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Chapter 9
Artifacts. The term usually referred to magical tools.
This world has things like that?
Maybe they’d been mentioned in the game. I wouldn’t know, since I’d barely played it properly.
“Can you really predict the weather that accurately with an artifact?”
“Yeah. It’s actually difficult with ordinary artifacts, but our department developed one of our own. It doesn’t rain as much in our region as it does in the south, so the Imperial Family never provided us with high-performance artifacts.”
There were two kinds of people when they got nervous: those who went quiet and those who started talking more. Peter seemed to belong to the second group.
Thanks for telling me things I didn’t even ask about.
“Artifact development… So that’s what you study?”
“Yeah. I originally studied magic stone research, but I transferred to this department.”
And what are magic stones?
I take back my thanks. Suddenly, there was way too much information.
“But isn’t your department unrelated to fieldwork? Why were you drafted anyway?”
“Oh, yeah. Fourth-year students often get sent out to help with various things. This time, only our class was called up, but during the monsoon season or for more serious situations, they expand it to include all university students. For natural disasters, even high school seniors…”
Why’d you stop talking?
I raised an eyebrow and stared at Peter. Looking embarrassed, he averted his gaze.
“Um, uh, I was talking too much, wasn’t I? Sorry. It must’ve been boring.”
No, I’d been waiting for him to say the word artifact again.
“Why? I was really enjoying listening to you! There aren’t any customers right now, so why don’t you come sit down and tell me more? Oh, wait. Are you supposed to be working right now? Am I keeping you from your job?”
“No! No, that’s not it. Like I said, it’s not a serious situation. Yeah… I can stay a little longer.”
I dragged over a chair and placed it beside me. Peter sat down cautiously, then discreetly fanned his shirt collar as though he were getting hot.
Oh, dear.
I felt a tiny twinge of guilt, but that didn’t mean I intended to change my behavior. I needed to gather information, after all.
As though I’d only just noticed it, I pointed at Peter’s upper arm.
“Oh? Isn’t that the Grand Duke’s family crest?”
His uniform-like outfit had a patch bearing a familiar logo.
I was pretty sure the knights I’d seen at the mansion had worn clothes with a similar dragon emblem.
Dragons were usually symbols of kings. Was it okay for a grand ducal house to use one? Well, Western dragons and Eastern dragons were different, I supposed.
“Oh, this? It’s not exactly the same, but it does represent Ainsworth. This is Ainsworth University, after all.”
He explained it so casually, as though it were basic knowledge in this world. Maybe my question wasn’t as ignorant as I’d thought.
Or maybe he liked me—Bluebell—more than I’d expected and wasn’t thinking very rationally.
“Oh~ Then have you ever seen the Grand Duke himself?”
I didn’t expect an ordinary university student to know the university president personally, but I might as well probe a little about my landlord while I was at it. If Peter knew something, great. If not, no harm done.
“Yeah. From really far away, though.”
A different kind of excitement and regret crossed Peter’s face.
“You really like him, huh?”
“L-Like him? I respect him. He sometimes comes to the academy to instruct students. If I’d been born just three or four years earlier, I might’ve been able to meet him up close. It’s a shame. He’s only a few years older than us…”
From there, Peter launched into a proud account of the landlord’s accomplishments.
He’d attended some academy in the capital, skipped grades, graduated from university several years ago, and so on. Had his major been public administration?
The conversation that began with his academic credentials eventually led to the revelation that the Grand Duke would personally inspect the territory and oversee preparations for the potential flooding.
So he swings his sword at the mansion’s servants, but takes good care of his subjects? What kind of man is he?
“He’s truly amazing. And he must be so busy with other responsibilities, too…”
Now I understood why Peter seemed so familiar. This guy was a Grand Duke fanatic, too.
Fans loved talking about their favorite people, so I should encourage him to keep going.
“So he ordered your deployment, too? Are you using artifacts to prepare for the flooding?”
“Yeah. We’re installing devices to keep the ground from collapsing and make sure the water drains properly.”
He was explaining it in simple words, the sort you’d use with a child.
How did he know? That was exactly my level of understanding.
“I’d never really thought about it before, but he must care a lot about the people living in his territory. I thought powerful nobles would use things like artifacts for their own selfish purposes.”
“Hmm… Maybe other nobles would, but not the Grand Duke. As far as I know, the only artifacts he uses personally are a communication device and his sword. And of course, he got permission from the Imperial Family.”
Oh. He was defending his favorite person with everything he had. Apparently, even speculation about his idol’s bad behavior was unacceptable.
“Really? Still, wouldn’t a noble need a few more artifacts?”
“The mansion has security devices, too.”
Okay.
If he hadn’t given me that answer, I’d have asked more directly.
“Well, of course. You never know when an assassin might show up. What do the security artifacts do?”
“I heard an alarm goes off if someone who isn’t authorized enters.”
What?
“……Oh. Then even if an assassin broke in, they’d be detected right away. That’s a relief.”
That was enough for now. I’d think about the rest after sending him on his way.
“Peter, how much longer can you stay?”
“Huh? Oh! What time is it? Sorry, I should get going.”
Peter hurried to his feet and put the chair back.
“I lost track of time talking to you…”
Why would you be so honest about that?
He rushed around like someone who was late for an appointment.
Before he could get too far away, I called out to him.
“Peter!”
Whoosh!
I leaned far over the stall and tossed him an apple. Peter caught it neatly with one hand.
He caught it even though I hadn’t warned him. Nice reflexes.
“Eat it. My treat.”
“This… for me?”
“Yep. Good luck with your work.”
Leaving Peter standing there with a stunned expression, I went back behind the stall.
A bribe, you little punk.
If a gesture that small made his heart flutter, that was his problem. Not mine.
I sat down to organize everything I’d learned from our conversation, then called for the Mascot.
Hey. Mascot. Black-bean head. You hear me? Get over here if you do.
—Poof! Your magnificent Mascot has arrived!
—As expected, you can’t do anything without me! Bwahahaha!
That’s not what this is about. I want to make some deductions based on the information I gathered. Just tell me whether I’m right or wrong.
—Hmph.
I couldn’t tell whether it was sulking or refusing to answer my questions.
But silence could be an answer, too. I started with the hypothesis I felt most certain about.
There’s magic in this world, but no actual mages, right?
After all, they’d gone so far as to call up university students just to install artifacts.
And when the Grand Duke had encountered me while I was invisible, he’d only brought up artifacts.
He hadn’t considered that I might be a mage because mages didn’t exist.
Am I right?
—Hmm…
That meant yes.
If that was the case, then I wouldn’t have to worry about some mage stopping me with their bare hands. I’d only need to watch out for people using artifacts.
—…Hey! I never said you were right! Why are you deciding things on your own?!
Then I’m wrong?
—Grr…
The Mascot made a troubled expression with its face, which consisted of only three holes.
I didn’t know what was bothering it, but since I wasn’t the one in trouble, I decided to keep asking questions.
You said the Grand Duke’s mansion has security artifacts. So why didn’t they go off when I broke in?
I hadn’t heard any alarm during either of my two intrusions.
Even if the alarm worked by alerting only a specific person instead of blaring throughout the entire mansion, it was still strange.
If the alarm had really gone off, they would’ve been searching day and night. The atmosphere in the mansion would’ve been noticeably chaotic. It couldn’t possibly have been as peaceful as I’d seen it.
So it seemed more plausible that the artifact hadn’t activated in the first place.
Did the system automatically patch it because I’m someone who possessed a character’s body?
—……Where did you hear about artifacts?
Peter told me. The landlord’s son.
—WHAT?! Hey! If you met him, you should’ve called me over right away!
At first, the Mascot had seemed to be deliberately changing the subject, but now it looked genuinely disappointed.
What are you talking about? Besides, Peter isn’t handsome enough to warrant going to that much trouble to see him.
—You don’t know when you’ll get to see him again!
Why wouldn’t I know? When I pay the rent…
Oh, right.
“I forgot about the rent.”
I hadn’t been able to pay Peter—handing a wad of cash to someone who was on his way to work would’ve been awkward—so I’d have to pay the actual landlord instead.
But I didn’t even know what the landlord looked like. How was I supposed to find him? Going around asking people where Peter’s mother was would make me look suspicious…
—Ding!
[New Item in the Shop!]
[Blackvalley Village Relationship Chart — 10 Coins]
Why is everything ten coins? Is that why you gave me those red coins?
But… this one might actually be useful.
I’d think about buying it once I’d saved up some more money.
—Ding!
[Limited-Time Sale]
[Time Remaining: 5 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes]
—Guess you can’t put it off anymore~ Hehehe!
Ugh….
—You can buy it after your next attempt fails and you get back home!
I’m going to succeed this time, okay?
—Sure you are~ As if!*
