Volume 4 Chapter 2: Where the Journey Takes Us Part III (1/2)
I, Lahna Smith, also known as Suzanna Randall, have currently arrived at a rooftop of a building a little ways away from the inn I’m staying in.
I am on this rooftop because it is the highest place in the area.
I did make sure to get permission from the owner of the building. I could’ve climbed up without permission, but it might’ve ended up being a pain if I didn’t.
The reason why I needed to be in a high place is for this magic tool I’m about to use.
I thrust up a magic tool I took out from my bag. After a short while, the tool begins to tremble.
“There we go.”
Looks like it’s going to work. I speak to the tool.
“Ahem, this is Lahna Smith. Rafael Walt, do you copy?”
“Yes, I copy, Lahna-sama.”
The somewhat disgruntled voice of my subordinate comes from the tool.
“It’s a success.”
I grin.
This magic tool is an amazing tool that allows conversation over great distances. It was finally completed through many iterations and experimentation.
But since it uses wind magic, its sole drawback is that it needs to be used not only outside, but somewhere fairly high up.
However, if it’s improved upon, it may become viable for practical use. Once I return, I’ll implement some new improvements…
“Lahna-sama, Lahna-sama, do you copy?”
Rafael’s even more disgruntled voice cuts through my thoughts.
“Ah, my bad, I copy, I copy. So, how are things over there?”
“What do you mean, ‘how are things’? You pushed all the work onto me then suddenly went out on a trip – I would prefer if you wouldn’t do this,” whines my subordinate.
“But I can leave everything to you with no worries. Your skills are top class even in the Ministry of Magic,” I point out.
“… That’s not…” he says, sounding embarrassed.
On a side note, my statement wasn’t mere flattery or anything – it was nothing but the truth.
Last year, Rafael was put in the custody of the Ministry of Magic after causing a certain incident. Considering the circumstances, there weren’t many departments in the Ministry of Magic that were interested in taking him in.
At first, I went and made him my subordinate out of curiosity – I was interested in someone who used an unknown power. But now, I think of him as a splendid subordinate. His skills have helped me out greatly.
And so, it will likely be fine to leave my work to him. Thus, I change the subject and ask him about what I had asked him to do.
“Is that investigation proceeding smoothly?”
“… Yes. I’m managing that as well,” responds Rafael, letting out a small sigh.
“As expected from a subordinate of mine. So, what’s the situation?”
“Yes. Duke Claes is investigating independently, but it seems he has not found any clues as of now. The same goes for governmental officials or ministry workers who’ve accepted Duke Claes’ request.”
“I see, the enemy is pretty skilled to evade Duke Claes. What about those rumours that there’s someone using dark magic?”
“I believe those rumours are substantive. I found people that may have had dark magic cast on them.”
“I see, so those rumours are definitely true…”
A few weeks back, I heard rumours that another dark magic user had appeared. To be honest, at the time I had been just fed up by how information had leaked out again.
“So, what’s the probability that Keith Claes’ disappearance and that dark magic user are connected?”
“I do not know that yet either.”
“I see…”
On hearing those two reports for the first time, I just couldn’t imagine that they were unrelated. So I had Rafael investigate Katarina’s stepbrother Keith’s disappearance and the new dark magic user, feeling they may be connected.
“Oh, right. Send out a request under my name to Prince Geoffrey for cooperation with the investigation.”
“To Prince Geoffrey?” asks Rafael, sounding bewildered.
“Yeah, he owes a number of debts to me so I’ll use them for this. Also tell him that if he doesn’t cooperate, I won’t give him that magic tool.”
“… I see.”
Rafael seems to be a bit confused, but he agrees without prying too deeply.
Then, after a short silence, he speaks again.
“Um… so, how is Katarina-sama doing?” Rafael asks, sounding worried.
I recall that this subordinate of mine was one of those smitten with Katarina Claes.
“She’s completely convinced that Keith’s disappearance is just him running away from home. I don’t know whether to tell you to rest assured because of this, or to be worried because she’s just way too dense. And since she believes that he’ll come back immediately if we find him and she apologies, she’s just as cheerful as usual.”
“I see, I’m glad she’s doing well.”
“By the way, Maria is acting like that too – she believes the running-away-from-home story. I’m in awe at their innocence. However, unsurprisingly Sora and Prince Jared both seem to have realized something. Though they haven’t asked me anything directly.”
“I see. But if they did ask you directly, wouldn’t it be better for you to explain?”
“That’s true. If that happens, I’ll explain everything properly. But everything we know is just conjecture. Well, I’ll try investigating things over here, so I’m counting on you to continue your investigation over there.”
“Understood.”