Reincarnated as a Dragon and Raised by a Demon

The next morning, I opened my eyes in Jema’s room.

Having not slept for almost two days, I had fallen asleep without even thinking of returning to my room.

It seemed that Jema was already up and had gone out.

As I left the room and went downstairs, I saw Riki and Jie talking.

“How did the work go?”

“Uh, it was okay.”

Dino’s condition had worsened, so the future of the Magic Development Department didn’t seem too bright.

From now on, only unnecessary personnel would continue to be assigned.

Stepping outside the lodgings, I noticed the sun was already high in the sky.

Bathed in the brilliant sunlight, I headed for the harbor.

I thought about visiting Dino to check on his condition, but decided to leave him alone for now.

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk.”

At that moment, I wanted to relieve my slightly gloomy mood.

Iwaf, who had naturally followed me from the lodgings, came up close beside me.

“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”

“Yeah. Someone from the 3rd Knight Order came by.”

If it’s the 3rd Knight Order, that’s the one with Python.

If someone was looking for me there, it could only be one person.

“What did they say?”

“They said to come by the tavern at the harbor when you return.”

“Should we go?”

There were more than a couple of taverns at the harbor.

Some places that weren’t originally taverns had been remodeled into taverns.

After casually checking a couple of places without finding it, I asked Iwaf.

“Did they mention which tavern?”

“They said it would be easy to find.”

Although they said it would be easy to find, I had already checked a few places and still had no luck.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to look for places that had a second floor.

Most buildings had up to two floors, but I was looking for one with a sign on the second floor.

“Is this one it?”

“I can’t believe there’s a tavern in a place like this.”

“By the way, why do you keep following me?”

“You shouldn’t be going out without a guard, especially since you’re the commander.”

Still, Aila seemed to roam around just fine without a guard.

For now, I went up with Iwaf to the tavern located on the second floor.

Since the tavern was in an alley, there weren’t many people inside.

Thanks to that, there was even a somewhat luxurious atmosphere.

“Are there two of you?”

“Is there a reservation under someone named Roxi? She’s part of my group.”

The person who seemed to be the staff quietly handed me a key.

The key had the number 8 written on it.

The tavern had a large hall and several small and large rooms.

Most of the rooms were somewhat visible from the outside, but the numbered room had no windows at all.

Room 8 was the innermost room in the tavern.

When I put the key in and turned it, I heard the sound of the lock being released.

Given that the door was locked, it was likely that Roxi wasn’t inside.

When I opened the door and stepped in, there was a short hallway with another wooden door.

Opening the wooden door revealed a room with a low table in the middle.

“What a unique structure.”

“It seems like no one’s here?”

Creak.

As we entered the room, the inner wall smoothly opened, and Roxi walked out from inside.

“Oh? Welcome.”

“You were looking for me?”

“Let’s sit down first.”

After being guided in, I took a seat in front of the table.

Roxi went back into the room she just came from and returned with a few drinks.

“Are you staying here?”

“Yeah. Our lodging is a bit noisy.”

Since Roxi wasn’t really a member of the Knight Order, it seemed she could enjoy this convenience.

Her main activity was information gathering.

Roxi picked up the glass placed before her, took a sip, and set it down.

“Do you remember Walker?”

“I do.”

“He came in as Roran.”

“It looks like the Intelligence Department couldn’t handle him.”

Although they ultimately lost track of Walker, I thought he would have been dealt with by the Intelligence Department.

If it was information that Roxi discovered, it would be quite reliable.

“Does Python know about this?”

“I haven’t reported it to the captain yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s too busy fighting the Undead. Besides, even if I told him now, he wouldn’t be interested.”

Python wanted to make a name for himself.

This war was his best opportunity, so he wouldn’t care about someone like Walker.

“Then, I’m sorry to ask, but could I request a mission regarding Walker?”

“Wait a second, who’s going to assign a mission to the commander of the Knight Order?”

Iwaf asked with a puzzled expression, but as he looked at my and Roxi’s faces, his expression gradually hardened.

“No way, right?”

“I’m not the official commander; I’m just temporary. So I can act with a bit more freedom than other commanders.”

Moreover, having someone like Walker around wasn’t a particularly good thing.

“Currently, Walker is disguised as a soldier.”

“Do you know which unit he belongs to?”

Roxi shook her head.

“I asked the soldiers I know here to check, but there are limitations with just them.”

If they’re not acquaintances, practically all soldiers from other units are virtually unknown.

Currently, there were about 30,000 soldiers in Harfen.

Checking every single one of them to find him was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

“So you called me.”

“Yeah. You can use your tracking magic, right?”

If I know the face of the person I’m trying to find, it is possible to locate them.

“I’ll give it a try.”

I closed my eyes right there and began to draw up my mana.

Tsutsutsutsu.

I conjured the image of Walker’s face through tracking magic, but it was obscured by a bright light.

“It seems you’ve encountered a colleague who can cast interference magic somewhere.”

Tracking interference magic is a simple enough spell even Isabel could use.

There might be higher levels of tracking magic, but for now, this was the best I could do.

“I guess we can’t help it.”

“But I did find out one thing.”

“Indeed.”

Walker likely didn’t infiltrate this place alone.

Tracking interference magic needs to be refreshed every couple of days, and under these circumstances, it’s unlikely they would come out to get it done.

It is certain that someone is with him.

“What do you think his intention was in coming back?”

“Perhaps he’s running low on money.”

Walker had scammed various people including Python and fled from the Knight Order.

Given that there is a war, it’s likely he came to take a hefty cut from the soldiers here.

“Are you personally investigating this?”

“Yeah, for now.”

Even if Roxi discovered Walker on her own, she probably wouldn’t be able to capture him.

At this point, she didn’t have the strength to confront Walker.

If I were to face Walker now, I would be able to handle him sufficiently.

“Do you know where you saw him?”

“I saw him at the 3rd harbor.”

“That’s quite a remote place.”

The Magic Development Department was located at the edge of the 2nd harbor.

The 3rd harbor is quite a distance from here and almost exclusively used for residential purposes.

There are some small shops, but it is much quieter than the 1st and 2nd harbors.

“Why did you go there?”

“Captain Python trains there. I sometimes go to deliver needed items.”

“Walker must have been disguised; how did you recognize him?”

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure until just a little while ago.”

She wanted to verify if Walker really had entered Harfen through me.

The range of the tracking magic was within Harfen, and while the magic was cast, it failed due to interference.

What was clear was that I had effectively proven that Walker had entered Harfen.

I was somewhat curious about how Roxi had come to know of Walker’s existence.

“So? How did you infer that Walker had come in?”

“It was the mask.”

Walker wore a mask when he escaped, but we already knew his real face.

I also saw soldiers entering Harfen wearing masks.

Wearing a mask was a personal freedom, so the army didn’t pay much attention to it.

If the enemy was from another nation, they would have been ordered to take it off, but this war isn’t against a foreign nation.

“Just because someone wears a mask doesn’t mean it has to be Walker, right?”

“That’s true. But a few of them were acting suspiciously.”

Roxi began to share the details of her investigation one by one.

I was hearing for the first time how the 3rd harbor was being used among soldiers.

“Those guys aren’t here for war.”

“Exactly. Plus, their affiliation is unclear.”

Most positively, they could be seen as reinforcements sent from Latnia.

But currently, there is officially no support from Latnia.

So I brought Epiro with my connections.

Considering the formal affairs, it complicates things somewhat.

“The primary goal of the 3rd harbor is money, right?”

“Yes. It’s a gambling house.”

Some degree of entertainment is needed during a war.

While it is an acceptable facility, if the one running it is connected to Walker, it seems worth investigating.

“Will you accept my request?”

“I’ll take it on.”

Iwaf, who had been beside me, answered that he would accept Roxi’s request.

“Aren’t you busy?”

“Well, I think our captain will manage just fine without me.”

Iwaf looked at me with a strange smile.

“Recently, new members have joined our Knight Order, so it seems like it would be okay for me to be absent.”

“No, they aren’t formal knights.”

“But you’re bringing them along! I’m the official guard here!”

Listening to him, I couldn’t help but agree that he wasn’t wrong at all.

While I held the title of commander of the Knight Order, I had never really felt the importance of the guard.

In fact, there were many situations where I found myself protecting someone.

“Then shall we come up with a more detailed plan?”

“What? Shouldn’t we just go in and demand that the guy called Walker come out?”

“If we do that, he’ll just run away, making it even harder to catch him.”

Walker was someone who even evaded the Intelligence Department.

If I didn’t approach him carefully, he would likely vanish again.

“To infiltrate, we can’t go in like that. Follow me.”

Roxi took Iwaf with her and disappeared into the space beyond the wall.

“This, this kind of thing doesn’t suit me!”

“Then, how about this?”

“I still think the previous one was better.”

A strange conversation was occurring on the other side of the wall.

After waiting a moment, the wall smoothly pushed out and opened.

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