As I was looking at Fievel, who bowed his head and went out without saying a word, Count Nemir held out a piece of paper. He glanced at the statue in his hand.
“Ankir… Dermunah? Is this correct to read?”
It’s not imperial notation.
“Ankiel Dermin, a man from another kingdom. He said he came here on the run because they were persecuting alchemists.”
After nodding his head, he took the paper and put on the coat hanging on the wall. He opened his mouth to Count Nemir, who looked at him with a puzzled face.
“First of all, I understand Count Nemir’s situation well. Still, for now, please proceed with as much research as you can. I will meet with the alchemists.”
“You don’t have to do that. You invested, but how could it be like that…”
This was a pretty important issue, regardless of investment. The problem Beralt was involved in was not something to just laugh off. It seemed like he was plotting something anti-national. If it were true that they were distributing counterfeit money, the Akfensia family could become the second Marquis of Bepis family, and in addition, they were now manufacturing bombs using the essence of fire. At this level, not only the Akpensia family but also all of their bloodlines will disappear under the dew of execution. Of course, I would be happy if Beralt disappeared, but that wasn’t the problem.
“Please go back first and wait for a call. Oh, if it’s okay with you, could you use the fastest contact number to contact His Excellency Grand Duke Berdian as soon as you leave?”
“What can I say?”
“Please ask the alchemists located in the principality territory to secretly investigate whether an incident like this has occurred. If you give my name, there will be no problem.”
All right. He quickly left the door behind Count Nemir, who nodded his head. It is not polite to leave the office or reception room before the guests leave. But that didn’t matter now. If Beralt was really involved in this incident…
“Ersia… I believe it’s not even you.”
There was a high probability that my stupid brother was also involved. In that case, the Ajstain family could not avoid it when this matter was brought to the surface and punished. So, I could only hope that Ercia didn’t do anything to answer him.
* * *
The city of Belradi was a very ordinary place with nothing special. There were no special products and there was no active trade, but there were quite a few people. Just like the cities of the empire. The sun was high in the sky when we landed not far from Beralt. Luckily, we were all able to move quickly and make it on time.
“Miss, where can I look?”
He called a knight to guard the hurriedly moving building and instructed him to bring a maid to help with the performance, and he brought Yuli, a 14-year-old little maid. She dressed Olly in her street clothes and her big-brimmed hat, making her look like a country girl who had just come to town. What on earth was the driver thinking when he brought this child here? She looked at Yuli carefully, then turned her head and looked at the map in her hand.
“It’s called the red door located on Route 14. Where is Route 14?”
I looked around the street. I could feel the eyes of people watching us as we got off the carriage. Was it rare for nobles to visit this city? Even though it wasn’t a rural city, everyone was staring. But even then, when our eyes met, he quickly turned his head away. One of the knights standing next to him spoke in a low voice.
“That’s Route 13, so wouldn’t that be Route 14 after that, Miss?”
Maybe so, I nodded and made the first move.
“Shall we go?”
Moving along the wide road was no problem. Compared to the wide street, there were few people and the street felt relatively shabby, which struck me as strange.
“I think that’s Route 14.”
When the driver asked if he could make the first move, he nodded. He quickly stepped forward, looked at the address, and nodded his head. That makes you look like a special agent with special orders. He walked up to the driver, looked at the address again, and then looked at the doors of the houses scattered around it. My eyes twitched.
“Most houses here have red doors?”
However, the degree was different. There was a door that was bright red, as if it had just been painted, and there was also a red door that was almost an earthy color, as if it had been there for a hundred and one years. He walked between them and looked through the doors. As a rough estimate, more than 30 house questions were in red. I walked all the way down the street, came back, and looked at the driver. The knight blinked his eyes and suddenly spoke.
“Shall we investigate?”
As for the investigation, it was clear that if the knights were to move quickly and find that person, there would probably be a loud rumor going around. I had to move as quietly as possible. I’m still getting attention and I can’t be more embarrassed.
“Just wait for now.”
I looked at the doors one by one again. I walked all the way to the end, looking for any hints, and then came back, but as expected, there was nothing special. The knight spoke again.
“If you rest, we will catch you.”
So who? Just as I narrowed my eyes and was about to say it was okay, I heard the voice of the young maid Yuli.
“Anyway, the smell in here is terrible.”
“Smell?”
It doesn’t smell that bad, but I don’t even have bad breath. What is that smell? Ulli shook his head, covering his nose.
“Doesn’t this smell like vinegar?”
“Vinegar?”
I turned around and secretly tapped my nose, but I couldn’t smell anything special. The road was clean, so there was no smell of trash, I didn’t catch a cold, and my nose was open. However, Woolly was staring at one house. That house?
“That house smells like vinegar.”
Vinegar… I narrowed my eyes and looked at that house. Was she cooking? I thought it was strange and talked to Yuli again, but something suddenly occurred to her. Isn’t vinegar definitely an acidic substance? It was rumored to be good for sterilization and was often used for cleaning. The smell was terrible, but
“Yuli, are you good at smelling things?”
“Hmm… It’s not like that, but I tend to smell cooking-related smells well.”
“Cooking?”
“Yes, I’m a bit sensitive to that area… hehe.”
She smiled awkwardly and smiled as he bent the brim of her hat, then she walked to the door. Breathing, there was nothing particularly strange. When I called Yuli over and told her to smell her, she immediately got scared and ran away. Was it that bad? It didn’t seem like much, so she called the driver to smell it, but he just shook his head as if he didn’t know.
“Shall I break it?”
It’s someone else’s house, isn’t that being too rude? While I was staring blankly at the driver who had made such a ridiculous statement, the door was carefully opened. A man’s face popped out through the gap along with a screeching sound. White hair and red eyes. It had a bizarre appearance. It was an appearance that had never been seen before in the empire. The man looked back at me and his knights with a very scared face and spoke cautiously.
“…You can’t break it.”
Ha, after sighing, I turned to the driver and told him to stay as quiet as possible, and the driver turned his back sullenly. He clicked his tongue and turned to the man who opened the door again.
“I’m sorry. Are you the owner of this place?”
“That’s right, but…”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Which…”
Why do you keep ending your sentences, so weak? Moreover, the lack of confidence on his face made him look exhausted. The man flinched as I smiled slightly as he looked at me with anxious eyes. Oh, are you scared? However, I opened my mouth with the intention of calmly questioning the situation that had already come to this.
“Do you happen to know Ankiel Dermin?”
When I asked him if he knew because he was a resident here, he tilted his head and looked intently into my eyes. Then he closed the door. What? Why just close it? Did I just be rude? As I was staring at the door in confusion, the closed door opened wide and he walked out. Uh… this? You’re a little… tall? It was almost 2 meters tall. What was this guy? He opened his mouth in surprise. Wasn’t this bigger than Benson? The knights jumped in surprise and surrounded me. Even as I was staring blankly at him, surprised by his size, which was a head taller than the knights, and wondering what to say, the man opened his mouth.
“I am Ankiel Dermin… Who are you?”
The image of an alchemist in my head was cruelly shattered. Close to 2 meters… no, a huge alchemist over 2 meters tall. I was so surprised that I opened my mouth.
“…!”
* * *
I thought the alchemists’ workshop would be a little special. First of all, I thought that the surrounding area would be a mess with all kinds of strange materials, as well as all kinds of messy chemical materials lying on the ground. That’s exactly what the witches in fairy tales looked like. I pictured him chuckling as he stirred a cauldron containing a suspicious liquid, holding a spatula taller than he was tall. Therefore, quite a lot of knights came along. But from the moment we met, it was a shock. Even though it was surprising that he was over 2 meters tall, the house he was staying in was so clean that it was like a wall with not a single speck of dust visible. He looked around to see if there was a black cauldron, but there was none. At least it’s a spatula bigger than me… Oh, that’s not possible. I had no idea how big I would have to be to be bigger than that guy. A man called an alchemist was sitting quietly smiling. In his hand was a teacup of the same shape and size as the one in my hand, and it looked like a toy tool. The sight was fascinating, so I held the teacup and stared at it blankly.
“Oh, it wasn’t poisoned. Haha.”
That must be a joke, right? At his words, the driver stood up and lifted the teacup in my hand to his mouth first. The knight took a sip, then inserted a silver needle to check the color and nodded his head. I guess that means he’s fine. Ankiel Dermin… The old alchemist who called himself Dermin sweatdropped when he saw what the knight was doing.
“It was a joke…”
I know, but the timing and atmosphere were not good. First of all, the knights seemed in disbelief that he was an alchemist. Actually, I was the same way. In the first place, alchemists were people who devoted everything to research, so they were basically physically weak and small. But what about this man? It’s understandable that he’s tall. But at first glance, the muscles on his body were no joke. He was strong enough to believe that he was a person who had trained his body all his life. Benson will also give up on this man. 41.
“…Was it by any chance a knight?”
“No. He was a scholar interested in alchemy and learning from a young age.”
I couldn’t believe it. I looked at him with eyes full of disbelief and he laughed lowly. He didn’t lower his voice, but rather smiled in a strangely confident way. Unlike his size, he is timid. Why do you do that?
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on October, 12.
Want to read more?
