6-year-old Wise Man Wants to Walk in the Shade
Chapter 21 - Searching for the culprit (part 1)
The chief was sprawled out, breathing heavily.
"Guh... hah... hah..."
"Chief, are you okay? Can you get up?"
I asked, holding out my hand.
The chief laughed at me, mocking himself.
"Hmph, my whole body's numb."
"Sorry. Chief, you're pretty strong. It was hard for me to win by going easy on you. I wanted to hurt you so badly that you could stand."
His eyes darted around, and he looked at me.
He looked at me, as if trying to find out what was going on inside of him.
"Who the hell are you? Dammit. You're more than just a brat..."
He sounded a little frustrated.
I somehow felt a sense of kinship with the chief, who didn't even hide his feelings.
『You can't accept that you lost to a mere child?』
The chief's sharp gaze turned round.
He probably didn't expect to be told off like that.
Right after, he burst out laughing, Buhahahaha!
Ouch, that hurts... laughing so hard resonates through your body...
Of course it does. Your whole body is covered in bruises, so if you stay like this, I don't think you'll be able to fight properly for ten days.
Come on, if you stay in bed for ten days, the werewolves will attack you.
I can heal you.
When I smiled fearlessly, the dragon man looked surprised.
What?
I can heal you. But it depends on the conditions. In some cases, not only will I not heal you, I'm thinking of detaining you like this.
Despite being threatened, the dragon man twisted his mouth in amusement.
...You're a scary brat. I'm sure this outcome was just as you thought it would be. I also doubt that it was difficult to control the strength.'
'Huh? That's not true, is it?'
I listened to him while acting unmotivated.
I wasn't really going to lie.
It seems the chief doesn't think of me as an innocent child anymore.
'Don't get me wrong. I have no intention of saying unnecessary things like it's impossible for me to lose to a mere brat. There was an overwhelming difference in strength. I was completely defeated when I was knocked over and collapsed...'
He's a pretty good-looking guy.
To be able to admit defeat to an inferior opponent, a child at that.
'And someone must have put a suggestion spell on me...? How pathetic... I'm not fit to be a chief...'
Staring at the blue sky, the chief muttered in a stunned tone.
He may have lost confidence after being under a suggestion spell and losing to me.
Even though it was unavoidable, I feel a little guilty.
But I don't think he's unfit to be a leader.
The more honest and simple-minded a person is, the more likely they are to be affected by suggestion spells.
I tried experimenting on myself many times in my past life, but I was never susceptible to suggestion.
That type of person is never truly trusted by others.
On the other hand, a straightforward temperament like this chief's is suited to leading a clan.
"Well, cheer up. All we have to do is find the culprit and make amends. So, is there anyone who thinks the culprit who cast the suggestion spell is suspicious?"
"No... Honestly, I have no idea... I have no idea when it was cast on him..."
Suggestion spells are something that can be cast by surprise, after all.
Even a strong person like the chief doesn't have to be constantly on guard.
Suggestion magic can be used quite easily in everyday life, not during battle.
Suggestion magic requires a high level of skill, so only a limited number of people can use it.
So it's not something that's in danger that often.
"I can't imagine what the motive for casting suggestion magic was."
I can guess his motive.
But I don't think the chief is the type to lie, so I'm going to keep it a secret for now.
"Chief, are you willing to cooperate with me?"
"Cooperate? Huh? So you'll get better if I do that?"
"Not only that, I'll solve this problem for you."
"W-what did you say...!?"
Because if I don't solve this mess, it's going to cause a lot of trouble.
The conflict between the werewolves and the dragon people affects the human world, and even my peaceful life.
Now that I can sense the seeds of annoyance, I can't ignore it.
"Wh... What do you mean? You say it can be solved... Really?"
"Yeah."
"Damn. You're talking like it's nothing... I thought you were more than just a brat, but what's really going on?"
"I'm just a kid. But I've come up with a solution. I'll tell the chief. In return, the chief---"
"Instead?"
"I want you to think that this is solved by you, not me."
"What!?"
The chief looks confused.
"Why on earth would you want that?"
"It's a simple reason. I want people to think of me as just a kid. I fought in front of the chief, but I don't want to do that sort of thing. But――”
The reason is very simple.
I looked up at the chief’s eyes and smiled.
“Because I don’t want to be bothered with any trouble!”
The chief blinked rapidly, his mouth hanging open in shock.
“Hahahaha!!” You’re not proud of your powers, you want to hide them!”
“This is no laughing matter. I didn’t really want to fight you, chief!”
Princess Clarisse couldn’t win against the chief who had lost his senses, so she had no choice but to expose her powers.
From my point of view, I’d say it was quite a hassle.
“Don’t you feel sorry for me, getting dragged into this?”
“Mmhmm. I’ll apologize for that.”
The chief slowly got up, shielding himself.
“I have one more question. Why did you want to cooperate with me?”
“It’s because of the perpetrator’s motive. But I'm not sure about that, so I want to hear it from the culprit's mouth.'
'Hmmm...'
'If the culprit's motive is as I suspected, then we humans will also be affected.'
That would be the worst thing that could happen.
I wouldn't be able to live the life I want.
'I need to get rid of this trouble as soon as possible. Right?'
'...'
Oops, no.
I think I let out a hint of murderous intent.
The chief swallowed at my words.
'So, how about that? Will you fulfill your responsibilities as chief?'
'Yeah. Of course.'
The chief took a deep breath to hide his nervousness, then waved his hand in response.
'I lost to you. If you want to cooperate, I'll help you in any way. If you order me to, I'll follow any order. The ruler has that right.'
'I don't know what you mean by that. But I'll use you to my advantage.'
I sat down next to the chief and whispered.
I know there's no one nearby.
But just to be sure.
I'm about to plant a very important seed, so I can't let my guard down.
'I've got an idea of who the culprit is, but I can't be sure yet. So can you put on a show?'
'Put on a show? What do you mean?'
'I want to get a decisive statement. I want you to corner the culprit. How do you like it? Doesn't it sound fun?'
'Sounds fun, you say... Anyway, tell me more.'
'Yeah. Of course.'
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