Chapter 85
Apparently, Eleris had not enchanted the door with any kind of protective spell, and it broke apart easily.
Of course, if there had been any protective magic on it, that in itself would have been evidence to Charlotte. In the end, it did not matter if the door was locked or not, and the presence or absence of protective magic would not have made much of a difference.
The moment Charlotte had shifted her attention to this place, the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
She couldn't be stopped. It was not like I could just knock her out by smacking her in the back of the head or anything.
Ignoring the commotion outside, Charlotte entered the shop.
"Hmm... the cabinet is locked."
The scroll cabinet in Eleris’s shop—one that was commonly found in every scroll shop—was firmly shuttered. Charlotte climbed over the counter and scrutinized the scroll cabinet carefully.
"There's a magic lock installed. But then again, that’s pretty common..."
The assets of a scroll shop were the scrolls themselves. Therefore, it was natural for the cabinets to be equipped with magic locks to prevent theft. Charlotte tapped lightly on the shutter of the scroll cabinet that occupied an entire wall of the shop.
"Reinhart, if there's a Fireball scroll in here, what do you think are the chances that it's the same Fireball scroll from that shop earlier?"
"I don’t know... pretty low?"
"Hmm... Right. Although it's quite expensive, it's not something rare. And even if the child’s scroll did end up here, they might have sold it already.”
Charlotte knew very well that the presence of a Fireball scroll couldn't necessarily serve as evidence.
Charlotte took out a book from her inner pocket. It was a scroll book. She smoothly flipped through the pages, and soon pulled out a single scroll.
"Still, it doesn't hurt to check. Who knows, the demon scroll that the child was carrying around might be here too."
It was entirely possible that she thought that Eleris had killed me and stolen the scroll.
It was obvious what type of scroll Charlotte had taken out.
It would be a spell for unlocking, or something in the dispelling category. Just as Charlotte was about to unfold the scroll and recite the spell...
"Hm...? What's going on here?"
Eleris, who was not supposed to be there, revealed herself, slowly coming down the stairs that led to the upper floor of the shop.
"Wh-who are you guys...?”
Eleris looked bewildered, glancing back and forth between Charlotte, who was about to cast the dispel spell, and me.
She had asked a simple question, requesting our identities.
But thanks to that, I was able to realize that Eleris knew exactly what was going on. Somehow, Eleris had returned to the shop and knew what was happening.
Her act of not recognizing me was proof enough.
"Oh... you were here?"
Charlotte, who was momentarily flustered, took off her robe.
"My name is Charlotte de Gradias. As the First Imperial Princess, I have some questions I want to ask you."
Charlotte had decided that it was no longer necessary to hide her identity.
***
Ignoring the commotion outside, Eleris knelt in distress before the princess and lowered her head.
"Wh-what brings Your Highness the princess to such a humble place?"
"I have no desire to drag this out. You just need to answer my questions."
Now that Charlotte had revealed her identity, her tone grew forceful and cold. Eleris had adopted the mannerisms of a commoner of the empire.
I could only hope that things would be resolved favorably and that Eleris had prepared a plausible excuse. At this point, there was nothing I could do to help.
I had not anticipated entering this place with Charlotte and then encountering Eleris, so my mind was already in a state of chaos.
"You're aware that people of various backgrounds have been looking for a certain child around this area, correct?"
"Yes, Your Highness, I am aware."
"I’ve heard that you claimed to have not seen that child. Are you certain?"
Although she still maintained a respectful tone, Charlotte's demeanor made it clear that, as a member of the imperial family, she felt entitled to ask questions that demanded answers.
"Yes, Your Highness. I am certain. I have never seen such a child."
"Look at my eyes."
“... Pardon?"
"Look me in the eyes as you speak."
Charlotte fixed Eleris with a piercing stare, as though she intended to detect even the smallest lie. Eleris, with some difficulty, lifted her head to meet Charlotte's gaze.
"Are you sure you haven’t seen the child?"
"Yes. I am certain I haven’t."
What did Charlotte read in Eleris's eyes, since the woman was clearly lying?
Charlotte stared at Eleris for a while, then gestured with her chin.
"Please unlock the scroll cabinet."
The Fireball scroll...
Charlotte intended to check whether it was there or not.
Only Eleris knew where it had gone; even I had no idea. Eleris, appearing frightened, quickly undid the magic lock.
"Please show me your identification."
"Oh, yes... Here it is."
Charlotte glanced at the identification papers that Eleris handed her, and quickly, as if she lost interest, went to the now-open scroll cabinet to rummage through it.
While searching, Charlotte casually asked, "Was Count Perzia a decent lord?"
It was a random question.
‘What did she mean by that question?’
"Um, well... The Count Perzia's domain is... commonly referred to as Bishop Lendri's domain. Count Perzia is not actually... not actually the lord...”
"Ah, that's right."
When I heard Eleris's response, a sudden chill ran down my spine.
Charlotte was now inquiring about Eleris's place of origin.
While I didn't know where that was, Eleris's fabricated place of origin was within Count Perzia's domain.
Had Eleris proclaimed Count Perzia to be a decent lord, Charlotte would have countered that the domain was in fact being managed by Bishop Lendri. It had been a subtle trap to test Eleris, because if Eleris were truly from that place, she would not have been ignorant of the fact that it was the bishop, not the count, who was running things.
It was a question whose answer had to be known to all who lived there, and Eleris had answered the question perfectly.
Charlotte, who knew of such detailed matters within the empire, and Eleris, who had conducted such solid background research to beef up her fake origin story... The two of them gave me goosebumps.
Charlotte did not stop questioning Eleris while she rummaged through the cabinet.
"Are you a mage?"
"No, Your Highness. I do, however, handle certain technological tools."
"Yes, it would be strange for a mage to run a scroll shop. Not that it never happens, I hear."
After searching through the scroll cabinet, Charlotte stopped and crossed her arms, looking at the cabinet thoughtfully.
"There are no Fireball scrolls or anything like that...”
The Fireball scroll had already been disposed of somehow.
"This is quite an unusual shop. There isn’t any offensive magic in stock."
Charlotte had identified a distinct aspect of Eleris's scroll shop that set it apart from others.
"Could you bring me the account book?"
Charlotte was determined not to leave until all her suspicions were laid to rest.
***
I was able to appreciate just how meticulous Eleris was. Regardless of how the business was doing, Eleris had kept her accounts thoroughly organized.
Eleris was on a mission as a spy from the Demon Realm in the imperial capital, and she knew she could be discovered at any time. Hence, she had taken all the necessary precautions so as not to arouse any suspicion.
"Why don’t you stock any offensive magic?"
"That... That's because offensive magic tends to be used in acts of violence. It would be fortunate if it were used against monsters, but I am aware that there are often cases when it isn’t..."
Eleris had considered the possibility that the scrolls she sold could be used for criminal activities. Therefore, she chose not to deal in offensive magic scrolls at all.
It was a decision that was so characteristic of her.
However, this was also her weakness. It was one of the few areas where Eleris hadn’t been thorough enough.
"Still, isn't there a high demand for offensive magic?"
"Yes, there is...”
That might have been why her business wasn't doing so well. Nevertheless, what a merchant chose to sell was totally up to the merchant.
"Hmm..."
After inspecting the account books, Charlotte closed it.
"It seems you really aren’t tied to the child I’m searching for."
Charlotte's current theory was that someone had recognized the true value of the demon scrolls, stolen the entire scroll book, and then harmed the boy. However, Eleris didn't deal in offensive magic scrolls, and according to what Charlotte had been able to gather, she wasn't much of a profit-seeker either.
It was natural to conclude that a shopkeeper who wasn’t greedy would steal a scroll book or engage in such conduct.
It seemed Charlotte had conclusively dismissed that line of suspicion. However, Charlotte still pointed at the account book.
"It seems like the profit from your shop isn't even able to cover its maintenance costs, though."
"Oh..."
Having come into the shop and examined the accounts, Charlotte had realized that the revenue of the shop was very low, and had come up with a new line of questioning.
"How is this shop being maintained? You don’t deal in the items that are in highest demand, like offensive magic scrolls, and it seems like you barely have any intention of making money.”
The Rotary Club was supplementing the funds that were being used for the shop's maintenance. But if Charlotte dug that far, it was highly likely that I would be implicated as well.
This was truly chilling.
How did things come to this?
"About that... I’m actually operating at a loss...”
Of course, Eleris had to make up the fact that she was digging into her capital to keep the business running. All she could do was say that the business was not doing well because of her ineptitude. It painted the picture of someone who had rashly jumped into the business world, was stubborn, and was now cutting into her own life savings to keep going.
"Hmm... and yet, you even took a vacation during the festival that was being held here in the capital?"
"Ah... Th-That's because...”
"Where did you go exactly?"
"I just... went camping around the outskirts of the imperial capital. And then I heard about the terror incident, and only just returned today..."
Saying she went camping was probably Eleris's way to avoid mentioning that she used a warp gate since that would make it obvious that she had left a trace of her movements in the gate's usage records.
"Camping... Camping, huh."
Charlotte seemed contemptuous that Eleris seemed to have been having so much fun by herself during such a dismal time.
Something was off about the whole thing.
It seemed like Charlotte was slowly becoming possessed by the spirit of a military superior grilling a new recruit.
She seemed genuinely exasperated, as if wondering how Eleris expected to make a living like this.
"I've heard that all the merchants in Aligar are nothing but voracious money-grubbers, but it seems you're an exception."
Charlotte appeared incredulous, as if she hadn't realized until now that there were people who stubbornly ran businesses that were doomed to fail. At last, Charlotte seemed to conclude that there was nothing suspicious to be found within the shop.
And then, to the last point of doubt...
"Can I go up there?" she asked, pointing towards the stairs leading to the upper floor.
***
The space above the shop, where Eleris lived, comprised a living room and a single bedroom.
"... It really doesn't feel like a place that someone actually lives in,” said Charlotte as she assessed the room, which only had the bare necessities. In the living room, there was only a table and some chairs, and in the bedroom, just a bed and a blanket.
"That's because... I can't afford much...”
It was true that she was living a life of poverty.
Charlotte did not find anything special in the excessively bleak room. Eleris followed Charlotte around apprehensively, and I felt as though my heart might burst from the tension.
There was something common in most homes that was conspicuously absent in Eleris’s living space: cooking utensils and food storage.
Click.
"Hmm..."
Charlotte nodded slowly as she peered at the frozen meals inside the freezer.
Eleris had stocked up on these frozen foods recently, perhaps in case I dropped by. I didn't know how expensive refrigerators were in this era, but the mere presence of one was enough to avoid the suspicion that she didn't eat at all.
Charlotte was going through Eleris’s room, thinking that she might be the prime suspect in whatever might have befallen Baalier, but in reality, she was scrutinizing the home of a vampire who had infiltrated the imperial capital.
If Charlotte suspected that Eleris might be a demon, she might have found other details suspicious, but as it was, she was simply looking for any potential traces that might lead to me.
Charlotte then entered the bedroom. There was only a bed below the window, a blanket, and a wardrobe.
Occasionally, Eleris and I exchanged glances that managed to evade Charlotte's gaze.
“Are we doomed?”
“It seems so!”
We exchanged such silent conversations a few times. Charlotte, observing the bed, reached out her hand.
"Elena."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"This strand of hair. Whose is it?"
There, unmistakably, lay a golden strand of hair that was entirely a different color than Eleris's auburn locks.
When I had disguised my horns and taken on a human appearance, my hair had been blonde. And sure enough, the hair Charlotte had picked up was also blonde.
That was my hair. It made sense, considering I had left the Temple’s premises during the festival period and had stayed at the shop for a few days.
Charlotte was likely mistaking my hair for Baalier's.
Which was technically right...
‘Of course it's my own hair, what else could it be! But that hair belongs to me in a different form! It's not Baalier’s hair, but Reinhart's!’
But why would my hair have fallen out? Well, humans usually shed hair, and it was common to lose some while sleeping. My only saving grace was that the hair wasn’t black.
I suppressed the urge to rush over and count how many strands of hair had fallen out.
"Whose hair is it, I asked," Charlotte said, repeating her question.
Of course, Charlotte, who had a completely different perspective, began to press Eleris for answers.
Eleris’s face was already flaming red. Here I was, witnessing a vampire turn red-faced for what was probably the first time in history. Did vampires even have blood to blush?
Charlotte was belaboring the point that a strand of hair, clearly not Eleris’s, had been found in the bed.
"Tha-That... It's... my... my... boy... boyfriend's... I think...”
What other excuse could possibly come to Eleris's mind at that moment
"AHH!"
Charlotte shrieked as she recoiled and almost flung the strand of hair from her hand.
"I-Is th-that so..."
"Yes... Your Highness...”
Charlotte, who was still young, apparently had no suspicions regarding such matters. Both Eleris and Charlotte were, for different reasons, red-faced. Charlotte seemed unable to even look at Eleris's bed anymore, as if she had stumbled upon something she was not meant to see.
What thoughts were plaguing this know-it-all child's mind? What was she imagining that had her so red-faced and unable to lift her head?
"Wh-What's your boyfriend’s... name?"
Despite her extreme embarrassment, Charlotte continued to press on, determined to confirm the details.
Really, all I could think about was how determined she was.
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