Ch 160.1
I let Mom sleep on the bed, then led everyone out of the house.
In contrast with my sighing, everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves.
「Zeph-cchi’s mother is such a beauty~」
「She’s so different from my old hag at home.」
「Yera-san is kinda… She’s indeed very different, but she’s quite lovely though, Silverie-san?」
「She’s just an old hag inside.」
While each of the girls chimed in excitedly, I scowled at them.
「Good grief… Didn’t I already tell you girls not to come here out of the blue?」
「You didn’t tell us not to come and pick you up though~」
Milly held her hands behind her back as she calmly stated the facts. I used my artificial arm to hit her on the back of her head. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she’s the one at fault here.
「By the way, where is Elise?」
「Ah~ Eli-cchi said that she was going to split up from us to investigate something.」
「When we woke up this morning, we only saw the note she left behind… but will she be okay?」
「Don’t mind it, Shirushu. Elise is a dispatched mage after all.」
For a prideful person like Elise, it’s hard to imagine that she would come along with us while knowing that she could become a burden. I actually half-expected that something like this would happen.
Well, since Elise is holding on to a portal too, it should be fine if we leave her alone.
「…I had completely forgotten, but we were originally here to investigate the black monster, right?」
「Yeahh, what shall we do now, Zeph?」
「There was a Holy Knight who defeated the black monster that attacked this town, right? In that case, shall we have a chat with him?」
「Mm, sounds good.」
We went with Shirushu’s suggestion and headed towards the main street in order to ask around for information.
When we arrived at the main street, we split up and went around to gather information about the so-called Holy Knight.
After I separated from the rest, I spotted a crowd of women and called out to them.
Perhaps the Holy Knight was surrounded by that crowd of women? Even if that wasn’t the case, women love these kinds of gossip.
「Sir Holy Knight? Hmm~ I don’t think I saw him today.」
「Dressed in his white armor, with his long and beautiful blond hair, he’s suuuper handsome, isn’t he~. And somehow, that mask he wears gives him a mysterious feel too…」
「He usually visits that shop to have tea, though…」
「I heard that he also goes outside to defeat monsters sometimes, so he might be out of town!」
I spent some time asking around, but I didn’t learn anything.
It might be better if I leave Milly and the rest to ask around, while I use my legs to walk around in search of information.
「Since I’m familiar with this area anyway.」
In any case, this is my hometown. I have some places in mind where I think travellers would gather.
For example, the inn, or the shopping street… No, the area around the bar seems suspicious.
I went through the back alleys and headed for the bar.
This area is quite nostalgic. I remember storming into the bar, enraged at Claude’s brother, Kane, who was being violent. I then made a mess of the bar and escaped from it though.
While I was lost in my memories, I spotted a figure walking into the alley.
I caught a glimpse of long, blond hair, white armor, and a white mantle.
That’s him!
Immediately, I followed him into the alley.
However, I lost him. The streets here were pretty complicated after all.
There’s no way to chase after him if I didn’t know which alley he went down.
After asking around for some time, we met up in a shop at about noon, to share the information we obtained while having tea.
This shop was where the Holy Knight in question was said to frequent.
「It sounds like the Holy Knight wanders around the town quite a lot~. The people mentioned various places around town where he was spotted.」
「I heard that this was a rural town, but it’s bigger than I had expected… It seems like it will be difficult to find the guy.」
Hmm, Silverie is right, especially when we have almost no clues.
「Shirushu, is it possible to follow his scent? Since he fought with the black monster, the monster’s scent should be stuck on him.」
「Umm… Sorry, but in such a crowded place like this, it’s almost impossible…」
A dead-end, huh. However, the dejected silence that fell over the room was quickly broken by Milly.
「I found the place where that guy is staying.」
「Really!?」
「A knightly man dressed in white armor, with long and blond hair… right? When I was walking around town, I chanced upon him. I stalked him and saw him enter a hotel outside of town.」
「Well done, Milly. 」
「Ehehe… I can at least do that much ♪」
「Let’s head there now.」
We left the shop and had Milly guide us to the hotel where the Holy Knight was said to stay.
The hotel we were led to was the largest hotel in Nanami Town, Leucario.
The name Leucario meant 「A great, white dragon」, and it was built to look like a grand castle, which didn’t fit in with the rural town.
It was a lodging facility built for the nobles who visited the town from time to time, and the rich used it on a whim.
「Ooh, that’s a huge hotel~」
「He must be quite a vain person, to purposely stay out here in this place.」
「In any case, shall we go inside to talk to him?」
「No, considering that we’re not acquainted, I don’t think he will answer the door. I have another idea.」
I grinned as I led everyone into a place hidden from view.
「So, what’s your plan, Zeph?」
「We’ll use Black Coat to stay hidden while we enter.」
Black Coat is one of the Soul-type magic spells. Using this spell, the target is clothed in a special layer of air, so that it becomes difficult to spot. However, if we move too quickly, the cloak of air would peel off and we would get discovered.
「Using Black Coat requires some skill. Since Silverie and I are used to it, we will go. The rest of you please stand by here.」
「Okay, understood!」
「See you later~」
「Be careful.」
We waved goodbye, then Silverie and I turned around.
「Let’s go, Silverie.」
「Mm.」
Silverie nodded, then cast Black Coat and became one with the surroundings.
Oh, what a great vanishing act, as expected of the skillful Silverie.
I, too, cast Black Coat and disappeared.
I am not as proficient as Silverie… but with this amount of camouflage, it shouldn’t be a problem.
After confirming that Milly and the rest were no longer able to see us, I walked slowly and carefully into the hotel.
Fortunately, there was no one in the lobby, besides a receptionist who was yawning out of boredom, so we were able to get in easily.
If the hotel’s doors weren’t wide open, we would’ve been in a pinch.
The air in front of me sometimes glimmered and warped. Silverie was probably there. She was walking pretty quickly.
Without a hitch, we managed to get to the second floor, and began to go around checking for empty rooms.
Of course, the doors were locked though, and we couldn’t look inside them. Even when we tried to listen carefully, we couldn’t hear a thing. However, there’s also a likelihood that whoever is inside was asleep. We cannot afford not to check it out.
《What should we do, Zeph?》
《Well, watch me.》
I placed my hand on the door and cast Unlock, and the door unlocked with a click.
Unlock is a spell for unlocking. In my previous life, I had learned this unique spell from a thieving magician, in exchange for overlooking his wrongdoings. I rarely use this spell, but it sure is convenient at times like this.
With a soft creak, I opened the door and entered the room. However, there was no one inside.
Too bad, we guessed wrongly. Well, you can’t expect to hit the jackpot on the first try.
「Phew… I’m a little tired.」
I called off Black Coat and sat down on the bed.
Silverie also cancelled her Black Coat spell, then cocked her head from side to side to release the tension in her neck.
Using Black Coat while on the move was quite mentally draining.
「Silverie, are you feeling okay?」
「I am reasonably good at this spell. I used it to escape from the old hag before, so I’ve already mastered it.」
「I-I see.」
I thought that she was strangely proficient at this magic, so it turns out that she had honed it due to her fight with Yera.
I looked at Silverie who had a composed look on her face. At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
「Wha…!?」
We let out our voices in confusion. At the same time, the door opened with a click.
Damn it, is it the hotel’s staff!? They’re probably here to clean the room. At this rate, we’re going to get discovered!
Without thinking, I took Silverie’s hand and crawled into the closet together with her.
「…I thought I heard something just now…」
The voice of the hotel staff could be heard through the closet door. It’s a relief that we were not seen.
《H-hey, Zeph…!》
Silverie’s voice came from near my chest.
As we forcefully squeezed ourselves into the narrow closet, Silverie looked squashed and uncomfortable.
Damn, because everything happened in an instant, we’re now stuck in an awkward position.
《Sorry, I unintentionally…》
《Geez…》
Right now, our bodies were completely in contact with one another.
The warmth of Silverie’s body and the sound of her heartbeat was transmitted directly to my body.
《Ugh…》
Not good. The balance between our bodies was going to collapse anytime, and that’s going to make a sound.
I moved slightly to steady ourselves, but I ended up more closely pressed against Silverie’s body.
「Ah…」
Silverie almost let a sound leak from her lips, but I quickly put a hand over her mouth to show that it was a bad idea.
It could be audible from outside after all. Tensions ran high and I held my breath.
We leaned in close to one another while listening to the sounds coming from outside the closet.
After a while, the sounds of footsteps drifted further away and we heard the door close with a slam.
「Phew… Somehow we were not discovered…」
「Geez, that was such a waste of energy.」
Despite her complaints, Silverie did not look as dissatisfied as I would have expected.
Silverie and I took a short break, then left the room.
It was quiet in the hotel, probably because the cleaning of the rooms was completed while we were resting.
Even so, we used Black Coat to hide our bodies before proceeding, just in case.
We went from room to room, to put our ears against the door and check for sounds. There was one room that made us stop in our tracks, as soft sounds of movements could be heard from it.
「It seems like there’s someone in this room.」
「Yeah.」
When we peeked through the keyhole, something that looked like white armor could be seen lying beside the bed.
Bingo huh. I exchanged looks with Silverie and nodded, then knocked on the door.
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