Uncovering the Truth (3)
"Can I step outside for a bit?"
Morning sunlight was beginning to cut through the window, sharp and warm. I was biting into a sandwich I'd bought from the bakery for breakfast when Sinel, pecking at her own sandwich in much the same way, asked me that.
Aside from the times I went out myself, Sinel almost never left the office. So when she suddenly said she wanted to go out alone, I couldn't help but be curious.
"You're heading out?"
"Yes."
"Got some business outside?"
"It's the day Blackie gets discharged."
Had that much time already passed? Blackie had been racking up bills at the animal hospital, diligently emptying Sinel's wallet. Now that the cat was finally getting out, her expenses would ease up a little — though the money she spent on cat food wouldn't go down any time soon.
"Must be a happy day."
"I finally get to see Blackie."
"So where are you planning to keep Blackie?"
"…"
Sinel's eyes went blank as she stared at me. I took a slow look around the office, then looked back at her face. Her gaze never left mine. Still the same free-spirited, unbothered personality — though I had to admit there was a certain charm to it.
"…Well, having a cat around the office might liven the place up."
"Thank you."
"You'll be the one feeding and taking care of it, though."
"Of course. That part's obviously my job."
Looking at Sinel already brimming with anticipation, I couldn't bring myself to refuse. This was a cat she was bringing home after giving up her house — strictly speaking, the house had already been on its way out long before, but still.
"Anyway, Sinel. What Circle are you again?"
I set the cat matter aside. What mattered right now was magic. Reaching the 4th Circle meant you could expect a meaningful boost in output. At the early stages, a lot of spells had ambiguous applications — but once you hit the 6th Circle, each of them found its own way to shine. My telepathy was no different. Any magic, as long as it could grow to the 6th Circle, could be put to combat use by anyone. The catch was actually reaching the 6th Circle. It wasn't a realm just anyone could attain. So first, I needed to pass the trial as soon as possible just to reach the 4th Circle.
"About magic?"
"Of course about magic."
"Hmm. I'm 4th Circle."
Sinel was a 4th Circle Haste user. I didn't know what trial she'd been given, but it meant she'd already passed the 4th Circle trial. How exactly had she become 4th Circle? Knowing that might help me a little.
"4th Circle. So how did you cross over into the 4th Circle?"
"You mean the method I used to reach 4th Circle."
"Right."
"I don't really know. It isn't left in my memory."
Sinel tilted her head, then took another bite of her sandwich. Memories of the trial were wiped the moment you left the dream — that was the reasonable way to look at it. If that was how it worked, asking other mages wouldn't help even a little. The only method I knew was how Usher had passed the 6th Circle trial.
"Ha. What a headache."
I sighed and stuffed the rest of my sandwich into my mouth. Crunch. Crunch. The lettuce between the bread mixed with the egg as I chewed. Decent enough flavor, I thought — though I didn't feel like I'd be buying it regularly.
"Well then, I'll be off."
Sinel, who had somehow finished her entire sandwich, stood up from her seat. Then she put on the goggles that had been sitting on the table. They were something she never took off her head whenever she went outside. Looking at Sinel's goggles reflecting the sunlight above her head today, I suddenly wondered if carrying goggles around every day wasn't inconvenient.
"Doesn't it get tiring, wearing those goggles every time?"
"This is a secret, but… they actually have night vision."
Sinel tapped her goggles as she spoke. Night vision, huh. More practical than I'd expected — if it were a dark night, that is.
"It's daytime right now."
"If you press them, a light comes out of the goggles too."
"…Impressive."
I quietly saw off Sinel with her sparkling goggles. Thinking about it again, it was still a taste I couldn't quite understand.
Maybe it was because the time I'd spent alone with Sinel had been longer than I thought. Being alone felt rather dull. A cup of coffee. A cookie. And the morning news filling the big TV screen. Those were my companions for killing time without her.
I took a sip of the coffee in my hand and set it down on the table — and right on cue, the door opened and a voice came through.
"So this is the Dark Merchant's office."
"…"
A visitor had come to an office that shouldn't have any visitors. Turning my head toward the door, I found a girl with ash-gray hair standing there. A familiar hair color, but it wasn't Sinel.
Spinel stepped inside, glanced at me, and said with a smile:
"You look like you've seen something you shouldn't have."
"I didn't think you'd show up this soon."
"Is that so strange? There's nowhere in this city I can't go."
With that, Spinel took the seat across from me. On the surface she looked like a free-spirited girl, but her true identity was a special-class bounty target being hunted by the security forces. My eyes naturally went to the case strapped to her thigh — where the blades Spinel used as her main weapons were stored. The blades she had custom-ordered from Lesert Industries were so tough that ordinary weapons could barely leave a scratch.
"I suppose so. Who would try to stop the Skyscraper Mage?"
"You know your stuff."
A cookie that had been sitting on the table floated up into the air, then settled into Spinel's palm. Spinel's magic, Levitation, had grown through successive Circles until it had taken on something close to telekinetic properties. Simply flinging objects was already a lethal attack against most people. That was the background that had made Spinel Cloverbloom one of the city's most notorious special-class bounty targets.
"So, what brings you here?"
I asked, watching Spinel nibble on the cookie in front of me. The way she sat in the chair looked thoroughly insolent, but the way she ate reminded me quite a bit of Sinel. Hearing my question, Spinel stretched out a finger and pointed at Sinel's bag.
"I heard the news."
"News?"
"That my little sister was wandering around without a place to live."
"You came to see Sinel? Unfortunately, she's at the animal hospital right now."
Spinel shook her head.
"That's not why. I just wanted to see where she was living, and I was curious what kind of person she was staying with, so I looked into it."
"And? Did you confirm everything alright?"
"Dark Merchant Percival Smith. They say you made a name for yourself as an information broker elsewhere before coming here… but there wasn't much information on that."
I'd only started operating under the name Dark Merchant relatively recently. There was no way related information would turn up no matter where you looked. She seemed to have no objections to the evaluation of my information network, but that particular gap must have bothered Spinel. She'd looked into me more thoroughly than I'd expected.
"Detailed information is always hard to come by."
"Is that so?"
"The deeper you dig, the easier it is to lose the other party's trust."
"You're a suspicious guy, but you've got a way with words."
Levitation
Having finished off the cookie, Spinel moved her hand. The door of the refrigerator in the corner opened, and a cola from inside flew into her grasp. She snagged the can, cracked it open, and started drinking. Watching her, one thought occurred to me. For all that she looked like this, Spinel was still a 6th Circle Archmage. If I asked her about the trial, maybe I'd get some meaningful answer.
"Spinel Cloverbloom. If you don't mind, let me ask you something."
"You can just call me Spinel. Even an information broker has things he's curious about, I see."
"Information gathers because you wonder about more things than other people."
"Alright. What do you want to know?"
"Do you know anything about Circle advancement?"
Hearing my question, Spinel lightly tapped her knee with a finger. Her ash-gray eyes swept over me in an instant. Right after, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
"You're taking the trial right now, aren't you."
"So you figured it out."
I'd suddenly asked about Circles, so it wasn't surprising she'd caught on. Spinel watched me quietly, then closed her eyes and sank into thought for a moment. A minute — or maybe a little less. Having quietly slipped into a world of her own, Spinel opened her eyes again and said to me:
"Let's make a deal, Dark Merchant."
"A deal?"
"I'll tell you how to keep your memories of that place. In exchange, you hand over the information I want."