Poison in the Well

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Ah."

Emilia glared at me with icy eyes. Only then did I realize I had been gripping her wrist far too tightly, and I let go. She rubbed her reddened wrist while continuing to stare daggers at me.

······That was just an act too, wasn't it?

"Emilia. Where do you draw the water from?"

"From the well out back."

"It seems the water source is contaminated."

"······Pardon?"

The black tea had been laced with paralytic poison, and now even the plain water was tainted. That meant the well itself was likely poisoned. Leaving a bewildered Emilia behind as she set down her cup, I stepped out of the mansion. The well out back was probably······

'There it is.'

It had to be the one within the grounds of the single-occupancy dormitory. I walked over to the small well and peered inside. From the outside, it looked perfectly normal—a clear spring bubbling up with no visible issues. But if I used Inquiry······

Inquiry.

"Just as I thought."

As expected, the well was poisoned. Emilia wouldn't have done this—if she had wanted to kill me, she only needed to poison the cup, not go to the trouble of contaminating the entire source. So who had done it?

"Heinkel."

"Ah, yes."

"How did you know the water source was contaminated?"

"Well, you see······"

How was I supposed to explain this? I didn't want anyone finding out about a broken skill like Inquiry.

"I have a very keen sense of smell."

"A sense of smell······ you say?"

This excuse was pushing it. No matter how good someone's nose was, who could actually distinguish the scent of poison? Even a drug-sniffing dog couldn't manage that.

"Hmm. I see."

Yet Emilia nodded as if she accepted it. Come to think of it, the kingdom's intelligence agency only recruited superhuman talents. Maybe she was used to such people and simply assumed someone with that level of ability could detect poison by scent. At least my skill hadn't been exposed.

"It appears the water has indeed been contaminated with poison, just as you said."

"······?"

I turned to see Emilia crouched down with a cup of water. In front of her, a frog lay on its back, convulsing.

"It died after drinking only a few drops."

"······"

She was a character I created, but······ she really was like a psychopath. Did she really have to confirm it like that?

"I will report this incident to the academy. Until the well is purified, we should use water from another source."

"Understood."

This was a serious matter. To think someone would attempt to assassinate the top first-year student before the semester even began. In the original story, there weren't many factions reckless enough to act this aggressively from the very start. Was the fact that a commoner had taken first place really that unacceptable? The culprit was probably one of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the noble houses······ but which one? Lichtenburg? Bayern? Flechette? Or perhaps a lower-ranking noble family?

'Forget it.'

There were too few clues right now. I had almost no way of finding out with my current power. For the time being, I had no choice but to leave it alone.

"Emilia."

"Yes."

"I'm going out. Would you like to come with me?"

"Pardon? No, I'll stay behind and take care of the housework while you're gone."

"Don't. Come with me. I need someone to talk to."

"Ah······ Then I won't refuse. I'll accompany you."

The assassination attempt hadn't been aimed at me alone. Poisoning the water source meant they intended to kill Emilia as well. Leaving her alone in the mansion was dangerous. If the culprits realized their poison plot had failed, they might launch another attempt.

Whether she had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠caught on to my intentions or not, Emilia followed my words without further protest.

*

"What did you say? Someone poisoned the well?!"

After I reported the incident, a burly middle-aged man came out and made a fuss. Sergei von Pruist. Though he was an immigrant from the frontier, he had proven his abilities in war and earned the title of marquis. A retired five-star general. Despite the military's attempts to dissuade him, he had insisted on retiring and now taught combat magic at the Imperial Academy.

"I didn't say it like that. I only said the well was contaminated with poison."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"It's different."

I had to be careful here. The circumstances made it clear that someone had deliberately poisoned the well, but I couldn't say that outright. If the culprit belonged to a powerful noble house, the investigation would be swept under the rug, and I'd be accused of conducting a witch hunt against the nobility over a nonexistent perpetrator.

"Hmm, I understand. We won't inform the imperial police and will have the academy's investigation department handle it alone. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes. No problem."

Sergei's troubled expression eased somewhat. With all the gossip already surrounding the commoner top student, he probably didn't want to give them any more reason to stir up trouble. The academy's investigation department was so upright and capable that it could slap the imperial police three times over. I had set it up that way in the original story, so there was no need to worry.

"I'm sorry this unpleasant incident occurred. This is clearly a failure of the academy's security."

"Not at all. It's impossible to constantly monitor every outsider. I understand."

"Thank you for understanding. By the way······ Hahaha! Schluss Heinkel! You've got a broader mind than I expected!"

"Urk."

Sergei suddenly changed his tone and slapped my back. It hadn't seemed like a hard hit, but a loud thwack echoed as my back straightened out. It would probably leave a bright red mark when I took my shirt off later······

"Y-Yes······ Thank you."

"Good, good. How's academy life treating you?"

"The semester hasn't even started yet."

"Hahaha! That's right! If you run into any difficulties during your time here, come find me anytime!"

"Yes. I will."

"I was worried because you were a commoner, but you're far more well-mannered than I imagined! Hahaha! At this rate, I don't even need to worry!"

"Urgh. Ack."

In the end, I had to endure several more slaps from Sergei before I was finally freed. Since I'd officially requested an investigation, the academy would likely station additional guards around the single-occupancy dormitory for the time being. I could breathe a little easier about assassination attempts.

"Are you finished with your business?"

"Yes. But······"

When I came out of the investigation department building, Emilia was waiting outside. She was still wearing her maid uniform. I was sure I'd told her she could change clothes.

"What about your clothes?"

"Since I'm accompanying you as your attendant, I thought this outfit would be more appropriate."

"That's not necessary. Go change into casual clothes."

"······"

"Emilia, don't tell me—"

"Yes. I don't have any casual clothes."

This was ridiculous. She was seriously planning to walk around in a maid uniform? Wasn't that embarrassing? Ah······ Well, it would only be embarrassing in the modern world. Here, it was probably normal. It wasn't really a problem, but I felt embarrassed for some reason.

"I'll buy you an outfit. From now on, wear casual clothes when you go out."

"Pardon? Then from my salary—"

"I'm not deducting it from your salary. As the top student's attendant, you could become a target yourself. I'm buying it so you won't stand out as much outside."

"Understood."

She finally nodded after I gave her a half-baked excuse. The cost of the clothes······ 1,000 tirions should be enough. Honestly, my living expenses were starting to feel tight, but if I cut back from now on, it shouldn't be a problem. Food ingredients in this world were cheap, and since Emilia cooked every meal, I wouldn't need to eat out, which would save significantly on food costs.

*

After leaving the academy grounds, we stopped by a clothing store first. Since my fashion sense was hopeless, I had Emilia pick something out. She seemed hesitant because of the price, so I chose an outfit she had only glanced at without touching. When she tried it on, she grumbled that it was too expensive, but her face lit up, so I bought it for her. This was all probably part of her act to make me buy expensive clothes. She really was meticulous.

"Um······ Well······"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. I'll wear it well."

When we came out of the store, Emilia was fidgeting, so I turned to look. Her cheeks were flushed as she shifted uncomfortably, then she lowered her head slightly.

Wow. No man could resist that. This was all an act too, wasn't it? It seemed the intelligence agency had included a honey trap among Emilia's orders. Still, because she was a character I created, she felt like my own child, so I didn't feel that way at all.

"Your legs must be tired. Shall we stop by a cafe?"

"Yes. I'll follow you."

Our real destination for this outing was the place we were heading to now. There was a reason we'd come all the way to this distant clothing store. It was so I could naturally enter under the pretext of stopping because my legs hurt. Pretending to look for a cafe, I glanced around and stepped into a narrow alley. Before long, we had left the new district of the capital and entered the old district, filled with winding alleys and aged buildings. Vines covered the walls without a single gap. Warm sunlight filtered through the spaces between buildings. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It was exactly the scenery I had imagined while writing. Even though I'd never been here before, my feet moved on their own, as if I'd walked this path many times. After walking a short distance, we arrived in front of a small shop deep in a narrow alley. It was a half-basement with no sign, the kind of place you would never imagine was a cafe at first glance.

"Is this really a cafe?"

"Who knows. Let's go inside and see."

"It could be a dangerous place. It might be better not to go in······"

Emilia chattered anxiously behind me. Her voice was quite urgent—this time, it didn't seem like an act. That made sense. Emilia would never want to let me into this place. After all, this was one of the secret bases of the kingdom's intelligence agency.

"It really is a cafe."

"It is······"

When I opened the door, the interior of a cafe with an antique atmosphere was revealed. At first glance, it looked like a bar, which wasn't entirely wrong. This place transformed the moment night fell.

"Have a seat."

"Pardon? But I—"

"Order something. I'll pay."

"No. As your attendant—"

"It makes me uncomfortable. Sit down, please."

"Understood."

Since Emilia was standing behind me with her hands clasped, I made her sit next to me. Having never ordered anyone around in my life, that kind of behavior felt incredibly burdensome.

"What would you like to order?"

"One cup of Darjeeling tea."

"I'll have an Earl Grey······"

The master placed the cups in the cupboard and stood across from us. This middle-aged man with a mustache was Eric Faust, the head of the Trude Kingdom's intelligence agency. He was responsible for operating this base under the guise of a cafe and bar.

"Please wait a moment."

Eric left without even making eye contact with Emilia. If it had been anyone else, they would have thought he was a stranger. Emilia also sat calmly without showing any signs of unease. I was sitting here pretending to know nothing as well, but this was an extremely dangerous situation. It was no different from walking right into the heart of the intelligence agency's base. Both of them could kill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me at any moment if they wanted to. This cafe was surrounded by a high-output barrier, so no one would hear my screams. Still, the intelligence agency had no reason to kill me yet, so it was fine. For now.

"Here are the two cups of tea you ordered."

"Thank you."

"Are you students at the Imperial Academy by any chance?"

"Yes, that's right. How did you know?"

"I can tell from the uniform."

"Hahaha······ I suppose so."

"May I ask your name?"

"Schluss Heinkel."

"Schluss Heinkel······ Ah! Are you perhaps that top-ranked new student?"

"Haha. That's me."

Eric pretended to be surprised. He had known I was Schluss Heinkel the moment I entered the cafe.

"My, I'm meeting a celebrity."

"A celebrity?"

"Of course. All the media is in an uproar right now."

"Haha, is that so. I'm exhausted because of that. There was even an assassination attempt today."

"An assassination attempt? Could you tell me more about it?"

"Well, you see. This morning······"

Eric skillfully extracted information from me. Since Emilia would eventually tell him about the assassination attempt anyway, I gave it to him straight. I needed to firmly establish myself as a fool who freely handed out information. That way, I'd be removed from the intelligence agency's assassination list.

"That must have been quite an ordeal."

"It was. Whew. Let's head back, Emilia. By now, the well should be purified and guards should be stationed around the mansion."

"Understood."

"Master, the tea was excellent. I think I'll come here often."

"Thank you. I'll be waiting for your next visit."

After exchanging simple pleasantries, Emilia and I left the cafe. When we climbed the stairs and stepped outside, the sun was already setting. This world had already diverged significantly from the original story. First, the protagonist Hurtlocker had failed to infiltrate the Imperial Academy, and Iskandal had been attacked and killed. Based on the circumstances and evidence alone, it would appear that the empire's counterintelligence agency was tracking the intelligence agency. There was a good chance the intelligence agency would be frightened and withdraw from their existing bases. That was why I had deliberately visited this place and hinted that I would come often. The intelligence agency wouldn't easily give up on their highest-priority surveillance target who also happened to be a fool who scattered information everywhere. So even if it meant taking some risks, they would choose to maintain this base. I had guided them toward that decision. If the intelligence agency moved all their bases, I would never be able to track them with my current abilities. So I had made them move within a range that didn't deviate too much from the original story. That way, I could raid them whenever I wanted. The moment they crossed the line and committed terrorism, I could wipe them out. And that applied to the protagonist as well. Weighing all the named characters in this world against the protagonist was ridiculous, but if I had to choose, I would discard the protagonist without hesitation. If I had to choose between the empire and the kingdom, I would destroy the kingdom without a second thought. So I could only pray that neither the protagonist nor the intelligence agency crossed that line.