Chapter 95: Shadows of the Past: Looking Out of a Small Window
Translator: Adam Seacord
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After my work was done at the Hidden Temple, I left Astarte in charge and returned to my shop. As long as I couldn’t be sure when they were watching , I had to keep playing the part of the Magic rchant Elliot. So, I returned to the shop through the underground waterways. It had beco rather difficult to visit New Town as well.
Whenever I did use the waterways, Miyabi usually guarded . Normally, I would consider it overkill, but at tis like these, I couldn’t help but be grateful. I might have spent more ti walking with Miyabi, who couldn’t risk being spotted outside of the underground waterways, more than I did anywhere else.
While we were walking a waterway at so distance from both the Assassin’s Guild headquarters and the shop, we ca across a small bridge crossing another waterway.
「Master, Master. I have to tell you sothing. This is my secret spot, and… Look at that, Master.」
Miyabi usually kept herself subrged, but this day she spoke to on our way back, which was rare. I turn around to see Miyabi reaching out of the water and pointing to the ceiling. Following the direction of her point upward, a ventilation hole revealed itself to on the ceiling.
All it was, was a hole the size of a small chimney. Neither Miyabi nor I could get through it, and I doubted even Harry or Fred would have a difficult ti trying. And yet, the crooked square that I could almost cover with my palm from where I was standing… Illuminated the dark, pre-dawn sky and the shining stars within it. …All the stars far, far out of our reach. The stars above the clouds that even Nem, who could fly, knew nothing about. All the stars looked like a fra of painting on the small canvas on the ceiling of this underground waterway. …I tried to recall the last ti I looked up at the night’s sky.
「…You can see the sky form here, too.」
「Those are stars, aren’t they? I don’t know what stars are, but they are shiny and pretty like jewels… Miyabi had told not to, but I would co here alone once in a while to look up at the sky from that window?」
「…Only from here?」
「I could have been discovered if I went outside… So, this is my very own secret spot. 」
I didn’t realize…
Since Miyabi kept herself hidden from everyone but Arachne, she couldn’t even be free within the Assassin’s Guild. The only place where she could have any semblance of life was the scarcely populated underground waterways. And that tiny skylight was Miyabi’s only glimpse of freedom. That hadn’t change too much since I ca around.
「Daria told the other day… That there are stars that stay in the sky, and stars that shoot out of the sky. She said that if I see a shooting star, and if I make a wish right away, that it would co true. She told .」
Did Miyabi find a shooting star that has crossed her tiny skylight? …Since she had heard this from Daria, I understood that she learned this rather recently. Perhaps not enough ti had passed for her to find one.
「…Master. You took Cago from … But you’ve given freedom and kindness. Beside, now that I am yours… Well, I thought, I could share my secret with you… And, I wanted to look up at the sky with you…」
…Then, it hit . This was pretty much extent of Miyabi’s token of affection. And the extent of her wishes.
Miyabi always expressed her adoration for without hesitation, and always asked to be bedded. I liked her open directness, but it was telling of her lack of bargaining chips. Miyabi, who was a slave to n from a young age, then protected by Arachne, had no opportunity to mature on her own… Without worries, for better or worse, she had no chances to grow. So, the only token of affection she could offer was her body and heart. And what she asked in return were limited to things in her very narrow perception of life. She had no skills to discern or investigate from our conversations what I wanted or liked, and she didn’t know the majority of pleasures in this world. Even with her resilient body of a lamia, strong enough to take down a seasoned warrior, the range of Miyabi’s desires were tragically narrow. She wanted to bed her, call her na, complint her, pat her head, be near her… All very trifle wishes, but perhaps she couldn’t even comprehend any desire beyond those.
…I thought I finally understood why Daria and Miyabi were close. Since Daria was born on an impoverished farm, raised without education nor an option for independence, and had no other option than to beco the village’s communal object after her father’s death, she was very similar to Miyabi, who spent her whole life in a cage.
「One day, let’s look at the stars together on a bigger canvas. It could be just the two of us, but… I would like Daria, Nem and Nubia, and everyone else to be there, too.」
「Master… Daria was right. You are so very kind?」
Miyabi’s tone filled with joy. Even with the small acknowledgent of her excitent, the burden on my heart was lifted a little.
…That being said, what on earth has Daria been telling her?
「Daria said that she was in a cage for so long, just like . That she knew you for so long, Master, and she always admired you… You were kind to her when she really needed it… That you really saved her.」
Out of all things to… What?
「Miyabi. Daria said she knew for a long ti…?」
「Yes. But that she had only spoken to you after a long ti. Then, you taught her how to read and write… I don’t understand all of it, but Daria seems really happy when she talks about you.」
…I finally grasped the source of the tugging in my mind that had persisted throughout this conversation. Daria was beginning to regain her mories from when she was a human.
???
I couldn’t quite gather my thoughts, but Daria was working hard for . Besides, there was a mountain of things I had to deal with at the mont.
When I returned to the shop from the underground waterways, Daria was already up and preparing us a light breakfast. The sun wasn’t even up. While Daria was boiling water for us in the small fireplace, I wanted to ask her about her mory through my drowsiness.
「…So, Daria.」
Daria turned around with a brush of worry on her expression, and said:
「Master, do you know how exhausted you look?」
Before I could say any more. …True, my body was weighing down all over. While I used my magic to turn those seven n into monsters, but I wasn’t bedding any won so I didn’t recuperate any magical powers in return. Perhaps that’s why I looked tired.
「Master, it’s not because of your magic. You haven’t had much sleep for a while. The shop will be open again today… Please try to sleep for a bit. 」
I wanted to ask her about her mory, but I couldn’t get my brain to keep running. Besides, although I could open the shop a little later, I had to keep business running. While thinking about Old-Man Jemma gave a migraine, the orders from the luncheon were undoubtedly real.
I know there were a few things I had to enchant before…
When I ca to, there was a bowl of warm soup in front of . It was the kind that was a combination of condensed soup with hot water, blended to a comfortable thickness and warmth. As soon as the soup hit my stomach, my body was rapidly ward from the inside out. I couldn’t think. I had to admit that I was really exhausted. Without objection, I let Daria guide back to my room in the back of the shop, and collapsed on my bed. My consciousness sank into the depths of sleep. In the midst of that, I could tell that Daria held her hand on my head. …But I couldn’t see her expression.
???
I had a dream. I couldn’t rember any of it, but I feel like soone was calling for a long ti.
???
「Master. Wake up, Master.」
…With my body being shaken, I erged from the sludge. I still wasn’t completely awake, but I could see that Daria was panicking. That could only an trouble.
「…What’s, wrong?」
My sentence fractured by my half-yawn.
「It is ti to open the shop… But we have a custor…」
Interesting. While it was high noon, my shop wasn’t the kind to attract custors during the day. I got up, and de-wrinkled my clothes. My outfit wasn’t unfit for a shopkeeper, but I was worried about so sweat odor since I had slept in it. If I had changed, I would have made them wait. So, I decided to deal with the custor before changing.
「I’ll be right there. Daria, could you boil us so water? I don’t know if they’ll be long, but if we get caught up talking we’ll need so tea.」
「Well, it’s Layla-san, and soone else with her…」
Oh, Layla. She would be the one to co at this ti of day.
「Oh, I see.」
Layla must have spread the word about my shop like we had discussed. I assud that she had brought a coworker after her night shift.
「Um, there’s soone else, who I don’t recognize.」
Huh.
…Daria’s sounded worried. And normally, I would have picked up on it. However, I was only half awake and rushing to get out… And I must have had my guard down, hearing that Layla was there.
「Layla-san, I apologize. We don’t exactly have rigid hours of operation…」
I ca out into the store, and stopped dead in my tracks. There was a man in the entrance. He was beefy, almost as much as Nubia, but very toned. His black hair was short and orderly. His outfit was flashy but definitely expensive. His expression was devoid of wary, but filled with confidence and knowledge that, although he was used to looking down on people physically, he didn’t need to do so ntally. Everything about this man exuded power. I nearly fell to my knees, by kept my legs unbent.
Behind the man, there was Layla… And a woman, who wore a cap covering her eyes and an androgynous outfit. Imdiately, I recognized her as Gratina. But I couldn’t let them on that fact.
「Welco. Are you… Layla-san’s… Boss?」
Our eyes t. His eyes were powerful, in a different way from Gratina’s Cursing Eyes. They didn’t contain any magic, but I felt like a powerful force of will was crashed against . To pull in, or to shoot down. Then, his eyes crinkled all of a sudden.
「Guilty as charged. Layla must have told about you. Anyway, allow to introduce myself. My na is Lubreo. Layla’s master.」
「…It’s an honor to have you. You may have heard from Layla-san already, but I… My na is Elliot. I handle magical items here. But please co in.」
As soon as those words left my mouth, Lubreo stepped into the shop without hesitation. He moved with efficiency. Evidently, his prowess and combat was superior to most. Layla gave an apologetic glance. Gratina held her eyes on as if to appraise my worth.
…I didn’t expect them to dig so deep so quickly. I was so distracted by Gratina, that I had forgotten an important piece of information: Luberio, who was next-in-line of House Lambert, was the very man who employed Gratina as her subordinate.
「Elliot, I’m sorry to cut our pleasantries short, but I have questions for you.」
…It looked like I had a long afternoon ahead of .
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