Hmm? Eh? But then... “...Would Keith really be in a place as dangerous as that? If he was going to run away to another country, wouldn’t it make sense to choose a safer place...?” I didn’t even have to think to know that Keith, who had such a good head on his shoulders, would never choose to run away to such a dangerous place.
“Guess that’s true, yeah...” Sora muttered, once again with that troubled expression.
Is Keith really beyond this point? Does the bear really know what it’s doing? I really want to find him soon. Is he really in such a dangerous place? And if he is, is he safe? What if something’s happened to him? The shivers that had run down my spine before were suddenly back in full force. I felt a deep sense of unease.
After we were done questioning the locals, I returned to the carriage with Sora. Jeord immediately leapt out to greet us. “Did he do anything to you? Are you all right?”
Again with the strange questions... And why’s he staring at my neck? Hmm? What?
In the end, there was no useful information to be found in this small town at all. With that in mind we set off once more, for the border town of Noir.
The sun was already setting by the time we arrived at Noir. Sora said that it wasn’t a safe place at all, but this wasn’t obvious at first glance. It seemed to me like a normal, busy town. But when I looked closer, I noticed that there were people around who gave me a bad vibe.
Apparently not just Sora knew this town well, but Larna and Jeord too. There was no unnecessary sight-seeing here — our group immediately went to an inn after we’d done some information-gathering. I made sure to do my part here, sticking with everyone else instead of wandering away aimlessly. I didn’t stare at any storefronts either.
As our group continued our quiet advance, Maria suddenly came to a stop. Hm? Is there a store she’s interested in? A quick look at her face, and I could tell from her grave expression that this wasn’t the case. Everyone else noticed too, and soon the entire group stopped. For a while, she just stayed like that, not moving a single step.
Worried, I finally called out to her. “Maria... Maria! What’s wrong?”
She gasped and suddenly turned to face me. “Ah, Lady Katarina... I just... for a moment there, I thought I saw...”
“Hmm? What did you see?”
“...Um... That is...” I waited for her to go on, and while hesitant, she eventually kept speaking. “I thought I saw someone over there... who was being dominated by the Dark Arts. But why would that be?” she whispered quietly. “Surely it must have been my imagination.” She laughed haltingly.
As Maria said, after the previous events involving Dark Magic, there was a strict crackdown on it. Other than Sora, there really shouldn’t have been anyone capable of using it around these parts. Even Sora wasn’t allowed to use his magic without express permission of the Ministry. It was more than strange for Maria to feel the presence of Dark Magic here, so I could believe that it may have been just her imagination.
But Larna’s expression completely changed when she heard this. “Where did you see it, Maria? An approximation is fine.”
“Ah... no. It was just my imagi—”
“Whatever it may be, I want to know. Tell me.” Larna’s voice took on a severe tone — it was really intimidating, honestly.
Maria replied, somewhat stutteringly. “It was... the person who passed us just now. I couldn’t see them clearly... they had a black hood on. I couldn’t see their face. They walked past us and in that direction...”
“How intense was it? The Dark Arts presence.”
“...Um. It was a bit like a wispy mist around that person’s body. It wasn’t strongly attached to them... but I felt a fear that... I have never felt until now...” Maria finished, her face pale.
A slight smile returned to Larna’s face. “Thank you for telling us, Maria,” she said, before quickly ushering us toward the inn we were stopping at today. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. But Larna’s strict expression made it feel like there was no room for negotiation. Our group quietly headed toward the inn in question. So we went straight for the inn.
The inn that we were stopping at today came highly recommended by Sora. Larna had looked into it too, and found that it was the safest place this town had to offer.
Although everyone wanted an explanation for Larna’s reaction from earlier, she immediately left as soon as we checked in, saying that she had “matters to attend to.”
Not sure what else to do, we all went to our rooms for the night. As before, our group was split into two rooms: one for the ladies, and another for the men. Larna had taken the bear with her as she left, so Maria and I found ourselves seated at a table in the room by ourselves.
Up until now, we had been talking eagerly about the new sights and sounds we came across each day. We had a lot to talk about normally, but the mood was different now. Few words were exchanged between us as we sipped our tea. Even the delicious treats in front of us that were apparently Noir’s specialty were left mostly untouched. Normally I would have eaten nearly everything, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to now.
Maria in particular didn’t seem to be feeling well. She hadn’t touched the treats. I tried to get her to eat something, but all she would say was “Perhaps later...”
“Maria? Are you okay?” I asked eventually. The color hadn’t returned to her face, even after all this time.
“Yes... I’m all right,” she replied in a weak, quavering voice that suggested that the opposite was true. Maybe she was still in shock from sensing the presence of Dark Magic. Even I couldn’t help but feel an oppressive sense of fear just hearing that phrase.
I’d felt terrified when I first learned about the concept of Dark Magic. And yet I’d run into it not once, but twice since then. It was supposedly a huge national secret, according to Raphael and Jeord. I also remembered that someone who was strong in magic who gained the power of Dark Magic could easily crush someone’s heart. It was really a terrifying thing.
Maria seemed badly shaken. The color of her face was abnormally pale. After all, she had experienced Dark Magic twice herself as well, and she had seen it both times. Since it could only be perceived by Wielders of Light, I had no idea what it looked like. It’s possible that it looked horrifying.
Even so, I had never seen Maria this terrified before. I wonder what happened? What did she see? “Maria, why are you so afraid? Did you really see something that terrifying?” I asked, deciding to be straightforward about it. Maria hesitated for a few moments, not replying. “Isn’t it better to talk about what’s scaring you? You might feel a little better,” I said.
“Perhaps you are right,” she replied, trying her best to smile. She began to describe her experience. “How should I put this... It was different. Different than the Dark Magic I’ve seen up until now. It was disgusting, abnormal, horrifying, terrifying... I cannot quite get it out of my head,” she said, shivering.
It really must have been awful. I couldn’t stand to watch her sit there feeling that way. Before I knew it I’d moved close to Maria, and was soon holding her tight.
“!” Maria’s eyes opened wide in surprise.
“It’ll be easier to calm down like this, right?” I said, giving her my warmest smile.
“...Yes, Lady Katarina,” she whispered shyly.
When we were children, Keith would often bolt up in his sleep, his face pale from nightmares. I would always hold him like this, and soon color would return to his face. After that, I had even held Keith’s hand when we went to sleep together.
Of course, I stopped doing that as we grew older, but I still remember those times as if it were yesterday. Since I was the youngest in my family in my previous life, I was really happy to have my little brother rely on me like that. It made me feel like a true big sister. Of course, then Keith became good at everything and perfectly able to take care of himself shortly after that...
There was Dark Magic in this town. Not just any Dark M
agic, but powers strong enough to terrify Maria. Someone in this town was capable of that. And then... there was the possibility that Keith was even farther away.
As I held the shivering, terrified Maria, memories of my brother crying as a child floated through my mind. Hey, Keith... You’re okay, right? You’re not... crying somewhere, right?
★★★★★★
I, Larna Smith, with my magical tool Alexander in tow, once again found myself standing on the roof of the tallest building in this town in order to contact my subordinate, Raphael. This building was unfortunately home to some unpleasant-looking men; criminals, probably.
“Please let me use your roof for a little while,” I had asked politely. But they weren’t the kind of people who could be reasoned with. Without any other choice, I used some magic to encourage the louts to exit the premises. As a result, the building was now completely deserted and quiet, perfect for receiving transmissions.
I raised the transmitter to the night sky once more, and called out to my employee. “This is Larna Smith. Can you hear me, Raphael?”
“Yes. This is Raphael Wolt. I hear you loud and clear.”
Upon confirming that Raphael could hear me, I explained what Maria had witnessed earlier. It would seem that there was someone in this town who could use the Dark Arts.
Raphael spoke up after I finished my explanation. “Actually, we received some new information on our end too, and I was planning on reporting it to you today.” He continued, somewhat stiffly, “With regard to the information obtained from Prince Jeffery... the individual who was seen making contact with Keith Claes on the day of his disappearance has been identified.”
“Is that so? Well then, who is it?”
“Well, it appears to be Keith’s biological mother.”
“His actual mother? The ex-prostitute, right?”
“Yes, the very same. It would seem that his birth mother approached him as he was walking out of the downtown district. There was a witness who happened to see the whole thing. His description of Keith matched his appearance, and his mother was... somewhat memorable, so...”
“Are you telling me that Keith left with his mother, then?”
“No, it seems that his mother’s role was simply to lure him into a trap, in exchange for a sum of coin. Someone paid her to entrap her son.” Raphael’s voice became more severe as the conversation went on. I supposed he was angry at how Keith’s birth mother had so easily handed her son over to strangers in exchange for gold. After all, Raphael’s mother loved him dearly, from the bottom of her heart. Maybe he couldn’t bring himself to believe that mothers such as Keith’s could even exist in this world.
I, however, knew that parents like that did exist. After all, I was born into noble society. There were many parents in this world who treated their children as nothing more than objects.
“Well then, did we find this person whom Keith was handed over to?”
“The mother apparently has no memory of the incident.”
“No memory? Isn’t she just lying?”
“Yes, that was what I thought too, at first. But after some questioning, it became apparent that she really does not remember. As I continued to question Keith’s mother, I observed her, and she displayed signs that Dark Magic had been cast on her. And that was...”
“...I see. As I thought — a Wielder of Darkness is involved in this entire chain of events...” I said, sighing.
“That would appear to be the case, Lady Larna,” he replied, a hard edge to his voice.
“In that case, the person Maria spotted just now has a high possibility of being involved with Keith’s disappearance. In any case, I’ll use Alexander and attempt to pinpoint his exact location. It might even be possible that Keith may be in this very town.”
“Please do be careful. If we receive any new information on our end, I will be sure to contact you.”
“I understand. I’m counting on you, top-class Raphael.” Immediately after terminating the transmission, I tasked Alexander with the job.
Now that it had come to this, it was no longer possible to hide these events from Katarina and the rest. If Keith’s location could be pinpointed, I’d have to tell them everything. I really don’t want to worry Katarina, but... this is too serious now. Steeling my resolve, I began walking in the direction Alexander had pointed out.
★★★★★★
I was worried when Larna didn’t return until late into the night, but she eventually came back just as the day was about to end. Her expression was impossibly grave.
Without wasting any time, Larna gathered everyone into our room. “There is something I must tell all of you,” she said, looking more serious than I’d ever seen her. “We went out to search for the runaway Keith... but it turns out, he did not run away from home.”
“!” I swallowed hard. Keith... didn’t run away? What happened then?
“From the beginning, the Ministry was tasked with an official request from Duke Claes to investigate the matter. The result of that investigation has now revealed that Keith’s disappearance was in fact... a kidnapping.”
“A kidnapping!!” I stood up, shouting in surprise. So Keith didn’t run away from home... He was kidnapped?!
“Yes. Keith Claes has been kidnapped.”
Larna’s words hit me like a waterfall. It was as if I’d been plunged into a sea of ice-cold water. I had never been this shocked and terrified in my life.
From what we were told, Keith had met with his birth mother, who he hadn’t seen for many years, on the day he’d disappeared. He was led somewhere, and then handed over to someone else.
They had just found out about the most shocking development yet: Keith’s mother had been a victim of the Dark Arts. She couldn’t remember who had asked her to lure him into a trap, and she couldn’t remember who she handed him over to, either.
The truth was a little too much for me. All I could do was gape wordlessly as Larna continued her explanation. I had thought, all the way until now, that Keith had run away from home because of the trouble I’d caused him. I thought that all we needed to do was find him, I would apologize, and he’d come right back home. But a kidnapping? Dark Magic? I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.
Jeord, who had been standing next to me all this time, was the first to speak. He also looked very grave. “In the end, were we able to verify the identity of the individual who used that Dark Magic in the first place?” Unlike me, Jeord was always on top of things. He already seemed to understand the entire situation.
“...No, not yet. The enemy has been eluding us. We haven’t been left a trace,” Larna said, her expression twisting in vexation.
The cogs in my head finally started grinding into gear. In other words, Keith had been kidnapped, but we still didn’t know who the culprit was.
“Then where is Keith now? Do we not know anything?” I asked.
Larna paused, falling silent for a while as she seemed to be thinking. Then she spoke with measured, heavy words. “...No. It’s not that we don’t know anything. There is at least a place that I have my eye on. I think he may be there.”
“E-Eh?! Where is it? Where is he?” I leaned forward.
“After everyone settled down here, I used Alexander a little more to look into his whereabouts,” Larna explained. “You all remember how Maria mentioned that she’d seen someone who was being influenced by Dark Magic, right? This incident also has ties to a Wielder of Darkness. Although the existence of Dark Magic has been kept under wraps, it’s a given that there’s been some leaks here and there. It may be wishful thinking, but the fact that a magical tool brought us here to find Keith and that we crossed paths with someone being controlled by Dark Magic doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”
Then she continued, “Also, Maria can only see traces of Dark Magic that have been performed recently. So it’s logical to conclude that Keith is somewhere in this town. So with that in mind, I conducted my search.”
“Well... did you f
ind him?”
“Yes, actually. Alexander pointed out, relatively clearly, a certain mansion in the area.”
Upon hearing those words, I immediately stood up from my chair once more. “Please tell me where it is. I’ll go! I’ll go right now!” I’ll come save you right away, Keith!
Jeord’s hands went to my shoulders, and soon I was gently but firmly seated back in my chair. “At this time of night? It is too dangerous. In any case, you would do well to calm down before deciding what to do.” He grabbed a nearby sweet and quickly deposited it into my mouth.
As I started chewing in response, Jeord, who had been standing next to me this entire time, turned toward Larna. “I understand your words well, Lady Larna. I do apologize for saying this, but this is the first time that magical tool of yours has been used in the field, yes? Have there been any other, more concrete reports that would affirm the accuracy of this information? That this is indeed the place?” he asked bluntly.
The bear, sitting next to Larna, looked displeased. But Larna’s expression didn’t falter. “It is as you say. This tool is merely at the prototyping stage. It would be difficult to say with absolute certainty that Keith Claes is in this mansion with the aid of this tool alone. However, we may be able to confirm whether there is a presence of Dark Magic in or around the mansion. Since we know that Dark Magic was involved in the kidnapping, it would solidify our lead if we discovered that there were signs of it around the mansion.”
“The presence of Dark Magic... Do you mean to have Maria appraise this mansion?”
“Exactly. Though we won’t only be using Maria’s skills, but Sora’s as well. We should be able to glean some knowledge through both their sets of eyes.”
“...Lady Larna. Did you know of this all along? Was that why you had these two specific people accompany us?”
“Ha. You give me too much credit, Prince Jeord. I merely had the two of them with me just in case.”
Nom nom nom. As Larna and Jeord had yet another difficult to understand, yet seemingly meaningful conversation, I finally finished the snack Jeord had stuffed into my mouth. But I was listening while I was chewing! Maria and Sora would look at the manor where Keith might be, and then we’d know how to proceed from there.
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 4 Page 9