The Stone Thief (2)
Lawrence offered Emily some Orel tea.
“I’m not sure if the tea will suit your taste.”
“What a nostalgic fragrance. It’s the tea the young lady used to enjoy.”
From the smallest gesture of the hand to the broad sweep of her posture, everything about Emily as she lifted the cup was graceful.
Number 14 had been right.
A maid and a lady-in-waiting were not the same thing.
The woman before him was not the sort of maid he knew from stories and taverns.
A lady-in-waiting from a noble house.
Instinctively, his manner toward her became more careful.
“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Is it about the young lady?”
Emily set down her teacup and said, “I’m sorry, but I’ve been ordered to keep quiet about anything concerning the young lady. I hope you’ll understand, Lord Lawrence.”
It had nothing to do with her own wishes.
Once she had received an order from her employer, there was nothing she could do about it. The black-haired lady-in-waiting was simply fulfilling her duty.
“No, it’s not that I’m curious about Lady Lurizisa’s affairs... Well, that’s not entirely true either. I’m just having trouble understanding what’s going on here.”
“I’m afraid I don’t quite follow. Are you saying you don’t understand why I helped you? Or that you don’t understand why I’m here?”
After a brief silence, Lawrence answered, “Both.”
“Then my answer won’t change.”
Was that because she had been ordered to keep her mouth shut?
“I can, however, offer a different answer. Lord Lawrence, who received the young lady’s pocket watch, is now under the Raynald Family’s protection.”
“About that... I didn’t exactly receive Lady Lurizisa’s patronage. The pocket watch was nothing more than a gift.”
This was a good opportunity.
He had no desire to become entangled in noble society.
Lawrence undid the chain and held the pocket watch out to her.
“I’d like you to return it to Lady Lurizisa.”
“That is not something I can accept.”
Emily shook her head.
“Lord Lawrence, handing an item received directly from the young lady to her retainer could be considered rude. Therefore, I saw nothing. I heard nothing. I hope you will forget about this as well.”
“...”
That was not the answer he had expected.
Her clear blue eyes, framed by neat black hair, regarded him with utter professionalism.
Only one thing came to mind.
“I’ve made a discourteous mistake. I sincerely apologize.”
Lawrence bowed his head.
He couldn’t bear to lift it in embarrassment.
The half-baked knowledge the boy had gathered meant nothing here.
In noble society, even returning a gift received in kindness apparently required proper procedure.
Now he understood why Emily was so difficult to deal with.
It wasn’t merely because she was a noble.
People feared what they did not understand and kept their distance from it.
At least for Lawrence, noble society was a stranger world, even more unfamiliar than the Spirit World.
“There’s no need for you to apologize, Lord Lawrence. I heard nothing.”
After Emily accepted his apology, Lawrence changed the subject.
“I’m planning to leave the Magic Tower now.”
“Lord Lawrence, the water has already been spilled, and there is no way to gather it back up. Until the theft case is resolved, no one is allowed to leave the Magic Tower.”
Emily held out her empty cup and said, “I would be grateful if you could lend us your hand in this matter.”
“So that’s why you helped me?”
“It won’t be a bad thing for you either, Lord Lawrence. Once this is over, you’ll be able to leave the Magic Tower.”
“...”
Half true, half false.
There was no particular reason for him to help catch the culprit.
In any case, the workshop district was already under a full investigation.
Sooner or later, the thief would be found.
And when that day came, Lawrence would be able to leave the Magic Tower too.
“I trust you won’t refuse my request. After all, Lord Lawrence is someone our young lady herself took an interest in.”
“...”
Lawrence let out a quiet sigh.
It was true that he had received her help.
If Emily hadn’t stepped in, he might have been singled out as a major suspect as well.
And it wasn’t just the stolen mana stone.
The relationship between the Magic Tower and the Church was, to put it bluntly, terrible.
He even owed Lurizisa a debt.
After organizing his thoughts for a moment, he spoke.
“Fine. I’ll at least hear you out.”
Lawrence set down his teacup and sat back in his chair.
Just in case, he refilled Emily’s cup as well.
“I have some idea who the culprit might be.”
“Now that’s a pleasant thing to hear.”
Zero and one were different.
If he had even the smallest clue, it would be easier to act.
“The one who stole the mana stone was an organization.”
* * *
Emily pointed to an organization as the mastermind behind the incident.
It didn’t have a formal name.
Organization. Or The Gutter. It seemed they called it that for convenience, taking the name from the kingdom’s largest slum.
Who the key members were.
How many people belonged to the organization.
What subsidiary groups and affiliated bodies it had.
None of it had been clearly established.
Even following the organization’s trail only led to more questions.
Unknown. And then more unknown.
Only vague rumors, almost urban legends, were said to drift around it.
“Those who belong to the organization are collectively called Faceless Shadows. They are everywhere, and yet nowhere.”
“What do they look like? Do they have some sort of signature clothing, for example? Or a mark used only within the organization?”
“There is no feature by which you can tell them apart.”
That gave him a bad feeling.
“None? Am I hearing you correctly?”
“A perfectly ordinary merchant who seems as if he could be anywhere. A neighbor living next door. A beggar panhandling in a back alley. Any of them could be a Faceless Shadow. Unless you uncover direct evidence, you cannot prove that someone is one of them.”
Emily continued in her businesslike tone.
“They seem as though they can be caught, and yet they slip away. Wherever a shadow passes, trouble follows, but its true body is nowhere to be found. Beneath their masks, they have a hundred faces—that is why the Faceless Shadows are so frightening.”
Lawrence covered his mouth with one hand.
“So you’re saying you can only guess who they are, but there’s no real lead?”
That was the gist of it, no matter how grand the story sounded.
In short, that was what she was telling him.
“That’s correct.”
“...”
His bad premonitions had a terrible habit of being right.
Still, the organization she described felt strangely familiar.
“In Frang Village, I met the Invincible Caelo.”
“I heard about it. You met a pilgrim of the Church who had received the young lady’s pocket watch.”
“Could the rat Caelo is looking for be those people?”
“I’m not in a position to answer that.”
Which, in other words, was a yes.
This was getting tangled in all the wrong ways.
Lawrence clicked his tongue inwardly.
“Let me ask one more thing.”
This time it wasn’t about Frang.
He remembered Luca’s words.
Yes. The dog-catchers are part of the organization too. They said they’re the ones who manage places like that.
Lawrence asked, “There was a group in Rombamel that was also called an organization. I heard the dog-catchers who help people cross the border were part of it too. Are they the same sort of people?”
“...”
Emily didn’t answer.
But silence was answer enough.
Something clicked into place in his mind.
Her presence in Rombamel had not been a coincidence.
Had she gone there to investigate matters related to the organization?
“I’m sorry, but I’m going to bow out of this.”
“May I ask why?”
“I don’t want to get tangled up in this sort of thing. Even if this case ends well, that doesn’t mean the problem is solved, does it? I don’t want to be chased by anyone anymore.”
Proceed carefully.
This was not something to take lightly.
There was an unknown organization moving behind the scenes.
If he touched one of its members, the odds were good that it would put a target on his back.
He had no desire to live as the hunted again.
His experience in Spider Forest had been more than enough for a lifetime.
“I understand your concern. However, we do have safeguards. On the surface, the Magic Tower is the one taking the lead. The Magic Tower will be the one to resolve this incident, and the capture of the culprit will also be announced as the Magic Tower’s achievement. I swear on the name of the Raynald Family that no harm will come to you, Lord Lawrence.”
“Whatever the truth may be, stories have a way of leaking out. A person’s eyes and ears are everywhere.”
“That’s true. But the dead say nothing.”
The emotionless voice made Lawrence ask, “You mean to kill the culprit?”
“They are a rat who dared lay hands on an item belonging to the Raynald Family. There will be no mercy for a thief who has dirtied the house’s dignity and honor.”
“I was told the mana stone belongs to the Magic Tower.”
“More precisely, it was a mana stone provided by the Raynald Family.”
Emily went on in her even tone.
“I never imagined such a mishap would occur with an item safely delivered by the trade caravan. If this incident is left unattended, it will become a stain on the family’s reputation. This is not something that can be brushed aside as a mere oversight.”
“...”
“There is only one promise I can make you here. You will not be put in an awkward position because of this incident. I swear it on the name of the Raynald Family.”
Lawrence didn’t know noble society.
But he could still feel the weight behind the oath she had spoken.
“It’s true that I received Lady Emily’s help. If I take someone’s help and then pretend I know nothing, that wouldn’t exactly be a decent thing to do. But I’ll only lend a hand this once. Since I’m taking the risk too, there won’t be a second time.”
Emily nodded as if she understood.
But Lawrence wasn’t finished yet.
“And make me a promise here and now. Whatever the outcome of this matter, I want you to get me safely out of the Magic Tower.”
If you took one thing, you had to receive another in return.
Even if the other side was a noble, the basics of a bargain still had to be observed.
“By my authority, I promise it. Once this matter is resolved, I will safely escort you out of the Magic Tower, Lord Lawrence.”
“Good. I’ll trust that promise.”
For the moment, he had his answer.
When Lawrence extended his hand, she took it.
“You can just call me Emily.”
“If that’s easier for you, then all right, Emily.”
Lawrence looked at the hand they had just shaken.
It felt different from a hand worn rough by chores.
The palm was hard and callused, nowhere near what one would expect from a delicate woman.
Emily’s hand reminded him more of a seasoned mercenary’s.
* * *
Catching a thief was a race against time.
Since the Magic Tower had already locked down the workshop district, the culprit was probably still inside.
Emily handed Lawrence a robe from the Magic Tower.
He changed into the robe, entirely dyed black.
Once he pulled the hood low over his head, he looked like the sort of mage one could find anywhere in the tower.
“The mages in the workshop can be left to the Magic Tower’s people. I’d like you to help me identify the other civilians, Lord Lawrence.”
“You mean the peddlers and laborers.”
“Yes. To be honest, I think there’s a greater chance of the culprit being among the civilians than among the mages.”
The two of them left Workshop Number 13 and made their way to the outer grounds of the tower.
The road, once unguarded, was now crowded with hastily erected wooden barricades.
The mercenaries controlling the area all looked harried.
Given the suddenness of the crisis, clashes with civilians were not uncommon.
“My child is waiting for me at home!”
“I get what you’re saying, but hold on a bit! If you don’t go home this instant, is the kid going to die or something?”
“What? Is that supposed to make sense? By what authority are you stopping us from returning to the village?”
“If you’ve got a complaint, take it to the Magic Tower, not us!”
Swearing and shouting were the norm.
In places where tempers ran hot, even small arguments could erupt into brawls.
Of course, a mercenary was still a mercenary, even when the world had gone rotten.
There was no way a merchant who had spent his whole life doing business could take one down bare-handed.
“Catch him! He’s acting suspicious! Drag him to the tower!”
“Damn you all! I’ll report this to the guild, every last one of you! You think our Mistra Guild is just going to sit still after this?!”
Anyone who tried to force their way through the barricade was hauled off to the Magic Tower without exception.
“Sorting through people is the mercenaries’ job, so I’d like you to point out anyone suspicious, Lord Lawrence.”
“That’s something anyone could do without me.”
“No. It’s something only you can do.”
Emily tugged lightly at the edge of his hood.
“From here on out, we need a mage.”