Chapter 36: Charlotte and the Reunion

"So, that’s why I’m asking for your help!"

"Yeah, I don’t mind."

"Thank you so much!"

The location had shifted to the clan house of 【The Crimson Bell】.

After finishing my talk with Riven, I brought him along to meet Reynard. Luckily, he had just returned to the clan house, so we were able to meet him without any trouble.

Good thing today was only the first day of the auction. If it had been the final day, it probably wouldn’t have worked out. He’d most likely have been dragged off to some banquet with the upper crust.

Since it was only the first day, things must have wrapped up with just greetings and appearances. That’s my guess anyway. I’m not nosy enough to ask about the details.

After explaining the general situation, I asked for his cooperation—only to have him readily agree, just like that! That clears one of the prerequisites.

"Hey, hold on."

But the one to suddenly throw the brakes on was none other than Riven himself.

"Did something happen?"

"What do you mean 'something happened'? Why would you even agree to this? You gain nothing from it."

From his perspective, it must have been baffling that Reynard had accepted so quickly.

Well, he did seem equally baffled when I barged in on him too. Makes sense, I guess.

But I knew Reynard would agree without hesitation. We weren’t party members for nothing.

"Hmm. If you say there’s no gain, then yeah, maybe. If you look at it narrowly, I might only be taking a loss."

"Then why?"

"But tell me, do you really need a reason to help a friend?"

That’s just the kind of guy he is.

It’s exactly because he’s like this that he can lead the biggest clan in this town. It’s exactly because he’s like this that he was able to build it up in the first place.

I couldn’t help but laugh. He really hasn’t changed at all.

Riven, on the other hand, was left speechless.

"You’re right, maybe I’m unfit as a clan leader. I’m using clan resources for personal reasons. I’ll probably get scolded for it, huh? Yeah, I definitely will."

"Then—"

"But if I were to abandon my comrades for that, we would never have made it this far."

Reynard’s eyes as he declared this shone with the brilliance of summer sunlight.

It was an expression I found nostalgic—his look whenever he resolved himself for something important.

When he got like this, he never wavered from what he said. And this was the very same guy we’d once decided to follow.

"Don’t worry. If Charlotte helps out, it’ll be an amount we can cover in no time."

"Uh. W-what exactly are you planning to make me do?"

"I was thinking it might be nice to do 【The Crimson Sword】 again. That’s what came to mind."

You’ve got to be kidding me. You want to get that wild bunch back together again?

I really don’t think that’s a good idea. Did you forget the chaos it caused across the whole town? Actually… yeah, knowing you, you probably did forget!

Ah well, I’ll put that thought aside for now.

Right now, what matters is Riven’s problem.

"So anyway, if possible, I’d also like your help at the auction…"

"That’s asking a bit—"

"Sure."

"You will!?"

He might sound reckless, but I know he always thinks before giving an answer.

I get why Riven was surprised though—it catches you off guard the first time.

"Of course, I can’t lend you money. Some of our clan members wanted certain things, but if you’ve got reasons like these, we’ll bow out."

"Are you sure? Sorry, but I have nothing to offer in return."

"It’s fine, it’s fine. If it’s under the name of 'doing a favor for Charlotte,' no one will complain."

"I’m being smothered under all this trust in me, you know!"

Just what kind of reputation do I have in this clan?

Actually, is the real culprit here not Reynard, but Trishel? Either way, I’m starting to feel like I’m being deified. It’s getting kind of scary, honestly. More scary than embarrassing.

"He wouldn’t stoop so low as to snatch away a friend’s keepsake. Probably."

Probably? Did he just say probably?

Whenever he phrases things like that, it’s usually the opposite. Is this really safe?

I can’t help but feel nervous, but if the clan leader says it’s fine, then it should be fine. Worst-case, he’ll suppress things from the top. Probably.

"I appreciate it. Just that much is more than enough."

"This clan probably has more funds to spare than most upper-class residents anyway."

"We won’t spend that much at the auction. Well, maybe on the fourth day."

"Right, for adventurers, the fourth day is basically the main event."

The auction runs for four days, but most of the catalog items appear within the first three.

So what happens on the fourth day? That’s when goods from debt-ridden adventurers or random walk-in consignments get auctioned off.

To adventurers, those spontaneous treasures are often more attractive than the refined items listed in the catalog.

That’s why the first three days are mostly about networking with the upper class. In that regard, we already blew it on day one!

But my goal is different anyway. I couldn’t care less. Not frustrated at all. The atmosphere of the auction was fun enough for me, so whatever!

"So, about your sister. Of course I’ll help, but do you have any idea where she might show up?"

"And on that front—how about you?"

To our question, Riven shook his head.

"According to my prediction, she’ll appear using teleportation magic. Which means, if we can pinpoint the location of the mage hiding in town, we should also be able to figure out where she’ll show up."

"Hold on a second. Teleportation magic? That’s large-scale magic. If someone used that inside the city, it would be detected immediately."

Reynard seemed to know a thing or two about teleportation magic.

Huh. So it counts as large-scale magic. Personally, I’d never even heard of teleportation magic existing. Guess it’s the kind of thing so far removed from common folk that it doesn’t matter to us.

"If it’s her, she’d just develop it because she needed it. Even if it requires a small group, there were several mages accompanying her on the way. That suggests it’s not the kind of spell one person could use alone."

"Develop… magic?"

"She’s always been like that. To her, things others would agonize over were just 'obvious conclusions' she brushed aside."

You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s not something you do just because you "need it."

Even I get it—developing magic is like creating a brand new formula in math. Normally, mages only trace pre-established formulas. And even that requires talent, an inborn aptitude.

So think about how insane it is to create magic from scratch. Unlike math, even if the theory works, it doesn’t mean you can actually make it happen.

Hearing this made her sound even more inhuman than before. Reynard even gave a nervous laugh. Hearing a concrete example of her abnormality really drives it home.

"In short, what we need is a place where mages can gather and perform a ritual. If we can locate that, we’ll have a lead."

"What about the time it takes to cast?"

"Only speculation, but since she’s hiding herself like this, it probably requires a decent amount of preparation."

True. If her goal was just to drag Riven back, there’d be no reason to take so long.

That means preparations aren’t complete yet. Which means we still have some time to act.

So, what’s our next move?

"Just so you know, they’re not in the outskirts, backstreets, or the lower districts."

"Trishel!?"

"Yoo-hoo~. I might’ve overheard your little talk."

At some point, Trishel had appeared behind us.

Reynard was sitting across from me, so I thought maybe he’d noticed—but judging by his face, nope. Guess she really is that good at erasing her presence.

"You…"

"I searched, I searched, I searched, okay!? I reran all the intel and double-checked everything! And I found nothing! Happy now!?"

In a fit of exasperation, Trishel slapped a stack of papers down in front of Riven.

Curious, I peeked at them. A map of the city, apparently. Covered in X marks.

…Wait. Don’t tell me.

Realizing what it meant, even Riven was struck speechless.

"I had people comb through every possible spot, using sheer manpower. But we didn’t find anyone suspicious. Which means, if they’re here, it’s either in the middle or upper districts—or worse, someone’s sheltering them."

"Um, Trishel, this…"

"Hm? What is it, Charlotte-chan?"

She answered in a singsong voice, with none of the exhaustion her work must have taken.

"Wait. You pulled together all this, in such a short time, right after that blow-up between us?"

"That’s right. It was a pain, you know~? I only have so many contacts I can lean on."

In this short span of time?

I’d thought she was just hard to understand. But this… this was beyond what I’d imagined.

Do you have any idea how big this city is? How convoluted the backstreets are? And she went and investigated the whole thing again?

"So, what’s your impression?"

"…Why?"

"Hm?"

"Why would you go this far?"

Riven looked stunned as he flipped through the stack. Not just at the sheer volume of data, but at the certainty backing it.

I was stunned too. Even Reynard picked up one of the dropped sheets and stared at it in surprise.

"I can accept that you wear that brainless grin. But you’ve always despised me, haven’t you? So why do something that benefits me?"

…Did he just call me brainless?

"Hmm~? You really don’t get it, do you?"

"What?"

"I can’t just walk away after you humiliated me like that. And more than that… Charlotte-chan looked so sad, didn’t she?"

Wait. This girl’s capable of acting based on other people’s feelings!?

Then all her bizarre antics until now… oh right, she wanted me to hate her. My head’s spinning, I can’t make sense of this.

But still, it helped. I really am grateful. With this much information, we’ll have far fewer things to worry about.

"Thank you, Trishel."

"Oh, come on. If it’s for Charlotte-chan, I’ll do this much anytime~."

"I hate to say it—really, I do—but I’ll at least lift your ban from my shop."

"Eh? Really? That actually makes me happy, though."

"But no touching, understood!"

While Trishel celebrated, we focused back on the documents she’d brought and went over them together.

Just as she said, every potential hiding spot outside the middle and upper districts had been eliminated.

But the middle district is full of ordinary residents. A stranger would stand out quickly. Same with the upper district.

That left only one place where outsiders wouldn’t draw attention.

"Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking too."

"She’d definitely go for it. I don’t know what her main objective is, though."

"In any case, our target for tomorrow is clear."

We looked at each other, silently confirming our conclusion.

I hoped we were wrong. But at the same time, I was glad we now had a clear goal.

Their target was the auction hall.