Phantom Thief? Detective! (1)
Dana twisted a strand of her messy purple hair around her finger and smirked, still half-asleep. She didn’t look angry so much as sulky about getting caught off guard. It seemed that after watching Franc’s reaction and realizing she wasn’t particularly bothered, Dana had decided not to make a big deal out of it either.
In fairness, we’d all noticed how Larilura felt and had still gone ahead with our secret ninja-style sex. Thanks to that context, when I brought Larilura back with me, I’d only squirmed on the invisible bed of thorns for a short while before somehow receiving a vague, not-quite-forgiveness that somehow counted as forgiveness.
Phew…
I consciously controlled my expression and let out a sigh of relief. Some might call me shameless for already having three wives and adding another, but in reality, this kind of thing couldn’t be helped. Even if the worry that it might crack our family bonds was unfounded, my heart still shriveled up at the thought. Acting all proud about having multiple wives was something you only did in front of outsiders. If I strutted around like a total asshole in front of my own family, what the hell would that make me?
That said, making every new wife go through some kind of pre-approval screening from the others would be ridiculous too. At least everyone had already noticed how Larilura felt about me, so the other wives had some mental preparation. That was a relief.
“Ugh…”
Larilura was still sneaking glances and shrinking in on herself. Dana let out a small snort of laughter.
“Pffft. You know, Larilura, when you were pouring us drinks last night, I never imagined you’d knock us out and kidnap our husband.”
“Ehehe… Sorry…”
Larilura apologized in her usual cute, playful way. The fact that she could deliver a sincere apology without making the mood heavy was a skill in itself. Veronica shook her head as if she’d sewn her own mouth shut.
“……I’ll keep my mouth shut. There’s probably no better situation for the saying ‘don’t criticize your in-laws’ than this.”
“Yeah. After all, the way Larilura looks at Nord isn’t exactly the way you look at a friend or an older brother you know.”
“I-I thought I was hiding it pretty well, though?”
“Women don’t stare intently at the side profile of a man they’re not interested in, you know? Once or twice might be a coincidence, but doing it every day? Not noticing that would be even more ridiculous.”
“Auuuueee……”
At Dana’s simple counterargument, the Larilura ship sank without a trace. We all burst out laughing at her comically devastated reaction.
Even though all five of us were now wrapped in the same family fence, it didn’t seem like the overall dynamic of our party would change much.
After finishing breakfast and light conversation, I cleared my throat.
“Ahem. Cough.”
Now that I’d finally regained control of the conversation, I spoke up.
“Anyway, with this, Priscilla has officially become a member of our family. But our main objective for this trip still hasn’t been resolved.”
“……S-Senior? I’d really prefer it if you just called me Larilura like usual…”
The red-faced Larilura, opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish, could be ignored for now. I pushed aside various thoughts and continued.
“……As I mentioned a few days ago, I learned Tirsi’s whereabouts from the black mage I defeated.”
“And we received an additional request from Lady Henesis based on that information.”
“Right. After the black mage grew suspicious and investigated the request, it was confirmed that Tirsi is currently in a noble’s mansion in the Romanian territory called Renapolis.”
I pulled out the letter as I spoke.
“On the surface, the invitation is for her to be a guest—but in reality, it seems to be an ‘engagement.’”
Awesome as it was, that was what I had discovered. At first, I couldn’t believe it and even suspected the black mage’s memories had been fabricated. An engagement? What kind of crazy bastard would have the mafia kidnap his prospective bride? Even for a bad-boy concept, there were limits. Even if someone was terminally addicted to romance novels, if they got kidnapped by gangsters, the other party’s first impression would be, at best, a mafia sponsor.
But after the black mage’s investigation, concrete evidence proving it was real had been found. At the very least, the one who ordered the kidnapping was seriously intending to marry Tirsi.
“And as a concubine, no less?” Dana frowned and clicked her tongue. “Tirsi is from a fallen noble family. This doesn’t sound like a normal ‘I fell for you, let’s get married’ situation.”
“The moment he kidnapped her, that was already confirmed. He probably snuck her out of the city and put her in his family’s carriage. The fact that he resorted to such methods is proof enough that he has no honorable intentions.”
I narrowed my eyes as I spoke. Tirsi had once told me that for a fallen noblewoman like her, the fastest and surest way to regain noble status was to marry into a noble family. She must have come to Romania for some other reason—probably after receiving that letter from the aunt who used to be her maid—and then been taken by that family.
“But realistically, would the ruling class really welcome the daughter of their political enemy regaining her status?”
Even in the medieval land RPGs I played back on 21st-century Earth, it was common sense that you had to uproot the entire family of anyone you purged, or you’d get stabbed in the back later. The powers that be in Romania wouldn’t exactly applaud Tirsi’s return to nobility either. In other words, the kidnapper was willing to take that risk, which meant he was seriously unhinged.
“That black mage bastard thought the same thing. He figured there had to be a reason, so he tried to infiltrate that archer lady’s family.”
“Yeah. Since they’re both from the original Senate families, he thought he could find out the reason.”
The evil plan of killing Primor’s husband and wearing his skin had begun from there. It was truly tragic that people had been sacrificed for such a ridiculous reason.
“But Nord. If Tirsi actually wants to accept that engagement… wouldn’t it be meddling for us to interfere any further?” Franc asked, sounding genuinely worried. In a way, it was a reasonable point. No matter the reason, Tirsi had lived her whole life with the single-minded goal of regaining her noble status. Depending on who the kidnapper was, if accepting the engagement would let her become a noble again, she might not refuse.
“You’re right, but Lady Henesis doesn’t seem to think so. And I agree with her.”
The letter Veronica had brought contained exactly that sentiment. I looked down at the paper in my hand.
I have not yet heard the full story from Tirsi herself, but I have learned that her return to nobility is not an urgent matter that must be resolved immediately.
I am worried whether she is truly accepting this sudden engagement.
Therefore, everyone, I ask that you please go and learn Tirsi’s true feelings.
“……According to the letter, even engagements among Romanian nobles require going through proper procedures.”
I folded Lady Henesis’s letter and continued.
“It’s not something that can be done in just one or two months. For now, Tirsi is probably being held under the pretext of being a guest.”
Not a fiancée, let alone a bride. If she was simply a guest, even if she slipped away after leaving a single note, the kidnapper wouldn’t be able to openly wield legal power in broad daylight.
“Then just turning back now would leave a really bad taste in my mouth, wouldn’t it?”
Dana flashed her signature grin. I agreed one hundred percent. Someone’s acquaintance gets dragged off in a Mongolian-style kidnapping marriage and we’re just supposed to say “Hope you live strong in Romania!” and call it a day? Especially when the noble client was practically telling us to dig deeper. After reading that letter, I didn’t have the guts to just say “Sorry, not feeling it” and go home. What the hell, a sudden withdrawal like the Wiwha Island retreat? Was I supposed to go back to Sargadis and start a revolution? Nord von Henesis’s ascension to the throne was pushing it just a little too far.
“Anyway, that means we just need to link up with the local collaborator Lady Henesis is hiring and make contact with Tirsi in Renapolis.”
“Hmm. By the time we reach the city, that noble nun’s carrier pigeon should have already reached the collaborator.”
“Probably.”
Considering the average flight speed of carrier pigeons, if we set out now, we’d arrive just in time to begin operations with the local collaborator.
At that moment, Larilura shot her hand into the air.
“Then Senior~♡? Are we going to use Space Movement to fly there~?”
“No. I thought about it, but I’ve decided to join the caravan that Dana found.”
It was wiser to save the mana for Space Movement in the royal seal. It could serve as a trump card in an emergency. Besides, we needed to create an alibi for our travel time anyway, so we’d have to spend a few days on the road regardless.
“A caravan? Oh, the regular caravan?”
Larilura blinked, then clapped her hands together.
“You know about it? Yep. We managed to get a spot on it.”
“Ahaha♡? I am Romanian, after all. Even though half of my twenty years of life were spent abroad!”
Caravans where merchants and other travelers banded together in large groups were one of the survival strategies in this harsh other world. If there were dozens to hundreds of people, even the weakest bandits wouldn’t dare attack. They were rare in other countries, but common in the deserts of Romania and the eastern land of Kitai.
“The first caravan of the new year is scheduled to depart after lunch today. We’ll join them and head to Renapolis.”
I checked my watch and spoke to the group.
“Just hang in there a little longer. This trip is almost over.”
The time spent waiting to link up with the collaborator had passed. Now all that remained was to reach Tirsi—who should be safe for the moment—and give her the gift of freedom. The only thing I hoped for was that Tirsi wouldn’t reject our helping hand.
The Romanian caravan was far larger than I had imagined.
「Hahaha! Welcome! I am Drake, your indirect employer!」
The merchant Dana had found greeted us that way. For a merchant, connections with archaeologists were quite useful. After all, when artifacts rolled into their trading company or they discovered ruins while traveling, knowing an archaeologist was extremely convenient.
That was why, using my identity as Dr. Dana Berbeia, Director of the Sargadis Research Institute, we were able to join the caravan as escorts.
“Dana Berbeia. We’ll be in your care.”
“Hahaha! Why so stiff? I’ve already heard about you from Mr. Entorous. Please make yourselves comfortable!”
Drake said while patting his bulging belly.
“There isn’t a thief brave enough to attack a caravan of this size! And if anyone does get hurt, the missionaries from the Janus Order will heal them right away!”
“That’s wonderful. Then we’ll take our leave for now.”
“Eh? Wait, at least have a meal—”
“No need. My husband is waiting.”
Dana cut him off cleanly and returned to us, making a face that clearly showed her disgust without being too obvious.
“Heh heh. For a merchant, he was pretty blatantly lusting after you, huh?”
“Shut up, damn it. That bastard’s probably undressing your wife in his head right now.”
“Hey, now I suddenly want to go beat him up. Should I not hold back?”
“Just endure it. It’s only a few days.”
Although she often failed to live up to her looks, it was well known that Dana was a beauty. Perhaps used to this sort of thing, she simply shrugged and let it slide. That guy probably wouldn’t dare mess with us if he didn’t want to end up on the caravan blacklist. A light warning should be enough.
With that thought, I joined the caravan procession.
「Headcount confirmed! We’re moving out!」
When the middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader of the procession shouted the order, the line of carriages kicked up a cloud of dust and set off across the plains. Since we had been hired as adventurers, we couldn’t ride in the carriages. Still, it would help Franc and Larilura gain some experience. Besides, none of us were weak enough to struggle after walking for a few days.
And in truth, that wasn’t what we should have been worried about.
I had thought earlier that ‘a large caravan with so many people wouldn’t be touched by small fry.’ But if you flipped that logic around—it also meant that ‘if the bandits were big enough to swim in big waters, they might target a caravan this size precisely because the prey was so tempting.’
I realized that fact while standing night watch in the early morning, killing time with idle thoughts.