Chapter 10
2. A Puppy Is a Human’s Friend 🐶
To God.
Hello? My name is Pepper.
I live with just my mom in an ivory،-colored house on Ophetal Street. It’s a seven-story house with a black front gate. The room at the very top, the one with the red geranium flowerpot, is the room Mom and I use.
The adults call it the “maid’s room” because we can’t use the main staircase and have to go up and down the narrow cupboard-like stairs… I don’t really know what that means!
We have a puppy at home too. His name is Collie.
My mom washes dishes at a restaurant near our house where noble lords come to eat. That’s why she works until very late every day.
I’m not old enough to go to school yet, so I’m always home alone with Collie.
The kids who live nearby don’t play with me. They say my status is different from theirs.
That’s why Collie is my only friend.
Before leaving for work in the morning, Mom puts a warm heated stone in my bed. It’s nice and toasty, but it cools down around the time the sun comes up. When that happens, hugging Collie keeps me warm and feels good.
Collie is brave — the other day when the landlord yelled, he protected Mom.
Mom and I both love Collie.
I hope Collie can stay with us forever and ever.
Do I have a dad? Yes, I do!
My dad is a sailor. That means he works on a ship. So he’s always out at sea and only comes home sometimes.
Right now, Dad is out on the ship again.
I think he’ll be back soon. Last year and the year before that, he always came back around the time the flowers bloomed.
So, God.
Please, please…
“Please don’t let Daddy come back.”
* * *
“So, you want me to look into the story of this kid named Pepper?”
“That’s right-woof!”
“Where did you even hear this story?”
I narrowed my eyes and pressed him.
The details are way too specific. It sounds like you heard it directly.
Hearing my question, Tofu licked his nose with his tongue.
“This little Pepper kid has been coming to the temple once a day lately to make a wish. It’s always the same wish.”
“Hmm.”
An ivory-colored seven-story house on Ophetal Street…
Could it really be that child?
‘Mom!’
‘Pepper!’
I remembered the light-brown-haired girl with red cheeks I ran into while walking home at dawn, and the woman who looked exactly like her.
Was that place Ophetal Street?
It was a wealthy neighborhood where a seven-story mansion with a maid’s room could exist, so it kind of fits…
But even if the kid has some kind of story, how am I supposed to find out?
“Maybe she’s just scared of her dad because she doesn’t see him often and feels shy around him.”
“Do you really think that?”
“No.”
No matter how scary a dad is, asking for him never to come back is weird.
And she goes to the temple once a day, every single day, to pray to God for that exact wish. Anyone would think it’s strange.
But I can’t just march up to that house, knock knock knock! “Hi! Is your name Pepper? Do you hate your dad? Why? Tell me why you hate him. Big sis already knows everything.” I’d get arrested on the spot.
“What did the previous magic saintesses do in situations like this?”
When in doubt, copying what your predecessors did is probably the safest bet.
“You’re a divine beast, don’t you have anything?”
Like giving me a sacred relic I can use to investigate, or using your divine beast powers to find out directly…
“That’s…”
“That’s?”
“Something the magic saintess has to figure out herself!”
“…”
“Pant pant.”
I stared blankly at Tofu as he tilted his head.
We looked at each other like that for a moment.
“…I thought you were going to guide me, Tofu?”
“Nope!”
“There’s no way you can help me? Not even one?”
“None!”
“You can’t even gather information or anything?”
“Nope!”
Good grief.
“Tofu.”
“What?”
“What exactly is your ability?”
“I’m!”
“You’re?”
“Cute!”
“…”
?
‘Nothing is ever easy.’
Is gathering information originally part of the magic saintess’s job too?
Shouldn’t the divine beast or some reliable friend — anyway, shouldn’t an assistant do this kind of thing?
Shouldn’t the assistant provide all the target’s information, a map for infiltrating the mansion, the location of hidden treasures, and all I have to do is run around with my body!
Why do I have to do everything myself!
Well, I guess that’s why they pay so well!
Ugh, I was on my way back from running an errand while worrying about it.
I had just bought about five boxes of apple pies to serve to the guests at the tea house and was carrying them when—
“Need help?”
“No?”
I looked up at the man who had suddenly appeared beside me and started talking.
It’s that guy.
The silver-haired man who said he’d be running errands at the temple starting today.
The one whose silver eyelashes fluttering above his blue eyes make him look like an angel…
The silver-haired man who had been flatly rejected shrugged.
“Are you sure you don’t need help?”
“Yes, I’m sure?”
“Really? Not even a little?”
What is with this guy?
“If you really want to help that badly, then stop blocking the—.”
That was as far as I got.
Suddenly, a huge guy cut in from the side and snatched all the boxes I was carrying.
“Arden?”
Where did this one come from?
He had three different newspapers tucked under his arm — apparently he’d been buying them. Arden placed the newspapers on top of the apple pie boxes and frowned.
“Why are you carrying something like this alone?”
“This guy just offered to help—”
What the. Where did he go?
I looked around for the silver-haired man who had vanished in an instant, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Seriously?
Arden stared down at me as I stood there dumbfounded.
“Isn’t that the Academy brooch on your clothes?”
“Huh? Ah! Uh… yeah.”
“Why are you wearing that? You graduated ages ago.”
“…Well.”
I can’t exactly say, “Actually, this is my magic weapon. When danger comes, this brooch goes poof! and turns into a hammer.”
“It suddenly looked pretty to me…”
“So you’re wearing your school brooch even though you don’t go to school anymore?”
“Uh-huh…”
“…”
I know. I know how it looks.
It must feel like seeing someone who graduated ten years ago still walking around in a cloak with the school crest, showing off their alma mater.
It’s embarrassing.
“You bought newspapers!”
I changed the subject.
All day today, everywhere I went people were talking about the magic saintess.
For a first incident, it’s getting quite a lot of attention.
“Were you reading about the magic saintess too?”
I asked, feeling a little proud.
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I was reading about the affair between Mrs. Scrooge and the son-in-law of the Oblonsky trading company owner, not the magic saintess.”
“…Ah.”
“This person calling herself the magic saintess is just an attention-seeker trying to ride the wave of the incident. I will only pay attention to the criminal.”
Oh.
“I don’t think she’s that much of an attention-seeker. She was warning them not to commit crimes because she’s watching.”
“Who is she to watch? Tell her to report it to the authorities if she has time to watch.”
“Hm.”
Arden has a point there.
“And.”
“Yeah?”
“If she’s so confident, why give a warning in hiding instead of coming forward?”
“Because she doesn’t want her identity known?”
“Why? Is she a criminal herself?”
“…”
“Anyway, if a crime is committed, I will catch them.”
Goodness. This guy thinks he’s going to do everything himself.
He’ll change the world, he’ll catch the criminals… Even His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t talk like that.
I asked sulkily.
“How are you going to catch her? There’s only one letter made public. And if what she says is true, she’s the magic saintess, right? She has powers — how are you going to catch someone with powers?”
“No matter how great the powers, she’ll leave traces. There’s an Eastern Empire proverb—”
Arden frowned.
“It says the bird hears the words spoken in daytime, and the night words… are heard by the dog.”
“It’s mouse, not dog.”
“Ugh. Mouse. Disgusting.”
“Anyway! And even if a dog or mouse hears it, they can’t talk to us anyway… Gasp.”
A dog that can talk!
I covered my mouth with my hand and let out a small exclamation.
Arden looked at me strangely as I suddenly got excited mid-sentence.
“That’s it!”
“…What is?”
“I think I know how to solve this!”
Thank you!
“You’re the best junior ever!”
If I succeed, I’ll buy you dinner three times!
I patted Arden’s forearm in the air to encourage him.
Arden’s face turned bright red, probably startled by the sudden praise.
Whether he did or not, I turned and ran toward the dress shop.
“Ah, right!”
The apple pies!
“Arden! Can you throw those back to me?!”
“…Just go ahead. I’ll bring them.”
* * *
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
The imperial capital, Luar. A certain mansion.
A man sitting in a throne-like chair tapped the armrest — tap, tap.
“The magic saintess, huh…”
How amusing.
Even though it was broad daylight, all the curtains were drawn, making the room dark. There was the man, and in front of him another man lying face down on the floor.
The man whose forehead was pressed to the floor asked.
“What will you do, Master?”
“What is there to do.”
For now, let’s just watch.
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