....

....

　At my words, Silmeria raises her eyebrows slightly. On one hand, Jessica's expression doesn't change.
　This is probably the effect of the skill 'Truthfulness Level 8'. In comparison, Silmeria's expression moved slightly.
　This, on the contrary, is too suspicious for Jessica.
　It's too much, too much of a poker face. Normally, if someone said something that didn't make sense to you, you should be a little more upset.
　But that's not the case.

''Um........Noah-sama. What do you mean by that...?

Yeah, I'm fine. I know.

Yes...?

　This time, Jessica has a slightly uneasy expression on her face.
　This is probably the effect of the skill 'Performer Level 5'. If I didn't know anything about it, it's an acting skill that would probably fool me.
　But alas.
　I'm not easily fooled.

"Gilanka.

"Ha, my Lord.

Do you have it now?

'Ha. I carry it in my bosom, as my Lord wills.

Thank you. Okay, then. Let me out.

Ha!

　Along with Gilanka's reply, what is taken out of his pocket is a leather bag.
　It's a reasonably large bag, about a third of the way buried. Of course, the contents are all the same.
　You will be able to get a good idea of what you are looking for.
　Because.
　You're not going to be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.

'Turn it over.

Ha!

Wait.

　Without waiting for Jessica's words, the contents are scattered on the floor with a crisp sound.
　What was packed in that leather bag - that's gold coins. They range from Orvance gold coins to imperial gold coins, but the one thing that can be uniformly said is that the gold coins have small teeth marks on the edges.
　Why - with such an expression, Jessica's eyes are wide open.

''Well ... where do you think this gold coin was located?''

....

Jessica, I'm in your room.

....

　When Jessica doesn't answer my question, I simply give her an answer.
　Of course, as a guest, I give Jessica some privacy. I've given her a room with a key, and I've given her a safe to store her things.
　And Jessica always leaves her room unlocked. And Jessica is the only one who has a key to that room. This is an undoubted fact.
　And yet, Gilanka has the gold coin for Jessica's room.
　That would be a mystery.

"Why do you........my.......

I'm sorry I went into your room without permission.

....

　No wonder I was surprised.
　Jessica had locked the room with the key I had given her, but she didn't trust me around the safe, and she had tied it up tightly with a tight chain and padlock, as if she didn't trust me. I was not to be allowed to open the safe.
　And of course this gold coin was in the safe.
　How could such a thing be here?
　The reason is simple.

''The skill Gilanka has is 'Steal Level 99'. A safe of that level doesn't matter.

It would be easy to remove the padlock in Lady Jessica's absence, open the safe, re-wrap the chains and put the padlock back on.

　Purring, I can feel Jessica trembling.
　She tries to say something, but she can't say anything. It must be that kind of situation.

''That's an awful lot of stuff, though, isn't it? I wonder if there are a hundred or so of them?''

What are you doing...

By the way, I've done my research. 'It was Jessica who offered you an empty deal by letting Silmeria know that 'demons don't need to eat', wasn't it?　Didn't I receive twelve cards from Silmeria as a reward for that?

'Ha, that's right. My Lord.

-Oh!

　Giggling, Jessica looked at Gilanka with a movement like a rusty door.
　Then, finally, she realized.
　Then, resignedly, she muttered.

'You ... that goblin ...!

That's what I mean.

....

　Jessica falls to her knees and collapses to her knees.
　Well, that's right. I was acting like I trusted Jessica completely.

'Master Noah... since when...'

'Well, first. When I was leaving with Miss Feliana, Jessica, you said you wanted me to escort a demon with no will, right?

Yeah, yeah...

'That's funny, even if it wasn't me. When Jessica is in danger, a demon with a will can move faster than a demon with a will. And yet, you went out of your way to tell me to make a demon that has no will.

　I mean, he didn't want me to know what he was doing or what he didn't want me to hear on the way home with Feliana.
　That's the same as asking me to be suspicious.

'I did let the unwilling Redcap go with me in the end, though. Unfortunately, it was Gilanka who was on Jessica's guard for everything after that. Make him act like he's not going to have a proper will.

I was told that humans are unaware of the differences between individual goblins and goblins... and yet I am surprised that we are so blind to the differences between them.

Well, actually, I don't know.

　In fact, I can't tell the goblins apart either. They all look the same.
　Well, that's true for other demons as well.

''You knew everything...........didn't you, Noah-sama?

Well, you know.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

Huh why did you do that?

That's ... well, I think he'll laugh if you ask him.

　Huh, Jessica mocked herself.
　Her smile was uncharacteristic of an eight-year-old girl.

I love gold coins.

....

'My dream is to sleep in a bed full of gold coins. My future dream is to sleep in a bed full of gold coins, to have a bath full of gold coins. I want to fill the floor with gold coins and the walls with gold coins. I've always dreamed of living surrounded by my favorite gold coins.

....

　.........
　................................
　......
　It's even crappier than I thought, Riyo!

'Uh....'

....

Uh....yeah. It's a nice, nice dream...

Master Noah thank you for that. What will happen to me now?

　Jessica's words, as if she had given up on everything. To her, I let out a big sigh with a huff.
　Well, I only know the provenance of twelve of these hundred gold coins. I have no idea how Jessica got the rest of the gold coins.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world," he said.

''It's normal to punish this according to the law, right?

....

Well, I'm sorry to say, but...

　Jessica falls flat on her face.
　It's as if she's waiting for me to condemn her. As if she's given up on everything.

'There are no laws to judge in my country, are there?

Eh....

　I don't understand, Jessica looks up at me.
　Because, in fact, the laws in my country are quite appropriate.

I'm not going to be able to tell you what to do.
Unless I tell you otherwise, do not kill your friends.
"Do not leave this city unless I tell you to.

　This is the law in Grandizia.
　There's no punishment for trying to get the gold illegally or anything like that. Unfortunately.

'So I'll judge you in my own opinion.

H....yes?

'For now, the fact that I leaked information to Silmeria about 'demons don't need food' means that I stopped that information from leaking out beforehand, so I'll give you a ton of money. That gold coin, well, it's a fair reward. So, I'm not to blame. That's all.

Eh....

　Jessica's eyes widen as she says, "I can't believe it.
　Well, I'm not going to continue this story any further either. After all, we have a lot of work to do now. Like the decapitator that is approaching here.
　Well, it's a shame it was a con artist, not a 'military strategist'.

And that doesn't change the fact that Jessica is smart. Well, you can collect the gold coins as you please, but you have to tell me what you're going to do first.

Are you sure you want to...?

I'm in a situation where I need to do something about the Hydra. We can't lose her to Jessica.

　Well, you might say I'm naive.
　Still, yes.
　With bright red eyes, "Thank you! Jessica exclaimed.

　I wasn't wrong, I'll believe it.