Chapter 101 - Secret Shop
"Young Master, it's morning."
"Mm... already?"
Time had flown by since the disastrous end to my birthday party, and now the start of the new term at Sunrise Academy was right around the corner. Before heading back, it seemed I needed to make some final preparations.
"Kania, the report, please."
"Yes, Young Master."
As I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes and making the request, Kania pulled a notebook from her bosom and began.
"First, regarding the welfare foundation you mentioned last time... preparations are proceeding steadily."
"Oh, really?"
"It should make its public debut in a few weeks to a few months. Of course, all ties to you and the Starlight family have been completely severed."
Kania spoke with a faintly weary expression. It looked like overseeing the foundation's setup had taken a serious toll on her.
"You should've told me earlier. I could've lent a hand..."
"If you intervened in any way, it could lead back to you later. Handling it alone is the safest approach."
"...Still, aren't you overdoing it?"
I felt both proud and sorry for her, so I asked with a worried frown.
"Want a massage? I know a special technique from years ago. I'm confident it could ease your fatigue."
"No, that's alr—"
Kania started to refuse mechanically but paused, hesitating.
"...Please do."
After mumbling for a while, she whispered softly.
"Alright, sit here. I'll start with your shoulders."
I chuckled at her and patted the bed. She bowed her head demurely and sat beside me.
"Th-then... the second report... Hnng...!"
As I gently gripped her shoulders and applied pressure, Kania flinched, her body tensing as she let out a breathy sound midway through her report.
"Ah, sorry, Kania. I accidentally channeled Star Mana..."
I froze in surprise, realizing I'd inadvertently sent Star Mana—lethal to a black mage like her—into her body. I apologized profusely, flustered.
"...It's fine."
"Did it hurt? Sorry. This massage normally uses Star Mana to relax tense muscles. But for you, that won't work, so I'll just do a regular—"
"Please continue."
Kania cut me off, gazing at me quietly before murmuring.
"A small amount of Star Mana is tolerable."
"What? But—"
"It's truly fine. It just feels like a few pricks. The massage effect might even improve."
"Hmm... alright, if you say so."
I nodded, spreading a trace amount of Star Mana in my palms, then carefully resumed kneading her shoulders.
"Then... the second report."
Kania trembled under my touch but glanced at her notebook and continued in a composed tone.
"Settlement payments have been disbursed to all Class A commoner students yesterday."
"Oh ho."
I could picture those Class A kids' grateful faces upon receiving the money.
"Thanks to you, Young Master, those with sick parents or siblings can head straight to the hospital, and the ones without a meal today can eat their fill for a while."
"Good, that's a relief."
"And best of all, they won't have to share textbooks anymore. All because of you... Hnng..."
Kania smiled, but as I massaged her neck, she bowed her head with a soft moan.
"Any way to help the other students too?"
"Well, we could find ways, but there are limits, aren't there?"
I muttered regretfully, and Kania—her trembling subsiding—replied softly.
"True. If we're caught helping periodically, it'll be trouble."
"Exactly, so for now—"
"But what if there's a solution?"
I grinned, and Kania furrowed her brow.
"Is there such a thing?"
"...Investigate the academy's commoner students. Focus on their unfair treatment, poverty, violence—their misfortunes."
I commanded her while straightening her back, adding,
"There might be a way, so don't worry too much."
"...Be careful."
As her rigid waist from overwork loosened, Kania gasped briefly before flipping through her notebook.
"Then... the final report."
"What's in that notebook that you always flip through during reports?"
"...Eek!"
Curious, I peeked over her shoulder. She startled violently, hiding it.
"What, you writing bad stuff about me?"
"N-no. Just some personal notes..."
"Aw, I wanted a peek. Oh well, continue the report."
I withdrew my head with a grin. Kania flushed red and proceeded.
"About the incident at your birthday ball—the palace issued an official statement."
"What'd they say?"
"The work of an unstable black mage."
I made a dumbfounded face, and Kania sighed before continuing.
"They seem to be covering it up: Moonlight family's secret informant as the culprit, failure to protect gathered nobles, close ties to the two ducal houses and Clana... the imperial family chose silence."
"Yeah, sounds like them. Public reaction?"
"Too soon to tell, but rumors are spreading that you're closely involved."
"No wonder points keep rolling in."
I brushed it off casually. Kania, still under massage, shot me a glare.
"No mention of that mysterious figure?"
"None. The palace is desperate to bury this."
"Any known info or rumors?"
"Eyewitness accounts from those present, but even those just call him a 'righteous man.' No real details."
"Hmm..."
Avoiding her glare, I pondered while kneading her shoulders.
"Strange... I didn't see well from afar, but he wielded a sword—one of the Hero's Armaments."
"...Perhaps it was stolen?"
"No. The Hero's Armaments are securely sealed in the Starlight vaults."
"Then it must be a fake."
Kania frowned after a moment's thought.
"No matter how I think, this didn't happen in previous loops."
"Right, nothing like it. Fake heroes pretending to be the savior were common, but not that strong... and they bragged openly."
We pondered together, then I sighed.
"Anyway, drop the scroll merchant investigation. Focus everything on this fake Hero's Armament wielder."
"Understood, Young Master."
"Good... time for me to get going."
As I pulled away, Kania tilted her head.
"Where to?"
"Using the jade tablet from the second trial reward."
"Pardon?"
"Got something to commission from the legendary craftsman Rosinante."
I showed her the tablet from my pocket. Her eyes lit with curiosity.
"What are you commissioning?"
"Something to repair."
I headed for the door.
"Well, I'm off—"
"Hic!"
Suddenly, as I grabbed the doorknob, Kania made a weird noise.
What the—?
. . . . .
"Ahhh..."
"K-Kania? What's wrong?"
"S-sorry for the unseemly display... Young Master..."
I turned in alarm. Kania clutched her stomach, breathing raggedly as she looked at me.
"You were flinching so much during the massage earlier. Is something wrong with your body? Did my Star Mana—"
"N-no, it's not that."
Thinking it my fault, I asked worriedly. She shook her head and explained.
"Since the birthday party incident, seeing you makes my... stomach tremble."
"Your stomach trembles?"
"Yes, even now... Hnng..."
Mid-sentence, she clutched her belly and bowed her head. I approached, flustered.
"I thought it was the same symptoms from before, but no?"
"Ughhh..."
Cautiously placing my hand on her stomach, Frey frowned at her extreme reaction.
"Not sure, but it resembles symptoms of a mana circuit tangle..."
"Y-Young Master... your hand..."
"The fix should be similar too, right?"
With that, I began gently stroking her stomach.
"...Eek!!!"
Though I was as soft as possible, Kania jolted like she'd been shocked. My warm touch felt like something chilling to her.
"Yeah... definitely a mana circuit issue. Probably from overworking lately."
"Th-thank you for the diagnosis. So now... Ahhh..."
"Bear with it a bit. Leaving it like this will make it worse."
Dizzy and fading, Kania tried to stop me before it worsened, but my worried expression only intensified the strokes.
"I-I can't take anymore..."
An overwhelming chill overwhelmed her, and in her blurring consciousness, she recalled a recent event.
'Could that be the cause?'
At the birthday party weeks ago, despite scolding Rosewin for seducing her Young Master, her throat still burned, so she'd drunk some beverage.
'I thought it was just something he left behind...'
Realizing the anomaly at last, it was too late. The aphrodisiac Rosewin had spiked the drink with to seduce Frey had fully integrated into Kania's body over the weeks. A black mage's ability to transmute poisons and drugs with dark magic, combined with her feelings for him, had brewed this unfortunate mishap.
. . . . .
'Been a while since I came here.'
After stroking Kania's stomach for a while, I concluded it wouldn't fix in one go.
I informed her I'd continue treatment ongoing, then left the mansion for the back alley as planned.
"...Isn't that Frey?"
"Shh, 'that'? Say that and you're dead."
"Thick-skinned... rumors everywhere and he struts around."
People whispered as I passed. I gathered Star Mana in my ears to eavesdrop—mostly slander, as expected.
"...His face is cute, though."
"Yeah, such a waste."
"If only his power were weaker..."
No time to bask in even beggars' and corrupt nobles' disdain—now young ladies ahead appraised my looks.
'Should be around here.'
I dispersed the Star Mana and scanned the alley corner.
"This it?"
Spotting a graffiti-covered shabby wall, I skeptically infused Star Mana into a crack.
- Rumble rumble rumble...
The area shook; the wall softened like pudding.
"...Hup!"
I stirred it like jelly, glanced around, took a deep breath, and dove in.
"...Oh ho."
The expected scene unfolded: hanging scrolls, colorful potions, potent-looking weapons, assorted magic tools.
Yes—this was one of Blacktail Fantasy 2's hidden spots: the secret shop.
Rosinate, the legendary craftsman from the first game who played the item shop owner—his fame endures. How a figure from a millennium ago still lives is beyond me.
'Not my concern.'
I came to repair or upgrade the Deception Mask, broken in the Ashen Forest long ago. Essential for the future, and with my itch to do good growing, perfect timing.
Time for some heroic deeds and healing.
"Anyone there?"
At the worn counter, I called out while pulling a "decorative box" from my bosom.
Returning Rosinate's stolen box from the auction months ago triggered an Easter egg per ancestor's prophecy. Worth a shot.
"Mm..."
"...?"
Waiting eagerly, a groan echoed from somewhere.
"Wh-who goes there?"
"Ah, well, you see—"
I scanned around, heard it from under the counter, stood on tiptoes to peer down and introduce myself—but froze.
"Y-you..."
The disheveled figure rising stared at me.
"Finally... you came..."
The scroll shop owner I'd been doggedly tracking gazed soggily.
"......Hic."
Drunk as a skunk, hiccuping.