IHDOE Ch 24
At her carefree words, his face drained of color.
If I get dragged away, it will be an absolute disaster.
Life aside, his mind held far too much information exchanged with House Radius. If Sharlan captured and tortured him, revealing these facts, then……
[Satina] "Come to think of it, though, the person taking the blame doesn't necessarily have to be you, right?"
At her words, his face brightened.
Enjoying his shifting expressions, Satina continued in a relaxed manner.
[Satina] "My mind might change, making me want to accuse someone else instead. For example… if I received a magnificent gift."
Though blatantly demanding a bribe, Benjamin calculated quickly.
All this woman wants anyway is a magical beast to play with out of boredom.
Had she demanded money or rare materials, he might have hesitated, but a mere magical beast died by the dozen daily during research.
If a magical beast was doomed to die anyway, offering it to Satina as a gift to secure his own safety proved far better.
Even if her words are a bluff, there is no need to stir up trouble over a mere beast.
Finishing his calculations, he asked carefully.
[Benjamin] "Do you have a specific magical beast in mind?"
That night, Benjamin wrote a letter to House Radius with an anxious heart.
Hearing Satina's words, he mobilized his entire information network to monitor Sharlan's movements. And he realized Sharlan was approaching the spy's identity far faster than expected.
House Radius told me to observe the situation further for now, but current circumstances don't allow that.
Remaining still like this risked getting captured by Sharlan and dragged to the dungeon. Just imagining it chilled the back of his neck.
Yet leaving House Bersabet without House Radius' permission was impossible.
Benjamin watched the bird—a letter tied to its ankle—fly away, cutting through the dark night sky.
Yet he didn't know. Flying for a long time, the bird would soon get snatched by a predator without making a single cry.
Snatching the carrier pigeon, the magical beast circled broadly in the sky before landing upon the woman's arm.
Far from fearing a bird the size of her own body, Satina stroked its head casually.
[Satina] "I told you that you can't eat that one."
As she tickled its head with her hand, the creature let out a pleasant chirping sound.
[Lekan] "Like! Like!"
Perhaps because it had flown through the sky after being trapped in a cage for a long time, the magical beast was in a magnificent mood.
Satina continued stroking the beast's head, recalling the moment she tamed the fellow.
[Satina] "The black bird magical beast will do. The fellow I saw while passing by on the day I first arrived."
At her request, Benjamin immediately prepared the magical beast she desired. Locked in the cage, the bird flapped its wings noisily, glaring at Satina.
[Benjamin] "Approaching it is dangerous."
He had warned. At his warning, Satina tilted her head toward him.
[Satina] "Why don't you leave now?"
[Benjamin] "Pardon?"
[Satina] "Do you have further business?"
[Benjamin] "It might be dangerous, so I……"
[Satina] "I will handle that myself. You must be busy, so leave."
Benjamin cursed her inwardly, yet having much work was a fact, so he hurried out of the research facility garden.
Only after ensuring his presence had faded into the distance did Satina open her mouth.
[Liv] "Skill 'Communication with Other Beings' activated. Enables effective communication with non-human entities."
[Satina] "Hello?"
At her greeting, the bird staring at her suddenly lowered its guard, tilting its head.
Chirp-chirp
It was a remarkably cute sound to come from a bird large and sharp as an eagle.
[Lekan] "Friend?"
Understanding each other's words doesn't make us friends, though.
Intelligence-wise, the red-horned snake rated higher than this black bird magical beast.
[Satina] "I will set you free from here. In exchange, will you help me with a task?"
And that brought about the current situation.
No matter how fast and swift a carrier pigeon was, it could never defeat a magical beast that fought armed knights. Above all, it possessed exceptional talent for hiding in darkness and operating stealthily.
If this fellow resolved to hide in the night sky or within shadows, even a knight with keen senses struggled to detect it.
[Satina] "Lekan. Stop playing around and give me the bird."
Calling its name, the magical beast hopping on one foot as if dancing surrendered its trophy to Satina.
[Lekan] "Hunt! Success!"
[Satina] "Yes. Good job."
At her praise, Lekan spread its wings wide.
[Lekan] "Feeling! The best!"
She untied the letter bound to the bird's ankle.
[Lekan] "Food!"
[Satina] "Yes, do as you like with that."
Delighted by her permission, Lekan swallowed the bird whole. The small bird was devoured by Lekan without offering a single struggle.
Listening to the crunch of bones crushing, Satina read the letter. It stated that House Bersabet suspected something, requesting a swift withdrawal.
Handing this letter over to Sharlan now would conclude this matter.
[Liv] "Liv admires the player's resourcefulness."
[Liv] "When you first spoke to Benjamin about a spy, Liv worried about what you were thinking and feared Master was making a grave mistake, yet this was your goal from the start."
[Satina] "Indeed."
She waved the letter.
[Satina] "Since opening the safe is impossible, I must target documents outside."
To achieve this, she deliberately brought up the spy to pressure Benjamin, waiting for him to contact House Radius in his panic. And snatching that letter fell to this friend, not herself.
Satina stroked the head of Lekan as it approached her.
[Liv] "Will you reveal this to Sharlan as it is?"
[Satina] "To him?"
[Liv] "Yes, since you uncovered the spy's identity, is this not the end?"
[Satina] "Doing so makes things easy, but yields little for me, right? Ah, Sharlan might toss a few gold coins my way, but I can't be satisfied with just that."
[Liv] "However, did the player not state that you desire no reward from Sharlan?"
[Satina] "Which is why I must secure my share myself."
[Liv] "What does the player desire?"
[Satina] "A few coins or a couple of dresses are insufficient. I will earn an astronomical fortune, Liv."
[Liv] "Certainly, doing so would aid the player immensely, yet Liv can't comprehend how on earth you will earn money."
[Satina] "You can't understand yet, but once you meet him, you will know immediately."
And the puzzle piece to acquire that person already rested in her hands.
[Satina] "Go where you want to go."
Satina launched Lekan over the bushes. However, reluctant to leave, it circled around her repeatedly.
[Satina] "Anyone watching would think we have known each other for years."
At her joke, it cried out.
[Lekan] "Friend! Like!"
[Satina] "When did we even meet?"
[Lekan] "Friend!"
Further communication with Lekan proved difficult.
[Satina] "Keep this up, and knights might catch and lock you away again."
[Lekan] "Friend! Help!"
The bird was stubborn. Satina didn't bother stopping Lekan as it pursued her while hiding in the darkness.
Lekan was a large, swift magical beast. If commanded properly, it possessed immense usefulness in many ways.
I should ask what food it likes later.
Though she had not formally adopted it, providing food whenever it performed well was a good idea.
She rode a carriage toward the capital's outskirts. Above her carriage, the black bird spread its wings wide, following behind.
The destination she finally arrived at was an abandoned house on the capital's outskirts. She recalled the coachman recoiling in horror the moment she mentioned heading here.
[Coachman] "What? Such a remote location? Why go to a place without a single residence?
No! Going there makes finding returning passengers difficult……
What? Triple? You should have said so sooner! Get in!"
Unmaintained for a long time, overgrown weeds gave the mansion a desolate atmosphere. Whenever cold winter winds blew, ghost-like wails echoed from somewhere.
Without hesitation, Satina walked toward the gloomy mansion and knocked on the door. Absolute silence resonated from beyond the door. Knocking several times more, she turned the doorknob.
Fortunately, the door was unlocked. As she stepped inside without hesitation, the system warned her.
[Liv] "If someone witnesses this, they might report the player for trespassing."
[Satina] "Who comes to an abandoned house like this?"
[Liv] "A logical assessment."
Stepping inside, dust piled thick throughout the house caused her to wave her hand and sneeze.
[Satina] "Liv, do you possess an air purification feature by any chance?"
[Liv] "……I shall attempt it. Shall I play classical music instead?"
[Satina] "Forget it. Others listening will think this place is haunted. No need to attract people unnecessarily."
A loading window spun round and round before her eyes.
Brushing aside the system's reaction, she walked deep inside the mansion without hesitation.
As if someone fled in haste, dressers containing clothes and safes stood open haphazardly. In the kitchen, half-eaten food rotted away.
No one would think a person lived in such a place.
Indeed, no one.
Her footsteps headed toward the bedroom. Atop a bed in the bedroom lay an emaciated elder, devoid of strength.
Closing sunken eyes, the elder murmured weakly.
[Elder] "Is, is someone there…… Cough! Cough!"
The elder coughed as if on the verge of breathing his last.
As she approached and sat beside the elder, he curled up at the unfamiliar presence.
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