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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: The Deputy Manager
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“Who are you?”
Cedric, immediately on guard, put distance between us in an instant and placed a hand on the sword at his hip.
It was a cool and swift reaction, just as you'd expect from a male lead. But in other words, it meant that even someone like Cedric had been caught off guard by this mysterious man.
“Me, you mean?”
The man, his hood pulled down so low it was hard to make out his face, shrugged.
“I'm just a humble deputy manager.”
“Deputy manager…?”
“D-Deputy Manager!”
As if to vouch for the man's words, the clerk cried out in surprise.
“Were you scheduled to work today? I'm so sorry. I didn't realize you were here.”
“It's fine, it's fine. I was just planning to take a quick look around to see how business was doing and then leave.”
Cedric glared at the man, who was waving his hand dismissively, and questioned the clerk.
“Does the 'Forest of Illusions' even have a position like deputy manager? This is the first I'm hearing of it.”
At the mention of a deputy manager, several other customers in the shop tilted their heads in confusion, not just Cedric.
“Ah, yes. The deputy manager only comes in occasionally, so he isn't very well known.”
“Yes, that's about right.”
After his half-hearted reply, the deputy manager pointed to Sir Kalikseu, who was standing behind me.
“You there, Sir Knight.”
“M-Me, you mean?”
“Yes. How long are you going to stand there and watch the young lady you serve kneeling on the floor? And you call yourself a knight?”
“Ah.”
Sir Kalikseu let out a short exclamation, then knelt on one knee and offered me his arm.
“My apologies, my lady. It was my oversight.”
“It's all right.”
Since I had knelt of my own accord, there was no reason for him to apologize to me.
I took Sir Kalikseu's arm and got to my feet.
But when the hooded man saw me stumble slightly from my numb legs, he clicked his tongue.
“Tsk, tsk. Making a lady kneel for so long. So much for chivalry.”
The atmosphere in the shop froze in an instant.
It was a mutter without a subject, but no one present was mistaken about who it was aimed at.
“This is between me and that woman.”
Displeased, Cedric arched an eyebrow.
“Deputy manager, stay out of it and mind your own business.”
“Unfortunately, this *is* my business. And my job.”
The deputy manager replied as such, then stood before me.
“Welcome to the magical tool emporium, 'Forest of Illusions,' Lady Charlotte Lindsi.”
Then, like a well-trained servant, he gestured elegantly toward the stairs and lowered his posture.
“Allow me to escort you upstairs. I must apologize, but the manager is currently absent. Please, wait for a moment in our VIP room.”
His next words were not for me, but an order for the clerk who was standing there blankly.
“Prepare refreshments and bring them to the VIP room.”
“…Yes?”
“Did you not hear me?”
“N-No, sir! I'll have them prepared and brought to the VIP room right away!”
Only after the clerk had scurried away did Cedric speak, his voice laced with bewilderment.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
The deputy manager asked slyly, without so much as turning his head.
“The VIP room? Are you saying Charlotte Lindsi is some kind of honored guest?”
“That would be why I'm guiding her to the VIP room, yes?”
“I've never heard any information suggesting that woman frequents this shop.”
“My, my. To think the great Grand Duke Hiklrid would be so well-versed in the affairs of a small shop like ours. You must have more free time than I thought.”
I barely managed to stifle a snort of laughter.
Cedric's expression darkened even further.
“I am currently investigating a mysterious mass disappearance that occurred in my domain six months ago. It has been suggested that a magical tool with special powers may be connected to the case.”
Ah, that case. Hearing Cedric's explanation, a part of the novel came to mind.
It was a storyline where Aila and Cedric joined forces to uncover the secret behind the disappearances.
‘Well, as it turned out, the victims had disappeared voluntarily.’
It was a mess caused by an illegal loan shark who had imposed exorbitant interest rates on debtors and then harassed them when they couldn't pay.
For the record, the magical tool that allowed them to flee the village at night, avoiding surveillance, had been given to them by a passing mage who took pity on their situation.
The case was resolved when Cedric, after learning the truth, punished the loan shark and the official who had been protecting him, and arranged for the debtors to return to their hometown.
“So, that's why you've come to the 'Forest of Illusions,' which handles all sorts of peculiar magical tools?”
Cedric affirmed the deputy manager's question.
“That's right. I'm making the rounds to a few places.”
“I see. If that is the case, then we will gladly cooperate. The manager himself will attend to you.”
That much was a standard reply, but the words that followed made Cedric's brow furrow.
“After he has attended to Lady Charlotte Lindsi, that is.”
“What?”
“Is something wrong? It is only natural to handle a prior appointment first, is it not?”
“Do you not understand the gravity of the situation? People have disappeared. More than ten of them.”
“Lady Charlotte Lindsi's business will likely be concluded in thirty minutes. Please wait for just thirty minutes.”
“Hey!”
Even with Cedric shouting fiercely at him, the deputy manager calmly stroked his chin.
“Hmm, even if Your Grace insists, there is nothing more I can say.”
“What did you say?”
“It seems the person who arrived six whole months after the incident occurred finds it difficult to wait for thirty minutes.”
Cedric bit his lip, silent.
I don't remember the details, but I think he, too, had only learned of the incident belatedly through some chance occurrence.
After all, the disappearance of a mere ten commoners could easily be covered up by an official in the middle.
‘He might feel it's unfair, but there's nothing he can say.’
That was, at the end of the day, an internal matter for the Hiklrid Duchy, not something the 'Forest of Illusions,' which had received a sudden request for cooperation, needed to consider. Besides…
“Did you bring an official investigation permit?”
“…”
“Without one, we are under no obligation to prioritize Your Grace's request.”
As if. The emperor, who was already keeping Grand Duke Hiklrid in check, would never provide him an opportunity to run rampant in his own backyard.
‘To the emperor, it wouldn't matter if ten commoners from the duchy disappeared, or even a hundred.’
Cedric simply glared in silence at the man whose lower face was all that was visible beneath his hood.
It was clear who had won this suffocating standoff.
“State your name.”
He commanded abruptly after a long moment.
“Deputy manager, I'm curious as to your identity. Show your face and state your name at once.”
It was my heart that sank at that demand.
Without a doubt, the deputy manager's identity was that person I knew.
‘Wouldn't revealing his identity be a problem?’
He, too, had his own complicated circumstances, which was why he remained a deputy manager who only visited the shop infrequently.
“What is it?”
When the other man showed no reaction, Cedric spoke again.
“Revealing one's identity when addressing a nobleman is basic etiquette.”
Cedric wasn't wrong.
Furthermore, the only people who could disregard etiquette before him, the Grand Duke Hiklrid, were members of the direct imperial family.
“I am…”
Just as the deputy manager was about to answer.
“I'm afraid we do not have to obey that command.”
The shop door opened, and a middle-aged man stepped inside.
“Manager!”
The clerk's face lit up upon seeing the man with the intellectual air. Perhaps he saw him as a savior who could sort out this mess.
The manager of the 'Forest of Illusions' scanned the shop's interior before fixing his gaze on Cedric.
“Grand Duke Hiklrid, welcome to our 'Forest of Illusions.'”
He then turned his head toward me.
“And Lady Charlotte Lindsi, I sincerely apologize for being late for our appointment.”
“No, it's quite all right.”
It was such a polite apology that I found myself waving my hands in denial before I knew it.
“…Manager, what did you mean by that just now?”
Cedric asked, not bothering to hide his displeasure.
“That you don't have to obey my command?”
“That is correct.”
“And why is that?”
“Because we are mages from the Magic Tower. Long ago, the previous emperor made a promise when he formed an exchange agreement with the Magic Tower for the purpose of cultivating talent.”
I could feel the corner of Cedric's eye twitch.
“He guaranteed that as long as the mages faithfully provided their labor to the Imperial Family for the promised period, they would not be bound by the Rehenbereukeu Empire's class system.”
“So? You're going to use that as a basis to ignore basic etiquette?”
“Your Grace, etiquette is something to be observed by both parties.”
Even before the thoroughly sarcastic Grand Duke Hiklrid, the manager was as unshakable as an ancient tree.
“From what I heard upon entering, our deputy manager offered to cooperate with Your Grace, who arrived without an appointment or an official investigation permit. Would that not be considered sufficiently courteous? Furthermore…”
In the middle of his sentence, he cast his gaze toward me, standing awkwardly between Cedric and the deputy manager.
“This current situation… no matter how I look at it, it seems a problem has arisen between Your Grace and our honored guest…”
Just then, the deputy manager tattled like a child complaining to his parents.
“His Grace was berating the lady while she was kneeling and apologizing. Moreover, he grabbed her hand and tried to drag her out by force, so I had to intervene.”
At those words, the manager's eyes sharpened.
“This lady is an honored guest who has visited this establishment upon our formal invitation.”
“W-We didn't know that!”
One of Cedric's subordinates cried out as if making an excuse, but it was not nearly enough to soften the icicle-like hostility hidden behind the manager's calm demeanor.
“How much more courtesy are we expected to show Your Grace?”
“…”
Cedric was silent.
As if to prove the manager's words were not wrong, the other customers in the shop simply watched the events unfold in silence.
