Chapter 16: Investigation - 2
I tilted my head and replied.
“Not even the slightest clue.”
“Hmm… It feels rather embarrassing to say this out loud. Please, don’t laugh and just listen.”
I nodded.
Arlia cleared her throat once and spoke.
“I wish to grant you a surna.”
“…Pardon?”
“You said you’ve lost your mories and don’t have a family na, didn’t you? According to imperial law, royalty may bestow surnas. Of course, knighting soone requires His Majesty’s approval, but for a commoner… especially one without a preexisting surna, I can grant one at my own discretion.”
My heart suddenly pounded.
It wasn’t as though I had ever felt inconvenienced by not having a surna.
But sohow, receiving one from her felt like sothing I truly wanted.
“Is there any particular na you desire?”
“No. I’ve never thought about it.”
“Then how about the surna Gear?”
“Gear? Don’t tell …”
“Yes. It ans ‘one who guides.’”
Arlia gave a soft smile.
“To , that’s what you are. The one who guides —the only person leading toward an escape from this hellish ga.”
“That’s… too much praise.”
“I didn’t an to burden you. I only wished to express my sincerity.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Do you like it?”
“Yes. Very much.”
“Then let us hold the conferral ceremony right away. Even if it’s just a simple one.”
It was then—
A voice ca from the second floor of the inn.
“As far as I know, a notary must be present to grant a surna, right?”
It was Aina’s voice.
She jumped straight out of the window and landed before us.
I said,
“You know… humanity invented this great thing called stairs.”
“Don’t nitpick over trivial things. Oh, and I’ve been aning to say—since I’m from a noble family myself, if you’re going to use honorifics for the Princess, you should use them for too.”
The Noel family was noble?
Well, I did suspect it ever since Arlia called them a prestigious house.
I quickly bowed.
“I apologize. Please forgive my past discourtesies.”
“…Now that you’re being so formal, it feels weird. Just talk the way you usually do. My family’s been wiped out anyway.”
“Alright, I’ll do that.”
“Wow, you really switch attitudes fast.”
Then Arlia interjected.
“Why are you not asleep?”
“It was too noisy outside. More importantly, about the surna ceremony—I’ll be your notary.”
“...It’s fine. Mason and I can do it ourselves.”
“But that’s not what the Imperial Law says, is it?”
“That’s why I said we’d keep it simple.”
“Ah, you wanted it to be a mory between just the two of you?”
A brief silence followed.
No, not brief.
Quite a long one… nearly two minutes of silence.
Even Aina, who had made the joke, wore an awkward smile at the unexpected pause.
“Uh… that was just a random comnt…”
“Hoo.”
“……”
“Huhuhuhahaha.”
“Uh, you’re kind of scaring .”
“I failed to grasp your joke right away. My apologies.”
“N-no, it’s fine…”
With a perfectly calm face, Arlia turned to .
“Then, Mason. Let us begin.”
Uh, y-yes, of course.
And so, under the moonlight, we held the conferral ceremony.
It was simple and brief—Arlia rely placed her hand upon my shoulder and neck.
From that mont, I bore the surna Gear.
Mason Gear.
Not bad.
‘So that’s it. Now I think I understand.’
[Understand what?]
‘The Future Diary I read earlier. I wandered and drowned myself in drink after losing Arlia and Aina, rember?’
When I first read that, I couldn’t understand why.
Sure, one could feel sad or depressed—but were they really that important to ?
But now I think I get it.
The future must have gone through this sa ceremony.
It’s because he had that mory that the loss tornted him so deeply.
Of course, I hadn’t lost Arlia or Aina yet.
So I couldn’t completely empathize with the one who wrote that diary.
‘Still, I wonder.’
Would I truly co to treasure them that much?
Well, that’s sothing I’ll never find out.
Because I’ll never let them die.
The next day, we visited the Tower of Knowledge.
An enormous eight-story tower, filled from top to bottom with books of every kind.
“The first five floors of the Tower of Knowledge are open to all. Of course, there aren’t many commoners who can read, so the rule’s rather aningless.”
As Arlia said this, her hair was no longer that bright platinum color.
She had dyed it black.
By Aina’s hand, naturally.
“Black hair suits you well, Your Highness.”
“T-thank you. But did you even listen to what I just said?”
“Yes. A sha, really. If we could reveal your identity, we’d have access up to the eighth floor.”
“Sigh… tell about it.”
If rumors spread that the missing Princess from the Imperial Capital was hiding in Mogiren’s Tower of Knowledge, we’d all be in trouble.
Aina spoke up.
“Let’s start by reading everything up to the fifth floor. If we don’t find anything useful, we can sneak into the sixth floor at night.”
“You think it’s that simple? The Tower of Knowledge may look like a scholar’s haven, but it’s really a social hall for the powerful and influential of the continent.”
“Then we sneak in at midnight. I’ll just put the guards to sleep.”
She said it so casually that, given it was Aina, it actually sounded doable.
Arlia thought for a mont, then nodded.
“Very well. Now’s not the ti to argue over details. Even if we must resort to slightly violent ans, so be it.”
“How long do you think it’ll take to finish the fifth floor?”
“Hmm. Roughly a week, I suppose.”
“What? A week?”
Aina gaped, then shook her head.
“You’re seriously a monster.”
“The real monster is the one who changed soone’s hair color to black in thirty seconds. What kind of potion is that?”
“Trade secret.”
“…It does wash out eventually, right?”
“Who knows?”
Anyway, we followed the guide and entered the tower.
The sheer number of books was overwhelming.
As I stood there wondering where to even begin, Arlia silently drifted like a ghost toward a nearby bookshelf.
She grabbed an armful of books, grunting as she carried them to a table.
“You’ve already started?”
“There’s no reason to waste ti, is there?”
“By what standard are you planning to search?”
“Good question.”
Tap.
Arlia snapped her fingers and continued.
“Do you rember what Magireta said during the first quest?”
“I’ve heard so many things that I’ve lost track.”
“It was right after the self-introduction ga ended. She said, ‘Roughly a third have been eliminated. This batch is smarter than I thought. This big sister has high hopes for you all.’”
Aina and I both nodded without thinking—
and then shouted in unison.
“Ah! This batch?”
“Damn it. How could we forget sothing like that?”
Arlia brought her index finger to her lips.
“Lower your voices. That’s basic etiquette in the Tower of Knowledge.”
“Have you been here before?”
“For a few days when I was a child.”
As she answered, her expression didn’t look good for so reason.
Aina asked,
“Bad mories here, huh?”
“Mm. Anyway, Magireta’s ntion of ‘this batch’ practically confird it—similar gas have been held multiple tis in the past.”
“That makes sense. So you’re thinking previous participants might’ve left behind so kind of record about the ga?”
“Yes. Though, just like us, they were likely forbidden from revealing anything about the ga in any form, so the chances are slim.”
Having said that, Arlia turned her gaze back to the book.
Soon the pages began to flip at a terrifying speed.
It looked as though she had entered complete concentration, so Aina and I simply shrugged at each other.
“Let’s start too.”
Aina said that and started toward the shelves.
I stopped her.
“Wait. I want to ask you to handle sothing else.”
“Huh?”
“You’re not exactly fond of reading, are you? Just a feeling.”
“Hey, I told you yesterday, I am from a noble family, you know…”
I cut her off.
“I want you to investigate soone nad Machet. He probably goes by Dwayne now.”
“Huh? Oh, right, you ntioned that na yesterday. He’s that local gang boss, right? I didn’t ask then, but how do you even know about him?”
“Here and there.”
“What a brilliant answer.”
“Anyway, I want you to find out everything you can about him. The Princess and I will handle the research and reading here.”
Aina shrugged.
“Got it. I feel kind of bad, though.”
“Everyone should do what they’re best at.”
“You two eating here?”
“Food’s not allowed inside. The guide ntioned that when we ca in.”
“Did they?”
“There’s a dining area just outside. We’ll have to eat there.”
“Then let’s eat together. I’ll check in from ti to ti.”
With that, Aina vanished like the wind.
Alright, ti to get back to it.
Or so I thought, until I turned toward the table—
Thud.
Arlia closed her book.
“Hm? Already tired?”
“What do you an?”
“Well, you just closed your book.”
“I finished it.”
“……”
Why are all the people around like this?
That sa pattern repeated for a while.
Now, we were sitting in a restaurant near the Tower of Knowledge, eating.
Even during alti, Arlia was absorbed in her reading, having brought books out with her.
She finished a book in about a minute—an astonishing pace.
Thanks to that speed, after a full week we (well, more accurately Arlia alone) had finished every book up to the fifth floor.
“Phew.”
Arlia closed the final book from the fifth floor and rubbed her eyes.
“Are you alright?”
“So-so. It’s been ages since I last imrsed myself in reading like this.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“No, it was a joy, actually. Most of them were books I’d read before, but rereading them gave a new flavor.”
“…You haven’t forgotten why we ca here, right?”
With that mory of hers, surely not.
Arlia averted her gaze slightly.
“Of course not.”
“Then why reread old books?”
“Assuming this ga has repeated through the years just like ours—Magireta forbade participants from revealing anything about it, through words, actions, even expressions. But… would she have gone so far as to forbid leaving coded ssages?”
Coded ssages?
Aina jumped in.
“That’s common among assassins. A harmless-looking letter with small talk can, under the right cipher, hold top-secret intel.”
“Exactly. But unfortunately, we haven’t found anything like that so far.”
“Maybe things will be different on the sixth floor?”
“We can hope.”
Perhaps feeling a bit more relaxed now, she smiled softly.
“If it weren’t for this situation, I would’ve liked to visit the rooftop of the Tower of Knowledge.”
“There’s a rooftop?”
“Yes. The sixth through eighth floors are closed to the public, but the rooftop alone is open to everyone at all tis. It has no guards or locked doors—a comfortable place with benches and trees, like a floating garden.”
“Oh.”
“Visitors often sit there, looking down from above and reading books they’ve taken from the tower. It’s a must-do experience for anyone who cos here. Not that it applies to us right now.”
Arlia took a sip of the tea before her.
With that graceful posture, she truly looked every bit the Princess she was.
Aina bit into her sandwich and spoke.
“My turn now. Machet Boltram. His current na’s Dwayne.”
“You’ve finished your investigation?”
“Yeah. Even after moving fast, it still took a week to dig him out—he hid himself really well.”
She said it casually.
“That guy used to be from this tower.”
Pffft!
Arlia suddenly spat out her tea.
At monts like this, it was hard to believe she was a Princess.
“Ah—sorry, it splashed everywhere.”
“It’s fine, but why the reaction…”
“Aina. Did you just say Machet? From this tower?”
Aina blinked and answered,
“Huh? Yeah.”
“What is that man doing now?”
“As I said, he goes by Dwayne now. Basically, he does anything that makes money—murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, human trafficking, you na it.”
“Ha…”
Arlia pressed a hand to her forehead.
I asked,
“Do you know that na?”
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