Volume 2 Chapter 18 Simple Gate
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Uwaaan! It’s my big sister!! I’m so glad you came!! I was really scared!!”
Melon is crying like a little kid on the hospital bed. Yeah, I get it. It was a situation where one wrong step could’ve meant death… Don’t worry, Melon. Big sister will definitely get revenge for you.
”So, PurPur. Where’s Yuuta?”
Mama Akari asks me with a worried look.
”Well, right now, he’s overseas as the queen’s envoy. It’s gonna take a little longer. And about the arson incident… since Yuuta can’t come back right away, I came instead.”
”…Overseas? Could it be our original world?”
”Ah… yeah. But please keep it a secret for now, okay?”
”Okay… got it.”
I can’t tell Mama Akari and the others about the gate explosion yet. If I mention Karin in this situation and that Yuuta might not be able to come back, everyone would just lose hope.
”Still, it’s surprising that you didn’t notice someone standing behind you, even though you can read the flow of mana… It must be really tough, even for a martial arts master, right? Ms. Sharlin might be able to pull it off, though.”
”About that, big sister. I think the culprit might have used some kind of teleportation magic. According to Sir Aaron, the gatekeeper didn’t notice anything, and the butler who was killed was attacked from behind without any warning.”
”Hmm, okay. If they did use some kind of teleportation magic, where could the culprit be hiding? Well, the town is full of watchful residents, and the surrounding area is just wasteland and desert…”
”If they can teleport like through a gate, we wouldn’t know where they are. Worst case, they could be in our original world or something… and it’s already been over a month…”
Mama Akari makes a good point, but…
”Well, even if that’s the case, right now, comings and goings are being tightly controlled, so I think the culprit might still be lurking in the mansion. If I were the criminal and could use teleportation, I might target Sir Aaron again. Plus, you can’t just teleport around without a plan. The target might be out or even in the bathroom…”
”I see. At least if they can’t pinpoint where the target is, they can’t achieve their goal quickly. So they can’t teleport from too far away. You’re really smart, sis!!”
”Well, I deal with tricky problems at the Royal Palace all the time. Especially when it comes to the queen… but putting that aside… that means whether the culprit is alone or has an accomplice, they can’t be too far away. If they’re mainly using short-distance teleportation, they could be hiding in buildings around town and only teleport when needed to avoid being seen!!”
”Exactly, PurPur!! Most likely, the culprit is still in town. Since then, security has tightened, and people coming and going are restricted… oh, but that doesn’t matter if they can teleport far away.”
Mama Akari said.
”But it seems worth a shot. If the culprit is targeting Sir Aaron, they haven’t achieved their goal yet… we might find some clue. Let’s quickly advise Sir Aaron.”
I said, hurrying towards the Lord’s Residence.
* * *
”Oh. You want to search every single house in the neighborhood…?”
”Is that impossible?”
I glared at Sir Aaron with a serious look.
”Haha. Yuuta would definitely say that’s impossible!! He’s all about privacy and human rights, and he’s strict about it in weird ways. But… who do you think I am? I’m that arrogant former prince! My fiancée has been harmed, and I won’t hesitate to take any measures!!”
”Um… you got engaged after she was harmed, huh?”
”That doesn’t matter. It’s a matter of face!! I’ll order Tethyrkan to join in, and we’ll search with the entire Border Defense Force!!”
And so, a full-scale search of all the Kashiwagi residences began.
* * *
”Northwest block. No abnormalities from 3 to 6!”
”Central West. No abnormalities from 4-1!”
A temporary command center was set up in the square at the center of Kashiwagi, and since dawn this morning, the Border Defense Force has been searching every building in town, reporting their findings through messengers.
If residents were absent or if a building looked like a warehouse, they seemed to be breaking down doors to check inside.
As expected of Sir Aaron.
He really gets things done when it matters.
Meanwhile, the alchemists who came with Melon spread out across town, looking for any abnormalities in the flow of mana.
If the enemy used some kind of teleportation magic, there’s a good chance there would be traces left in the mana, so they might find something.
After a while, the leader of the alchemist team ran into the square, out of breath.
”I have a report. We detected some kind of mana wave underground in a house in the south 4 area. The room was completely empty, but they might have sensed the Defense Force approaching and teleported away!!”
”Damn it, did we let them escape!?”
Just as Sir Aaron stood up, I was about 5 meters behind him, but suddenly, his back seemed to warp, and out of nowhere, a huge Beastfolk like a bear appeared!
”Watch out!!”
I reacted instinctively.
The bear man swung the axe he was holding down at Sir Aaron, but I had never taken off the blessed pendant Yuuta gave me while on duty.
My sword shot out faster than lightning!!
The tip of my sword easily pierced the bear man’s right elbow, and the axe flew uselessly into the air, heading in the wrong direction.
”Uggghhh!” the bear man roared.
”Oh, Chief Secretary! You saved me!! Yeah, this is the one. No doubt about it. This bear guy attacked me and Karin that night. Grab him!!”
After Sir Aaron’s command, the soldiers from the Border Defense Force surrounded the bear guy in a circle, and there I was, facing off against him in the middle.
”Alright, you’re surrounded. Give it up. You can’t beat me barehanded!!”
”Ugh, heh heh heh… Looks like this is it. I’ll give up on crushing Aaron. But… my main goal has been achieved. Well then, everyone. Goodbye…”
”Huh!?”
The space right behind the bear guy twisted and swirled like it was bending, and in the next moment, the bear guy disappeared as if he was sucked into that twisted space.
”Huh, huh!? What was that? That’s so unfair! Hey, come back!!”
My voice echoed uselessly in the square, and Sir Aaron and the Defense Force soldiers looked completely baffled.
”Was that… teleportation magic?”
Sir Aaron’s voice made the alchemy team leader respond.
”Yes. I think so. But for a Beastfolk to use such powerful magic… honestly, I’m shocked.”
”Can we track him?”
”Please gather my mages urgently. I’ll try to trace the mana traces as much as possible…”
Sir Aaron quickly called back the mages and started analyzing the magic the bear guy used.
”My lord. It seems he has escaped beyond our tracking range. He’s no longer around this town.”
”I see… So he came from quite a distance. What kind of teleportation was that?”
”We’re still analyzing the details, but… judging by the flow of mana, I think it’s more like a gate mechanism than teleportation magic.”
The leader said, and I was shocked.
”A gate!? But gates are… at the Royal Palace…”
I started to say, then quickly zipped my lips. Oh no, oh no. That was still top secret.
”I’m just guessing here, but is that a smaller version of a gate for another world? Like, it connects spatial coordinates within our world, right? I’m not an expert on that, so I can’t say for sure.”
”What the heck? The enemy is already using something like a gate? Are they trying to destroy our gate to get the upper hand? No way… that’s a big deal!”
As if he could see through my panic, Sir Aaron said,
”Chief Secretary. It seems we are quite a bit behind the enemy. And a gate, huh… we need to wake up Sistemador fast. That bear guy mentioned it too. He said the main goal has been achieved. That probably means the destruction of the research building. And it seems harming us was a separate goal. So, there are likely many who hold a grudge against us… but if a gate is involved, I can only think of one person.”
”Oh no, Lord Asunabal!?”
”That’s why, Chief Secretary. You should hurry back to Asuka. I’ll keep an eye on Yuuta’s family.”
”Thank you, Sir Aaron. Then I’ll leave this town tomorrow.”
”Yeah. It’s sad to leave, but it’s better to go quickly. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
* * *
I quickly met up with Mama Akari and headed to the hospital to visit Karin.
”Wow. You guys figured out who the culprit is…”
”Yeah. But they got away. So we have to chase them down right away. Sorry we can’t chat longer, Karin.”
”No worries. I’m just happy to see Big Sister Puruun. So, sister, when you get back to the Royal Capital, you’re going to see Dad, right? Then… could you keep my right arm a secret from him? If he finds out about this, he’ll drop everything and come back. After he returns, I’ll properly apologize… for breaking my right arm.”
”Ugh, Karin…”
Mama Akari broke down in tears right there.
Ah, I can’t even say that Yuuta might not be able to come back.
”…Got it. I’ll tell everyone in the Royal Capital that Karin-chan is doing well!!”
”I’m sorry for lying to you, Big Sister Puruun.”
Uuuh, I’m the big liar here!!
Feeling a bit mentally off, I headed to Melon’s hospital room.
”I see. You’re going home already. I hope they catch the culprit soon. But about the gate… it seems faster to consult Mr. Sistemador in the Royal Capital.”
”Yeah. That’s the plan.”
Uuuh, I have to lie to my little sister too.
”Hey, big sis… so, um…”
”Hm? What’s up, Melon?”
Melon suddenly started fidgeting, looking down and blushing as she spoke.
”Um… I might be pregnant…”
”Ehーーーーーー!? No way. Whose is it?”
”I’m sorry, big sis. It’s probably Yuuta’s…”
”Hwuh? Hwuhhhhh!?”
When I looked to the side, Mama Akari was putting her hands together, praying… or is she apologizing?
Wait, wait, wait, does that mean Mama Akari is okay with this?
My mind can’t keep up… no wayyyy!!
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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