Episode 21
‘Is he suspicious?’
Perhaps he’s doubting that such an opportunity would definitely not come so easily.
Afterall, I was supposed to be the type of woman who told him to avoid showing his face to others and clung onto him obsessively.
Then, there’s no choice.
‘This method it is.’
I calmly regulated my breathing.
Hmm.
Then, I opened my eyes as expressively cheesily as possible and said,
“It’s not that I don’t want to take you with me.”
“Then take me with you.”
Damon shot back at me with narrowed eyes, as if to say, ‘What nonsense is this?’
He wasn’t convinced, was he?
‘Stay calm and proceed to step two.’
I’ll go with the strategy of clinging unpleasantly.
I brushed Damon’s shoulder with a smooth touch, and he flinched in surprise.
“What if those greedy nobles covet you? I don’t like that.”
“….”
“If you wait here quietly, I’ll come back and treat you nicely.”
Who wouldn’t want to run away from this?
I took a peek at Damon’s face, anticipating his next expression.
“….”
He was looking at the hand resting on his shoulder with a strange gaze.
“You’ll treat me nicely…”
Damon, who had been mumbling quietly, adjusted his posture and sat back on the bench.
“I understand. I’ll wait.”
As expected, Damon chose to stay obediently in the garden.
The thought that he would soon escape on his own lifted my spirits.
I’m so glad I read a lot of novels with obsessive characters!
“Excuse me… Detective? It’s almost time for the guest to arrive.”
“Ah, yes.”
The maid appeared at the right moment. I nodded and followed her.
“….”
Before leaving, I glanced at Damon’s face one more time.
He was watching my gradually receding figure with a blank expression.
‘It’s a bit regretful to think this is the last time.’
Now, forget about a lowly boss like me and live happily.
With that wish, I gave a slight smile before turning my head away.
***
“If you wait in the study for a moment, you’ll be able to meet them soon.”
The maid chattered as she led me inside the mansion.
It seemed that since Karl often went out to sea, some guests tended to drop by even when he was absent.
I was one of those guests.
‘Collecting monster cores, huh. Quite an eccentric hobby.’
Was it a sentiment similar to cutting off a prey’s head and decorating it?
Certainly not ordinary.
And the people who brought such items were quite suspicious as well.
“But is it okay for me to enter the study without permission?”
“Don’t worry! I’ve been told to listen to whatever the detective asks for.”
Well, I never asked for such a thing…
“It’s the room at the end of the hallway,”
“Won’t you come with me?”
“I’m not allowed inside. Good luck!”
The maid showed her fist as if to cheer me on and then quickly walked away.
What kind of luck was she talking about, I wonder….
I sighed and slowly made my way to the room at the end of the hallway.
‘Is it really okay to go in alone…’
But I have to go, right? Since I’m a detective and all.
Other detectives even investigated suspicious warehouses filled with corpses in formalin.
I steeled my resolve and calmly turned the doorknob.
Creak.
The door opened slowly, accompanied by a chilling friction sound.
You have entered the study of the Relint mansion.
First entry benefit: 500 cash has been issued.
Importance: B
Risk Level: B+
Hidden cash amount: 2000
The system window displayed the location information.
Huh? This place also had hidden cash?
If it weren’t for the young maid’s nosy nature, I would have missed it.
‘Is it because of the monster core? The risk level is much higher as well.’
With an importance level of only B but a danger level of B+, this was truly the worst value-for-money investigation site.
Of course, I wasn’t in a position to pass up even a single penny.
First, I took a good look around.
“Hmm, it looks ordinary at first glance. Rather, it seems a bit messy……”
As I examined the old, dusty drawers and turned my head, I saw a display case made of thick glass. Inside, something red and bead-like was glistening.
‘Is that the monster core that Karl is collecting?’
I didn’t know much about the settings of this world, but there was one thing I’d learned from talking to people.
It was that the mana here was treated like gas on the verge of explosion.
Judging from that, it was clear that this substance was also both difficult and dangerous to handle.
‘Let’s not touch it for no good reason.’
I cautiously approached the desk, keeping as much distance as possible from the display case.
There, I noticed documents and books that had been carelessly thrown about.
‘A drawing of a monster’s core’ revealed 200 cash.
‘A map marking places where monsters gather’ revealed 200 cash.
“Hmm, I wish there were more clues.”
The problem was that the desk was so cluttered that I didn’t know where to start.
Since the employees weren’t managing it, it was a total mess.
It was to such a rate that I was afraid that everything would spill over and touch the mana core next to it.
‘There are people in this world who live even more messily than I do.’
Damon thought I was the odd one out, so I wondered what he would say if he saw this.
“…If Damon runs away now, I’ll have to clean up that entire office by myself.”
I imagined an empty office without him.
Even though it should’ve seemed normal, it felt strangely empty.
Had I grown attached to him in just two months?
‘Get a grip. We’re both starting a new life, I can’t be depressed while doing such a thing!’
Shaking off my distracting thoughts, I carefully looked at the bookshelf beside me.
Found 700 cash in ‘The Diary Where I Wrote Down My Emotions’.
Fortunately, a clue worth exactly 700 cash popped up just then.
What’s more, it was the male lead’s diary! How could I resist? I had to read it right away!
The moment I boldly opened the diary, I was quite embarrassed.
“…Huh? Is this it?”
Contrary to my expectations, the diary was mostly empty except for the first few pages.
It seemed that Karl wrote in his diary once a month, or even once every few months at worst.
‘Even the male lead in a rofan*1romance fantasy doesn’t like writing in his diary.’
I read on, deeply empathizing as I did.
—
「X Month XX Day, Cloudy.
It is now the season when sea monsters are most rampant.
During this time, everyone becomes sensitive, and internal problems tend to arise easily.
Not long ago, there was a sailor who tried to jump off the ship, saying he missed his wife and daughter.
As I carried out disciplinary actions against him, I recalled Elisa’s face.
She was so thin that her bones were visible when I saw her a few weeks ago.
She never really liked socializing, but I heard she has hardly shown her face in gatherings since getting engaged to me.
I felt incredibly sorry as I wondered just how much it must have upset her to be marrying a man like me that she didn’t even take care of her meals properly.
I felt sorry for holding her back just because I missed her.
She would have probably been happier meeting friends her own age during that time.
After much contemplation, I canceled all the appointments I had made with Elisa.
I couldn’t take up her time during a season full of parties and balls for no good reason.
I hope Elisa will cheer up a bit. 」
“That’s not it, no way….”
I hadn’t expected for the first page itself to reveal such serious karma.
He canceled all his appointments because he was worried about Eliza?
I doubted whether this indifferent man would have added some warm words like, “Go meet other friends.” in his letter.
No, he definitely didn’t. He must have canceled everything unilaterally.
Imagining how Eliza reacted to this 180-degree shift of “consideration” made my head spin.
Please, I hope the next page says he apologized and that they got along well, please…
「X Month XX Day, Slight Rain.
The short break has come to an end, and it’s time to return to the sea.
I was happy to see Eliza’s face, even if just for a moment.
She overexerted herself to attend the prayer service, saying she would time it for the day I would be going out to sea.
Her face looked haggard, as if she hadn’t slept well from preparing for the ritual.
Even so, she said she wanted to make a charm for me, as is customary among people of the sea.
My heart fluttered as if it were wrapped in feathers.
On the other hand, I was worried about how much interest Elisa was showing in my work.
It was enough for me to bear the fate of fighting and possibly perishing at sea alone.
I didn’t want to make her suffer too.
I told Eliza that I didn’t need her prayers or charms, and that she should stop.
I told her not to bother herself about my affairs anymore.
I just want her to be happy and healthy on safe land.」
“Oh, please… there must be a reason for this.”
Anyone would think you’re drawing a line by telling her not to interfere with your work!!!
Sorry for the late update, but shi, all these men are insaneee
Not insane, just denser than the core of a white dwarf star.