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chapter 24
“What is it? What is it? I can’t stand being curious—just tell me already.”
Unlike other wizards, who tended to be reclusive and socially awkward, Emma was unusually friendly and approachable.
She pressed me eagerly.
“Just like there’s a merchants’ guild in the Ashen Street, is there a guild for wizards too?”
“No? We’re the kind of people who die if we stick together, and survive if we scatter. We don’t have a shred of cohesion.”
“Ah, I see. So that’s why powerful wizards like you haven’t taken over the world yet.”
“Oh, how cheeky of you.”
“Then I suppose there’s no emergency contact network or alumni gatherings at the Magic Tower either?”
“Well, unless they’re into some sort of self-hatred fetish for their kind, there’s no reason to have one. Why do you ask?”
“I’m looking for a particular wizard.”
Emma tilted her head.
“Who?”
“Um… I don’t know their name.”
“Ah, a typical request. Like, ‘find the one I fell in love with at first sight’? Michele would clutch his neck and collapse if he heard that, but you know, there’s something called the cost of keeping secrets in this world.”
“Actually, I don’t even know their face.”
“Oh, that’s a less common request. Once, someone asked me to find a person based only on a footprint. He had fainted, and apparently the foot in the red shoes in front of him was just too beautiful.”
I giggled and asked,
“So… did you find them?”
“No, how could I? I told him I couldn’t, but he kept bothering me, so I cast a dream spell on him.”
“A dream spell?”
“Yeah. I made him have a nightmare where 200 pairs of red shoes chased him at once. He never came back after that.”
Emma shrugged and crossed her arms.
“Still, I’m not going to use a dream spell on you. So… you don’t know anything else?”
“I do. I know the spell pattern.”
Emma clapped her hands.
“For wizards, a spell pattern is like a signature. If you know the pattern, you don’t need their name or face. What does it look like? Show me.”
I handed over the pre-drawn spell pattern, and she studied it closely.
“Well drawn? Beetle, olive tree, smoke, coral…”
Honestly, I had drawn it just as I memorized it, without knowing its meaning.
Luckily, Emma could interpret it correctly, so it seemed I’d drawn it properly.
“And pomegranate. Not a common combination. This should be enough to identify them. I think we can find them.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“…Wait, you’re not a wizard, are you, Elisha? Normally, only a wizard can draw a spell pattern, or you’d need a special magical tool. How did you know what to draw?”
I smiled without answering.
‘Of course, I didn’t figure it out myself.’
It was a spell pattern I had seen in a previous life, drawn in a picture.
‘Retrieving Lionet isn’t something money alone can accomplish.’
Money was arguably the easy part.
More important and difficult to reclaim were the title and the territory.
‘And the wizard I’m looking for… is someone who can help me regain that.’
I just kept smiling, and Emma guessed, “This is proof he drew it for you, right? You’re not telling Michele? But… why would you end up liking a wizard? That’s an unusual taste…”
It was a relief she didn’t probe further. It would have been hard to explain, so I let it slide.
“How long will it take?”
“Well… we won’t find them tomorrow. I’ll have to make inquiries here and there, so it’ll take at least a few weeks. But you did well asking me—I happen to have a few friends for a wizard.”
“Yeah, as long as we can find them. How many wizard friends do you have?”
Emma held up three fingers proudly.
I genuinely admired her.
“Wow, that’s really a lot?”
“Right?”
Because I don’t have any friends.
Talking with Emma, the opening hour came quickly.
I parted ways with her and headed back to the shop.
‘By now, Roxanne must have heard about The Forest of Colonia. Since she makes a living off reproductions, there’s probably a reproduction of that painting too.’
Judging by the fact that Roxanne didn’t storm in immediately, the reproduction really must exist.
I had expected as much. I’d planned for a reproduction from the start.
If there wasn’t one, that would have been a bigger problem.
‘But there’s a lesson she’ll learn—some things can’t be solved with a reproduction. Roxanne will eventually have to buy the original.’
The next nighttime auction was in two weeks.
That was plenty of time for her to fumble with reproductions and realize she needed the original.
‘By the way… Roxanne knew the book would be banned and tried to sell it to Hanna…’
No matter how scheming Roxanne was, she didn’t have the authority to influence a ban.
‘Then, there must be some high-ranking nobles or superiors among her contacts.’
I had a rough idea of her connections but couldn’t know every personal relationship.
Why did Roxanne hate Hanna enough to want to disgracefully fire her in the first place?
While pondering this, a loud voice rang out in the distance.
“Oh my! Oh my! Is that right?!”
The woman, folding her hands and looking delighted to see me, was…
‘I don’t know.’
Excuse me, but who are you again?
Before I could react properly, she grabbed my hand.
“Nice to meet you! You’re the shop owner, right? It’s me! I helped you at the auction that time!”
Could it be?
“I’m Hanna Diego! You can just call me Hanna!”
Like a pumpkin rolling straight into the shop.
Hanna wandered around, marveling at the shop the entire time, exclaiming “Wow, wow!”
Seeing someone so genuinely excited made me feel happy too.
“Here, try some. I hope it suits your taste.”
“You already got me in the mood before even tasting it! Wow, I had no idea a place like this existed in the capital. If I had known, I’d have come sooner!”
Steam fogged up her glasses as she sipped her tea.
She looked so cute that it was hard to imagine Roxanne ever wanted to drive her away.
But how did she even know about this place? She couldn’t have seen me, could she?
I handed her a glasses cloth and asked casually.
“By the way, did you see me at the auction? How did you know I work here?”
“Oh! I didn’t tell you, did I? How shocking! That very tall, scary man told me!”
The moment she said “scary,” I knew.
The source was Alter. No doubt about it. But why?
“I nearly got scammed badly, and that man saved me, so I went to thank him. But he said he wasn’t the one to thank—it was someone else who noticed and helped.”
Surprising.
To think he would redirect the credit like that.
I expected a reluctant answer, but it seemed he also wanted to stop Carlos.
‘A form of self-hatred for their kind, or just “how dare you meddle in my territory without knowing the stakes”?’
“So, I asked who it was and begged them to contact me when they found out. And yesterday, they gave me this place via telegraph. As soon as I knew, I took leave and rushed here.”
“I didn’t do much. Anyway, it’s really lucky you came, Hanna. But leave? Where do you work?”
I asked, though I already knew.
Hanna beamed.
“I’m an imperial document officer! I work in the archive! I started because I love books, and when I saw Auguste’s book at the auction, I lost my mind!”
“So you also handle ancient texts and manage rare books?”
“Yes! That’s why I’m even more thrilled to be here. Look at this parchment rubbing—so beautiful! The fingerprints from handling it are amazing!”
I had never met anyone who called fingerprints on a rubbing “beautiful.”
“And the glass paperweights! With these, I feel like I could read dozens more books… oh, I love it so much.”
Hanna was clearly a serious book fanatic.
Her eyes sparkled as she asked,
“But I don’t see any old books or documents here. Aren’t there any?”
“We do have some, but they can’t be exposed to sunlight, so they’re all in the basement.”
“You really know your stuff! Books must never be exposed to sunlight—they discolor so quickly! Um… would you… perhaps…”
“Would you like a tour?”
“…Ah.”
Hanna looked so enthralled that I worried she might faint in her seat.
