A problem occurred.
Since our first meeting, I haven’t seen Carla.
None of the places she was said to frequent—Carla appeared in none of them.
‘Judging by the timing and circumstances, the problem probably lies with me.’
This strange change can’t be explained any other way.
From my point of view, I thought I’d ended things decently enough, but perhaps not from Carla’s perspective.
Was I so displeasing she didn’t even want to glance at my face?
‘So much for things going well, what a joke.’
I’m embarrassed I ever thought that, even for a moment.
Now everyone else will realize their worries were overblown.
“I can’t make sense of this.”
“Told you, you were getting ahead of yourself.”
I replied to Elodie, who looked unconvinced.
Standing before me now were Elodie and Selena, both wearing awkward expressions.
Lirih, Arald, and Pielot had stepped out to talk with the Achaia family.
“What on earth did you do?”
Elodie asked, sounding genuinely baffled.
“I didn’t do anything. Actually, I’m wondering if the problem is that I really did nothing.”
I had already decided not to get involved any deeper than necessary.
And from the moment I met Carla until we parted, that decision never wavered.
Selena tilted her head.
“Then it’s even stranger. Even if Lady Carla lost interest in you, to hide herself completely to the point of not showing up anywhere... that’s peculiar.”
It’s strange to completely disappear just because she lost interest in me. She could just ignore me.
That only strengthens the hypothesis that she hates even seeing my face.
Selena’s expression sank slightly as she spoke.
“If Lady Carla had been maintaining a steady web of deals and social relationships, it’s too strange for her to sever all of them just because she feels uncomfortable with one person. Unless some trauma-inducing insect appeared before her, it’s more reasonable to assume something else unexpected has happened.”
“Maybe I resembled that insect?”
“...That’s even less realistic, Frondier.”
Hmm. True enough. It seems I’ve taken a mental hit from something I expected to go smoothly.
“Something unexpected, huh.”
Elodie responded to my words.
“Carla’s the type who uses her beauty to make deals. If she’s making a deal that’s mutually beneficial, she doesn’t need to use her beauty. So conversely, that means she has to use it in the deals she makes.”
“...Meaning, when you look purely at the transactions, there’s a high chance those were unfair deals that benefited Carla alone?”
“When the man on the other side is infatuated, it doesn’t seem like a big deal at the time. But when he sobers up later, he might get angry about the deal he made. Those men—or their associates—might have threatened Carla.”
One of many possibilities, but plausible.
Besides, I haven’t confirmed any means by which Carla can defend herself.
If I haven’t, chances are others haven’t either.
Not seeing it doesn’t mean she’s defenseless, but someone blinded by rage might think so.
“In the end, we have to find out where Carla is.”
Damn it, times like this make Gregory’s absence sting. That guy would’ve found her in no time. When Gregory was around, no one ever went “missing.”
“If Carla isn’t in immediate danger, then even if she wants to avoid you, there’ll come a time when you’ll run into her.”
“...Right. She’s the principal of Atlas, after all.”
Carla rarely appears at Atlas, but that doesn’t mean she’s canceled all her official duties. Nor could she.
If there’s any formal Atlas event or official occasion, Carla will have to show up—unless something truly happened to her.
“And even if she doesn’t show herself, she’s probably still in contact with people at Atlas. If there’s no sign of major unrest there, she’s not in immediate danger.”
“True. Maybe she’s just gotten sick of all the nobles and decided to rest at home.”
“...Hearing that from you somehow sounds wrong.”
I narrowed my eyes at Elodie and thought for a moment.
A public event at Atlas, huh.
So basically, if there’s something like what happened back at Constel, Carla will have to appear.
“...No reason to sit around waiting for someone else to make it happen.”
***
Before Lirih, Arald, and Pielot left for the Achaia mansion.
As they were about to head out, Frondier said to them,
“Keep a low profile when you go. After all, it’s true Pielot made a mistake. We want this to end as quietly as possible.”
The Achaia family was trying to make a big issue out of Ias being knocked unconscious by Pielot.
It could’ve been settled just by talking in the faculty office, but they went as far as to summon House Livanche.
An overreach of noble privilege—something that, to Frondier, felt more off than infuriating.
“When you say ‘keep a low profile,’ does that mean there’s another scenario?”
Arald asked, and Frondier nodded.
“Lady Achaia tried to do something to Pielot using mana. It was faint, almost imperceptible—but since we know she tried something, you should be able to sense it too.”
Back then, she was shouting and waving her arms so much that detecting that faint thread of mana hadn’t been easy.
But now that they knew, it would be different. Even without Frondier, they’d notice.
“If she tries something like that again—or if she makes any demand that crosses the line—”
Frondier turned his eyes toward Ria Liss.
“—just do it.”
“...For real?”
“Yeah. Whether it’s Charm, intimidation, whatever—just do it. But make it absolute. If you use Charm, make sure they can’t come to their senses. If you threaten, instill a fear so deep they’ll never think of coming at you again.”
That way, they’d learn what Lady Achaia had been plotting. Frondier nodded as he said it.
Arald asked,
“What exactly do you mean by ‘crossing the line’?”
“I’ll leave that judgment to you. Don’t worry. Whatever you decide, I won’t accuse you later of overreacting.”
In other words, he was granting them full license—to strike back at even the slightest offense.
Following Frondier’s intent, the three headed for the Achaia mansion.
And when they pressed the doorbell—
“Oh my, welcome.”
Lady Achaia greeted them with a bright smile, looking like a completely different person from the one they’d met in the faculty office.
“Ah, hello?”
“Yes, yes. Don’t just stand there—come in. You must be tired from the trip.”
The three followed her awkwardly inside.
Lirih sensed no suspicious mana, and Arald’s eyes detected no traps.
Lady Achaia led them to the parlor, and almost immediately a servant brought out tea—as if it had been prepared in advance.
“There were a lot of discourtesies back at Atlas.”
“...No, it was our fault. My student made a mistake.”
Lirih stared blankly at the lady for a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ moment before hastily replying. It was surprisingly natural for something said out of fluster.
Arald sipped his tea and glanced naturally toward Lirih.
He couldn’t tell whether Lady Achaia was acting. So he asked with his eyes—but Lirih was just as unsure.
“A mistake? Showing fine skill in a duel is a mistake?”
Lady Achaia spoke kindly, as though she’d become a different person altogether.
Then she turned to Pielot.
“I’m truly sorry for back then. Yelling at you over that was unbecoming of an adult.”
“No, I think I went too far myself.”
Pielot was equally bewildered by this situation.
He heightened his mana sensitivity to the maximum, wondering if Lady Achaia might be approaching him with some hidden spell as Frondier had warned—but felt nothing of the sort.
“Um, my lady, I apologize if this is rude, but... did something happen?”
“Oh, no, nothing like that.”
Lady Achaia shook her head.
“That was inside Atlas, remember? So I had no choice but to put on an act.”
“What do you mean?”
“I see you don’t know. Well, only a handful of nobles are aware of this.”
At that, Arald and Lirih exchanged glances.
Frondier had told them Atlas had suspicious elements—the wiretap system, for one.
But did that mean certain nobles already suspected something similar?
“Do you know about the principal of Atlas, Carla?”
“...Only by name.”
Arald answered honestly—the safest possible response.
“There’s a rumor that Carla seeks out unmarried men. She uses her beauty to strike favorable deals.”
“...I see.”
It was hearsay, but he didn’t bother agreeing.
“She’s collecting knowledge about demons.”
“...Excuse me?”
“This isn’t gossip or rumor. It’s true.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because our family did business with Carla.”
Lirih blinked at that.
Then, recalling something, she said,
“B-but you said she seeks out unmarried men. The head of House Achaia is obviously married.”
“There’s another unmarried man, isn’t there?”
“...Huh?”
“Our son—Ias.”
At that, Lirih, Arald, and Pielot all opened their mouths in unison.
“T-then the ‘unmarried man’ means...?”
“Carla doesn’t particularly care about age. As long as he’s unmarried. Whether he’s an adult or still a minor—it doesn’t matter.”
“T-then are you saying your son met with Carla?”
Lirih, before realizing it, imagined a very improper scene.
Lady Achaia sighed.
“Yes, that’s right. He told me nothing happened, and he didn’t look embarrassed or anything. But it was obvious he was smitten. He even came to me and said, ‘The principal is a very good person.’”
Normally, when a minor gets involved in a physical relationship unintentionally, that’s not how they react. Even for a boy, the instinct is to hide it.
So she didn’t even need to do that much—just emotionally ensnaring him was enough.
Honestly, Lirih found that easy to believe—because she’d done similar things herself.
...Though never with minors.
“Carla’s seeking knowledge about demons, and Ias thinks she’s a good person?”
“To him, she probably looks like someone researching ways to fight demons.”
“Did Ias already have knowledge about demons?”
“Yes, to some extent. On the continent of Agoris, countermeasures against the 72 demons are important.”
Lirih blinked slowly.
This conversation, and Carla’s actions—something about it all felt off.
“...Is the knowledge Ias has really that special? So special Carla would risk suspicion to obtain it?”
“You really are perceptive. That’s what we found odd as well.”
“What do you mean?”
“Carla doesn’t know things that many people on this continent take for granted about demons. She can’t distinguish between what’s in the records, what’s in common folklore, and what’s classified.”
Lirih and Arald both recognized that pattern.
Because it was exactly the same as theirs.
“Carla’s not like us,” Lady Achaia said.
“She’s either not from this continent—or she’s a demon herself.”
