Chapter 37

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Princess Only Deals in the Real Thing - Chapter 43

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The woman scrutinizing the stiff Ayrun rolled her eyes.

"But how is something like that even possible...?"

Ayrun's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

With trembling hands, he drew out his tracking brooch.

He held it up to the mysterious liquid.

"The Imperial Holy Knight Captain, who wields holy power, in agony from holy water? Ah, no way."

The brooch glimmered.

It was genuine holy water.

To Ayrun, that light felt like a death sentence.

It wasn't just his own weakness. It was a vulnerability for Pressripe, the one he was sworn to protect.

The source of the problem had to be eradicated. Erased. Buried. No hesitation allowed.

That's what Ayrun had been taught.

But...

'I can't do that.'

Between his own secret and the lives of the citizens, Ayrun knew which weighed more heavily.

He had been taught that, too.

Because he was a knight.

Because a knight wasn't one who struck down, but one who protected, Ayrun couldn't force this woman before him to silence.

Ayrun squeezed his eyes shut. He waited for the verdict to fall.

But then.

"Is it mana poisoning?"

Mana poisoning?

A name for symptoms he hadn't even considered—or perhaps couldn't—floated into his ears.

Ayrun opened his eyes.

The woman was gazing at him with a look of concern.

***

"Mana... poisoning, you say?"

"Yes."

"Why would you think... that?"

"I've seen a similar case in an ancient document from an appraisal commission. It was about a priest suffering from mana poisoning."

In truth, it was a story I'd heard from Emma, but to protect my source, that's how I put it.

It also emphasized that the document was from an appraisal job, so I didn't have it on hand anymore.

'If they ask to see it, that'd be trouble. From his reaction, it looks like mana poisoning really was a secret.'

I even wondered if Ayrun himself might not have known the cause.

I'd learned about it through Emma, a mage, but holy knights were natural enemies to mages, after all.

He probably couldn't seek advice from others without risking where the information might leak.

"Any suspicions? Like encountering a mana beast, or contact with mana stones? Or maybe a mage you don't get along with?"

"...I can't say."

Yeah, figured as much.

It'd be weird if he spilled just because I asked.

But I had a hunch.

'That's why he brought two sprays.'

Pretending ignorance, I unfolded the newspaper I was holding and said,

"In that document, someone had hidden a mana stone in the priest's pillow. That's what caused the mana poisoning."

That newspaper featured a massive article about Ayrun from two months ago.

"Once he switched pillows, it got better. Wouldn't it be worth trying something like that, Sir Knight?"

It was promotional, complete with a photo taken in his office.

'Glad I didn't toss Grandpa's old newspapers from home.'

I'd brought them originally to clean the glass display cases.

'I vaguely remembered seeing an article about Ayrun over his shoulder, so I looked—and luckily, there it was.'

That's why I'd rifled through the papers pretending they were for dry flower wrapping.

To find the article with Ayrun.

I nodded as I studied the photo closely.

'Bingo! That's it!'

Found it—the mana stone!

My eyes sparkled, but then Ayrun's sunken voice reached me.

"...But I'm the Imperial Holy Knight Captain. A few mana stones wouldn't affect me."

"What if there were a lot of them?"

"A lot? Possible, maybe. But I couldn't overlook that many mana stones, could I? At that point, mana poisoning wouldn't be the issue—it'd be dereliction of duty."

The shift from his expressionless face to one etched with complexity hit even harder.

I met his sea-blue eyes, flickering with doubt, wariness, confusion, and a glimmer of hope, before speaking.

"No. Not knowing isn't a fault."

Ayrun looked at me.

"Ignoring it when you do know? That's dereliction of duty."

Half of starting this was a gamble, but the other half was faith in the upright character of the respected knight, Ayrun.

Seeing him blame himself for something that wasn't his fault confirmed my instincts were right.

"If someone's deliberately deceiving you, you can't help but fall for it. You don't grill the victim for getting duped—you go after the deceiver, cough, yeah."

Thinking of Hugo and Rozanne Viscountess, my tone turned rough without me realizing.

I cleared my throat and continued.

"Anyway... I think I can pinpoint the mana stone source. If it's in this photo, that is."

Ayrun's words had given me the hint.

Separate from his integrity, he knew little of common folk's lives.

He'd probably never set foot in a pawnshop. Must've assumed it was just a place that fleeced people.

'That's why he came in suspicious at first, asking about magic tools and such. Talking about stolen goods, too.'

So he wouldn't know what tools a pawnshop used, either.

In that case?

'Time for a little show.'

Pretend there's a mystical magic tool that reads mana from photos. Easy enough.

Then I could avert Ayrun's death without revealing I knew the future.

That was when I picked up the second spray.

"No need for that."

Had I misheard?

But Ayrun's tone was firm.

I countered in a tone that came out a bit blunt.

"Why...?"

Worried I'd charge him for cleaning fees?

'No, more than that.'

I saw the pain etched on Ayrun's face.

And, faintly, the hope in it as well.

He'd be desperate. He might not grasp the tragic end ahead, but his body wasn't the same as before.

So why say it wasn't needed?

"...What you've uncovered is my weakness. However."

"However?"

"I have no intention of closing the investigation just because my weakness was exposed."

Ah, so that's it...

"Worried I'll say, 'I know your mana poisoning secret, so turn a blind eye to the illegal stuff'?"

I let out a hollow laugh.

Ayrun stared at my smiling face.

"No such plans. And I won't go blabbing about it anywhere."

"...Why not?"

"Because I'm innocent. And to begin with, I don't even see it as your weakness."

I said it emphatically.

"You're sick. How is being sick a weakness?"

Ayrun paused, mid-retort.

"Handing a glass of water to someone writhing in pain isn't hard. That's all I'm doing right now. Not sure if it'll work... but I couldn't just walk by."

A weird pre-apology flashed in my mind: I'll be rude a bit more, so sorry in advance.

I flashed a grin at the dazed Ayrun and added,

"You know you're racking up apologies to me, right? Anyway, let's give it a shot."

Pretending to spread the newspaper wide, I pressed my pinky to the page.

The spot my finger—inked with special telegraph ink—touched was.

'The hourglass.'

A black-sand-filled hourglass on the desk in the photo.

'It all lines up. The black sand and glass shards from the previous life's article. The number of mana stones Emma mentioned.'

The news report of black sand and glass shards scattered at the scene.

Emma saying it was an everyday item packed with stones.

What if all that pitch-black sand filling the hourglass was miniaturized mana stones?

Frowning at the creepy malice oozing from it, I spritzed the special telegraph spray.

"If it's suspicious, the color will change."

Perfect!

The hourglass slowly began to stain.

"This one? Better get rid of it quick. Or have someone trustworthy inspect it."

I looked up proudly, only to find Ayrun's gaze still fixed on me. Flustered, I faltered.

Shocked? Why's he staring like that?

"Um?"

I moved to lightly shake his arm.

That's when Ayrun's eyes narrowed sharply as he watched me.

"Wait—!"

Before he could finish.

He clutched his head, and I was shoved back, slamming into the door.

'Wh-whoa, why's everything spinning...'

As the door gave way and I lost my balance, tumbling toward the stairs.

Something warm and solid caught me.

"You...!"

It was Alter.

Alter, holding me, bellowed at Ayrun.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"