“How did you discover it?”
Separated by the door, a muffled, disguised voice responded.
“What do you mean by ‘it’? Did I discover you sent Sausy-Alamany to follow us, or did I discover your identity as an outsider?”
Judging by the voice, Konehl-Ghervil realized they were separated by only a single door.
Esli, moving silently, emerged from the adjacent room and positioned herself by a sand-proof window, constantly vigilant for danger.
One eye wide, the other narrowed, she stared at Konehl-Ghervil as if to say, ‘Why didn’t you tell me about such a significant discovery?’
Konehl-Ghervil tilted her head and smiled, offering an apologetic expression.
“Tell me everything. Even though there’s no longer a need to know the answer to the first question, I’m still quite curious.”
After a long silence, a voice emerged from behind the door, now undisguised, clearly belonging to Martina-Sali.
“Actually, it wasn’t I who discovered the tail. You might not know, but my knight friend is a high-ranking knight, an elite within the order.”
Konehl-Ghervil deeply admired Esli’s perceptive abilities; she had detected suspicious individuals on the train, rescued Konehl-Ghervil during the gang’s assassination attempt, and now, once again, sensed someone was following them.
Esli first accepted the praise with a smile, then, realizing the implication, looked at the young woman with disbelief.
‘How did she know I was a high-ranking knight?’
“Indeed, playing tricks of surveillance before a high-ranking knight is quite insufficient.”
The voice from behind the door continued,
“And the second discovery?”
Esli, standing nearby, widened her eyes and slowly nodded in agreement; she, too, was desperate to know.
Feeling the weight of their expectant gazes, Konehl-Ghervil reluctantly curved her lips into a smile.
“That, Ms. Sali, was even simpler.”
“Simpler? I don’t believe I revealed any flaws.”
“It might have been a subconscious action you overlooked: the time you chose to visit us this morning.”
“Dawn hadn’t even broken; while early rising is normal for locals, Esli and I, after our long journey, needed ample rest and certainly wouldn’t be up so early. Subconsciously, you knew we don’t require sleep, which is why you visited at such an hour.”
“Only an outsider would know that outsiders don’t need to sleep.”
“What if I was simply eager, impatient to find you?”
The voice behind the door clearly sounded unconvinced by this deduction.
Esli, somewhat naively, believed it; she hadn’t realized the ‘no sleep’ part from the beginning.
She mused that even if she had tried to sleep and discovered the issue, she wouldn’t have been able to deduce Martina-Sali’s identity so easily.
‘The members of the Solis Abbey are truly formidable…’
Her gaze towards Konehl-Ghervil now held an added layer of admiration.
“That’s merely one point, but there are certain things only I could have uncovered, and as for what they are, I have no obligation to disclose them to others.”
Konehl-Ghervil put on a grand show, using information gathered by others to satisfy a small burst of vanity.
That was over an hour ago.
The investigation entrusted to Dr. Callan had yielded results.
Govet-Ghervil relayed the findings.
First, regarding Theodore-Dubois, the captain of the guard.
Little information was found about him, only his name and occupation.
An insignificant individual.
The expedition logs brought back indicated that the town’s guard and the caravans they escorted had experienced no major incidents or casualties in the two years leading up to the town’s disappearance.
It was thus inferred that Theodore-Dubois had survived until the end, never encountering a Lizard Dragon on his journey.
The possibility of altered routes could not be ruled out.
However, this guard unit possessed an excellent reputation and would not engage in risky acts like murder and robbery, especially with a Plague Knight, who had demonstrated their power, among their ranks.
The reason he led his team members to kill was due to the influence of an external force.
Even without investigating his background, the melting of his corpse after death served as proof.
Next was Sausy-Alamany.
Similarly, not much could be found about him: a member of the town’s expedition team, he died in 1954 during an expedition, the cause of death unknown.
In this dream world, he had been resurrected.
From the dream knowledge acquired from Govet-Ghervil, it was understood that in a true dream, without interference from outsiders, the corresponding historical progression of the entire world would remain unaltered.
Theodore-Dubois’s death and Sausy-Alamany’s survival were deliberately orchestrated.
Martina-Sali and Genipa-Berber were both familiar figures to The Order’s expedition team.
Mayor Genipa-Berber, naturally, handled all the major and minor affairs of the town.
Martina-Sali, serving as both a guide and a doctor, and leveraging her connection to the mayor, participated in almost every annual expedition activity, earning considerable remuneration.
They possessed a thorough understanding of both the expedition team and The Order; conversely, The Order also knew them well.
Assuming the outsiders were one or two of the three missing individuals, and wishing to conceal their identities, ‘replacing’ these two people would have been a better choice.
“There’s one thing I don’t understand: judging by your orchestration of the guard’s attack on the caravan, you clearly harbored hostility towards us. Why then did you warn us to be wary of the mayor, and even show us those symbols representing the names of mythical creatures?”
“So those symbols were the names of mythical creatures…”
The voice behind the door grew somewhat agitated.
“Could you tell me what that name is?”
“Answer my question first.”
Konehl-Ghervil stated firmly, raising a hand to stop Esli, who was poised to smash the door with her ice axe.
“Forgive my impropriety, but you’ve misunderstood; I harbor no ill will towards you.”
“Proof.”
“Before that, I wish to know how far your investigation into the external events has progressed?”
‘As expected, one of the three missing individuals.’
Konehl-Ghervil silently retreated behind Esli.
To her knowledge, Mrs. Penelope possessed no superhuman abilities.
It was highly probable that the other two individuals were behind the door.
“The curse of the Green Plains Lizard’s blood, the expedition team’s accident, the Blood Rose, and Flaman-Cambaton’s anomaly.”
She selectively revealed a portion of the facts.
“The Baron…” ‘Martina-Sali’ hesitated, her voice trailing off.
“Since you’ve investigated the curse, you must have uncovered Theodore-Dubois’s issue.”
“In reality, this curse doesn’t stem from the Green Plains Lizard’s blood, but directly from that mythical creature. It had been targeting you from the very beginning, and I instigated that flawed operation before it could find a suitable opportunity.”
[She isn’t lying; the blood of an ordinary Green Plains Lizard wouldn’t possess such potency. If it originated from a mythical creature, it becomes much more plausible.] Govet-Ghervil’s warning echoed in Konehl-Ghervil’s mind.
‘Is it also true that she harbors no ill will towards us?’
[Rather than asking me, you’d be faster just having the unlucky brat (TL Note: A somewhat affectionate, slightly derogatory term for a junior or mischievous person) chop open the door and interrogate them directly.]
Konehl-Ghervil disregarded the suggestion.
She would not act rashly before confirming the other party’s identity.
Esli’s safety was also paramount.
“One more question remains unanswered.”
“I couldn’t ascertain the mayor’s identity, nor could I confirm if he was the one manipulating Theodore-Dubois. That is all…”
“Then there’s nothing more to discuss. Esli, if you would kindly give this uninvited guest a demonstration of a knight’s prowess.”
While saying this, she subtly gestured with her eyes for Esli to quickly lead them away from the area.
“I have a way to prove my identity, Sister Konehl-Ghervil.”
The voice from behind the door suddenly startled both of them; not only had the address changed, but the speaker was clearly a different person, somewhat familiar.
“I apologize for involving you in this baseless calamity.”
The door slowly opened, revealing someone dressed identically to ‘Martina-Sali,’ yet with a noticeably different complexion and facial structure.
Her face, far more refined than those of the sun-weathered locals, was striking.
Konehl-Ghervil recognized the face: it belonged to the sender of the invitation letter—Penelope-Rose.