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Chapter 704 - Prisoner

A tired-looking Beezel came to the village.

I thought he was here to be healed by his granddaughter, Fraciabell, but it seems like he has something to talk to me about.

What is it?

「I’m here to consult you about some spy-related things in the demon king’s kingdom…」

………

Etho, why are you going to speak about that with me? Don’t you think that’s inappropriate?

Or so I said but it looks like my intervention is necessary.

Got it.

I’ll listen to what you have to say but I have to be accompanied by a civil servant girl who’s familiar with that kind of thing…ah, Frau will be there for me.

That’s good.

-0-

According to Beezel, it seems like multiple countries have sent spies to the demon king’s kingdom.

13 countries sent 22 groups of spies.

I thought that’s too many but it seems like they are nothing to worry about since they have already pulled out some information or rather, giving them information is one of their strategies.

「Of course we protect information that should never be leaked and we crush places when deemed necessary so please rest assured.」

I see.

So, what do you want to consult with me?

「Actually, a spy from a certain country is captured in Village Five and is currently in prison.」

Village Five?

Ah, you mean those guys who tried to sneak into Youko’s mansion?

I received reports when they were caught a while ago.

It was a group of 12.

「No, not them but someone else…」

Eh?

Was there any other spy?

「His name is Clauden desu.」

You say that his name is Clauden……but, isn’t he a spy? That should be an alias.

「I heard that Clauden is using aliases similar to Clauden. Examples are Claus or Climax.」

Claus, Climax…

I started thinking if I have heard of those or something similar.

When I was trying to recall, Frau helped me.

「Village chief, I think it’s Clautan. The ramen freak.」

Yes, that’s it!

The man who liked that big serving ramen, Clautan.

I remember receiving a report from Youko that they conducted an investigation because there’s a claim that a certain ramen store is using suspicious ingredients.

By the way, nothing unusual was found in the investigation.

However, they were warned about their serving.

Their serving is so big that leftovers have become a problem.

The shops that serve vegetable ramen limit their serving size depending on the license of a customer.

They are not forcing them to use the same license system but they were warned that they should do something with the leftover food.

Let’s go back to the topic.

So, he’s the spy named Clauden.

………

He tried to steal the recipe of that ramen.

Are you telling me that other countries have sent spies to steal ramen recipes?

When I asked Beezel that question, he replied a little embarrassed.

「His original purpose is to investigate the royal capital.」

Maa, as expected of a spy.

So, what should we do with that Clauden?

Should we hand him over to the demon king’s kingdom?

「Ah, according to the normal procedure, you should but……」

?

「Actually, there is an ongoing top-secret negotiation from the county that sent him as a spy. They will no longer be hostile against us if we return Clauden and they’ll even build a friendly relationship with the demon king’s kingdom.」

……that’s surprising.

It is rude for me to say this but, aren’t spies treated as disposable pawns?

This means that there are countries that value spies.

「No, Clauden is an illegitimate son of the king of that country…in other words, a member of the royal family…」

Someone from the royal family is working as a spy?

「Yes. On top of that, he’s the strongest magic warrior in their country.」

Losing him would really hurt the country.

「Yes, and we want to avoid harming the royal family of other countries because it will just fuel hostility in vain.」

Then, isn’t it a problem to put him in prison?

「No, the other country also recommended to throw him in prison. They said that we shouldn’t let our guard down since he will run away immediately given any chance. They said that we should always have someone keeping an eye on him.」

Ehto…

Is Clauden hated by the other country so much that they’ll request that?

「That doesn’t seem to be the case…… So, will you hand over Clauden to us?」

He is not a death row inmate so there shouldn’t be a problem.

I think it’s okay…

By the way, wouldn’t it be better if you had asked Youko and not me?

Youko doesn’t need my permission to hand over those who are in prison to you.

「Actually, I have already talked to Youko-dono but there’s a problem.」

Problem?

「Clauden himself doesn’t want to get out of prison…」

…eh?

「I already thought of using force to bring him out but Youko-dono said that assaulting those who were in prison is strongly prohibited by village chief…」

I remember telling her that.

In this world, prisoners are treated roughly.

Being beaten and kicked by a prison guard every day is normal, not being able to eat satisfactorily is normal, and in some cases, they are even obstructed to sleep.

It was said that treatments like that were part of the punishment but I also heard that it was a custom for the relatives of those prisoners to send bribes to prison for their relatives to not be treated like that so I banned it.

I don’t think that all bribes are evil but making the prisoner’s guards’ wallet heavy is.

They are already paid enough to not take bribes like that.

Also, when such bribes occur, there is a chance that more people will be thrown to prison for small things.

I thought it was the right thing to prohibit it.

It took some time before changing my mind.

I want it to stay as it is.

However, it is more of a problem if we can’t even get prisoners out of jail.

I would like you to respond flexibly around that area…

Also, slacking off without permission is also a problem.

Let’s talk with Youko later.

For now, let’s hand over Clauden.

Will it be faster to go to Village Five and directly give them instructions?

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I went to Village Five’s prison and met with Clauden.

I told him I’d send him back to his home country.

After hearing what I said, he froze and clutched the cage with both of his hands.

「I won’t leave this prison until I get a job at that ramen shop!」

……

Even I will be troubled with that demand.