Chapter 239
Where could this smell be coming from? What could have been burnt? There hadn't been anything burnt except for the mice tails, and that was hours ago.
Haley came running out of the entrance, now dressed.
"First-year! Did you find anything?"
I shook my head.
"...There's no trace at all."
Two Guardians on patrol spotted us from afar and rushed over.
After lightly cautioning us, they asked, "Please put away your sword. We'll check your identity for a moment."
Priscilla trembled again. I turned the sword behind my back, worried it might attract attention.
"We are members of the Eternia delegation. Erzsebet Tiers has vouched for our identity, and the city has permitted our stay."
The two Guardians exchange glances. Seeing the lights on in Silveryn's mansion, they nodded as if realizing something.
"Ah, you're from the delegation. We received a report of screams heard nearby, may we ask what happened?"
"There was a suspicious person peeking at the mansion in front, haven't you seen them at all? They were here until just now but fled quickly."
"We patrolled this area a few hours ago, but we didn't see anything like that. We haven't received any reports either."
"..."
"Do you know which direction they fled?"
"No, they just vanished."
"We'd like to help, but if there are no clues, there's nothing we can do."
"...Have there been any recent cases of people caught secretly peeking at other mansions?"
One Guardian put his hand on his chin, lost in thought.
"Hmm... There is one. The eldest son of Mrs. Gerrawild in the block across from here caused trouble. It was just two weeks ago."
"What kind of trouble did that son cause?"
"He was caught spying on noble mansions at night. His main targets were women, young women. The nature of his crime was bad, but after a legal battle, he was eventually released."
"Why?"
"It seems they took into account his mental immaturity. He's as big as a mountain, but his mind is similar to a ten-year-old child. He was released after Mrs. Gerrawild promised to manage him thoroughly."
"...Could you investigate that man?"
"Yes, we'll look into it."
Haley said, "Can you reinforce the patrol or post guards at the mansion?"
"That's beyond our authority. We'll convey your opinion to our superiors, but it's difficult to give you a definite answer."
Haley glared at the departing Guardians with a displeased expression.
She folded her arms and said to me with an uncomfortable face, "If we hadn't set up night watch and just trusted the Guardians... It's terrible. How can the kids sleep peacefully in this situation? I think we felt more at ease when we were on the sea."
"I agree."
"Haa, there are crazy people everywhere you go. Even if only one percent of the population is crazy, in a big city that would be hundreds or thousands... It's giving me a headache."
"Ah, right, Senior. There's one clue, there was a burnt smell."
"...Hmm, what kind of burnt smell?"
"Maybe they were planning to commit arson."
"Something that could burn... Well, could a rat have snuck in and gotten caught?"
It was a plausible story, as the city had as many rats as it did crazy people. Moreover, we came with luggage full of dried fruits, jerky, and wine. They might have been lurking around after smelling it from afar.
Haley slapped her thigh as if remembering something and asked, "First-year, about the professor's ancient magic circle. Does it really only burn rats?"
"...?"
"It might drive away all non-human things, you know."
"I don't know that far. There haven't been any other organisms occupying it besides rats..."
It would be certain to ask Teacher directly, but if we send a Stitch from here, it would take two days to reach the Holy City and two days to return. By then, we'd get an answer on the day we were supposed to return, so it was practically no help.
"If that magic circle drives away everything except humans... humanoid magical beasts are possible too, right? It could be ghouls, werewolves."
"..."
"Claridium is as excellent in magic creature studies as the North and Eternia. It's so large that there's a separate institution just for researching magic creatures, and their achievements are overwhelming. If they're researching magic creatures, there must be many live ones brought in by ship. It's not unusual for one or two to escape in an unexpected accident."
"That's quite reasonable. And I just remembered, one of Professor Silveryn's mansions also belonged to a vampire."
Haley's eyes widen.
"Huh? Then the puzzle fits? I heard some high-level vampires can transform into bats! If it's a bat, it could sneak into the mansion. It might have been driven out after getting caught in the magic circle."
If Haley's words were true, given the circumstances, the one who sent us the curse was most likely a vampire. We could also guess at the grudge relationship with Teacher, who had strangely many points of contact with vampires. Of course, since there was no conclusive evidence, it would be right to investigate broadly.
Haley bit her lip, organizing her thoughts.
"Okay. Tomorrow, Zenia and I will investigate Mrs. Gerrawild's son at the Guardian assembly hall. And the day after tomorrow, we have a schedule to visit the exchange competition arena. After the tour, we'll move to the university research institute and they'll show us the magical beasts being bred for the exchange competition. Let's find out if there are any species that could threaten us."
"When the sun rises today, I'll go around the square and ask about vampires."
"Good, but first-year, there's almost no way to distinguish a vampire blended into human groups."
"...Wouldn't there be some artifact in a city of magic engineering?"
Haley shook her head.
"Vampires who have lived for decades or centuries wouldn't be caught by such simple methods. Traditionally, the only thing that always worked was... finding someone whose face hasn't aged for over a decade."
Then I should look for someone who had lived in Claridium for a long time and had wide connections.
"I understand."
"And, Damian."
Haley's expression became quite serious.
"If our enemy is a being with intelligence, we shouldn't let them know openly that we're investigating."
**
Lilith came with her gray hair neatly combed and, unlike usual, in a half-up hairstyle. She wore an elegant blue dress embroidered with flowers, and earrings and hairpins with jewels. Her lips were painted with pink makeup, emphasizing her pale and delicate appearance today.
Even in the carriage, she maintained a straight posture as if it were ingrained in her. Anyone could see it was the bearing of a noble young lady.
On the other hand, quite unfittingly, she couldn't keep her gaze in one place and was fidgeting.
"Where... are we going?"
"I told you before. We're going to Progress Square."
"Right, that's right."
Then she clenched and unclenched her hands as if nervous. I had already told her this morning about the plan to search for vampires.
We moved like ordinary travelers, no different from others. We'd hide our true intentions and leisurely enjoy shopping.
"Giddy up!"
The coachman shook the reins excitedly.
"We're almost there, miss!"
The coachman turned around every few minutes to look at Lilith. He didn’t say a word to me and blatantly only addressed Lilith. It was laughable how obvious his ulterior motives were.
"..."
"Is it your first time at Progress Square?"
"...I came yesterday too."
"The square must have never seen someone as lovely as you before, miss."
"..."
"You're truly beautiful, miss."
"..."
"May I ask your name?"
The coachman desperately flirted with Lilith as if he thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The carriage broke through a narrow path. Soon after, a wide-open square unfolded before our eyes.
At a glance, one could feel that various classes of people wew mixed in the square.
A woman looking for a missing person, holding a picket with a child's portrait. A madman standing on an apple box, preaching about religion, God, and the end times. A Vintera pulling a pitch-black carriage. A beautiful woman sitting by the fountain and an artist painting her. A deranged woman muttering nonsense to herself while looking at a shop window.
The hair on my arms stood on end at the thought that a vampire might be hiding somewhere in this square, and Priscilla trembled along with it.
Lilith also muttered to herself, looking at the scene, "One of the omens of destruction was that there would be many madmen in the streets..."
We got off in the middle of the square.
"I hope I can see you again, miss."
The coachman offered a handshake to Lilith. In response, Lilith conveyed her intention by linking her arm with mine.
The coachman licked his lips, scratched his head, and hurriedly left. Then Lilith also released her arm from mine.
"How does it feel to be called pretty?"
"...Can I be honest?"
"Yes."
"I've heard it so much that my ears have calluses, I don't feel anything."
"..."
"That coachman, if he had known my name, he probably would have asked around and sent letters too."
"You speak as if from experience."
"Countless times."
"..."
"More importantly, now we're going to go around old shops and... what were we going to do again?"
"On the surface, we're not looking for vampires. We're looking for a mage who owes a debt to Professor Silveryn. A reclusive mage whose face doesn't age."
"Got it. And shopping... we can do as much as we want, right?"
I didn't see a purse of gold coins in Lilith's hand. I wonder how she'd shop without money.
"As long as you stay within your means, there's no problem."
***
This was the third shop we've visited. Lilith just checked the shape and name of the perfume bottles and immediately picked them up and put them in her basket. That was how about a dozen perfume bottles ended up in Lilith's basket.
The truly shocking thing was that she didn't even check the price tags. She just put in what she wanted and handed a check to the clerk.
She approached me as I was lingering in front of the display case and said, "Damian... are you buying perfume too?"
"Huh?"
"Um... It's just my opinion, but I think it might be better if you don't wear perfume."
"You said I smell?"
"If the smells overlap... it might feel off-putting."
"It wouldn't hurt to buy one as a gift."
I picked up a perfume bottle I saw and put it back down after seeing the price tag.
"Hmm... if it's for a gift, I'll help you choose. You pick one first, Damian."
"This one doesn't seem bad."
I picked up a bottle containing a green liquid. The glass bottle was labeled “Slime Perfume”.
I wonder what Slime Perfume would smell like. It was interesting that they made perfume from a rare creature like slime.
Lilith slightly frowned when she saw this.
"There are so many other pretty perfumes, why that one...? Are you trying to mock the recipient?"
"No."
I chose it seriously, but she said I was mocking.
Isn't that a bit harsh?
The clerk approached my side and explained, "That one... reflects our perfumer's experimental spirit."
"What kind of experiment was it?"
"The very fact that slime is included is a big adventure."
"Do people dislike slimes?"
The clerk nodded as if it was obvious.
"Yes, slimes are not cute creatures. A slime is not a single entity, but a colony of tiny, invisible parasites. Just like a flock of birds moving together, slimes move in a similar way. If you look closely with an instrument, you can see numerous bugs with mouths inside the mucus."
"..."
"And slime mucus has the property of exploding when it comes into contact with very powerful energy. It can't be cut with a sword, and if you use magic, it explodes, so magic creature hunters usually avoid giant slimes."
"Then how do you hunt them?"
"You have to deal with them using weak magic. Carefully, like cooking meat with lukewarm water. There are extremely few strong mages, so they probably won't face explosions, but the important thing is..."
Lilith finished the sentence as if she was on the same wavelength as the clerk.
"...No woman would want to receive slime perfume full of dead bugs that might explode as a gift."
The clerk nodded in agreement.
"..."
Lilith raised an eyebrow and casually probed, "Who were you going to give it to?"
"Cecil... do you know her?"
Lilith's pupils suddenly dilated.
"...Magic Engineering Department?"
"Yes."
Lilith stroked her hair and thought for a moment.
"Then it might be different. The Magic Engineering Department has a strong sense of adventure. So because slime perfume is special... they might actually like it."
My thoughts were similar. Cecil asked for a one-of-a-kind gift, and this seemed to fit the criteria. Moreover, Cecil liked bombs too...
"How much is it?"
Lilith interrupted my question.
"Since I paid with a check, you can just take it. Later, a banker will come and settle it and move it to our lodgings."
I now understood what kind of world Lilith lived in. Even though Claridium had nothing to do with Lilith's place of origin, how much money must she have in her account for bankers in an unfamiliar city to attend to her?
"...I don't want to be in debt."
Lilith shook her head and smiled brightly.
"I'm happy to be able to repay you for all you've given me. Just... tell Cecil that I contributed a little money."
***
Even after asking the clerk, we couldn't find any significant clues. Claridium had such a large population that people didn't pay much attention to who lived in their neighborhood, unlike in a village.
As we came out to the square looking for the fourth shop, an old man waved his arms and called out to us in front of a store.
"You there! That's right! The sky sailship! The hero of Claridium!"
Thanks to the embarrassing title, passersby on the street glance at me.
"Come in! I'll treat you to tea!"
Lilith looked up at me and said, "Why aren't you going?"
"Looking at his eyes, it seems like he has a favor to ask."
"You can see that?"
"He looks somewhat desperate."
"...Shall we go? We might learn something. He might really just want to treat us to tea."
"..."
Lilith grabbed me and pulled me towards the store where the old man was waving. I had no choice but to enter the store. The interior was full of bookshelves, like an old bookstore.
As we entered, the old man looked outside once and then closed the door. Then, as if it were a secret meeting, he lowered all the blinds and lit candles in the dark interior.
Every action he took was suspicious.
"You're from Eternia, right?"
We nodded.
"That's right, but..."
"I desperately need your help."
Lilith opened her eyes wide and looked up at me with a “how did you know” expression.
I said to the old man, "We're not employees of a request office."
"Please, I'm begging you. I'll give you anything you want from our store. We have rare recipe books, forbidden magic books... And, and, if you bring her back safely, I'll even give you the family heirloom!"
Lilith showed interest and asked, "Bring who back?"
"Please catch and bring back my wife who ran away!"
"Ah."
She regretted showing interest and slapped her forehead with her palm.
I was curious and asked, "Can't you solve this by paying money to another request office, even if it's not us?"
"You can't trust anyone in this city. They're all missing a screw or two. You folks from Eternia are just right."
It seemed like something similar to paranoia.
"What exactly happened to your wife?"
"At some point, I noticed she was neglecting our home. She changed about two months before she left. She started ignoring her usual household chores and went out to play here and there. Sometimes she would dress up, look in the mirror, and mutter to herself as if rehearsing for a play. That's when I felt it. After going to see plays with her friends all the time, she must have fallen for some rich dandy. You must have had many lovers, so you know, right? When you can sense that a woman's heart has left."
Lilith looked up at my face with an expression that seemed to ask if this was really true.
"..."
"And last month, she left home without saying a word. I can't find her no matter how much I look. It seems she's hidden herself thoroughly, making up her mind. Now I'm afraid she might have left the city hand in hand with another man. I might have upset her a bit, but I've never hit her or starved her. I didn't realize it before she left, but now I know. I still love my wife. Truly, I do."
"Can't you request a search from the Guardians?"
He burst out in a tirade, "Only fools trust the Guardians! They're just lapdogs moving for the bigwigs and the families that give them money! They don't care a bit about citizens' safety!"
"We can't help you. We don't know your wife's face, and we have no clues. Moreover, we don't have much time."
He hurriedly rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a contract with a seal on it, handing it to us.
"Rotulek. Go to Rotulek. I commissioned a painting from the city's best artist half a year ago. It should be almost finished by now. Go and say you've come to find the portrait of the Westwood couple. I'll give you a commission letter, so he'll gladly show it to you."
"We'll go and look, but it's difficult for us to help beyond that."
The old man nodded weakly with a resigned face. It seemed he couldn't push any further than this.
"I understand. If that's not possible, would you go to the prophet Proxima? She's the city's best prophet, so she should be able to tell me what has become of my wife's fate. I'm too scared to go myself."
"Alright. Then, we'll be going."
Lilith opened the door first and stepped outside.
As I was about to follow her out, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
A question that stirred up ripples in my calm mind.
I turned back just as I was about to leave and said, "By any chance, was there a mirror placed in front of the entrance before your wife disappeared?"