Chapter : 10. The Puppy is Man’s Friend
To God.
Hello? My name is Pepper.
I live with my mom in an ivory-colored house on Opetal Street. It’s a seven-story house with a black main gate. The room on the very top, with a red geranium flower pot, is the room my mom and I use.
The grown-ups call it the ‘Maid’s Room’ because we can’t use the central stairs and have to climb up and down a closet-like staircase… I don’t really know what that means!
We also have a dog at our house. His name is Collie.
My mom washes dishes at a restaurant near our house where noblemen come. So she works late every day.
I’m not old enough to go to school yet, so I’m always with Collie.
My friends who live nearby don’t play with me. They say my status is different from theirs.
So Collie is my only friend.
Before Mom leaves for work in the morning, she puts a warm, baked stone in my bed. It’s hot, but it gets cold around sunrise. When that happens, it’s nice and warm when Collie and I hug each other.
Collie is brave, and he even protected Mom last time when the landlord shouted at her.
My mom and I love Collie.
I wish Collie could stay with us forever and ever.
Do I have a dad? Yes, I do!
Dad is a sailor. That means he is a person who rides a boat. So he’s always on a boat and only comes home sometimes.
Dad is out on a boat right now, too.
I think he will be back soon. He used to come back around the time the flowers bloom, last year and the year before that, too.
So, God.
Please, please…
“Please let my dad not return.”
“So, you want me to look into the story of this child named Pepper?”
“That’s right, woof!”
“Where did you hear this story?”
I narrowed my eyes and questioned him.
The story is too detailed, as if he heard it directly.
Dubu licked his nose after hearing my question.
“This little Pepper comes to the Grand Temple every day to make a wish. It’s always that wish.”
“Hmm.”
A seven-story ivory-colored house on Opetal Street…
Could it be that child?
‘Mom!’
‘Pepper!’
I recalled the flaxen-haired, rosy-cheeked girl and the woman who looked exactly like her, whom I had encountered while walking home at dawn.
Was that Opetal Street?
It was a wealthy neighborhood that would have a seven-story mansion with a Maid’s Room, so it might be right…
But even if she has a story, how am I supposed to find out?
“Maybe she’s just afraid of her dad. Maybe she’s shy because she doesn’t see him often.”
“Do you really think that?”
“No.”
No matter how afraid she is of her dad, wishing for him not to return is a bit strange.
And she’s faithfully going to the Grand Temple once a day to make that wish to God. It looks strange to anyone.
But it’s not like I can just barge into that house and go, ‘Knock, knock, knock! Hello! Is your name Pepper? Do you hate your dad? Why? Why do you hate him? Tell me. Big Sis knows everything.’ I’d be the one getting arrested first.
“What did the previous Saintesses of Magic do in situations like this?”
Wouldn’t it be best to just follow the method the previous person used?
“You’re a Divine Beast, don’t you have anything?”
Like giving me a sacred object I can use for investigation, or finding out the information directly with your Divine Beast abilities…
“That is…”
“That is?”
“Something the Saintess of Magic should figure out!”
“…”
“Pant, pant.”
I stared intently at Dubu, who was tilting his head.
We looked at each other for a moment.
“…I thought you were going to guide me, Dubu.”
“No!”
“Is there no way for you to help? Not one?”
“No!”
“You can’t even get information from somewhere?”
“Nope!”
Seriously.
“Dubu.”
“Woof?”
“What is your ability?”
“I am!”
“You are?”
“Cute!”
“…”
?
‘Nothing is easy.’
Is finding information also the Saintess of Magic’s job?
Shouldn’t this be something a Divine Beast or a trustworthy friend… or some kind of helper should do?
Shouldn’t the helper find all the target’s information, a map for infiltrating the target’s mansion, and the location of hidden treasures, and all I have to do is take action?
Why do I have to do everything myself!
Well, that’s probably why they pay so much!
Ugh, I was on my way back after running an errand, deep in thought.
I bought about five boxes of apple pie to be served to guests at the teahouse, and was carrying them back when.
“May I help you?”
“No?”
I looked up at the man who had approached me.
It was that man.
The silver-haired man who was supposed to be running errands from the Grand Te,mple starting today.
The fluttering silver eyelashes over his blue eyes made him look like an angel…
The silver-haired man, who was rejected outright, shrugged his shoulders.
“Do you really not need help?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Really? No help at all?”
What is this guy?
“If you really want to help, then move aside and don’t block the way…”
It was at that moment.
A hulking figure suddenly cut in from the side and casually took the stack of boxes I was holding.
“Arden?”
Where did he appear from?
He seemed to have been buying newspapers, as he had three different types tucked under his arm. Arden put the newspapers on top of the apple pie boxes and frowned.
“Why are you carrying something like this alone?”
“Well, this person offered to help…”
What? Where did he go?
I looked around for the silver-haired man who had vanished in an instant, but he was nowhere to be found.
What the heck, really?
Arden stared down at me, looking puzzled.
“Isn’t that an Academy brooch on your clothes?”
“Oh? Ah! Uh. Yes.”
“Why are you wearing that? It’s been ages since you graduated.”
“…Well.”
I couldn’t say, ‘Actually, this is my magic weapon. When a crisis strikes, this brooch magically turns into a toy hammer.’ So.
“I suddenly thought it was pretty…”
“So you wear the school brooch even though you don’t go to school anymore?”
“Uh-huh…”
“…”
I know. How it looks.
It must feel like watching a person who graduated ten years ago still wearing a cloak with the school emblem and boasting about their education.
How humiliating.
“You bought newspapers!”
I changed the subject.
All day, people everywhere I went were talking about the Saintess of Magic.
It was quite a hot topic for a first incident.
“Were you reading the article about the Saintess of Magic too?”
I asked, feeling a little proud.
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I was looking at the article about the affair between Madam Scrooge and the son-in-law of the Oblonsky Merchant Guild owner.”
“…Ah.”
“This human, the Saintess of Magic, is an attention-seeker trying to gain notice through an incident. I will only pay attention to criminals.”
Oh.
“I don’t think she’s an attention-seeker. She just warned them not to commit crimes because she’s watching.”
“Who is she to watch? Tell her to report it if she sees something.”
“Hmm.”
Arden is right about that.
“And.”
“Yes?”
“If she’s so confident, why does she warn people in hiding instead of stepping forward?”
“Because she doesn’t want to reveal her identity?”
“Why? Is she a criminal herself?”
“…”
“Whatever happens, if a crime is committed, I will catch them.”
Seriously. This guy claims he does everything himself.
He changes the world himself, catches criminals himself… Even His Majesty the Emperor can’t do that.
I asked sulkily.
“How will you catch her? Nothing has been revealed except for one letter. And by her own claim, isn’t she the Saintess of Magic? She must have abilities, so how will you catch her?”
“Even if she has abilities, she will leave traces. As the Eastern Empire proverb says,”
Arden frowned.
“The birds listen to words spoken in the day, and the dogs listen to words spoken at night…”
“It’s mice that listen, not dogs.”
“Ugh. Mice. Dirty.”
“Anyway! And even if it were dogs or mice, even if they heard, it’s not like they can communicate with us… Gasp.”
A dog that can communicate!
I covered my mouth with my hand and gasped.
Arden looked at me quizzically as I was startled by my own words.
“Yes, that’s it!”
“…What is it?”
“I think I know how to solve it!”
Thank you!
“You’re the best junior!”
If I succeed, I’ll buy you three meals! I patted Arden’s arm in the air to encourage him.
Arden’s face turned bright red, surprised by the sudden compliment.
I didn’t care about that and turned around and ran towards the tailor shop.
“Oh, wait!”
The apple pie!
“Arden! Can you toss that back to me?!”
“…Just go ahead. I’ll bring it to you.”
Meanwhile, at that time.
In the Imperial Capital of Louar. A certain unknown mansion.
A man sitting in a throne-like chair tapped his armrest.
“The Saintess of Magic…”
How interesting.
In the dark room, where all the curtains were drawn, even in the day, man and another man were prostrating before him.
The other man, who was lying low enough for his forehead to touch the floor, asked,
“What will you do, Master?”
“What is there to do?”
