Chapter 84
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After leaving “Hooters,” I headed straight to the dungeon.
Of course, I needed to tell Ferris that she was being targeted.
When I arrived at the square in front of the dungeon and bought a torch from a stall, the shopkeeper whispered to me.
”Are you alone? If so, be careful. I don’t know what might happen, but there are people watching this square. It’s dangerous to get caught up in something alone.”
They were probably connected to the “Gem Snake.”
Maybe they were keeping an eye on this place, thinking Ferris might come out of the dungeon earlier than expected.
If that’s the case… in this form as “Mose,” I also have ties to “Silver Orchid” because of Iris and the others, and they probably know that. So, they might guess that I’m going to warn Ferris about their plans.
It’s not great to be noticed by them as “Mose,” but ignoring this situation would be worse.
I should also assume that there are watchers at the “Silver Orchid” base, and since they’ll likely see me contact them in this form, it might be fine to stay like this.
Thinking that, I thanked the shopkeeper for the warning, left the shop, lit the torch, and entered the dungeon.
After a while.
I arrived at the 4th District via the shortest route and headed to the “Silver Orchid” base. After asking to see Ferris at the entrance, I waited a bit before being let inside.
When I entered the tent used as a meeting room, the main members were gathered, and Ferris called out to me.
”So, what’s up? I heard you have something urgent to discuss.”
’Yes. To put it simply… it seems the ‘Gem Snake’ is targeting you.’
”Huh?”
Not just Ferris, but the other women present reacted similarly.
Well, if they knew Ferris’s power, this would be a natural response.
However, this is not something to take lightly, so I needed them to understand that this was serious right away.
’I understand if you find it hard to believe, but… here.’
”A letter?”
At this point, I took out the sealed letter written by Charlotte and handed it to Ferris.
To keep the sender’s identity hidden from anyone else, the envelope was completely blank on both sides, but Ferris frowned at the wax seal on it.
The seal was from “Hooters,” done by Ms. Wendy, and Ferris muttered, “An invoice? That should arrive at the office…” as she opened it.
*Peel, rustle…*
Ferris unfolded the letter and read through it, then looked at me with a puzzled expression.
”…”
’Is something wrong?’
I was present when that letter was written, and I knew its contents didn’t raise any suspicions about me…
Just as I started to feel a bit anxious, Ferris urged the other women to leave the room.
”Everyone, could you step out for a moment? I need to have a private talk with Mose.”
”Um… is that okay?”
”It depends on Mose’s response, but… well, since he’s here delivering this, it should be fine.”
Ferris replied with a grin to Ms. Luka, who seemed worried about something.
”Okay. Then… everyone, let’s go.”
With that, Ms. Luka nodded and left the tent with the other women.
Now it was just me and Ferris alone… She walked up to me and showed me the folded letter, asking a question.
*Rustle*
”So, do you know what this letter says?”
’Yeah. It was written in front of me.’
”I see. So… you found out Shirley’s true identity, right?”
’Well, I was told about it.’
So it was about that.
The letter mentioned that I had agreed to help and that Charlotte revealed her true identity.
Ferris pressed me further.
”If this is true, then someone is trying to manipulate me, and she didn’t write down what her true identity is, thinking you might lose this letter. What did you hear about that girl’s true identity?”
’That she’s the third princess of this country.’
”I see.”
When I answered easily, Ferris reacted calmly but quickly switched to another question with a cautious vibe.
”Now, this is important… Did you hear anything about my true identity?”
’No, I was told it’s not something she should talk about.’
”Hmm…?”
Ferris looked at me, trying to gauge my response.
It seemed her true identity was more important to her than Charlotte’s.
Well, I heard that she could abandon Charlotte if necessary, so maybe her true identity is even more important than Charlotte’s.
If that’s the case… the content of the letter should have been shared with the other women, and the reason she made them leave was to question me about this matter.
Most likely, they also don’t know Ferris’s true identity.
As I thought this, Ferris asked me.
”Do you want to know my true identity too?”
’No, not really.’
To be honest… I don’t plan to get close to anyone for a few more years.
I’m thinking this way so I can escape easily if my family or the country sends pursuers after me. If I have to leave this town, which is good for earning magic stones, I would be in a pretty desperate situation.
I don’t see myself as special, and I believe there are others who can do what I can or even more.
This is more about possibilities than personality, and there are indeed people like Ferris, and it seems there are those who can manipulate someone like her.
So, it wouldn’t be strange if I were targeted by a similar person, and I need to be ready to escape at any moment.
If I have close relationships, it would make it harder to run away.
For that reason… I don’t want to get too close to other people’s secrets, so I answered Ferris’s question with a clear “no.”
”Hmm…”
’…What is it?’
Seeing my response, she made a subtle face, making me anxious about whether I said something wrong, but Ferris relaxed and answered.
”Ha… No, I just felt a bit weird being told you have no interest in me as a woman.”
Oh, that’s why.
However, I thought it might be bad to upset her mood.
With that in mind, I lightly denied it.
’If I weren’t interested, I was going to hold back on asking to touch your chest as a trade for lending that to you.’
”Eh? …Ah, that’s right.”
Ferris had added a leather belt to her waist, and hanging from it was the tonfa of unknown material that I had lent her.
When I lent it to her, it turned into a situation where I got to touch her chest.
It seemed that Ferris remembered that moment and, satisfied that she could maintain her pride as a woman, called back Ms. Luka and the others who had gone outside to get to the main topic.
Now, about the main topic, “the Gem Snake trying to control Ferris,” it seems that “Silver Orchid” decided to postpone their return to the town, and Ferris would also stay here.
It looked like they were worried about the damage to the surroundings if the attack happened in the town.
While the princess could be abandoned, it was concerning that they wanted to avoid any harm to the townspeople.
To do that, they would need to know Ferris’s true identity, so… I decided to not worry about it for now.
Returning to the topic of damage to the town, Charlotte’s letter mentioned the current situation with the “Gem Snake,” and it pointed out that with Ferris not returning, there was a possibility of the “Gem Snake” causing trouble for ordinary people.
However, the reason Ferris decided to stay here was because of the existence of “Fraud.”
Although they didn’t know the true identity of “Fraud,” Charlotte wrote in her letter that I, as “Fraud,” was keeping the “Gem Snake” in check, and that was the deciding factor for Ferris to stay here.
Of course, Ferris and the other women here were concerned about the identity of “Fraud,” but at least for now, they could set that aside since there was a fact that “Fraud” was suppressing the “Gem Snake.”
Next, it was about how the “Gem Snake” would act.
Charlotte would spread the rumor that “Silver Orchid” was not returning to the town, and I would convey their reactions so that Ferris and the others could decide how to respond.
There was also the original issue of resupplying materials for returning to the town, but since they had some stockpiles, they planned to use that and observe the situation for a while.
Because of that, I decided to take on the role of conveying the outside situation.
There was also a suggestion that I could handle the transportation of supplies, but that was rejected because it might draw the attention of the “Gem Snake,” making it impossible to communicate.
Well, since they were trying to control Ferris, it was reasonable to think they could also control me.
However, there is a limit to the stockpiles, so if that situation arises, we agreed that I would only carry what could fit on the cart I usually pull, or Ferris and the others would return to the town.
These plans were not written in the letter to Charlotte; only a reply stating that she received my letter was noted.
This is to prevent the policy of “Silver Orchid” from being discovered if a third party reads it.
Well, if someone is watching this base, they would probably notice me coming and going right away, but still, having no physical evidence like a letter would make it harder for “Gem Snake” to act.
”Here, give this to ‘Charl’.”
”Got it.”
So, I received a letter from Ferris, emphasizing that Charlotte is a princess and that her name is “Shirley,” and I quickly returned to the town to head to the “Silver Orchid” office.
As a result…
”They’ve arrived.”
One week after Ferris was supposed to return to the town, a large group of men, believed to be from “Gem Snake,” stormed the “Silver Orchid” base.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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