"..."
One of the guards patrolling the walls walked into the guard commander's room and looked around with a troubled expression.
"What is it…?"
"Ah!"
As it turned out, the guard captain, a halfling judging by his height and body structure, with dark blond hair braided very similarly to Duke Brynhild, was sitting at his desk. However, because he was leaning to the side to pick up something from the lower shelf, he ended up surprising his underling with his sudden emergence.
"Sir! One of the stoneworkers pointed out that he saw a hooded figure scaling the outer wall and leaving the premises of the mansion. He was giving off a distinct smell of alcohol, but after examining the section, I discovered odd holes in the stones, poked in a shape that could suggest that they were fingerholds as a makeshift ladder. Said holes were present on both sides of the wall."
The guard hurriedly straightened his back and reported after lifting his helmet's mouthpiece.
"What about the scent? Anything unusual at the scene?"
The guard commander raised his brow and inquired.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, Sir."
The guard hurriedly answered, puffing out his chest despite the nervousness.
"It's probably nothing big then. Send to town and hire an adventurer with a tracking ability that doesn't rely on smell, and together, make sure to confirm whether someone who shouldn't be there really was there or not. If we had an intruder, report back to me and I will pass it on to the duke and ask him to double that stoneworker's pay for his vigilance. You'll get a bonus either way."
The stylish halfling leaned back on the seat that was so much bigger than him that it appeared as a throne instead of a simple chair.
"Before you go, do pass my order to the rest. As I said, it's probably nothing; one of the maids or stable boys is having an affair in town or something similar - I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and not immediately assume they are stealing from the mansion and are stupid enough to sell it in the local pawnshop. They will be charged with the costs of fixing the walls either way. And yet, in case this is someone plotting against the Fenrioette family… Quadruple the numbers of the patrolling guards and quintuple them at the sector of interest. I will join you there after dark."
The guard captain ordered in a dismissive voice, but as he spoke, the pupils of his light-brown eyes turned into vertical slits eerily similar to those of a feline monster.
"Yes, sir!"
The guard called out and left the room with gusto.
"..."
The guard commander kept leaning back for another minute or two before finally his expression changed into a grimace and he pushed himself away form the desk, jumping off his seat.
"Nah, this anxiety is going to kill me. Time to check up on every single person in the mansion."
The stylish halfling scoffed to himself and power-walked to the door.
—----
Lin was a twenty-something human adventurer at comfortable level 25.
He wasn't particularly strong, but he wasn't weak either, despite the fact that his ability was a pure utility-type tracking skill.
Lin's ability was so good that many high-level adventurers would hire him for jobs requiring finding missing people, possessions, and sometimes rare monsters, and they didn't argue about allowing him to sneak in a hit and leech some experience points in a combat scenario.
Lin was also liked enough to be recommended by the guild receptionist when a guard from Fenrioette mansion showed up at their place, so it didn't take long for him to examine the area around one part of the wall encompassing said mansion.
"Yes… those tracks are yours. Besides them, there is only one other track, and it indeed leads from the mansion. It's very shallow and must have been left by someone very petite. There's no way you could pick on them without someone like me…"
Lin was crouching down and explaining with rings of red light appearing around his pupils as a visual indicator of his ability being active.
"I see. Mister Lin, please wait a bit. I have to report it to the commander. When I return, we will check the other side and follow the tracks."
"Sure thing."
The guard nodded at Lin, and the adventurer smiled, standing up.
As the guard left, Lin leaned back against the wall, trying to keep an indifferent expression as he observed his surroundings.
"...something's fishy… I wonder if we will be pursuing some sort of spy… smells like big money~"
The adventurer hummed to himself while observing the guards manning the walls and patrolling them in a way that seemed excessive for the times of peace…
"...hmmm…?"
After a few minutes, Lin felt the ground under his feet tremble slightly, but not to a degree that would raise suspicion. It was so brief that it might as well have been his imagination.
A few additional minutes later, most of the guards stationed in the area began to leave, making the adventurer furrow his brows in surprise.
"Mister Lin! Here."
"...?"
Not long after, the same guard who came to the guild to hire him approached the adventurer, handing him a few coins.
"Thank you for your help, but Commander Beo declared that the situation is under control, so there is no need to bother you anymore. Once again, thank you for your effort."
"...sure… It was a pleasure…"
The guard bowed to Lin, even providing some vague explanation, which the adventurer found a bit fishy but also wasn't the type to bother his employer when they were paying him… especially paying him so well for so little work.
"Have a nice day, and do keep me in mind if a similar situation arises again~"
"Of course. Goodbye."
Lin pocketed the payment and was escorted through the gate by the polite guard.
"..."
As he was leaving, Lin's curiosity got the better of him, and he glanced back, activating his ability again and picking up on the inconspicuous tracks leading away from the mansion.