Episode 17
The orchard was quite large in scale. Seeing that they said he supplied fruit to every fruit shop in the nearby villages, it was a size fitting for that claim.
Then again, the Seg region had abundant sunlight, and though it was in the South, being an inland basin surrounded by mountains made it good for growing fruit.
“You came looking for me?”
Wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat, the man whose face was cooked red wiped the sweat on his forehead with a snow-white towel draped around his neck.
Having come right up until a moment ago after working, a pair of fruit-harvesting shears was held in one of his hands.
“We are from the Imperial…”
Aidan began thrusting the Imperial mark forward once again.
“You are Chase, correct? I came because I have a few things to ask. I heard that recently, you recommended a jewelry shop in the Wis region to the fisherman Colin.”
“Ah-ah, so you came because of that guy Colin.”
Chase tipped off his crooked hat while wiping his sweat and bowed his head.
“Yes, I am the owner of this orchard, Chase. What might you be curious about that brought you here?”
His attitude was as though he had expected someone to come investigate anyway.
“I heard you recommended a jewelry shop to Colin, so may I know which jewelry shop you recommended?”
“Since the Wis region is a tourist area, there are a few large jewelry shops. Among them, I recommended a place that specializes in gem appraisals.”
The jewelry shops Chase told Colin about in that way totaled three places.
“Among these, the jewelry shop called Clover is large in scale, and they said it’s a place that collects not only gems but also pretty minerals like crystal or lapis lazuli to craft ornaments out of them, so I told him to try going there first.”
“Did you ever speak to anyone else about Colin coming into possession of a fairly valuable mineral?”
Aidan naturally brought up the main point directly.
“How could I?”
Chase shook his head vigorously.
“You have no idea how much that guy Colin begged me. Saying he had to keep it a secret from his wife too, or something? It bothered me a bit that I had to keep it a secret from my wife, but I thought we could just talk about it after he sold it anyway.”
Chase answered our questions faithfully after that as well. He emphasized that he hadn’t met Colin separately since then, nor had he disclosed that matter anywhere.
“According to Colin’s wife, the jeweler Oracle came looking for them right after he asked you about jewelry shops in the Wis region.”
“I wouldn’t know about that! Oracle might have been watching Colin continuously. Honestly, I don’t even know what kind of mineral that is, nor do I know what it looks like, so would I go in at dawn to steal it?”
Chase jumped up and down. He strongly asserted that he was wronged.
“And honestly, would that guy have had an eye for good items? It seems he picked up a decent-looking rock from somewhere, and greed got the better of him, so he got taught a harsh lesson—what else?”
It seems the relationship between the two wasn’t that good, then.
“Honestly, would people of our status recognize a precious item? People who have seen many precious items are the ones who recognize them well. Still, seeing that Oracle offered to buy it for a whopping 100,000 gold, it seems that mineral was a fairly valuable item. It’s all self-inflicted.”
“Is that man named Oracle a trustworthy fellow, then?”
At Aidan’s question, he nodded his head.
“At any rate, in this village, excluding the local lord, he is the richest man, and he does business together with the local lord, after all.”
“Business?”
“Yes. The local lord has a small mine. The rubies coming out of there are fairly good, so Oracle crafts and sells them. I don’t know the details regarding that side either, though. Still, from what I hear, they are sold overseas a lot from the Wis region. I even saw the local lord’s carriage going in and out of Oracle’s warehouse late at night.”
“Late at night?”
“Yes. Ah, as for me, I was meeting with merchants at night to sell fruit! Because during the night, merchants check the fruit I picked, pay the price, and move to other regions at dawn.”
As if wanting to emphasize that he was uninvolved, Chase continued speaking while proving his alibi.
“Fruit has freshness as its lifeblood, after all. As for gems—well, didn’t they do that to avoid people’s eyes?”
Wouldn’t moving at night actually be more dangerous, though?
Thinking there was no more information to gain from Chase now, I looked at Aidan. He too nodded his head briefly.
“If any further questions happen to arise, we will come again.”
“Yes, please do. Because I am truly clear of conscience.”
Emerging from the orchard, we climbed into the carriage to head straight for the jewelry shop.
“How does that man named Chase seem to you?”
The moment the carriage set off, Aidan asked softly.
“It seemed like Chase was unrelated to this matter. Even when defending himself, he seemed nervous, but his eyes didn’t waver, nor did he avoid eye contact.”
There was no reaction indicating he was lying in particular.
To begin with, the more suspicious one was Oracle.
“Still, there’s something I don’t understand.”
“What is it?”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Don’t people transport valuables during the day? Bright daylight should be much safer.”
At my words, Aidan agreed as well.
“In fact, there’s one thing weighing on my mind too. Because the Wis region is a tourist spot, gems would certainly sell in overflowing amounts through the domestic market alone. Exporting them isn’t illegal, but it makes me wonder: why bother?”
We met each other’s eyes.
“Before going to the jewelry shop, it seems I should first go to the library in this region.”
“It seems I should look into overseas incidents. I’ll make a phone call to my father and come back.”
“Then after each of us finishes our business, how about meeting in front of the jewelry shop?”
“Sounds good.”
We parted ways in front of the library. I wondered what to do if finding materials took a long time, but luckily, I was able to find them easily.
[Geological Characteristics of the South]
If my memory served right, the geological features around here were advantageous for fruit farming. Having abundant sunlight and being an inland basin with a large daily temperature difference played a part, but above all, it was because of geological characteristics.
“My thought was right.”
Reading down through the characteristics of the Seg region, I harbored conviction.
“Shall I go to the front of the jewelry shop now, then?”
I thought Aidan might have obtained enough of the content he wanted by now.
Thump—
“Ah!”
The moment I was excited and heading outside, I bumped into someone. Even though I was the one running out in excitement, to think I would fall backward just like this.
“Ow-ow-ow.”
“I am sorry, I was coming in hurriedly…”
“No, I wasn’t looking ahead properly either…”
Golden hair, dazzling like sunlight, fluttered in the wind. Pupils containing the clear blue sky without a single cloud just as it was were looking down at me as if troubled.
If Aidan was a cold-blooded handsome man carved out of ice, this person was a sunshine-handsome man crafted as if gathering the sunlight streaming into a cottage attic.
Even if it wasn’t because of the expensive fabric flowing over broad shoulders, he didn’t look like a person of ordinary status. The hand offered to me, the waist bowing politely—manner and consideration felt ingrained in his body.
To the point where a thought occurred: ‘Is what Aidan always calls noble dignity something like this?’
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
From the hand extended toward me along with the voice asking worriedly, a subtle floral scent wafted out.
“Um, are you perhaps in pain somewhere?”
Because I was staring far too blankly, I hadn’t been able to answer. I answered quickly.
“I’m not in pain! Not a single spot is hurt.”
“That is a relief.”
Because the man folded the corners of his eyes softly and smiled, without realizing it, I smiled foolishly back as if enchanted. That smile was so radiant that I even had the illusion that the drab library entrance momentarily grew bright like a banquet hall in the Imperial Palace.
“Ah, then I shall take my leave. It is almost time for the library to close.”
“Yes, yes, please go ahead inside.”
Maintaining a perfectly polite attitude until the end, the man gave me a light bow and moved his steps into the library. A halo seemed to shine from his back as he passed by.
“Ah, this is no time to be doing this.”
My senses snapped back in an instant. Bewitched by a handsome face, I had been staring blankly, forgetting my important purpose.
“Aidan will probably come soon, too, right? I should hurry.”
Wiping away my lingering feelings by slapping my cheek lightly with a sharp clack, I quickly hurried my steps toward Oracle’s jewelry shop.
