I quickly looked back. However, at the entrance to the salon, only a well-dressed male employee was seen holding the door, and there was no other person in sight.
‘Was someone in the salon watching me?’
“…Hey, didn’t you feel some kind of gaze just now?”
“Yes? Who was there?”
Officer Amanta opened her eyes sharply at my words and tried to leave, saying he would put me in the carriage and take a look around the salon. But when I saw the puzzled eyes of Latte, Lemuet, and Milorad looking at us, wondering what was going on, I quickly waved my hand. Not only do I hate worrying you for no reason, but I think it was my mistake.
“It’s nothing.”
When I waved my hand, Latte started the carriage. Officer Amanta had no room in the carriage, so he got on the empty carriage and followed the carriage we were in. When I glanced back, I noticed that the officer was looking around with a worried look on his face. However, the road to the Magic Tower was so peaceful that it was not worth it. We talked about various things without stopping even on the short road to the magic tower. Latte, Lemuët, and Milorad were really pleasant people who were interested in many things. It’s hard to imagine that they and Arbice were the same age.
‘I thought his main interest would be dating since he asked about his relationship with Luke, but I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.’
I liked anything that was fun and interesting, that is, anything that could be gossiped about. For example, we talked actively about newly discovered medical knowledge, newly created magic, or newly traded goods, and were also interested in news of a fire at the Metropolitan Police Department or missing people. And about serial murders.
“I really shouldn’t just trust the Metropolitan Police Department and sit back. I heard they haven’t even caught the culprit who set the warehouse on fire. How can I believe that?”
“Really. And although it has not been revealed yet who exactly is being targeted, it is true that nobles of higher rank than expected were targeted.”
“That’s right. I’m so scared that I can’t sleep with my feet up at night.”
I was slightly surprised to hear the three of them talking. Of course, it was true that all the characters in the game were very interested in this serial murder case, but it was the first time I have seen people take the mystery as seriously as those three. The three chatted for a while and then suddenly turned to me.
“Arbice might not be interested… It’s like this.”
I quickly waved my hand.
“No. I said from the beginning that I wanted to go to the Magic Tower. And you can just call me Alby.”
“Alby?”
“Ah… Luna calls me that. So I got used to it.”
Latte laughed softly.
“Good. I’ll call you Alby. Anyway, look at this. Are you worried for no reason, because everyone likes the Magic Tower?”
“Is liking the Magic Tower the same thing as talking about serial murders like this?”
As Lemuët and Latte began bickering, Milorad glanced toward the carriage following us and asked me.
“Actually, I’m going to the magic tower with Latte, and I’m going to sneak a peek at the autopsy results while the main figures of the magic tower are away.”
‘Aren’t you saying the purpose of the invitation too late?’
Well, I guess I couldn’t have said that in a place with scenery. As I nodded, Milorad carefully added.
“I should have told you earlier. If you don’t like it right now, tell me. Latte is something I like because I tend to be reckless. It’s about looking at the memories of a dead person… Of course you might not like it.”
I swallowed hard. The thought of seeing Catherine Hunt’s memories made me nervous, as expected. Even though it was in a game, it no longer felt like a game. There were more and more moments where I was confused as to whether this was reality or a game. If there were no status windows or message windows, I would have thought that this was reality and that the world I originally lived in was a lie. But to see the moment someone was killed…
‘…It must be miserable and terrible.’
It’s really not a good thing. But it was also clear that it was not something that could be ignored. Especially about the death of none other than Catherine Hunt.
‘I’m the one who failed to convince Catherine Hunt. If I don’t take responsibility and thoroughly find out the evidence left behind by her death… I have no shame standing in front of her grave.’
I calmly organized my thoughts and nodded.
“I don’t have a hobby of watching things like that, but… I am just like you. I feel anxious every day, and I hope this horrible murder case will end quickly. If I can get some clues… I want to know too.”
Latte and Lemuet, who had only been talking jokingly, made eye contact and nodded at my serious words.
“Good. If you say it that way.”
“Let’s see together.”
“You don’t trust the Metropolitan Police Department either?”
It seemed to me that this gang had become fully involved in the crime of spying on the Metropolitan Police Department’s data. The Magic Tower looked exactly like the one I saw in the game, but it looked brighter than I thought, perhaps because I had seen so many buildings with a gloomy, dark atmosphere in this game. White tree branches were growing densely along the exterior wall of the tall black brick building, and white smoke was rising from chimneys sticking out here and there in an unusual way. After getting off the carriage, Latte whispered to me to leave Amanta behind and pointed to a chair in the lobby on the first floor.
“That’s a patented product made by Magic Tower. I’ll only lend it to you this time, so I’ll persuade them well and leave it behind. Understand?”
The chair she pointed to, upon closer inspection, looked like a massage chair. Even when I looked at it, it looked like a crude machine rather than a magical item.
“How do I use this?”
“If you sit here and move as if you were riding a bicycle, your shoulders, back, and lower back will get a refreshing massage.”
‘If you think about it, even if it’s a magic tower, there is no magic in this game that makes fire or ice bloom. It had a bit of a Mad Scientist feel to it, with neuroscience elements showing the images provided to the player.’
“Why don’t you stop making unmarketable items like that?”
“Money, money! Stop talking about his marketability, Milorad! This is a tower of learning.”
By the time Milorad and Latte started climbing the stairs, Officer Amanta arrived in the lobby. I pointed to her chair that her latte had introduced me to.
“Would you like to sit on that chair?”
“…yes?”
“You said it was a very cool massage chair?”
Officer Amanta sat in her chair, looking perplexed. As she moved her legs, the crude machine’s arms and legs moved around and she patted and massaged her arms and shoulders.
“…uh. Umm.”
At first Amanta seemed taken aback by its crude appearance, but as she continued to pedal, it was much cooler than expected and she lowered her eyes and began to enjoy her massage.
‘I guess this is where science is most developed in this game.’
I smiled slightly and whispered to Amanta.
“Is it worth it?”
“Ah yes? Ahhh, yes, really… It’s really cool.”
It was funny how her voice sounded shaky due to the machine tapping her shoulder.
“Do you want to enjoy it here some more? I’ll go upstairs and talk for a moment.”
Amanta opened her eyes and looked at me.
“But Luke asked me to be faithful. She told me to always keep Arbice close by in case anything happens.”
I pointed my finger up.
“Hey, it’s okay to take a short break. It’s not like I’m alone. It would be harder to be in danger if I were with those three, right?”
“…That’s it, but.”
“So, please rest here for a moment. You never know when you’ll be able to use the Latte machine again.”
“…Well, that doesn’t matter, but like Arbice said, there can’t be anything dangerous here… All right. Instead, you need to come back quickly.”
‘Oops.’
Even though I said it didn’t matter, Amanta, who was pedaling diligently, gave me permission and I quickly climbed the stairs. She barely got Amanta to understand and I went up the stairs, where Latte, Lemuët, and Milor Rad met me in a small room at the end of the stairs.
Perhaps it was a space that was usually used as a hideout for the three of them, but the cozy-looking room was filled with trump cards, large cookie jars, and large board game boxes that I had never seen before.
“Ugh, if I had known that we would suddenly have guests, I would have done some cleaning.”
“It’s because of you, Lemuët. “If you hadn’t hated having servants come in so much, you would have asked me to clean.”
“But you’re the one who made the mess, Latte.”
“Both of you stop fighting, aren’t you embarrassed? “Sit here, Arbice.”
As if to ignore the bickering two, Milorad dragged me and sat me down on the sofa. There were chocolate and candy bags scattered on the sofa, so I roughly pushed them to one side with my hand and sat down. When he saw how much latte I was making, his face turned red and he hurriedly started putting things in order, while Lemuët and Milorad each prepared hot tea and a roll. It felt awkward to just sit still, so I fiddled with the bag of candy in my hand and then stood up.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Latte hurriedly took the candy bag from my hand and shook his hand.
“Hey, I’m the first customer today. It’s okay, just stay still.”
Lemuët nodded his head with a happy expression.
“Maybe I should call Arbice more often? Our latte was this big.”
“Don’t tease me, Lemuët!”
“How can Arbice be like that? For no reason Shine and Luna… No, the Lakers didn’t just admit it before that?”
“That… that’s right. But I’m not usually like this either? He is a very capable member of the Magic Tower.”
Milorad sat me down again as if to tell me not to pay attention to what they said. By the time Latte returned from cleaning, her cheeks puffing out, Milorad and Lemu had also taken their seats, and excellent refreshments were prepared in front of us. When the four of them sat side by side facing the wall, Latte lost her playful expression and placed both hands on the wall.
“Pick.”
As she spoke, a video-like image began to be projected onto the wall where the dizzying decorations had been drawn. Red hair was visible in the blurry color image, as if it had been shot through a projector.
‘It’s Catherine Hunt’s hair.’
My heart was pounding rapidly.
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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 January, 2.
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