Chapter 5

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Princess Only Deals in the Real Thing 14

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Everyone has their own unique fears.

Some people might look at a fire-breathing dragon standing right in front of them and call it cute, while others might scream and flee in terror from a tiny little hamster.

That's why, instead of setting up a specific scenario, I cast a spell that summons the subject's 'worst memory'.

'People become cowards because of their own imaginations, or so they say.'

In the end, attacking Hugo meant striking at his own past.

It's the kind of magic people usually commission to torment cheating lovers, so Emma was puzzled when I said I wanted it for security purposes.

'Looks like I found out what trauma Hugo has from Grandfather, too.'

I picked up some other intel as well.

I was worried the guy might be scared of something like hamsters, but nope—it's Grandfather swinging that iron mace?

'Grandfather was no joke back in his youth either? Well, of course he's still no joke now.'

Hugo was the first one to come at us with a sword, stirring up trouble.

You fight force with force. He got paid back in kind with the mace, so it was his own comeuppance.

Plus, this firmly planted the idea that Grandfather is in perfectly good health.

I have no idea how rumors got out that Grandfather was ill, but as someone who needs to keep that fact buried as best I can, this situation works out great for me.

But above all...

'Forest of Colonya is finally in my hands.'

Forest of Colonya was a painting.

A small, old picture painted by some no-name artist, depicting nothing but a forest.

That's why Hugo thought it was worthless and handed it over to me.

He probably figured dodging Grandfather's mace with just this one thing was a bargain.

'Of course, the painting by itself is useless. But that's not my goal anyway.'

Does Hugo even realize?

That besides the painting today, he handed over a few other things to me as well.

"Well then, time to close up shop?"

After carefully stowing the contract away, I finally got to the real closing routine.

I cleaned up, wiped down the windows, tossed the spray bottle, and cleared the teacups.

That spray that looked like air freshener? It was the trigger and amplifier for the memory magic. The scent activates the spell.

So what about the tea Hugo was suspicious of?

'I figured he'd make me drink it first. Thanks to that, I got to enjoy some holy water.'

It was holy water.

Holy power cancels out magic power, and magic power cancels out holy power.

They're each other's erasers.

But holy water of high purity can unilaterally wipe out magic power.

'Hugo thought it was just a sleeping potion and tried to make me drink it, but really, he ended up taking the antidote to the memory magic.'

Of course, I'd prepared it knowing full well he wouldn't drink tea from me.

Holy water is managed by the temples, so it's incredibly expensive and hard to obtain. More than half the magic commission fee went to buying it.

'I mixed a few drops into the tea, and a few more into water for the cleaning spray bottle.'

It was to erase any traces left by the memory magic spray.

Emma said it was single-use magic, but better safe than sorry.

'I don't want mana-sensitive customers coming in and suddenly reliving their worst memories.'

The last thing I needed was customers seeing fire-breathing dragons or swarms of hamsters in my shop.

More importantly, if I left it, I might end up caught in the memory magic myself. That's one thing I absolutely wanted to avoid.

My worst memory is surely the day I saw Grandfather's obituary in the newspaper.

'...I never want to feel that way again.'

So I picked up the spray bottle, but what do you know.

'Huh? It's already gone?'

Spraying it leaves behind a distinctive scent.

But it was completely gone. The only smell in the pawnshop was the fresh aroma of wood.

After sniffing around for a good while, I shrugged.

'Hugo must've inhaled it all.'

Guess that explains why it worked so well.

Thanks to that, I've got an unused holy water spray left over. Not sure what I'll use it for yet...

'But better to have it and not need it.'

Worst case, I can use it to clean the windows or something.

Who knows, maybe it'll get rid of stubborn stains better?

A cloudy night without even the moon.

The black shadow that flickered in and out of sight finally arrived at the top of the pawnshop.

"Hoo."

Tesah's face glistened faintly as he removed his hood.

Dressed head to toe in black, complete with black gloves, he gazed down at the pawnshop with crimson eyes.

His gaze settled on the second floor.

The duchy's treasured sword.

The so-called 'Rugenoht' was hidden there.

'I have to confirm it.'

There was a skylight in the attic roof. He gave the latch an experimental tug, and as expected, it was locked.

"Let's see if those torture wizards did their jobs right."

Muttering to himself, Tesah briefly pressed the small ruby-studded clip embedded in his left sleeve.

A few seconds later, the lock mechanism smoothly disengaged.

'It's not dispelling the magic—it's just pausing it temporarily, they said.'

He had anticipated security magic in a pawnshop like this.

But fully dispelling it would leave traces of an intruder.

'Spells are like signatures—each mage's is unique, so you can't just recast someone else's.'

That's why Tesah had commissioned the duchy's mages for a magic tool that could pause others' spells.

'In other words, the security magic here isn't Eivor's work.'

Curiously, Eivor—the thief and mage Tesah was pursuing—left no spell signatures behind.

That was one reason he was so hard to track.

When he asked the torture mages, they suggested it might be concealment magic on the spells, but they weren't certain.

'It means that woman entrusted her security to a mage other than Eivor. Why? Even though they're collaborators.'

Tesah hopped lightly down into the attic and looked around.

There was a small kitchen and bedroom, but no signs of life. Aside from bundles of dried flowers, the attic was completely empty.

'Her hobby? Or someone's collateral?'

After scanning the flowers with a dry gaze, Tesah flicked his left hand through the air.

The spiderweb-like magic net stretched across the door to the floor below snapped to a halt. It was a trap spell.

Just before pausing another trap spell and unlocking the door, Tesah checked the ruby on his clip.

It was utterly still, showing no change. His brows furrowed slightly.

'I definitely didn't imagine it. It flickered just for a moment back then.'

The clip-shaped magic tool had one more function.

It was designed to blink in response to detecting the aura of the treasured sword Rugenoht, with the intensity matching the strength of the aura.

The ruby had stayed silent the entire journey to the empire—except for one brief flicker.

It happened here, at the pawnshop.

But why...

'That woman didn't seem to be lying either.'

That was the puzzle.

Eivor had last been sighted near this shop, but that wasn't the only reason for suspicion.

'My investigation showed Eivor had committed theft before, in the past.'

The name and description were different, but the methods matched perfectly.

But then he heard something astonishing from the victim.

"You mean you got your stolen jewel back?"

"Yes! You can't imagine how flustered I was. There it was, at an auction house I happened to visit, being sold right in front of me!"

When he pressed the auctioneer, they showed documents proving they'd simply repurchased it.

And the name listed there? This very place.

It was only natural to suspect the pawnshop was Eivor's collaborator or broker.

On his way to the empire, Tesah had imagined a shady, dangerous place with a sleazy owner obsessed only with money.

And yet.

"I'm telling you the truth. I don't deal in stolen goods. I don't buy them, and I don't sell them."

What he encountered was a woman with proud, unwavering eyes.

The gaze of someone utterly convinced their path was the right one.

She had no reason to be so proud, he thought... yet somehow, those eyes stuck with him.

"Are you interested in me?"

If not for that bizarre line cutting the conversation short, he might have let his guard down completely.