Chapter 44: CH 44

44 - The Old Man From The Countryside Listens To A Runt's Story

T/N: And I’m back from the vaccine-induced fever. Woo! The schedule will be moving from daily to something else, though. Still not sure what the new pattern will be.

“To put it bluntly, there’s a bit of a problem,” I said. “Alexia, can you give me a minute?”

“That’s fine, but…” Alexia said.

I feel troubled speaking with her right in the open, so I want to talk inside HQ for the moment.

And Alexia already said she had time to honor my request, so there would be no problem there.

“………”

However, the young girl with me doesn’t seem to want to follow obediently.

She looked at Alexia and seemed even more troubled. From a pickpocket’s perspective, you wouldn’t want to see the Captain of the Revelio Knights.

On the flip side, it means that Alexia’s face is known in those circles. Just being a household name to them means the Knights are doing their jobs well.

But in any case, the situation’s muddy enough as it is.

I’d like to move from here somehow, but I wonder if she’ll follow me.

“I’m not talking about arresting you or anything,” I said. “I’ll return this later.”

“… Tch, fine. Let’s do this quickly,” the girl mumbled, shaking her head as well.

Did she know that I wasn’t trying to harm her, at least?

If she was a normal pickpocket, now would be her chance to escape.

No one is detaining her, she isn’t suspected of anything. She’s just a filthy little girl next to this old man.

That she does not bolt is probably because I still have her pendant. She may get caught if she’s not careful. But until she gets this pendant back, she’s going to swallow that risk.

It’s not far-fetched to think this pendant was actually ridiculously valuable but it’s a little hard to imagine.

Because if that were the case, it should have already been sold. She’s just a pickpocket, so she didn’t have to keep the gold items without fencing them for cash.

Well, in the end, no matter how much I think about it, I don’t know the correct answer.

“In that case, shall we use the reception room?” Alexia said.

“Okay. Come on, come on,” I said.

“Shut up,” the girl said. “Don’t treat me like a kid.”

Any way you look at it, she’s a kid, but let’s not press the point.

And when I saw the girl’s reaction, I didn’t miss Alexia’s eyebrows rising. Good, I want you to set up a tough sermon after that display.

So, we walk into Headquarters for a while.

The three of us went to the room where I spoke with Alexia, after my father kicked me out of the family home.

“So then, Master,” Alexia said. “What is with this girl…?”

Once we were seated, Alexia spoke. Who this girl was, was probably the most burning question on her mind.

“In short, she tried to pickpocket my wallet last night, she failed. Then, I picked up this pendant afterward,” I said. “Apparently, it was hers and we came here to collect it.”

“What…?” Alexia asked.

“But I’m not trying to get her arrested. For now,” I said.

It can’t be helped, so I’ll just tell her the facts.

Alexia is at a loss for words for a moment. It’s a rare expression. But perhaps because of her pride as Knight-Captain, she quickly drops the rare face, and then gives a frosty gaze at the girl next to me.

“… What…?” the girl asked.

The girl was even more nervous now. She looks like a stray cat.

It was inevitable. She was suddenly having a confidential meeting with an unidentified old man and the Knight-Captain of Revelio in a closed room without knowing the situation. It’s impossible to say that she shouldn’t be nervous.

“Haa…” Alexia sighed. “If you say so, Master, we won’t detain her here…”

She sighs and her body language says, “Can’t be helped.”

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Well, she couldn’t even if she wanted, given the situation.

The laws of this country were relatively peaceful, or rather, they’re not enforced unless it’s an ongoing offense or related to it, serious crimes excluded.

In the case of this kid, the arrest will not be justified unless I, the immediate victim, turn her in or she was stopped at the moment of pickpocketing.

However, there were other reasons why I didn’t want to get her arrested.

“So, well, I’m not trying to get her punished,” I said. “I wanted to catch her, but she countered with magic, you see.”

“Magic…?” Alexia said.

Now, I tell her what’s most interesting. With this, Alexia knows all that she needs to.

In my conversation with Henblitz, he concluded it was unlikely. He thought it was too low of a chance. I was convinced too at that time, as it made sense.

But while magical equipment isn’t as valuable as magicians, it’s still more expensive than it should be. I was keenly aware of that when I browsed shops in the West District with Kuruni and Thyssel before. Magical armor is especially expensive.

Furthermore, the number of magical equipment that has direct offensive capabilities is particularly small, they’re considered luxury items. If they were commonplace, the world would be a hotbed of violent crime.

Then, the story turns to why a pickpocket would have that sort of magical equipment.

Was it stolen or a gift from someone? It’s possible she’s using a stolen item because it’s difficult to sell compared to using it to steal more ordinary items.

Is the source of the flame that repelled me a mage’s spell or magical equipment?

I think that’s probably an important part of this discussion. This old man’s intuition says as much. It hasn’t hit that much, though.

“Can you use magic?” Alexia asked.

“… I don’t need to tell you,” the girl grumbled.

“Yes, you do,” Alexia said. “As one of the Knights of this country, I can’t let magical talent go unchecked. You should know that, too.”

Ooh, don’t get crazier than I expected, Alexia.

As the girl didn’t deny it, there was a possibility she really was a budding magician. I don’t know if the item may have been equipped underneath her robes but so far as I can see, she has no such accessories.

“If you can use magic, you don’t need to struggle to meet your own needs,” Alexia said. “Above all else, we can’t overlook the fact that a young girl like you is in distress. We don’t know if we can be allies. But at the very least, we’re not enemies.”

“… Shut up.”

Alexia is on the verge of snapping. It’s almost a rage.

Even if Alexia is recommending this girl to the Magician’s Academy, Alexia will not warm up to her. The fact that she’s pushing it this far is a reflection of her personality.

“As I said in the beginning,” I said, “I don’t want to turn you in. It’s a strange relationship that started with an attempted pickpocketing.”

This old man decides to shoot her some support.

I can feel the tension and anxiety radiating from this girl. However, her guard seemed to be dropping.

But, as I said, it’s a weird connection. I don’t mean to write her off for her crime, I’m just trying to do something about it.

Unfortunately, I’m neither a hero nor a saint. It’s impossible to help all children in poverty.

But, well, it just so happened one such child was within reach.

If it just so happens that there’s a way I can help, then my humanity makes me want to do something about it.

“… Not enough,” she muttered after a long silence.

“What?” I asked.

Her voice and her next words seemed to say she’d finally made her decision:

“… I don’t have enough money to bring my Big Sister back to life.”

Her face was a mix of determination and pain.

Huh, what? What was that?

This old man doesn’t understand magic at all. I’ve had my eyes opened a little, but there was no particular reaction and the silence continued.

Hmm. Trying to bring someone back to life?

I’ve got a very strong feeling this is going to be scary, but I have to wonder.

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