Chapter 4
When I turned my head, I saw the face of the man from earlier, very close.
The man had a stiff face and was holding Letier’s slender wrist tightly.
“Uh…? Simon’s younger son?”
“Who is Simon?”
“Your father.”
“Oh, yes.”
The man gave a foolish reply and slowly relaxed his grip on Letier’s wrist.
With her wrist free, Letier turned to the man standing nearby.
“What are you doing here?”
“Why are you so calm… Did the young lady really know where this place was and tried to enter? Why are you entering this alley at this time?”
“It’s a bar.”
“It’s not just a bar, it’s dangerous…”
The man stuttered, unable to finish his sentence.
“I was looking for a guardhouse. It seemed like there would be a lot of people there, so I just wanted to go in to ask for directions.”
“If that’s the case, you’ve been looking in the wrong place for a long time. In a place like this, there could be a decent, great man who could explain the way to an innocent young lady.”
“Then what about Simon’s younger son? Did you come here to enjoy the night?”
“What?”
At Letier’s question, the man stopped talking as if caught off guard.
What are you talking about now…
Letier obediently backed away from the door and gave the man his way.
“If that’s the case, come on in! Oh, before you go in, can you tell me where the guard post is?”
“Why am I coming to a place like this, I’m just…”
“Huh?”
“Ha… Nevermind… I’ll take you to the guardpost. Follow me.”
The man looked at Letier, then went down the alley and started walking in the lead.
Letier stared back and forth between the man and the bar for a moment, then quickly chased after the man.
“Simon’s younger son…! Are you unable to play because of me?”
“I didn’t intend to play in the first place.”
Simon’s younger son responded coldly, but dutifully guided Letier.
They passed the fountain, climbed a third of the way up the stairs, and when they came to a fork in the road, they took it, just as the middle-aged man had described earlier.
“Wow…. If I had been alone, I don’t think I’d ever find it…”
“The old roads of the original capital are a bit convoluted, they weren’t laid out in a planned way from the beginning, they just kept shoving buildings in where they were already built. Someday we’ll have to do something about it.”
As expected of a man in the capital, he seemed to have a good understanding of the details of the capital.
After walking for a while, my legs were about to start to hurt when I began to see the guardpost building faintly in the distance.
She was pleasantly surprised to see the flag of the Trillante Empire fluttering in the window of the guardhouse.
Letier hurried her steps with a happy heart.
“Uh…?”
“It’s locked.”
However, the door to the guardpost that I finally got to was firmly locked.
A small white piece of paper was clumsily attached to the gate of the guardpost and swayed up and down.
Letier approached the paper and read the contents.
[Currently, all personnel are on a business trip to investigate a series of incidents within the capital. For urgent business, please go to the address below, and if you don’t mind, please return tomorrow].
The man who was reading the text standing side by side next to Letier said in a very annoyed voice.
“These fools… This is the best you can do with our tax dollars?”
“Simon’s younger son… Where is this address written here?”
Letier asked, pointing to the address written at the bottom of the text.
“This is just the imperial palace address. There are guards exclusively for the imperial palace on standby at all times, so if there is an urgent case, you should go there.”
At the man’s answer, Letier felt her energy sink.
I walked all the way here, enduring my sore feet, thinking that I would be able to find the guardpost and meet Lucy soon, but it can’t be…
“Ah…. In a word, it’s ruined. I can’t even meet the guards, and I can’t even meet Lucy… Lucy must be very worried by now…”
“The security guard will come back tomorrow, and right now, we’ll start looking for a place for the young lady to stay tonight.”
The man looked back down the darkened street and sighed calmly.
Letier nodded weakly, as if agreeing.
Letier and Simon’s younger son entered a hotel located near the guard post right in front of them.
“A room, please.”
“Oh my… What should I do? Our hotel is full tonight.”
The friendly receptionist lowered his eyebrows and put on a pitiful expression.
I told him would pay more if there was a room he could arrange, but he shook his head resolutely.
Other hotels did the same.
“The last room was sold a while ago.”
“We are fully booked all week.”
“There was nothing left but the staff quarters… It’s hard to get into a place like that, isn’t it?”
It was very difficult to find an empty room, probably because there have been a lot of people gathering in the capital recently.
“It’s a big deal….”
They wandered from hotel to hotel with puzzled faces, and were only able to get a room at the last hotel they visited.
“This is the last room left in our hotel.”
“Thank god. What’s the price?”
“60 mints.”
“Oh, I have money…”
Before Letier opened the bag, a man standing next to him naturally took out three gold coins from his inside pocket.
The hotel clerk quickly took the gold coin and held out the key with the room number on it.
“Then, have a good time.”
“Huh? I have money too. Was it three gold coins? I’ll give it to you right now.”
Letier hurriedly spat out as he chased the man who was walking up the stairs.
There’s no way Simon’s younger son has enough pocket money to pay for a luxury hotel like this…!
“I don’t need.”
“You don’t need it? I know it’s difficult for Simon to earn money these days, but what if his son spends money like this? come on take it! Three gold coins is a lot of money!”
“… It seemed like the young lady was making enough money not to worry about it.”
The man strode along in wide strides and stood in front of the room door, unlocked it with the key, and opened it wide for Letier to enter.
“You must have suffered a lot today. Come in and get some rest.”
“Simon’s younger son? Are you going back home?”
“Yes.”
Letier, who was about to enter the room after receiving the key from the man, stopped for a moment.
I wanted to go into the room right away, wash with warm water and throw myself on the spacious bed, but I felt like I had to do my duty as a human being.
Letier turned her head and looked at the man.
“Thank you for helping me out today. I want to thank you without being upset, but you don’t even let me pay for the room… I will repay this favor through Simon later.”
“Whatever.”
The man spat out with an expression of disinterest.
“Oh, and there’s something I’d like to help you with, even if it’s only a little.”
“I hope it won’t be long.”
Letier hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.
“A while ago, the liquid that Simon’s younger son had dropped on the floor at the crime scene. As soon as it hit the floor, white smoke like a thread came out, didn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
An unexpected voice came out.
The man standing with his head leaning against the door looked as tired as herself.
Maybe he wants to get away from her and go home.
“The liquid was probably blood taken from Nixie’s body, right? Not many substances react with Nixie’s blood. Especially if you narrow it down to things you can get from the Trillante Empire, there’s not much more. It’s a substance that came from the place where a person fell, so it’s probably a substance that’s not good for the human body.”
At Letier’s reasoning, the man who had been standing still narrowed his eyebrows.
“… If so, the substance that was buried on the floor is like lythe Litupis flower. The fallen man may have been poisoned by the litupis flower. I couldn’t see it well because it’s surrounded by people, but if the limbs of the fallen person are paralyzed, the symptoms of the poison are obvious, so try to find out that way. It happened right in front of the store, so if you’re curious.”
When Letier finished speaking and started to enter the guest room, the man hurriedly grabbed her and stopped her.
“How does the young lady know so well about that?”
“What am I… A person who studies that kind of thing.”
“You’re the kind of person who studies something like that? Could it be that you’re a wizard and not a noble young lady?”
“Of course not…”
Letier shrugged and took another step.
Entering the room, Letier put her hand on the doorknob and said a final goodbye.
“Simon’s younger son, be careful on your way back. I’ve been walking around all day today and I’m so tired. Now that I know where the security guard is, I’ll take care of the rest. Well, let’s see if we can see each other again… Good night!”
Just as she was about to say hello to the man standing in the hallway and closing the door, a large hand burst through the door and stopped it.
“Huh?”
Startled, Letier lost her grip on the doorknob.
The man swung the door wide open again.
“… What are you doing?”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
The man, who raised the corner of his mouth smoothly, strode into the room.
“I’d like to have a little longer talk with the young lady.”
