Chapter 19: Personal Time

……This is driving me crazy.

Something feels off.

My wrist feels too light, and my vision is higher than expected.
It’ll probably settle soon, but right now, it’s kind of serious.

When was the last time I took off my bracelet?

A knock.

I closed the closet where my maid’s uniform was hanging and called out.

“Who is it?”

“Oh? Is this not the right room?”

A young girl’s voice—flustered.

It was the innkeeper’s daughter.

I remembered her confidently leading me here earlier, proudly saying she’d show me to the room I’d rented. She didn’t look to be even ten years old, but it was admirable how she helped her parents run the inn.

I magically locked the closed closet and went to open the door.

The girl was muttering and pacing down the hallway.

“Strange. I’m sure it was room 4….”

“Excuse me. Hey, kid!”

“Yes?”

When I called out loudly, she turned right away.
She was carrying a large towel in her slender arms.

Come to think of it, the innkeeper had asked earlier if I wanted the bathwater heated.

“Who are you?”

“Um. Well.”

I had entered the inn wearing my bracelet, rented the room, then took off the bracelet and changed clothes. So it was only natural she didn’t recognize me.

Which meant… this situation was my fault.

“I’m the brother of the girl who rented this room.”

“Huh? Hmm… You do look alike. Same hair and eye color.”

“Right?”

Because it’s me.

When did this kid start paying attention to things like that?

“But Bri remembers all the guests who come to the Reindeer Head Inn. Bri didn’t see you come in, big brother. You’re suspicious.”

“I’m a magician.”

“A magician?”

“Now, now. Look at this.”

I crouched to meet the eyes of the innkeeper’s daughter—Bri.

Then I pulled out a silver coin from my pocket and held it up between my index finger and thumb.

Bri, pouting but curious, focused on the coin.

“Now. I’m going to use… magic.”

“Hmph.”

I opened my left palm and covered the silver coin in my right hand.

Then, stealth magic.

I cast it on myself—not the coin. Even with magic immunity, it’s fine if the spell targets me.
That’s how contract magic works on me, after all.

“W-Wow! It’s gone! It’s a—a ghost!”

“Now, little lady.”

“Hieeek!?”

I had circled around behind her and placed the silver coin on the back of her neck.

She jumped. Probably because it was cold.
And because she was wearing a dirndl-style dress, the coin got caught near her waist.

…That’ll be a pain to get out.
Well, it wasn’t intentional.

“Hwaaaa….”

“D-Don’t cry.”

“B-Bri doesn’t cry! I was just surprised…”

She wiped away a single tear.

A child being childish is cute.

…Or is it?

Seeing her hold back tears—maybe she’s more precocious than I thought.
I’ve only seen children like those at the facility or Therese, so maybe my standards are weird.

“So… will you believe me now?”

“Please use the front door next time.”

Which meant she believed me.
And she got a silver coin out of it.

Bri handed over the towel, a small water bucket, and a chunk of old soap she’d been holding.

I had lived in places where shampoo and conditioner came in pump bottles, so this kind of thing still caught my eye now and then.

“But who’s going to use the bathtub? The brother… or the sister?”

“Does it really matter? If we take turns—”

“You have to pay extra if you want the cold water reheated.”

“Alright, alright.”

In this era, water is heated with either firewood or magical devices.
If the inn uses magic, a non-magician has to charge the device with a magic stone.

So the extra fee is for either the firewood or the magic stone.

“But won’t you need more bedding?”

“It’s fine. If we sleep close together, it’s warm even without blankets.”

“Aha.”

She nodded as if she understood.
I figured that explanation was enough for a child.

“Big brother, you can do whatever you want in bed—but it’s forbidden in the bathtub! The soundproofing is terrible, and if you’re not careful, the tub might break!”

“Huh?”

What now?

“Bri, w-what are you talking about? Do… what…?”

“Making babies!”

“Making ba—?! Hey! No, why would siblings do that?!”

She’s the innkeeper’s daughter, so I guess she’s… enlightened?

Still.

Even if we’re pretending to be siblings, this is taking it way too far.

“A male and female guest who share a room and don’t rent extra bedding but want to share the same blanket—that means they’re definitely making babies that night! That’s what an adventurer uncle told me!”

“N-No. That’s for couples. You know, unrelated by blood.”

“Come on, you don’t have to hide it from Bri. You used magic to sneak in because you didn’t want to be seen, right? Bri knows. Oh, and actually, last time, some sibling adventurers were making a baby, so I asked another adventurer big brother: if Bri and Billy had a baby, should that baby call Bri aunt, or should it call her mom. He said it’s called incest. Hmm… Anyway, he said that kind of love shouldn’t be seen by others. You’re like that too, right, big brother?!”

“What is innocence.”

The words just slipped out.

At the same time, I realized I needed to be much more careful.

If this kid ever saw me putting on or taking off the bracelet, I’d seriously want to die.

“Yes, yes. It’s like that, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone.”

“Bri is so knowledgeable, right?”

She held out her palm.

…Is she asking for hush money?

You already got a silver coin.

Sighing, I pulled out two large copper coins and placed them in her hand.

“Go buy yourself some snacks.”

“Thank you! Daddy said a person has to be smart and knowledgeable to live well, and Daddy’s words are never wrong!”

With that, Bri ran off toward the stairs.

I’d only just rented the room. I hadn’t even started investigating Cecilia yet, but I already felt exhausted.

I grabbed the bathing supplies Bri had handed me and headed downstairs.

And there it was—a fantasy painting come to life.

I’d seen it earlier when I entered the inn, but the view from the top of the staircase was completely different.

Wooden mugs.

Shadows flickering from the hearth fire and candlelight.

A bard strumming a lute and singing.

A muscular human warrior arm-wrestling against a slender lion beastman with a greatsword.

An elf archer tearing into a cartoonishly large piece of meat.

…I don’t even want to imagine what an elf looks like eating meat like that.

“It was worth looking for an inn with a lot of adventurers.”

For gathering information, an inn is the standard.

And for quests, of course, the innkeeper.

As for why there’s an adventurer inn right in front of a school? Simple.
Where there’s demand, there’s supply.

For simple magic, a prayer is enough. But for anything more powerful, you need materials.

And most mages around here are students or nobles.
People who think everything can be solved with money.

So naturally, there are plenty of adventurers nearby.

“Hey, you there.”

“Pardon?”

I was about to pass the bar and head to the bath when the innkeeper called out.

Is he going to interrogate me too, like Bri?

What a pain—

“I heard about it from Bri.”

“No, that’s…
Forget it.
Yes.”

This was just turning into a headache.

I should’ve ducked into a back alley, taken off the bracelet, changed clothes, then come here.

Would that really have taken so long?

Short-sighted. That’s all I can say.

“What about your meal? The room includes food for one.”

“…I’ll eat outside.”

It’s not about the money.

The problem is that two people can’t exist at the same time.

I could have the food delivered to my room… but I don’t want to invite any unnecessary suspicion.

“Do as you please.”

“Just asking, but… would it be alright to exchange the meal for a drink?”

“Nonsense.”

Figures.

I hadn’t expected much.

Compared to Bri, this guy was blunt and unsociable.

I’d been thinking of prying some info from him over a beer. Guess that’s out.

“Bathroom number 3 is open. You can use that one.”

“Thank you.”

I gave a light nod and headed out back.

Even though it’s called a bathroom, it’s really just a small space with wooden partitions and a tub inside.

I haven’t seen many others, but… this isn’t bad for a fantasy world, is it?

It’s very frustrating at times….

At the facility, they probably meant to teach common sense gradually—after training us. Eventually, to turn us into proper assassins.

But since I escaped mid-way, I’m lacking in that department.

The education I got from Gloria and Duoto afterward was very biased.

In fact, they excluded anything unrelated to serving Therese.

Cultural knowledge? Basic etiquette?
Yeah, right.

…It’ll work out somehow.