落とし穴外伝：蛇の道は蛇 (Part2)
Their attire was disheveled and stained, a jarring sight that seemed entirely out of place in Weed.
"Wait, them? Surely there must be better options?" I asked, unable to see how engaging with such riffraff could possibly yield any positive results.
"Indeed," Prol replied with a smile. "They lack the spine to pull off a scam of that magnitude themselves. However, they are bound to possess the kind of sordid information that thrives in the shadows. That sort of knowledge is quite useful for... leverage."
Leverage? I didn't quite grasp her meaning, but Hovis seemed to catch on immediately.
"Ah, I see. That makes perfect sense."
With that, Hovis rose from her seat, and Prol followed as they made their way toward the thugs. While Hovis was certainly the tallest among us—sturdy enough to carry armor with ease—she was still, at the end of the day, a woman. I feared those thugs would pick a fight the moment they saw her. Yayui and I exchanged anxious glances and scrambled to follow them, but it was too late.
"Hey, you little thugs there. Got a moment?"
"Yes, you cowards. Show your faces."
What on earth? Before I could even intervene, they were already picking a fight. The thugs’ faces flushed a deep, indignant red.
"Huh? Who are you calling a brat, you giant woman? You think you can talk down to us—!?"
"Hey, wait, hold on—!"
Before the thugs could finish their outburst, Hovis had already hoisted them into the air. They were small-statured, making Hovis tower over them, but calling her a "giant woman" was unforgivably rude.
"Oh my. Since I'm such a 'giant,' I suppose I don't need to hold back, do I? Is this spot alright, Prol?"
"Indeed. The officials told us to avoid public disturbances, so let's move. Come along, you two."
"O-oh, right."
"Y-yeah."
I couldn't help but feel that we were the ones acting like the thugs, but I supposed this was all part of the investigation. We dragged the small-fry into a nearby alleyway.
"You think you can get away with this?! Do you have any idea—"
"Oh, we have plenty of ideas," Hovis interrupted with a sweet, dangerous smile. "We've dealt with your kind more times than I can count."
"Look, we aren't here to eat you," Prol added, her voice cold. "We just need information. In this line of work, if you let yourself be looked down upon just because you're a woman, you're finished before you start. Or would you prefer to settle this with a brawl?"
"..."
"..."
The two thugs fell silent, cowed by Prol’s cold intimidation. Ah, so that was the strategy. If we had simply asked nicely, they would have seen us as easy marks. This was the only way to establish dominance.
As they stood in silence, Prol pulled a single gold coin from her pouch and held it up.
"We're new to Weed. We don't know our way around, and the officials here are far too 'virtuous' to be trusted with the truth. That leaves the lot of you—the ones who know the underbelly of this city. You might be small-time, but your words have value."
"Tch, fine. I'll talk. Hand over the gold."
"What are you talking about?" Hovis chimed in, her tone mocking. "We listen first, then we decide. Can't you even grasp that much?"
"We’ll be the ones to judge if your information is worth the price," Prol added, leaving no room for negotiation.
"A-alright, I get it! Just put us down!"
"As you wish. But if you try to run... you know what happens, don't you?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know."
Finally set back on the ground, the thugs began to spill their secrets. The information they provided was enough to make anyone tasked with maintaining order in Weed wince. They spoke of illegal private casinos, hubs for trading illicit information, and scams targeting greenhorn adventurers and unsuspecting travelers.
Since none of it involved overt violence, there was little we could do to punish them directly. The private casinos were a gray area—if they claimed it was just a group of friends gathering for a hobby, it was nearly impossible to make an arrest.
As we listened to their accounts, we began to close in on the core of the matter. It was a reminder that one should leave the specialized work to the experts. You can't do everything on your own in this world. You have to use whatever tools—and whatever people—are at your disposal.