Free Web NovelChapter 50: ☆Be quiet...
It was 2 PM, past noon.
Raide, Erika, and the three girls were taking a leisurely lunch at a dining hall.
The three sisters were still being guarded by Fia and Leah.
They had even joked with big smiles that they would "claim their reward later."
Since 9 AM, accompanied by Taylor, Raide had explained everything to Duke Dolls, the noble ruling Santony.
Thanks to Taylor’s words, the duke had somehow accepted it.
By the time their talk ended, the duke was sighing and looking exasperated.
"Why would Duke Dolls, who rules Santony only three days away by carriage, be governing here?"
This city was important to the Kingdom of Liberteria.
To the south lay the neighboring country of Saginis, where they had fought a war.
To the southeast was the wealthy country of Yurural.
Of course, there were towns along the way to both countries, but Santony was the place they would flee to if those towns became dangerous.
That’s why the walls were built extremely strongly, and even if someone broke in, it would be impossible for them to advance easily.
They would fight inside the city and evacuate to the royal capital or counterattack.
If they ignored Santony, they would be ambushed from behind.
Duke Dolls’ military prowess was something Raide had heard about during the war.
...He wouldn’t do something harmful in this city.
After lunch and tea, Raide chatted casually with Erika and the others. Then he lightly knocked on the table as if remembering something.
Erika tilted her head curiously and asked,
"...? What is it?"
"Yeah... I have a place I want to go. Will you come with me?"
Erika nodded, and the three girls smiled and agreed as well.
We headed to the fountain in the center of Santony.
When we started walking, Erika clung to my arm.
I felt the soft, plush sensation of her chest through my sleeve and saw that her face was blushing as she smiled shyly.
"Are you sure? There are people around."
"...Everyone does this, you know?"
Indeed, but... well, it was a good deal, so I decided not to say anything rude.
Honestly, yesterday and this morning had been so intense.
It was fine to seek some healing.
It was 4 PM.
From there, we circled the fountain, lightly knocked on the sign twice for the fountain explanation, walked around the stalls, and then knocked three times on the wall of a bakery in the middle.
Now we were in a dimly lit alley behind it.
There was almost no foot traffic, and the three girls felt uneasy enough to keep checking their surroundings.
Erika, still hugging my arm, squeezed a little tighter and asked,
"What’s here?"
"A second-hand goods shop."
"For real...? There’s no one here, and it feels creepy..."
"Well, no one comes here normally anyway."
I tilted my head at her curious, wary expression. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
...Yeah, no one comes here normally.
What we were going to now was what was called a hidden second-hand goods shop.
In the game, there were shops you couldn’t enter unless you did a certain action.
I had used them often in the game, but this was my first time coming to this world. I prayed it would work.
If it existed in this world too... it was here.
I knocked four times on a differently colored spot on the only wall, roughly the size of a fist.
The one who reacted immediately was Roll.
"...Why the sudden aura?"
"It’s weird. I didn’t feel anything..."
"Instructor~?"
"Well, if I explain it, it’s a hidden second-hand goods shop."
While walking, I told everyone what it was. They looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
It was weird to know something like this. Where did you learn it? Instructor.
And because I gave off an aura from the shop, a faint aura appeared from another place.
It felt like someone had been tailing us since we left Duke Dolls’ mansion — faint enough that even the three girls didn’t notice.
When asked why I noticed, I said it was just luck.
Somehow, it felt like I was being watched... There was a strong urge to turn around again and again.
While we chatted normally, I gave the three girls a small finger gesture. They nodded while still talking.
A little while later, we saw a door. That was the door of the shop we were looking for.
We approached it and reached for the doorknob.
"Please be quiet..."
"...It might be better not to show your face."
"Yeah, I’d appreciate it if you could do that."
A woman’s voice called out from behind us. When I looked around, there was no aura and no appearance to be seen.
Erika and the three girls looked around with worried expressions.
Raide asked the voice curiously,
"If you can’t show your appearance, couldn’t you also make it hard for others to see you?"
"...Who knows."
"Well, fine. So, what do you want?"
"Report and advice."
Right after that, a pocket watch with the royal seal suddenly hung in front of my eyes, swinging as if being held by an invisible person.
The moment I noticed the royal seal, the pocket watch disappeared.
"I am one of the king’s subordinates. I have been investigating what you brought."
"...Is this a warning not to do anything unnecessary?"
"No, that’s not it."
Hmm? Then what was it? It was completely unreadable...
Not just me — Erika and the others also tilted their heads.
The woman continued in a voice that somehow carried a smile, as if she found our reaction amusing.
"When I discover something or come up with predictions or guesses, please report to me."
"...Why do you want my opinion? Compared to you professionals, I’m just an amateur..."
"Amateur... Fufu."
...Eh, she laughed. Now?
She had sounded like a calm type, but apparently not.
When I looked at Erika and the others, they were giving me an "Oh no~" expression.
It was true that I had studied report writing and investigation methods after my reincarnation.
Of course, I was making good use of my pre-reincarnation knowledge.
I had seen royal court documents several times, but they were on a completely different level from mine.
The investigation method Taylor used — collecting evidence, setting traps — I had learned from him.
Raide, who called Taylor a "doer," was actually evaluating himself as an "amateur."
So I was gambling on my own strengths to make up for it.
"The amateur you mentioned... I don’t know what that means. The king and the prime minister expect a lot from you."
"...Please stop."
"Fufu. Will you agree?"
"Haa... Alright, I agree. But please don’t blame me later, okay?"
The atmosphere became gentle after my words, but the moment the woman spoke again, the mood changed completely.
It felt like signing some important contract.
"I have received your agreement. From now on, I will be near you, Chale."
"Hm...?"
"When you need me, call me Chale. Even if I’m not close by, I can come to your side."
"Wait, hold on... Is investigation still okay?"
"I am not the only one doing the investigation. My comrades will report to me. When you need me, I’ll give you a signal. Then..."
"..."
This had to be some kind of contract magic...
Just calling out a name and suddenly being able to come to my side? That’s way too broken.
After the woman’s aura disappeared, Erika and the others looked at me with sulky eyes.
"You’re causing more trouble again... Haa."
"Instructor, please be more careful..."
"This is the first time I’ve ever been this busy~"
"Sensei... This is bad."
She was saying horrible things. Was this incident really related to me?
Thinking about it carefully... the report I had submitted to the prime minister was related to Elysia...
Raide scratched the back of his head in frustration and apologized to the others.
At his reaction, everyone smiled apologetically. Erika spoke up.
"Minty-san wasn’t talking about you, but it’s never boring when I’m with Raide-san."
"Happy about it...? Don’t worry."
"Please be happy."
Erika smiled playfully. Raide gave a wry smile.
It was true that he had wanted to avoid boredom, but this was different from what he expected.
He let out a sigh, opened the hidden shop’s door that had been interrupted, and went inside.
While entering, he muttered to himself.
"I’m going to get scolded again, huh."
