Chapter 92: Mysterious Story, 「The Man Who Disappeared」

I don’t like WordPress’ new editor layout -,- I’d rather not use it. Anyways, finally we see Eduard and Klaus!

TL: clover

ED: xtostos and eristol

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It was a dark, moonless night.

 

I guess it was after a long trip. I thought he was a man with terribly messy clothes.

But, looking closely, the clothes themselves seemed awfully expensive.

They didn’t match with the guy.

 

One night, when we put our heads together and were whispering in secrecy, there was a jingling sound of coins.

Of course, we turned around in surprise.

There was that guy who looked like a shopkeeper. He was counting a pile of gold coins with a face like a dying fish.

 

That guy told us with a sharp smile.

 

“Come on, everyone. Drink and eat as much as you want, it’s my treat.

Today, tomorrow and the next day as well – as long as I stay here, it’s my treat.

Instead, promise me, when you go outside the bar, never tell anyone about me.

Of course, keep secret of this free drinks story from your scary wives too.”

 

We soon became friends.

Well, at first that guy’s wallet was my friend.

 

But well, his stories were funny. Before I knew it, we became real friends.

Before I knew it, his face felt as if he was my childhood friend and he started blending in with my friends.

 

Oh, certainly, he said this:

 

“I am the continent’s biggest fraudster.

When it comes to obtaining gold, no alchemist is my opponent.

It is my job to find out secrets from aristocratic bees and merchant honeycombs without working for the sweet golden nectar.”

 

Well, that one was a horror though.

I never heard of him talking about cheating money from someone before.

 

In the first place, he didn’t need to rob money.

He was rich enough to surprise me.

Besides, he was generous and there was nothing I didn’t like about him.

 

Each and every night, I had a luxurious banquet with that guy.

Oh yeah, I had a good time.

 

Stupidly expensive wine of the South and East. The fragrant distilled liquor of the West. The strong alcohol which was likely to put the throat on fire of the North.

Sturgeon eggs, fattened goose liver, white mushrooms and the finest meat, meat and meat.

Everyone was eating and drinking without reservations, but without a doubt, the one who ate and drank the most, was that guy.

 

Without minding what kind of stomach he might have, he ate up the mountain of foods.

Even with that bad habit, his belly didn’t bulge at all.

Ah, just what kind of trick did he do? Was it some kind of sleight of hand, or did he have some kind of constitution?

 

He had an astonishingly high tolerance for alcohol.

Even if he drank a barrel, his complexion didn’t change.

 

Oops, right.

It was that day.

 

That day he came out of the room with a face like that of a dead man.

Unlike his usual self, he told us to leave him alone and silently gulped down the strongest alcohol.

 

Well, then I became worried.

It was the first time that guy had that kind of expression.

 

It was about late at night when the customers became sparse.

The ones who remained there were me, Bruno, Gus and that Boris guy was also still awake.

Well, it was the usual group.

In the end, that guy told us this:

 

“I cannot do it. I cannot stay here. That guy found me.”

 

At that time, the windows rattled with the wind.

He shrunk back on his chair with a face as if he saw a ghost and kept staring at the entrance with bloodshot eyes as if frightened.

 

Well, I didn’t understand what he meant.

We were just nodding along.

What is so scary, ah— was it Bruno who asked that?

Anyways, everyone asked.

 

It was unsettling.

He wasn’t supposed to be able to get drunk, but only incoherent mutterings came out of his mouth.

Eventually, the only thing we were able to get out of him was that he was being chased by a terrifying thing but we didn’t know what it was.

 

Then, it was as you know.

Each of us used our connections to make an arrangement for that guy to successfully escape to Karkinos.

 

On that moonless night, the coachman Boris and I accompanied him.

That guy kept himself shut inside the carriage.

 

‘There are voices of a ghost’, or something.

‘There are sounds of nails scratching the horse carriage’, or something.

 

As we continued to hear such things, even though I didn’t believe in things like ghosts, I became scared.

I stuck close to that Boris fellow’s body on the coachman bench, looking around while trembling.

 

Then, when the eastern sky was getting brighter.

Before I knew it that guy also fell asleep.

It had been quite a while since the alcohol in our body subsided so we sobered up from our drunkenness.

 

Finally, we saw the city walls and we felt relieved too.

As we looked at the sky, nothing happened.

It almost felt like a lie that Boris and I were scared until a while ago.

 

We decided to wake that guy up and looked into the carriage.

However, there was no figure of that guy.

Stopping the carriage in haste, we opened the door of the carriage.

 

Ah, I wasn’t drunk anymore.

But……there was neither the shadow nor the figure of that guy to be found.

 

What we did find were only a handful of ashes and those dirty expensive clothes together.

 

(From the testimony of Pierre, a regular customer of Whale’s Barrel)

 

☆

 

Aurelia Ducal Family’s Spring Palace.

After a harsh winter, the Aurelia Ducal Family relocated their living space once again to this palace.

 

Erica Aurelia was reading a piece of paper at the Wunderkammer that she got permission to use freely from her older brother.

It was a parchment that happened to slide down from the desk when she was looking for a tool for alchemy.

 

“Oh, are you interested in this kind of story, Erica?”

“Huh?”

 

Hearing a voice from behind her, Erica looked back in surprise.

There was her older brother, Eduard, who she was unable to meet easily due to him travelling around each country all the time.

 

“Onii-sama, welcome home. When did you come back?”

“I arrived at midnight, but I thought it was not a good idea to wake you up.

By the way, Erica, I thought you weren’t good with scary stories, but it looks like I was wrong.

If that’s the case, I should have listened to the reserve scary stories from Elric, huh?”

“No, no, please don’t fuss over me. I only read it by chance.”

 

In contrast to Eduard who was extremely fond of this type of ghost story, Erica refused him properly to ensure her peace from hereafter.

Then, Erica noticed something from Eduard’s reply.

 

“Perhaps, did you meet Actorius-sensei, Onii-sama?”

“Yeah, since I was going through Knot Reed on the way back. So while I was there, I decided to visit him.”

 

Elric who had suffered a serious injury in the autumn incident last year continued getting medical treatment in the Trade City Knot Reed.

Recalling Elric’s painful scars, Erica’s facial expression clouded.

Eduard read Erica’s facial expression and a smile showed on his face to make her feel secure.

 

“It’s alright, Elric is doing fine.

His recovery is also going smoothly, thanks to the treatment he received and there is no after-effect. It seems that he can return to Lindis next month.”

“That’s……truly relieving.”

“Yeah, come and visit him in Lindis together with me next time, Erica.”

“Yes, I’d love to.”

 

When Eduard gently stroked Erica’s cheek, she finally smiled.

It was a harmonious image of an older brother and his younger sister.

 

“Ahem.”

 

There was a black-haired boy who cleared his throat while looking at the two.

It was Klaus Hafan.

At the coughing sound, Erica finally noticed his existence.

 

“Eh! Why is Klaus-sama here……?”

“Eduard, it seems that your sister finds it inconvenient if I stay here. I will go back to Hafan.”

“Wait a minute, Klaus-kun. Don’t say such a thing, won’t you help me a little more?”

“Aah, I apologize. It’s been a long time, Klaus-sama. Please enjoy your stay in Aurelia.”

 

Klaus’s attitude became sulky and he turned the other way, spitting out.

Eduard smoothed things over in a hurry and Erica glossed over her attitude and gave a respectful greeting.

 

“It has been a while since our last contact, Erica. I will be in your care for a while.

Anyway, after this I will be dragged around to another land right away.”

“Hahaha, I will be troubled if you scowl at me like that.”

 

Compared to the lively Eduard, Erica realized that a strong aura of fatigue was drifting from Klaus.

 

“Klaus-sama, for some reason you look awfully tired today, are you okay?”

“This man here always uses me like a tool on every opportunity. I feel like a debt slave.”

“Stop saying slave, Klaus-kun. I’m always humane, right?”

“Eduard, if you are humane, the demon kinds will surely be humane as well.”

“Ahaha, that’s harsh.”

 

It was much better than Klaus selling off things like the plot of lands and ingots.

Since it was to pay for the expensive wands’ cost, it was inevitable that he was being somewhat overworked.

Nonetheless, Eduard also acknowledged this method and that was the cause of his excessive exploitation.

 

“If you are that tired, Klaus-sama, I have a potion for that, so why don’t you try it?”

 

Saying so, Erica took out potion bottles from her bag.

Inside the bottle, red, purple and green marble patterns of the mysterious liquid were swaying to and fro.

Klaus looked at the vicious liquid and lifted his right eyebrow, while Eduard’s smile froze.

 

“Would you like to drink this?”

“Oh, this is……is this something people can drink?”

“Yes, it seems to be an excellent potion for recovering from fatigue and magical power depletion. Onii-sama, would you like to try it too?”

 

It was a potion with violent colors that looked as if one would be cursed just by having it.

It was quite poisonous-looking, but Erica, whose danger sensing capability was somewhat dull, didn’t notice it.

Of course, in Klaus and Eduard’s brain, the danger signal was blinking and beeping in warning.

 

By the way, this potion was a prototype of the potion master Sergei, a good companion of Harold Nibelheim.

Because it was a great success for those two inhumane people, safety and efficacy were guaranteed only on their side.

However, Erica herself had not tasted it which was why she didn’t know that this potion was overflowing with a big problem in its taste.

 

“Hou, the main components of magical power are the cerebrospinal fluid of kraken, the horn of a unicorn and an extract from alraune, huh?”

“The effect of the potion seems reliable, right?”

 

Klaus struggled with his answer and his line of sight wandered between the label stuck on the potion and Erica’s expression.

Since Erica recommended it out of her kindness, he didn’t want to refuse her.

Klaus opened the stopper of the potion bottle with eyes devoid of light as if he had given up and drank a mouthful after a little bit of hesitation.

 

“Guh……!!”

“Klaus-kun! Are you okay?!”

“Does it not suit your taste?”

“N-no……it has a terribly odd taste, but it’s not that bad. I feel that my magical power has replenished considerably and my body has become lighter.”

 

For that reason, Klaus slowly drank the rest of the potion.

Looking at Klaus’ state, Eduard stroked his chest in relief and picked up a potion bottle.

If it was the usual, Eduard would have checked it more carefully.

However, the fact that his cute little sister had prepared it for him made him relax his vigilance.

 

“Well, since you are being generous, I will also drink it.”

 

Eduard opened the stopper and gulped it down without caution.

At that moment, his motion stopped.

Eduard rarely ever changed his complexion, but this time his face was pale.

 

“Ukh……! Uuuu~~~~~!!”

“Onii-sama!? A-are you okay~~~!!”

“Fuh, Eduard……you’re unexpectedly weak.”

 

Eduard held his mouth and ran away.

Giving a sidelong glance at the Aurelia siblings who were in a panic, a composed smile formed on Klaus’ face.

Erica was looking at Klaus with a complicated expression and opened her mouth.

 

“Are you okay, Klaus-sama?”

“Since I have trained myself, this is nothing.”

“Have you also trained your tongue and stomach……no, as expected that’s impossible, so how did you do it?”

“It’s a matter of spiritual discipline. If I am perturbed only by this much, I’m not fit to be a mage.”

“Klaus-sama……”

 

Erica laughed at Klaus who was as arrogant as usual.

Klaus’ cheeks turned red after seeing the rare natural smile of that Erica.

Meanwhile, Erica was distracted by another thing so she didn’t notice Klaus’ changes.

 

“Ah……that’s right, speaking of which, Klaus-sama!”

 

Erica took out two types of clear perfume bottles from the small boxes stacked on the long table.

She ordered it via Harold, these were the fashionable perfumes at Knot Reed.

 

“I was planning to give these perfumes as gifts for you and Ann-sama.

Since you are here, may I hand them over now?”

“Hou, there is also one for me, huh?”

“Yes. It seems that recently men have also taken an interest in perfumes.”

“Is there something like that going on now?”

 

Klaus took a bottle in a doubtful manner on the outside, but he did not seem as dissatisfied as he led others to believe.

 

“The bottle is elaborate, huh. The blue of the glass is pretty deep.”

“As expected of Klaus-sama, you have discerning eyes.”

 

The bottle was a vibrant blue glass with elegant silver to finish off as quality goods.

With that, even Klaus who was used to the sophisticated Hafan culture couldn’t help but admire the craftsmanship.

 

“First of all, for Ann-sama is this 『Sweet Song of Angels』 for women.

And the next one is for you, Klaus-sama, 『Sweet Melody of Lovers』 for men, please take them.”

“Angel? Sweet? Lover? What’s with these lackadaisical names that are setting my teeth on edge?”

“There, there, don’t they sound pleasant? Charming, right?”

 

Even with Klaus’ sharp tongue, Erica didn’t mind and kept explaining.

 

“In the north-western area where these two perfumes are popular, there’s a rumor that secret love will come true for those who wear it.

If, there is someone Klaus-sama is always thinking of—”

“D-don’t get the wrong idea! I’m—!”

 

Klaus unintentionally interrupted her with a loud voice, however, he immediately realized that and closed his mouth.

Erica stared at Klaus with a slightly surprised look.

 

“I……that, there is none, that I am secretly thinking of.

My creed is to be fair and square. I won’t run and I won’t hide……so there’s none.”

“Really, Klaus-sama, please do not get mad all of a sudden. Isn’t this just a ‘what if’ story?”

“I-is that so, I’m sorry. That’s right, yeah.”

“Then, while we are at it, please try the scent.

Try the one for women, since it’s the one which has already been opened.”

 

Erica opened another bottle and poured a drop on a white silk handkerchief.

When she flapped the handkerchief in the air, a sweet scent spread between the two.

It was a gorgeous and sweet scent of flowers which was mainly composed of roses, along with it there were also the mystical scents of edelweiss and sandalwood.

 

“This is……”

 

Klaus’ heart unexpectedly throbbed similarly to that mysterious sensation he remembered having.

The saturation of the world rose, everything that appears in his eyes vividly changed.

It felt as if there was a pleasant tranquil heavenly melody, like a light rain drizzling gently.

 

“What do you think?”

“…….Huh!?”

 

When he quickly raised his head, there was a golden sparkling fairy princess standing there.

To the extent that Klaus felt like the beauty of the girl in front of him was brilliant.

He shook his head in a hurry and averted his eyes away from Erica.

Until the moment he was called out, Klaus didn’t realize he had a blank expression.

 

“I don’t think it’s just a perfume. It’s comparable to charm magic.”

“I’m glad that you like it.”

 

Suddenly, Klaus became aware that he was alone with Erica.

‘Secret love will come true’, those words spread quietly like a ripple in his consciousness.

Being swept away by the atmosphere, Klaus felt a sense of crisis and desperately sought an unrelated topic in his head.

 

“B-b-but, that’s, you know. You know, that Knot Reed’s Cursed Sword seems to have been a major incident.”

“Aah, that happened around the autumn of last year.”

“The old aircraft carrier seems to have been a wreck.”

“It was regrettable. Fortunately, the new model aircraft carrier was intact.”

“I heard that you also participated in the launching ceremony. I’m just glad that you were safe.”

 

Thanks to Erica getting into the change of topic, Klaus gradually regained his calm.

On the other hand, Erica carefully chose the topic to pretend that she wasn’t recklessly deeply involved in that incident.

 

“If you were in that situation, Klaus-sama, could you have handled it with extensive magic?”

“No, that would’ve been difficult.”

“Oh my, it’s unusual for you to be this timid.”

“A large mass of lava that materializes by forcibly overwriting itself when one disassembles it, it would be too much for even me to handle.”

 

He couldn’t lay a hand on it before it materialized.

Once it materialized, he had to either blow it away, freeze it, or continue to support the Protective Circle in the form of a bowl.

Whatever the case, Klaus’ preliminary calculation said that ordinary mages would find themselves being out of their depths.

 

“Only by using the cathedral’s spiritual pulse to amplify the magic it would be enough for me to prevent a cursed sword.”

“If so, do we need about sixteen high-ranking mages who are as powerful as you, Klaus-sama?”

“It’s possible for me to say this because the mechanism is already known.

Although the behavior of that magic hadn’t been found out, Duke Aurelia held down the damage on the spot at once.

And the son of Earl Nibelheim had devised a way which completely invalidated the 15 cursed swords.

It can be said that each one of them has considerably extraordinary abilities.”

 

Especially the potential of the Nibelheim’s successor is very frightening, Klaus groaned.

Erica couldn’t look directly into his eyes in spite of listening to his words.

 

“Right. Speaking of Nibelheim, didn’t he get involved in a fraud case too?”

“You know well, Klaus-sama.”

“Once you hear that the transition magic was illegally used for the crime, there is no reason not to be worried.

When I arrived in Lindis, I heard about it from the experts of transition magic who were in charge of the investigation.

It seems that a clever concealment was used so it would be overlooked by even mages.”

“It was such a malicious scam. It was fortunate that it could be ascertained before it became a major incident.”

 

Erica chose her words so that the scandal of the Nibelheim family wouldn’t spread.

While sweeping away a bad topic, she suddenly remembered a particular concern.

 

“But, while we only had to endure that calamity, there is a household whose whereabouts and life and death are still unclear.”

“Isn’t that just the accomplice running away?”

“While that’s what it’s been treated as, it seems the entire family disappeared without a single trace.”

“As if they were apparitions, huh?”

“Yes, it’s like something strange hid the whole household, how scary……”

“I see. You are concerned about the disappearance case, because you read this material earlier.”

 

Klaus picked up a piece of material entitled 「The Man Who Disappeared」 from the desk and stared at her.

Erica quietly nodded and opened her mouth.

 

“Him and them, what if everyone truly disappeared in such a way……wouldn’t one run their head with such wild thoughts?”

“Is that so? For example, would you still think so if the man who disappeared was the main criminal of the fraud?

There is the possibility that this aforementioned household disappeared for the same reason, isn’t there?”

“No way. For example, is there such a way of harming people with magic?”

“I have some ideas……it’s difficult to identify by this alone.

I should be able to check the remaining ashes or at least the site.”

“Such a thing……this is not a fact but a made-up story……right?”

 

Erica tilted her head while hiding her impatience with a smile.

Klaus continued his words with his hard blue eyes staring at Erica.

 

“I hope it’s a fictional story, but if it’s not, then it’s a problem.

Beside magic, a similar kind of killing can be done by certain kinds of monstro.”

“What is it, for example?”

“Right, for example—”

 

Stopping in the middle of his sentence, Klaus silenced his mouth with a click.

The expression of Klaus who was scowling became even more severe and Erica shrunk back.

 

“This conversation ends here.”

“Eh?”

“But, before I finish talking, I will advise you.

Whether it’s this case or the fraud case, do not investigate anymore.

Even if there is a case similar to this, never get involved.

Even if you tentatively get involved, do not get involved deeper.”

“I understand. Do I look that much at risk to you, Klaus-sama?”

 

Klaus didn’t answer Erica’s question which she asked as a joke.

Instead of answering, he kept on a serious face.

 

“If you cannot escape by any means, come to me first.”

“That’s……”

“This is to protect you. Okay, you must absolutely do it. Promise me this.”

 

Klaus’ tone didn’t allow any refusal.

After Erica suffered for a moment, she tried to tell him her answer.

But her answer was blocked by a cheerful voice heard along with a knock.

 

“Erica, Klaus-kun, would you like tea?”

 

Before they knew it, Eduard was standing at the entrance of the room.

The smile showing on Eduard’s face told them that he had regained his condition.

 

“Onii-sama, are you feeling alright now?”

“I’m still in a critical condition. I may die soon if I don’t immediately cleanse my palate with sweet baked confections.”

“Eduard, are you a kid……?”

“Jeez, Onii-sama!”

 

To Eduard’s childish joke, Klaus returned to his sour look as if sulking.

As if they were children of the same age, Erica softly smiled.

The atmosphere kept up when they were on the topic of the disappearance case was lost and Erica switched her thoughts to the lighter ones.

 

“Then, I will go ahead and prepare it.

There is something that I would like the two of you to see.”

 

That said, Erica headed to the drawing room to prepare for the tea ceremony.

Just a few days ago, a simple yet beautiful tea cup prototype which had its number of colors reduced in order to sell it to Hafan had just arrived.

Since it was the aim, she was planning to hold a porcelain presentation to Eduard and Klaus.

 

By the time Erica was far enough, Klaus deployed a barrier in silence.

He incorporated several kinds of soundproof spells, it was the magic of countermeasures against eavesdropping.

 

“Eduard, keep the shady materials under lock and key.”

“Absolutely. I have no excuses to give.”

 

To the extremely good point, Eduard shrugged his shoulders and received the material presented by Klaus.

Eduard folded the material, put it between the pages of his notebook and put it away in his pocket.

 

“The fraud case of Argene territory, were vampires involved?”

“There are possibilities of that.”

“The fraud ring, a mage who tampered with the transition magic and the merchant household that got dragged into it.

All of them unwittingly became the underlings of the vampires.

Even though they weren’t imprinted by the blood-sucking action, leaving their temporary life depleting, they ended up dying as sacrificial pieces.”

“Although the consistent things match, it is nothing more than a speculation. We wouldn’t know until we examine the remaining ashes or the actual site.”

“If that’s the case, you must have taken it into consideration, right?”

 

Eduard responded by smiling silently.

Klaus took his silence as a confirmation.

In addition to visiting the ill, he had probably secretly investigated the mansion of the merchant family who disappeared, Klaus concluded in his head.

 

“What do you think is the objective, assuming it is as you guessed? Don’t tell me that the vampires are trying to make money at this point.”

“If I were a vampire, I would aim for the destruction of the County of Nibelheim.”

“There are many other distinguished people in the north-western part though?”

“There must be something that they have that the other distinguished families don’t have.

Of course it’s not the genius boy, but something that is attached to the territory itself.”

 

Hearing Eduard’s point, Klaus nodded slightly.

 

“I see, there is a tower in the Nibelheim territory, which is one of the essential elements of the ley lines in the northwestern area. They are aiming for the erosion of the ley lines, huh?”

“The owner of that tower is the Nibelheim family, but Turm family was the one who commanded the construction of the tower.

Aurelia’s Turm family is a distinguished family which originated from Hafan’s Twr¹ family who was in charge of building magical towers.

If the tower they built were contaminated, the restoration of the ley line won’t be easy. That would be favorable for the vampires, right?”

“This has to be related to the series of riots last year. How annoying.”

 

Since spring last year, the attack on the spirit-related facilities repeatedly occurred on Ichthyes continent.

The invasion of magically-made monstro into Lindis’ basement floor which was the core of the ley lines in the heart of the continent.

Simultaneous multiple grave robberies in the tombs of Casketia era which were sealed by the ley lines on various regions.

If these were the only cases, he would also think that it was just a coincidence.

When there was a fraud in Nibelheim which was the key point of the northern area’s ley lines, there was no way he could dismiss it as a mere coincidence.

 

“The aim of the guy who was secretly pulling the strings while hiding, is to weaken the magical protection spread throughout Ichthyes, huh?”

“Your answer is half-correct. As expected, Klaus-kun.”

“Eduard, just say what’s the other half already.”

“Outside the incidents involving the ley lines, there were cases which were caused by Casketia’s relics, right?”

 

Hearing Eduard’s question, Klaus remembered the incident involving himself.

Strangely, it was an incident that happened on the same day as the invasion of a monstro into Lindis’ basement.

 

As a matter of fact, Klaus recalled that the relics of Casketia had been putting people in critical situations.

 

The necklace with fascination magic that pushed Klaus into the Ruins of Visitor.

The stirrup with intoxication magic that caused Auguste to fall from the dragon.

And the accident that happened at the excavation site of the remains of the Cursed Sword of Fire also confirmed the trace that was caused by a magical relic.

None of these had minimum effect, they were despicable methods aiming for the worst tragedy.

 

“Children of a duke, a dragon knight with a promising future, a student excelling in expertise.

They were all aimed to assassinate the people who are beneficial to the nation.

However, they were not the best plan to ensure certain death, they were only unreliable measures.”

“It may be important that although they were dangerous, death was not necessarily the aim.”

“I don’t think there is such a lenient vampire.”

 

Klaus urged Eduard for the continuation with an indication that he wasn’t fully satisfied with the explanation.

 

“Friends and family, lover……those who are deprived of their important people cannot survive like they were before.

The heart of those who have lost love, friendship and pride are more likely to be twisted and bent with a variation to some degree.”

“Taking advantage of the weak spot in their heart, the vampires made them their pawns, huh? For example, that Louis Ode-Ignitia.”

 

Louis had been imprisoned inside the tower ever since the Advent Festival’s incident.

Even now, he is still under suspicion of being involved with vampires and being their underling, so the interrogation and investigation has continued.

He was a royalty who still had his future ahead of him, but he was indoctrinated biased information by someone when he was in a vulnerable state after the mysterious death of his immediate family and he ended up becoming distorted.

 

“Pawns……my opinion is slightly different.”

“Well then, what do you think, Eduard?”

“I’m sure that he was lonely.

I myself have a similar notion, I’m looking for others who operate in the same way as I do.

Instead of pawns, I want a partner whose heart is dyed in the same color.”

 

Eduard lifted the bottle of potion as a diversion, rocking it so as to look through it.

The red liquid which only remained as much as one drop, spread thinly at the bottom of the transparent glass bottle.

 

“Heart dyed in the same color, huh……

Speaking of which, we heard similar words at Karkinos.

‘You will become the same thing I am’, was it?”

“……That was a precious testimony to support my hypothesis.”

 

Eduard turned away from Klaus and said that without emotion.

Klaus thought that Eduard didn’t want him to step into that topic any further and changed the topic.

 

“But, the way it was done was too unreliable.

I wonder whether the Lunatic King was very much a coward, or an extremely secretive person.”

“I wonder. Anyway, no matter how secretive he was, cowardice is different though.”

 

Eduard said so and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“What are you thinking about, Eduard?”

“Well, this hypothesis is still no more than a speculation.

He seems to be in a state where he cannot participate in the incidents directly due to some circumstances.

So, on the contrary, it may not be possible for him to increase his underlings freely.”

“I didn’t know about this. Why do you think so?”

 

Eduard put down the glass bottle while contemplating.

The red that had spread in the bottle gathered at the bottom with the passage of time and returned to a small droplet.

 

“For example, he may be imprisoned somewhere in a state where he is completely helpless.

Therefore, it was only possible to cause incidents indirectly through his pawns or scattered cursed objects which were set up as traps.

……I mean, how about that?”

“Even still, we’re talking about someone assuming the name of the Lunatic King. What’s with that miserable situation?”

“Absolutely. To begin with, it’s really a question of who could possibly imprison someone who assumes the identity of the Lunatic King in such a way.”

 

Klaus imagined an illusion as if the enemy disappeared as a smoke the moment he hunted the enemy’s tail.

It was as if the enemy was on the other side of the optical illusion which laid on top of one another.

 

There was a heavy silence at the Wunderkammer.

 

At such a time, the voice of a girl calling out to them echoed in the distance.

They remembered that Erica was waiting for them.

 

“Oops, my cute Erica has prepared tea for me.”

“You mean for us, right?”

“Yeah, it’s for me. Aah, speaking of which, were you invited to join us?”

“Eduard, you, I’ll remember this.”

 

Klaus clicked his tongue and chased after Eduard who went out of the room quickly.

Klaus felt a sense of some security from the aroma of black tea drifting in with the scent of spring flowers.

 

End of Arc 3

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¹ Twr means tower in Welsh.

You may have realized it, but there are three groups of vampire investigators here, and the information Eduard-Klaus-Elric have is not known to Professor-Auguste or Erica-Tirnanog-Palug and vice versa.

Next week, we have 3 interlude chapters before we enter the fourth arc~

This is the last chapter for this arc, so……may I implore you guys to rate and review (or update your review) in novelupdates? :3

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