<Episode 58>
“Their goal was power, or more precisely, the absolute power that can be achieved through the transformation into a demigod! Those who pursue power without considering the means and methods are easily caught in traps. I have played the role of a living trap! Where should I start the story? When I was in the southern region ten years ago…”
Since then, he began passionately recalling personal stories for such an extended amount of time that it wouldn’t have been weird if my ears started to bleed.
‘It doesn’t seem like a lie at all.’
Above all, Rue seemed to no longer be concerned about Malcolm’s identity. Naturally, the question of whether the two were remnants of Mephisto’s army was solved.
“Calepa, Calepa. Calepa.”
With a finishing bow, the old man returned to the sofa and looked at me. He looked very flushed as he said,
“I thought I had forgotten this greeting since it’d been over 10 years since I last did it. It’s fortunate that my body remembers. Thank you once again for forgiving my rudeness, Calepa.”
Your Calepaa is over there, not here.
“Hehe, to be able to meet you before I die. It seems this old man still has some luck left.”
He’s over there.
“Calepa, if it’s alright with you, may this humble old man ask you one thing?”
This old man…
‘Is it too much for him to talk to Rue face to face?’
Or maybe this was just the way people in Rogue communicated.
I was too tired to point it out anymore, so I gave permission on behalf of Rue. (Of course, Rue had made no signs that seemed like he was giving permission.)
“Say it.”
“Perhaps… have you come here to retrieve Dian Cecht’s relic?”
The relic of Dian Cecht.
Even before I got the chance to deliver the head maid’s letter, an important topic had come up.
I nodded in affirmation.
“If my conjecture is correct, dare I say, you have come precisely to the right place. Here, in Westwinterree, Dian Cecht’s diary is kept. If you need it, I will guide you there.”
I knew where it was stored.
“Jansen exhibition hall?”
Malcolm, who had maintained modesty with Rue, lowered his head with a suddenly cold gaze. “No, the artifacts displayed there are fake.”
Keep your attitude consistent, you old man.
“It’s a deception to cloud the judgment of treasure hunters. Of course, in modern times, no one is deceived by such a thing anymore, but that was the purpose of it.”
“Then what about the real thing?”
“The real thing is… cough, cough… apologies, I’m not as young as I’d like to be anymore. It’s been a while since I last fainted, so I’m still not feeling very well.”
“Grandpa, you can’t say you’re old in front of him.”
No matter how old he was, he would still be a 100 years younger than Rue. Malcolm scratched his head with an embarrassed face at that.
“You’re not wrong. Lenya, go and get the map.”
Lenya, who was keeping close to the wall, hurriedly approached and asked.
“Oh, what map should I bring?”
“If you open the ninth drawer of the seventh bookshelf, around the fourth position from the bottom, there should be a blue leather notebook. Bring the two maps stored inside it.”
“Yes. Please wait.”
Lenya quickly left the drawing room and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
There are seven bookcases. And there are nine drawers in each bookcase.
‘Is he a map collector?’
What kind of map was it?
Soon after, Lenya descended the stairs with old pieces of paper in her hands and handed them to Malcolm. When he opened the folded paper, a complicated design that hurt my eyes revealed itself.
It didn’t seem like the map of an outdoor place.
“Hmm.” Malcolm, who was meticulously examining the map from a distance, soon folded the paper with a satisfied expression and handed it over to me.
“It looks intact. Here, take it. With this map, you should be able to find Dian Cecht’s Diary.” “What kind of map is it?”
“It’s the blueprint of the Treasury Vault of the Penrotta Imperial family.”
…what?
Malcolm quickly opened the second map, not giving me time to even make a surprised expression.
The second one was a topographic map of the Penrotta Empire, circled in a total of three places.
“The royal vault is distributed and hidden in a total of three places. Underground in the capital city of Ragel, wetlands near Lake Iregiel, and here, in the willow groves of Westwinterre.”
Hold on. I think we’re moving on too fast?
“Are you telling us to sneak into the royal treasury and steal Dian Cecht’s relic?”
Malcolm replied casually, not caring whether I was bewildered or not.
“Among them, the Willow Vault is said to be filled with extremely dangerous magical artifacts. Considering that, it is clear that Ragal must’ve chosen to hide them here instead of the palace. And who else but the Berkeley-Gratten family is directly guarding it! Of course, their so called impressive swordmaster is nothing more than a mere insect before our Calepa! Haha, haha… Cough, cough.”
Was the Berkeley-Grattens’ Castle near here?
It certainly was no ordinary vault if the knights of the swordmaster were personally guarding it.
“Now! Take a good look at the map, and go in tonight and get Dian Cecht’s relic!”
Malcolm tapped me on the shoulder with his weak hand.
‘I’m certain I came here on an errand as a maid.’
Somehow I’d ended up with the blueprint of the royal treasury and its security system.
‘The life of a maid is quite something.’
I opened up the blueprint and checked it. It was so complicated my eyes stung at the sight of it. Fortunately, it seemed like Dian Cecht’s Diary wasn’t kept too deep inside it.
‘But is it okay for him to give this to Rue so easily?’
I could see that the followers of Rogue became blind with devotion when something concerned their Calepa. But didn’t the treasury belong to the Imperial Court of Penrotta?
“Grandpa. Stealing imperial property is a great crime. If we sneak into the vault and get caught, you will be taken as an accomplice. Will you be alright with that?”
Malcolm reproached me with an outraged expression.
“Stealing?! That’s ridiculous! This isn’t stealing. You, um, your name is….”
“Daisy.”
“Yes, Miss Daisy. Is Miss Daisy a senyot?”
Senyot? I’d heard this word before.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Calepa. I heard you kicked the senyots out, so I’ve come in their stead.’
Oh, I see. The white-clad people on the airship were called senyots.
Was I one of those foolish perverts?
“No. I’m not.”
“Not me? Then who? Yette? Hm. You don’t seem like a Yette.”
From what I heard, it seemed to be another position. I’m sorry, but I was neither a Senyot nor a Yette.
“I am a maid.”
“Well, that’s evident from your appearance.”
“I’m just a maid. Not a believer of Rogue.”
“What?”
Malcolm, forgetting that he had fainted, shouted in disbelief. He looked completely unconvinced.
“Are you saying that you are not a member of the Rogue even though you are a concubine of the Calepa? How….”
Concubine? It was such a sudden and absurd use of the word that for a moment I thought I’d heard wrong.
‘Concubine.’
I couldn’t believe it. I immediately asked Rue.
“Mr. Rue, are you a playboy?”
“Gasp.” Malcolm stared at me, unable to speak. “No, to ask that of the Calepa….” He muttered softly, as if he’d heard something blasphemous.
A faint smirk appeared on Rue’s lips, three times deeper than usual.
“Ha.” His eyes conveyed the same message in response. Then, his expression immediately turned blank, and he asked in a casual tone.
“Are you jealous, by any chance?”
“Am you one?”
“No.”
The denial calmed down my chaotic mind.
Well, even if he was a playboy, I couldn’t tell people what to do in their private lives. I felt much better now anyway.
“No, Grandpa. Don’t make a decent person out to be a playboy based on a misunderstanding. Of course, as we get older, our thoughts become a little narrow-minded, and our prejudices deepen. But Rue and I are just colleagues at work. We’re not in a romantic relationship.”
“…colleagues.”
Rue whistled softly while Malcolm was on the verge of collapsing again due to some sort of cultural shock.
“I thought our Miss Daisy’s intelligence would decrease if she returned to her original form. But look how logical you can be.”
I ignored him.
While Malcolm continued to take slow deep breaths, he closed his eyes tightly and apologized. “Phew, I’m sorry. I never expected to hear the shocking answer that you and Calepa were… coworkers.. I, I…! Oops.”
“M-Master!” And he collapsed. Again. He collapsed again.
Lenya, who had rushed over in surprise, blinked and checked Malcolm’s condition. I guessed he was not dead by the way she sighed in relief.
“I-I’m sorry. It seems like the master has experienced a great shock. We can’t be sure when he will open his eyes… I-If it’s alright, may I guide you to the bedroom…?”
Where on earth did he get the energy to be so startled?
“I guess there’s no point in trying to wake him up forcibly this time.”
A maid knows another maid’s heart best.
I obeyed Lenya’s suggestion without great thought.
The Penrotta Imperial Family’s biggest enemies are their residents. They just casually bring up treason.
Thank you for the chapter!
Author must be a fan of “National Treasure”. I kind of get why Rue is so indifferent to his believers, if you have your boots licked for decades, having them covered in saliva all the time must be very annoying.
Haha, now I want a chapter where she does pretend to be his concubine. I can’t imagine that would last long. Rue and Daisy are great together. Thank you for the translation.
This chapter was so funny. These believers act as if Calepa is their God.