—"

That magical artifact was quite troublesome, and with Charlotte telling them that such things should never be ambiguous, the smuggler couldn't possibly hide the truth even if he wanted to.

"Speaking of which, doesn't he have any accomplices?"

"no."

"Are you so sure?"

"After he was forced to assassinate Commander Albert, I was certain that he had no accomplices. Otherwise, he could have simply had his accomplices find a scapegoat to get away with it. It was precisely because he couldn't do that that he had to use Commander Albert."

This is not a bad move.

If we assume that Captain Albert cannot be resurrected, then the fake reporter Saipan, who is hiding among Charlotte and the others, might actually find out the location of the real Corona Stone first.

"But that old man didn't tell you that the corona stone was real, Charlotte."

"So—what are you trying to say?"

"Does that old man not believe you?"

"I think it's because there are too many people talking."

Charlotte and Sato Kazuma both looked at Aqua, who was drinking heavily, and then they nodded in unison. The old man must know Aqua's true identity and understand that she hates the Eris Cult very much. He must have chosen to keep it a secret because he thought that his family's treasure must not be lost.

"What? What?"

"It's okay, you can keep drinking."

"oh."

Aqua drank another large cup.

"The other smuggler probably won't be sentenced to death," Charlotte suddenly said, causing everyone to stop involuntarily.

He made a movement with his hands, and then his brows furrowed slightly.

It wasn't because of personal grudges or anything like that. Although the smuggler had caused them a lot of trouble, he had also brought them many benefits, such as dragon eggs.

But that guy's dangerousness shouldn't be underestimated, not to mention he even assassinated the Knights' Grand Master, how could he—

"It was Commander Arubert who requested it, saying he wanted to join the Knights and reform him."

"—Is he serious?"

"I asked him, and what he meant was that guy was an exceptionally talented individual, and if he had followed the right path, he might have shown extraordinary brilliance—after all, the victim was Commander Arubert himself, so I can't really say anything more. And—"

Charlotte leaned close to Kazuma Sato's ear and whispered, "That guy's disguise skills are ridiculously exaggerated. I thought he used some kind of magical artifact, but I didn't expect it to be just makeup. His skills are amazing. I'm really envious."

"Indeed—"

Kazuma Sato couldn't deny that the fact that he had managed to completely deceive the Knights and a few of them spoke volumes.

After catching the smugglers, Kazuma Sato questioned Aqua about whether she had given anyone any disguise-enhancing gadgets, but she denied it. Thinking she had forgotten, he beat her up for a while, only to realize he had misunderstood.

"Hey, what are you two whispering about?"

"Exactly! Could it be... that they're planning to do this or that to properly deal with that smuggler?! --- Hmm, come at me!!"

"No way, you idiot!"

Aqua and Darkness yelled and screamed because they were being ostracized, but Charlotte gave them a severe scolding.

"Let's put that aside for now, Charlotte. When are you planning to cancel the bounty on Chris?"

"Huihui, what nonsense are you talking about? When did I issue a warrant for Chris's arrest?"

"But that's exactly what it says on the bounty poster."

"----ah?"

Huihui handed over a wanted poster with a portrait of Chris on it, and a bounty of 5000 million! And it also had his—no, to be precise, the signature of the Sinphonia family's keepsake.

Aqua and the others were in a panic.

"Wait, wait a minute—what on earth is going on!?"

"Charlotte, why are you issuing a warrant for Chris's arrest?!"

Why is she wanted by the police?

"Stop arguing, stop arguing! I'm totally confused too!" Charlotte was getting impatient with their arguing, but he couldn't remember ever having a warrant for Chris's arrest. Besides, he had no reason to do so.

The group quickly arrived at the union.

"Big sister! What's this wanted poster? I don't remember having any wanted posters for this person!"

"—No?! But this was delivered by the newspaper this morning, saying it's the smuggler you requested to be arrested, Mr. Charlotte—"

The older sister who was being questioned was a little scared.

Newspaper?

Ah, they are real smugglers!

That guy is definitely planning to stir up trouble in the whole town so he can take advantage of the chaos. Damn it! "Big sister, cancel the warrant right now!"

"No, no, that won't work. The wanted notice won't be canceled for at least a day, and the earliest it can be canceled is—6 PM!"

"You bastard!"

Charlotte shouted and ran out of the guild without looking back.