Ch. 308
“Oh, is that so? I thought it was something like Undine…”
“Not all spirits are harmless.”
“I’m sorry. I thought it would be okay to touch.”
Akia had touched Undine before.
In fact, whenever anyone saw Undine, their eyes lit up, and they wanted to touch it at least once.
Our Undine was the cutest in the world, so it was only natural.
But Ador… maybe someone on Lox’s level would be allowed to touch him.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. Here! If you want to touch something, touch Undine instead.”
As an apology to Akia, who had no idea she had nearly died, I let her hold Undine in her arms.
I almost barbecued my friend.
It was my fault for carelessly summoning something like Ador inside the room. Of course…
“Ador! You should’ve thought to dodge instead of just standing there!”
[That’s why I called for you, wasn’t it?]
“…Anyway, you little pain in the ass! The way you only understand things when they’re spelled out for you is just like Rovenin!”
[By your standards, Master, isn’t that the highest form of insult?]
“You got it.”
Akia watched me with fascination as I conversed with the spirit.
Her gaze was filled with longing and curiosity, as though this alone were some incredible magic.
“Hey, hazardous material! Go back now.”
[Already? Weren’t you going to play with me!]
“I’ll call you again tomorrow.”
[Goodbye!]
I sent the hazardous material, Ador, back to the Spirit Realm and got ready to go out again.
The washbasin in the corner of the inn room was always filled with water, so I used it to wash my face and wet my hair to tame it.
It was a method I often used whenever I didn’t feel like combing out my tangled hair.
If you quickly braided it while it was wet, it came together neatly. I suppose that was the wisdom of life, born from laziness.
“E-hem…”
Akia, who had been sitting in a chair while petting Undine, averted her gaze and grew awkward when I started taking off my pajamas.
Seeing her blush every time our eyes met, it seemed she was embarrassed that I was undressing.
My body can’t be that different from hers, can it?
“Th-that… that sparkling thing, what kind of spirit was it?”
“Ador? What do you think he was?”
“Umm, a light spirit?”
“Let’s go with that, then.”
The fabrics in this world all lacked elasticity.
Underwear was no exception, and everything had to be tied properly or it would slip right off.
My panties, for example, had strings on both sides that had to be tied tightly to stay in place, and if those strings showed even while wearing pants, it was considered a rather risqué look.
Skirts were better for hiding underwear strings, but for traveling, there was no question that pants were more comfortable.
The pants, made of thick fabric, also had strings where a zipper should have been.
Most clothes in this world had a complicated structure of tightening, tying, fastening, and tying again.
Travelers didn’t wear clothes with buttons.
Buttons were fasteners that came off too easily, so they were only worn by nobles, butlers, office workers, and in any case, people who didn’t do physical labor.
After putting on my pants, I tucked the strings inside and pulled on a shirt.
I hesitated for a moment over which leather vest to wear on top, then looked back at Akia.
“Should I wear this one? Or this one?”
One was a black vest with a greenish tint that fastened with buckles, and the other was a loose-fitting light brown vest with a pocket for a dagger.
The way I liked to dress was far from that of an ordinary traveler.
It was closer to a pirate or an archer, perhaps. I hated skirts, and after much searching, this was the style I settled on because it dried quickly when wet and was comfortable to move in.
“Let’s see… I think the brown one would go well with the pants you’re wearing now, don’t you? But the black vest is cool too.”
“Hmm, I’m going to eat a lot, so I should wear the bigger one.”
“That’s a good idea!”
I put on the light brown vest, grabbed my belt and coin purse, then sat on the bed and pulled on my knee-high dark gray boots. Once I found my hood, I’d be ready to go.
Only then did it occur to me that the men weren’t here. Just yesterday, I had been thrilled to be the only one left in the city.
“Come to think of it… Akia? Didn’t Chad and the others go hunting outside the city? Did they forget our plans too? I don’t mind if it’s just the two of us, though.”
“They’re all on the first floor.”
“Oh, really?”
“They sold the game they caught to the restaurant. The captain sent his apologies, saying he couldn’t join us today because of some circumstances. He even came to the clinic himself to tell me. He’s such a polite person!”
Eshdap, even the men who had gone hunting had made it back on time, which meant I was the only one who had forgotten our plans.
I guess I really am number one when it comes to being thoughtless. Honestly, what can’t I do?
“When he told me to go upstairs and check on you in case you’d forgotten, I thought he was joking.”
“He knows me too well. That was Chad, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. It was.”
Akia smiled happily at the mere mention of Chad’s name.
What a waste. Akia was too good for him.
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
I gave my bootlaces one last firm tug and sent Undine back. Akia stepped out first, and I pretended to follow while turning Rai into a snake and hiding him up my sleeve.
“You’re not taking Rai with you?”
“Nope, it’s a restaurant.”
Akia was sharp, but there was one thing she never seemed to notice. She appeared to think I had simply left him in the room.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you leave him behind. I guess you can’t bring him into a fancy restaurant… Oh, did you hear? You’ve just been resting in your room, so you probably don’t know.”
“What is it?”
“There was a thief in the Royal Palace yesterday.”
At Akia’s words, my brow furrowed on its own as she headed down the stairs.
“…A thief?”
A dissatisfied question slipped out before I could stop it.
Nothing was stolen, so why call it a thief! They were framing an innocent person!
“I don’t know the details, but it seems entry screening has gotten stricter because of it. Chad said he’d planned to come back early, but the inspection at the gate took two extra hours, and he nearly ended up late for our appointment.”
“What? They’re controlling entry into the city too?”
“They say criminals always return to the scene of the crime… maybe it’s something like that? Since the Royal Palace was breached, it probably means security across the capital has been tightened. Anyway, it’s a total mess outside right now.”
“What’s it like?”
I asked as calmly as I could, pretending not to care, but of course I cared.
What happened last night was far from a perfect crime.
“There are knights everywhere. I heard the thief isn’t an ordinary person, so we have to be careful. I also heard there were casualties! My master saw priests heading to the palace in a line since dawn. Someone powerful must have been injured.”
Akia lowered her voice as though sharing a secret, but I was the one who had been closer to it than anyone yesterday.
More precisely, I had been at the center of the whole uproar.
“Do you know who got hurt?”
“No, they didn’t say. I didn’t hear everything properly because I was in a hurry. Since all the knights are searching the city… maybe it was a member of the royal family?”
“The royal family…”
“They say it was a thief, but that might just be a cover-up. Maybe they let an assassin who tried to kill a royal get away. The whole story about a thief in the Royal Palace is strange from the start, isn’t it? What kind of thief targets the Royal Palace of all places? There are so many rich houses in the capital.”
It seemed the news that Lidrat Theatrazen had been seriously injured hadn’t spread yet. Was the Royal Palace deliberately hiding the truth?
It was humiliating enough that an intruder had entered the Royal Palace, but on top of that, the nation’s hero had been gravely injured after failing to stop them. It was understandable that they would want to keep that quiet.
“What about a wanted poster? Is there one?”
“I haven’t seen one. Now that you mention it, that is strange, isn’t it? If there were one, they’d be handing them out in the square…”
Seeing Akia tilt her head in confusion, I finally felt a little relieved.
The only person who had seen my face clearly was Theatrazen, and even he had only seen me while I was wearing a half-mask, so he couldn’t have gotten a good look.
He might have suspected for a moment that it was Geenie Crowell, based on the fact that it was a young blonde woman using a water spirit, but that would be nothing more than suspicion without evidence.
And no one would be stupid enough to accuse the continent’s renowned symbol of sacrifice of being a thief who broke into another country’s Royal Palace based on mere suspicion.
‘Not even a passing dog would believe it. Why would someone called a Saintess suddenly rob another country’s Royal Palace? Well, I did, but still.’
Most importantly, that old man was probably still unconscious.
As an expert in internal injuries, I could guarantee that after vomiting that much blood, it would be a miracle if he didn’t die.
Even if priests clung to him all day and cast Healing Magic, it would only be enough to keep him alive… and even if he got lucky and recovered, I’d be long gone from this city by then.
‘Theatrazen, I really hope you just die.’
For my sake, that is.
“You seem unusually interested.”
“…Not really?”
“You’re usually so indifferent about everything. Oh! I heard the castle walls are so badly broken you can see straight into the Royal Palace. Do you want to go look after we eat?”
“No, I’m good.”
I answered her innocent question with an equally innocent smile.
If I went there, that really would make me the criminal returning to the scene.
Akia didn’t need to know that I was the one who had not only seen plenty yesterday but had also done the destroying.
Besides, my interest for today was already decided.
Lamb!
The moment I stepped out into the street, I could tell at a glance that the city’s atmosphere was strange today.
Armored knights stood out everywhere, and they were stopping anyone suspicious-looking to check their identity, so for once there were no thugs or pickpockets anywhere in sight.
It was also the first time I had seen so many knights out in the streets.
[Master? Shouldn’t we be careful too?]
[Meat!]
[…Could you please stop thinking about meat!]
[Roasted potatoes smothered in melted cheese! Stew with more ingredients than broth! Lamb! Meat is always right! Red sauce or white sauce, that is the question!]
[Ah, seriously… your sense of danger is so nonexistent I almost feel sorry for the knights!]
The knights, all fired up to catch a criminal whose face they didn’t even know, gave off an intimidating atmosphere, but it didn’t apply to me at all.
I quietly hummed a cheerful meat song to myself as I walked behind Akia and Chad.
“And then, you know? I don’t know where I found the strength, but I grabbed the child from behind and like this! I squeezed him, and he coughed up what he’d swallowed. Actually, if you hold them upside down, it’s more… oh my, I’ve been talking only about myself, haven’t I?”
“No, Akia! It’s great!”
“Oh, Chad, you… Tell me about your hunt. How was it? Did you catch a lot?”
“I caught five rabbits. The plumpest one is for you, Akia.”
Only then did I realize the strange atmosphere between the two people in front of me and slow my pace, but it was already too late.
I was too close.
“Really? I’m so happy!”
“If you’re happy, I’m happy too.”
“No. I’m happier.”
“No! I’m happier!”
Having accidentally gotten too close and overheard that raw exchange, I felt my stomach churn and my head spin.
“Ugh…”
[…I think that did more damage than the illusion spirit….]