TDSFE 27

chapter 27

2021.05.04

Ding-dang—The small bell hanging on the door jingled as Thesia stepped into the shop. Camilla, who happened to be at the counter polishing glasses, looked up. Her eyes caught sight of two tall men following behind Thesia, and a spark of interest flickered in her gaze. With a gleam of curiosity, she said:

“Oh my! This time, there are three of you.”

Thesia shrugged.

“Seems like Croyle has some good fortune with people.”

“Oh? So the Commander isn’t usually lucky with people?”

“Stop with the nonsense. Things are urgent, so I came a little faster. Is the information ready?”

“Of course.”

Camilla handed a newspaper to Thesia. She unfolded it, and her green eyes rolled over the contents.

“This is the information?”

“Yes. Very reliable information.”

Thesia scrunched her nose. A red circle was marked over an advertisement in the corner of the paper. She read the ad aloud:

“Help wanted. Beginners and newcomers welcome. Learn while you work. 20 gold per month, high income. Meals and lodging provided…?”

“Quite attractive, isn’t it? They’re paying 20 gold a month.”

“It just looks like a regular job listing. But for a trading company, the pay is pretty generous.”

“Exactly. And it’s also the place where the Croyle the Commander asked us to look into worked before joining the order.”

For a moment, Thesia’s eyes sharpened. Of course, Camilla wouldn’t have said that without reason. Camilla put down the glass she had just polished on the shelf and explained:

“For commoners, 20 gold a month is a lot of money. I heard it costs even to become a squire these days—you need to take exams and get proper sword training from a good master. On top of that, a young man just arriving in the city from the countryside wouldn’t have living expenses saved up either.”

“So that’s why he worked at this trading company?”

“Exactly. But it seems he didn’t receive his last paycheck. There were eyewitnesses who saw Sir Croyle visit the company office. And after that, he disappeared immediately.”

“In that case, we need to check out the office first. Where is it?”

“23 Twency River Lower District. A three-story red brick building.”

“Good.”

Thesia stood up. She had gathered all the information she could. As she prepared to leave the bar, Camilla suddenly asked:

“By the way, what’s your relationship with the two men behind you? You don’t seem to be just friends.”

“Is that a question? If it’s a question, then I—”

“Hehe, no. That’s something I can figure out on my own. I was just curious because the two of them kept glaring at each other so much.”

Thesia quickly turned around. For a moment, her eyes met those of Luhenhart and Redford, who smiled gently as if to ask, Why?

They were glaring at each other…?

Thesia tilted her head in confusion. That couldn’t be. The three of them were working together to solve a case. Luhenhart and Redford had no reason to harbor hostility toward each other.

Seeing Thesia’s innocent confusion, Camilla chuckled softly.

“Hehe. Interesting. Well, take care, Commander.”

“Yes.”

“You’re coming to boost our sales, right?”

“Once this matter is resolved and we find Croyle, I’ll come by.”

Thesia opened the door and stepped outside. She had obtained all the information she needed and it was now time to search for Croyle.

“It might be better to split up rather than stick together as three.”

Thesia spoke as they left Camilla’s fairy pub. She alternated her gaze between Luhenhart and Redford. Being too well-known in this empire made covert activity difficult for her. Redford, as heir of the Umberto Duke family, was also widely recognized. Luhenhart, on the other hand, was still relatively unknown to many in the empire. And recalling his sword training experience, he could handle combat to some extent. So it seemed logical for Luhenhart to infiltrate the company while Redford handled tracking magic. Thesia prepared to discuss this plan.

“About that…”

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, before the knights’ training ended, one man loitered in front of the Valkyrie Order dormitory. Viktor Erkin, one of Thesia’s fiancé candidates, glanced around and leapt over the fence. His agile movement went unnoticed by the guards on duty. Inside the dormitory, Viktor stopped in front of a door labeled “Croyle.” Without hesitation, he entered.

The room was a mess. Evidently, Croyle wasn’t the type to keep his space clean, or he had fled in a hurry. Viktor frowned at the disorder. As he scanned the room, he noticed something on Croyle’s desk and pocketed it.

At that moment, someone entered the room.

“Is this the right place?”

Viktor swiftly hid under the bed. The voice belonged to Redford Umberto.

Why is he here?

Viktor had met Redford before—they were both candidates for Princess Thesia’s engagement. Thanks to the strong competition from Luhenhart and Redford, Viktor’s presence was almost negligible. But he was still a rival. Redford would surely recognize him immediately. Through the narrow view under the bed, Viktor glimpsed Redford’s expensive shoes and held his breath.

Redford also seemed to be looking for something. After a moment, he opened a wardrobe and rifled through the clothes.

“Hmm, this should do.”

Finding what he wanted, Redford left quickly. Only when all footsteps faded did Viktor crawl out from under the bed. Checking the wardrobe Redford had searched, Viktor saw nothing missing except one garment. Confident in what Redford had taken, Viktor exited the room without hesitation. The dormitory fell silent again, as if nothing had happened.

At the same time, Luhenhart sat in the office where Croyle had disappeared, meeting with the company manager. Thesia’s judgment had been appropriate. Both Luhenhart and Redford agreed, and Thesia remained hidden outside. Luhenhart lifted a charming smile, causing the woman opposite him, known as Madam, to grin widely. While the company had advertised before, it was rare for such a handsome young man to appear. In a sweet voice, Madam spoke:

“Oh my! You want to work at our company?”

“Yes. I need the money.”

“You came at the right time. No other place treats employees as well as we do.”

Luhenhart spoke modestly:

“Yes, I was fortunate to study abroad in the empire, but tuition is expensive. I couldn’t give up my studies… and then I saw this ad.”

“Oh? Which academy?”

“Estonia Magic Academy.”

“Ah… the tuition is indeed high there. Don’t worry. We accommodate our employees so they can balance work and study. Many who worked here have passed exams, become knights, or taken managerial roles.”

“That’s very reassuring,” Luhenhart thought with an innocent smile, noticing nothing suspicious.

Aside from the unusually generous conditions, there was nothing obviously odd. When Thesia had arrived at the office building earlier, she had frowned with displeasure.

Thesia, no.

What?

You’re thinking of tearing down the building and arresting everyone, aren’t you?

Redford nudged her shoulder. Thesia sighed with a pout.

Then let’s split here. Luhenhart goes inside the company, and Redford goes to the dormitory.

Fortunately, Redford’s reputation with Thesia was enough to let him pass as a legitimate knight.

This could be dangerous. Both need to be careful.

Thesia reassured Luhenhart as he entered alone:

If anything happens, run immediately. It’s okay if things go wrong. I’ll take responsibility.

Leave it to me, Thesia.

And so Luhenhart entered the company office alone, while Redford headed to the dormitory to retrieve an item for tracking magic on Croyle. Thesia waited outside the building. Thankfully, the two were not together.

Sigh.

Luhenhart was unexpectedly cautious about both Redford and Thesia, but it didn’t seem he was focusing on her alone. He bit his lip lightly and concentrated. If he didn’t return within an hour, Thesia planned to lead the knights to take control of the building. Croyle had last been seen there, so they couldn’t afford to be careless.

“Then I suppose we need to prepare the contract.”

Madam happily stood up. At that moment, a knock came, and an employee entered.

“Madam, you need to step out for a moment.”

“Oh? What’s this about?”

“It’s just a moment…”

The employee glanced at Luhenhart. Realizing quickly, Luhenhart said:

“I’ll stay and have some tea. Go ahead.”

“Oh, sorry. I’ll be quick, just wait a moment.”

Madam stepped out, closing the door with a thud. Luhenhart’s gentle smile disappeared. He walked to the desk where Madam had intended to bring out the contract. An unsigned blank contract lay on the desk. Luhenhart flipped through it casually, and a cynical smirk appeared on his face as he read its contents.