Although he seemed to be a man in his twenties, his extremely hoarse voice made it impossible to determine how old he was by his voice alone. Was it that his appearance was abnormally young, or that his voice was abnormally hoarse?

“That…”

Enri turned a surprised look at the magic caster who had replaced the soldier. In his heart, the soldier thought that her surprise was inevitable. He too, had been frightened the first time he saw the man.

“This is a magic caster from the Magician’s Association. He’s going to perform a simple check, so please wait.”

The soldier gestured to Enri to remain seated, and then nodded to the magic caster.

“I’ll leave this to you, then?”

“Of course.”

The magic caster took a step toward Enri, and then he cast his spell.

“「Detect Magic」.”

After that, the magic caster squinted his eyes, like a beast sizing up its prey. Yet, Enri remained calm in the face of this strange sight.

Seeing that, all the soldiers could think was “No wonder”.

Someone who could remain calm under such a mighty gaze could not be a simple village girl. At least, if she hadn’t had experience confronting monsters or people who wanted to kill her, there was no way she could have borne that pressure. In the soldier’s mind, that just cemented his suspicions.

“Don’t try and deceive my eyes. You’re hiding a magic item. It’s on your waist.”

Enri heard it, and looked to her waist in surprise, for the first time since she came here.

The soldiers took up a stance. They understood weapons like swords, but magic items were a mystery to them.

“You mean this?”

Enri produced a small horn from her clothing, small enough that both her hands could hide it. The soldiers couldn’t overlook this.

“…Is that a magic item?”

“That’s right. You’ve been deceived by her appearance. That thing is imbued with powerful magic.”

The soldiers were speechless. If this was an item the magic caster considered powerful, then how mighty was it?

As the soldiers considered that this girl must have dressed plainly for a reason, they couldn’t help but feel a piercing chill through their chests.

“Ah, this is―”

“No need for excuses. My magic has already seen through it.”

In order to shut Enri up, he cast another spell.

“「Appraise Magic Item」 ― uoooooooh!”

The magic caster’s facial expressions changed several times in as many seconds. They went from shock, fear, terror, and then confusion.

“What, what, what is this? Like a sea of power with no shore… Impossible! What on earth is this?!”

The magic caster’s face was red, and flecks of spittle flew from the sides of his mouth.

“You, you, what the devil are you! Don’t try to trick me!”

The magic caster’s dramatic attitude shift took the soldiers by surprise, and Enri was no exception as her eyes widened.

“No, I’m just, I’m just a normal person! A simple village girl! Really!”

“A village girl? You, why are you lying? Then how could you have obtained a magic item like this? If you really are a simple village girl, how could you have gotten something like that?!”

“Eh? This, this is a gift from the one who saved our village, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama―”

“Lies again! A priest from the Theocracy must have given it to you!”

“Eh? What’s that about the Theocracy?”

“Men! Assemble! This girl is just too suspicious!”

Although the soldiers didn’t understand what was going on, up till today, they had never seen the magic caster freak out like this before. So if this were an emergency, they should drop whatever they were doing and respond to the summons.

“Fall in! Fall in!”

In response to the soldier’s shouts, several of their comrades stopped their cargo inspection and entered the room.

“Who gave you an item like this? How did you get it? You can’t possibly be a simple village girl!”

“No, this really was given to me by Gown-sama! Please, you have to believe me!”

Two of the soldiers exchanged looks. All of them, as well as their assigned magic caster, believed that Enri was a magic caster as well. However, given Enri’s nervous reaction to the sudden change in the situation, they could not help but think she was a normal girl.

“What, what else is there? Tell me why you think she’s suspicious!”

“Hnh! To begin with, this horn can summon a group of goblins — although I’m not sure how many it can call up, but it can do such a thing.”

The soldiers frowned. It would be troublesome if something like that was used on the streets. However, was that so bad? Certain people, such as adventurers, possessed a plethora of magic items. Just because this one could summon goblins wasn’t too unusual in itself.

“And this so-called village girl’s testimony is riddled with inconsistencies. That item is worth several thousand gold coins; why would anyone just give it to a mere village girl?”

“Several thousand?!”

“Several thousand?!”

This unbelievable sum drew cries of disbelief from the soldiers, and Enri herself.

Several thousand gold coins was a sum no normal person could earn in their entire life. It was hard to believe such a simple-looking item could be worth so much.

“That’s right. Nobody would hand out such an item without a good reason, let alone to a mundane girl! I could accept it if she were a top-class adventurer or magic caster. But she says she’s just a village girl! It’s far too suspicious!”

That much the soldiers understood. Exceptional people would tend to gather exceptional items to themselves. In the past, both the great men of good and evil persuasions were known for their acquisition of powerful equipment. It was their destiny, and it was inevitable.

“No, really, I’m just a simple village girl…”

“And, I’ve never heard of any Ainz Ooal Gown fellow. At least, he’s not part of our Association, nor have I ever heard of an adventurer by that name.”

“The Warrior-Captain knows Gown-sama!”

“The Kingdom’s Warrior-Captain, Gazef Stronoff-dono? …You must be uttering nonsense. How would a simple village girl know of such things?”