LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 20
Chapter 20 But the problem was that it was hard to identify which of them was the guide.‘Okay, line them up and try guiding one by one, you can’t do it.’They could tell if they made contact with Caesar as he was rampage, but they couldn’t wait for such a dangerous moment.‘I have to find a way to figure out the guide.’I eventually returned to my original thought. I had to find something on the black market, something that would be a rumor for some people.In the end, there was only one corner I could trust.“Phew….”I sighed heavily as I entered the now familiar dark alleyway. Katana, the only thing I believed in was Katana.I moved the pattern and opened the wall. The garden was as beautiful as it had been the first time I’d seen it, but the only thing that had changed was that the pond was gone.Katana was still rejecting me.‘It must be difficult to believe me so easily.’Katana’s trap magic was second to none in the entire empire. In short, now that the pond was gone, I had no idea how to get into her cabin.“Now, what shall we do today?”For a week, there was nothing I didn’t try. Some days I climbed a tree and couldn’t get down for hours, and other days I put my face in the ground. Of course, all I got was a face full of dirt.When I made stupid attempts like that, Katana would sometimes show her face in the window of the hut, and then she’d either stick her tongue out or giggle, which made me feel a little better about myself.I thought we were getting close, at least, and I felt bad for barging in on the first day, so I was going to slowly close the distance in the future.‘But today I’m in a hurry.’If I don’t find a guide in the next month, both Caesar and I will die. I had to do everything I could.“Hah…”I took a deep breath, then yelled as loud as I could.“KATANAA!”Katanaa, Naa… Naa… An echo rang.Katana could see me and look up, which meant that this garden and the cabin could communicate with each other.“KATANA..”Katana… Echoing the same thing.“It looks like it’s open, but it’s all just an illusion.”In the beginning, it was impossible for a garden like this to exist at the end of that narrow alley. The sky that looks high and the grass I step on, they’re all lies.That meant my voice could be heard by Katana, maybe even outside the alley.“KATANAA … .”“Can’t you stop?!”Suddenly, the cabin window opened and Katana’s face appeared.“Katana!”I smiled brightly and waved my hand. Katana, with a tired expression on her face, took a deep breath. ***** “Are you crazy?”Katana, who had been magically transported to the garden in an instant, placed her hand on her waist.A woman who introduced herself as Evelyn Chester, a maid working in the Imperial Palace, was smiling mischievously.“I’m sorry.”Sorry? sorry? Katana’s fierce eyes narrowed even further, though she didn’t look very threatening.“Why are you doing this to me?”It’s been over a week now. Evelyn had shown up at my cabin every day, as if to fulfill her promise: ‘I’ll come tomorrow, Katana’, Katana couldn’t understand. After all the nonsense she’d said about my talent, about me becoming an Archmage, what else do you mean this time?“Are you from Magic tower? To spy on me, or to deal with me-”“It’s not like that!”Evelyn, startled, waved her hand, but Katana’s fierce gaze didn’t lower.‘Maybe she’s mocking me.’She said I have talent, that I’ll become an Archmage, that’s a ridiculous thing to say.Everyone in the magic tower said that I had a power that I shouldn’t have. The power is so sinister that it should not be used anywhere. I’m going to hurt people.However, a woman named Evelyn showed up a week ago and gave Katana false hope. A hope that maybe, just maybe, my gift wasn’t a curse after all.‘I can’t do that….’“Katana, I’m here to ask you something.”After being kicked out of the magic tower, it was difficult to eat and live, so I set up a Detective agency.I pretended to be gathering information with great skill, but in reality, I was just using magic where no one could see me.“If you have a favor to ask, don’t wait long during the day. Don’t barge into my house unannounced!”Evelyn rummaged through her arms and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. It was a paper with the words ‘Katana Detective Agency’ written on it.‘This…’This is definitely what I made. However, it is a paper that is only given to a customer who has made a request once.“Where did you get this?”“I just found it”The paper was enchanted to teleport the person Katana designated, and only trusted clients would automatically come to Katana’s cabin.So it didn’t make sense for a stranger to show up at my hut in the first place.“How the hell did you get in here?”“I came in after seeing that pattern. Open the wall.”“How did you know-”“More than that, Katana. This is what is written here.”Evelyn turned the paper in Katana’s hand back. [24 hours free consultation! Absolute secrecy guaranteed! Evidence-collecting expert!”] “What is this? Yes, of course, it says 24/7 support, is that really true? They’re exaggerating for publicity! I’m eleven years old in the midst of growing up.”“No. Not that, but this part.”Again, Evelyn’s tiny finger touched the paper.“Specializing in evidence collection, this one. This one, it says you can collect data with magic, right?”Katana’s eyes flicked up again.“I told you, I know you have a great talent for magic.”Talent again. It sounded the same as the first time they’d met, when I’d been startled and shaken out of my sleep, but this time was different.“I don’t believe you.”“But I believe in you. I know you can help me, because you have the ability to do that.”I had never heard those words before. Talent, ability… belief.“So what you want to ask is to gather information? If that’s the case, make a proper appointment and become a guest of the Detective Agency….”“I can’t do that. This is not a normal job. No one is supposed to know.”“This is supposed to be completely confidential-”“You said it was an exaggeration for publicity.”Katana keeps her mouth shut. At the same time, she felt her curiosity rise.“What is going on? Oh, don’t be misunderstood. I’m not saying I’m going to help, I’m just going to listen.”“This… is about two lives, and it involves you.”“With me? Why?”“I told you before, I can help you. If you help me, if everything goes the way I want it to… Then we can bring down the current master of the magic tower.”“What?”In an instant, a different look came to Katana’s eyes.“What are you talking about? Do you want to bring down the Archmage?”“Yes.”Katana’s face stiffened at Evelyn’s answer.“… Ha! I see now. You must think I’m an idiot, You almost fooled me.”“What? No, Katana.”“If not? There is only one person, the Emperor, who can appoint and dismiss the master of the magic tower. Are you trying to ascend the throne?”“Of course not.”Katana clicked her tongue, knowing that I would.“But someone will rise to the throne, won’t they?”“Of course… of course…”Katana remembered that when they first met, Evelyn called herself a maid working in the Imperial Palace.Evelyn hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and spoke.“I am the Crown Prince’s exclusive maid. and I am the one who knows the only way to raise him to the throne.”“……!”Katana rolled her eyes.“If he becomes the Emperor, the current Master of the magic tower, who has joined hands with the aristocrats, will naturally step down.”“Then….”Katana didn’t know much about politics in the imperial realm. That was to be expected, as she had been raised in the tower since birth and had studied nothing but magic.But she knew that Evelyn was saying something strange. The only way to get the Crown Prince on the throne.“And katana.”Evelyn said, driving a wedge.“And for the only way to do that, I need your help.”I still wasn’t sure if Katana understood me completely, or if she believed me.Still, I told her most of the story. That the central power is currently divided between the Imperial faction and aristocratic faction, that the aristocratic faction is dominant.Of course, the Crown Prince is in the Imperial faction, but has no power, and the Empress, who joined with the aristocratic faction, is trying to raise the Princess to the throne.That the Crown Prince actually has a power that no one knows about, and that if he manifests it, he can ascend to the throne.I was well aware that revealing a lot to Katana would be dangerous. Even if she didn’t betray me or make a mistake, the more people who knew the truth, the easier it would be to get the word out.But I still had to tell Katana.‘I want to let her know that I believe her.’I didn’t just want to use Katana, as I told her. I wanted to restore her social status by making Caesar Emperor.‘She can become a master of magic tower faster than the original story, or we can bring her to the Imperial Palace and appoint her as an exclusive wizard.’In any case, I couldn’t in good conscience let this child live on her own.