It’s common for adventurers to start work early in the morning, but merchant’s don’t slack off either. Early in the morning they must go to auctions in order to replenish their stock then set up the products in their store before customers arrive. Restaurants also have to get up early to start the fires and reheat the food prepared the night before. The streets of Marcade were restless from early in the morning. That lively atmosphere drifted through the air into the still dim inn room of Lizel and Gil.
Gil awoke, abruptly sat up, and looked at the other bed. Lizel was still asleep of course, breathing long and deep. Upon arrival in Marcade, he had immediately bought more books, and he had stayed up late reading them. While Gil didn’t need complete silence to sleep, he wasn’t used to sleeping with someone else in the room. He had thought he might have trouble sleeping, but it had turned out fine. Maybe sleeping near someone else didn’t really bother him, or maybe it was only because it was Lizel.
Making sure he was still fully asleep, Gil fixed the blanket over Lizel’s legs. To tell the truth, it bothered Gil, catching himself doing these things. It gave him an unpleasant feeling. But he couldn’t help but worry. To clear away his darkly swirling thoughts, Gil cracked the window open.
“…”
He felt someone’s gaze. It was definitely aimed in this direction like some kind of surveillance. After the insane events that had led to them crossing paths with the count yesterday, it was no surprise they were already setting up countermeasures against Lizel and Gil. It was probably better to leave it for now, Gil thought, looking over at Lizel still sleeping.
For Gil, it had been completely natural to join up with Lizel. Lizel would continue to work as an adventurer, so Gil would stay beside him by forming a party. Since he was no longer a hired guard, there was no reason to guard Lizel. Even if it was normal to worry about a fellow party member, if anyone asked him if anything was different from before, Gil would have to say no.
So what had changed? Something had definitely changed in Gil, but it was hard to pin down exactly what. If he had to say, perhaps his awareness had changed. As his awareness changed, so did his whole way of existing. He was a different man after meeting Lizel, but he was the only one who could discern the difference.
“…Mm.”
Gil had been completely silent even while opening the window, so there was nothing to wake Lizel up. However, he stirred a little at the sounds of people moving about outside. Lizel said himself that he was not good at sensing the presence of others, yet he could do it unconsciously. Gil was working on reinforcing his senses for combat. He’s more aware while sleeping, ain’t he? Gil thought, approaching Lizel’s bed. A smile rose to his face that he didn’t bother to hide.
Gil picked up one of the books on the nightstand. After he finished reading, Lizel often kept a few books that he thought Gil might enjoy. Gil chose one of the books sitting on the nightstand and sat in a chair by the open window to read. Now then, could he finish at least one book before Lizel woke up?
For breakfast, they went down to the inn’s cafeteria. While there, a man in a black tailcoat came in and began distributing something. He blinked at the odd combination of Lizel (an elegant-looking man) and Gil (an evil-looking man), but he smiled, approached, and handed Lizel a flyer.
“An auction, is it?”
“That’s how this place is,” the man said. “Events happen all the time.”
The man gestured for him to read on, so Lizel looked the flyer over. It seemed to be an auction that tourists could participate in happening at a large event house not far from where they were. The auction shouldn’t be underestimated just because they invited tourists, however. Items ranged in price from one silver coin to many gold coins. Most people would only be able to watch without bidding.
In grand lettering, the flyer listed the name of the organizing company, the location, the admission fee, and the start time. Below that, in smaller letters, was printed a general list of items almost crowded out by illustrations of the items. Apparently a certain company routinely opened up a store after rare labyrinth items were found. The auction served as an advertisement for the store. Was that a good idea, even though some items might be sold for a loss? Staring at the flyer, Lizel swallowed his last bite of breakfast.
“…Oh, Gil, look at this. They are showcasing a book.”
“Haven’t ya read enough books?”
“What if they have a rare book?”
Putting one elbow on the table, Gil, who had finished eating ages ago, accepted the flyer from Lizel. It was true that there was a book listed among the exhibited items, but there was no way of knowing if it was valuable or not. If the book came out of a treasure chest in a labyrinth, it would definitely be a valuable, one-of-a-kind item. One labyrinth book that Gil had heard of contained a vividly detailed account of one adventurer’s unusual technique. For some reason, though, even the adventurer’s name was included, so that adventurer had desperately tried to get their hands on the book in order to burn it. Of course, not all the books were like that.
“You gonna go?” Gil asked.
“Hm… I had been thinking about going around the bookstores in Marcade.”
“Why is it books either way?”
Dodging Gil’s disbelieving look, Lizel looked at the flyer again. The doors would open at three o’clock, and when the six o’clock bell rang the auction would end. In that case, it was probably fine for Lizel to visit the bookstores first and then join the auction. Nevermind how Lizel expected to visit all the bookstores in Marcade in half a day.
“Gil, let’s go to the auction together.”
“Then we can meet there.”
Lizel agreed, putting the flyer in his pouch and smiling at how Gil agreed to accompany him without a word of complaint. It happened that today they had planned to do their own thing after breakfast. Even though Gil knew they were being watched, he would just get bored wandering around looking at bookstores. He didn’t have a plan for what to do when he separated from Lizel, but anything would be more interesting than a bookstore tour. He had confirmed that there was no hostility coming from the guy tailing them, and he didn’t think Shadow would do anything weird while Lizel was here.
“Then I’ll see you later,” Lizel said.
“Yeah.”
They checked out, left the inn, and went their separate ways.
Their tail would probably follow Lizel, but if there were two then they would follow Gil as well. Since Lizel didn’t notice the tail until he was told about it, he naturally couldn’t tell if they were still following him or not. If he was asked if he wanted to know, Lizel would say that he was actually fine not knowing. Though, he could imagine Gil scowling if he said that.
As he was thinking about that, Lizel brought up the map of Marcade in his mind. Keeping his eye out for a bookstore, he strolled down the main road, looking up at the signs and flags hanging in front of the stores, stopping here and there to ask for directions and buying something of a suitable cost from the store in exchange. It seemed there were quite a few bookstores. For now, Lizel followed the signs into an alleyway to the kind of bookstore that was run only occasionally. As one can imagine from a bookstore in an alleyway, the bookstore was messy, with books stacked up even on the floor, yet terribly beautiful. Even if Lizel could read anywhere, if there was a better option available for reading or shopping for books, of course he would choose the better option. A single old man ran this shop. While browsing the narrow aisles, a book caught Lizel’s eye.
“Oh, there’s a sequel to that researcher’s book,” he said, picking up the book to look at the publication year on the back. He had called it a sequel, but this one had come out a few years prior to the one Lizel had read. It was a research book on magic, but even so Lizel remembered that it had been awfully difficult to read. It had nothing to do with Lizel’s own intelligence. The author had ignored the typical format of a research book in favor of writing however he pleased, stroking his own ego.
“Hey, sonny, are you gonna buy that?”
It seemed the old shopkeeper had been watching, probably because Lizel was the only customer in the store. He had a look on his face that said he didn’t think Lizel knew what he was dealing with.
“It’s interesting. Because of the complicated way it is written, the author’s personality clearly comes through.”
“That’s for sure,” the shopkeeper said with a chuckle, his look changing as his impression of Lizel changed from judgment to approval. Although he had an energetic look to him, the shopkeeper’s laugh was low, perfectly suited to the owner of a bookstore.
For the time being, Lizel gathered books he had not read before into one arm. Since coming to this world, Lizel had already read over a thousand books. Even if he tried to buy only books he had never read before, it was inevitable that some would have similar contents. If those were discounted, Lizel would never again get as many new books all at once as he had at that first bookstore.
From genres he had never read before to more works by authors he had taken a liking to, Lizel piled up more and more books, creating a mountain on the check-out counter. The shopkeeper had the same expression as the owners of most of the other bookstores Lizel had visited. In the end Lizel decided on about fifty books. They stacked up high enough to block the shopkeeper’s face.
“And then… Any genre is fine, so may I hear your recommendations?”
“Uh, sure.”
The shopkeeper seemed happy. With a broad smile, he said he couldn’t recommend just anything to someone who loved books enough to immediately pick out fifty. He looked at the pile of books and bemoaned to himself that Lizel had probably already read everything he had that was similar to the books in this pile. It was harder to figure out a good recommendation for someone on a completely new subject than to make recommendations similar to what they were already familiar with, so the shopkeeper was nervous.
“You’re buying two of this guy’s books, do you like him?”
“Yes, I took a liking to the diagrams in his research about magical tools,” Lizel replied.
“Alright, then try this one,” the shopkeeper said, appearing from behind the pile of books. Lizel was a little worried when the short shopkeeper reached for a high shelf, but he stepped up on a ladder with an air of years of experience. He handed a somewhat thick book to Lizel.
“This one is also about magical tool research,” Lizel noted, looking it over. “It’s similar to… Oh?”
“Interesting, ain’t it? He’s obviously picking a fight against the book you were looking at earlier.”
The subjects covered were exactly the same, but approached from the complete opposite direction. Contrary to the book that Lizel had taken a liking to, which was easy to anyone to read with research that was easy to mass-produce, this book was more specialized, discussing tools that could only be used by certain experts. It was a difference of wide and shallow versus narrow and deep. Both were important.
“I see, I didn’t notice this one,” Lizel murmured. Before he realized it, he had already started reading.
“Hey, hey, sonny, buy it before you read it.”
“Oh, you’re right. But this is a good book… Both to read on its own and to compare with the other one.”
“It’s totally illegible if you don’t have the right knowledge. Not that that seems to be a problem for you.”
Pleased to have found a good book, Lizel added it to his mountain of books. The owners of bookstores are, in a manner of speaking, book professionals. Most people open bookstores more as a hobby than a business, which just means that their opinions on books can be trusted. Lizel never forgot to ask for the owner’s recommendation in addition to the books he chose himself, always in hopes of happy encounters like this.
“Then I’ll take these.”
“Alrighty, but how are you gonna carry all this?”
“Using spatial magic,” Lizel said.
“Hey sonny, you want to be an adventurer or something?”
“I am an adventurer, though.”
The shopkeeper laughed disbelievingly, but Lizel didn’t mind it. He paid for his books. They weren’t cheap, but Lizel didn’t hold back when it came to books. In addition, the last book was tossed in for free.
Before he left, Lizel had one more thing to say. “I think it’s rather rude to ask, but could you recommend to me any other bookstores?”
“Seriously… Well, you bought this many books, I won’t complain. You’re a real book-lover,” the shopkeeper said.
Although they may be rivals in business, in the end, bookstore owners are all fellow book-lovers. He told Lizel where to find more bookstores. It would take some walking, but he should be able to finish before the start of the auction. At least, if he didn’t get caught up chatting about books.
Saying thank you, Lizel left the store. He still had not noticed his tail, so he walked on without a care. However, not being able to sense it didn’t mean that Lizel wasn’t thinking about his possible observer. He was thinking that that person might be terribly bored by his bookstore tour. But he had no intention of stopping, so Lizel offered a silent condolence and walked on.
After that, Lizel went to several stores and bought books upon books. As expected from Marcade, known as the merchant country. Feeling happy to have found so many, but also a little sad that he wouldn’t have time to find any more for a while with all he had to read, Lizel made his way quickly towards the meeting place for the auction. As expected, he had gotten caught up chatting about books.
Now then, where is he? Lizel thought to himself, approaching the event hall. He stopped to look around for Gil.
He didn’t need to look far, but when he saw him, Lizel tilted his head, wondering what to do. He could just call out to Gil, who was leaning against the door to the hall, but there were two women talking to him. They seemed to be the type of women employed to lure in tourists. Lizel could immediately guess from the atmosphere that Gil wasn’t enjoying their attention, but the ladies seemed to very much like Gil. Naturally, just as Lizel was thinking how interesting and unexpected it was to see Gil so blatantly displeased with his situation, Gil seemed to notice him watching from afar. He shot Lizel a reproachful look that said Hurry up and get over here.
“My companion is here,” Gil said aloud, straightening up.
“How disappointing… I suppose we can’t spend some time together.”
“Oh, that’s a shame,” the other woman added. “Why don’t I—? I suppose I can’t go with you.”
The women followed Gil’s gaze to Lizel. Approaching, Lizel could see that they were very beautiful. Any man would be jealous seeing Gil rebuff such beauties. The women smiled and waved at Lizel and left without looking disappointed. That was probably thanks to Lizel. Despite hanging onto Gil for so long, they had taken one look at Lizel and surmised that Gil was hired to escort the obviously well-bred Lizel to the auction. It couldn’t be helped that he was rejecting their advances because he was on the job.
“You were just watching for a while, weren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“Hey.”
“Now now, aren’t you glad they were so considerate?” They were able to guess that Gil was working the moment they laid eyes on Lizel, so it was likely they were high class women familiar with guards and attendants to nobles. “Even though they were making such an effort to get to know you.”
Gil called Lizel an idiot and walked into the assembly hall. When Lizel followed, he found a stage with chairs spread out from it in the shape of a fan. The quality of the set-up made it feel like a real auction house, and many people were already sitting in the chairs. It was nearly time. There was a wide variety of people, from those genuinely there to win rare items to tourists simply there to watch.
“Welcome. Will you be participating or spectating today?”
“Participating, but just me,” Lizel answered.
“Then please take this tag, number 37. Please take your time and enjoy yourselves.”
Looking closely, it was the same man who had handed them the flyer that morning. He was wearing the same black tailcoat as earlier. During the daytime it had made him stand out, but now he fit right into the auction hall’s atmosphere. Perhaps the man also remembered Lizel and Gil because he broke his serious demeanor for a moment to wink at them. Lizel returned a genuine smile.
The man led them inside to the seats. Although they were guided, the seats were not individually assigned. They were divided into two sections, the front section for those participating in the auction and the back section for those who were just spectating. Lizel and Gil found two empty seats in the front section.
“It’s a bit nostalgic. This is the second time I’ve participated in an auction.”
“If it’s back where ya came from, you could’ve gotten anything you wanted without goin’ out, couldn’t ya?”
“Not anything I wanted… but you’re right. I wouldn’t have been able to go out like this back then if my former student hadn’t tried to auction a national treasure for pocket money. There aren’t any books that can only be bought at auction, after all,” he added with an easy laugh.
Gil only gave him a noncommittal reply, thinking that Lizel had just said something pretty crazy. The stories Lizel shared about his former student were certainly interesting, but they weren’t something he could just laugh at, so Gil wasn’t sure how to respond to them. Still, he’d never give up listening to these tales of heroic deeds gone way too far. Not only were they interesting, but the smile Lizel got when he talked about his former student was something no one else got to see.
Suddenly, the lights went out, and the stage lit up.
“Thank you for your patience! It’s time to begin the 23rd Marcade Specialty Auction!” Apparently it was time to start. The proud declaration came from a facilitator wearing a black tuxedo to fit the nighttime atmosphere expected of an auction despite it still being afternoon.
Lizel joined in with the crowd’s applause. “He’s playing it up quite a bit.”
Gil agreed. Of course, his arms stayed crossed.
Giving him a sidelong glance, Lizel wondered if Gil ever got excited about anything. If he had said that out loud, Gil would have shot back with the question he was always wondering about—Was there anything that could break Lizel’s composure?
“Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to have a good time tonight? Then we’ll get right into it. First up, we have a ‘low-grade recovery potion’ starting at four silver coins!”
“Four silver and fifty bronze!”
“Five silver coins!”
It seemed that the auction was catering to the tourists first with the less rare items. Recovery potions could be made by pharmacists, not just found in labyrinths. They were difficult to make, so production was limited, but it was enough that recovery potions weren’t considered uncommon. Lizel had also bought some from Judge’s shop.
The grade referred to the degree of recovery. Low was enough to heal a shallow cut or burn. A mid-grade recovery potion could heal small bone fractures, while high-grade could heal completely broken bones, and special-grade was a rare designation, a legendary item that was rarely found. It was said that a special-grade recovery potion could reattach cut-off limbs. However common they were, though, they were still expensive. A low-grade recovery potion cost five silver coins. Only adventurers, who were constantly facing danger, really bought them. And above all, recovery potions hurt a lot. If a chef, proud of his work and with years of experience behind him, cut his finger so badly that he wouldn’t be able to work, he would still hesitate to use a recovery potion. However, the recovery potions that came from labyrinths were strangely painless without losing any of the effectiveness.
Similar items came out one after another, but no books. That was natural. Most books that were rare enough to be worthy of being auctioned came from labyrinths, and each one was unique. Items of such quality would come later in the auction. Although one book did show up early on, the only thing special about it was that it was signed by the author, so Lizel let it pass.
“Next is, of course, a labyrinth item, a painting desired by a wide range of collectors, from the ordinary man to aristocrats! From just a little while ago, a miracle moment caught right in the middle of an up-and-coming young party conquering a new labyrinth in the royal capital!”
The painting showed a forked path and a code. Most of the adventuring party had already disappeared behind a wall, and even the last person could only just be seen. It was not very artistic in terms of composition, but the explanation from the facilitator made it an amazing, rare item.
Lizel looked at the painting carefully, thinking that the story sounded familiar, and then suddenly dropped his head.
“Heh…”
“…What are you laughing at?”
Even quickly covering his mouth, Lizel still looked elegant, but he couldn’t hide his trembling shoulders. Gil had also recognized that last visible adventurer in the painting. It was Aign[1]. His face could hardly be seen disappearing behind the wall, but since Gil and Lizel had actually met him before they could recognize him.
Lizel lifted his face, smiling, and Gil leaned in to hear him.
“Aign is going the wrong way.”
Gil glanced at the painting again. Since the code was right in the middle of the painting, he could read it clearly. After a moment, Gil snorted. Gil wasn’t illiterate, nor was he slow, so he could solve even a mildly difficult code. In the answer he came up with, the correct direction to go was right, but Aign and his party were confidently going left.
“Maybe they were making sure to search the whole maze,” Lizel suggested.
“That’s probably faster for them.”
Thinking back on it, Lizel was still impressed at the work Aign’s party had put into conquering the labyrinth. The passage depicted in the painting was narrow, but the first floor of the labyrinth was pretty big, so it was probably an extremely complicated maze. How long had it taken them to walk through the whole thing without breaking the codes? They deserved the praise Lizel had given them back then, Lizel decided, nodding in satisfaction.
The first half of the auction ended, and after a break the second half began. The participants started to liven up, enjoying the drinks that had been handed out. Those who had been bidding in the first half were excited to get to the real deal, sitting up straight, ready to drop any amount to get a rare item. The spectators in the rear seats were ready to watch the pros go at it. Lizel was also excited, ready to jump into the fight, though you couldn’t tell from his ever-elegant posture.
Two young women sitting nearby were happily talking about the items they had won, including the book signed by the author. It seemed like they were big fans, excitedly talking about wanting to meet and talk to the author. Lizel had read the author’s work, and it seemed to be orthodox pure literature aimed at young people. Thinking that they had a good hobby, Lizel smiled. The women, realizing that he had been watching, blushed and laughed shyly at having been caught getting so excited.
“The second half of the auction will now begin. The spectators can now enjoy the delicate battle between the bidding experts, and those experts can get a good look at the products we’re proud of!”
The audience applauded even louder than before. The items coming out now were much rarer than those from earlier—the fur of monsters with rare color mutations, beautiful antique decor, labyrinth items from the deepest levels, and so on. There were many things Lizel had never seen before, so it was very interesting.
“Now that I think of it, you don’t collect many monster materials even though you dive to the depths of the labyrinths.”
“It’s a hassle.”
“Look, they also have things like underground dragon scales for twenty gold.”
“I pick up stuff from the boss levels, like the material for your equipment.”
“Oh, I see… Certainly, it’s more cost effective to bring in the materials yourself. Even though it’s made of rare materials, it only cost 200 gold to have made.”
“Normally, getting the materials is the hard part. Stuff’s not sold at regular markets, and the price goes up pretty quick when it’s put up for auction.”
It was all thanks to Gil’s space magic bag. Because the materials he had came from strong monsters they could be sold for a high price, but it was also good to hold onto them in case his equipment ever needed repairs. Those expensive, hard-to-get materials were also freely used to create Lizel’s equipment which Gil didn’t regret in the least since he could just gather more. That was the logical conclusion only a strong man like Gil could come to. For most adventurers, collecting that same material would be a suicide mission, and preparing enough money would take several years since the cost for a set of equipment could easily exceed 500 gold. As Lizel said, he had paid a cheap price.
“Would it be better to buy some materials while we’re here?”
“Don’t need it.”
From Gil’s quick reply, it seemed these expensive items were no big deal to him. And here Lizel had been thinking he had a chance to do something nice for his adventuring partner.
“Next up, we have the truly rare items! I’m happy to introduce to you a genuine strategy guide book, straight out of a labyrinth treasure chest!”
Those were the words Lizel had been waiting for. But as the bids started flying, Lizel tilted his head, and said, “A strategy guide?”
The facilitator went on, “This book holds maps of the labyrinth, as well as the characteristics of the monsters and what you can harvest from them.”
“That’s amazing,” Lizel said. “Hm, but it seems that it isn’t just adventurers who want this?”
Gil replied, “You get it, don’t you? They’re collectors. Adventurers don’t need it. Strategy guides only show up in the deeper levels. By the time ya get there, ya don’t need it.”
There’s no use in a guide that only appears so close to the end. Most adventurers who found one ended up screaming “It’s too late!” The only reason they didn’t throw the books away was that they could be sold for a high price.
“Even if it tells ya what kind of monsters show up, it doesn’t say when or how many. It’s useless for battle.”
“Then are the maps the only part that is useful? Oh, but the guild sells maps, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“Then, what is the use…?”
“They’re rare, so you can sell ‘em for a lot of money.”
It seemed that so far only one strategy guide had appeared per labyrinth, so naturally they had a high rarity value. Even labyrinths that had been explored from corner to corner—with the maps to prove it sold to the guild—sometimes put out strategy guides, so they were useless to adventurers. They might be convenient to people diving into a labyrinth for the first time, but that was all, and it was faster and cheaper to buy maps of all levels from the guild. In the first place, labyrinths weren’t the kind of place that one could travel through with a book in one hand. The practical use didn’t match the high price in the slightest.
However, Lizel didn’t understand that line of thinking. If there was a book he hadn’t read yet, then Lizel wanted to read it.
“Thirteen gold coins! Does anyone have a bid higher than thirteen gold?”
“Okay, fifteen.”
Lizel had not participated in the auction at all yet, so when he raised his number tag and declared his bid, many turned to see who was now joining the bidding war.
“What are you gonna do with it?” Gil asked, though he basically knew already.
Lizel smiled. “Aren’t you curious? I’ve never read a strategy guide before, so I’d like to look at one.”
He didn’t intend to start a collection, so just one would be enough to satisfy his curiosity.
“Sixteen gold!”
“Twenty gold.”
“Guh… Twenty-two gold!”
“Okay, twenty-five.”
One person continued to challenge Lizel’s bid. It was a man who had made several successful bids since the start of the second half of the auction. Only a collector of strategy guides would be able to spend so much on a single book, but he was realizing that he was at a disadvantage. Every bid he made, Lizel countered with ease. And of course there was Lizel’s appearance. He looked rich, and had an aura about him that said spending this much was no problem at all. If the man had known Lizel was an adventurer, he would have shouted, “This is a scam!” But one’s appearance at an auction was just another part of the strategy to win.
“That’s twenty-five gold coins, sold to number thirty-seven!”
Lizel waved at the applauding crowd. The other man who had been bidding on the book looked upset, but not to the point of holding a grudge. By the way, the woman sitting next to Lizel seemed torn between staring at Lizel in amazement or confusion, or maybe she shouldn’t dare to even look at him, but Lizel was talking to Gil and didn’t notice.
After that, a couple more books were put up for auction, and Lizel went ahead and won each one. One volume was a labyrinth item, “The Naked Conversations of Adventurer’s in the Labyrinth.” From battle cries to casual chats, all the conversations held by all the adventurers who had dived into that labyrinth for a one month period were written down with names included. The other book was called the oldest mystery in the world.” It seemed like something that he wouldn’t be able to find later on no matter how much he looked, so Lizel bid on it and won. Because of course Lizel would never wander around to look at a bunch of bookstores.
“Is there anything you want, Gil?”
“Hm… A strong enemy that would actually give me a challenge. I feel like I’m losin’ my touch.”
“I don’t think they sell those at auctions… Oh, what about that? “True or False?! An old map showing the location of legendary monsters”?
“Nah.”
Immediate answer. Lizel muttered, “It would be interesting if they really did,” but lowered his number tag.
They didn’t win any other bids, but Lizel was satisfied. A life where he could find new books from morning to night, this was like a dream.
After eating dinner at the auction house, it went without saying that Lizel read as much as he could before bed.
“Report.”
“Yes—”
In a certain house, the man who had been monitoring Lizel all day gave his report. The contents of it were completely different from what Shadow had expected and set a vein pulsing on his forehead.
“What do you think, based on what you observed?”
“W-well…”
“I don’t believe that he seriously came here just for sightseeing!”
No matter how he turned the report around in his mind looking for hidden meaning, the only conclusion he could come to was that Lizel was truly here just to sightsee. With a heavy bend towards his personal hobby, perhaps, but he was clearly enjoying his time in Marcade. There was no sign of him interfering with Shadow’s affairs, not a shred of suspicious behavior. He had had the keen insight to suss out Shadow on sight, but today he had acted like nothing more than a tourist on a relaxing vacation. Shadow had decided on his own that Lizel must be a cunning man, but the fact that he had put a talented subordinate on tailing a tourist all day was a deep blow to Shadow.
Seeing how agitated the count was, the man who had tailed Lizel hesitated, but said, “My Lord, I could continue monitoring him tomorrow, but…”
“…Denied. Return to your usual work.”
Shadow didn’t think Lizel would have bothered putting on an act today. He would have liked to have followed him for another day just in case, but it wasn’t a good idea to spread his people too thin. Competent personnel who could keep secrets were hard to come by and not worth wasting on a tourist. Marcade was a country that gathered all sorts of people, so there was always a shortage of personnel to keep track of it all.
Shadow watched his subordinate leave the room then rubbed his tired eyes. The dark shadows under his eyes were deeply carved and hadn’t faded away in years.
“…They’re flashy, anyway. Whatever happens, I’ll hear about it soon enough.”
According to the information he had gathered, they would be staying for three days. In the meantime, Shadow decided not to venture out into the city. He returned to his work.
[1] The name “Ein” in the previous translation has been switched over to “Aign” to match the official translation.
Towards the Sky 
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