A whole wall of high-grade wine had been stolen from Karubene’s wine cellar.
I pulled the completely stunned Karubene out of the wine cellar.
“N-no, what, huh?”
“Hey, get a grip.”
She had completely collapsed in a daze and was now slumped on the ground. This wasn’t going to accomplish anything. Just as I was about to call for someone, I heard a woman’s crying, like a scream, from somewhere.
Looking ahead, I saw another Satyr girl curled up and crying loudly.
“Hey, are you okay?”
“It’s… it’s gone, my wine was stolen.”
As she said this, she started crying loudly again. It seemed she wasn’t the only victim.
The commotion attracted the residents, who came to see what was happening. The moment they heard the girl’s story, everyone turned pale and rushed to their own wine cellars all at once.
The entire village had fallen into a panic. I decided to report the situation to my companions for the time being.
Later, it was discovered that several other households had also been victims of theft.
“Why didn’t anyone notice?”
“We usually keep our most valuable wines deep in the cellar. After all, they’ve been aging for decades,” Karubene replied, her voice low.
In this emergency, the entire village had gathered despite it being night. The once lively village was now filled with a tension as if it had suddenly gone from summer to winter.
Philiana was consoling the crying children, sensing the unusual atmosphere.
Everyone was looking at each other’s faces, muttering something under their breath. Then, the Seilenos man who had brought them food earlier spoke up.
“I hate to say this, but hasn’t this happened since they arrived? This whole thing.”
He looked at me with a suspicious gaze. In response, everyone turned to look at us all at once. Karubene immediately retorted.
“No, that’s not true. I didn’t see them leave their hut.”
“So you’re saying you were watching the whole time? Not taking your eyes off them for even a second?”
She faltered for words at this.
“Hey, has anything unusual happened recently? I know I’m an outsider, but I think stealing this much wine would require some preparation.”
At my words, everyone put a hand to their chin, deep in thought. Then, the girl who had been crying earlier spoke up, as if remembering something.
“You know, a few days ago, a man came to our house wanting to buy some wine.”
In response, those who had their wine stolen began to say, “Us too.”
According to her story, after a brief tour, they left without buying anything that day.
“Let’s examine the scene for the time being. We might find something.”
Everyone nodded at my suggestion.
