Chapter 11
MIRA AND THE GANG made their way to the busy downtown of Sentopoli in search of the Moonlit Garden.
“Now, who might know about this…?” Mira murmured, surveying the passersby.
Instead of her usual magical girl-style outfit, Mira was dressed in normal city clothes. She was a local celebrity after the declaration of victory and Spirit King’s appearance, after all. It would be a pain if someone identified her in the middle of the busy city. Her current getup was meant to avoid that problem. With her plain clothes, glasses, and straw hat, she had put together a more mature-looking façade. It also helped that her hair had been braided by Liliella.
Either thanks to her efforts or to the straw hat covering half her face, nobody had identified her. Yet.
“We don’t have any hints apart from the name, so I say we just ask someone on the street,” Wallenstein suggested. He ignored the first woman who passed in front of him and instead asked a man whether he knew the name Moonlit Garden.
“Oh, that place?” the man began. He seemed to know something. But when Mira peeked out from behind Wallenstein, he quickly stammered, “Well… I…I dunno.” He then angrily glared at Wallenstein and stalked away.
The trio were baffled. Maybe he was in a bad mood? Either way, there was no point in dwelling on it, so Wallenstein accosted the next pedestrian.
Oddly, the man reacted the same way. And when they asked other people, none of them seemed to know of such a place. Moreover, when the men saw Mira and Liliella waiting behind Wallenstein, they all glared hatefully at him.
Why was Wallenstein only asking men?
And was he asking the question wrong, or was his crime being handsome in the company of two cute girls? Either way, Mira saw he was getting nowhere and stepped up to the plate. She’d kept silent to avoid blowing her cover, but at this rate she might as well go for broke.
“This is getting us nowhere. Watch: leave this to me,” Mira grumbled in irritation and stomped over to a man who looked to be an adventurer. “Say, you. I have a question. Do you know of a place called Moonlit Garden?”
He reacted very differently from the men Wallenstein had asked. Even incognito, Mira could not hide her innate attractiveness. A moment later she began to feel quietly satisfied that she’d left yet another man speechless at her beauty. Unfortunately, that was not why he’d fallen silent at all.
“Huh? Uhh… Well, yeah, I… Uh… I do know, but…” he stammered. Then, he glared at Wallenstein and said in a low voice, “What are you up to, buddy?”
“What do you mean?” Wallenstein asked, confused.
“Wait a sec… Do you legit not know about that place?” the man asked, shocked and equally confused.
They were looking for it because they didn’t know where it was, obviously. But that probably wasn’t what he meant. Wallenstein cocked his head in confusion, so the man beckoned him over.
“Umm…” Wallenstein obediently approached. The man turned away from Mira and Liliella and began whispering to him.
“Excuse me! I’m the one who asked. What’s going on?” Mira pouted, finding herself suddenly ignored.
“Oh… O-ooohh…” Liliella gasped. Apparently, she’d figured it out.
***
The two men finished talking, and the stranger patted Wallenstein on the back as he left. “Later, champ.”
“Thank you very much,” Wallenstein replied. He trudged back with a complicated look on his face. It seemed he’d learned quite a bit. But this wasn’t a good place to talk about it; he took the girls to a more secluded location to share the news.
“So? What did he say?”
Based on the man’s reaction, he clearly knew something. He might’ve been a patron of the place. He might’ve been able to tell Wallenstein more than just the location. He might’ve known something about Felicia.
They’d talked for a while, so there must have been a lot of information passed on. Mira began to get excited. That’s when Wallenstein grimaced and revealed what he’d learned: Moonlit Garden was the name of a house of ill repute.
“Oh… Oh, I see…” Now Mira understood why the men had reacted the way they did. Wallenstein had been asking about a brothel with two young women in tow. Most people would find that disgusting. They could hardly be blamed for glaring at him. Mira inwardly said a prayer for Wallenstein, whose reputation was definitely in the toilet after that little escapade.
Despite the hit to his respectability, however, Wallenstein had indeed gotten some very juicy information. It seemed the stranger had known an awful lot about the place, and was able to provide both the location and information about Felicia. Wallenstein shared the details: “According to him, many of her regular customers have been arrested by the Guild Union lately, so she’s taking a leave of absence.”
Felicia was so famous that she was essentially the main draw of the brothel, and she had connections with adventurers, heads of companies, and other influential figures. However, recently she had faced a major setback, as her business had taken a hit due to the destruction of Chimera Clausen.
If enough of Felicia’s customers had been arrested to affect her business, that must have meant she catered heavily to those from Chimera Clausen.
“I bet she corrupted them,” Liliella said. According to her, this was a common technique used by female dark demons—lure them in with sex, then tempt them into evil behavior. However, she also added with a glum look that it wasn’t all thanks to the magic. The person being corrupted had to be a willing participant.
Liliella looked like a little girl. If she had looked like this when she was a dark demon, she’d only have been able to attract men who were already corrupt and depraved.
“Let’s just say that when it came to Felicia, the duke’s asset had assets.” Despite being a light demon, she had a horribly lewd grin on her face. While she looked childlike, the demon Liliella was probably the oldest one here, and she had a penchant for mature humor.
Mira and Wallenstein stared at her blankly, then they looked at each other and sighed.
After that, it didn’t take them long to find the Moonlit Garden. They went inside to ask about Felicia’s current residence. But given the nature of their business, the staff guarded her personal information carefully. She’d made them lots of money, and they refused to share anything—even the names of her closest coworkers.
They could try bringing in Kagura to force them to talk, but the staff at the brothel were just normal people. It wouldn’t be right to go that far. And normal people didn’t know anything about demonkind. It would be pointless to reveal the secret that Felicia was a demon.
“We’ll have to try the Guild Union next,” Mira said.
It might be difficult to get anything out of the brothel, but there were others who might know a lot about Felicia—her Chimera regulars, for example. Perhaps Mira and company could drag some information out of them.
Wallenstein and Liliella readily agreed.
“Good idea. Let’s go.”
“Yeah…I think that sounds best.”
They quickly abandoned the brothel and shifted gears. Mira and Kagura had already interrogated the Chimera suspects once before, so she confidently declared as they walked, “I’m acquainted with management. Allow me to handle negotiations.”
They arrived at the Adventurers’ Guild Union less than ten minutes later.
Some of Felicia’s regulars would no doubt be in the underground jail. But everyone was still on high alert; only those involved in the investigation could enter. She’d need to speak to the Guild leaders first.
“Excuse me. Could you get me in contact with the heads of this branch?” Mira asked, standing confidently at the counter as if she were important enough to need no appointment. Mira had already met the head honchos here once, so they knew the role Mira had played in the destruction of Chimera. She was sure they would take a surprise visit seriously.
But the receptionist seemed totally baffled. She furrowed her brow and asked hesitantly, “Umm… What business do you have here?”
Mira needed to question criminals she believed to be in league with a demon…but she couldn’t say that to just anyone.
“It’s…confidential,” Mira replied. “Just let them know that I am here, please.” All she needed to do was talk directly to the bosses. The receptionist’s response was unsatisfactory; she simply explained that they were busy. Mira would have to come back later.
She was being treated as if she were just a random person off the street! Suddenly, Mira remembered that she was still in disguise. “Oh! See? Look. I’m Mira.” She yanked off her hat and glasses, struggled for a moment to shake out her braids, and puffed out her chest proudly.
Trademark silver hair and blue eyes. Despite the plain outfit, her face was well-known thanks to the declaration of victory. Many of the people here must have witnessed it, and there was a sudden commotion in the room when she took off her disguise.
“Oh, my apologies!” It seemed the receptionist finally understood. She ran off to tell her bosses right away.
“How silly of me to forget.” Mira turned to her friends and smirked.
Wallenstein simply replied, “Typical Danb… Mira.” But he seemed relieved that they’d be able to interrogate their leads after all.
As they waited, they heard the people around them murmur and discuss the hero in their midst: the girl who felled Chimera. Well, now that she’d revealed herself, there was no point hiding it. She eavesdropped with glee.
“That’s the girl with the Spirit King!”
“That stuff was awesome.”
“His blessing really makes this legit, huh?”
“I bet she thinks she’s a big shot now that she got to meet the Spirit King.”
No matter how many conversations she snooped on, she only heard people lauding the Spirit King. Mira’s name didn’t come up once, unless it was vague compliments about her being cute or pretty.
And the people that were complimenting Mira instead of the Spirit King seemed to have…unique inclinations.
Oh, come on! Seriously?!
Mira’s exploits were dazzling! Was the appearance of the Spirit King so impactful that it totally overshadowed her?
“You… Just you wait and see…” she fumed. Someday, everyone would acknowledge the power of summoning! And summoners would become the most popular mage class! With ambition burning in her heart, Mira renewed her resolve once more.
Eventually the receptionist returned with Gates and Deborah. Mira was about to receive yet another blow.
“Aha! I heard one of Uzume’s underlings was here. So, it was you? I’m sorry we made you wait.”
“We’ll do anything to help Uzume. If you need something, let’s talk about it in our office.”
The receptionist had obviously introduced Mira as Uzume’s subordinate. The leaders likewise recognized her more for that than for her status as a magician or adventurer. She was not Mira to them; she was just another Isuzu lackey.
“…Hrmm. Thanks,” she grumbled.
Kagura had nothing to do with her current goals, but protesting would only make things more annoying. For the time being, Uzume’s name was opening doors. Mira swallowed her pride and decided to deal with this pair as her inferiors.
“Goodness. I see…”
“We understand. We’ll let the person in charge know. Interrogate them however you need.”
“We really appreciate it.”
When they explained that Uzume had sent them to investigate a demon possibly behind Chimera Clausen, along with the existence of his subordinates, they had received access to the prisoners in no time.
The trio followed Gates to the underground jail. They passed through the heavily secured door and down the stairs, where they arrived at an even more secure door. Beyond that were the holding cells, drearier than the last time.
Groans and angry bellows echoed in the darkness.
After explaining their purpose to the head guard, Gates said to Mira, “Let us know if there are any new developments.” He then left to attend to his own business.
“Now, where are we going to find Felicia’s regulars…”
Chimera Clausen’s influence was far-reaching; as a result, hundreds of conspirators were locked up here. Mira worried this would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
But Liliella had the answer. “Those who have…been with demons have a lingering taint on them. If you can detect that, it’ll be easy to identify them.”
She scampered off and stopped in front of one cell, then pointed at a man within.
“Wh-what?” The rather unremarkable man glared at Wallenstein in confusion. Wallenstein indicated to the jailer that he had some things to discuss with the prisoner and opened the cell.
The moment the cell door opened, the man shoved Liliella to the side and sprinted past.
“Whoops.” Wallenstein swiftly caught Liliella in his arms, confirming her safety.
Mira glowered at the fleeing man, furious. He screamed. Dark Knights now blocked his path and held him at the points of their swords.
“We were only planning to ask you a few questions, but I see there’s no need to be gentle about it. Prepare yourself,” Mira said coldly before walking off to the interrogation room. The Dark Knights followed, dragging the man behind them.
“Mira seems mad…” Liliella murmured as the summoner stomped off. It seemed the little demon wasn’t completely familiar with human emotions; she couldn’t comprehend why Mira was so mad.
Wallenstein nodded. “Indeed. Mira hates people who hurt children.”
“I’m not a child.” Liliella glared at him sternly.
“Uh… Well, er…” Wallenstein stammered.
Her appearance and speech patterns were certainly childish. It was only her actual age that contradicted that. How could he talk his way out of this? Just as he started to think, Liliella muttered, “Fine… It’s fine.”
She’d been so far from human feelings for so long, she’d never been given time to understand them. But now that she’d known the kindness that could come from humans, she smiled at the warm feeling. Wallenstein had never seen her smile like that.
“Yeah, there you go. Good for you.”
Light demons who’d just been sealed often had unstable emotions. But by interacting with humans, they could gradually acclimate. This event was a positive sign of things to come.
Looks like she’ll stabilize faster than I thought. I’m glad I brought her along. Once again grateful for his reunion with Mira, Wallenstein watched as the summoner strode off.
“But I’m still not a child,” Liliella repeated.
“Yes, yes, I know,” he replied with a chuckle.
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