After leaving the underground library, we advanced through the royal castle using my detection magic and Croco-chan’s shadow magic.
「Still… there really isn’t anything, huh? No stairs leading further underground or anything like that.」
「Yeah. When I lived in the castle, I never saw any stairs or rooms going deeper either.」
「Right… but in the past, there was something underground…」
「So maybe it’s not underground after all?」 「(Nod nod)」
「That’s the thing… I’ve been scanning underground with detection magic since earlier, but I’m not sensing any power at all.」
It has been two or three thousand years, after all. The sword itself might have degraded completely by now…
「Then the chances of it being underground are pretty low…」
「Yeah. That just makes the documents we found earlier even more important.」
「Then we should head back and investigate them, right?」 「(Nod nod)」
「Hmm… before that, let’s stop by the castle town.」
We slipped out of the castle and headed toward the town below.
「By the way, Master, why the castle town?」
「Well… last time I was here, I saw a statue in the plaza, remember?」
「Oh yeah! Come to think of it, that statue was called the Holy Sword Saintess statue!」
「Ah, really? I didn’t remember clearly… but if it is, Amilia would probably die of embarrassment…」
「Yeah～ Amilia-sama would definitely be mortified～」
As we chatted, we arrived at the plaza with the statue.
「「「Ooh!」」」
There stood a statue that looked exactly like the current Amilia, except the sword she was holding up was just a plain iron lump.
「Hmm… yeah, that sword doesn’t match either.」
「Too bad. Should we head back then?」
「Before that, let’s stop by a bookstore. I want to grab any books we didn’t find in Milrose.」
「Got it. I know a good one, want to go there?」
「Is it safe for you to show your face there?」
「It’s fine, it’s fine. That shop doubles as an information broker. I haven’t had a good info exchange with the owner in a while.」
With that, Shia took the lead and guided us into a narrow back alley.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
――Cling clang.
「Hello～ Is the shopkeeper here?」
At Shia’s call, heavy footsteps thumped from the back of the store. An older man burst out.
「Stishia! You’ve already finished your mission!?」
「Well… not quite…」
Shia explained everything: how her assassination attempt failed, how she was nearly killed by the saintess’s escort, how she barely escaped and was on the verge of death when a merchant, me, picked her up.
「I see… so the mission is still ongoing…」
「Yeah. I came for weapon resupply… and because Master is looking for some things.」
Shia glanced toward me.
「This is my Master. Right now, he’s letting me recover from my injuries and doing simple escort work.」
「Got it. So, you’re the one who saved Stishia’s life. Nice to meet you. What do you need?」
「Um…」
I listed several books we hadn’t found in Milrose. The shopkeeper quickly gathered every single one.
「What’s this, sir? Planning to become a teacher or something?」
「No, no. Someone in Milrose is looking for them.」
「I see. Well, history books aren’t exactly common requests, so your customer must be quite the eccentric.」
「Haha, yeah. Anyway, shopkeeper… I have one more thing to ask.」
「What is it? Need something else?」
「Yeah. I’d like an introduction to someone who can handle this kind of trade.」
I showed him the finely crafted pieces Lopple-san had made. The shopkeeper’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.
「These are incredible… the craftsmanship is top-tier. Where did you get something like this?」
「From a small village we passed through while traveling. There’s a girl there with unbelievably dexterous hands. I let her try making some things, and… well, this is the result.」
「I see… that explains the unusual designs I’ve never seen before.」
「Exactly. But I’m worried about getting lowballed if I try to sell them here in the capital…」
「That’s why I brought you to someone I trust.」
「Got it. Then I’ll buy them all. Silver hair ornaments at 10 gold each. Brooches and pieces with gems at 15 gold. How’s that?」
「That much…? Is that really okay?」
In Milrose, most pieces sold for around 10 gold coins, so this price was a pleasant surprise.
「Yeah, these designs and patterns are completely new here in the capital. That alone makes them valuable. I’d love to offer more, but if they don’t sell, the loss would be too big.」
「Understood. Then let’s go with that.」
「Thanks. I’ll deduct the book prices and hand over the rest.」
「Appreciate it. Give it to Stishia for me.」
「Got it.」
「I’ll step out for a bit. Stishia, I’m counting on you.」
「Yes, Master.」
As planned, I stepped outside. Through the slightly ajar door, the two of them began talking quietly.
⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤
Author desu!
Here’s Croco-chan’s status for this chapter!
⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤⏤
【Croco】 Gender: Female Age: 11 Race: Night Demon
Job: Orphanage Cleaning Duty Level: 12
Unique Skills: 【Shadow Magic (Transfer, Storage, Concealment, Blade)】
【Transfer】 Her original ability. She can move herself and inanimate objects from shadow to shadow.
【Storage】 She can store anything up to her body size. Capacity increases as she grows or levels up.
【Concealment】 She can hide inside shadows and move freely within them.
【Blade】 Produces blades the size of a fruit knife. Strength varies with magic power input.
Titles: Child of the Night Demon, Cleaning Master, Shadow of the Orphanage, Child Lurking in Shadows
Notes:
Originally only had 【Shadow Transfer】, but after the incident in the library, it evolved into full 【Shadow Magic】. She can now pull others into shadows with her.
According to Yuuki and Shia, being inside shadows feels neither suffocating nor too hot or cold, it’s surprisingly comfortable.
She’s always loved cleaning. Being able to move through shadows makes hard-to-reach spots easy.
Her favorite cleaning spot is behind bookshelves, 【Shadow Transfer】 makes it effortless.
Leave a Reply